Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck 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 signed 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 YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are SIX contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the TEAL TEAM --but there is also a red team, a gold team, an orange team, a red team, and an indie team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed 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 YA Scavenger Hunt page.
SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE
Directions: Near the bottom of this post, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the teal team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!).
Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.
Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by DATE, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
Today, I am hosting Cindy L Rodriguez on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!
Cindy L. Rodriguez teaches middle school reading and college-level composition. Before becoming a teacher, she worked as a reporter for The Hartford Courant and as a researcher for The Boston Globe's Spotlight Team, an investigative group. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut, a master's degree from Central Connecticut State University, and two teaching certifications. She lives in Connecticut with her daughter and rescue mutt. She is a member of the Class of 2K15, the Fearless Fifteeners, the We Need Diverse Books Team, and Latin@s in Kid Lit. When Reason Breaks is her first novel.
Find out more about Cindy by checking out Cindy's author website or find more about When Reason Breaks here! [Include links to the author website and the book buying link here.]
Her Gorgeous Cover:
A Goth girl with an attitude problem, Elizabeth Davis must learn to control her anger before it destroys her. Emily Delgado appears to be a smart, sweet girl, with a normal life, but as depression clutches at her, she struggles to feel normal. Both girls are in Ms. Diaz's English class, where they connect to the words of Emily Dickinson. Both are hovering on the edge of an emotional precipice. One of them will attempt suicide. And with Dickinson's poetry as their guide, both girls must conquer their personal demons to ever be happy.
In an emotionally taut novel with a richly diverse cast of characters, readers will relish in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and be completely swept up in the turmoil of two girls grappling with demons beyond their control.
Here's a peek at changes Cindy made during the revision process of When Reason Breaks. I love peeking behind the scenes at a writer's process -- hope you find this as interesting as I do!
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT From Cindy L Rodriguez:
One thing only early readers know is that the original manuscript of WHEN REASON BREAKS contained references to the band INXS and their song “Devil Inside.” Elizabeth’s father left behind some old CDs when he moved out of the house after having an affair. Elizabeth has had minimal contact with him since the divorce, so listening to his old CDs was one way for her to maintain an emotional connection. Also, the devil inside was used as a metaphor for depression, which both she and Emily experience in different ways. Alas, due to concerns about paying to use any lyrics, we removed any mention of INXS and the song. Here are two sections, before and after revision.
Page 54 before:
She reviewed her work before handing it in. Near the top of the paper, an image of the world was cut in half by a hand holding a massive cleaver. On one side of the hacked-up world, the word “educated” was written in all-caps; on the other side, the word “illiterate” oozed out of the world like blood. Next to the bleeding world was written, “Words are weapons, sharper than knives.” Tiny daggers dripping with blood surrounded the phrase.
Page 54 after:
She reviewed her work before handing it in. Across the top of the paper, she wrote, “Words can wound,” surrounded by tiny daggers dripping with blood. Beneath this, she sketched a house with the word “possibility” across the front door. A girl stood inside, looking out a window covered with prison bars.
Pages 138-39 before:
“What on earth possessed you to swear at a teacher?” her mom asked.
“It wasn’t an earthly being,” Elizabeth said.
“What?” her mom asked, glancing at Elizabeth while she drove.
“It was the devil…the devil inside, the devil inside, every single one of us, the devil inside,” Elizabeth sang.
Pages 138-139 after:
“What on earth possessed you to swear at a teacher?” her mom asked.
“It wasn’t an earthly being, Julia,” Elizabeth said.
"What?” she asked, glancing at Elizabeth while she drove.
“I was temporarily taken over by an alien. Swearing is illegal on her planet, so she wanted to try it out real quick before returning to the mother ship,” said Elizabeth.
And for those of you asking, “Who’s INXS?” here’s a link to the video for this particular song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv_zJrO_ptk
And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Cindy L Rodriguez, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 7. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the blue team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
CONTINUE THE HUNT
To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, Sharon Huss Roat!
