Welcome to the New Adult Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was inspired 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 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 New Adult 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 TEAM RED, but there’s also TEAM BLUE and TEAM PURPLE for two more chances 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 see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the New Adult Scavenger Hunt page.
THE SCAVENGER HUNT
BONUS GIVEAWAY
Win this adorably bookish rose-in-a-bottle necklace inspired by Alice in Wonderland!
“A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red.”
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
Please welcome Kim Briggs! Kim is the author of And Then He, a New Adult thriller.
“Kim once smashed into a tree while skiing. The accident led to a concussion, a cracked sternum, temporary notoriety as a sixth grader returned from the dead, and the realization that fictionalized accounts are way more interesting than just slipping on the ice.
An unhealthy obsession with conspiracy theories combined with a love of travel and happily ever afters led Kim to write her YA novel, Starr Fall, where a secret organization decides 17 year old Starr Bishop is not only the model student, but the ideal assassin. While in hiding, Starr meets dark, moody, and dead sexy Christian Evergood. Cue the swoon worthy music. But it’s not all happily ever afters for Kim. Her NA novel, And Then He, explores the dark and scary corners of the human psyche. Following a night of innocent flirting with a handsome stranger, Tiffani finds herself in the midst of a nightmare she can’t escape. And Then He is available now through Amazon and other major book retailers. Starr Fall will debut November 2016 with Inkspell Publishing.
As the Co-Regional Advisor to SCBWI Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter, she meets lots of writer and illustrator friends. Through SCBWI, she met her Ink Sisters. The Ink Sisters destruct plot like ninja warrior poets. They make her laugh, especially when she wants to cry. They’re awesome. You should follow them on Twitter: @Alisongmyers @DonnaBoock
When she’s not doing something writerly, Kim can be found jumping into snow drifts with her three kids, husband, and dog. She’s careful to avoid trees.
Check out Kim’s website at www.KimBriggsWrite.com, and say hi on Twitter @KimBriggs_Write.
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
“Mature audiences only. And Then He combines sex and evil in all the right ways.
The fifth year reunion. Tiffani thought she’d suck the lifeblood out of a dozen exotic locations by her fifth year reunion. She certainly didn’t envision herself as a diner waitress serving giant slices of pie to diabetic townies. The best-selling author she planned to become now writing, “Hold the pickles.” Yet limited funds, monstrous debt, and a high school sweetheart with big league ambitions of his own force her to set aside her own dreams. She soon discovers loneliness is a seductive mistress. Enter sexy stranger. Tiffani spends most of the reunion with Jeb, a classmate she doesn’t even remember. He awakens a hunger in her that both frightens and excites her. Tiffani mistakes Jeb’s lifelong obsession for love at first sight and soon finds herself a prisoner, but it’s a hot, steamy trip to get there.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
A mountain of tortilla chips and two bowls of salsa sit in the middle of the bright tiled mosaic table. The waitress hands each of us another round of salt-rimmed lime margaritas. My lips already feel chapped from the first glass, but my mouth waters all the same.
“I thought you didn’t like tequila,” I say before taking a sip. The cold glass feels wonderful against my raw fingertips. Hours of stuffing fingers and toes into tiny crevices ripped the pads right off.
Jeb takes a sip from his glass, and then he smacks his lips together. The salt must be affecting his lips too.
Hmmm, his lips.
I am not going there. After a fun evening of climbing, I don’t want any tension between us. Our friendship is in the perfect place right now.
“I said I didn’t like tequila shots. We’re drinking margaritas, the beverage of choice after a climb.”
‘Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Mi Amor. Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Mi Amor.’
A mariachi band plays on the other side of the restaurant. The soft sounds of trumpets, violins, and guitars echo off the plaster walls.
I dip a chip in the green chile salsa. The fresh cilantro gives it just the right tang, though I pray to god that I don’t get any disgusting green chunks in my teeth. “Why is that do you think? We always hit La Tolteca after climbing at Slippery Rock.”
Jeb takes a scoop of the spicy red salsa. “I don’t know. The wholesome goodness of Mexican aligns with the natural rhythm of climbing.”
A smirk crosses my face. I scrunch my forehead at him.
“What?” A drop of salsa trails down the corner of his mouth. I’m tempted to wipe it off, but I don’t want to get anywhere near his lips. We’re friends. Nothing more.
“I spend a lot of time with jocks. They call me a ‘granola.’”
He wipes off the salsa with his napkin. “And your point?”
Some nearby patrons clap, clap, clap to the beat of the band.
“If the shoe fits…,” I grin. Clap, clap, clap. Tap, tap, tap.
He sets his margarita in front of him. “Not a lot of profound thoughts emerging from your muscle bound jock heads, I take it?”
I trace the rim of my glass with my finger. When it starts to hum, I stop. A pang of sadness overtakes me. I should not talk about Drew with Jeb. There’s a line even friendship shouldn’t cross.
“Hey, no sad faces on girl’s night,” he says in his corny game show voice that always makes me laugh. I try to smile but my skin feels tight and stretched.
“To good friends!” He brings his glass to the middle of the table. It hovers in no man’s land. Beads of condensation drip down the side of his glass. They remind me of teardrops.
I press my lips together. I won’t let Drew ruin my night. He’s ruined too many nights over the past few months, and I’ve spent more nights that I want to admit sad and alone. “To good friends,” I agree and bring my drink to his. The liquid sloshes against the rim of the glasses and all over my hand. Without meaning too, I watch him as my lips wrap around my hand to suck the renegade liquid. He pulls his tongue slowly along the top of his lip reminiscent of my recurring fantasy of him. A shiver rifles through me. The far off noises of the Mariachi band and the other patrons disappear as a wall of tension builds between us, encapsulating us in a tiny sliver of space. Our eyes don’t leave each other, and neither of us utters a word.
I wish I could lie to myself and pretend we don’t speak because we have nothing to talk about, but it’s not true. Not in the least. Our common interests outnumber the populations of a half dozen small countries he’s traveled too. As much as I try to deny it, Jeb and I have something more than friendship. Something, I’m not ready to put into words.
But if I fall for him, where will I land?
‘Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Mi Amor. Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Mi Amor.’
The arm of the violinist thrusts towards my face. I pull my head back just before his silver embroidered elbow smacks me square in the nose. Jeb jumps up and shoves the violinist out of the way. As the musician murmurs a low curse in Spanish, Jeb kneels next to me. “Are you alright?”
I burst out laughing. “That’d be an injury to write about. I can see the headlines now, ‘Local Waitress Gets Elbowed Out.”
He laughs as he stands up. “There’s a first for everything.”
I shift away from him so I can watch the mustached men. My feet, my knees, my fingers bounce to the catchy, addictive rhythm.
‘Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Mi Amor. Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay Mi Amor.’
He bows in front of me, offering his hand. “My lady, may I have this dance?”
I consider his offer. Two margaritas chant, Yes! Yes! Yes! But I know I shouldn’t. WE shouldn’t. Before I can answer, the waitress places a chicken rice burrito in front of me and all the fixes for steak fajitas in front of him. She pours two large glasses of water. I gulp down half of mine to push the buzz of the margaritas out of my system, but it’s not the alcohol I’m worried about.
Sometimes a night of over-eating leaves you hungry for something you can’t name. An emptiness haunted me. An emptiness I didn’t have a name for until I met Jeb. Now, I’m starving.
Looking for my lucky book number? Spoiler: it’s 6.
Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on TEAM RED and you’ll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize! To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, Michelle Abbott. GOOD LUCK!
my fav NA is sweet.
I like a little spice sometimes. A little dark and sexy;)
I like them Steamy, Sweet, and Spicy. 😉 Thanks for being a part of the hunt!
Thanks for commenting! Who doesn’t like a little spice^^
I like them to have a little bit of sweet, a bit of steamy and a WHOLE lot of spicy! 🙂 Thanks for the chance!
Yummy!!
Thx for commenting!
Let’s go with steamy lol
I love the steamy paranormal romance with a little spice! 🙂
A little spice and everything nice!!
Depends on my mood but mostly sweet, with a fantasy/sci-fi twist.
Steamy and full of angst.
I like a mix of steamy, spicy, and sweet. Isn’t that the bad boy recipe?
Always go with the steamy;)
does it have to be one kind?! i like e/t there. most important – it’s gotta be real.
STEAMY!
Spicy and steamy! Lots of banter and lots of wink wink 😉
My favorite kind is a combination of all three :))))
no fav