Super Sekrit Cover Reveal

Okay, so today I'll be divulging a super sekrit cover reveal. Sort of. Okay, not really. But today, we're talking about TEN by Gretchen McNeil, and she is running a contest that goes until Friday, February 24 where she will reveal the cover to TEN on a super sekrit blog that will be revealed as you follow the scavenger hunt. She started the chain for the clues you'll need to enter to win the most amazing, exclusive prize ever!

You want to know what it is? (I felt like Jeff Probst typing that.)

A signed and annotated copy of the unbound galley of TEN. A one of a kind prize, out before the ARCs. How awesome is that? (Totally awesome.)

So let's examine TEN a little closer: And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, both of which involve Kamiak High’s most eligible bachelor, T.J. Fletcher. But what starts out as a fun-filled weekend turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly, people are dying and the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Add TEN to your Goodreads list.

And in case you don't know Gretchen... Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror/paranormal POSSESS debuted with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins in 2011. Her second novel, TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – will be released September 18, 2012. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen is also a founding member of the vlog group YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday."

You'll need all ten (get it? TEN?) clues to enter to win the signed and annotated copy of the unbound galley of TEN. Everything is happening this Friday, February 24, so you have time to start the hunt today if you haven't yet. (Here, remember? You can start here.)

Today's clue: NATHAN.

Be sure to check in at Christine Fonseca's blog tomorrow for another clue!

What do you think? Does TEN sound like something you'd read? I will totally 100% admit to being the biggest, yellowest chicken on the planet. The premise of TEN scares the crap out of me. But I'm gonna read it anyway. I'm sure it's awesome!

POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil

Today's featured read is POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil. And holy holy water, people, you've got to get your hands on this book. The cover is all sorts of shiny and gorgeous, but the words inside are the real treat.

Let's examine.

About POSSESS: Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her over-protective mom, by Matt Quinn, the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, the voices are demons—and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. Literally.

Terrified to tell her friends or family about this new power, Bridget confides in San Francisco’s senior exorcist, Monsignor Renault. The monsignor enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession, but just as she is starting to come to terms with her freakish new role, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. And when one of her oldest friends is killed, Bridget realizes she’s in deeper than she ever thought possible. Now she must unlock the secret to the demons’ plan before someone else close to her winds up dead—or worse, the human vessel for a demon king.

Okay, I will freely admit that the premise of this book scares the socks off me. I am not what you'd call a horror fan, but mostly in the movie arena. I liked I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER (Dan Wells) just fine.

And the reason is because I imagine in cartoons.

So I start reading POSSESS, and I just can't put it down! There are many things to be admired here, one of which is the way Gretchen can craft a story.

1. The voice: I have never read such an amazing voice. It's almost conversational, something I really like. (If you've read POSSESSION, you know this is true.) The voice is clever, and witty, and sarcastic, and just right. It compliments the character, as well as the plot, which is hard to do.

2. Bridget Liu: She's flawed, and I absolutely love that. Sometimes in books, you see a character that has problems they have to overcome. Everyone does. We can relate a little bit. But a character that is genuinely flawed is very hard to create and stay true to.

And Bridget is perfectly crafted in that way. She doesn't just have problems (which she actually has a plethora of those), but she's FLAWED.

And we as humans, are flawed. We work to overcome those things, and it's refreshing to find a character that isn't just overcoming problems, but she's overcoming flaws.

So there. Go get and read POSSESS. Imagine in cartoons if you have to. *wink* It's that good.

Check out what the other Bookanistas are up to this week at the Reading Room.

Or on their blogs:

• Christine Fonseca twirls for Audition
• Shannon Whitney Messenger is wowed by The White Assassin – with giveaway
• Shelli Johannes-Wells applauds The Pledge
• Beth Revis interviews The Girl of Fire & Thorns author Rae Carson
• Carolina Valdez Miller delves into The Future of Us – with signed book giveaway
• Shana Silver shouts out about Shut Out
• Sarah Frances Hardy fancies You Will Be My Friend

Are You POSSESSed?

Okay, so WriteOnCon starts tomorrow, and lasts for three packed days. (Three. Packed. Days.)

And I have to go back to work this week. (Word.)

Therefore, I will not be blogging here this week. (I seriously don't know what POSSESSed me to even blog today...)

Before I go, I wanted to leave you with one picture of what I've been doing lately:

Have you been POSSESSed? You won't have to wait much longer! (The book by Gretchen McNeil comes out August 23.)

Catch you next Monday! (Have a good week!)