Giveaway UNHINGED by AG HOWARD BLOG TOUR STOP 6 @aghowardwrites @RockstarBkTours

WELCOME TO TOUR STOP #6

THERE IS AN EXTRA GIVEAWAY 

 BE SURE TO ENTER BOTH!

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

Links:

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

About A.G. Howard

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

When she's not writing, A.G.'s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Pinterest/Goodreads

Tour Schedule:

10/21/2013         Pages From My Thoughts            

10/22/2013         Fiction Freak      

10/23/2013         The White Unicorn

10/24/2013         Icey Books- Character Naming Contest          

10/25/2013         The Cover Contessa        

10/26/2013         Book Hounds      Extra Giveaway

10/28/2013         Reading Teen     

10/29/2013         Book Haven Extraordaire   Extra Giveaway

10/30/2013         The Lifelong Bookworm                

10/31/2013         Two Chicks on Books       Extra Giveaway

11/1/2013            Fiktshun               

11/2/2013            I am a Reader     Extra Giveaway

Giveaway Details:

12 ARC’s of UNHINGED Domestic Only

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Welcome to stop #6…

Graveyards are creepy, anyway you look at it. Here in the human realm, tombs can be anywhere from disturbingly beautiful, to gruesome and eccentric:

Even strolling through a typical cemetery can leave you unsettled…

Probably because there’s nothing typical about death. Which is an interesting paradox, since it’s in fact universal, inevitable, and always nipping at our heels.

One would think, in an atypical, magical place like Wonderland, you could escape death. But not so. The difference is, there’s no “resting in peace” there, unless you happen to land in Sister One’s crystallized rose garden. Just make sure you’re an agreeable spirit, otherwise this is what you have to look forward to:

Stuffed inside a threadbare, worm-eaten toy for all eternity, and tended by an ill-tempered eight-legged dictator named Sister Two.

Believe me you don’t want to know what’s under that glove on her left hand … or her right one, for that matter. Then again, you’ll find out soon enough, once you read Unhinged. If you’re squeamish, be prepared to squirm.

(Picture attributions: Sleep Eternal by roujo; Capuchin Tomb by Adam Comerford; Tombs by Guillen Perez; Arachne By Daniel Rocal; Creepy Dummy by Owen Lin; Doll by ryanophilly; Decayed teddy bear by Scorpions and Centaurs)

In honor of Wonderland’s Garden of Souls and its haunted toys, we’re giving away this morbidly lovely jack-in-the-box print:

Claustrophobia by Tanya Mayers; Size: 8.3" x 11. 7"

For a chance to win, you can either leave a comment below about what toy creeps you out the most, or send us some cool, decaying and eerie toy pictures via pinterest using @SPLINTERED by A.G. Howard as the recipient.

 If you do both, you get extra entries. Use the rafflecopter below, and we’ll choose a winner randomly out of everyone.

Good luck, and can’t wait to see what you come up with!

We’re taking Sunday off, but be sure to hang out with us on Monday when we give you a sneak peek into the creepy “sounds” of Unhinged.

Also, if you haven’t yet, take time to enter the other rafflecopter below for a chance to win one of 12 UNHINGED ARCs.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

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GIVEAWAY! 8th Blog Tour Stop SPLINTERED By AG HOWARD @aghowardwrites @abramskids #OfficialSplinteredBlogTour

Eighth stop: Wonderland’s Historical Library (prize post)

On the eighth day of Splintered, we visit Wonderland’s historical library.  A faery as pink as a sunset, with the graceful, long neck of a flamingo, waits at a desk to offer help. Though she’s famous for playing a mean game of croquet, she’s lesser known as the Secret Keeper, thanks to her day job as the librarian of Wonderland.

She sees us and stands—neck opening out like a telescope—to search the upper shelves for the books that hold Wonderland’s forgotten history and darkest secrets.

(caption) Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dm-set/3464173554/

This being Wonderland, the books in the library aren’t typical books. Actual voices are captured within the pages. You don’t so much read them, as converse with them.  The Secret Keeper pulls down a dusty tome filled with the voices of people who have read and adored Lewis Carroll’s original tale. They’re sorted alphabetically. Turning to the “L” section, the Secret Keeper (SK) proceeds to ask Maggie Lehrman, Amulet’s acquiring editor for Splintered, her thoughts on the two books:

SK: Dearest Maggie, of course I've always known the true story of Wonderland, but I would love your take on the classic Carroll tale and your first reactions to A.G. Howard's Weirdified Wonderland (which is far more accurate, allow me to assure you!)

Maggie: I love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, particularly the marvelous illogic of some of the dialogue and the strange beauty of the poems and wordplay. There's nothing else like it in the world. Carroll's Alice has inspired generations of children's authors, but his original book remains as fresh and strange as ever. What I immediately responded to when reading Anita's take on Wonderland in Splintered was that all those codes and riddles contained meaning and sense, if only we had Alyssa's stubbornness to help unravel them. Splintered respects the madness of Carroll's book while creating something new and strange. (And, unlike Carroll's book, very romantic!) 

SK: Is there a particular character, destination, or scene that got you itching to work with Splintered?

Maggie: Hmmm, tricky question! That's because Splintered is the complete package: There's Anita's brilliant repurposing of Wonderland, the pull Alyssa feels between familiar Jeb and mysterious Morpheus, and the deep emotions Anita taps into. But I have to say, personally, I have considerable fondness for the "walrus" scene. As Anita depicts him, he's grotesque, but also darkly funny and threatening. I knew I was reading something special from the first scene, but it was that tricky octobenus that truly hooked me. Not sure what that says about my personality!

 SK: Describe Splintered in six words or less. 

Maggie: Wonderland is not what it seems. 

SK: Can you share any secrets about the acquisition process as it concerns Splintered? (Strictly for recording purposes, I promise.)

Maggie: Not sure if there any secrets to share, but I will say that many of my co-workers have cornered me to let me know that they couldn't put the manuscript down. That's always wonderful to hear!

 SK: Tell me why you feel readers should make a resolution to pick up Splintered the very moment it hits shelves on January 1st, 2013? 

Maggie: With the excitement of the holidays behind you, this is the perfect book to cozy up to on a cold winter night. 

The Secret Keeper places the book back on its shelf and shoos us out the door. To learn all of the weirdified Wonderland secrets, you’ll have to read Splintered. But if you’re too impatient to wait, there will be an unveiling at Mundie Moms tomorrow … two secrets revealed, one for Splintered, and one for Lewis Carroll’s original Wonderland tale.

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:

To thank us for stopping by the library today, Wonderland’s Secret Keeper/ librarian is offering this 4-inch pink flamingo ornament. For a chance to win, leave a comment in the rafflecopter about your favorite Alice in Wonderland character. Tweet this post for extra entries.

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Giveaway & Review SPLINTERED by AG HOWARD @aghowardwrites @abramskids #OfficialSplinteredBlogTour

Book Description

Release Date: January 1, 2013

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.


About the Author

A. G. Howard is most at home when weaving the melancholy and macabre into settings and scenes, twisting the expected into the unexpected. She was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would’ve happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.
A.G.’s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

Find AG Howard
Website http://www.aghoward.com/
Blog HERE
Goodreads HERE
Twitter HERE
Facebook HERE
Pinterest HERE
You Tube HERE

SOURCE:  AUTHOR

MY THOUGHTS 
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Alyssa, an artist and skater girl, is in her senior year of high school.  Her mother has been in an insane asylum for most of her life and although Alyssa accepts this, she can't accept that her mother, Alison,  is truly crazy, especially when she starts to hear the same voices from the flowers and bugs that her mother complains about.  Kids at school tease her about her lineage since she is a direct descendant from the original Alice (Liddell -- yes, the one from Alice in Wonderland). So when she stumbles on a website that encourages her to look further into the Alice legacy, she starts to remember snippets of her childhood and that leads her down the rabbit hole for real.  With her best friend, crush and next door neighbor, Jeb, along for the ride, Alyssa must struggle through a series of test which she believe will save her mother's life and sanity. Jeb is a fascinating artist and full of love for Alyssa but doesn't realize this yet.  

Her childhood friend from Wonderland, Morpheus, is not quite evil, but not quite good either.  Alyssa remembers playing with him for hours and her mother realizes that she needs to stay away from him which leads to an agonizing reaction that will forever shape Alyssa's life.  With her mother gone to the asylum, Morpheus is free is entice Alyssa to go down the rabbit hole again and with the promise of saving her mother, she goes willingly.  Oh, and Jeb just happens to be at the right place at the right time and off he goes as well.  The romance between Jeb and Alyssa is just perfectly swoon worthy.  

The story follows the characters of Alice's Wonderland but with much more insight and background which I found enthralling.  I mean, I am a huge Alice fan and have read everything I can get my hands on about Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll.  This is the best retelling I have read so far.  The descriptions are painted so graphically and not a bit over done.  The flavor of Carroll's original shine through on every page and the dialogue reflects that as well.  I love all the details Howard places and I was referring to my Alice copy as well.  That took me a bit longer than normal to read this one since i wanted to get my references correct.  This one is probably safe for even the youngest teen even though there are mentions of alcohol use, abuse, a bit of violence and a beautiful kiss.  It even has the perfect fairy tale ending.  SIGH.

Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Amulet Books (January 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419704281
• ISBN-13: 978-1419704284

ENTER TO WIN A COPY 

Ends 12.30.12 US ONLY -- Usual rules apply.



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