Nightmare Garden Giant Giveaway!
THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! WINNER WILL BE POSTED THURSDAY, 1/19!
It’s that time again! Time for me to give away some books, and make three of you very happy!
That’s right, I have three prize packs, but since they’re not just my books, I’m going to make you work for them!
See, the Iron Codex books are a combination of a bunch of fantastic genres, so I’m going to give away three sets of books, each representing a different type of story I pulled from. In addition to a copy each of The Iron Thorn and The Nightmare Garden, I’ll be including two books (and in one case three) from some of my favorite authors!
Prize Pack 1: Unearthly Creatures The Iron Codex is full of cosmic entities like the Old Ones, but it also has its fair share of scary, spooky and just plain monstrous creatures. In addition to copies of both Iron Codex novels, this prize pack will contain all three of Carrie Ryan’s zombie books: The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places.
Prize Pack 2: Steampunk! The world of the Iron Codex is full of steam-powered contraptions and fantastical machines. The world of steampunk is one of rusty rivets and high-flying zeppelins, so this prize pack will contain both Iron Codex novels plus the first two Infernal Devices novels by Cassandra Clare: Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince.
Prize Pack 3: Shadowy Secrets Aoife Grayson’s family has some dark secrets, many of which come to light in Nightmare Garden. Because dark family secrets, especially of a paranormal nature, make for a great read, this prize pack will include both Iron Codex novels plus the first two Curse Workers novels by Holly Black: White Cat and Red Glove.
All fired up to win? Great! Here are the rules:
- Contest closes Sunday, January 16th at midnight
- One entry per person (see below how to gain additional entries)
- Prize packs will be distributed randomly once three winners are chosen
- Winners will be picked using random.org
- Comments MUST be on my WordPress blog (if you’re reading on LiveJournal click through via the link at the bottom)
- Contest open globally-no shipping restrictions
PLEASE NOTE: One of the prizes is a finished copy of The Nightmare Garden, which will be released on 2/14/2012. That means that NO PRIZES WILL SHIP BEFORE 2/15. But I hope you’ll think the prizes are worth waiting for.
How to enter:
Below, you’ll find an exclusive excerpt of The Nightmare Garden. (Never before seen, and not included in the chapter sampler at Random Buzzers.) To enter, simply comment here telling me what you’re most excited about reading in The Nightmare Garden (or how you’re excited to read the series for the first time.)
How to gain additional entries:
YOU MUST TELL ME WHAT YOU’VE DONE IN YOUR COMMENT ON *THIS BLOG* and link to your own blog if you’ve posted the excerpt, video or other options, otherwise I have no way of knowing how much extra work you’re doing to win!
- Post the body of the excerpt on your own blog with sales links +15
- Tweet about The Nightmare Garden or Iron Thorn to your followers +5 (no link)
- Facebook post about The Nightmare Garden or Iron Thorn +5 (no link)
- Link back to this entry on your own blog, Twitter or Facebook +10
- Retweet my contest tweet +5 (http://twitter.com/caitkitt)
- Preorder The Iron Thorn paperback edition or The Nightmare Garden hardback +20
- Preorder both books +40
- Ask your local library to order The Nightmare Garden, The Iron Thorn or both: +10 (and I trust none of my lovely readers would lie!)
- Post a video or blog about why you’re excited for the Iron Codex book (Let’s say more than 100 words to differentiate from link posts)(again, on the honor system y’all!) +15
- Vote The Iron Thorn through in the 2011 YA Book Genre Battle +10 (Click the link and scroll to “Dystopia”) Prelim voting is closed! Thanks everyone!
And here’s the excerpt (with preorder links) for your reading pleasure:
Before me stood a figure twice as tall as I, only a shadow, smooth and without feature. I stayed still, unsure of my footing in the dream. I always felt only vaguely attached to my dream-body, as if my mind were floating free in the void of outer space and my body were waiting back on Earth.
Behind the figure, a great gear rose, half of it above the platform on which we stood. Above us, a hundred skies turned by, sunrises and sunsets, skylines and the blackness of space. And in those skies things twisted and writhed, great tentacles of darkness coming down to merge and mingle with the shadow figure before me.
I found I could speak, which wasn’t always the case in these madness dreams-for that was surely what this was, brought on by the iron of Windhaven. “Where am I?”
The figure stared back impassively. I knew he was staring, despite his lack of eyes or any features at all. I could feel his gaze, hot and penetrating. Beyond him, beyond the gear and the platform, the skies spun faster. They were more than skies now-it was as if we were inside a giant dome, and lantern reels in the thousands and millions were projected onto the glass sides.
“Where am I?” I asked again.
The figure reached out a hand. It was fathomless, black smoke in the shape of a human thing, and I felt cold emanate from the shadow as it drew closer to me. The tentacles writhed faster, lashing, and from all around us came a great moaning, which vibrated the dome to its core and came up through my feet into my bones.
“Who are you?” the figure hissed. “Why did you come here?”
“You tell me,” I whispered, my lips barely able to move from the frozen air of the dream and my own fear. This felt too strong, too real, to be purely a result of the iron around me. The madness was getting worse. I was starting to believe my own dreams. I dug my fingers into my palms, but in this dream place, I felt no pain. That didn’t soothe my worries any.
“I don’t know where here is,” I said. The great gear behind the figure began to turn, and as it did the tentacles retreated, the black figures floating in the skies shrinking away. In my ears, and through the dome, a thousand screams echoed.
“You shouldn’t be here,” the figure told me. “This isn’t your dream. This isn’t a dream at all.”
Then, as if I’d fallen from a great height, I snapped awake.
Preorder links! (You must include these for your entry to count if you’re reblogging the excerpt.)
The Nightmare Garden
The Iron Thorn (paperback edition)
That’s it! Thanks, everyone, and happy contesting!