The Spring 2016 YA Scavenger Hunt is Here!!!!

I'm Lynne Matson, your hostess for this leg of the Hunt. Welcome to the home of the #NILtribe! *passes coconut cup*

About Me

I'm the author of the NIL series, a trilogy about a mysterious island where teens have exactly one year to escape--or they die. Think Survivor meets LOST with a dash of the Twilight Zone and lots of near miss kisses (and tons of feels).:) My current obsession is ARROW. Thin Mints are my kryptonite.:)

About the Hunt

This bi-annual event was organized by the awesome Colleen Houck to give readers exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win amazing prizes! In this Hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue--a secret number. Add up the numbers and enter to win the grand prize--a signed book from each author on my team! Woot!

There are eight contests going on simultaneously. You can enter one or all! I'm part of the TEAL TEAM:

Go Team Teal!:)

There is also a RED, BLUE, GOLD, GREEN, ORANGE, PURPLE, SILVER, & PINK for 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 check out the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt home page.

To start: You can start right here . . . or go to the YA Scavenger Hunt home page.

But play fast: this contest (and the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours only! The Hunt ends Sunday, April 3rd at noon PST!

You're currently hunting on TEAM TEAL!!!

Looking for my sekrit NIL ON FIRE bonus content? THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY.:)

But it's not here. *cries*

You have to keep looking, and trust me, you totally want to. :) Somewhere on this awesome blog hop, I've hidden the first chapter of NIL ON FIRE, the last in the Nil trilogy. It releases May 31, 2016.

But before I reveal the author I'm hosting, let's recap the Hunt rules:

YA SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number in TEAL. (I know, that color isn't easy on the eyes. Blame Blogger.;D) Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the TEAL team and add them up (feel free to use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, 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 April 3, 2016 at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information won't be considered.:(

OFFICIAL SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Now that all the technical stuff is out of the way, on to the post! I'm super stoked about the author I'm hosting today. She's the lovely & talented . . .

Melanie McFarlane

Melanie is the author of THERE ONCE WERE STARS, coming April 26, 2016.

About Melanie:

Whether it’s uncovering the corruption of the future, or traveling to other worlds to save the universe, Melanie McFarlane jumps in with both hands on her keyboard. Though she can be found obsessing over zombies and orcs from time to time, Melanie has focused her powers on her two upcoming YA debut: THERE ONCE WERE STARS, and urban fantasy: SUMMONER RISING.

Find out more about Melanie and her books here:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Now let's talk about THERE ONCE WERE STARS! First, let's drool over the gorgeousness that is Melanie's cover:

Awesome, right?

If the cover wasn't enough to make you want it, then this blurb will cement your wanting.:)

THERE ONCE WERE STARS

Peace. Love. Order. Dome. That’s the motto that the Order has given the residents of Dome 1618 to live by. Natalia Greyes is a resident of Dome 1618, a covered city protected from the deadly radiation that has poisoned the world outside for four generations. Nat never questioned the Order, until one day she sees a stranger on the outside of the dome. Now Nat wants answers. Is there life outside the dome and if so, what has the Order been hiding from everyone?

Sounds, amazing, right?:)


Ready for Melanie's exclusive content? She's got a cool quiz for you!


**for YASH eyes only**

** end of YASH bonus material**


Okay! It's time to...

CONTINUE THE HUNT

Don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win heaps of signed books from all the #YASH authors, including a hardback of NIL UNLOCKED! Now, if you've read NIL, you know the teens have exactly one year to escape or they die. But some don't make it a full year...some die on day 312. (DID YOU SEE HOW I DID THAT? SEKRIT NUMBER ALERT.) Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the teal team and you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

To keep going on your quest for world domination the hunt, you need to check out the next #TeamTeal author, Krystal Wade!

BUT BEFORE YOU GO...

To say thanks for stopping by my blog, as a bonus #YASH giveaway, I'm giving away a signed copy of NIL and NIL UNLOCKED plus a #NILtribe swag pack! Enter below, and happy hunting! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo
Lynne

#YASH STARTS TOMORROW! (+ bonus scene)

The YA Scavenger Hunt is TOMORROW!

I'm #TeamGreen!

Cool, right? I LOVE GREEN.

Tomorrow I'm hiding an exclusive interview with Rives...somewhere along the hunt. Last Spring I hid an exclusive scene. Just to whet your #YASH appetite, here's that scene! It's one of the last scenes of NIL, seen through Rives's eyes.

Enjoy, and come back tomorrow! I'll have a giveaway too!:)

**originally posted as part of last Spring's #YASH*

FOR #YASH EYES ONLY! :)

As y’all may know, NIL UNLOCKED is both a sequel and a companion novel to NIL. NIL UNLOCKED picks up on the island of Nil where NIL leaves off, but NIL UNLOCKED is told from a new character’s point of view: Rives, who was Thad’s Second in Command on the island. (NIL UNLOCKED is actually a dual POV like NIL—the other POV in NIL UNLOCKED is Skye, another new character you’ll meet soon. :D) Below is a bonus scene I wrote just for the #YASH—it’s Thad’s last moments on Nil, as seen through Rives’s eyes. **Spoiler Alert** The following scene contains spoilers about the ending of NIL…so if you haven’t read NIL yet, be warned!:)

Bonus Scene

Rives

Day 241, Nearly Noon

I was the definition of a third wheel.

Not that we had a Dictionary here on Nil. Hell, we were lucky to have food. Grammer paled in light of survival. But, if things worked out, I’d be catching back up on my English lessons sometime in the next 124 days.

That was a big if.

If I caught a gate, if I didn’t die first. If I got seriously lucky.

Right now, I just hoped Thad got lucky, but the odds weren’t good. He had exactly one noon left.

Based on the sun’s position, he actually had less than an hour.

I’d spent the last few hours hanging back, alternating between watching Thad’s back and trying not to watch at all. Watching Thad and Charley this morning ranked up there with getting my finger stitched without anesthesia as a good time. Thad’s expression was a potent mix of hurt and anger and raw desperation that I couldn’t fix, no matter how badly I wanted to. Charley wasn’t much better, but to give the girl credit, she had the tough act down. She didn’t show her desperation like Thad; instead Charley strode forward with fierce hope, chin set, shoulders back, every step showing off the Nil badass that she was. Then again, she still had time.

It’s easy to be tough when time is still on your side.

Time is never on our side, I thought. Not here.

Pay attention, I told myself.

It was Nil rule number one.

I glanced back at Thad. He’d stopped, and the pain scarring his face broke something inside me. I’d almost been there, once. Not again. Never again, definitely not here.

Charley stopped beside him and taking his hand, she smiled.

Like their shadow, I braked too. Keeping my distance, I looked away. Looked around.

No gate, yet.

Wrapped in themselves, the pair barely acknowledged me, which brought strange relief. Thad and I were cool; so were Charley and I. I’d said my goodbyes last night. At this point, I had no interest in being drawn into a conversation where I had nothing to say—as if I’d be able to talk with the weight of Nil on my chest. In minutes I’d lose the best friend I had here, one way or another, and I’d had enough Nil funerals to last a lifetime.

Dammit, Nil. I looked around, again. Please send a gate. Please give Thad a ticket home.

Beneath my feet, the ground shifted, then stilled. A small jerk, more like a wake-up call. Around me, the air went slack.

A gate.

Exhaling the breath I’d been holding all day, I looked back at Thad. Charley was shaking him like a rag doll and pointing over his shoulder. Sure enough, a gate shimmered a few meters out from the two, but Thad didn’t see it; he stood frozen, staring at Charley like a man about to jump off a sinking ship. Then the gate winked out.

Time rushed back in, filling the vacuum the gate left behind.

The three of us stared at the spot where the gate vanished, like if we all stared hard enough, it would come back, like a bad April Fool’s joke.

To my complete shock, it actually worked. Either that, or Nil was having too much fun to quit now. A second gate flashed a few meters past the first. Charley spotted the second gate at the same time I did. Her face lit up like a holiday tree.

Charley shook Thad again, and then he woke up. Or gave up. Given the next few ridiculous minutes, it was a toss-up.

“NO!” Charley’s agonized scream hung in the still air.

Rives.

I froze, shocked by the whisper in my head. I knew that voice; I’d ached for that voice. I’d let that voice go—or at least tried to.

Out on the rocks, Thad laughed. He threw his fist in the air like he’d won. His laughter echoed across the open black rock, like Nil thought is was a joke too.

The scene slowed, a weird warp of Nil ghosts, past and future.

Charley was gone.

Thad’s time was up.

Rives! Talla whispered again. On your left.

Stunned, I whipped around, half-expecting to see her, knowing I wouldn’t because I buried her. Six feet under in Nil dirt.

No Talla, but I couldn’t miss the massive grizzly barreling our way—or the gate rising from the ground.

Thad wasn’t looking. He was shouting now, screaming at the Nil sky, faced raised to the heavens even as he chewed out Nil. Nil answered, shaking the ground with a vengeance.

“Thad!” I shouted. “On your left!”

He spun, saw the gate, and took off, sprinting all out.

That day was the first time I heard Talla’s voice, but not the last. 
How had I let Nil in my head?

--end of bonus scene--

Yay! Come back tomorrow for this Fall's #YASH!

xo

Lynne

#YASH is over...

Hi everyone!

The Spring 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt is now officially closed! I hope everyone had fun -- it was cool, right? And now WE HAVE WINNERS! 

The winners of the #YASH grand prizes will be posted here.

The winner of my mini-giveaway for a signed copy of NIL is:

Jaime Heller! 

Congrats Jaime! Welcome to the #NILtribe!

Last but not least, the clock is ticking! Only 5 weeks until NIL UNLOCKED is released!!!! Woohoo!

Spring 2015 Scavenger Hunt!

Welcome to the YA Scavenger Hunt! 

Hi y'all! I'm Lynne Matson, your hostess for this leg of the Hunt. Welcome to the home of the #NILtribe! *passes coconut cup* 

I'm super stoked to be a part of this hunt! This cool annual event was organized by the awesome Colleen Houck to give readers exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some amazing prizes! In this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt--a secret number. Add up the numbers and enter to win the sweet prize--a signed book from each author on my team! Woot! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours only! 72 hours of awesome! Hunt ends April 5 at noon PST!

You can start right here or go to the YA Scavenger Hunt home page.

You're currently hunting on TEAM ORANGE!!!!

How cool are these dudes? SO COOL.

ORANGE ROCKS.:)

Looking for my sekrit NIL UNLOCKED bonus content? YAY! Keep looking . . . somewhere on this awesome blog hop, I've hidden some seriously cool bonus content to get you stoked for NIL UNLOCKED: a special scene from Rives' perspective. It's Thad's last moments on NIL...through Rives's eyes. (Warning: if you haven't read NIL, my bonus scene is spoilery. Just an FYI!)

But first--a few rules.

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number in ORANGE. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the orange team and add them up (feel free to 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 April 5, 2014 at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information won't be considered.:(

OFFICIAL SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Phew! Now that all the technical stuff is out of the way, on to the post! I'm super stoked about the author I'm hosting today. She's the lovely & talented . . .

TERA LYNN CHILDS!

Tera Lynn Childs is the RITA-award-winning young adult author of the mythology-based Oh. My. Gods. series, the Forgive My Fins mermaid romance series, the kick-butt monster-hunting Sweet Venom trilogy, and the Darkly Fae series. She also writes the City Chicks sweet chick lit romance series and is co-writing the Hero Agenda series with Tracy Deebs. Tera lives nowhere in particular and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages.

(Lynne here--yes to monster hunting. Yes to any series with the word HERO in the title. Yes to caffeine. WIN. Hunt on.:D)

Tera Lynne has been a part of #YASH before, but the book she's promoting this Spring is THE HERO AGENDA: POWERLESS.

never underestimate a girl on a mission

Kenna is tired of being “normal.”

The only thing special about her is that she isn’t special at all. Which is frustrating when you’re constantly surrounded by superheroes. Her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, practically everyone she knows has some talent or power. Sure, Kenna’s smart and independent, but as an ordinary girl in an extraordinary world, it’s hard not to feel inferior.

So when three villains break into the lab where she interns, Kenna refuses to be a victim. She’s not about to let criminals steal the research that will make her extraordinary too.

But in the heat of battle, secrets are spilled and one of the villains saves her life. Twice. Suddenly, everything Kenna thought she knew about good and evil, heroes and villains is upended. And to protect her life and those she loves, she must team up with her sworn enemies on a mission that will redefine what it means to be powerful and powerless…

Sounds amazing, right? AND JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU READ THE BONUS MATERIAL.:) Read on . . .

--Special Bonus Material from Tera Lynn Childs--

For YASHer eyes only!

Get early access to heroagenda.com, the online headquarters for the Hero Agenda series. Check out the fun bonus goodies and read the very first public excerpt from Powerless. Then be sure to bookmark the site because the heroagenda.com is only going to keep growing with even more extras, graphics, behind-the-scenes, insider info, fan art and fan fiction to come. To access the site early, go to heroagenda.com and enter the password "kenna" (no quotes, all lowercase).

Ahhhh... I <3 bonus material!!! Thanks Tera Lynn! If you're intrigued, you can learn more about Tera Lynn and THE HERO AGENDA: POWERLESS on her website. Or . . . you can find her here:

 E-mail at tlc@teralynnchilds.com.

 Follow Tera Lynn on Twitter.

 Send her a message on Facebook.

 Ask her a question on Tumblr.

 Or GoodReads.

 Follow her on Instagram.

 Subscribe to her YouTube.

CONTINUE THE HUNT

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win heaps of signed books from all the #YASH authors, including a hardback of NIL UNLOCKED!!! To enter, you need to know that 10 may be the best number EVER. I'm not kidding. My birthday is on November 10 and I can eat 10 Thin Mints in less time than it takes to enter the giveaway below (this last one may or may may not be true.;D) Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the orange team and you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

To keep going on your quest for world domination the hunt, you need to check out the next #TEAMORANGE authors, Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki!!!!

BUT BEFORE YOU GO...

To say thanks for stopping by my blog, as a bonus #YASH giveaway, I'm giving away a signed hardback of NIL! Enter below, and happy hunting! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Hunting!
xo
Lynne

#YASH Is Coming!!!!!!

Y'all!

I'm so excited to announce that I'm part of this spring's YA Scavenger Hunt! Go TEAM ORANGE!!!! The full author announcement listing ALL the participaring authors is on the #YASH website and you definitely should go check it out. Plus, that's your main link for all the #YASH info.:)

Here’s a quick and dirty on the AWESOMENESS THAT IS THE #YASH:

Eight teams.

Tons of prizes.

Heaps of sekrit book scoop.

Amazing, right? IT TOTALLY IS.

The Scavenger Hunt runs from April 2nd through April 5th beginning and ending at noon Pacific time on those days. 

If you’ve never been a part of the hunt before you should give it a try! It runs like a giant blog hop, introducing you to new YA authors and books along the way. There are tons of prizes including a grand prize for each team. If you win one of the grand prizes you will get a book from each author on that team! For more information and to make sure you get hunt updates, sign up for news on the #YASH website. 

Not only will I be hiding an exclusive never-before-revealed sneak peek of NIL UNLOCKED, but I will also be giving away a signed ARC of NIL UNLOCKED on my website!!!! 

Don’t miss this fabulous and fun event! AND PLAY FAST-- the hunt is only live for three days.

Okay, ready to meet #TEAMORANGE? BECAUSE CLEARLY TEAM ORANGE IS THE BEST.;D

Click and it gets less blurry. Promise.:)
GO TEAM ORANGE!!!!!!

I WANT ALL THOSE BOOKS, DON'T YOU?!:)

GET READY!

THE HUNT BEGINS ON 4/2/215!!!!!

#NILtribe update!

Today is the last #WinNIL Wednesday of April!

Check the hashtag #WinNIL for deets today! As always, all the deets can also be found using the #NILtribe hashtag too!

Coming up tomorrow . . .  I'll be part of the YA Scavenger Hunt, with exclusive NIL bonus material for you to read! It's a fresh scene from Thad'd POV. Also, the #YASH will have heaps of awesome prizes (like copies of NIL and other great books) so you definitely don't want to miss it!

Coming up in May...I'll be doing a live Twitter chat! Date TBA!

Also coming up in May?

I'll be at the RT Booklover's Convention in New Orleans, May 13-18, and I'll be signing books in the YA Alley that Saturday.:)

And coming up in July? I'll be signing books in Chicago and Richmond... dates TBA.:)

*commences tribal dancing* ;)