Halloween Week Giveaway #3: A Signed IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Poster & Swag

Welcome to the final stop in my Halloween week blog tour for In the Shadow of Blackbirds.

On Monday I was at IceyBooks with one of my Amulet Books siblings, Sarah Skilton, and on Tuesday author Mindy McGinnis interviewed me about the In the Shadow of Blackbirds cover at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire. At both stops I've provided opportunities to be placed on my list to receive an advance reading copy of In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I'm also over at Corsets, Cutlasses, & Candlesticks today discussing the strange history of spirit photography...and explaining that ghostly figure that appears on my book's cover.

And right here on my own site I'm celebrating Halloween with an In the Shadow of Blackbirds prize package that includes a signed bookmark, a signed bookplate, stickers, and a signed 12x18 In the Shadow of Blackbirds poster!

The signed poster.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds bookmark, stickers, and bookplate.

Here's what you need to do to enter the giveaway:  

Find the name of my novel's ghost. 

My ghost likes mysteries and word games and would love to send you on a scavenger hunt. I've slipped his name into one of this week's guest posts. Visit the three guest post sites, find his name, and enter it in the form at the bottom of this post. 

Once again, here are the links to all of my Halloween stops:
IceyBooks
Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire
Corsets, Cutlasses, & Candlesticks

ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON WILL BE COUNTED, so please enter only once. I'll pull a name from the correct entries using Random.org. The giveaway is international!

DEADLINE: Tuesday, November 6, 2012, at midnight.

THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER WAS ANNOUNCED HERE.

Halloween Week Giveaway #2: IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS ARC and Swag

It's Day 2 of the In the Shadow of Blackbirds Halloween Week Giveaways, and I'm making a stop at Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire. Author Mindy McGinnis (Not a Drop to Drink) interviewed me about my book's creepy-cool ghostly cover, so if you want to know the story behind the design (and what I originally envisioned for the cover artwork), head on over to Mindy's amazing site.

We're also giving away an advance reading copy of In the Shadow of Blackbirds (to be mailed when the ARCs are available in November), along with a signed swag pack:

Swag pack with a signed bookmark, stickers, and a signed bookplate.

You can enter either here or at the Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire post. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Halloween Week Giveaway #1: IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS and BRUISED ARCs!

Welcome to Day 1 of the In the Shadow of Blackbirds Halloween Week Giveaways! Over at Iceybooks today, Sarah Skilton and I are discussing our respective 2013 Amulet Books releases. Sarah is the author of the contemporary YA novel Bruised, and my novel is a historical YA, so we're chatting about writing books set in the past vs the present.

The giveaway: We're sending advance reading copies of both Bruised and In the Shadow of Blackbirds to one lucky winner! My ARCs should be arriving mid November, and Sarah's are already available to ship.

We're willing to mail the books internationally, so anyone reading this post should scurry over to Iceybooks for details immediately. Good luck!

My Halloween Week Blog Tour starts Monday... but I'm Offering One Giveaway Today!

I'm excited to share all the giveaways that are waiting to be put in the mail during next week's Halloween blog tour.

So excited, in fact, that I'm going to sneak in one giveaway early! My dining room table is covered with boxes of In the Shadow of Blackbirds swag that's just waiting to be shared, so here's what I'm going to do:

I'll send a swag pack to the first person 
who comments on this post!

You can still enter next week's giveaways (psst, those will contain even bigger and better goodies!). But this swag wasn't meant to just sit on my table in cardboard boxes.

Here's a sneak peek at my collection of In the Shadow of Blackbirds treats: 

(Signed bookmark, stickers, and signed bookplate.)

The bookmarks were designed by Amber at Me, My Shelf, & I.

If you don't win today, here's where you can catch me during the week of Halloween:

Monday, October 29

IceyBooks

Sarah Skilton, author of Bruised, will be joining me for a combined Amulet Books guest post and giveaway.

Tuesday, October 30

Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire

Mindy McGinnis, author of Not a Drop to Drink, will be interviewing me about the In the Shadow of Blackbirds cover...and offering prize packages.

Wednesday, October 31, Halloween

My Own Website

Return here to learn about a giveaway that will involve the name of one of my major characters. It seems highly appropriate to reveal his name on Halloween.

IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Advance Reading Copy Requests

In the Shadow of Blackbirds advance reading copies (ARCs) are currently in production, which means my historical ghost tale will be heading out to early readers soon (approximately mid November). If you are a book blogger, reviewer, librarian, bookseller, or anyone else who typically receives ARCs, please fill out my ARC request form. I will forward all requests to my marketing contact at Amulet Books/ABRAMS. The novel will also eventually be available via Netgalley.

If you don't fall into any of the above categories (or even if you do), I'll be providing opportunities to win ARCs, as well as swag, at two of my stops during my Halloween week blog tour.  Check out last week's blog tour post for details.

Advance praise for In the Shadow of Blackbirds:

“Cat Winters deftly captures the darkness and the light of human nature with In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I swear, I can smell the smoke from the flashlamps and taste the electricity in the air—and Mary Shelley Black's dark and startling story lingers long after the final page.”

    —Saundra Mitchell

      Edgar-Nominated Author of Shadowed Summer
and The Vespertine Series

IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Halloween Week Giveaways

I'm gathering In the Shadow of Blackbirds treats to share with readers this Halloween season. Visit the following sites during the last week in October, and you can enter three ghostly giveaways that will include chances to win an advance copy of my novel.

Monday, October 29

IceyBooks

Sarah Skilton, author of Bruised, will be joining me for a combined Amulet Books guest post and giveaway.

Tuesday, October 30

Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire

Mindy McGinnis, author of Not a Drop to Drink, will be interviewing me about the In the Shadow of Blackbirds cover...and offering prize packages.

Wednesday, October 31, Halloween

My Own Website

Return here to learn about a giveaway that will involve the name of one of my major characters. It seems highly appropriate to reveal his name on Halloween.



Feel free to share the banner at the top of this post on your own site.

If you need a little extra help getting into the Halloween spirit,
here's a dark and spooky sample of one of Kristen Lawrence's  
Halloween Carols:

Why I Write about the Early 1900s

Today I'm blogging over at Corsets, Cutlasses, and Candlesticks, the new YA and middle-grade historical fiction site I launched with eight other authors in September.

The theme this week is our favorite time periods, and I'm explaining how growing up near Disneyland in Southern California can turn a person into a historical novelist.

http://corsetsandcutlasses.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/i-blame-walt-disney-for-my-love-of-the-past/

I'm also kicking off my October tribute to Halloween music today by sharing my very first favorite ghost song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts"...also from Disneyland.

My Giveaway Winners...plus News about Upcoming Giveaways & Halloween Blog Stops

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my cover reveal giveaway!

The winner of a Halloween prize package that includes a copy of Kristen Lawrence's Poe-inspired CD, The Raven, four vintage-style crow bookmarks, and a signed bookplate featuring a line spoken by my In the Shadow of Blackbirds spirit photographer character during the scene pictured on the book cover:

Tonja D.

The winners of signed In the Shadow of Blackbirds bookplates:

Jana

Petra

Caterina T.

Dannielle B.

Susan R.

Congratulations! I'll be sending all of you an email with more details soon.

If you didn't win this time, do not despair! Anyone who's taken a good look at my cover can probably guess that the Halloween season is the perfect time for me to be traveling around the blogosphere to discuss In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Here are my October blog stops, some of which contain more giveaways:

Oct. 5 - The Lucky 13s
I belong to this wonderful group of 2013 debut YA and children's book authors, and tomorrow we're all answering a single book-related question on the blog.

October 8 - Corsets, Cutlasses, & Candlesticks
I'll be chatting about my favorite historical time periods. And Disneyland.

Oct. 29 - IceyBooks
Fellow Amulet Books author Sarah Skilton (Bruised) and I will be teaming up for a post. GIVEAWAY INCLUDED!

Oct. 30 - Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire
Fellow 2013 debut novelist Mindy McGinnis (Not a Drop to Drink) will be interviewing me about the In the Shadow of Blackbirds cover. GIVEAWAY INCLUDED!

Oct. 31 - Corsets, Cutlasses, & Candlesticks
I'll be celebrating Halloween by sharing some of the spookiness you'll find in In the Shadow of Blackbirds.

The dates are subject to change, of course. Please stop by and visit if you can.