Jeri Smith-Ready: YA Scavenger Hunt is back!

Thursday, December 01, 2011

YA Scavenger Hunt is back!

...and even bigger and better than before! Last summer's scavenger hunt was such a hit with readers--I think I had ten times the usual number of visitors to this blog--mastermind Colleen Houck decided to hold another one.

This time it'll run for 4 days, not just 1, so if you're too busy today doing your holiday shopping, or studying for exams, or you know, working a job, never fear! You have until Sunday, noon Pacific time (that's 3pm for us easterners who think the world revolves around us) to finish the puzzle and enter the GRAND PRIZE drawing!

EDITED TO ADD: The giveaway for the Grand Prize and my individual prize is now closed to entries. The winner was Cristina! Thanks for taking part, everyone and I hope you had fun!

Details on that are below, but first, let me introduce the wonderful author I have the pleasure of hosting this time around:

PJ Hoover!

P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek.

Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a Global Warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own.

Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis, chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden beneath the sea.

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Her new book is called SOLSTICE, and it sounds amazing!

Piper’s world is dying. Global warming kills every living thing on Earth, and each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles which threaten to destroy humanity. Amid this Global Heating Crisis, Piper lives with her mother who suffocates her more than the chaotic climate. When her mother is called away to meet the father Piper has been running from her entire life, Piper seizes an opportunity for freedom.

But when Piper discovers a world of mythology she never knew existed, she realizes her world is not the only one in crisis. While Gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper's life spirals into turmoil, and she struggles to find answers to secrets kept from her since birth. And though she’s drawn to her classmate Shayne, he may be more than he claims. Piper has to choose whom she can trust and how she can save the people she loves even if it means the end of everything she’s ever known.

Since SOLSTICE is about a apocalyptic "endless summer" future, Hoover has given us some helpful (and entertaining) hints on how we can survive when global warming strikes here in our own reality.

Read more about SOLSTICE on PJ's website. If you're as psyched to read it as I am, you can purchase it NOW at Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords.

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YA SCAVENGER HUNT CONTESTS

EDITED TO ADD: The giveaway for the Grand Prize and my individual prize is now closed to entries. The winner was Cristina! Thanks for taking part, everyone and I hope you had fun!

GIVEAWAY #1

There are two contests you can enter from this blog post. The first is the GRAND PRIZE giveaway, which includes roughly a bajillion books, swag, and other goodies, with at least one gift from EVERY AUTHOR. I'm including a signed hardcover of Shift, Book 2 in the Shade trilogy. Shift recently went back to print, so this is your chance to get a signed first edition while they're still available!

Directions: Search for the 37 keywords, one on each website that will be highlighted in RED. When you are finished, go to the entry form, where you will find a list of scrambled keywords. List your keywords in the same order as the scrambled ones—from #1 - #37—and paste that list into the entry form.

Rules: To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit this filled in puzzle before noon Sunday, Dec 4, Pacific Time. All the keywords must be in the correct place and you must include your full name and address. Entries sent in without name and address will not be considered.

GIVEAWAY #2!

While you're here, sign up to win a very special prize: "marked-up" copies of Shade and Shift! Discover some of the secrets behind the writing of the first two books in the Shade trilogy, including hidden musical references, original plot ideas that got changed, and the substance that inspired "Liquid Stupid."

To qualify for this prize:

1) Complete the YA Scavenger Hunt! See instructions above.

2) E-mail me at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com with the Subject Line "YA Scavenger Hunt Giveaway." (please use that subject line or your entry will get lost in the quicksand that is my inbox).

In the body of the e-mail, answer these questions based on PJ Hoover's video above:

1. List two ways to survive after global warming strikes.

2. Who makes the best burgers in Austin?

3) I will check your e-mail against the list of people who completed the Scavenger Hunt, then draw a name randomly from those who both e-mailed me with the correct answer to my question AND completed the Hunt. Deadline is the same as that for the Grand Prize Giveaway, which is...everyone say it with me: noon Sunday, Dec 4, Pacific Time. Winner will be notified by email next week.

4) Both this giveaway and the grand prize giveaway are OPEN to international entries. Cool, huh?

Now off with ya, to the next stop on the Scavenger Hunt, Myra McEntire! Good luck and have fun!

Labels: YA series