The countdown begins!

In less than one week, the final installment in the Dispossessed series will release into the world!
My blog tour is getting underway, with interviews, guest posts, and reviews on some of my favorite book blogs. I'm giving away a signed copy of each book in the trilogy, so be sure to check out the tour and enter to win.

It feels like I've been hearing a bunch of bad news about series being cancelled lately, and I can't help but feel extremely lucky to have had all three books published as planned, even though they haven't been bestsellers. The series has gained a steady readership through word of mouth and I can't thank all the readers and reviewers out there enough for sharing their love for these books! Every review, every social media mention, every email you've sent me has made a huge difference for me and the books, so THANK YOU!

I've spent the morning making some Wondrous Wicked quote memes and plan to share them over the next few days. Please take a moment to share them on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, your blog…anywhere you can! Visibility is a new book's best friend :-)

You're all the best!

YASH Scavenger Hunt! Team Teal

Hello, YASH Scavenger Hunters! I'm so excited to be part of the hunt again, and this time, on a shiny new team color!

If you're new to YASH or want in on the fun and prizes, visit HERE for all the information you need to get started!

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE RULES Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on Team Teal, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by April 5, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

I’m hosting author Courtney Alameda, author of SHUTTER. Hi, Courtney! 

About Courtney:

Courtney Alameda has spent her entire career trying to con and cajole people into reading great books. A veteran bookseller and librarian, Courtney now spends her days writing thriller and horror novels for young people. Her debut novel, SHUTTER, was hailed as a "standout in the genre . . . [and] sure to please thriller fans" by School Library Journal. Her forthcoming novel, PITCH DARK (Fall 2016), is a genre-blending science fiction/horror novel in the vein of Ridley Scott's 1979 film ALIEN.

Courtney holds a B.A. in English Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Brigham Young University. She is represented by the talented John M. Cusick of Greenhouse Literary. A Northern California native, she now resides in Utah with a legion of books and a five pound cat who possesses a giant personality.

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About SHUTTER:

Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat—a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.

When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before . . . or die trying.

Lock, stock, and lens, she’s in for one hell of a week.

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SHUTTER sounds awesome and I love that cover. Now for Courtney’s BONUS CONTENT—it’s truly hilarious. In this link, Courtney tries Vegemite for the first time and captures it on camera!

VIEW IT HERE BECAUSE I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO EMBED A VIDEO! LOL.

I have to agree with you, Courtney. I’ve tried Vegemite before and I think my eyes watered too! I think the Aussies can find at least 26 things to put Vegemite on, but thank you so much for reminding me to never try it again! 

For more about Courtney, check out her website and Tumblr, and order SHUTTER for yourselves here! 

ALSO, dear Hunters, I'm giving away a personalized and signed copy of THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE CURSED! Leave a comment here and either follow me on Twitter or Google+! Let me know if you've already read TB&TC!! If you end up winning and want either THE LOVELY AND THE LOST or THE WONDROUS AND THE WICKED, I'll send you one of those instead! 

Now, Hunters, it’s time to travel on to the always awesome, Amy Plum! 

Best Mail Day!

Look at these beauties!

Spain's NOCHE OSCURA EN PARIS (A Dark Night in Paris, I think?) and Germany's GROTESQUE (they kept the original title!) are soooo pretty. I also now have a few copies of The Lovely and Lost compliments of Listening Library. What do you think?? That orange hair is something, but just like the UK covers, these covers capture the dark and dangerous elements of the series better I think.

A giveaway is coming up! Tell your German and Spanish blogging friends!

And the winners are….

Congratulations to Jessica at A Great Read! You've won the signed ARC of THE WONDROUS AND THE WICKED!!

And for that extra surprise giveaway for those of you who also Tweeted with #WinWondrousWicked, congratulations to Kristen at My Friends Are Fiction! I hope you enjoy collecting different editions of books because…the surprise giveaway(s) are the UK paperback editions of The Beautiful & the Cursed and The Lovely & the Lost!

…which I actually think captures the tone of the series a bit better. What do you think?

Thank you to EVERYONE who entered to win and for all your kind comments. I'm love hearing that so many of you have enjoyed the series so far and are eagerly anticipating the third novel!

ARC giveaway for THE WONDROUS AND THE WICKED!

It's 2015! That means in just a few short months The Wondrous and the Wicked, the final book in The Dispossessed series will be hitting shelves!

I'm excited to get this final installment out there for those of you who have read and loved The Beautiful and the Cursed and The Lovely and the Lost! 

I'm also excited to hear from new readers who've been waiting for the full trilogy to be available before they tuck in to my world of shape shifting gargoyles and demon hunters in shadowy Paris :-) 

To celebrate, I'm hosting my first ARC giveaway! The rules are simple: 

1.) Leave a comment here on this blog post to enter to win the signed ARC

2.) On Twitter and/or Facebook, link this blog post using #WinWondrousWicked to also enter to win a surprise giveaway item (it'll be good. Promise!)


And that's it! The contest runs through Thurs., Jan. 8 at midnight. Thanks everyone! 

#SundayFundayNovel Update

A few months ago I had this fun idea: to start a project that I work on only on Sundays. A Sunday Novel. My goal? To write fast and free, without edit, and only for me. To write like I’m the only one who’s ever going to read it.

It’s been 12 Sundays, and here’s how things are progressing:

1.)   I’ve only missed one Sunday.

2.)  I’ve written 21,000 words. That means at least 1,750 words per Sunday.

3.)  I spend 1 to 2 hours writing each time.

4.)  Which means I’m writing WAY faster than I usually do. About twice as fast.

5.)  And most importantly: I’m having SO MUCH FUN.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun with a project. You know how it feels when you start reading a book and you love it and you can’t wait until you can sit down and read another chapter? That’s the feeling. I look forward to every Sunday writing session.

I can do whatever I want with this story. It’s mine. Yes, I’m published and I’m planning on publishing more novels, but this one is just for me. If it turns out to be for you too, then great. But right now it’s mine and I’m have a great time with it.

If you want to start a #SundayFundayNovel, connect with meon Twitter! 

I kill people for a living--but I didn't kill the YA Scream Queens!

Who me, kill a YA Scream Queen? 

Oh, please. If I was going to kill someone, don’t you think I would be capable of planning the deed so I wouldn’t be implicated? I’m a writer, for heaven’s sake—I kill off characters all the time.

Now, if I was going to kill someone I’d make sure to have a solid alibi. Have I mentioned that I’ve been at Disney—the happiest place on EARTH—for the last week? Every single Disney princess can vouch for me. I think I still have glitter in my hair.

I’d also never do the actual deed myself. Leave possible traces of my own DNA evidence behind at the scene for some plucky CSI detective to find? Hello…I’m not an amateur here.

That leads us to the, ahem, for-hire specialist. If I wanted to permanently silence someone, I would most definitely make sure I employed someone who would be meticulous and--best of all--quiet about their chosen profession. Think along the lines of The Transporter. And if that makes you think of Jason Statham, well, that’s never hurt anyone, right?

So in short, to be accused of killing a YA Scream Queen is just plain insulting. I do hope they find the real killers. Then again, if someone like me planned their murders, it’s highly unlikely.