December 16, 2013 – YA Chit Chat

Welcome to the J. Taylor Publishing Christmas Cracker Scavenger Hunt!

Today, TEN J. Taylor authors are taking part in the Scavenger Hunt, which means there will be multiple chances to enter for a shot at an AWESOME GRAND PRIZE!

PLUS, there are more goodies up for grabs at EVERY stop along the way, too!

In fact, here’s MY mini-giveaway.

All you have to do is follow me on Facebook or Twitter, and you will be entered to win an EBOOK OF TIED by Laney McMann.

Normal people don’t believe their nightmares stalk them. They don’t fall in love with boys who don’t exist, either.

Seventeen-year-old Layla Labelle, though, is far from normal. Her delusions walk the earth. Her hallucinations hunt her, and her skin heats to a burn every time her anger flares.

Or is that all in her head?

Layla doesn’t know what to believe any more because if none of that’s true, Max MacLarnon must be an illusion, and her heart must still be broken.

No matter how much she wants to believe Max is real, doing so would mean everything else is, too. How, then, is that possible?

The answers lie in an age-old legend the supernatural aren’t prepared to reveal, and with a curse that could tear Layla and Max apart forever—if it doesn’t kill them both first.

In TIED, book one in the Fire Born trilogy, learning the truth will mean fighting an arsenal of demons, and being with Max will put Layla on a path toward her own destruction.

Just how far will Layla go to protect the one she loves?

The answer may never be far enough … away.

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You have until midnight of Friday 20^th December 2013 to enter, after which a winner will be selected using Random.org

Good luck!

And back to the …

So … the GRAND PRIZE?

Enter in the Christmas Cracker Scavenger Hunt, and you could win a $100 Amazon Giftcard just in time for Christmas!

Still got last-minute shopping to grab? Fancy treating yourself as a reward for surviving yet another year?

Here’s your chance.

In order to enter, you will need to answer a variety of questions. There are ELEVEN questions in total—so eleven chances to win—and you will find ONE question on each of the nine other participating author blogs plus the J. Taylor blog.

As for the eleventh? Well, that one’s below:

Question: What is the name of Amber Jenkin’s love interest in “Dragon Flight“?

If you need help, here’s a hint: You can find the answer HERE!

And you can enter in the Rafflecopter form below.

Good luck!

And don’t forget to enter the NEXT STOP on the Hunt for another chance to enter!

Don’t worry if you get lost. Simply hop back to the J. Taylor Blog, where you can find the complete list of authors and links.

Rafflecopter Form

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NO PURCHASE is necessary to enter this giveaway; This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY to anyone over the age of 17; Prizes is as stated: ONE ebook to ONE winner; No cash alternative will be offered; Giveaway begins on December 16th 2013 and closes at midnight Eastern time on December 20th 2013; one comment on the blog post equals one entry; Winner will be chosen using Random.org; Winner will be contacted via email, and will be asked to select their preferred e-format for their prize; No addresses, emails, or other contact information will be shared with third parties, other than the publisher, who will deliver your prize direct–all information will be treated with the strictest confidence; If there are any technical issues, they will handled post haste. Eg, duplicate entries will be deleted; if the blog via which you have entered goes ‘down’ you entry will still stand and be entered; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW

Today, the lovely and talented Danielle Shipley, author of many tales, is visiting my blog and is going to talk to you about the most influential person who helped her stay true herself, her dreams and her writing. Danielle, we’re all ears (and eyes).

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We can blame a good percentage of what I’ve become on my mother.

It was she who first got me hooked on books by reading aloud and letting me loose in the library. She who taught me how to arrange letters into words, and set me up with computer programs (and piano lessons) that trained my fingers to type like the wind. She who was always cool with me spending my free time on fictional character development and stories without a point. She who exposed me to the timelessness of fairytales, the allure of mystery, the thrill of heroic adventure, and the zany humor of my early mentors, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

And she didn’t limit my artistic freedom to my childhood. When I gradually came to realize that, more than a hobby only, authorship was what I wanted to do with my rest of my life, she never once told me to wake up, leave my imaginary friends behind, and go be a normal adult. Quite the contrary! She picked up books from the library about querying literary agents for me. She sat with me when I moped after yet another rejection came in, and squealed with me when the inbox actually contained good news. She brings me a cup of tasty grapes when I’m typing up a guest post about all the stuff she does for me. (Seriously. She just now walked in here and handed me a snack.) She lets me rant to her about everything I find irritating in the world of writing or the world in general, helps me brainstorm when I’m all tangled up in plot ideas, stays up hours past her bedtime to scrounge for votes when I’ve entered a contest to turn my fairytale tailor into a pony doll… I’ve little doubt I owe that victory to her.

She’s more than just a momma. She’s an intern in my self-publishing house and half of its marketing team. She’s one of my most enthusiastic cheerleaders, which is saying a lot, considering the squad also includes my ALL CAPS-happy writing besties and Will Scarlet. (If you’ve met the man, ‘nough said.) She’s a solid line of defense between me and accidental starvation. Once I finally stopped being shy and let her read what I wrote, she became a fan of my writing. Naturally, she was a fan of the writer all along.

I’m not much of a rebel. If my mom had voted “nay” against the pursuit of my authorial dream, I may well have set that dream aside and gone searching for a new one, writing relegated to the realm of “hobby only” once again. Happily for me (and, I would suggest, for all of you), Mrs. Shipley’s got my back. I don’t expect you to love her for it quite as much as I do, but you can give it a go.

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Ahh, to have such a person on our side is truly a blessing. Thank you for stopping by, Danielle. It was an extreme pleasure.

Want to know more about Danielle? Keep reading.

Danielle E. Shipley’s first novelettes told the everyday misadventures of wacky kids like herself. …Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves, fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did the sensible thing: Packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child, sanity, and words; lots of them. She’s also been known to spend short bursts of time in the real-life Chicago area with the parents who home schooled her and the two little sisters who keep her humble. When she’s not living the highs and lows of writing young adult novels, she’s probably blogging about it at www.EverOnWord.wordpress.com.