Discover Sci-Fi Site

A group of 10 indie authors (some of whom have traditional publishing deals as well) have started a new website to promote their work and connect with readers: Discover Sci-Fi.

They are: Jay Allan, Evan Currie, Joshua Dalzelle, Michael Grumley, Autumn Kalquist, Matthew Mather, Samuel Peralta, Nicholas Sansbury Smith, Darren Wearmouth, and Nick Webb.

They're currently running a contest to win quite a few books.  The grand prize is 40 signed trade paperbacks, followed by 2500 prize packs containing 10 ebooks each.  The contest is open internationally though, according to their rules, people from the following countries are ineligible: Taiwan, South Korea, Portugal, Italy, Austria, China, Russia, Hong Kong, Greece, France, Japan, Spain, and Czech Republic.

You get a free ebook for entering the contest and/or signing up for their newsletter.

There are tabs at the top right of the screen to navigate the site.  Currently there's only the giveaway and a few blog posts.  I corresponded with Matthew Mather, one of the founders, who told me what readers can expect from the site:

Each week we will be featuring a new book release and/or free/deep discount on a book from one of our ten “partner” authors, plus we will be curating a list of deals from other authors that we like, have read, can recommend etc…

The group intends to add more authors to their line-up over time as well as a forum for discussion, but they want the site properly established before branching out.

Think Geek Star Trek Giveaway

Thanks to TOR.com on facebook, I found out about this giveaway today.  Think Geek is giving away at Star Trek themed 'Away Team Kit (and that's a signed copy of Scalzi's Redshirts):

Click here for more details and to enter.

Winner of the Ready Player One Contest Announced Tonight

Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One, hid an Easter Egg in his novel attached to video game challenges, and someone has completed them.  As announced on prweb:

To celebrate the release of the READY PLAYER ONE trade paperback this summer, author Ernest Cline held an epic video game contest. This real life contest mirrored the contest from the novel and included three increasingly difficult video game challenges and "gates" to clear - just like in the novel. Cline hid an Easter Egg in the form of a URL in both print editions of READY PLAYER ONE. When readers found the hidden clue, it led them to the first of three increasingly difficult video game challenges. Once through the first challenge and upon the opening of the second gate, players encountered a second video game challenge, designed by none other than Richard "Lord British" Garriott, the famous video game creator and the inspiration for READY PLAYER ONE character James Halliday.

Cline is now thrilled to announce that one fan has not only completed the first two video game challenges, but has just completed the third and final challenge: setting a new world record on Joust for the Atari 2600. Twin Galaxies has verified the record and we have a winner!

And the prize?  A 1981 DeLorean complete with Flux Capacitor.  The car will be awarded to the winner by Mr. Cline on G4s "X-Play" television show tonight at 6:30 pm Eastern time.

Introducing Bookperk

"Bookperk is a site for all of us book lovers. For the first time, readers get access to exclusive merchandise and experiences from their favorite authors and books."

It's a site run by HarperCollins to give added value to the book experience.  They have offers for books + other things, like movie passes and lipgloss.  The deals work like Groupon in that if not enough people are interested, no one gets it.

They currently don't offer deals outside the US, with one exception.  They're running a contest that's only open to Canadians honouring Lindsey Kelk's The Single Girl's To Do List (alas, as an employee of Indigo I can't enter).

Here's the link to the contest and to the terms and conditions.  Contest ends September 1st.

Sea Lion Books Hosts Facebook Contest

Sea Lion Books is having a contest.  Their goal is to reach 1111 likes in honour of the 4th of July weekend (1+1+1+1=4). 

What do you win?  A copy of the first Storm Born graphic novel from the Dark Swan series by Rachelle Mead AND a cameo in the second volume, out next year.  Their press release hinted that there might be more prizes as well.  :)


How do you enter?  'Like' their facebook page.  Write your full name on their wall and tell them how much you like the Dark Swan series' protagonist, Eugenie Markham.

The contest closes when they reach their target likes.

Reminder: James Knapp Giveaway Ends Apirl 19th

Remember, I'll be drawing 3 winners for a copy each of one of James Knapps' books (State of Decay, Silent Army or Element Zero) tomorrow (April 19th) at 11 am EDT.  For your chance to win, email me at jstrider@confuseacat.org.  If you've left a comment without emailing, you'll still be entered in the contest, but be sure to check back and see if you've won as I won't be able to contact you.  The contest is open to everyone, everywhere.

Full contest details can be found here.

Doubleday Hosts ROBOPOCALYPSE Book Trailer Contest

Like book trailers?  Want the chance to make one yourself?  Well, Doubleday is hosting a contest to create a trailer for Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson.  The deadline is May 13th and the prizes are cash: $750 Grand, $500 First and $250 Second.

Your video must be either 30 seconds or 60 seconds in duration and in one of these accepted formats: “MOV,” “MP4,” “WMV,” “FLV,” or “AVI”. Your video must feature the book shot of ROBOPOCALYPSE somewhere within.
You can find everything that you need, including an excerpt of the book, images, directions on how to upload your video, complete rules and other resources at the Facebook page.

The book copy reads:
They are in your house. They are in your car. They are in the skies…Now they’re coming for you.

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans – a single mother disconcerted by her daughter’s menacing “smart” toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a ‘pacification unit’ go haywire – but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.

When the Robot War ignites -- at a moment known later as Zero Hour -- humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us…and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.

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And don't forget to sign up for the James Knapp Book Giveaway on my site.  Simply email jstrider@confuseacat.org for your chance to win one of 3 signed copies of his books (your choice of: State of Decay, Silent Army or Element Zero).  Drawing is April 19th.  Click here for full contest details.

ChiZine Conest for Derryl Murphy's novel, Napier's Bones

ChiZine Publications is hosting another contest to showcase a new title, Derryl Murphy's Napier's Bones.

What's the book about?, you ask.  Here's the cover blurb:

What if, in a world where mathematics could be magic, the thing you desired most was also trying to kill you? Dom is a numerate, someone able to see and control numbers and use them as a form of magic. While seeking a mathematical item of immense power that has only been whispered about, it all goes south for Dom, and he finds himself on the run across three countries on two continents, with two unlikely companions in tow and a numerate of unfathomable strength hot on his tail. Along the way are giant creatures of stone and earth, statues come alive, numerical wonders cast over hundreds of years, and the very real possibility that he won''t make it out of this alive. And both of his companions have secrets so deep that even they aren't aware of them, and one of those secrets could make for a seismic shift in how Dom and all other numerates see and interact with the world.

And now that you know if you're interested, here are the contest details from their press release:

To honour the death of Scottish mathematician John Napier and celebrate the release of Derryl Murphy's new novel Napier's Bones, ChiZine Publications has announced the “Napier's Legacy Contest,” which seeks submissions of short stories, jokes and inventions inspired by John Napier.

Launched April 4, the date of John Napier's death in 1617, the contest is looking for creative works related to John Napier's interests, which include mathematics, the occult and alchemy. Winners will receive a limited hardcover for the best “undiscovered” invention by John Napier, a trade paperback for an original short story where numbers play some role in the plot, and an eBook for the best numbers-based joke.

"Derryl's novel presents a world where numbers are the basis of magic," explains co-publisher Sandra Kasturi. "It's such an unusual take on magic that we wanted to run a truly unique contest where people can have some creative fun and enter in different ways. I can’t wait to see what kind of cool stories and wacky fake ‘inventions’ people come up with, not to mention all the terrible jokes!"

Full details are on the ChiZine Publications website at http://chizinepub.com. Entries must be received by May 4.

ChiZine Publications hosts "Imaginary Book" Contest to Promote The Door To Lost Pages

From their press release:

TORONTO, Ontario (February 17, 2011) – Toronto based ChiZine Publications will be holding a contest to promote and give away signed limited edition hard cover copies of Claude Lalumière's new book The Door to Lost Pages. Submitters are encouraged to fabricate a title and synopsis of an imaginary book that would appear in the novella’s titular shop, Lost Pages, which exists across multiple realities and conveys materials about them.

“This is not only a means to increase the interest in the book, but also to promote the importance of interaction with the material,” says CZP author Claude Lalumière. “By encouraging invention on the reader’s part, it gives them more of an involvement with the work and its concepts therein.”

Via the available form on the ChiZine contest page, contestants will submit the title and synopsis of an imaginary book they would think would be found at Lost Pages. Two grand prizes will be awarded—the Author’s Choice Award, selected by Claude Lalumière, and the Reader’s Choice Award, voted by online readers. 

The winners and runners-up will be featured on the CZP website and on Lalumière’s Lost Myths blog. The two grand-prize winners each get a free signed limited-edition hardcover copy of The Door to Lost Pages, as well as ten postcards featuring their winning entry. CZP will also use the postcards of the winning entry as giveaway material at conventions, readings and festivals. Three runners-up will win a free eBook download of The Door to Lost Pages.
 
Submission Guidelines

1. Participants may submit up to three entries each
2. Entries can be up to 150 words, including the header
3. Vote and encourage others to vote on their favourite entries
4. Claude Lalumière will choose his top picks from the submitted entries to be posted on the contest website. Voting for the Reader’s Choice will take place from March 21 to March 31, midnight (EDT).

The contest begins February 17, 2011. Final submissions must be made by midnight (EDT) on March 15, 2011.  Final winners will be announced on April 4, 2011 by ChiZine Publications. 
Entries may be edited in minor ways for publication. To submit, visit the ChiZine Publications website at http://chizine.com/chizinepub/contests/lost-pages/

 If you're wondering what The Door To Lost Pages is all about, here's the synopsis via the Chapters/Indigo website:

 Step through the door to Lost Pages and escape a life you never wanted! On her tenth birthday, Aydee runs away from home and from her neglectful parents. At first, surviving alone on the streets is harsh, but a series of frightening, bewildering encounters with strange primordial creatures leads her to a bookshop called Lost Pages, where she steps into a fantastic, sometimes dangerous, but exciting life. Aydee grows up at the reality-hopping Lost Pages, which seems to attract a clientele that is either eccentric - or desperate. She is repeatedly drawn into an eternal war between enigmatic gods and monsters, until the day she is confronted by her worst nightmare: herself!

I Am Number Four Contest

From a press release I was emailed today:

Now on Moviefone, enter for a chance to win a trip to the I AM NUMBER FOUR Movie Premiere!

One Grand Prize winner will receive a three-day / two-night trip to the 'I Am Number Four' movie premiere next year. The prize package will include two tickets to the premiere event, roundtrip airfare for two and hotel accommodations.

Check it out at: http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/08/16/i-am-number-four-movie-premiere-sweepstakes/

The book is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth. It is currently #7 on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

A co-worker of mine has finished the book and thought it was a great read - light on the SF elements but a lot of fun. If you know a teenage boy who isn't a great fan of picking up books, maybe this will change his mind.