LINGER ARC Giveaway!

Hey there. Thought I'd let my blog followers know...

I'm giving away an ARC of Maggie Stiefvater's LINGER over on Twitter. All you have to do is make me laugh in 130 characters or less (The other 10 characters should be taken up by this: @AS_King, of course.)

You can join in the fun here, too, if you don't have Twitter. Just make me laugh in under 130 characters in the comment area and leave me your email address, in case you win!

DEADLINE: Friday, 11/27 11:59PM EST.

Don't Be Blue

It's tough to lose. I've been there.
It's especially tough to lose when there are few entries. Take comfort in the fact that you guys made it really really hard to judge?

AND THE WINNER IS: Chris Townsend

WITH THIS ENTRY:

“Can you smell that?” He’d asked the same question almost every day for the last 256 days.
“If you ask me that one mo—“ The walls shifted. Voices echoed in the tunnel. Always the voices. We’d pound on the walls garnering a chuckle at best.
The tunnel squeezed again pressing us together. In the distance a rumbling, sucking sound began.
“The water is draining!” Chuck started crying.
I wrapped my arms around him trying to protect him as the tunnel collapsed inward.
Tumbling…
Crushing...
In the distance a light. If we could only…

###

“Congratulations Mrs. Johnson. It’s Twins!”

I've sent you an email, Chris! After you get my package, you will never be able to say that nobody ever gave you a hand. And thanks so much for playing, all of you. It always makes me happy when people have fun with writing.

Regarding Reality--The Blogging Year is Coming to an End

Looks to me like we should have a winter break around here while we set up some new blogging headquarters. I can't thank you all enough for all the support you gave team D100D and team King during the year 2009. It's been a blast. I'll keep you up to date here on any interesting developments. I plan to return with a redecorated blog, a few samples of Please Ignore Vera Dietz (coming in Oct 2010!) and a whole new bag of fun things to do for prizes.

Haven't read the book yet? Love your Kindle? I'm thrilled to announce that The Dust of 100 Dogs has become available in Kindle format HERE. If I had my choice, I'd still buy it at a local independent bookstore, like Aaron's Books in Lititz, PA where I had a ball last weekend at their first annual festival!

Want to come and see me at a signing? I'll be at the Exton Square Mall Borders in Exton, PA, on the 18th of December from 6 to 8pm. Check the website for details. Been thinking about hitting the Chicago area for a few days next year, maybe...stay tuned!

Random Contest in Tunnel #77

Wow. It's November already. I know I said I'd be back last month. I really wanted to be...but things got crazy around here. You'll be happy to know that Please Ignore Vera Dietz is moving through the many tunnels that will lead it to a shelf in your bookstore in October 2010. And I've just finished the book that will come after that. (Still untitled because for the first time in my life, I can't think of the right title.) I think you'll like it. It's pretty weird.

I have to give a shout out to all the people who've read and reviewed D100D over the last months and all the people who have come out to see me during my year of groovy events, and the kind people who have arranged visits at bookstores, schools and libraries. Thank you! And hey--if you're anywhere near Lititz, PA this coming weekend, drop into the Lititz Kid-lit Festival at Aaron's Books. (Nov. 13-15th) There will a lot of great authors and events. Check out the website for more details!

SERIOUS BUSINESS in TUNNEL #77

Now--on to the serious business. What better way to show you how much I missed this place than to throw a random contest, with weird prizes?

CHALLENGE: Write a story (beginning, middle & end) that is 100 words or less.

Rule #1 = The story must begin with this line: "Can you smell that?"

Rule #2 = The story must take place in a tunnel. (It can be any kind of tunnel, and doesn't have to be that weird futuristic one in the picture at the top of this post. Could be a dirt tunnel. Or a tunnel in snow. Or a tunnel under a road or under Fort Knox or under my couch. Go for it. Give me crazy weightless moon tunnels if you want.)

How to Enter: Leave your answer and an email address in the comment trail.

DEADLINE: Sunday, November 15th 23:59 EST (That's one minute to midnight.)


PRIZES**: A signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs and a severed hand. (The book is real, the hand is not.) My daughter assures you that you will have hours of fun with this hand. It never gets old.

**If we get over 40 entries, I'll toss in a second prize package!

Where Did She Go?

I haven't blogged in a while, and I figured I should let you guys know I'm still alive. I am. Alive. But I'm still swamped with work and other life stuff that is sucking my time away at the moment. So, to make it official, I'm going to pull the Get Out of Blog Free card for another month and hope you'll forgive my absence for a little while longer.


I want to thank the many bloggers who have read and reviewed The Dust of 100 Dogs in the last few months. I appreciate your support and thank you for spreading the word! I recently wrote an essay about Pennsylvania, which you can find here, and over the next weeks, other guest blogs will pop up for bloggers' birthdays and blog anniversaries, so if you don't already, do follow me on Twitter or join the Facebook Fan page, because that's where I've been posting links to things like that while I'm blog-free.

You might ask: why would a person go blog-free? Doesn't that kinda kill the whole point of having a blog? Maybe it does, but I don't think so, in my case, because I just can't blog when I've got nothing exciting to say. Do you really want to read a blog about my wrestling a secret manuscript and boring personal life dramas? Do you want to hear about how my brain is tired, and how we're just getting back into the routine of kids, school, and waking up before seven? (Let me say here that waking up before seven is cruel and should fall under some cruelty to grown-ups rule. I already did it once when I was school age. Why do I have to do it again?) And even if you said, "Yes! Amy, we DO want to hear about these things!" I have to admit, I just can't gather the energy to tell you about them. So, I guess the official word is: Amy is slightly burned out and needs to save what little brain power she's got for the two books she's writing right now.

But hey! This month is exciting for many of my writer friends who are releasing books! Go find Fat Cat by Robin Brande in October! Great book! And if you haven't already, find Lauren Baratz-Logsted's Crazy Beautiful, because it's a really gripping read!

I have some great writing contests lined up for October, so I'll be back then, with a new and improved blog and other fun stuff. Until then, friends!

Winners & The First D100D Tattoo

WE HAVE WINNERS!

Thank you for playing. We had about 30 entries, which was more than I expected due to the contest being a bit more work than just leaving a comment. I really appreciate anyone who entered, or spread the word, and anyone who came around to the Five Awesome YA Fans chat. We had a great time & I hope to be their book of the month again one day. (They really are awesome!)

First, to the BONUS PRIZES--a signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs goes to:

Bianca and pepsivanilla!

I've emailed you both for your addresses, so I can send!

I tossed all right answers into a hat and had my 2-year-old pick the winner....
And the TOWER OF AWESOME BOOKS goes to:

Meghan!

Congratulations!

To those of you who entered but didn't win, I wish I could give you all a prize just for playing! I know it took some time to get the final clue (Beach where Emer Morrisey Died) and many of you answered it correctly (Billy's Bay). I only hope you'll come back and enter more contests here at Dog Fact #9. (Because there will be more!) (Keep reading for another chance to win a signed copy...)

You want to see something really cool?
A few months ago, Missy, a great (I mean GREAT) bookseller from Arizona told me she was thinking of getting a D100D-inspired tattoo. I've also been thinking about this, but have yet to come up with a good design idea. Well...she beat me to it. Check this out.

Isn't it AWESOME?

Random Linkage:

If you haven't seen it yet, there is a really great interview with me, Emer & Saffron over at Diana Dang's Stop, Drop & Read. I decided I'd bounce some reader comments off the ladies, and we had a great result! There's also a contest to celebrate Diana's blogoversary! You could win a signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs!

And a shout out to BookMac, who reviewed D100D this week. Thrilled you liked it and pleased to meet you!

Now--I'm off for a few weeks. I've been in this office for about two months non-stop and I'm hoping to catch a bit of summer before it goes away. The good news? I've finished a new book, and have two more on the go. I think I deserve a few laps in the community swimming pool, don't you?

The Treasure Hunt's FINAL CLUE

I've got a lot of entries, but not nearly as many as you'd think considering I'm offering 21 free books, including sought after ARCS of Malinda Lo's ASH or Robin Brande's FAT CAT. And so, with five days left to go, I figured I'd open this contest to EVERYONE ELSE. (This means you.)

If you've read The Dust of 100 Dogs, there's a really great chance you're going to find this contest EASY. Or, to put it another way--if you've read The Dust of 100 Dogs, you could totally win 21 free books (here's a list of them) without much effort at all.

How?

GO TO THIS BLOG and watch the first three vlogs, which are in order, and which give you the first parts of the final clue.

Then, watch this vlog, below, and get the last clue...and a hint to help you with the final answer, in case you're not sure. This vlog is a week old, so do ignore the live chat stuff--that was last Saturday! (Keep reading, after the video, to find out how to enter.)


Find more videos like this on FiveAwesomeYAFans


Now, all you have to do is send your answer to the final clue to: contest@thedustof100dogs.com and you're done. That's it. If you answered correctly, then your name will be tossed in with the other correct answers, and we'll choose a winner.

Deadline: August 12th, 2009 11:59PM EST

There are also two BONUS PRIZES for spreading the word about this contest! If you help me get the word out, you could win a signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs! Read about bonus prizes HERE, and remember to let me know where you spread the word in the comment area of that post or this post!

REMEMBER: DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWER TO THE FINAL CLUE IN THE COMMENT AREA. SEND ONLY TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS ABOVE. COMMENT AREA IS ONLY FOR BONUS PRIZES!

Now--get to it! You don't want to miss the opportunity to win a care package of awesome books, do you?

Treasure Seekers--ENTER HERE!!

This is the entry blog for the Five Awesome YA Fans Treasure Hunt to win the TOWER OF AWESOME BOOKS! (See last blog for list of books)

By the time you get here, you will have watched four vlogs over at Five Awesome YA Fans and solved four clues to get you the FINAL CLUE. You need to send me the answer to the FINAL CLUE along with your email address. We are doing this through email because it's a SECRET ANSWER!

Instructions:

1. Solve the FINAL CLUE (There's a hint in the final vlog, if you need one.)
2. Send me your answer/s at: contest@thedustof100dogs.com
3. Spread the word, to be eligible for a BONUS PRIZE. (Keep reading.)
   

BONUS PRIZES: There are TWO signed copies of The Dust of 100 Dogs up for grabs for spreading the word about this contest! All you have to do is blog it, tweet it, facebook it--whatever!

Instructions for BONUS PRIZES:

1. To enter for the BONUS PRIZE, list ONLY the places where you spread the word in the comment area of this blog with you email address!

DO NOT PUT YOUR ANSWER TO THE FINAL CLUE IN THE COMMENT AREA!

(It's TOP SECRET, remember?)

COMMENT AREA IS ONLY FOR BONUS POINT ENTRIES!

Deadline: August 12th 11:59PM EST.

And don't forget to join me at Five Awesome YA Fans Ning for a LIVE CHAT Tomorrow--Saturday August 1st at 5PM Eastern time! Stop by and chat and wear your tiara, man!

See you then!

Who Doesn't Want to Win Over *20* Books?

The July FAYAF Treasure Hunt is Almost Over!

THE PRIZE:

THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY

WILDWOOD DANCING
FAT CAT (arc)
FLUSH
GIVE A BOY A GUN
EVERY CROOKED POT
LONDON CALLING
THE PATRON SAINT OF BUTTERFLIES
THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
ASH (arc)
GATHERING BLUE
THE DUST OF 100 DOGS
MAYBE
IUSHIGI YUGI (The Mysterious Play)
OR NOT?
TENDING TO GRACE
THE CHOSEN ONE
WAKE
EXIT HERE
THE SHAPE OF WATER
FINDING MIRACLES


HOW TO WIN IT:
There are four small clues.
Each one of them gives you part of the final clue.
Solve the final clue & enter your answer.

I've already vlogged the first three clues, first at Five Awesome YA Fans, and I've also posted them here, in my last blog. This week, I will vlog the last small clue at Five Awesome YA Fans, and will give you an additional hint to solve the final clue. At the same time, I will open up a blog here at Dog Fact #9, where you'll get instructions on how to send your final answer and contact details, and after two weeks, we'll toss all right answers into a hat, and pick a winner!

DEADLINE:
August 12th, 2009 11:59PM EST

YOU NEVER KNOW:
I might drop a hint or two during the LIVE CHAT I'm doing at Five Awesome YA Fans on Saturday August 1st at 5PM!

The Wagging on Wednesday Slumber Party

I want to take a minute to thank everyone who participated in Wagging on Wednesday this year. It was a fun feature and a great excuse to talk about the books we're looking forward to reading and our dogs at the same time. To end our July Slumber Party, I'd like to introduce you to some of my former pets. When we moved from Ireland, we had to leave our pets in the care of many generous people. So, little did you know when you shared your dogs with me, you were actually helping me through living without my own!

This is Spider. She was an amazing hunter and was stupid-fluffy.

This is Cosmo. He was smaller than a toaster, yet, he chased tractors.

This is Guido. The coolest fish ever.

And this is Stella. Pure Awesome.

These days, the animals around my house look more like this:
(These are coyote pups hanging out in my back yard.)

Random Linkage:

D100D was Lizzie's favorite read of the summer! (Don't you love her blog header?)

I'll be back in a day or two with a link to the final clue & the Treasure Hunt entry blog!

Rerise Memory

Have you been keeping up with the Five Awesome YA Fans Treasure Hunt in July? You should be. Why? Because if you collect all the clues and then solve the final clue at the end, you could win the TOWER OF AWESOME BOOKS, which is growing every week and will be bigger than 20 books by the time we're done! So--in case you were on vacation or working hard at your summer job or just not aware of this amazing treasure hunt, today, I will review the first two clues, and add a third.

Slackers! Take note! This is the only review you'll get!

Here's the first clue:


Find more videos like this on FiveAwesomeYAFans


Here's the second clue:


Find more videos like this on FiveAwesomeYAFans


And here's today's clue--Clue #3:


Find more videos like this on FiveAwesomeYAFans


See you next week!

Wagging on Wednesday Slumber Party

It's the 1st annual Wagging on Wednesday Slumber Party

WELCOME!

In case you haven't heard, for the entire month of July, we're featuring all kinds of pets here at Dog Fact #9, with small introductions and great pictures, sent by awesome readers! So far, my friend Beth and her three gorgeous cats came to say hello and Joanne Levy and her entire crew dropped in too. I'm thrilled today to welcome Sharon, from Sharon Loves Books and Cats, and her three cats. Sharon wrote:

My 3 Kittehs

Sabrina (Beanie, Beaners, My Little Itty Bitty Witty Black Kitty, Beaniekins, My Little Angel, Sabeanie, ¾ ear kitteh):

Three years ago last month Sabrina became my first official pet cat. My father was highly allergic to cats, so I could never have any growing up. When I finally moved into an apartment that allowed cats, I quickly unboxed everything, and ran over to the local Petsmart shelter. This is where I found Sabrina. When I first saw her she was curled up in a little ball in her cage. I was immediately taken in by her beautiful shiny black fur and clipped left ear. As it turns out, Sabrina had her ear clipped because she was labeled unadoptable by the woman who originally trapped her. This person was planning on releasing Sabrina back into the wild! Thankfully, a friend of hers decided to foster Sabrina and give her another chance. Lucky for me because Sabrina is so much more to me now than just a pet cat. She is my baby! Sabrina’s favorite activities include: chasing laser lights, eating chicken, bothering me when I’m trying to read, sleeping on my laptop, and grooming me.

Lilly
(Lilly Monster, Monster cat, Lilly pad, Goofy Girl):

Lilly came into my life a few months after her sister and littermate Sabrina. I had become quite friendly with the person who fostered Sabrina and she kept telling me stories of how close Sabrina and Lilly were. After hearing cute story after cute story, I decided to go in to Petsmart to take a look at Lilly. 2 weeks later Lilly she was reunited with Sabrina. It only took a day of two for them to start sleeping next to each other. Lilly has more of an outgoing personality than Sabrina. While Sabrina is still rather skittish Lilly is pretty much the stereotypical cat--- an aloof and independent grey tabby. While she may be aloof she is still my best pal! Lilly’s Favorite activities include: giving me love bites, sleeping in weird positions, rolling around in catnip, and attacking paper towel rolls.

Blackie (Blackie Boy, moomoo, sweetface):

Blackie has quite a different story. He used to live in my apartment until his owners moved out and abandoned him! This happened around 10 years ago and he has been around the neighborhood ever since. All the people in my building have been taking care of him throughout years. When I moved in the torch was passed to me. Not that I mind, because he is hands down one of the sweetest and most affectionate animals I have ever seen. As of now he lives on my porch. I even bought him his own little cat bed last year. He comes inside in the cold, but he hates being indoors. Blackie’s favorite activities include: eating catnip, sleeping on laps, talking, hissing at dogs, and sleeping.

My foster kittehs:
I have also done some kitten fostering. From left to right: Mookie, Shadow, Jewel. Second row: Sam and Diane, Dewey, and my current problem child Cookie.

Amy says: I once had a great cat named Mookie, too!
Here's a picture of us.

Thanks so much for coming around to the Slumber Party this week, Sharon! We love your cats!

Random Links
Some shout outs this week to recent interviews & reviews.
Thanks so much for spreading the word!!

Here's an interview with Mrs Magoo!

I help kick off the dog days of summer with a Resort Chat at The Book Resort!

And here's one more interview--with the Dreamer Reader!

And a serious shout out to Leah for this review that I totally missed until this week!

Adding one last link here...Do you want to win a signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs? All you have to do is go here and comment. You have until 7/24. Spread the word!

The July Treasure Hunt at Five Awesome YA Fans Continues

Here's the vlog that holds the 2nd clue!


See you next week for a very special edition of the Wagging on Wednesday Slumber Party...where I introduce you to my favorite pets from days past.