YAY 4 YA: Winners

I had a great time last week taking part in my first blog tour ever. Thanks to all of the awesome blogs who hosted me for allowing me to introduce The Chosen Ones to the world. Also, thanks to all of you who commented and shared your love of YA lit in the comments section. You guys rock. And now for the winners…

Winners of the signed Mortal Instruments poster and e-book of The Chosen Ones:

@StephLikesBooks @Mont4_A. and rhapsodyinbooks

Winners of the signed Mortal Instruments poster AND signed arc and poster for The Chosen Ones:

@MTGReviews and @ravenamo

Please DM me on Twitter or send your addys to tiftruitt@gmail.com to receive your prizes.

YAY 4 YA Day 5: 19th Cent Influences

Today is day 5 of YAY 4 YA, and I am blogging over at The Readiacs about The Chosen Ones 19^th century influences. If you stop by, you’ll be able to read an excerpt from the novel itself, which hits stores on June 12^th.

And don’t forget, today’s another day you can enter to win a slew of prizes:

You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

Today’s Question: What is your favorite classic novel?

Tomorrow will be your last chance to enter the contest. Stop by the blog to catch a recap of the week’s events and enter your name again into the drawing!!

YAY 4 YA Day 4: If You Like….You Might Like The Chosen Ones

Sorry for the late post, but one of my great friends just got engaged and we celebrated last night with a baseball game. Shame on me I know. Today, I have the great pleasure of spending day 4 of YAY 4 YA at the incredible Mundie Moms. I had the pleasure of working with them in conjunction with YALITCHAT, and they are made of awesome sauce.

Today’s blog topic? If You Like…You Might Like The Chosen Ones. I explore other YA series that share similar themes and conflicts as The Chosen Ones.

Now…without any more of a wait…today’s question. And, of course, you do remember how to win super cool prizes, right? If not, here is a reminder:

You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

Today’s Question: What is your favorite YA series and why?

And now…another excerpt from The Chosen Ones

The crowd was vibrating with excitement. They were like rabid dogs waiting to sink their teeth into something, waiting to spread their infection. I demanded my eyes open and I saw George and James both on their feet, George’s hands wrapped around James’s neck. Each boy’s face was now blood-red, sweat covering their brows.

Wasn’t someone going to stop this? It was too much; it had gone too far. Some of the girls watched with dread, but none dared speak up. Much to my horror, a few of them looked like they were enjoying it. Because they were fascinated by the way the boys’ bodies moved, or because they were happy to watch our oppressors tear each other to shreds? Of course they didn’t know James was mine and I was his.

It was then I realized that I was walking closer, my body leading me right to the center of the circle.

“Stop!” I screamed.

James’s head snapped in my direction at that moment. That was all it took—one simple distraction. George grabbed onto James’s arm and twisted it, and my ears were filled with a sickening snap. James fell to the floor in pain; I could hear him moaning. George backed away, his hands held up in surrender. “I give in,” he yelled to the crowd.

It was my fault. I had distracted him, had set him up. It was all happening too quickly now. My ears were buzzing. Before I could move to help James, he pulled himself to his feet with a grunt. Something passed before his eyes that I had only seen once before—on the videos of the first chosen one killing the prisoners of war. Any sense of humanity that existed in him had slipped away.

James pulled his good arm back and let it fly. Even the other chosen ones gasped at the strength and determination he exhibited. He kept hitting and hitting and hitting. George crumpled to the floor, and still James didn’t stop.

The James I knew had been replaced with the war machine the council had intended him to be.

And the blood was everywhere. All I could see was how much the substance had tainted my life. Would violence always find me? Of course it would.

If the boy I loved more than anyone else could become a monster, what hope did I have?

 

YAY 4 YA Day 3: Chosen Ones Playlist

Woo hoo!! Day 3 of YAY 4 YA is here. Today it’s all about music at my blog tour stop at the super  Hypable . I heart music. It was a great inspiration for my novel, and I’ve already signed up for two music festivals this summer. Double Yay.

But I know what you’re really here for…what you’ve been waiting for…..your chance to win some super cool prizes. In case you have forgotten, here is a brief recap on what you can win and how you can win it:

You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

Today’s question: If you could pick a song to represent your favorite YA book, what would it be?

YAY 4 YA Day 2: Chosen Ones Reviews

Today marks day 2 of YAY 4 YA  I want to thank Novel Novice again for their wonderful write-up, and for the opportunity to share my first stop on the blog tour with one of my favorite blogs around.

My second stop on the tour takes me to Girls in the Stacks. I really love reading their reviews. Head on over there for the first look at the earliest reviews for The Chosen Ones.

Now…what you’ve been waiting for…..your chance to win some super cool prizes. In case you have forgotten, here is a brief recap on what you can win and how you can win it:

You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

Today’s question – Write a 5 sentence review of the last YA book you read.

Check back tomorrow for another opportunity to enter your name in the drawing. The YAY 4 YA tour is as follows:

Monday, April 23rd Novel Novice

Tuesday, April 24th Girls in the Stacks

Wednesday, April 25th Hypable

Thursday, April 26th Mundie Moms

Friday, April 27th The Readiacs

And now a sneak peek at The Chosen Ones (Available for Pre-order now at Barnes and Noble and Amazon and in-stores on June 12th)

The room was a mixture of browns and greens, marble floors and wood. Rows and rows of books covered the walls. A leather couch with giant olive green pillows sat next to the end table. And then I saw it. I went still.

A piano.

My aching fingers grazed the keys, and then I quickly pulled my hands back from the slick coldness. I considered touching it again. It might help to block out thoughts of the many things I had lost. It would be like medicine.

I gently, hesitantly, pushed down a key. It quivered slightly under my touch. The hair on the back of my neck shot up, and my skin tingled. I imagined this was what it felt like to fall in love. In that moment, I was ready to fall.

I repeated the same movements over and over again, playing the only song I could recall. The song my father had taught me. How long had I been here? I couldn’t tell. Somewhere in the middle of my dark euphoria, I heard it, a quiet, intruding noise that stirred my senses from their hypnotized state and made me freeze in place. I had trained my instincts to be sharp. Never as sharp as a chosen one’s, but useful all the same.

Someone, or something, had cleared his throat.

I was aware of him behind me. I could hear him breathing. From that noise, I tried to determine my fate. Did it sound angry? Disgusted? I couldn’t move as I heard the noise of steps getting closer. I knew I wouldn’t be able to escape—not because my body wouldn’t work. Not because I wasn’t brave enough to make a run for it. I couldn’t leave the piano.

That was when I saw him. It was the chosen one from my branding. Not the one who held me down as the iron burned into my skin.

This was the one who was beautiful.

YAY 4 YA Day 1: Meet the Characters

Today is the day—-the start of my first blog tour as a soon to be published author. I am thrilled to share with the YA community a week- long event where readers can get to know more about my debut novel, The Chosen Ones, while also taking part in some great discussions about YA lit itself.

Today’s YAY 4 YA topic is Character. Head on over to Novel Novice to meet the characters of The Chosen Ones. Scroll down to the comments section on this post to answer the following question about today’s topic:

Who are some of your favorite characters in YA lit? What makes them stand apart from the slew of Young Adult characters out there today?

So how do you win again? You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

The blog tour runs all week:

Monday, April 23rd   Novel Novice

Tuesday, April 24th    Girls in the Stacks

Wednesday, April 25th    Hypable

Thursday, April 26th    Mundie Moms

Friday, April 27th   The Readiacs

And now a sneak peek at The Chosen Ones (Available for Pre-order now at Barnes and Noble and Amazon and in-stores on June 12th)

Built in the mixed styles of Jacobson and Victorian architecture, Templeton was a monument to what the council sought for our war-torn country—a return to supremacy. The large estate was built of brick and stone, the inside filled with works of art and period furniture ravaged from museums left penniless when funds were redirected to war programs. Everything in the mansion was a statement of purity, including the glaringly white walls and floors. Combined with the pastel-colored adornments, it was a reminder to all naturals, who themselves lived in glorified prisons, of what we once were. Nothing could appear too modern in the home of the very things that defined our modern age.

It was the picture of deception.

I would have to pretend I didn’t notice the imbalance of it all. The council watched my people lose their homes, move to shanty towns and tent cities, before finally being rounded up to live in barely hospitable compounds that were mostly renovated abandoned buildings—somehow having survived through the bombings.

But nothing came free. We would have to pay dearly to feel so protected.

We were supposed to be thankful to have a training center located in our sector. There were only three total in the whole of the Western lands, and because our sector lay close to the borders that separated us from the Middlelands, we were honored with a whole young army of genetically engineered superhumans.

My time at Templeton would be spent making sure the training chosen ones had everything they needed. I would stand silent as I watched them learn physical combat. I would clean out the trash from classrooms where the teacher preached on about the evils and wantonness of the naturals. I would scrub floors as the chosen ones wandered aimlessly among the bountiful grounds of Templeton, while my people were confined in the compound. I would wash dishes as the chosen ones wished for the day when they would no longer have to keep watch over the naturals. I would fold laundry as those above us lavished in their life of decadence, while my people struggled to mend our hand-me-down uniforms.

At least that’s how I expected to spend my days. Instead, I met with something very different…

YAY 4 YA – Chosen Ones Blog Tour

I am so excited to announce that starting tomorrow a week of awesomeness begins. Monday  marks the beginning of YAY 4 YA, my first official blog tour as an author. Eeek.  And if getting to visit some of the coolest YA blogs around wasn’t fun enough, I will be giving away some super rad book swag as well as offering some cool sneak peeks and insights into my debut novel, The Chosen Ones, which will be in stores on June 12th.

My blog tour is as follows:

Monday, April 23rd   Novel Novice

Tuesday, April 24th    Girls in the Stacks

Wednesday, April 25th    Hypable

Thursday, April 26th    Mundie Moms

Friday, April 27th    The Readiacs

After you read about The Chosen Ones on your favorite YA blog, stop by my blog to read more general information about the day’s topic and a chance to win some cool prizes. All you have to do is answer the discussion question in the comments section to be entered. But that’s not the only way you can up your chances of winning some book swag. Follow me on twitter or like me on Facebook, and your name will get added to the mix again.

At the conclusion of YAY 4 YA, I will be picking 5 winners at random to win the following:

2 winners will receive: a signed Chosen Ones poster, a signed Chosen Ones arc, AND a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare

3 additional winners will win: a signed Mortal Instruments poster by Cassandra Clare and an e-book version of The Chosen Ones

So how do you win again? You will be entered one time for each of the following: leaving a comment, following me on twitter (make sure you tell me in the comments section that you followed), and liking my Facebook page.

Big, BIG News!!

A year ago, my life wasn’t exactly what I wanted it to be. I made some grown-up scary decisions, and the following months have been difficult but enlightening. It’s strange how the most challenging things I’ve ever gone through and the most exciting have all seemed to fall within the same time span.

But I guess that’s life right?

I’ve learned a lot about people as a result…and a lot about myself. I learned I wouldn’t let life pass me by. If I was unhappy, I needed to do everything I could to change it.  I wouldn’t wait for life to just happen. I would go after what I want. I would do this even when the act of doing so might mean I would fail.

I queried agents for almost two years. Hoping that one day my dream of becoming an author would come true. And when it didn’t happen…and damn did I have some heartbreak along the way…I didn’t give up. I took a chance and signed with a small publisher (still thanking GOD they took a chance on me), and I have already experienced so much joy from working with Entangled Publishing. It’s crazy to think my debut novel will be in Barnes and Nobles across the country this June.

Still I didn’t wait.

I am so THRILLED to announce I have signed with literary agent, Kevan Lyon. We will be working together to revise and submit my YA / Contemp novel to publishers over the next couple months. I have been blessed to have the most supportive family, friends, editor, publicist, and now agent to help me on this journey. Just yesterday, my friends and family helped spread the word about a special discount on The Chosen Ones from Barnes and Noble, and my sales rank went from 100k plus to 180.

So, I’ll keep on keepin on. I won’t settle for less than I want.

and because the novel plays a small part in my YA / Contemp…and I’ve been watching a ton of Mad Men:

And so the next chapter begins….

It’s Time – YA Scavenger Hunt

 YA Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive TWENTY signed books, one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are THREE contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter all three! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM–but there is also a red team and a yellow team. You can enter all three contests–which has a total prize bucket of SIXTY signed books!
If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Hidden within my post is a single letter that is blue. Make a note of that letter! It’s a part of a scrambled phrase. When you go to all the author sites of the blue team, you’ll have all the letters you need to enter the contest.

Entry Form: Once you piece together all the clues to the hunt, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the completed phrase 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 1st, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct puzzle code or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

 Today, I am hosting Gina Linko on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Gina Linko holds a master’s degree in creative writing from DePaul University in Chicago, and she lives outside the city with her husband and three kids. She teaches college writing, is addicted to Words With Friends, and is an eternal optimist, i.e. roots for the Cubs.

Find out more information by checking out the author website or find more about the author’s book here!

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

 

My breath came in fits and starts. And I was gone, in a flash, back to the loop. Back to my other…my other me… my other places. My other times.

All Emery Land wants is to be like any other seventeen year old—to go to school, hang out with her friends, and just be normal.  But for as long as she can remember, she’s suffered from something akin to seizures. And in recent years they’ve consumed her life. To Emery they’re much more than seizures, she calls them loops—moments when she travels through wormholes back and forth in time and to mysterious places. The loops are taking their toll on her physically. So she practically lives in the hospital where her scientist father and an ever-growing team of doctors monitor her every move. Although they don’t believe her claims of time travel, the doctors are extremely interested in the data they collect when Emery seizes – too interested.  What is it they think she is capable of?  Is she tapping into never-before-used parts of the brain?   Is this clairvoyance of some sort? Telepathy?  Or something else completely? When Emery encounters a young boy—a guide of sorts who offers cryptic warnings—she intuitively knows she must decipher his clues to uncover what is really happening to her. Escaping from the hospital, she tRavels to Esperanza, the town from her loops in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she meets a guarded and mysterious good Samaritan, Asher Clarke. A series of coincidences draw them together, and Emery quickly realizes that their individual mysteries – their singular secrets — might not be so separate after all.  With time running out for Emery, they must unravel their complicated connection before it’s too late.

In her gorgeously crafted page-turning debut, Gina Linko offers readers a stunning blend of science fiction and romance.

Click on the link for a sneak peek at Chapter 1: Bonus Material FLUTTER

Next stop on the blog: Erica O’Rourke 

YA Scavenger Hunt

I am so excited to announce that I will be taking part in a super cool YA event. This year I will be partipating in the amazing YA Scavenger Hunt. Not only will it be a great chance for me to pimp The Chosen Ones, but it will also be a great opprtunity for YA fans to win some super cool prizes.

Ready to see the  lineup of the Spring Scavenger Hunt?  This year it will be bigger and badder than ever before with 60 count ‘em 60 YA authors! With fabulous prizes around every corner you DO NOT want to miss this!

Below is your sneak preview of the authors and the books they will be featuring on the hunt.

JUS ACCARDO

AMBER ARGYLE

LISA T. BERGREN

LISA BURSTEIN

SOFIE COUCH

KIMBERLY DERTING

LAURA A.H. ELLIOTT

CHRISTINE FONSECA

ABBI GLINES

CYNTHIA HAND

KAREN AMANDA HOOPER

S.R. JOHANNES

GINA LINKO

GRETCHEN MCNEIL

MIKE MULLIN

ERICA O’ROURKE

JOY PREBLE

JESSICA SHIRVINGTON

TIFFANY TRUITT

DEBBIE VIGUIE

ANN AGUIRRE

JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT

LEAH BOBET

TERA LYNN CHILDS

WILLOW CROSS

DJ DESMYTER

LEIGH FALLON

TARA FULLER

JANET GURTLER

CINDY HOGAN

COLLEEN HOUCK

ELANA JOHNSON

JAMIE MANNING

CLAIRE MERLE

S.L. NAEOLE

GREGG OLSEN

LISA & LAURA ROECKER

JERI SMITH-READY

CAT KALEN

LANI WOODLAND

JOSEPHINE ANGELINI

BRODI ASHTON

CK BRYANT

ANGELA CORBETT

GINA DAMICO

BREE DESPAIN

BETH FANTASKEY

MARLEY GIBSON

RAE HACHTON

NANCY HOLDER

TARA HUDSON

SUZANNE LAZEAR

MYRA MCENTIRE

ALEXANDRA MONIR

LISA NOWAK

AMY PLUM

INARA SCOTT

TISH THAWER

MAGAN VERNON

RASHELLE WORKMAN

Author Beth Revis has created a website just for our Scavenger Hunts! Click here to be redirected there. Because we have so many authors this time we are breaking into three groups. We have BLUE TEAM, RED TEAM, and YELLOW TEAM!

Each group is made up of 20 authors and I am on

TEAM BLUE

This means that a sneak peak of The Chosen Ones will be found on the blue team. If you get lost on the hunt simply return to the hunt website and pick up where you left off. While you check out the website, don’t forget to vote on the polls, follow the site, and check out all the prizes. You can even tweet from there too!