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It’s Giveaway Time! Teen Read Week is Here!


Congratulations on joining us for Teen Read Week. This year the theme is “Seek the Unknown”, so what better place is there to be than smack dab in the middle of the horror genre? From cosmic horror to creatures of the night, the horror genre is filled with unknowns.

Today, we’re having a giveaway! David Lubar, best known for his “Weenies” books for children, has crossed over to the dark side of YA     fiction after many years of struggle, as he documented here (link). I wrote about this essay a while back (link)  and the good folks from Tor Teen contacted me and asked me if I would like for them to provide a copy of his new book for review or set up a giveaway. The answer, of course, was “YES!”  They’ve probably been tapping their toes waiting for the review, but that will go up later today, and in the meantime, WE HAVE A GIVEAWAY!

The book is called Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge and it has really amazing cover art and excellent, creepy, interior artwork. And it also has thirteen chilling tales inside the covers. For a teen who’s just growing into the genre and maybe ready to move a little past the Scary Stories books, this is a perfect choice. So let’s give teens the gift of reading horror! All Hallows’ Read is just around the corner.

All this can be yours if you comment and tell me your favorite scary book.  People don’t seem to comment here often, and if they did, maybe I’d hold more giveaways. It’s really not that hard, folks. You’re already sitting at the keyboard (or touch screen, whatever) so just do it. Let me give this book away!

 

Happy Teen Read Week!

 

 

Giveaway: The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin


The Darkening Dream, a dark fantasy  by Andy Gavin, which we recently reviewed here, is currently available for 99 cents as a Kindle ebook from June 25-29. Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon here, or read the first two sample chapters here first, if you’re feeling shy.

In addition to writing an excellent novel, Andy Gavin is the creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. Look for a guest post from him in the near future!

Andy is doing a big giveaway, including a $100 gift certificate to Amazon, signed copies of his books, video games, posters, and more!

Tweet, like, follow, share, blog and grab a copy of his book to enter.

The Darkening Dream Rafflecopter Giveaway

 

Our review of The Darkening Dream:

In his sinister fantasy novel, Andy Gavin introduces a new horror to grip the town of Salem, Massachusetts during the early 1900’s; vampires. Gavin envelops the reader with his spell-binding imagery fashioning a narrative that will send chills to your very soul.

Sarah Engelmann is pious, devout, and spiritual. She leads a life of sincerity, and this dedication leaves no room for imaginary creatures.  Her life is turned upside down when she finds a young man who has been grotesquely murdered. Sarah receives visions of bloody trees and hears the haunting voice of a long dead woman as secrets from the past begin to arise. Sarah, along with her best friends, and her growing romantic interest, soon become wrapped in a 900 -year old fight in which her very life and soul are dependent.

A blood sacrifice and a battle with the Almighty’s Angel to uncover a most precious treasure lead  the four friends, a sadistic vampire, an immortal sorcerer, and a Puritan warlock on a race.  “Nothing’s ever free…” rings in Sarah’s ears as steadily as the Angel’s holy trumpet sounds, signifying millennium old secrets and visions of a wolf, a beetle, a ram and a vampire that haunt her mind day and night. Her father’s wisdom and teachings, passed down to her, enhance her knowledge of what she is to protect. By combining her faith and intelligence, Sarah attempts to conquer what others had only dreamed of doing.

Secrets are abundant and obstacles appear in as one of Sarah’s friends becomes possessed by witchcraft. It takes all of Sarah’s willpower and faith to break the curse that binds her friend to a demon determined to use her soul for his own bidding. As more deaths occur, and protective forces around Sarah fail, blood starts to flow, opening the entrance to God’s realm. From the ashes, a new Sarah emerges.

Gavin’s horrific novel blends the Puritan faith, magic, horror and a bit of romance together, producing an ominous tale in which one girl’s actions could mean life or death for so many she loves.

Review by Dave Simms

 

 

 

Halloween Books, Continued

Lucy, a librarian who read my last post, pointed me to another list of new and not-so-scary books to share at storytime by Nora Rawlinson at EarlyWord, a collection development and readers advisory blog that collects reviews, bestseller lists, and much more in one place. Very nice! These are also mostly current books, although she also listed a couple of her own favorites. It was fun to see Pamela Jane’s Little Goblins Ten on her list- a very cute book that we just received here- and a brand new easy reader. The lack of “scary” easy readers is a frustration of mine. There’s nothing wrong with Biscuit or Henry and Mudge– these are both series a lot of kids love-, but some kids just aren’t motivated by the typical easy readers. They want the spooky stuff. I’ve noticed a few more titles like this recently, and am glad to see that this is changing.

In other news, I was pointed toward a blog called A Book-lovers’ Review, which is holding a contest that looks like a lot of fun, if you like either YA or adult paranormal fiction. It’s called “Trick or Treat Spook-tacular”, and there is a giveaway of a selection of titles, many of them signed, every day until October 31. In the interests of full disclosure, I haven’t encountered this one before and don’t know much about it. According to the reviewer, she includes information about content in her reviews, which could be useful, but this is definitely not a professional review site. Still, the contest looks really cool! I wish I knew how she managed to collect all these signed books, because I’d love to do this kind of giveway for you all right here!!

Enjoy!