The Winners of the Blog Jog Giveaway!

Let's get right to it, shall we?  :)

Using random.org, the three winners of a signed poster and pre-order of ELEMENTAL are...

...
...
...

Comment #8!  JOYLENE BUTLER!!!

Comment #5! SILVIA!!!

and

Comment #19! MARE/TOMMYGIRL!!!

Congratulations, winners!  Please email me at emilywhite_1112@yahoo.com to leave your mailing address.

And thanks to everyone for stopping by during the blog job. :)  It was so exciting to receive all your wonderful comments.

If you're disappointed you didn't win (and as someone who hardly ever wins anything, I completely understand), I give away free stuff all the time!  Just click on the tab above that says Swag! Stuff! Free! (or click the link) and order some very gorgeous bookmarks.  And if you're sad you didn't win a pre-order of ELEMENTAL, well, you can still order one yourself!!  Trust me, it's completely worth the wait.  Plus, it will be like a second Christmas when that probably forgotten package comes to your door.  :)  (that's not to say my book is forgettable--gasp!--but I order stuff all the time and forget about it a week later.  It's always so exciting to get that package when I wasn't expecting anything :) ).

Do the Blog Jog!! *do-do do do-do-do*

*done to the tune of Do the Hussle*

So, Welcome to Blog Jog Day!! Please enjoy my site then click over to Jennifer L. Armentrout to see what the next blog has to offer! Lost in the links? You can always go to the main Blog Jog Day Blog and find a new link to jog from.

Thanks for stopping by!

Just because Ella can burn someone to the ground with her mind doesn't mean she should...

but she wants to.

For ten years--ever since she was a small child--Ella has been held prisoner. Now that she has escaped, she needs answers. Who is she? Why was she taken? And who is the boy with the beautiful green eyes who haunts her memories?

Is Ella the prophesied Destructor... or will she be the one who's destroyed?



There it is. My lovely. And today I have some amazing stuff planned for all of you! Like holy-cow-this-place-is-hosting-a-contest kind of amazing.

And I also have a never before seen snippet from my debut novel, Elemental (coming out May 1, 2012 through Spencer Hill Press)

Snippet first, and then I'll get to the prizes three (yes, I said THREE) of you could win!

Enjoy!

I couldn’t register the pain at first. Though their claws dug and ripped through my skin, sending warm blood to run down my arms and legs, my mind moved too slowly. Someone’s screams echoed in my ears and I was surprised to realize they were mine. Then the pain rolled through me like waves, and I screamed louder until the Shakai digging at my face choked off my shrieks. Hooked pincers slid in my mouth and tore at my tongue as they fought to get down my throat.

As I swiped my hands at the bugs, ripping one off only to find five more to take its place, my body started to warm and tingle. At first, I thought maybe I was passing out, but the tingling turned into a sharp burning. Pain scorched through my veins, charring me from the inside out. I couldn’t even feel the Shakai ripping me apart anymore.

I clenched my teeth against it, willing my body to ignore the throbbing. It would not be ignored. The pain seeped into my head and I screamed, ready for it to explode. My eyes bulged, pushed from beneath by the sheer force of the agony. Too exhausted to fight anymore, I gave in and let the pain have me, praying for death.

The moment I let go of my control, the pain vanished, replaced by hunger. For what, I didn’t know yet. All I did know was that every cell of my body ached to devour.

And now for the prizes!

All you have to do is follow this blog and leave a comment for your chance to win a signed poster (it looks just like the cover) and a pre-order of Elemental!! I will draw three winners on Wednesday, the 10th.

Good luck! And have fun visiting all the other participating blogs!!

The Nerds of Connecticut Are So Charming This Time of Year

Especially when this semi-old nerd from New York comes to visit. :)

Pi-Con is just a few more weeks away and I'm going to be there!  I'll even be reading Ch. 1 from ELEMENTAL during the Rapid Fire Reading! (yes, you know you want to be there to hear it)

But I have a problem.  I kind of want to dress up in something ELEMENTAL related. 

SO! I NEED YOUR HELP!!

Based on the cover and the back of the book blurb (all of which is located somewhere on this blog), what do you think I should wear?

I'll accept crazy suggestions, not-so-crazy suggestions, out-of-this-world suggestions!  You name it!  And I'll consider it!

I'll take my favorite suggestion and send the winner ten (yes, TEN!) signed bookmarks!!! And then! And then! I'll get my picture taken in the getup and send it to the winner, too!  Yes, I know.  Everyone wants a picture of me. ;)

Oh yeah, and if you're in the Enfield, Connecticut area, you MUST come and visit me (this isn't a stipulation to be a part of the contest, but I would love to meet all of you in person :) ).

Now get to thinking!! You've got a week to come up with something amazing and leave it in the comments.  I'm counting on you! :)

And the Winner is...

I used random.org today, and out of 31 entries, came up with...

11

So the winner is...

Lynda R. Young!!!!

Woop!  Woop!

I'll be emailing you shortly, Lynda.  :)

Thanks to everyone who participated!  And because you've all been so wonderful and supportive, I'm going to give you something really special.

Have a great week and weekend!  And don't forget to check out Wicked and Tricksy this Friday to see my guest post on villains.  Actually, you should check them out everyday because this is a whole super-duper villains week!  See you on Monday!

W is for Weminder

This message comes to you from Elmer Fudd

Just a weminder fo' all you deaw weaders out thewe:  I'm hunting wabbits.

Excuse me, this is Emily.  I'm sorry, I just need to butt in right here for a second.  Elmer, that is NOT what you need to be reminding my readers of.

It's not?

No, it's not.  Remember?  The contests?


Oh, wight!  The contests!  Sowwy.

In case you've fowgotten, Emiwy is having two contests wight now!  One of them is aaaaaaaaalmost ova!  To sign up befow you miss ya' chance to get some amaaaaaaaazing pwizes, click this link to find out what you can do.  Also, Emiwy has infowmed me that she'll be giving those books and that gift cawd away anyway and that anyone who becomes a new followa', tweets, or bwogs about it will have a betta' chance of winning.

Don't miss out!

Now I'm off to hunt me some wabbits!

A is for AWESOME

As in: how could this contest get any more awesome?

It can't.

Just like Captain Kirk, it's pretty much achieved perfection. :)

For all my lovely followers and guests just popping in, here's a recap:

ELEMENTAL, my YA Space Opera, is going to be published this summer! 

WOOHOO!!!

So to kick off the celebrations (if you haven't already figured it out), I'm having a contest!  I want to get the word out about my book to as many people as possible, but to do that I need your help!  

See that lovely group of pictures over there?  You know which one I'm talking about.  It's got all the pretty faces.  Well, those 128 faces are some of the most awesome followers out there.  In fact, they've spoiled me.  Spoiled me so much, in fact, that I know this whole blogging experience would be even better with more happy little faces joining them.

If you help me get up to 250 followers by the end of the month, one winner will get...

and

and

AND!

a $50 gift card to B&N or Amazon

BUT!

If you help me get to 300 followers by the end of the month, I'll give the winner AN EXTRA $25, AND I'll draw a second place winner who will get a $25 gift card.

Here's how the point system will work:

+1 for commenting

+2 for becoming a new follower

+1 for posting about the contest on your blog

+1 for tweeting the contest

+1 for posting on facebook

+1 for every person you bring over (person must give you credit in the comments)

Please provide links to the posts and tweets.  And PLEASE compile all the points you should get in your comment.  

Oh, and as an extra incentive to becoming a follower today...

This is just the first of three major contests I'll be holding.  The next one is going to be on Monday (it just might have to do with a certain cover reveal ;) ).  And the third is going to blow. your. mind.  You DON'T want to miss them.

Good luck!  :)

EDIT: If there's a book in that list that you already own, I may be convinced to change it to something else you don't own and really, really want.  


And by "may," I mean yes, I definitely can be convinced. :)

  

Fairy Tale Blogfest!

UPDATE:  I'm posting finalists tomorrow.  Not Wednesday.  See you there!  :D

It's here!  The day has finally arrived!  Phew!

To be perfectly honest, when I first posted about the blogfest I was a tad terrified nervous that no one would actually sign up.  When the contestants slowly started piling up, I thought well, at least there will be three winners.  And then one day, you guys just started signing up left and right!  It was wonderfully exciting!  I still can't believe how amazing you all have made this!  Thank you soooooo much for making my first blogfest such a success!

Now, let's recap on how this is going to work:

To view the submitted entries, click here.  I'm going to have to take three days to read them all (sorry, but I don't think I could get through them all today :(  ).  So, on Thursday, I will post my five favorite stories for all of you to vote on.  You'll have a week to vote so that on September 8th we'll finally have our winners!

How exciting!

I will not be commenting on anyone's blog posts for the event.  I just wouldn't be able to find the time to comment on everyone's and I don't want anyone to think I'm playing favorites.  That wouldn't have been the case at all, but when winnings are on the line, I know how antsy people can get.  Well actually, I know how antsy I can get and I just assume everyone is like me.  ;)

To kick the event off, I have also written a story!  I chose to do a micro because I don't want to take away from anyone else's stories.  Plus, I talked these little babies up so much, I decided I might as well do one.

Red Riding Hood, Werewolf Hunter

Some poor fool with an axe lied ripped apart at her feet, his blood running against the soles of her boots.  But with her P90 pressed firmly against her shoulder and a round of shots ringing through her ears, Red watched as the last werewolf died.

Now go get to reading the other great stories out there!  :D

~Emily White

More Contests!

You know what's better than one contest?  Two contests!

Shannon Whitney Messenger is having a Mega-Epic-Contest-of-Awesome on her blog where's she's giving away FIVE, that's right FIVE ARCs!  Uh huh!

So if you want to be the early bird owner of Pegusus, by Robin Mckinley, Matched, by Ally Condie, Virals, by Kathy Reichs, The Search for Wondla, by Tony DiTerlizzi, or The Kneebone Boy, by Ellen Potter then go over to Shannon's blog today!

Seriously.  Go now.

It's Fairy Tale Appreciation Month!

First off, I spent a whole of fifteen minutes this morning making this image for the blogfest.  I know, you've never seen such talent, have you?  ;)

Feel free to take it and post on your sidebar to let all the world know about this awesome contest!

Yes, that is a UFO and it shot a fairy.  What can I say, I'm a little sadistic.  You all should know this by now.

And so in honor of my Fairy Tale Blogfest/Contest (which if you haven't signed up, do so now because you just don't want to miss out on these awesome prizes), I'm turning the whole of August into Fairy Tale Appreciation Month!

We all know about popular fairy tales like Cinderella, Snow White, the Frog Prince, etc., but a few years ago I bought Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales, and let me tell you, there are a lot more than the ones we knew growing up!  And so, to help you in your story writing quest, I'm going to share a few you might never have heard of before.

Today's Tale:

The Fisherman and His Wife


A fisherman catches a flounder that actually turns out to be an enchanted prince.  Upon hearing the fish speak, he immediately lets him go.  His wife, however, is very upset and insists her husband should have asked for a wish.  In fact, she concludes she would have liked their little hovel to be turned into a cottage.  The man goes back to the lake and calls for the fish.  When he returns home, the hovel has indeed been turned into a cottage, but the wife is not satisfied.

She instead wants a castle.

The man, though terrified he might anger the fish, listens to his wife and goes back to the lake to ask for another wish.  When he returns home, the castle is waiting for him.

The next day, the wife goes to the fisherman and says she would very much like it if they were King over all the country.  The man had no interest in that at all, so the wife said she would then be King.

So the man went to the lake again, even more terrified than before that he would offend the enchanted prince, but his wife was made King.

Almost immediately, the wife insisted she must be Emperor.  The fisherman said he would NOT go back to the fish and his wife must be happy with what she received already.  But the wife was now King and ordered him to go.

The fisherman called for the fish and his wife was made Emperor.  But still, she was not happy.  Instead, she wanted to be made Pope.  The man went to the fish and his wife was made Pope.  But still, she was not happy.  She tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.  Finally, she rose from her bed and looked out the window and was very put out that she could not order the Sun and the Moon to rise.

The wife ordered her husband to immediately go to the fish and tell him to make her God.

Terrified more than he had ever been, the fisherman concedes to go to the fish.  But when he makes his wife's request this time, the fish tells him he will find his wife in their old hovel.  They had lost everything.

The end!  

Hmm...I've got a few ideas of how that could be twisted into a different genre, but I'll let you guys come up with your own.  :)

Though I'll be sticking to Grimm's fairy tales in my posts, all of you are welcome to use fairy tales from any culture for your story.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what all of you come up with!

Fairy Tale Blogfest/Contest

I took the weekend to ruminate and have finally settled on a great contest.  You guys will be pleased methinks.  And I'm sorry this is so much later than my usual posts, but it takes me a while to figure out computer related things and that linky stuff is a bugger.  It took me a while to find their very helpful and convenient how-to videos.

Without further ado, in celebration of this blog hitting the 100 follower mark (thank you, everyone!), I'm hosting a little blogfest/contest.

Rules:

Write in no more than 1000 words a story based on a fairy tale in a genre OTHER than fantasy.  You can do horror, suspense, sci-fi, thriller, etc. (romance is okay, but you need to add another genre with it, otherwise you'll just end up with a fantasy romance), and the plot has to be closely related to the original tale.  You may have noticed that this little blogfest is also in honor of my particular love of twisting fairy tales (see Hansel and Gretel above).

Example of what I mean:  When Cinderella's dad died, she thought her problems had just begun.  Little did she know her new sisters ate him, and were coming for her!  See?  Cinderella has now become a horror story.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

You don't have to write all the way to 1000 words.  It can be a lot less than that.  In fact, if you want to write a micro-story in less than 50 words, have at it!  It just needs to be a complete tale with beginning, middle, and end and it has to utilize the cross-genre rule.

All entries must be posted on your blog on August 30th.  I will then pick my favorite five, post the links and everyone will have a week to vote.

All contestants MUST sign into the little linky below in order to be eligible for prizes.

Prizes:


Yeah, this is the part you've been waiting for, right?  Admit it, we only ever care about the prizes.  ;)

1st Place:

$100 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble OR Amazon (yeah, think of all the books you could buy with that)

2nd Place:

Need, by Carrie Jones

Blurb from the book and website:

Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.

AND an Iris Votive Holder from Partylite.  It's all stained glass and gorgeous.  I'd post a picture, but I don't want to take it out of the box (I used to sell Partylite, so I'm not regifting or anything).  Trust me, though, it's beautiful and definitely relaxing when you just want to sit and write.  AND three beautifully scented votive candles.

3rd Place:

A character in Hansel and Gretel based on you (first name and all) or if you don't want it to resemble you, he/she can be whatever you want him/her to be.  I'll even let you pick a wacky name.


So that's it!  It's sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?  Don't forget to pass the word along and sign up today! (click the little linky-do below and leave your name and blog address)

Let's Party!!!!!

101, baby!  It's time for a contest!


I just don't know exactly what kind of contest to do.  As the numbers under my followers button has slowly crept up, I've been wracking my brain for ideas.  And those ideas have gone from epic-oh-my-goodness-how-can-I-not-do-that? to slightly-less-epic-but-still-really-cool.  However, that just relates to the prizes!  I still have to figure out the actual contest.

So, my good readers, let me ponder these events and get back to you on Monday with my master plan.  Until then...

Celebrate!



By the way, all my new lovely followers who made this possible, I have something for you.  A big fat welcome!

and treats.

Enjoy!

~Emily White

I've Got Mail!

As I mentioned last week, I was the winner of Justine Dell's awesome Worst One Line Pitch contest. Well, my prizes have come in the mail! I've been using my nifty little bookmark since Friday and my "Love and the Body," by Dave Malone just came today.

Well, I knew I was going to get a signed copy of the book (exciting!), but I didn't know I was going to get a personalized signed copy of the book! That was a nice little surprise!

I, of course, started reading "Love and the Body" and let me tell you, the poems are amazing! Very vivid. I highly suggest it for all you poetry lovers out there.

Though I missed Monday Update because of the holiday, I still want to hold myself accountable to you dear readers. I'm actually quite ahead of schedule. Over the last few days, I've been able to get a chapter done a day. I'm hoping to be able to keep up this momentum. If I can, revisions will be done in two weeks!

Nathan Bransford is having a ROCK PAPER TIGER Chase/Action Writing Contest Extravaganza!! If you have a suitable scene to submit, I suggest you take advantage of the opportunity. I'm thinking of entering a particular scene myself, but I'm finding it hard to stay within the 500 word limit.

Thanks again to Justine and Dave Malone! And good luck to everyone who enters the contest!

~Emily White

Contest, Update, and More!

First and foremost...check out the blogging idol contest going on at The Alliterative Allomorph! You may click the link here, or the one just to the right for your blogging convenience. Critiques galore are being given away, so I suggest you get over there and participate! :)

And because yesterday was Deleted Scene Blogfest Day, I didn't have a chance to update you on Aurumenas. Allow me to do so now...

My children were wonderful to me last week! I was able to actually work while they napped! It was amazing. Normally, they decide that they like to nap at different times of the day, but last week, they were extremely cooperative. As a result, I am well on my way to finishing chapter 8 within the next few days. Luckily, these next few chapters are in Nathadria's pov anyway, so I don't have to do a total rewrite. Just some major tweaking.

On another note, I'm gathering together my betas to read the book in 100 page increments. I find this helps to motivate me to get the next 100 pages done while also allowing me to know what needs to be fixed before I move too far ahead. If it's something major, I don't want to continue down the wrong path for the entire book. I'd rather know up front.

I'm both excited and terrified by this. For reasons I may or may not get into in my About Me posts, it is very difficult for me to put myself out there for people. Blogging is actually a sort of therapy to help me get past this so that I can actually query some day. Yes, I am slightly crazy. *shakes head* :)

And tomorrow I will be giving away awards! Yay! So check in!

~Emily White

News!

Yes, we all love news and I've got a bit to share. First, my copy of The Secret Year arrived yesterday! I'm very excited. Just a reminder for all of you, click here if you're interested in taking part in the discussion on April 29th.

Second, Sarah Wylie is having a fun little contest over at her blog that I think all of you should check out. I mean, only if you're interested in a query critique, partial critique, or lunch with Janet Reid! But I'm not going to pull your arm. ;)

Third, it's Wednesday! And it's beautiful in New York. This just has me excited. I hope all of you are enjoying the warming weather. Don't forget to get outside and enjoy the sun. I know that it's too easy to become homebodies when we're in a writing mood, but fresh air is important. So go and get some! :)

~Emily White

A Little Motivation

Hmm...I was hoping for some more enthusiasm for the book club. I guess I may just have to add some extra incentive. All right, here goes. I understand that for writers such as ourselves, money is often tight and time is basically non-existent, so I'm prepared to hold a little contest. I will give you from today until next Wednesday (the 14th) to send over as many of your followers as possible to commit to reading The Secret Year and participating in the discussion. The person who has sent over the most people (at least 5) will win the book. I'll pay for it and have it shipped to you overnight. As far as time goes, well two weeks is a LONG time to read a book. I'm sure you can get it done in a few days. ;)

Have your followers respond in the comments section of the previous post (here) with your name. Again, they don't need to be followers of this blog to take part. They are certainly welcome to follow, but that is not a prerequisite. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday at 9:00pm (EST), so you have up until 8:00pm that day to get your followers over here.

However, I'll only be awarding the prize if the winner has gotten at least five people to commit. Overnight shipping is expensive, so I've got to make some conditions.

Good luck!

~Emily White

This Just In!

Moonrat over at Editorial Ass is celebrating the fact that her blog has been read 500,000 times by her adoring stalkers, I mean fans. :) Soo... she's hosting a little contest in honor of this momentous achievement. Go over there to read all about it! Do it. Do it now! :)