Vote for the Winner! (Mickey Mouse, or Stardust?)

We have a winner--and another chance to play and win!

Writerly Wednesdays here are dedicated to writers and readers. If you've published anything for Young Adults with a fantastic twist (fantasy in all varieties, paranormal, speculative fiction, horror, sci-fi, dystopian, cheese, etc.), shoot me an email (crystal AT crystal-collier DOT com). I'll be shouting about awesome books, sharing new covers, or participating in book releases every week--and I'd love to share yours. Spots are filling up quick, so schedule a date now. 

So, before the fun, let's announce the winner of Mary Waibel's Quest of the Hart. Mary told us two truths and one lie about herself, and those who guess correctly were entered into a random drawing to win a copy of her book. The options were:

1. While at college, Mary flew a plane over Lake Erie at night.

2. Mary was in a national beauty contest while in high school.

3. Mary obtained a degree in medieval history.

And, the lie is: 

#3. Mary did not obtain a degree in medieval history. 

Tricky Mary. Way to go those of you who guessed right! You are officially human lie detectors. And the winner is: 

....DRUM ROLL...

Erin L. Funk! 

Congrats Erin!

Today's amazing feature is:

In a race for their world’s future, Adria has one mission: slay her father, a dark wizard, to free her twin sister from his curse. This can only be done with a magic bow buried under her father’s castle and protected by the wizard’s dragon. But her tainted twin, Audra, has other plans: seize the bow’s power and join with her father to control the entire planet. 

Now shall we meet the author?

G.R. Holton is a veteran who became friends with screenwriter and movie director Derek Milton via online gaming, when he learned his true calling in life is to write. Since that time he has had three books optioned for movies (Deep Screams, Dragon's Bow, and Teleported), and has written a screenplay. He spends his days in East Tennessee with his wife and his pet Shih-poo, "Ewok."

If you take a trip to his part of the country, you may stumble across him eating muenster at 3 in the morning. (A cheese after my own heart!)

And now for the fun! *rubbing hands*

G.R. gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Can you figure out the lie? Those who do will go into my magic hat for a chance to win a SIGNED copy of the book of your choice off his website. How cool is that? You have until Tuesday, August 6th at 1 p.m. to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on August 7th!

TRUTH OR LIE

1. G.R. used to deliver balloons as Big Bird and Mickey Mouse.

2. G.R. owns two iguanas name Ziggy and Stardust.

3. Two of G.R.'s children have birthdays one day apart. 

I'm sensing a theme here: all the two-ness is getting to me. *grin*

Okay human lie detectors, which is it? 

Book Giveaway and a Game

Hey friends, it's game time! (Will you be a winner?)

Writerly Wednesdays here are dedicated to writers and readers. If you've published anything for Young Adults with a fantastic twist (fantasy in all varieties, paranormal, specultative ficiton, horror, sci-fi, dystopian, cheese, etc.), shoot me an email (crystal AT crystal-collier DOT com). I'll be shouting about awesome books, sharing new covers, or participating in book releases every week--and I'd love to share yours. Spots are filling up quick, so schedule a date now. 

Today's amazing feature is:

A reverse Sleeping Beauty tale where the princess goes on the quest to save the prince.

Princess Kaylee has never had to fight for anything. Her entire life has been arranged, even her marriage. But when Prince Devlin falls under an enchantment, she finds she is willing to do anything to save him, even if it means fighting a dragon.

Devlin's own sister, Princess Arabella, is behind the deadly plot. She wants the throne and will use any means necessary to gain it. Her perfect plan unravels, leaving Devlin caught in a magical sleep that is slowly spreading through the kingdom of Breniera. All Arabella needs to finish her spell and claim the crown is a drop of Kaylee's blood, but obtaining the single drop is proving more difficult than expected.

To save her betrothed, Kaylee embarks on a quest to find an ancient sword and gather a drop of dragon's blood, while trying to stay out of Arabella's traps. But Arabella's traps aren't the only danger. Time is everything. For once the last inhabitant of the kingdom falls asleep, the spell will be sealed, and not even true love's kiss will break it.

Quest of the Hart is on sale for $2.99 through the 28th--don't miss your chance to get it at this awesome price.  

Now shall we meet the author?

Let me introduce the wonderful Mary Waibel--if you haven't met her already.

Mary lives with her husband, son and two cats. When she isn't twisting fairytales, she enjoys reading, playing games, watching hockey, and camping. Her debut novel, Quest of the Hart, is available from MuseItUp Publishing and major retailers. Charmed Memories, a companion novel, will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in August 2013.

Join her on facebook to learn about her upcoming release and future giveaways.

Eek! Can you feel the excitement? That's right, you only have a month to read her amazing first book before the second will be begging for your attention.

And now for the fun! *rubbing hands*

I asked Mary gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Can you figure out the lie? Those who do will go into my magic hat for a chance to win a copy of Quest of the Hart. You have until Tuesday, July 30 at 1 p.m. to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on July 31st!

TRUTH OR LIE

1. While at college, Mary flew a plane over Lake Erie at night.

2. Mary was in a national beauty contest while in high school.

3. Mary obtained a degree in medieval history.

Okay human lie detectors, which is it? 

New Orleans, and the "Great Camera Theft"

Who out there has visited New Orleans?

I LOVE historic cities. I could sit in one, people watch and imagine for months with nothing else to do. So, as we planned to head across country to visit family (Florida to Utah), we decided to make it a road trip and take a special stop each day. The first evening landed us in New Orleans.

Wow. Talk about beautiful. Our hotel room was in the historic French Quarter, and the floorboards were uneven beneath carpet, the doorways arched, and the elevator just large enough for my 5 person family to squeeze in. B-E-A-U-tiful. I was a snap-happy tourist, documenting every little detail--from the windows in our hotel room (the kids loved sitting on the carpet in front of them and watching the pedestrians below,) to the street performers and the historic chapel. Contrast that with the cross dresser I met, and even the devil on the corner of Bourbon street--literally--tail, horns, full length red suit. (The kids stayed in the hotel for that little exploration.)

My oldest is taking creative photography, so about the time we stopped to get world-famous biegnets (they can't top the ones at Grand Lux Cafe), I turned the camera over to him. He pretty much ran the batteries dry, and then the fatal moment we asked him to carry home our leftovers... He still swears someone lifted the camera off his shoulder. I think he left it on a bench and walked away. It's not until we got to the hotel he said anything, and by then, the camera was long gone. *sigh*

So no, these are not my pictures, but I did take some almost exactly the same, and what a fun visit! I could postulate for the next month about what became of our camera, and what a great story that would make.

Interesting discovery: They literally wash the streets of New Orleans with soap and water every morning. Yup. Giant trucks come down the streets to clean them between 6 and 8 a.m. (I don't think the 5 second rule applies to dropped food there.)

Decision: It was an interesting stop, but I'm SURE glad I don't live in a city where they feel obligated to scrub the road every morning.

Have you visited New Orleans? What's the most interesting/inspiring place you've ever been?

(P.S. Come back Wednesday for a chance to exercise your human-lie-detector skills and win a book, and next week for Roswell, New Mexico and the Alien invasion!)