Announcing the first Keepers of the Archive.

There were more than 90 applications for 10 spots.

You guys, I spent HOURS trying to whittle down the list. I enlisted help. I angsted. I cut names. I added them back. The fact is, all 90 would have made WONDERFUL Keepers. In the end, I had to consider several factors, from experience to the answers given to geographic location. I needed a spectrum of Keepers with a variety of strengths.

In the end, I narrowed the list to 16. That’s as close to 10 as I could get it.

Without further delay, here are the first Keepers of the Archive:

Megan – Charlotte, NC
Kate – Buford, GA
Kenzie – Albany, NY
Rachel – Lake Tapps, WA
Cade – West Covina, CA
Rachel – Athens, OH
Nicole – NYC, NY
Becky – Omaha, NE
Lane – Portland/Tucson
Jill – Reading, MA
Crystal – Denton, TX
Dulcy – Lake Mary, FL
Bethany – West Warwick, RI
MaryAnn/Gabby – Winnipeg
Michelle – Toronto
Jessica R. – Ottawa

To the 16 chosen, you will be receiving an email from me with further instructions. You’ve been given the chance to be Keepers, but now you’ll have to earn your book and your key.

To the 74 who weren’t chosen, you’ll also be receiving an email from me. I’ll be asking for your mailing addresses, so I can send you a set of 10 signed bookmarks. You all had so many great ideas for spreading the word, and I hope you’ll still support the book, even though I wasn’t able to add you to the street team *right now*.

The reason I keep emphasizing the *right now* is because I am really hoping the Keepers will grow as the series goes on! While I’ll only be starting with these 16, you’ll have another chance to join the Archive before the sequel is released *and* if one of these 16 is unable to perform their duties, I’ll enlist new Keepers from those who didn’t make the list, but stuck by me.

Until the emails go out to both sets, I just want to say thank you. You are ALL wonderful, and I feel totally honored and humbled that so many people wanted to support the book, and me.

Onward, lovelies.

/

Do YOU want to work for the Archive?

Mackenzie Bishop is a Keeper. Now you can be one, too. You may not be able to hunt down Histories, but you can still work for the Archive.

If you think you have what it takes, fill out the form below.

The Archive will only be taking applications for ONE WEEK. Applications close Thursday, at 10PM CST.

On Friday, at 9AM CST, TEN potential Keepers will be selected. Yes, only ten. Those ten initiates will be given be given a list of FIVE tasks. They will need to perform THREE of the five in order to be inducted into the Archive.

If they fail, a new Keeper will be selected and given the chance to take their place. Only the strongest, most dedicated will succeed.

As each Keeper succeeds, they will be given…
1. A signed first-edition copy of THE ARCHIVED
2. A personal letter of acknowledgment
3. A Keeper’s Key necklace. There are only 10.

A KEEPER’S DUTIES

These days, word of mouth is more important than ever, and the Archive needs your help. I need your help. I need people to get the word out, to whisper in ears, and sometimes shout.

So I’m employing the Keepers.

Sometimes the ways you can help will be clear–like RTing an announcement, or passing out bookmarks–but other times it will be up to you to show your Archive spirit.

I’m looking for passionate, creative thinkers.

And rest assured, my Keepers will be rewarded. First looks at new covers, new material, indefinite swag, and a dozen smaller ways I’ll show my thanks. My Keepers will truly be my team.

Think you’re ready?

It’s time to BRING YA TO YOU!!!

Happy New Year, lovelies!!! I can’t believe it’s 2013 (at last, at last). I can’t believe it’s January! I can’t believe THE ARCHIVED comes out in three! weeks!

*breathes*

I have to save some exclamation points, though, because today, I have something else to share with you. A secret! But secrets secrets are no fun, so here’s one to share with everyone!!!

You guys, I’ve been dying to talk about this for months. Months, I say! And it’s finally time to share!!

What am I talking about???

Well, this spring, five authors (myself included) are…

Bringing YA to You (or YA2U for short) was a project that came from YOU–all of you who have ever said, “Why won’t a book tour make a stop in my hometown?”

Well, that’s what we want to do! We’re hosting a contest–everyone gets to put in whatever city they most want us to go to, and whatever town has the most votes, will get an exclusive tour stop from all five of us!

And that’s not all–we’re also hosting another contest where, if you help us spread the word, we’ll give you ten signed books, all the books we five have published so far!

In short, you could win a tour stop in your hometown from five award-winning and best-selling YA authors or ten signed books direct from the authors!

Sounds fun, yes? 🙂

You can find the full details of the YA2U project here: http://ya2u.blogspot.com and you can also go ahead and enter your hometown for the win and help spread the word. There’s also lots of cool features on the site, including downloadable posters (consider putting them up in your school or library!) and other tips on how to win.

Remember, the more votes you can drum up in your city, the better chance we’ll be coming to YOU.

But that’s not all. I said that there were five of us, and I bet you’re wondering who the other four authors are!!

If you CLICK RIGHT HERE you’ll discover the identity of another one of the authors! On their blog, you’ll find the link to another, and so on!!

Well, are you excited????

Then go enter! And spread the word!

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One month till THE ARCHIVED and…no giveaway???

Hey lovelies!

It’s the 22nd of December, and that means there’s only one month till THE ARCHIVED.

If you’ve been following this blog for more than a month, you know that I’ve been doing a series of countdown giveaways (starting at the 6-month mark!) and today should be the last giveaway!

But here’s the thing.

A couple days ago, THIS HAPPENED:

And between my SQUEEEEEEING over finished copies, and the ongoing Making History series, I feel like I’ve been really…loud. I try to maintain a balance online between promotion and everything that’s not promotion, and I’ve felt myself leaning too hard toward the former. And because things are going to necessarily get loud and necessarily swing more toward promo shortly, I want to catch my breath while I still can.

So.

It’s the holidays, and I want to take some time to be quiet, and reflect, be with family, prepare for the new year, and focus on deadlines (oh, you ever-present evil things).

Because of that, and because my last giveaway is arguably my biggest, I’m going to hold it for a couple weeks. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll run it at the three week mark, or the two week mark, but I promise that I WILL HAVE ONE.

Just not this week.

And if for some reason I’m not back on here before year’s end, I just want to wish you all the HAPPIEST of holidays. You’re all wonderful, and you brighten my year, and I hope the rest of yours is filled with joy and warmth and cheer.

[That rhymed, and I’m not even going to fix it.]

All my love, lovelies.

~V

PS. A reminder! If seeing the finished copy of THE ARCHIVED has you wanting to preorder your copy, remember that if you do preorder (through ANY outlet), and email me proof (vschwab at comcast dot net) I will send you signed goodies!

The Winter YA Scavenger Hunt!!

EDITED TO ADD: THE YA SCAVENGER HUNT IS OFFICIALLY OVER. Check back in the next few days to see who won my extra swag giveaway! And thank you for playing!!!

Hello, lovelies, and welcome to the Winter YA Scavenger Hunt!

My name is Victoria Schwab. This is me (clinging to a gate really high off the ground at some ruins)…

…and I’m the author of THE NEAR WITCH (on shelves now) and THE ARCHIVED (coming in January), and your host for this leg of the scavenger hunt!

If this is your first stop, don’t worry! You can start the hunt on any one of the participating blogs, so sit tight, read through, collect your clues, and then head off to find the next post!

WHAT IS THE YA SCAVENGER HUNT?

This tri-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 (that’s 25 books)! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

This year there are two team, the RED and the BLUE!

I’m on the RED team!

If you click HERE you can see all the participating authors and the books they’ll be giving away as prizes! You’re on the RED hunt right now, but when you’re done, you can also play the BLUE one! Just make sure to keep the numbers straight.

Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number (or at least, I’ve told you how to find it). Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the RED 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 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2ND AT NOON PST. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

Now that we’re all on the same page, here we go!

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today I am hosting the delightful Jessica Khoury, author of ORIGIN!

She is only 22 (daaaaang, make the 25-year-old feel old) and when she’s not writing awesome books about rainforest laboratory experiments gone wrong (or very right), she lives in Toccoa, Georgia with her husband Benjamin, two terrible dogs and three contrary birds, and an abundance of books, shoes, and sweet tea.

Jessica’s book, ORIGIN:

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home–and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin–a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

SO SHINY, RIGHT?

To learn more about Jessica and her book, watch the trailer, and click on lots of fun tabs (if you’re a tab-clicker, like me) check out her website HERE.
And to pick up her epic debut, CLICK HERE.

Now it’s time for some *dun dun dun* EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!!

Jessica has a very special treat for you today! She’s written you an exclusive scene!! It’s brand new, not found in ORIGIN, and it’s told from Eio’s point of view the night he and Pia meet for the first time.

Ooooooooh.

To read it, CLICK HERE!

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Are you back? Wasn’t that delicious?

I suppose you’re wondering what my favorite number is now so you can add it to the other favorite numbers on the RED team and win a truck load of awesome books, including Jessica’s.

Well…my favorite number is the sum of the two numbers in my current age. HINT: I mention my age in this post! Look up a little ways, and you’ll find it 😉 Add up the two numbers, and you’ve got my favorite one!

Almost time to move on, but first, an EXTRA TREAT!

As a thank-you for stopping by, I’m giving away an ARCHIVED swag pack, complete with signed tote bag, stickers, bookmarks, AND a signed paperback of my first book, THE NEAR WITCH!

(THE NEAR WITCH is obviously already INSIDE the bag)

All you have to do to enter is fill out the form!

And now it’s time to CONTINUE THE HUNT.

To keep going on your quest for the magic numbers, you need to check out the next author!

Who will it be? Why, it’s none other than the amazing Colleen Houck!CLICK HERE to go on!

Happy hunting!

GIVE THANKS. GIVE BACK. GIVE AWAY.

Lovelies!

I’m kicking off this giveaway a few hours early, due to it being a holiday tomorrow.

Not only is today (tomorrow) Thanksgiving here in the US, but it’s also the 22nd, and therefore one month closer to THE ARCHIVED hitting shelves.

In TWO SHORT MONTHS, a book that has taken more than its fair share of blood, sweat and tears–those stories do love their sacrifices–will FINALLY be on shelves. I get a little worked up just thinking about it. I am so very scared, and so very excited, but most of all, I am so very THANKFUL.

And that’s what today (tomorrow) is about.

Being thankful.

SO.

This month’s giveaway is very special. Why?

First, there is only ONE PRIZE.

The winner will receive a KEY.

And that key will be redeemable for…one signed copy of each of my books for the next THREE YEARS.

That means every title that comes out in 2013, 2014, and 2015. I can tell you that right now I don’t even have books on the schedule for 2015, but in 2013 and 2014 alone, there are SIX. So that’s six first edition books. Signed.

Just like with the other giveaways, you can earn entries a variety of ways, from commenting, to tweeting, facebooking, changing your avatar, etc.

BUT HERE’S WHY IT’S SPECIAL.

For EVERY person that enters (up to 500 people), I will donate $1 to a charity. There are three charities in the form, and when you enter, you get to choose where your $1 goes.

HOPEFULLY, at the end of this, we will not only have a winner, but there will be $500 divided up between three very deserving causes.

Why am I doing this?

Because I’m thankful. Because after a few very tight years, years where I couldn’t afford to donate more than a few dollars to causes, this year I can. I know that for some, $500 isn’t much, but for me it’s a lot, and I’m so happy that I have the ability this holiday to not only pay my bills, but give back.

So please, spread the word, and HELP ME GIVE BACK.

The giveaway will run from now (Wednesday night) until SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25th at 9PM EST.

Ready?

Go.

MAKING HISTORY…the road so far.

*cues Wayward Son track from Supernatural*

Today this 6th episode of MAKING HISTORY went up over on Hobbitsies. If you click the link, you can watch “The Liverpool Shed and the Spider Named Bob,” in which I talk about moving to the UK and finding myself in, well, A SHED.

WITH A SPIDER.

NAMED BOB.

In addition to giving you that link, I thought I’d take a moment to recap the road so far, and put the first five videos here for you. Remember, anyone is welcome to join in!

INTRO VIDEO:

WEEK ONE:

WEEK TWO:

WEEK THREE:

WEEK FOUR:

WEEK FIVE isn’t embedding properly, but you can watch it HERE.

And now, WEEK SIX.

And with that, I’m off.

If you only watch ONE of my videos, I hope you choose this one.

Hey guys.

Having kind of a rough time right now, so I’m keeping this short.

If you only watch one of my MAKING HISTORY videos, I hope you choose this week’s post.

It’s short, and simple.

It’s about a small act of kindness that changed my life, and the way I choose to live it.

And before I send you over to the blog hosting the video, I just want to thank you all for the small acts of kindness you have shown ME. Some days a smile, a nice note, an online hug, an “are you okay?”, a gif…any small, kind act…can mean the world.

So thanks. And keep on being lovely.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO.

A treat for anyone who CAN’T come to New York Comic Con!!

Hey lovelies!

Today is exciting for several reasons.

First, because today marks 100 days until THE ARCHIVED!

Second, because I’m in NYC at Comic Con! Now, I know I’ve been tweeting/blogging/chatting a lot lately about NYCC! I’m lucky enough to have an in-booth signing for ARCs of THE ARCHIVED in addition to a panel and post-panel signing.

But, as excited as I am to be here, I know that the vast majority of my fans, followers, and friends can’t come, and it feels cruel to hold things like OOOH SHINY ARC SIGNING over your heads.

SO!

I’m going to steal (or ask very, very nicely for) an ARC of THE ARCHIVED from the in-booth signing, and I’m going to give it away on Twitter, along with a swag pack (tote bag + bookmarks + sticker).

You have between 9AM and 9PM EST to enter the giveaway.

How do you enter, you ask?

EASY. Just tweet something like this…

Only 100 days until THE ARCHIVED by @veschwab hits shelves!! http://tinyurl.com/9j4seqh #TheArchived

If you tweet something else (like “I CAN’T WAIT TO BE ARCHIVED”) just make sure you have the hashtag on the end.

See?

EASY.

OH.

ONE NOTE.

I get asked a lot “HOW MANY TIMES CAN I TWEET, VICTORIA?!” and here’s my philosophy. I’ll give you more than one tweet, BUT BUT BUT please make sure your tweets are MORE THAN ONE HOUR APART.

Oh, and I’ll make it international.

Ready?

Set.

Go!

This week on MAKING HISTORY…Victoria goes hitchhiking in France…in a cowboy hat…and it doesn’t end well.

Hey guys! It’s a Tuesday again, and that means it’s a MAKING HISTORY day around here.

Today the third installment of the MAKING HISTORY project goes up over on the fabulous YA Bibliophile blog.

Click HERE to head on over there and learn about how I got picked up by the cops in France. Oh, and you can win things!

Click HERE to check out Week 2’s video, in which I was in a shooting at a carnival. And you can win things!

Click HERE to check out Week 1’s video, which involved a Jeep Cherokee, two parents, two dogs, a cat, and a furby in Oklahoma. And (I’m sensing a pattern) you can win things (giveaway ends tonight)!

AND!

This week two wonderful bloggers joined in with their own MAKING HISTORY videos.

Marie Landry shared a memory HERE.

And Hannah Courtney shared a memory over HERE.

If YOU want to be a part of the MAKING HISTORY project, simply create a video (or blog, if you’re scared of cameras in that don’t-want-to-conquer-this-particular-fear way) and share a memory of yours.

And now, I’m off to Auburn for a couple days, to hang out with the always-amazing Rachel Hawkins, make mischief, write books, and maybe get tattoos. If that last one happens, I bet it will show up in a future MAKING HISTORY video 😉