The fifth A Spooky Games Club Mystery is out today! Cable is headed back overseas, and Dahlia can’t follow him. Dahlia and Broomie have a full house now, with both Lien and the gargoyle boy moving in. Despondent Draven is battling a video game addiction when he’s accused of murder. Dahlia is out to defend her friend and find the real culprit in Vampires and Video Games.
If Dahlia Poplar wants to stay safe, she’s trapped back in Luna Lane for the foreseeable future. Though she’s happy to be home, her boyfriend is moving back to Scotland for good. But even though her own gargoyle blood showed that she and Cable Woodward are endgame, she can’t help but worry that the distance will drive them apart.
However, her love life isn’t all that’s on her mind. With a gargoyle boy to instruct in the ways of the world and a cousin witch she’s barely sure she trusts moving in, Dahlia has a crowded house for the first time in years. When the gargoyle starts playing video games with neighborhood children, Dahlia’s overjoyed to see him making new friends. When her vampire ex-boyfriend picks up a controller and starts his path toward game addiction, Dahlia is less enthused because Draven is no longer leaving his house at all. And her relationship with Cable might be the root cause.
Now a vampire lord is in town, accusing Draven of a gruesome murder after someone’s attempt to create a new vampire went wrong. It’s game over for one of Dahlia’s dearest friends unless she can level up to become a better sleuth and rescue the undead man from the actual final boss who committed the deed.
The first book in my new paranormal cozy mystery series, WITCHY EXPO SERVICES MYSTERIES, is out today! The e-book is Kindle exclusive (and free in Kindle Unlimited), but the paperback (including Large Print) will be available widely. An audiobook is on track to release early next year!
DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS HOVER features my oldest protagonist yet (who’s closest to my actual age, ha): Nimue Toothaker, a divorced, career-driven 40-year-old witch with a 19-year-old daughter away at school.
It’s the first time in a while I’ve written in third person. It was a lot of fun to dive into a new world of witches with different rules from my Spooky Games Club series. Only witches and humans exist in this world (no vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc.), but every witch and warlock has an animal familiar. I hope you’ll enjoy Nimue’s close relationship with her own, a miniature dragon named Gowdie.
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Set up in a matter of days, our expos can host even the largest of crowds in our witch-run village of Cauldron Cove. We can offer what no other expo planners can: breathtaking illusions, instant teleportation from one end of the center to the other, floating item storage, and all the exceptional, magical touches that will make your event one-of-a-kind. Inquire about Cauldron Cove hosting your next event today by contacting Bernadette Toothaker, award-winning Head Witch General Manager of Witchy Expo Services for eleven decades.
Nimue Toothaker is ecstatic that her world-famous grandmother is about to retire and has chosen her as her successor in the family business. She’s only been working on the expos for a few years, but she’s confident she has what it takes to lead her fellow witches and warlocks in the business that defines their entire village. Unfortunately, her grandmother’s sole condition for Nimue taking the job is that she share the position with her arch rival, an irritating warlock possessed of two minds—quite literally.
First up is Bookshop Con, where indie booksellers from across the nation host authors and sell books to passionate readers. Nimue’s grand plans clash with her co-manager’s persnickety demands, but their arguments cease to matter when a celebrated author drops dead in the convention center lobby. Nimue suspects murder, but she knows that if she ends the convention prematurely, the magic at work will destroy her beloved hometown. It’s a race to catch the killer before they strike again—all while trying to prove she can handle the job she’s so desperately always wanted.
I’m excited to share the news that the second audiobook in the A Spooky Games Club Mystery series is now available! Join Dahlia, Broomie, and their friends in their most harrowing adventure yet!
After the disaster of the month before, Dahlia Poplar, cursed witch and helper extraordinaire, is ready for her serene, supernatural small-town life to return to normal. However, her hopes for a more peaceful existence don’t last when a childhood friend moves back to Luna Lane to open up an escape room.
With the Spooky Games Club thriving, Dahlia decides to help her friend by using her magic to quickly get his business up and running. Dahlia’s enchantments accomplish the task, but before the Games Club has a chance to enjoy the new attraction, a test of the escape room results in a freak, fatal accident. Riddled with guilt, Dahlia wonders where her enchantments went wrong – or if there’s something more to the disaster.
The only way to divine whether or not the death was her fault, the result of an accident, or murder, is to investigate – and perhaps even play the dangerous game herself. In this one-hour escape room, failure to escape could mean death, not just for Dahlia, but for those she holds most dear.
I’m excited that readers can now read eleven exciting YA Greek myth retellings in Snowy Wings Publishing’s latest anthology! My own contribution, Darken the Night, is a retelling of the myth of Nyx.
Aphrodite. Zeus. Medusa. Hercules. You’ve heard their names. You thought you knew their stories… until now.
Lose yourself in this collection of eleven young adult re-imaginings of Greek myths from the authors of Snowy Wings Publishing. From magical kingdoms under the sea to the halls of a modern high school, from Ancient Greece to the distant future, you will find romance, courage, fantasy, danger, and more. With each story bringing a twist on a classic legend, there is something for everyone to enjoy again and again.
Phoenyx “Nyx” Douglas feels like a damsel trapped away. Suffering from a form of light sensitivity, she sleeps during the day, missing out on all the typical things the other teens in her town do. One night when her flighty father is out on a job, she falls for charmer Erebus Jones at first sight but then has a dream about a child she’s supposed to have with him in the future—and the peril that boy is in. With Ere’s help, she uncovers what it will take to save their future child: blackmailing the powerful town mayor and teaching him to fear her. The two teens are in over their heads as they uncover shocking secrets and cross the line between what’s right and what’s wrong—all in service of saving a child they can only have if their burgeoning relationship survives the danger they put themselves in.
The fourth A Spooky Games Club Mystery is out today! Dahlia’s curse may be broken, but she’s now in greater danger than ever. Dahlia and Cable travel out of Luna Lane for a train murder mystery complete with a crosswords puzzle event in Curses and Crosswords.
You can also pick up the first three books in the A Spooky Games Club Mystery series in one convenient and cheaper box set! There’s no bonus material, but it’s a great opportunity to introduce a friend to the series or to re-read it from the start again. Free in Kindle Unlimited!
Free of her curse, Luna Lane’s resident witch, Dahlia Poplar, sets foot outside of her paranormal small town for the first time in her life. Accompanying her new professor boyfriend on a tour of literature sites across the country, she expands her horizons while trying harder than ever to keep her powers under wraps—and prevent her magic broomstick from revealing their supernatural natures.
Just as they’re about to head home, their car breaks down and they decide to take the train back to Luna Lane to join friends and family in time for the holidays. This two-day, one-night journey includes a crossword puzzle event to entertain the passengers. As two founding members of the latest iteration of Spooky Games Club, Dahlia and her boyfriend are excited to take part—until they realize there’s something sinister going on.
Before the train ride ends, a crossword champion is acting strange, and Dahlia suspects a curse is at play. Belongings go missing, a mysterious villain threatens murder, and the train is unable to stop or slow down. Dahlia realizes she isn’t the only paranormal presence on board—and if she wants to make it home again, she’ll have to unscramble the clues across and down to solve the puzzle before it’s too late.
It’s been a long wait, but the final book in the Blood, Bloom, & Water series is finally here! This entry takes readers ten years into the future as Autumn, now a teen, decides to work with the former faery prince, Orin, and try to undo the disastrous results of the battle against her sisters.
You can also pick up the entire Blood, Bloom, & Water series in one convenient and cheaper box set! There’s no bonus material, but it’s a great opportunity to introduce a friend to the series or to re-read it from start to finish again. Free in Kindle Unlimited!
A traumatized former faery champion. The beguiling former faery prince who manipulated her once before. A chance to correct the past mistakes that haunt her as the battle between blood, bloom, and water fades into memory.
Autumn Sheppard could once grow vines from her hands, but if she shared that with anyone, they’d think she was delusional. She’s spent the past ten years suppressing the nightmare of her actions during the battle between faeries, vampires, and mermaids, even as her older sister and step-sister moved on with their lives.
When Orin, the conniving faery prince, asks for her help, she wants to run, but he’s the only one who still has faith that she can make things right. Tasked with finding a fallen angel, Autumn discovers the hottest boy in school is exactly the guy she needs on her side. If only he could see past her geeky, outcast personality—and believe that magic is real.
The fifth and final book in the Blood, Bloom, & Water series takes the story ten years into the future, when the former champion of bloom is the only hope for the resurrection of lost friends and foes alike. With the help of a fallen angel, she might succeed—even if her wish comes with fatal consequences.
I’m participating in the Book Owl Word Search (BOWS) this spring and I’m part of the PURPLE team. To find out more about the Word Search and how to play, visit this site.
See if you can find my secret word and continue the search to the other authors on my team and find their words as well.
Bonus Content
My BOWS book is Fangs & Fins, the first book in my YA urban fantasy vampire/mermaid/fairy series. However, the fifth and final book of the series is coming out in just a few weeks! (Snag the complete box set here.) Since I’ve been working on the series on and off since 2017, it’s bittersweet to be wrapping it up and to say goodbye to these characters, but I’m so glad I was able to follow through with their journeys until the end.
Though it was quite different from the girls’ house in my series, I used to live in a home that bordered a woods. We didn’t own the wooded property, but the idea of them being forbidden made them seem all the more magical to me growing up. That was the inspiration for the woods behind Ember, Ivy, and Autumn’s shared house that play an important role in them becoming champions of blood, bloom, and water. A fairy prince has a cabin in those woods, and he’s just waiting for the right girls to wander through the darkness to claim their magic powers.
I’m not much of a poet, but I wrote a poem about those real-life woods when I was in college. My bonus material is the poem about those woods that helped inspire these books.
Before you go, enter my own Rafflecopter giveaway! To help out small businesses, I’m offering a $25 gift card to the indie bookstore of your choice! (Chain stores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, etc. do not count.) Chosen bookstore must offer online purchase of gift cards. No store is sponsoring or affiliated with this giveaway. If there are no indie bookstores you can think of, I can suggest one.
I’m excited to announce that the first audiobook in the Spooky Games Club Mystery series is now available! I’ve been blessed to find narrator Danielle Daly to lend her voice to Dahlia and all the other residents of Luna Lane. She’s so talented at bringing forth the emotion, humor, drama, and intrigue I hope you’ll find within the book. Check out a free sample below!
Dahlia Poplar is a genuine witch, an unofficial gofer, and Luna Lane’s only cursed resident.
With a werewolf best friend, a vampire ex-boyfriend, and a ghost for a hanger-on, Dahlia is far from the most unusual dweller of her sleepy small town, but she’s the only one unable to leave. Dahlia has to perform at least one good deed per day—or she’s one step closer to turning to stone.
Fortunately, the residents of Luna Lane have plenty of tasks for Dahlia to complete to avert the curse until Cable Woodward, fetching professor and nephew of her elderly neighbor, stops by for the semester on sabbatical. Attempting to help Cable’s uncle work through the trauma of losing his wife, Dahlia uncovers the man’s collection of board games, which leads to him reminiscing about the long-forgotten Luna Lane Games Club.
Dahlia reestablishes Games Club, only to find evidence of a number of horrible demises connected to the original group. While trying to uncover the truth about the deaths, Dahlia has to fight off her curse, protect her elderly neighbor from becoming the next victim, and most vexing of all, keep Cable from figuring out Luna Lane’s supernatural secrets. Only with eerie board games like these, there may not be a loser—or even a winner—who survives.
Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-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 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 until October 6th.
Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are multiple contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the redteam–but there are also other teams where you have a chance to win a whole different set of 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 page.
SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE
Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the redteam, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).
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 October 6th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
Today, I am hosting Lori Goldstein on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!
Lori Goldstein, former journalist and current author and editor, has a bachelor’s in journalism and previously worked for technology publications in the “East Coast Silicon Valley” city of Boston, where she currently lives. She’s never met a beach she didn’t love, a book she wouldn’t read, or a strange food she wouldn’t try. She is the author of Screen Queens and the VOYA-starred young adult contemporary fantasy series Becoming Jinn. Find her on Twitter @loriagoldstein and Instagram @lorigoldsteinbooks.
Lucy Katz was born and raised in Palo Alto, so tech, well, it runs in her blood. A social butterfly and CEO in-the-making, Lucy is ready to win and party.
East Coast designer, Maddie Li left her home and small business behind for a summer at ValleyStart. Maddie thinks she’s only there to bolster her graphic design portfolio, not to make friends.
Delia Meyer taught herself how to code on a hand-me-down computer in her tiny Midwestern town. Now, it’s time for the big leagues–ValleyStart–but super shy Delia isn’t sure if she can hack it (pun intended).
When the competition kicks off, Lucy, Maddie, and Delia realize just how challenging the next five weeks will be. As if there wasn’t enough pressure already, the girls learn that they would be the only all-female team to win ever. Add in one first love, a two-faced mentor, and an ex-boyfriend turned nemesis and things get…complicated.
Filled with humor, heart, and a whole lot of girl power, SCREEN QUEENS is perfect for fans of Morgan Matson, Jenny Han, and The Bold Type.
Here’s a message from Lori and an exclusive link to her content!
YASH IS OVER!
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Hi everyone! I’m excited to be back as part of YASH with my latest novel, the YA contemporary SCREEN QUEENS from Penguin Random House! I’m offering a special behind-the-scenes peek at one of my favorite aspects of the novel and cover on my Web site. I’m also including a giveaway to celebrate both SCREEN QUEENS and the announcement this week of my upcoming Penguin contemporary called SOURCES SAY!
SOURCES SAY centers on a misogynistic scandal that rocks the student body of a small high school, becomes core to the platforms of the two candidates running for student council president, and sparks a rival to the school’s student newspaper that is publishing more fiction than fact. SOURCES SAY is a timely contemporary that comes out in Fall 2020! Swing by my Web site for the full description of SOURCES SAY, to drool with me over the gorgeous cover of SCREEN QUEENS, and to enter for your chance to win my giveaway!
And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me, Lori Goldstein, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 9. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the redteam and you’ll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
CONTINUE THE HUNT
To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, Rosalyn Eves! Tweet #YASH
Want a couple of free novelettes? Everyone is welcome to a free copy of JOSIE’S COAT, my standalone YA romantic sci-fi:
Before you go, consider entering my own mini Rafflecopter giveaway! I’m offering a $25 gift card to one of my favorite literary goodies stores, Storiarts! (Storiarts is not sponsoring or affiliated with this giveaway.) With this, you can save when buying scarves, writing gloves, totes, pillows, and more featuring literary quotations and art.
Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-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 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 until April 7th.
Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are multiple contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the green team–but there are also other teams where you have a chance to win a whole different set of 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 page.
SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE
Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the green team, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).
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 7th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
YASH IS OVER!
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
Today, I am hosting Sara B. Larson on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!
Sara B. Larson is the best-selling and critically acclaimed author of the YA fantasy DEFY trilogy (DEFY, IGNITE, and ENDURE) and the DARK BREAKS THE DAWN duology. Her next YA fantasy, SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT, comes out November 5th from Tor Teen. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband, their four children, and their Maltese, Loki. She writes in brief snippets throughout the day and the quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a degree in “the art of multitasking.” When she’s not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting for her sugar addiction.
Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world—including their Paladin father the night Inara was born.
On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father’s Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates, but she has been trapped in her own mind because of a “roar” that drowns everything else out—leaving Zuhra virtually alone with their emotionally broken human mother.
For 15 years they have lived, trapped in the citadel, having little contact with the outside world…until the day a stranger passes through the hedge, and everything changes.
Sara has the first two chapters of SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT to share with YASH participants!
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YASH IS OVER, so the bonus material is gone!
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And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me, Sara B. Larson, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 8. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the green team and you’ll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
Before you go, consider entering my own mini Rafflecopter giveaway! I’m offering a bunch of my books in paperback form, which I don’t often do! (I’m spring cleaning out my closet.) Winners can only have U.S. shipping addresses, sorry! Shipping is expensive otherwise. However, if you have an international shipping address, you may enter for a chance to win the books in e-book form instead. Prizes include:
Two paperback three-packs of NOBODY’S GODDESS, NOBODY’S LADY, and NOBODY’S PAWN, the complete trilogy (my YA romantic fantasy The Never Veil Series)
One paperback copy of BALLAD OF THE BEANSTALK, my YA romantic fairy tale fantasy
Two paperback two-packs of FALL FAR FROM THE TREE and TURN TO DUST AND ASHES, my dark YA fantasy duology
Amy McNulty 