YA Scavenger Hunt: Fall 2013!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-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 signed 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 for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are THREE contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the GOLD TEAM--but there is also a red team and a blue team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed 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 homepage.

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 gold team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can 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 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 Lea Nolan for the YA Scavenger Hunt! Lea writes the kinds of stories she sought as a teen—smart paranormals with bright heroines, crazy-hot heroes, diabolical plot twists, plus a dose of magic, a draft of romance, and a sprinkle of history. She holds degrees in history and women’s studies concentrating in public policy and has spent nearly twenty years as a health policy analyst and researcher. She lives in Maryland with her heroically supportive husband and three clever children. You can learn more about Lea at www.leanolan.com or chat her up at @Lea_Nolan.

Find out more information by checking out Lea's website or find out more about her book here!

______________________________________

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

Book Descriptions:

Emma Guthrie races to learn the hoodoo magic needed to break The Beaumont Curse before her marked boyfriend Cooper's sixteenth birthday. But deep in the South Carolina Lowcountry, dark, mysterious forces encroach, conspiring to separate Emma and Cooper forever. When Cooper starts to change, turning cold and indifferent, Emma discovers that both his heart and body are marked for possession by competing but equally powerful adversaries. Desperate to save him, Emma and her twin brother, Jack, risk their lives to uncover the source of the black magic that has allured Cooper and holds him in its grip. Faced with the horror of a soul-eating boohag, Emma and Jack must fight to resist its fiendish power to free Cooper long enough to join their strengths and face it together, before it destroys them all.

Exclusive Content:

My book, Allure, the second installment in The Hoodoo Apprentice series features three teens who use Gullah hoodoo magic to battle an ancient-soul sucking curse and a hideous monster that will stop at nothing to consume its prey.

Hoodoo magic is an African American folk healing and magical art, not to be confused with voodoo, which is a religion. Hoodoo originated among enslaved Africans in the South Carolina and Georgia lowcountry and is largely based on African traditions, but has also been influenced by Native American, European and other practices.

In Allure, Emma Guthrie uses many hoodoo spells to protect her twin brother Jack, and their best friend (and Emma’s boyfriend), Cooper Beaumont. She’s also called upon to break some of the jinxes laid by her enemies. To give you an idea of the kind of hoodoo charms Emma confronts, I thought I’d share a few with you today. These come directly from one of my favorite spell books, Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells by Judika Illes.

Gambler’s Hand: High John’s Snake Charm

Wrap a freshly shed snakeskin around a rattlesnake root and a High John the Conqueror root, then place it in a conjure bag along with seven tonka beans for good fortune.

Hoodoo Love Magic Wishbone Spell

To make your wish for love a reality, clean and dry a whole, unbroken wishbone, then decorate it with red or gold glitter glue. Make a braid from a few strands of your hair and tie it to the wishbone. Place the wishbone and braid into a red mojo bag with an Adam and Eve root, then sprinkle a love drawing powder over the items
.

Magical Protection Candle Spell

Hollow the bottom of a black, blue or red candle, then stuff it with a combination of five, seven, or nine different botanicals, then burn the loaded candle. Botanicals that offer an aura of protection include: betony, black cohosh, cactus, calamus, fig leaf, five-finger grass, garlic, hyssop, lavender, mugwort, peppermint, rose, rue, Saint John’s Wort, snake root, stinging nettles, wormwood, and yarrow.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to hoodoo magic. Though these spells seem simple, may people believe in their power and rely on them to offer protection or grant their most fervent desires. For more information about hoodoo magic and more examples of spells, I highly recommend that you check out the Lucky Mojo Curio Company’s website at www.luckymojo.com It’s owner, Catherine Yronwode, has painstakingly recorded the history of hoodoo, collected oral histories of spells, and is a well respected manufacturer of authentic charms.

So what do you think? If you were headed to Vegas, would you carry a Gambler’s Hand into the casino for extra luck? Or would you prefer to go it alone and hope Lady Luck joins your on her own?

~Lea

______________________________________

Wow! I am completely amazed by hoodoo magic and can't wait to read ALLURE. Now, don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Melissa West, the amazing Lea Nolan, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 2. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the gold team and you'll have 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,  GINA ROSATI!

But while you're here, leave a comment below and enter to win a signed copy of HOVER!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for stopping by! Enjoy the hunt!

:) Melissa