Monday, April 1, 2019

Young Adult Scavenger Hunt (YASH) Spring 2019

Hi! I'm Emily Kazmierski, your hostess for this leg of the Young Adult Scavenger Hunt.


(I didn't plan the fact that I'm on the blue team 
and am wearing a blue shirt in my photo, but there it is!)

Some Fun Facts About  Me:

I am a shameless, lifelong fan of Harrison Ford. If he's in a movie, I am game. 

I set my Goodreads challenge to 80 books for the year, but I've already read 50, so I may need to up my goal. 

When I'm not reading or writing, I can be found in my kitchen experimenting with new recipes for homemade ice cream. Some of my favorite flavors are cookies and cream with a peanut butter swirl, white chocolate buttermint, and dark chocolate raspberry.

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You're currently hunting on Team Blue


If you're looking for my bonus content, keep looking! Somewhere on this blog hop you'll find The ORIGINAL opening scene to my Ivory Tower Spies series. Spoilers abound, so watch out! 

But let's get the rules out of the way, shall we?

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Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. 

Hint: It's highlighted in blue.

Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the blue team, 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 Sunday, April 7th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.


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Now that we've gotten all of that out of the way, here's the fun part! For this hunt, I'm thrilled to be hosting Amber Duell. 

About Amber:

Amber R. Duell was born and raised in a small town in Central New York. While it will always be home, she’s constantly moving with her husband and two sons as a military wife. When not reading or writing, she enjoys snowboarding, embroidering, and snuggling with her cat.

She's showcasing her book: 



About the book:

The Sandman is seventeen-year-old Nora’s closest friend and best-kept secret. He has to be, if she doesn’t want a one-way ticket back to the psychiatrist. It took her too long to learn not to mention the hooded figure in her dreams to her mother, who still watches Nora as if she’ll crack. So when Nora’s friends start mysteriously dying gruesome deaths in their sleep, she isn’t altogether surprised when the police direct their suspicion at her. The Sandman is the only one she can turn to for answers. But the truth might be more than she bargained for…

Are you ready for bonus material? Here it is!

Author’s note:
This is the beginning of the original 1st draft of DREAM KEEPER. It’s super rough, but you can see the transformation Nora’s first chapter went through. The scene is completely different in the novel now and happens during chapter 2. :)

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CHAPTER ONE—Nora’s POV—1ST DRAFT VERSION

Twelve thirty-two.
The clock on the dashboard glowed green, the colon blinking in a slow, torturous rhythm. I cursed my mother for telling me to stay out as long as I wanted. Saturday nights were usually reserved for hunkering down in a comfortable pair of pajamas, and binge watching whatever television series looked interesting until I fell asleep. That was what really mattered—the sleeping—because that’s where he was.
The Sandman was my closest friend and my best kept secret. He had to be if I didn’t want to lose him. My mother meant well, but I couldn’t face a lifetime of pill-pushing psychiatrists. One white-haired doctor tossing around words like personality disorder and delusional was enough.
By the time the final doctor deemed the Sandman a simple outlet for me to process my parents’ divorce, the damage was done.
Don’t worry about it, he said.
It will pass, he said.
That was five years ago. The divorce was a distant memory. My father moved across the country and my mother remarried, but the Sandman, real or not, became a permanent fixture. One I never, ever talked about.
Natalie jabbed a button on the dashboard. The radio cut off, silencing the rattling bass, and I tore my eyes away from the clock.
“What do you want to do when I get back from California next week?” she asked.
“Whatever you want to do.”


Next week didn’t matter as much as the next five minutes did. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, and willed the car to go faster. The only reason I was out tonight at all was because this was my last first day of summer vacation. Next year at this time I would be a high school graduate, a legal adult, and college would be a blink away. So, when my friends showed up to drag me to a house party four hours ago, I pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, and hopped in Natalie’s car. A decision I’ve since regretted.


You can purchase Dream Keeper here.

Find out more about Amber on her website, or on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram.


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Don't forget to enter the contest to win a signed paperback of For Your Ears Only, courtesy of me, plus a bunch more!




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To win, write down my secret number:

37

and find all the other numbers on TEAM BLUE, add them up, and you’ll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

And while you're here, don't forget to enter the KingSumo giveaway I'm hosting.

Two lucky winners will receive a signed paperback copy of For Your Ears Only, the first book in my Ivory Tower Spies series, along with paperback copies of The Prince, the first book in Jillian Dodd's Spy Girl series, and White Knights, the first book in Julie Moffett's YA spy series.


To continue the scavenger hunt, visit author Cyn Balog

Good luck!