Justin Thyme Competition and Giveaway!

Today I am really pleased to bring you my blog entry in the Justin Thyme competition.

Full details can be found in this blog post but here, for your reading pleasure, is what this is all about!

To celebrate the publication of "Justin Thyme" in paperback, there will be a special competition open to ALL blog-readers. The competition will open on September 1st (publication day), running for one week - and many regular book-bloggers will be participating by hosting clues (LETTERS and NUMBERS). To win, simply find all the letters by visiting each of the participating blogs in turn (links will be posted at the Tartan of Thyme blog) and then rearrange them in numerical order!

First prize will be special hardback copies of both "Justin Thyme" and forthcoming sequel "Thyme Running Out". Each book will include original colour artwork added to the title page, along with a hand-written quote from the book and, of course, the customary author's signature.

Further prizes (of signed limited edition JT bookmarks) will also be available at this blog and at other participating book-blogs throughout the week.

NOW, I have my grubby paws on two of these limited edition bookmarks (one for me to keep and, excitingly, one to give away to my blog readers). Can I just say that they are GORGEOUS! In all honesty, I'm wishing that I could keep both of them and boo ya to the rest of you!

Here is my picture of the two bookmarks, with letters and numbers showing clearly so that you can note them down for the main competition:

Aren't they glorious?

To get your hands on one of these, just drop an email to magemanda AT gmail DOT com with the subject line "THYME". Give me your postal address so that I can ship out the prize as soon as the competition closes. This will be on 7th September. I am happy to open this internationally!

Good luck! And happy hunting with all the numbers and letters for the main Justin Thyme prize!

Massive Summer Giveaway Winners!

I am really pleased to announce the winners of my massive summer giveaway. Thanks to the hundreds of people who entered, and I hope the winners really enjoy the books coming their way!

Set 1

Jo Jones

Set 2

Holly Green

Set 3

Catherine Owen

Set 4

Asha Hartland

Set 5

Clare Finning

Set 6

Liz Fullam

I have emailed all the winners.

Big congratulations to them, and commiserations to all those who didn't win.

Sharing the Love - Mega Summer Giveaway

Okay, a few things have caused this post to come into being.

1) I had major happy awesome news tonight - it *may* not come to fruition, hence I can't talk about it publically - but rest assured that it is AMAZING!

2) I've gotta do something to cheer me up from the bad weather blues. Seriously, July! WTF?

3) I realised, during a fun little book sort (yes, I sort my books for fun, so sue me) that I have a massive number of books that have either been read, or I have duplicates, or, or, or....

Observe the big pile of sorted books:

So I am sharing the love with a BIG SUMMER GIVEAWAY.

Here are the rules:

1 - Fill out the form below
2 - Because I'm feeling happy and fuzzy, this is an INTERNATIONAL giveaway
3 - You can pick more than one set of books to put your name in the hat, but I will make it so that you can't win more than one set - if you see what I mean :-/
4 - This GIVEAWAY will close prompt at midnight Friday 29th July

I think that is everything, but shoot me any questions in the comments below.

It just remains to show you what you could win *grins*

Set 1

His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik
A Cavern of Black Ice - J V Jones
Spellwright - Blake Charlton
White Tiger - Kylie Chan

Set 2

The Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven - Robin Hobb

Set 3

The Winter Ghosts - Kate Mosse
The Passage - Justin Cronin
The Prestige - Christopher Priest
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote

Set 4

Rot and Ruin - Jonathan Maberry
Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard
Halo - Alexandra Adornetto

Set 5

Exit Strategy - Kelley Armstrong
The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Volume 1 - Charlaine Harris
Made to be Broken - Kelley Armstrong

Set 6

The Technician - Neal Asher
Count Zero - William Gibson
Veteran - Gavin Smith
Nova War - William Gibson

If all has gone as planned, there should be a form below this last bit of words that you need to fill out in order to enter *grins*

Good luck!

The Wise Man's Fear Giveaway Winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who supported my blog by entering this contest! As always, there can be only one winner and that person is:

NATE GREEN

Congratulations to you Nate - your book will be in the post very shortly!

Commiserations to everyone else, but remember The Wise Man's Fear is out in all good bookstores right now, so go out and pick up a copy.

The Wise Man's Fear Giveaway!

Okay, y'all, thanks to some impatience on my part I went out to buy The Wise Man's Fear and then discovered that the lovely chaps at Gollancz had also sent through a copy.

So, thanks to their generosity and my impatience, I now have a spare copy that I want to give away *grins*

This is open worldwide. Drop me an email at magemanda AT gmail DOT com with WISE GIVEAWAY as the subject header. Pop your mailing address in the email. I will pick a lucky winner next Friday.

Good luck!

Embassytown Giveaway Winner

Thank you so much for all the entries in this giveaway - I was overwhelmed by the interest. As usual, I wish I had hundreds of copies so that you could all have one, but there can only be one winner. On this occasion that person is:

Amanda Pereira

Congratulations to Amanda and commiserations to all those who didn't win - especial apologies to Patrick, I know you'll just hate me more!

Remember to support China by buying copies of Embassytown when it is released on May 17th!

Malazan Book of the Fallen giveaway - Winner!

So, after hundreds of entries - thank you so much to everyone who emailed through - I can finally pick a winner.

The answer to the question "Which is the first book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen?" is, of course, Gardens of the Moon. I'm happy to say that no one got that wrong!

Seriously, I wish I could give all of you this prize, so that I can share my love of Erikson's work, but there can only be one winner and that person is:

Robert Uden

Congratulations Robert, and enjoy your books!

To everyone else, so sorry that you were not lucky on this occasion - but remember that The Crippled God is now out in shops (in the UK, at least!) and so this is the perfect time to start your Malazan journey.

HUGE Malazan Book of the Fallen giveaway!

Okay... Anyone who is a reader of the Malazan Book of the Fallen is getting just a little bit excited right now.

This man:

is releasing this book:

which is the 10th novel in the Malazan Book of the Fallen!

To celebrate this fact, I have a wonderful giveaway for someone who is ready to embark on this most brilliant of series.

I've teamed up with Transworld to bring one lucky winner ALL TEN BOOKS of the Malazan Book of the Fallen! Yes, that is the WHOLE series!

Not only that, but The Crippled God will be a signed copy by the man himself.

To be in with a chance of winning this awesome prize, simply send an email to magemanda AT gmail DOT com, with the subject line MALAZAN GIVEAWAY and give the answer to this insultingly easy question:

What was the title of the first Malazan Book of the Fallen?

Please provide your mailing address so that I can pass it onto the publishers, who will be sending out the prize on my behalf.

Any duplicate entries will be deleted. The contest is open worldwide. It will run until the date The Crippled God is released, which is 21st February.

Good luck!

The Sentinel Mage Giveaway - Winners!

Okay! I had a lovely little giveaway running this week to win copies of The Sentinel Mage. Using my handy little randomizer programme, I can now announce the winners...

There are three people lucky enough to win copies of both The Sentinel Mage and The Laurentine Spy. These three are:

LizSara

Mihai Adascalitei

Heather Holt

The two people who will receive a copy of The Sentinel Mage are:

Maria Patrinou

David Rowe

Thank you for the many, many entries I received for this giveaway. Congratulations to all the winners, and commiserations to those not so lucky.  

News from Solaris - and a Giveaway!

So... most of us are back in the office after a (hopefully) restful festive period. If you're depressed about it, I have just the thing to cheer you up!

I bring you news about a new Solaris release - 3rd February (UK) and 25th January (US and Canada). This would be The Sentinel Mage by Emily Gee (and isn't that a simply gorgeous cover?!)

In a distant corner of the Seven Kingdoms, an ancient curse festers and grows, consuming everything in its path. Only one man can break it: Harkeld of Osgaard, a prince with mage’s blood in his veins. But Prince Harkeld has a bounty on his head - and assassins at his heels.

Innis is a gifted shapeshifter. Now she must do the forbidden: become a man. She must stand at Prince Harkeld’s side as his armsman, protecting and deceiving him. But the deserts of Masse are more dangerous than the assassins hunting the prince. The curse has woken deadly creatures, and the magic Prince Harkeld loathes may be the only thing standing between him and death.

This is the first book in a trilogy and I, for one, am beyond excited about it. People might be familiar with the name Emily Gee - she has also released Thief With No Shadow and The Laurentine Spy (which are unconnected to The Sentinel Mage) and received warm reviews for both.

Now... the giveaway!

I have three prize packs of The Sentinel Mage/The Laurentine Spy to give away, and then two prize packs of only The Sentinel Mage. Yes, that's right, five chances to read this new novel! Hasn't that brightened your first day back in the office?

This giveaway is open worldwide (although I am unable to accept PO Box addresses). Dead easy to enter - just drop me an email to magemanda AT gmail DOT com with the subject line EMILY GEE. Please include your full name and postal address, so that I am able to pass this onto the publisher as soon as I know the winners. I promise faithfully I will not use this information for any nefarious means and will delete it as soon as the giveaway has ended and I know my winners.

The closing date is Sunday 9th January, which gives you just under a week to enter! Good luck everyone!

Christmas Come Early - The Winners!

Okay, it's time... I received 133 entries to this giveaway, and it is truly humbling that so many people have visited my blog - I'm just glad I can now spread a little Christmas happiness to the five winners.

(For those who don't win, I have put as much Christmas magic as I can in this post with all the pretty pictures - hopefully it gets you in the mood and I hope your own Christmas fairy brings you plenty of books!)

Without further ado....

Bundle 1

Cursed by David Wellington
Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
Kraken by China Mieville
The Nemesis List by R.J.Frith

The winner is Barbara A Tyler of Brainstorms and Bylines

Bundle 2

The King's Bastard by Rowena Cory Daniels
The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Farlander by Col Buchanan

The winner is Wonderbunny of Cookies, Books and Bikes

Bundle 3

The Thief-Taker's Apprentice by Stephen Deas
Lost by Gregory Maguire
Elves Once Walked With Gods by James Barclay
Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding

The winner is shaneo52

Bundle 4

The Faceless One by Derek Landy
Playing With Fire by Derek Landy
Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

The winner is Lauren of Shooting Stars Mag

Bundle 5

The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan
Betrayals by Lili St. Crow
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Changeless by Gail Carriger

The winner is Iris of Iris on Books

That's all, folks! The winners have been contacted for their addresses - if I don't hear back from them in good time (a few days), then I shall re-draw for the bundle. Congratulations to the five winners and commiserations to those who didn't win. Thanks once again for supporting my little Christmas giveaway and have a great festive period!

Christmas Come Early - The Biggest Giveaway

Earlier today I confessed to earning a little bit of money with my blogging. I also have a glut of ARCs that I have received in duplicate from various publishers. To me, the obvious solution is to spend a little bit of my spoils on a big old giveaway - share the book love, as it were.

As you'll see, the books come from a variety of different publishers - thereby showing my impartiality *grin*

I am giving away five random bundles. If you want one, please leave a comment stating which one you want and why. Please provide some way of contacting you in your comment so that I can get in touch when the giveaway ends. I will randomise all the people who enter for a particular bundle and there will be one winner for each bundle. Five winners altogether. You can ask for more than one bundle, but please make it very clear which you are asking for in your comment. This is open WORLDWIDE (like I say, sharing the love!) This giveaway will end on 1st December (so plenty of time to enter and pass the word along about it), and that way your bundle - should you be lucky enough to win - will arrive as an early Christmas present!

So, a recap:

1. Drool over the pictures below.

2. Choose your bundle(s).

3. Leave me a comment stating which you want & why!

4. Give me some means of contacting you...

5. Sit back with fingers and toes crossed.

6. Bless me for being a giving Christmas book fairy *grin*

BUNDLE 1

1. Cursed by David Wellington (Piatkus)
2. Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow (Quercus)
3. Kraken by China Mieville (Tor)
4. The Nemesis List by R.J. Frith (Tor)



BUNDLE 2

1. The King's Bastard by Rowena Cory Daniels (Solaris)
2. The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney (Solaris)
3. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Tor)
4. Farlander by Col Buchanan (Tor)



BUNDLE 3

1. The Thief-Taker's Apprentice by Stephen Deas (Gollancz)
2. Lost by Gregory Maguire (Headline)
3. Elves Once Walked With Gods by James Barclay (Gollancz)
4. Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding (Gollancz)



BUNDLE 4

1. The Faceless One by Derek Landy (Harper Collins)
2. Playing With Fire by Derek Landy (Harper Collins)
3. Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton (Headline)
4. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (Corgi)



BUNDLE 5

1. The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan (Orbit)
2. Betrayals by Lili St. Crow (Quercus)
3. Soulless by Gail Carriger (Orbit)
4. Changeless by Gail Garriger (Orbit)



Good luck to all - and PLEASE spread the word!

Winner! Book Video Awards 2010

I invited you to vote on your favourite of the four trailers for the Book Video Awards, before the award was given last Friday (15th October).

A few of you stepped up and duly voted - in your majority you picked Hypothermia as your favourite trailer. The winner on the night was the trailer for The Snowman!

And now I have picked my winner for the four books that were being voted on. There were a lovely seven people who voted and left me a comment - thank you to all of you (I know that crime fiction is not the usual to feature on my blog!)

In order you were:

Mieneke
Joe
Esther
Mihai
Antony
gnostalgia
Tintmylf

I ran this through Randomiser and received the following result:



If you peer very closely, you can see that #1 came out as the winner so:

MIENEKE

You are my winner! Congratulations to you and commiserations to everyone else!

WINNER - Horus Heresy Giveaway!

Thank you so much for all the many hundreds of entries I received into this giveaway. I appreciate your support - especially those who said that they would stick around after finding my blog through various means. I hope that you find much to enjoy!

As promised, I used Randomiser.org to find my winner - here is the screenshot:



Number 127 on my spreadsheet list of entrants was.... *pauses for drum roll*

CHRIS HESLIN!

He wins the bundle of 13 Horus Heresy books and associated goodies.

Congratulations to him and commiserations to everyone else.

Thanks once again for entering this giveaway.

MASSIVE Horus Heresy giveaway - Black Library!

Okay, I am SO excited about this giveaway - in fact, I wish that I could win it myself! I am giving away a FULL SET of the Horus Heresy novels (as published to date) from the Black Library. That is 13 novels. 13. Count 'em!

1. Horus Rising - Dan Abnett
2. False Gods - Graham McNeill
3. Galaxy in Flames - Ben Counter
4. The Flight of the Eisenstein - James Swallow
5. Fulgrim - Graham McNeill
6. Descent of Angels - Mitchel Scanlon
7. Legion - Dan Abnett
8. Battle for the Abyss - Ben Counter
9. Mechanicum - Graham McNeill
10. Tales of Heresy
11. Fallen Angels - Mike Lee
12. A Thousand Sons - Graham McNeill
13. Nemesis - James Swallow

The giveaway will also include The Dark King and the Lightning Tower and Raven's Flight - two audio dramas.

Click through on any of the titles above to find a corresponding review - virtually all of these books are held up as being excellent science fiction novels in their own right, but absolutely canon when it comes to the WH40k background.

So... what do you have to do to win this prize? It is simplicity itself!

Send me an email to magemanda AT gmail DOT com (taking out the AT and DOT, of course), with HORUS GIVEAWAY as the subject line. Include your name and full snail mail address. And that's it - what could be easier? In addition to this, the competition is INTERNATIONAL! That's right - wherever you are in the world, you are eligible to enter. So get emailing and good luck!

I will run this competition until midnight on Friday 30th July (a week from now, give or take) and then announce the lucky winner.

For the benefit of anyone who is worried: be assured your personal details will not be passed onto any third parties. I might be an accountant, but I do have some integrity. Your address is being asked for so that I don't have to chase at the end of the giveaway and can get YOUR books that YOU have won out to YOU as soon as possible! I do hope this clears up any concerns.

Johannes Cabal Love - giveaway!

Y'all, by now, know of my love for Johannes Cabal, the star of two books written by Jonathan L Howard: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (released in paperback by Headline books) and Johannes Cabal the Detective (published in hardback on 8th July 2010).

I reviewed Johannes Cabal the Necromancer earlier this year, and it still remains my favourite book of 2010 so far.

Excitingly for you, my lovely reader, I have a copy of both the paperback of Johannes Cabal the Necromancer and the hardback of Johannes Cabal the Detective to give away to one lucky person!

Here are my short but sweet rules on how to get your hands on these two fab books:

1. Send me an email to magemanda AT gmail DOT com with the subject heading JOHANNES CABAL
2. Put your snail mail address in the email

Yup, that is all my rules! This giveaway is open WORLDWIDE, so no excuses for my overseas readers - get emailing!

This contest will close next Tuesday and I'll pick the winner.

Announcing the Winners of the Scott Lynch Giveaway!

Okay, I wish I had a little fanfare to announce these winners, but a large and bold declaration of the lucky names will have to do!


Neil Colquhoun has won the lovely hardback copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora
Carmen has won the equally lovely rare proof version of The Lies of Locke Lamora

I will contact the winners by email.

Thanks to all for your entries and comments - some very interesting book fails revealed!

Book Fail (plus sneaky, fabulous giveaway!)

A few days back I was talking on Twitter (as is my wont) and the idea came up about #bookfail. This is the idea that there are books you haven't read that the whole of the rest of the world has read and raved about.

My particular #bookfails are the following:

1) Joe Abercrombie



I don't even know why I haven't read these books. They sound just up my street (some people have compared him to a more ambiguous David Gemmell, which is just so exciting for me); I actually own all three books; I've spoken to the guy (albeit briefly) and watched him on panels, and thought the books would be ever so entertaining based on his own personality. Why haven't I read them? Really not sure. Maybe because of the hype, and the fact I'm worried that they won't live up to the billing.

2) Patrick Rothfuss



When The Name of the Wind was released, I distinctly remember being on an historical fiction reading stint. Every book I picked up was historical fiction. I diligently brought The Name of the Wind, stuck it on my TBR pile, and continued reading in other genres for a while. By the time I moved back to fantasy, I found other books I wanted to read more. So, again, despite the hype, I haven't managed to give this guy a go.

3) Scott Lynch



Shamefully, I didn't even buy this guy's books! I heard the first book was excellent and the second book didn't live up to it. I now know the third book has been delayed but should be released next year. I have been interested in reading it, but never quite got around to it!


Amusingly, when I announced on Twitter that I had not read Scott Lynch, I received the following email from Mr Simon Spanton, editor supreme of Gollancz:

Amanda, Amanda, Amanda,

Do I gather from Twitter that you haven’t read Scott Lynch? As in, you know, not read Scott Lynch?

It’s distressing enough being referred to as Uncle Simon by various young bloggers without actually being forced into ‘stern uncle’ mode by a lapse like this . . .

This state of affairs simply cannot stand. What’s to be done?

Do I, for example, send you a very rare first edition of his first book for use a competition prize on your blog, said competition to accompany the review of same first book which I will also send you an even rarer proof of and a pb to, you know, actually read?

As in reading Scott Lynch’s first book. You know Scott Lynch? One of the most important new fantasy authors of the last ten years?

What do you think?

All the best

Simon

So, I have been challenged to read Scott Lynch. Which I will be doing over the next week or so!

The above also means I have TWO AMAZING AND RARE books to give away: a hardcover first edition of The Lies of Locke Lamora and a rare proof of same. Seriously, these two books arrived over the weekend and they look so shiny and glorious. In fact, you should all be dead proud I am, in fact, giving these away and not hoarding them! So pretty!

The giveaway is very simple. I want to see comments on this post - lots and lots of comments. Basically, if you comment telling me about your personal #bookfail (the book you really feel you *should* have read) and leaving your email address, you will be entered into the draw to win one of these two wonderful books (rare, doncha know?!) The competition is open worldwide! Get commenting! I'll let this run for a week before picking my winners.

p.s. I will also accept lambasting comments towards the fact I haven't read the above three authors - tell me all the reasons why I should!

Winner of The Desert Spear!

Well, thank you for the tremendous amount of entries for this giveaway - clearly a popular series right now, going by the interest in trying to win this book!

I can announce that the winner is *drum-roll*..........

STEPHEN ARYAN!

Congrats to him and commiserations to everyone else - look out for another giveaway soon!

Voyager Giveaway Winner!

Just a quick announcement that the winner of Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay and Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane is:

Emily Goldman!

The winner has been contacted and the books will be on their way shortly.

Thank you to everyone who supported me by entering, commiserations to those who weren't the lucky one, and look out for another giveaway soon!