Feature Friday: Sherri L. Smith

Don't forget to enter yourself in my Fairy Tale Giveaway/Hop! (Here)

Sherri L. Smith has written several award-winning novels for young adults. Flygirl (2010) won the California Book Award, was a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, and has received fourteen State Award nominations. She lives near Los Angeles. For more information, visit  her website at http://www.sherrilsmith.com/index.htm or her blog, The Middle Hundred, at http://middlehundred.blogspot.com/. She can be found on Twitter @Sherri_L_Smith.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Sherri:
My best piece of advice to any new author is:  shut up and do it. A lot of people talk about writing books.  Most of them are all (tap forehead) “up here.” A lot of people do actually write. They start a million projects, but just don’t finish them. That’s difference between a writer and an author. Writers write. Authors write, rewrite and publish.

A.L.:
What’s your favorite book and why?

Sherri:
I have to fall back on the favorite book of my childhood, CHARLOTTE’S WEB by E.B.White. It’s heartbreaking. It’s about life and death and friendship and all of the great themes of literature, in a simple story with illustrations and some terrific, radiant, humble pig. What’s not to love?

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Orleans?

Sherri:
My mother was a Katrina survivor. New Orleans was her hometown and she weathered the storm there, and was unable to leave the city for a week. While we were trying to get her out, I read an article about local gangs policing their neighborhoods after the actual police had run off. That sparked the idea of tribes. A few weeks later, Fen’s voice popped into my head, and we were off to the races.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Orleans?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Sherri:
Oh, so many snags! There was a regime change and I lost my first editor, gained a new one, switched directions on the story several times. Wanted it to be bigger. Made it smaller. Gnashed my teeth. It was a long journey. What I thought would take me a year took three. I fixed the problems with sheer determination. I had to keep going back to the original essence of the story I wanted to tell, and that brought me through a lot of “maybes” and “how abouts.” I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to give up. But the story wouldn’t let me. In the end, it is the story I wanted to tell and the world I wanted to build. Part of the challenge, I think, is that the world is bigger than the book and parts of it kept bursting out at the seams. Learning to edit your world judiciously is a skill I’m still trying to hone. I think the snags helped make me a stronger writer in the end. (Just don’t tell them I said that!)

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Orleans is your favorite and why?

Sherri:
Fen. Hands down. I love her. She’s suffered so much and just keeps going. I admire that sort of perseverance. She thinks love is a weakness because it comes with a high price, especially in her world, but her journey toward be willing to pay whatever is asked is huge. It makes her even stronger. That’s cool.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Sherri:
I started writing when I was in elementary school, and tried my hand at publishing short stories to no avail. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20s that I finally buckled down and wrote my first novel. Prior, I worked for a few years at Disney TV Animation in story development, which increased my storytelling tool kit exponentially. During that time, a friend gave me The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It’s like a 12-step program for frustrated creatives. Doing the exercise in that book made me realize I wanted to write novels. Then I took a trip to Alaska, started journaling my time there, and my first book was born. After I left Disney, I wrote Lucy the Giant, set partially in some of the towns I visited. Once I figured out how to actually write a novel, I kept at it. While it hasn’t always been easy, I love it and I haven’t looked back.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Sherri:
I’m working on an historical fantasy inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The ballet and the original story were favorites of mine as a kid. In fact, my mom took me to see Baryshnikov dance the role of the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Goodness, I must have been only five years old, but it stuck with me. And then I had an incredibly mean piano teacher (who was probably only mean in the mind of a little kid) who had the book, illustrated beautifully and full of story moments that don’t exist in the ballet. It blew my mind. Hopefully my version of events will do the same for some other kid stuck waiting her turn at the ivory keys.

A.L.:
How did you go about writing a novel set in a devastated New Orleans?  And why New Orleans?

Sherri:
My mom grew up in New Orleans and we visited often as kids. It’s dear to me for that reason. When Katrina hit, it devastated my mother’s city and us as a family. This is a very personal story for me. So I started with my own ideas, bought a bunch of maps of the city, and did research on the flood patterns caused by Katrina. There’s a wealth of information about the storms online from NOAA, the Times-Picayune, etc. From there I extrapolated and, as they say, I made stuff up!

A.L.:
A heroine hampered with a baby isn’t very common in YA literature.  Did you find that it was difficult trying to write with an infant in tow?

Sherri:
The hardest part about writing the baby was remembering to take care of her. In earlier drafts, Baby Girl was more of a prop than a person because I was focusing on Fen’s story. As the writing progressed, I had to go back and think, “Did I feed the baby? Would she cry here? When’s the last time I changed her diaper?” It was interesting. I hope I struck a believable balance. I mean, if I detailed every diaper, who would want to read it?

A.L.:
You’ve done some very interesting jobs in your life.  What was your favorite job ever and why?

Sherri:
I have worked in some very cool places—a comic book company, movies, animation and even a monster effects company, but I have to say my favorite job is writing. Nowhere else can you put on as many hats as you do when you write. Well, maybe if you are an actor. Every day is new. Every project you learn something. And grow as a writer with every word written. How awesome is that? When I visit a school, or teach a class, my enthusiasm shows, and I find that really self-affirming. This is what I love and I will do it always.
 

The Giveaway:

I have an ARC that I'm giving away and Sherri is giving away an ARC, so there are TWO winners of an ARC of ORLEANS this week!

Orleans:  First came the storms.
Then came the Fever.
And the Wall.

After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct… but in reality, a new primitive society has been born.

Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans. In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.

Sherri L. Smith delivers an expertly crafted story about a fierce heroine whose powerful voice and firm determination will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

Read my Review.

Read Goodreads Reviews.

Buy on Amazon.

Buy on Barnes and Noble.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fairy Tale Giveaway/Hop

Enter yourself in a chance to win UNREMEMBERED by Jessica Brody (here) until 3/29.

Enter yourself in a chance to win ORLEANS by Sherri L. Smith (here) beginning 3/29.

The Giveaway:
One lucky winner gets to choose one of the following books:

Entwined: Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Scarlet: The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Cloaked: I’m not your average hero. I actually wasn’t your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with the curse. And the frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn’t a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I’ve ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Keys.

Don’t believe me? I didn’t believe it either. But you’ll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got CLOAKED.

Sweetly: As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.

Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.

Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past -- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone -- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen its next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.

Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.

Briar Rose: A powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that is "heartbreaking and heartwarming."

An American Library Association "100 Best Books for Teens"
An American Library Association "Best Books for Young Adults"

Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma's stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma's astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose. A journey that will lead her to unspeakable brutality and horror. But also to redemption and hope.

The Looking Glass Wars:  Alyss of Wonderland?
When Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, must flee through the Pool of Tears to escape the murderous aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carrol, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!
Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss' story and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may eventually battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.
The Looking Glass Wars unabashedly challenges our Wonderland assumptions surrounding mad tea parties, grinning Cheshire cats, and a curious little blond girl to reveal an epic battle in the endless war for Imagination. 

Ice: When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.

Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back — if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her — until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice. 

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to International entrants.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Muse: Madness --MUSE

Muse is my Muse, mwahaha! I heart this song with all kind of anime-esque sparkly eyes and floating pop-hearts!

Feature Friday: Jessica Brody

Don't forget to enter yourself in my Fairy Tale Giveaway/Hop!  (Here)

Jessica Brody is the author of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, My Life Undecided, The Karma Club, and the recently released, Unremembered, the first in a sci-fi/suspense/romance trilogy. Her books have been translated and published in over 15 countries and several have been optioned for film and TV. Sometimes she wishes her memories could be erased so she could reread all her favorite books for the first time. She splits her time between California and Colorado.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Jessica:
Don’t be afraid to write badly. All writers have awful first drafts. That’s why they’re called first drafts. Sometimes you have to just get through the story before you can make it pretty. I think a lot of new authors quit halfway through the book because they’re afraid that it’s not good. The first draft won’t be good. Just finish it and fix it later. The hardest part about writing a book is getting to that last page.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Jessica:
I absolutely love THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Particularly the first book. I lived that book for two whole days. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it, dreaming about it. It’s a perfect book in my eyes.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Unremembered?

Jessica:
A few years ago, I read a newspaper article about a teen girl who was the sole survivor of a plane crash. I was instantly fascinated by the story. Namely because they had no idea why she survived when no else did. I started brainstorming reasons as to why she was so lucky. One particular reason (a rather intricate, science-fiction-inspired one) stuck in my mind and refused to leave. It continued to grow and blossom until I had an idea for an entire trilogy. A trilogy that starts with a mysterious plane crash and a single survivor.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Unremembered?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Jessica:
When I wrote the synopsis for Unremembered (that I used to sell the concept to my publisher), I had included several scenes in which Seraphina learns about her past and some of the memories she’s lost through Zen, the boy who claims that they were in love before the plane crash.

But when I got to that scene while actually writing the manuscript I ran into a common problem that writers face.

The dreaded, but highly-respected law of “Show Don’t Tell.” So there I was, essentially writing pages and pages of telling. Zen relaying his side of the story and his version of Sera’s past through dialogue. To put it bluntly, it was boring as crap.

I had to find a way for her to relive the memories. So she (and the reader) could experience them, instead of just hear about them. That’s when I came up with the technology of re-cognization. The process of implanting memories that have already been removed, back into the brain.

Using this technology, I was able to show not tell Seraphina about her past, using her very own memories. And once I created it, a whole world of opportunities and storytelling opened up to me in this book and the sequel.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Unremembered is your favorite and why?

Jessica:
I have to say Cody, Seraphina’s 13-year-old foster brother.

This genre was brand new for me. My first time venturing into the world of sci-fi. And as all my contemporaries were comedies, it was oftentimes a challenge for me to write something darker and more serious. Cody, however, is the comic relief of the novel. So writing him was like a little link back to my comfort zone. I always felt like I was “home” when I wrote him. And it gave me the opportunity to make fun of myself a little. While Sera’s storyline is rather dark and mysterious and all these harrowing things are happening around her, Cody can always be counted on to lighten the mood with a comedic crack on her situation.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Jessica:
It was a long one, that’s for sure! From the time I started “trying” to publish my novel, it took 5 years before I sold my first one. And actually my “first” book was never published. It’s still sitting on my shelf! I tried for three years to get an agent for that book and eventually started a new book that would become my first published novel. After five years, I finally landed my first agent and she sold my book in only 10 days! That’s the power of a good agent.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Jessica:
I just finished writing book 2 of the Unremembered Trilogy, which is called UNFORGOTTEN. And I’m gearing up to start working on book 3, which is called UNTITLED. Haha! But seriously, I’m thinking of keeping that title. What do you think?

A.L.:
Since you've always wanted to be a member of the Spice Girls, I assume you've got a "spicey" name all picked out for yourself.  What is it and why?

Jessica:
LOL! I do! If I were a Spice Girl (and I’m still not giving up on this dream, by the way!), I would be “Clumsy Spice.” There’d be like a million YouTube videos of me falling off stage, knocking over expensive recording equipment, dropping stuff. I can just picture the headlines now, “Clumsy Spice Breaks 100 million Pound British Heirloom at Buckingham Palace During State Dinner.”

A.L.:
At this point you've written adult and YA novels, contemporary fiction and your new novel - Unremembered - is science fiction.  What genre do you find the funnest to write?  And what age group?  And if you love them all, what makes each one exciting?

Jessica:
I’m really loving the sci-fi genre although it does have its challenges. I like being able to make up my own rules about the world I’m in. You can’t really do that when you write contemporary. But when things get complicated in a sci-fi story, I miss the simplicity and comedic style of the contemporary world. The grass is always greener, as they say! So I guess I’ll go with “I like them all!”

A.L.:
Unremembered is about a mysterious girl with no memory and no known identity.  Was it difficult getting into the head space of someone who has no memory?

Jessica:
Yes, this was extremely difficult! I wasn’t able to reference anything from her past or popular culture when creating her inner dialogue. She was literally a blank slate! In order to get into her mindset, I tried to imagine myself as an alien visiting earth for the first time. The whole time I worked on the novel, I would look around me (at the super market, at gas stations, at airports, everywhere!) and ask myself what part of our everyday life and society seems strange or nonsensical. Because this is exactly how Seraphina sees the world.

The Giveaway:
I'll be sending out a copy of UNREMEBERED to one lucky winner!

Unremembered:  When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

Read Goodreads reviews.
Buy on Amazon.
Buy on Barnes and Noble.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Super Important Question

Hello everyone!
I've just had a crazy idea and I'd like to know what you guys think.

What are your opinions on a Goodreads or facebook group meant to critique an author's work before it is published?  For example:  If I were to create a group where a select number of you (random genre-fan strangers) were provided with one of my novels, told to read it, and then asked to share your thoughts (good and bad) with the group.  My hope would be that the members could create a round-table sort of discussion that would (hopefully) aid in the author's editorial and creative process.

Would any of you join?
What kind of benefits and drawbacks do you think there would be?

Please leave comments to let me know?

Monday Muse: Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown - Last One Leaving

Makes you wanna dance, makes you wanna sing, and who ever dressed these guys needs a sticker.

THE KRIE SEEKERS

Hi Everyone!  As some of you may have noticed, I've got a new City Steam novella and it debuts today!  I'd love it if you'd all check it out and tell your friends!  This novella, THE KRIE SEEKERS, is the second of the City Steam vignettes, but you don't have to read THE ALCHEMISTS PERFECT INSTRUMENT to enjoy this one.  It's an alternate world steampunk with horror and romance elements, plus some fun paranormal creatures!  I hope you all like it.  Here's a little taste for you:

Excerpt of THE KRIE SEEKERS:
"

     “What if…,” Mardigan began, “What if Seekers actually are Krie?”

     Boone straightened and blinked at his partner, uncertain if he understood. “Pardon?”

     Before Mardigan could further expound on his thoughts, Skell came parading out of a nearby alley.

     She was vicious and beautiful, inhuman in the way she had looked when Boone had first seen her in the Ariella Sturgeon. Her mouth and chin were stained crimson, as were her hands and a good bit of her blouse and jacket. Her eyes glowed, wide and cat-green. She glanced between the two of them, stiff and alert, then about the alley – as if searching for something else. Then her brow creased ever-so-slightly.

     Her movement then was like a slow motion, balletic move to Boone’s mind. Her despairing eyes rolled up into her head and she fell forward. Unconscious.

     Mardigan was the one who rushed to her side, Boone was still in shock from seeing her blood-stained beauty. He rolled her over and checked her pulse. “She’s gone into another fit of stasis.”

     Boone shook himself out of his stupor. “Where is Miss Tatty?”

     Stiffened by the realization that Skell was alone, Mardigan shot to his feet and glanced around, searching the road and surrounding rooftops as if expecting her to be crouched like a gargoyle above them.

     But she was not.

     Miss Tatica was missing.

Chapter Eleven:

     Alertness came to Tatty one muscle at a time. She heard low humming. Male voice, young and deep and clear. He was less than ten feet away from her. He wasn’t moving, but she sensed that his attention was fully upon her. She smelled coal and dry stone and fire. Where-ever she was, it was warm and dry. A single room with a low ceiling.

     She was laying on a bed of rough-spun wool and leathery old flesh. She could smell that it was flesh. Human skin. Not fresh, but it still made bile rise to her throat. She investigated it with her fingers, noting the seams between the different textures. This had once been human flesh. But more recently, it had been Krie flesh.

     She suddenly knew where she was.

     “Took you long enough.”

     She went tense at the male voice that spoke to her, but tried not to reveal it. She was aware of his gaze now squarely upon her and it made her skin crawl.

     “Open your eyes. I know you’re awake.”

     She didn’t want to. She was afraid of what she would see. But she refused to show her fear, so she did as she was asked.

     At first, all she saw was an outline, a lying humanoid shape looming before the colors of fire. She blinked, trying to clear her vision. She was in some kind of furnace room, a deep heat fire burning high and bright just beyond the mouth of a metal monster. Before her stood another monster, but as her eyes adjusted he took on a face of innocence and gentrification.

     Confused, she frowned at him and attempted to sit up. The effort made pain shoot through her legs and set her head to reeling. Wincing, she fell backward.

     “You’re injured.”

     She forced her eyes open again and glared at him. “You’re human.”

     His grin was predatory and adorable, set into the features of a young man who looked to be just barely twenty. Handsome and well built, he was dressed as though he were ready to attend a night at the opera. She didn’t trust the ruse. “Do you like it?”

     She narrowed her eyes at him. “No. You’re like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

     His fine lips closed over perfect teeth and the grin became a deep, self-satisfied smirk. He had dimples. And bottomless dark eyes. She turned away, unnerved, and stared at the wall.

     “You wouldn’t believe it. This body literally fell on me,” he explained. “I was walking along, minding my business and it just came tumbling out of a pipe. Still warm, the life barely left from it and totally saturated in fear. It was like Ehleis himself had dressed and marinated it for me.”

     Tatty rolled her eyes at his humor. She didn’t understand. A whole body? Krie – even Kings like this one -- never took a whole body…Just pieces. Just bits.

     As if reading her thoughts, he said, “I understand your confusion. It’s abnormal, I know.”

     Her voice rasped as she said, “Why?”

     She saw his shadow shrug against the stone wall. “Why not? We can evolve. A Seeker knows this most of all.”

     She swallowed hard. “We became this way at Ehleis’ will,” she reasoned. “We were the chosen ones.”

     She sensed him step closer. Heat radiated off of his host body. The young man the Krie inhabited had once been dead; he was not now. His flesh was virile and alive. It seemed so odd a thing that a grotesque, murderous creature could do something as miraculous as breath life back into dead flesh. “And am I not also a hunter of Krie? Why shouldn’t I also be called a chosen one? Why am I banished to shifting skin and darkness like a curse,” he was saying. “Why should I care one whit what the Sun-God deems when I obviously don’t hold his favor? Why not take a cue from the humans and make my own fate?”

     Tatty tried to wrap her mind around the impossibility of his words. He’d gone against convention and sought something different for himself. But what? She didn’t understand. Standing at her back was a Krie. A King. But he was not the ribboned-together and primal sort she’d come to know through nightmare and sheer luck. This one was different and he frightened her even more than the others because of it. He was an enemy she didn’t know.

     Was he an enemy?

     She’d been unconscious in his care. He could have partaken of her flesh in any manner that suited him -- it was how the Seekers and the Krie worked. But he hadn’t. Why? She turned back to him then, urgent. “What do you want from me?”

     He stared at her for a long moment, dark eyes possessive and intense. “A partner.”

     Jagged ice seemed to skitter up her back at the words. She tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. “I already have a partner.”

     He smirked, boyishly impish. “You mean that monster who threw you to the mercy of a dozen Krie?”

     Tatty went very still then, every protective bone in her body steeling. “Skell is my sister.”

     He went on. “Doesn’t seem very sisterly to me. She’s barely sane. You know that though, don’t you? You must see it in the wild way in which she hunts. She’s more Krie than Seeker, I think. I sense that it’s only by your gentle nature that she doesn’t murder left and right. Her hunger is a desire for the hunt and the kill. The joy of death. Is it not?’

     Tatty resisted the urge to lift her hands and cover her ears against what this King was saying. It was truth, she knew. Skell was a monster, barely kept on her leash. But the fact was: she was kept on a leash. Tatty kept her sane. Which was all the more reason why she had to remain with Skell at all times.

     His eyes narrowed at her. “She almost killed you back there. A simple noise and she gets so excited that she basically throws you to your death. I watched you fall and I watched you hit. She didn’t even waver -- didn’t even realize you were gone from her side. She didn’t care, she was too intent on that one foolish little Krie that was following you to realize she’d thrown you to the rest of the Coven. You’re lucky I was out this evening.”

     Tatty remained quiet. She did not want to believe this King Krie, but she knew he spoke truth. Someone had stepped between her and the Krie down in that dark cavern and it had been this King. She knew it in the same way that he could sense her feelings, in the same way Skell could sense her feelings. They were connected. She didn’t want to be. She tried sitting up again, gritting her teeth against the pain. “I want to leave,” she grunted.

     His eyes flitted toward the door and he took a step back. “You’re welcome to leave, Darling. I’d never keep you. However, I doubt you’ll be able to stand. And even if you could, there are more than a hundred Krie surrounding us. You won’t make it out alive.”

     Sweating against the pain, she glared at him. “Where are we anyway?”

     His eyes drifted toward the pipes drooping from the ceiling. “Best guess? About seven stories underground? There’s a small collective of humans who live here.” He smiled, more to himself than anyone. “It’s like a little underground village, really.”

     Tatty continued to scowl. “And you feed on them, I suppose?”

     “On the contrary. I protect them from the others.”

     That was not the answer Tatty wanted to hear. This King was too offsetting, too full of unexpected surprises. “Why did you bring me here?”

     His delicate brow arched. “Would you rather I left you lying broken in a sewer? So any Krie that passed could either rut you or chew you as he pleased?” He lifted his chin, indignant. “What do I look like to you?”

     “You look like danger,” she said, voice quiet.

"

If you like it, please go buy it for only .99 cents on Amazon Kindle.  (HERE)

Feature Friday: Mindee Arnett

Mindee Arnett is a writer, horsewoman, and a self-professed fangirl. Her debut YA contemporary fantasy, The Nightmare Affair, will be available March 2013 from Tor Teen (Macmillan), and her debut YA sci-fi thriller, Avalon, is coming Winter 2014 from Balzer+Bray (HarperCollins). She lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and inappropriate number of cats. She has more dreams than nightmares.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Mindee:
Take your time and keep trying different things. The single biggest mistake budding authors make is getting in a hurry. Nearly everyone, myself included, starts querying agents way too soon. If you haven’t revised your book half a dozen times, if you can’t quote whole passages at once, if you aren’t sick to death of reading it, then you’re not ready. That sounds extreme, and to an extent I am exaggerating, but not really. You’ve really got to put in the time before submitting.

The second mistake I see is that people will keep writing new books using the same old technique and approach they’ve used before. But if you keep getting rejected, then you’ve really got to change it up. If you’re a pantser, try plotting. If you’re a hardcare plotter, trying pantsing. For me, I was a complete pantser until I went through a couple of hard rejections. Then I decided to try something new, and I became a “pantser who likes to stop and ask for directions.” In other words, I decided to do a mix of pansting and plotting. And it worked!

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Mindee:
This is such a hard, hard question. My default answer is Harry Potter—all seven books as one. But some of my current favorites are Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor—the book is rip-your-heart-out amazing, and Taylor’s writing is absolutely gorgeous. I’m in complete awe of her. I also adore The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. Again, the writing is beautiful, and her character development is stunning. And of course I have to give a shout out to The Diviners by Libba Bray. The scope, the content, the complexity is Stephen King worthy.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for The Nightmare Affair?

Mindee:
A ghost whispered it to me during a séance. I think it might be a true story.

Kidding, definitely kidding. The truth is the story came out of nowhere. I was researching monsters on Wikipedia and I came across the folkloric creature. Nightmares are supposed to be demons that sit on your chest when you’re sleeping. And I thought—what if the demon wasn’t evil, but an ordinary teenage girl with an unfortunate “condition.” And that was all it took to get me going.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing The Nightmare Affair?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Mindee:
Honestly, I really didn’t. Because I had changed my approach to writing—ditching the complete pantser method for a slower, more thought out approach. I was able to identify plot holes and other issues before I stepped into them. The first draft was far from perfect, but I had no major fixes to correct, only refining and fleshing out.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in The Nightmare Affair is your favorite and why?

Mindee:
Dusty is definitely my favorite. For me, that’s a bit of a perquisite for a main character. Part of the fun in writing is getting to be somebody other than myself for a while, and I want to play the coolest, most interesting character. Aside from Dusty, however, I really enjoyed writing her best friend Selene. Selene is cool, Selene is wise, and she can kick serious ass.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Mindee:
Well, it was pretty standard in a lot of ways. I started writing short stories for fun when I was about twelve, and by the time I hit college I got serious about writing and started to submit shorts to various literary magazines. I published a few and then decided to try my hand at novel writing.  I wrote four “trunk” novels before The Nightmare Affair.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Mindee:
I’ve actually finished the first draft of the sequel and will start edits on it soon. I can’t wait to start sharing the details, especially the title. At present I’m at work on the prequel to my sci-fi series Avalon, which debuts from Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) Winter 2014.

A.L.:
The Nightmare Affair is about a girl who is literally a nightmare.  How did you go about trying to make her a likable character when her role in life is to be a bad guy?

Mindee:
Wow, such a great question! Really, I never thought about Dusty as being a bad guy, because she doesn’t think of herself that way at all. She considers herself pretty ordinary. She’s got a smart mouth that gets her into trouble some times, and when it comes to magic she’s incredibly clumsy. But she doesn’t take herself or her “heritage” very seriously at all.

A.L.:
You're a Whovian and a Whedonite and a Winchester girl.  Favorite Doctor, favorite butt-kicking Whedon heroine, favorite Winchester brother.  AND why for all three?

Mindee:
And this is officially my favorite question ever!

The 10th Doctor is by far my favorite. David Tennant just owns that character. He’s funny and clever and confident without being cocky. He also has insane chemistry with all his costars.

Favorite Whedon hero is Malcolm Reynolds, of course, but my heroine is harder to choose. I love them all. But I guess today I’ll go with Zoe from Firefly. I love how straight and tough she is, and that she’s a happily married woman. And I’m utterly convinced that at the end of Serenity, Zoe is actually pregnant and will become a kickass mom (albeit without Wash, but let’s not talk about that).

Favorite Winchester is Dean. He wins by a landslide. Not only is incredibly hot, but he’s got the best sense of humor.

A.L.:
Tell us a little bit about your absolute favorite horse ever.

Mindee:
Tough, tough question. But my absolute favorite is probably my very first horse. I’ve had her since I was twelve. She’s twenty-five years old now and retired, but I know her better than any horse alive, and I trust her completely. In her prime, we did a lot of endurance races—long distance trail rides of 25+ miles—and it’s a very special bonding experience to have a horse carry you so far. She’s truly special.

The Giveaway:
Mindee is giving away a signed copy of THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR! (NAT)

The Nightmare Affair:  Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

A.L.'s Review: 


Read Goodreads Reviews.
Buy on Barnes and Noble.
Buy on Amazon. 

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants only.
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Muse: Dia Frampton - The Broken Ones

Just cause.

Feature Friday: Kristin Bailey

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win select YA novels at my Lunar Love Giveaway/Hop (here).

Kristin Bailey is a military wife and mother. Who enjoys spoiling her crazy pets. In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Kristin:
Learn mind control. Wait, that sounds a little strange, like I'm planning to turn the entire planet into my evil minions, muah ha ha ha ha.  No, seriously, learn mind control, as in learn how to control your own mind and how you react to intense emotional stimulus. This business isn't easy on the old brain. As a writer you can swing from elation to despair five hundred times in a single hour. At least, that's how it feels. From the wishes and hopes and dreams you send out with your first query, to the crushing blow of having that first query rejected, all the way to seeing your cover for the first time and then seeing your first bad review. This business is a roller-coaster ride, and it isn't for the faint of heart. The better you can take in the ups and downs of this business, breathe, relax, and focus on the future, the easier it becomes.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Kristin:
My first instinct is to say my Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home cookbook. It's the gift that keeps on giving, and it's giving ice-cream.  For fiction, I have a special place in my heart for Frankenstein.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Legacy of the Clockwork Key?

Kristin:
The inspiration for Legacy of the Clockwork Key came from a picture of a steampunk raven I stumbled across online. It looked a lot like this one.
http://digboston.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/songbirds-e1323978513910.jpg
I was completely fascinated by the people who would imagine such a thing, then set out to create it as a work of art. Then as I was driving in the car on a very long drive somewhere, I pondered the nature of invention and what drives people to create things. I realized that some of our greatest feats of engineering are almost whimsical. That's when the Secret Order of Modern Amusementists was born.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Legacy of the Clockwork Key?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Kristin:
This book almost didn't happen.  I had this fantastic idea, and I was so inspired by it I was possessed. I discussed the book with my agent, since it went in a very different direction than all my other writing she had seen. She said she liked the idea but warned me that young adult stories are tricky and I'd have to hit the voice just right, or no matter how good the story was, it wouldn't sell. So I sent her a chapter or two, and she was less than impressed. I revised it and tried again. It was still no go. I figured I couldn't do it. I couldn't give her what she wanted, so I tried to move on, but like I said, I was possessed by this idea. I focused all my heart into the story, and one day as I was pacing on the walkway in front of my butterfly garden, I started to hear the voice of a girl in my head. She started to speak to me and just tell me her story. That's when I realized, I had to write the book in first person.  In that moment, Meg was truly born.  I gave it one final shot, and this time, my agent loved it, and thankfully so did Simon Pulse.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Legacy of the Clockwork Key is your favorite and why?

Kristin:
My favorite character is a guy named Oliver, who acts as an mentor or almost an older brother to Meg. He's wild and fun, and probably the character that is the most like me.  For as much as I like him, I keep putting him in situations that nearly get the poor guy killed.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Kristin:
I've been writing with the aim of having a career in publishing for over ten years.  I married a military guy, and with how much we move, I needed a career that could travel with me. Writing seemed like the perfect option. I love doing it. I've been writing stories since I was seven, but the road to a sustainable career is a long and difficult one with no guarantees. I know I could not do this without the support of my husband. Sometimes I look back, and I can't believe how much I've learned and grown just doing my best to keep at it.  I've had great joys, and bitter setbacks. I deeply respect all authors who give so much of themselves to make the best of this business.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Kristin:
I am currently beginning to write the last book in the trilogy. That seems crazy since the first book is just coming out, but that's how writing timelines work. After that? I guess we'll have to see. I'm not sure where I'm going to go next.

A.L.:
You were a zoo keeper?!  How'd you land that job?  And what did you do?  And did you totally love it?

Kristin:
I worked as a zookeeper during college and was part of the bird department. Mostly, I hauled five gallon buckets of flamingo food into a lake while wearing enormous waders, then running for my life away from the crowned crane who was territorial about his food dish. I still have a soft spot for parrots of all sorts.  I did love it, but sadly, zookeeping was not the job that was meant for me. I have flat feet, and it was very hard to stay on my feet all day working with the animals. That's why I keep my own little zoo at home now.

A.L.:
Would you consider Legacy of the Clockwork Key a steampunk novel?  Why/why not?

Kristin:
That's a difficult question to answer because I'm not sure I'm the one that will determine if it is Steampunk or not.  I think the audience will have to decide. I didn't intend to write a "Steampunk" novel, I just wanted to write about Victorian inventors and Victorian inventors happen to get tagged as very Steampunk.  The problem is, right now the Steampunk culture is growing, but it is very intense and filled with people who really embrace an all-encompassing vision of Steampunk.  I think for that audience, there isn't enough other-worldliness to Legacy of the Clockwork Key.

At the same time, people keep asking when Steampunk is going to take off and become a larger cultural phenomenon. Steampunk still needs that one thing, whether it is a movie, or a book, or a show, that a non-steampunk audience can understand so we can all take a deep breath and say, "Oh, that's Steampunk!"  Then the Steampunk culture won't have to explain itself any more or run up against the "I just don't get it, is it history, is it the future, what?" issues.  They can just say, "I'm into Steampunk, you know, like (insert cultural phenomenon here)" and everyone will understand what they mean.

I don't know what that breaking point is going to be, but it's coming at some point.  I like to say that Legacy of the Clockwork Key is Steampunk Inspired Historical Adventure, because it is inspired by the aesthetic and inventiveness of the Steampunk culture but it doesn't stray outside of a classic adventure story.

A.L.:
Is it hard writing a historic novel?

Kristin:
The thing that intimidated me the most about writing this book was creating an authentic Victorian London. I kept running into weird little things I'd have to research like, what Meg would have worn to bed, and ended up discovering strange and fascinating things like exactly how much horse poo had to be hauled out of London daily in the 1800's. I'm glad I tackled the challenge, and I hope I did the setting justice.

The Giveaway:

Kristin is giving away a Legacy of the Clockwork Key swagpack including: two signed bookmarks, a signed postcard, a mirror, button, key chain, and vinyl sticker and a signed bookplate

Legacy of the Clockwork Key: A teen girl unravels the mysteries of a secret society and their most dangerous invention in this adventure-swept romance set in Victorian London.When a fire consumes Meg’s home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key that only Meg can use—that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg is compelled to follow.



Meg has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect—and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg is swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny in this captivating start to a trilogy.

Read Goodreads reviews.
Buy it on Barnes and Noble
Buy it on Amazon. 

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lunar Love Giveaway/Hop

Don't forget to enter yourself in a chance to win a LEGACY OF THE CLOCKWORK KEY swagpack (here).


The Giveaway:
This giveaway is all about the moon! Stories about the moon, with the moon on the cover or in the title, and those written about the strange things that happen under the moon are welcome!

Daughters of the Moon:  Four friends. Four mysterious powers. They seem like ordinary girls living in Los Angeles. But they each have a secret. Vanessa can become invisible. Catty can travel through time. Serena reads minds, and Jimena has premonitions. As they become friends, their incredible powers bind them together as The Daughters of the Moon. In Book One, Vanessa, who has always had the power to become invisible, discovers that she and her best friend Catty, a time-traveler, are goddesses of the moon who must fight together to overcome the evil Atrox. In Book Two, Serena, a moon goddess who has the gift of reading minds, is torn between joining the dark force of the evil Atrox and staying with her friends. In Book Three, ex-gang member Jimena is terrified by the reappearance of Veto, who was once the love of her life. Veto was killed a year ago by a rival gang. Or was he? Jimena discovers that he has made a devil's bargain, which could cost both of them their lives.

Born at Midnight: Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Harbinger: Girl, Interrupted meets Beautiful Creatures in this fast-paced thriller

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller.

Born Wicked: Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other. 

Cinder:  Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Scarlet:  The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

The Demon Trapper's Daughter:  Demon Trapper Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself—and that’s exactly what Lucifer is counting on…

It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell.

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway