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Preorder Tiger Queen and see the cover!

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We’ve just revealed the cover for Tiger Queen, my new young adult novel about a desert princess who fights in an arena against suitors in order to win her right to rule!

But now you can also preorder it! Preorders really help authors by showing the publisher there is interest in the book!

PREORDER right now!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310768772
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tiger-queen-ann…/1129853416
IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780310768777

Save those preorder receipts! I’ll be announcing my preorder giveaway prizes soon!

Now, without further ado, here’s the cover!

tiger queen cover

About the book:

From Annie Sullivan, author of A Touch of Gold, comes Tiger Queen, a sweeping YA adventure that tells the story of a fierce desert princess as she fights to save her kingdom. Fans of Rebel of the Sands and Meagan Spooner will devour this retelling of Frank Stockton’s famous short story “The Lady, or the Tiger?”.

In the mythical desert kingdom of Achra, an old law forces sixteen-year-old Princess Kateri to fight in the arena against twelve suitors to prove her right to rule. For Kateri, losing is not an option because in order to fulfil her promise to her late mother, she must win to keep her crown and lead her people. The situation outside the palace is uneasy. The harsh desert is unforgiving, water is scarce, and Kateri’s people are thirsty. To make matters worse, the gang of thieving Desert Boys, the same group that killed Kateri’s mother and her new baby, frequently raids the city wells and steals water, forcing the king to ration what little water is left. The punishment for stealing water is the choice between two doors. Behind one door lies freedom and behind the other is a tiger.

The people of Achra are growing restless and distrustful of the monarchy, and when Kateri’s final opponent is announced, she knows she cannot win. In her desperation, Kateri turns to the desert and the one person she never thought she’d side with. Her future now, too, is behind two doors—only she’s not sure which holds the key to keeping her kingdom and which will release the tiger.

Vote for A TOUCH OF GOLD in Epic Read’s Book Shimmy Awards

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I’m so honored that A Touch of Gold has been nominated in not one…but TWO categories for Epic Read’s Book Shimmy awards. A Touch of Gold is nominated in Best Cover and Best Retelling. And you can help it win by voting today!

Visit: https://www.epicreads.com/blog/2018-book-shimmy-awards-semi-finals/

Vote for A Touch of Gold in Best Cover and Best Retelling (although do note that you have to vote in a minimum of 5 categories, so pick a few others to vote in!) And that’s it!

I truly appreciate all your votes! And stay tuned for more info about Tiger Queen, which is coming out next year!

YA Scavenger Hunt: Win Tons of YA Books

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YA Scavenger Hunt
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 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 GOLD TEAM, which is very fitting–but there is also a red team, a blue team, an orange team, a red team, and an indie team for a chance 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 YA Scavenger Hunt page.

And don’t forget to scroll down and enter to win a SIGNED copy of A Touch of Gold right here on this page! A Touch of Gold follows the seventeen-year-old cursed daughter of King Midas who faces pirates and betrayers on her quest to retrieve her father’s stolen gold!

young adult fairytale retelling book
A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan
SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE
 
Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the gold 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 October 7th at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
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Today, I am hosting Sara Fujimura on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Sara Fujimura is a young adult author, creative writing teacher, and literacy advocate. Sara has been fascinated by the Spanish Flu since her college epidemiology class days. After writing magazine articles about the 1918 pandemic, she incubated a germ of a story idea for Breathe for over a decade. Sara is also the award-winning author of TANABATA WISH, a contemporary YA set in Japan.
Find out more information by checking out Sara here:
Buy the book here: http://bit.ly/2018YASHBreathe
Visit Sara’s website here: www.sarafujimura.com
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
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Sara’s Playlist for BREATHE

I wish I could imbed songs in chapters for you, but for now, here are the Top 5 Songs (plus a bonus, because I’m extra) from BREATHE. Though there are also a few period-appropriate songs listed in the book, these five contemporary songs were an integral part of my creative process.

Rewrite the Stars              Zac Efron & Zendaya [The Greatest Showman]

Mercy                                  Shawn Mendes

The Motions                      Matthew West

Say                                       John Mayer

Brave                                   Sara Bareilles

Bonus: Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John. Though it’s more about tennis player (and Elton John’s good friend) Billie Jean King and less about the actual city of Philadelphia, I love it anyway. It makes me chair dance every time it comes on. Which is awkward when I’m writing at Starbucks.

On Spotify? You can use this link to go directly to the playlist: http://bit.ly/YASHF18Breathe

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More from Sara:

In today’s post, we’re going behind the scenes of BREATHE: Kit’s 21st Birthday Party. Like many sisters, Virginia (17) and Kit (21) have a push-and-pull relationship. There are days when they fight like cats and dogs and other days when they are each other’s closest confidants and allies. In Chapter 20, the dominoes on some soon-to-be life-altering events start falling for both of the sisters. No spoilers, but here is the birthday cake scene from BREATHE, starting with Kit’s beau, Grayson.

September 28, 1918

“I would like to propose a toast,” Grayson’s smooth voice carries around the room. “To a courageous young woman who brings life and purpose to everything she does. You inspire me and motivate me and occasionally exasperate me.” Grayson pauses as the room chuckles. “I look forward to witnessing your adventures in this new chapter of your life. To Katherine.”

“To Katherine.” Everyone lifts his or her punch cup, though some much higher than others.

Kit looks at me, and both of our eyes fill with tears. I have to look away. After a round of “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” everyone receives a slice of spice cake—which is dry and has only a tiny smear of icing on top. Marco raises a questioning eyebrow at the sad example of birthday cake. Two bites in, I contemplate dumping mine into the potted plant in the corner.

“Angelina would have made a much better cake.” I abandon my plate—and Marco does the same—on a side table and slink away.

Marco leans into me and whispers, “Come to Little Italy. I will take you to Falcone’s for the best cannoli in—“

“All of Philadelphia?” I tease.

“Of course.”

The small ensemble Mama hired resumes their performance of “Smiles” by the Joseph C. Smith’s Orchestra. Grayson whisks Kit to the center of the room for an elegant but spirited—and completely scandalous by Mrs. Vaughn’s standards—foxtrot. I sigh. I have never seen my sister look so beautiful.

Let’s break down this scene a little bit.

  • First of all, notice that there isn’t any champagne mentioned though the upper crust Jackson family could have easily afforded it. The Prohibition Amendment wouldn’t go into effect in the United States until January 1920, but the wheels were firmly in motion. Mrs. Jackson, like many concerned society matrons of the day, was already a member of the National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and all forms of alcohol were banned from her home. Not all Americans were on board with this though. Italian-American Marco says in an earlier chapter, “We [Italians] have been drinking vino for centuries. We aren’t about to stop now.” And he’s right. The Italian-American Mafia would go on to make huge profits bootlegging alcohol during Prohibition.
  • Notice that they don’t sing the traditional “Happy Birthday to You” song. The tune existed in 1918, but the lyrics didn’t appear in any songbooks until 1922. Instead, they would have sung another popular congratulatory song that had its roots in 1700s France, but spread around the world, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” A firm supporter of the suffrage movement and Kit’s part in it, Grayson DOESN’T change “fellow” to “person” or “lassie” like some do to neutralize or feminize the song. Instead, he uses fellow’s alternate meaning of being a colleague and an equal in some endeavor.
  • “Smiles” by the Joseph C. Smith’s Orchestra is a real song. You can listen to it here: https://youtu.be/bjlISfhD-eU.
  • There has always been a generation gap when it comes to dancing. Your grandma may have rolled her eyes as you did “The Whip” and “Nae Nae.” My great-grandmother was appalled when she found my mom and her BFF practicing “The Twist” in her kitchen in the early 1960s. So it is probably that super conservative ladies like Mrs. Vaughn would have looked down their noses at Kit and Grayson doing a foxtrot. Want to see what a foxtrot looks like? You can see this archival footage from the early 1920s: https://youtu.be/tyOWM6S1ITA Hey, it’s not like Kit and Grayson were doing “The Grizzly Bear” or a “Bunny Hug” or a…gasp…tango.

There you go. Like most historical fiction authors, I did a ton of research to help me weave all the authenticating details into BREATHE. Do you like a lot of facts mixed in with your fiction? If so, I hope you’ll check out my blog at https://saraffujimura.wixsite.com/blog for more behind-the-scenes looks at my 1918 YA historical romance novel.

Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/roots-of-prohibition/

https://www.wctu.org/home.html

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/traditional/for-hes-a-jolly-good-fellow

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/traditional/happy-birthday

https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/06/11/413522281/dirty-dancing-in-the-early-1900s



And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me, Annie Sullivan…and enter below for a separate contest for a SIGNED copy of A Touch of Gold! To enter YASH contest, you need to know that my favorite number is 16. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the gold 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! Click here!
Annie’s Personal Giveaway
Win a signed copy of A Touch of Gold and some other book swag!

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Annie’s 2018 Pitch Wars Wishlist

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A little bit about me

My name is Annie Sullivan, and this is my first year mentoring Pitch Wars—and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve mentored writers in a variety of other contests though, and I love helping writers improve their work while staying true to their vision of the book. I think of mentees as so much more than that. They become friends, and I try to stay with them—encouraging them and offering advice—long after the contest is over.

I write Young Adult fantasy/fairytale retellings, and my debut novel A TOUCH OF GOLD (HareperCollins/Blink) comes out August 14th…which is today if you’re reading this the day the blogs go live! AHHHH!!!! It’s the story of the cursed daughter of King Midas who faces off against pirates, betrayers, and thieves on her quest to retrieve her father’s stolen gold. You can add it on Goodreads and purchase it on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or at your favorite independent bookstore. You don’t get bonus points for tweeting about it/sharing it on social media, but it’s a great way to show you’re a good literary citizen 😉

Touch of Gold Final Cover Image

My work is represented by Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis. I’ve been with Christa my whole career, although it’s not unusual for authors to switch agents. But I’ll say that she rejected me the first time I queried her but then offered to represent me when I submitted my next manuscript to her. That just goes to show that you never know what’s going to happen in this business!

Outside of being an author, I work in the marketing department of a technology publisher. I love fairytales, the Oxford comma, everything Jane Austen, and traveling. My wanderlust has taken me to every continent, where I’ve walked on the Great Wall of China, found four-leaf clovers in Ireland, waddled with penguins in Antarctica, and cage dived with great white sharks in South Africa.

My mentoring style

I want to be your cheerleader 100%, but I’m also going to make you work! Having gone through rounds of edits with both agents and editors, I’ve been exposed to a whole new level of editing. I want to help you get your manuscript in the best possible condition. I’ll start off with a major edit letter and some in-manuscript notes soon after my mentor has been selected. I work very quickly and want to give you as much time as possible to complete your edits. Then, we’ll do another smaller round before the agent round to tie up any lose ends and look for grammatical mistakes. But since I do proofreading in my day job, I’ve got you covered there!

I want this to be a collaborative process where we work together toward your vision of the book. I want you to feel free to ask me questions any time. There’s no stupid question. I want my mentor to feel free to bounce ideas off me. Maybe we need to hop on the phone (or just do it through email) to talk about a tricky scene or plot twist. That’s what I’m here for.

I love working with plot. I can plot in my sleep. But I also know the importance of having characters who stand out on the page. If you’re my mentor, we’re going to look at it all and make sure everything shines—I’m talking everything from a powerful first line to prose that draws the reader in!

I’ll also help you with your query letter and synopsis. I’ve written and helped so many writers write these, that I’m a pro at this! We’ll rework it several times to make sure it tells the story it needs to.

I’m also here to answer any questions my mentee has about the publishing industry. I’ve been in it for a while now, so I know a thing or two.

What I’m looking for

This year, I’m looking for Young Adult Fantasy, Fairytale Retellings, and some Sci-fi…and maybe even some Westerns. I love high-fantasy, low fantasy, fairytales I have and haven’t seen retold, and sci-fi that takes me on a fun adventure to new worlds. My debut is like a Disney movie on steroids, and I love books having to do with princesses and curses and enchanted forests!

If you’ve got a NEW take on a fairytale, I want to see it. If you’ve got an epic adventure where a strong female character (or a character who learns her strength through the course of the story) saves the day, I want to see it. If you’ve got a science fiction space opera where our heroes save their world, I want to see it. If you’ve got swashbuckling pirates going on an adventure, I want to see it!

I like PG-13 romance, cool plot twists, characters who have witty dialogue, strong villains who challenge the protagonists, fun side characters and sidekicks, and a couple I can root for (and who may or may not have been ripped apart by fate…or who are on opposite sides to begin with…or who are forced to team up with each other against their will…or who were once close and have now drifted apart.) I want to feel like I’m in your setting and that the rules of the world are consistent—especially when it comes to magic.

Overall, I’m a firm believer that character and plot can be fixed, but I need a spark of a great idea behind them to catch my attention—something that makes me stop and say, “That’s a cool idea/premise.”

An incomplete list of some my favorite books right now:

Frostblood by Elly Blake

Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Any book by Meg Cabot

Starflight by Melissa Landers

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley

Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Defy by Sara B. Larson

The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Not the best fit for me:

Because you have a limited number of mentor slots and there are so many fantastic mentors to choose from, here’s a list of what I’m not looking for this year:

  • Nothing too dark or depressing. Sure you’re characters can get into trouble, but I really love a happy ending.
  • No King Midas retellings. I love fairytales, but my debut novel is a King Midas retelling, and it would just feel weird working on someone else’s. Also, keep in mind that I’m also working on several different fairytale retellings at the moment, so I’m really looking for new takes–and if yours is too similar to something I’m currently writing, I won’t request it out of respect for both of us!
  • Nothing over PG-13 romance wise.
  • I’m not a big fan of swear words/cussing. The occasional one is fine, but if the manuscript is full of it, then it’s probably not for me.
  • Anything contemporary—unless it’s a retelling set in a contemporary world or an instance where someone time travels away from the world to a fantasy world. I’ll look at those!
  • No bigotry

Good luck! I look forward to your submissions! And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram to learn more about me and my work:

Twitter: @annsulliva

Instagram:@annsulliva

Check out the other mentors’ wishlists via the main site:

https://pitchwars.org/pitch-wars-2018-mentor-blog-hop/

Or by clicking here:
2018 Young Adult Mentors

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A Touch of Gold Available Now!

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I can’t believe this day is finally here! A Touch of Gold, my young adult book about the cursed daughter of King Midas, is finally available in stores starting Tuesday, August 14th…although I’ve heard it’s already on shelves in most Barnes & Nobles!

It’s taken 8 years from when I started writing the book to reach this point. So many people helped me along the way, and I can’t thank them enough. This truly is a dream come true.

In hopes of continuing that dream, I have a few favors to ask.

First week sales are really important not just because they help me make bestseller lists but because they effect my rank on Amazon, and a lot of smaller booksellers look at Amazon rankings to decide if they want to carry the book. There are lots of ways you can help with my sales ranking. The first and best way is to buy the book!

  • You can order the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local bookstore.
  • You can also call your local bookstore and ask if they’ll be carrying A Touch of Gold.
  • You can also request your local library branch carry A Touch of Gold.

 

The next best thing you can do is to review the book on:

You may have to wait until Tuesday to review it on Amazon, but that is the platform where reviews are most needed because once an author reaches 50 reviews, certain algorithms kick in to help boost the book’s visibility on the site. You also don’t even have to have read the book or have bought it from Amazon to leave a review. Something simple like, “It’s a great book,” counts!

Additionally, just getting the word out there about the book will help tremendously too.

  • You can tell any teachers that you know. Ask them to buy a copy for their school library or ask them to tell their students about it.
  • You can continue to spread the news on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

 

Studies show it takes someone seeing something 8 times before they’ll stop and actually investigate what the product is.

Thank you again for following me on this journey. I couldn’t have done it without you, and with your continued support, I hope to share many more books with you in the future!

Happy reading!

 

 

Prizes for Preordering A TOUCH OF GOLD!

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Prizes for preordering! Ways to get signed/personalized copies! Giveaways! And more!

A TOUCH OF GOLD, a young adult fantasy novel about the cursed daughter of King Midas who faces pirates, betrayers, and thieves on her quest to retrieve her father’s stolen gold, releases in just over a month! Have you preordered your copy yet?

Preorder at any of these sites or at your favorite independent bookstore!

 

Why should you preorder?

Preordering helps my publisher know that you’re excited about the book and helps convince them to buy more books from me. Also, preorders all get counted during the book’s first week on sale, meaning authors have a better chance of making things like The New York Times bestseller list if they get a lot of presales.

The two single most important things you can do to help an author are to preorder the book and to spread the word on Facebook and social media sites.

 

Want to preorder a SIGNED copy of A Touch of Gold?

Are you interested in getting a signed/personalized copy of A Touch of Gold but can’t make it to my launch party? I’ve partnered with Kids Ink bookstore so you can get signed copies of my book. All you have to do is call them at 317-255-2598 to place your order, and they’ll ship it to you!

 

Prizes for preordering A Touch of Gold

In the coming days, I’m going to be publicizing my preorder incentive—that means anyone who preorders will get some really cool prizes when they send in their proof of purchase. Make sure you’re following me on the below social media sites to find out how to claim these amazing prizes! These prizes will only be for people who preorder, so don’t wait!

 

Near Indianapolis?

If you want to come to book event of the year (in my opinion), then come to Barnes & Noble River Crossing on August 17th at 7pm for my book launch party. There will be prizes, fun activities, and a book themed cake that you won’t want to miss!

Details here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/touch-of-gold-release-party-tickets-46200875061?ref=enivtefor001&invite=MTQ0Mjk3NjkvYW5uaWVzdWxsaXZhbjE2NjFAZ21haWwuY29tLzA%3D&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inviteformalv2&utm_term=attend

 

Touch of Gold Final Cover Image

 

My Favorite Fairytale Blog Hop Contest

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Welcome to the 2018 Fairy-tale Blog Hop. Thirteen fabulous fairy-tale authors have gotten together to talk about their favorite fairy tales. Follow the links at the bottom of each blog post to hop to the next author’s website. Collect our favorite numbers to total up at the end and enter to win a print collection of our books! (There are several anthologies, debuts, and even an ARC for a BLINK YA book you can’t buy in stores yet!)

Hi! I’m Annie Sullivan, author of A TOUCH OF GOLD—a young adult retelling about the cursed daughter of King Midas—and as the author of fairytale retellings, it’s so hard to pick a favorite. But there’s one I come back to time and time again—and it’s just about the only one I’ve never thought of writing a retelling of because it’s practically untouchable in my mind. That fairytale is Beauty and the Beast.

While I know some people have some issues with Beauty and the Beast (hello, Stockholm Syndrome), I’ve always loved the character of Belle and the idea behind loving the person inside.

I related to Belle because she was a reader first and foremost. Growing up, I devoured books, and I just felt like Belle and I could’ve talked for hours about what we were reading—not to mention that I’ve always wanted to know what book she was reading where we meet Prince Charming but don’t discover that it’s him ‘til chapter three. (And, yes, I’m now singing that song in my head…but no, the number three is NOT my favorite.)

I also love that Belle is strong, independent, okay with being different, loves her family (even enough to basically sacrifice herself for them), and holds true to her inner convictions. Belle is able to see what others are not. She wanted adventure in the great wide somewhere, and she found it.

She brought us along on that adventure to an enchanted castle in the woods, a beautiful library (swoon!), and a host of characters who I’d be happy to be friends with.

Belle is the strong, adventurous, and loving princess that I would strive to be if, you know, I actually became a princess…which I’ve been dreaming of happening for like 16 years straight. (Yes, that’s my favorite number!)

 

Your next stop on the fairy-tale blog hop is: http://www.leadoue.com/blog

If you’ve already been to all 13 stops and collected everyone’s favorite number, then go enter to win the grand prize: http://shonnaslayton.com/fairy-tale-blog-hop/

The contest runs from Friday, June 22 to Friday, June 29.

But while you’re here, discover why you’ll want to follow the daughter of King Midas when her story, A TOUCH OF GOLD, hits shelves on August 14th!

Touch of Gold Final Cover Image

King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift—or curse—almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished The Touch forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide.

Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers. It isn’t until a charming young duke arrives that Kora realizes there may be someone out there who doesn’t fear her or her curse. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals precious items from the kingdom, leaving the treasury depleted and King Midas vulnerable. Thanks to her unique ability to sense gold, Kora is the only one who can track the thief down. As she sails off on her quest, Kora learns that not everything is what it seems—not thieves, not pirates, and not even curses. She quickly discovers that gold—and the power it brings—is more dangerous than she’d ever believed.

Midas learned his lesson at a price. What will Kora’s journey cost?

From author Annie Sullivan comes A Touch of Gold, the untold story of the daughter King Midas turned to gold, perfect for fans of Cinder and The Wrath and the Dawn.

You can preorder now:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Gold-Annie-Sullivan/dp/0310766354/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-touch-of-gold-annie-sullivan/1127456128#/

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780310766353

 

Or…stay in touch with me here:

Instagram: @annsulliva

Twitter: @annsulliva

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnieSullivan/

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/36575823-a-touch-of-gold

3 Ways to Create Conflict with Magic

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(Note from Annie: Today we have a guest post from Katie Nichols all about how you can use magic in your stories and a chance to win a SIGNED copy of The Cruel Prince. These are brought to you by the wonderful people behind the Chapter One Young Writers Conference (for writers ages 11-20) and the new Chapter Twenty-One Conference (for writers ages 21-29). Learn more about both here: www.chapteroneconference.org and www.chapter21conference.org.)

Hello, magical people!

Today, I want to talk about magic, specifically magical conflicts.

I love fantasy stories, especially ones with captivating magic systems. And I love it when magic causes problems for characters. While good stories are full of conflict and problems for the characters to overcome, there’s something extra awesome about magic being the source of problems.

So how do you create magical conflict? How do you make magic not only awesome, but also a source of problems?

Look at it from a bunch of different angles and ask questions. Here are a few suggestions of questions to ask yourself, with lots of examples.

1.Where does the magic come from?

In Tangled, Rapunzel’s magic comes from her hair (and before that, it came from a magic flower). Her magic heals and gives youth. An old witch wanted to be forever youthful, so she kidnapped baby Rapunzel. So really, all of the problems in Rapunzel’s life—being kidnapped then living in a tower—came because of her magic and its origins in that magic flower.

Let’s look at The Lord of the Rings. If you know anything about this story, you know that it’s basically a journey to destroy a magic ring that houses the Dark Lord’s soul before said Dark Lord can get it back. So what problems arise from this magic? Well, it’s evil magic, so there are a lot of problems just from that (more on this later in the post). But it is also very powerful and everyone either wants the Ring or wants to destroy it. One does not simply walk into Mordor to destroy it.

Aladdin doesn’t actually have magic, but his friend the Genie does. The origin of magic here causes problems because the Genie is limited by his magic. He can’t bring people back to life, he can’t kill anyone, and he can’t make anyone fall in love with anyone else. And like the other two examples, many people want this magic and not for the most pure of reasons.

2. How does the magic affect the character mentally/emotionally? 

Another example from The Lord of the Rings, when Frodo is taking the Ring to Mordor, we see him slowly being (for lack of a better word) possessed by the Ring. He doesn’t want to lose it, he is losing sleep over it, he is sorely tempted to wear it, and all this gets drastically worse as the story progresses. Gollum is the picture of what happens when someone is completely consumed by the Ring and insanity is also a common effect of magic in stories.

Elsa from Frozen is someone whose magic has affected her emotions. In the movie, Elsa’s magic conflicts are caused by how others see her magic as well as how she sees it. In the beginning of the movie, she loves her magic as she and her sister play with it. But when her sister gets hurt by Elsa’s magic, she’s scared of hurting people, and she begins to fear her magic, to the point that she is isolated from the rest of society. How society and the character themselves feel about their own magic is a good thing to consider.

3. How does the magic affect the character physically? 

It’s common in magic systems (especially in RPG stories) for the character to become weak or lose some of their ability to do magic as they do it, like they have a limited supply of magic. To do more than they are capable of could be dangerous. A good example of this is The Glamourist Histories series by Mary Robinette Kowal. The glamour magic takes their energy and doing too much can be fatal. (If you are a Jane Austen and fantasy fan, I suggest looking into these books.)

There are other ways to physically effect a character with their magic. In Tangled, Rapunzel can’t cut her hair, or it loses it’s power, turns brown, and doesn’t grow back. In one of the stories I’ve been working on, one of my characters can turn into a dragon. Some ways this could physically effect him is that maybe he smells like smoke or has dry skin or a tint of green even while he’s human.

These aren’t all the questions that you can ask yourself for making magic cause problems, but I hope they help. For more questions you can ask yourself, I recommend looking at Brandon Sanderson’s Laws of Magic. (https://brandonsanderson.com/sandersons-third-law-of-magic/) He writes fantasy (I love the Mistborn series, personally) with amazing magic systems.

Now go create some magical problems! I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by! Click here to enter to win a SIGNED copy of The Cruel Prince: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/50b1bee432/

YA Book A TOUCH OF GOLD is available for preorder!!!

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I can’t believe this day is here, but my YA debut novel about the daughter of King Midas is available for preorder.

You can find it at:

Amazon link:
Barnes & Noble link:

Why should you preorder A Touch of Gold? 

1.) Publishers often make decisions about an author getting a second book deal based on preorder numbers.

2.) The more preorders, the more copies of the book they’ll typically print, which means they’ll then usually increase marketing budgets to sell all those books.

3.) All preorder sales hit on the same day, meaning an author could potentially make lists like the New York Times bestseller list because all those sales count for the same week.

4.) You’ll usually get a cheaper price. Preorders are usually discounted the earlier you order.

5.) You’ll make an author’s day! I can’t tell you how happy I was when a friend told me she’d preordered 10 copies of my book!

 

Also, feel free to add the book on Goodreads!

I will keep you all updated on book signings and appearances. Thank you all for your support. I couldn’t have done all this without you!

I Have a Book Deal!!!

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I’m so thrilled to announce that I have a book deal with Blink (HarperCollins). My book, A TOUCH OF GOLD, is set to publish in Summer 2018.

Book Deal Announcement
Annie Sullivan’s Publishers Marketplace Deal Announcement for A TOUCH OF GOLD

So what do you do when all your dreams come true? Well, if you were me and got asked that question by your sister, you’d answer with, “Go take a nap.” So maybe that’s not the most exciting reply, but it might be the most honest one because it turns out making your dreams come true takes a whole lot of work.

Most people out there seem to think that you simply write a book and then **poof** you get a book deal. But there’s so much more too it than that. It takes an army of people.

Not only do you need teachers and instructors and mentors and peers to teach you how to write and help you become better, but you need an understanding family who lets you have time to write. You need critique partners and Twitter followers. You need agents and editors. The list goes on and on.

Not to mention this process can take years. I started writing A TOUCH OF GOLD way back in 2012. That’s right. 5 years. Did it take me 5 years to write? No. But it took that long for me to write it, revise it multiple times, let it sit a while, revise it again, have friends and critique partners read it, revise it again, get an agent, revise it after my agent read it, go out on submission, and finally get a deal. Not to mention I wrote several other books in the midst of all that going on.

But it was all worth it to write this blog post because this is the blog post I’ve been dreaming of writing for years, the one that proves all that hard work was worth it. The one that proves that not only do dreams come true, but so do fairytales. And mine is just starting!

Look for A TOUCH OF GOLD coming Summer 2018.

 

***To stay up-to-date on what’s happening with my book, be sure to subscribe to my blog and follow my author Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnieSullivan/