Winners!

I've randomly picked the winners of the first "Warbreaker" (by Brandon Sanderson) giveaway (signed edition) and the "Carpe Corpus" (by Rachel Caine) giveaway.

The winner of the "Warbreaker" giveaway is --

Sarah Hale (via email)

Congrats!

And the winners of the "Carpe Corpus" giveaway are--

Fantasy Dreamer

Lindsay (Frugal and Fabulous)

Joyce (My Life in Summary)

and

Karen Oland (via email)

Congratulations to all the winners!

Winners! "The Wolverine Files" by Mike W. Barr

I used the old random number generator (random.org) to pick 5 winners to receive a copy of "The Wolverine Files" by Mike W. Barr and the winners are!

Carlene

Brooke Reviews

Silverhartgirl

Leland Eaves (via email)

and

Shana L. Rosenfeld (via email)

Congratulations everyone! Just make sure I get your snail mail addresses and I'll forward them to publisher right away so you can get your books!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Extra "Extras" Giveaway!

A curious thing happened today, I got an extra copy of Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. What's interesting is that I already have a giveaway up for the book here, but it's limited to U.S. entries since it's sponsored by Tor Books.

So, guess what this extra copy means? That's right, it means I can open this contest up worldwide. However, it should be noted that this copy is not signed by the author.

Anyway... If you haven't entered the contest yet (or you'd like an extra chance to win) and/or you're outside the U.S., here's your chance.

Either leave a comment here or email me at sqt1969@(nospam)gmail.com (just remove the 'nospam' insert) under the header "Warbreaker 2" (so I know these particular entries aren't for the "U.S. only" contest) to enter and I will randomly pick a winner by Friday July 3rd. Please make sure I can reach you easily. If I cannot reach a winner within 48 hours I will pass the book onto another entrant. Multiple entries will be disqualified (though entries into this and the other "Warbreaker" contest are completely legit-- two chances to win!) Open everywhere.

Good luck!

My review can be read HERE.

Extras Giveaway! #1 Conpsirator by C. J. Cherryh

A curious things has happened...I have gotten a few extra copies of books lately, mostly doubling up on ARC's (Advance Review Copies) and the final proof. Though in one case, I have two ARC's. So, since I don't need two copies of these wonderful books, I'd like to pass some of them on to you.

My first extra is Conspirator by C.J. Cherryh.

Product Description
First in a brand-new Foreigner trilogy from Hugo Award winning author C. J. Cherryh.

Cajeiri is the young son of the powerful leader of the Western Association—and he has become a target for forces bent on destroying his father’s rule. For Cajeiri is the first ateva youth to have lived in a human environment. And after hundreds of years of fragile atevi-human coexistence, he may very well be the first of his people to ever truly understand the so similar—yet so dangerously different—aliens who share his home planet and threaten the hidebound customs of his race.

To enter, the rules are the same as always. Either leave a comment here or email me at sqt1969@(nospam)gmail.com (just remove the 'nospam' insert) under the header "Conspirator" and I will randomly pick a winner by Thursday July 2nd. Make sure I can reach you easily. If I cannot reach a winner within 48 hours I will pass the prize onto another entrant. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Open everywhere.

Good luck!

(More "extras" to come soon!)

Winner! Short Story Collection #6

I have randomly picked the winner of my "Short Story #6" collection and the winner is...

DeSeRt RoSe

Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Giveaway and Review: Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine (4 Copies!)

"I am a good master," Bishop said, as if none of that had happened. "You asked me for a birthday favor, Claire. I granted you a visit. Today, I have decided that it was a poor gift. I will give you what you want. Shane will be free to go."

Claire didn't dare to breath, blink, move. She knew this was a trick, a cruel way to crush her hopes, and Shane's too. "Why?" she finally said. Her lips felt numb.
"Why now?"

"Because I intend to teach you both what it means to defy me, once and for all, and let you carry the tale for me," Bishop said. "Michael. Hold them, but make sure the two of them see everything. I won't have my students failing their lessons.

Bishop's control let go, and Claire stumbled backward into Michael. His arm went around her waist, and she felt the pressure of his lips close to her ear. "Stay still," he whispered. "No matter what happens, just stay still. Please. I'll protect you."

On Michael's other side, Shane was very, very quiet. He wasn't looking at Bishop. He was looking across at Claire, and he was scared--scared that something was going to happen to her, she realized. She tried for a smile, but wasn't sure how it came out.

Shane opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, a vampire guard came in, bringing a thin, scraggly man with a mess of graying, curling hair and a nasty scar down his face.

Shane's dad. He looked older, thinner, and even more vulnerable than he had back in his cell--nothing like the big, scary monster who'd terrified her when she'd first met him.

"Are you watching Shane?" Bishop asked, "I want you to learn, so that you don't make the same mistakes again."

"Dad," Shane said. "Dad?"

~Excerpt from Carpe Corpus by Rachel Caine

I've known Rachel Caine as the author of the Weather Warden series but didn't know until recently that she was also a prolific writer of teen fiction until I saw one of the books from her Morganville Vampires series. So when I received a copy of "Carpe Corpus" from Signet Publishers I took that as my opportunity to get acquainted with Morganville.

Claire Danvers is a seventeen-year-old genius who came to Morganville to attend college but found out that once you live in Morganville, it's not that easy to leave. The town has been overrun with vampires, and they like to keep a tight leash on the human inhabitants.

The vampires and humans had existed in an uneasy truce but the vampires have been taken over by Mr. Bishop, and he doesn't much care whether the humans in the town survive. Now Morganville is one big prison to anyone who isn't a loyal follower of Mr. Bishop.

The situation has come to a boiling point: Claire's boyfriend has been taken prisoner; her parents are trapped in Morganville; a friend has been turned into a vampire and forced to do Mr. Bishop's bidding; and Claire herself is an unwilling slave to Mr. Bishop's whims.

Since I haven't read any of the previous books in The Morganville Vampires series, I know I am coming into this review with some gaps in my knowledge of the storyline, but Caine does a good job of making the story readable even if you jump into it as late as I did. And I have to say, I'm impressed.

It would be easy to make comparisons to Caine's series and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" because of the teenage characters. In fact, I can't help but be reminded of the Buffy TV show when she went off to college. But that would be unfair because the series isn't a riff on Buffy-- it is a unique creation all its own.

Claire isn't a slayer, she's just a very smart kid who has become somewhat essential to the vampires. It seems there is a sickness among the vampires that is killing them off-- but only after they lose their minds. And Claire has helped discover a remedy that keeps the symptoms under control. If anything, she's not hunting the vampires, she's helping them.

As you can see, "Carpe Corpus" is surprisingly complex for such a short book (256 pages). I read "Twilight" not too long ago and that whole book didn't have as much action as this book did in two chapters. It's got the whole teen angst thing without being obnoxious; the teenage insecurities; first love; petty rivalries-- oh, and vampires.

Caine is a writer that has the entertainment factor down. Like all of her books "Carpe Corpus" is fast paced and suspenseful-- probably even more so than her "adult" novels. I feel that Caine has a very good understanding of how teenagers think; it comes across in her dialog and the story. Clarie and Shane's relationship also seems very credible as the first meaningful relationship between two young adults. It's definitely a teen novel geared toward a teenage audience, but has what it takes to bring in adult fans.

I don't read a lot of teen fiction, but this series is entertaining enough to make me want to go back and read the first five books in the series-- something "Twilight" was unable to entice me to do.

Soooo...

If you happen to be a fan of Rachel Caine, or simply want to check out "The Morganville Vampires," I have 4 copies of "Carpe Corpus" to offer for giveaway.

This contest is kind of unusual in that I am getting 3 books from the publisher -- which will be for U.S. entries only, and I have one extra copy in my possession that I will ship anywhere. What that means is that I will take entries from anywhere, but can only ship to one winner outside the U.S. I hope that makes sense.

The rules are the same as always. Either leave a comment here or email me a sqt1969@(nospam)gmail.com (just remove the 'nospam' insert) under the header "Corpus" to enter and I will randomly pick 4 winners by Wednesday June 24th. Please make sure I can reach you easily. If I cannot reach a winner within 48 hours I will pass the prize onto another entrant. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Open everywhere.

Good luck!

Giveaway! Signed Copy of "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson

Courtesy of the awesome people at Tor Books I have ONE signed copy of Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson to offer for giveaway (Continental U.S. only).

Product Description
After bursting onto the fantasy scene with his acclaimed debut novel, Elantris, and following up with his blockbuster Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is today’s leading master of what Tolkien called “secondary creation,” the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own.

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.

Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.

And you can read my review HERE

Either leave a comment here or email me at sqt1969(nospam)@gmail.com (just remove the 'nospam' insert) under the header "Warbreaker" to enter and I will randomly pick a winner by Tuesday June 23rd. Please make sure I can reach you easily. If I cannot reach a winner within 48 hours I will pass the prize onto another entrant. Multiple entries will be disqualified. This contest is limited to the continental U.S.

Good luck!

Winner! "Skin Trade" by Laurell K. Hamilton

I have randomly picked an entrant from my contest to win a copy of "Skin Trade" by Laurell K. Hamilton and the winner is..

Jake Lsewhere (via email)

Congrats Jake!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Winner! "Starfinder" by John Marco

I have randomly picked an entrant to win a copy of "Starfinder" by John Marco and the winner is...

Mary (zenrei57)

Congrats Mary!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Giveaway! 5 Copies of "The Wolverine Files" by Mike W. Barr (U.S. and Canada Only)

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Sneak Attack Media I have what I think is probably the coolest giveaway yet.
I have 5 copies of The Wolverine Files by Mike W. Barr to giveaway to 5 lucky winners. (U.S. & Canadian entries only)

Product Description
The enclosed is a top secret compilation of all known facts about the mutant called Wolverine (a/k/a Logan, Weapon X, Patch, the Runt). This report, generated by the concerted effort of SHIELD agents, is intended for the eyes of SHIELD personnel only, and is not to be copied, distributed, disseminated, or in any other way leaked to the general public due to the delicate nature of the information herein. It details Wolverine's origins, career, friends, allies, in all manner of specifics.
Be aware that representatives from Simon & Schuster publishing have been sniffing around, endeavoring to obtain this information through the Freedom of Information Act. We cannot begin to imagine the tremendous, even incalculable damage that would be sustained by both Wolverine and by our information-gathering forces should this report wind up for purchase in local bookstores. Let us hope such an event never comes to pass.

I wish my camera was working because I'd love to take pictures of this and show you what a cool book it is. The outer sleeve of the book has cut-outs in the shape of Wolverine's claws. There is an envelope on the inside cover full of detailed drawings. And the book itself-- just awesome-- tells the story of Wolverine; the whole story in graphic novel goodness.

To enter, either leave a comment here or email me at sqt1969@(nospam)gmail.com (just remove the 'nospam' insert), under the header "Wolverine." Please also specify that you are either in the U.S. or Canada when you enter so I know that entrants are aware of the contest limitations. Please make sure I can reach you easily. If I cannot reach a winner within 48 hours I will pass the prize onto another entrant. I will randomly pick a winner by Friday June 19th. Multiple entries will be disqualified. (U.S. and Canadian entries only).

For newsletters and alerts from Simon & Schuster, go HERE.

Good luck!

Winner(s)! 2 Copies of "Undead and Unwelcome" by MaryJanice Davidson

I have randomly picked the two winners of my "Undead and Unwelcome" by MaryJanice Davidson giveaway and they are..

Caffey and

Scott Qualle (via email)

Congrats!

Just make sure I get your snail mail address and I'll make sure these get right off to you!