Something Strange & Deadly Releases TODAY!
Something Strange & Deadly Releases TODAY!
So, I don’t even know where to begin this post. Because today is such a monumentally awesome day that beginning with “HOORAY! SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY BY SUSAN DENNARD IS NOW IN STORES!” seems...a little anticlimactic.
For those of us at PC who were originally Let The Words Flow members, today is the culmination of nearly two years of waiting and waiting. When we first met Sooz in Fall 2010, she was about to query a manuscript called The Spirit-Hunters. From the moment we received her membership application, we knew she was special...And then when we held a Skype interview with her, we all loved her immediately. She was funny and clever and warm—and brilliant.
So it was no surprise that a few weeks later, she nabbed an amazing agent (who is now a PC member!). And it was no surprise that, a few weeks after that, she sold that manuscript to HarperCollins. (Though holy moly, did we celebrate!!)
We’ve been celebrating each step of the journey since then, too—the title change to Something Strange & Deadly, the cover reveal, the release date reveal, the trailer reveal...So many milestones, all building up to today—to the moment when the rest of the world can finally see just how brilliant and talented Sooz is, when you can now all read the story of Eleanor Fitt and love her as much as we do.
Something Strange & Deadly is a rare kind of YA novel in that it manages to perfectly balance action, horror, romance, mystery, and a classic coming-of-age tale. It’s the story of 16 year-old Eleanor Fitt, a society girl living in 1876 Philadelphia. When a necromancer comes to town and starts raising the dead, and Eleanor’s older brother also happens to go missing, Eleanor finds herself seeking out the help of the Spirit-Hunters, a rag-tag group that has somehow become the only thing standing between Philadelphia and utter destruction. I’m not doing the story any justice right now, but check out the trailer (which gives you a perfect sense of how intense and badass this book is):
You can visit somethingstrangeanddeadly.com for more information and extra content, and order your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (for FREE international shipping), or through your local indie.
I have read this book multiple times (in manuscript format, in ARC format, in the final, gorgeous version), and each time, Sooz swept me away with the strength of Eleanor’s voice, the beauty of her prose, and the bone-chilling action and intensity. If you are a fan of Garth Nix’s Sabriel, Libba Bray’s A Great & Terrible Beauty, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones (yes, I DID just mention Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones), then this is THE book for you.
Something Strange & Deadly Fan-Art by Lisseth Torres!
It has something for everyone—seriously. Over Thanksgiving, I gave an ARC to a family member who doesn’t read all that much YA (or any kind of book). I’m not exaggerating in the least when I say that I did NOT see her for the next 24 hours because she was got so lost in this book (I swear, she didn’t lift a finger to help prepare the meal. And DURING the meal, I think she rushed through the food JUST so she could get back to reading). It’s that addictive. (And, having read the first draft of Book 2, I can say that it gets even MORE incredible!!)
But today is about more than just an amazing, beautiful book. It’s also about an amazing, beautiful person.
I think I can speak for all of us at Pub Crawl when I say that Susan is the glue that holds us all together. This site literally would not be here without her. She works countless hours to keep PC running—she wakes up at the crack of dawn EVERY SINGLE MORNING to make sure that posts have gone up without a hitch. But more than that, she is always there for each and every one of us. Without fail.
I have never met anyone like her.
So, in honor of Something Strange & Deadly coming out, we’re doing two things:
Today I am giving away a gorgeous finished copy of Something Strange & Deadly. The contest is US-only, and ends TONIGHT at midnight EST. To enter, fill out the rafflecopter form below!
Erin Bowman and I are running the SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY OUTBREAK event! It’s a week-long celebration that ends on Tuesday, 7/31. Every day, we’re going to be giving away AMAZING prizes on various author blogs, as well as hosting a MEGA giveaway that runs throughout this week. For details about the full line-up of authors participating in the Outbreak event, check out Erin’s blog! And for details on how to enter the MEGA giveaway (and what the incredible grand prize is), check out my blog. (I also have another post about Sooz TODAY, if you want to see me make an emotional mess out of myself.)
The winner of today’s contest will be announced tomorrow on the next stop of the blog tour, so be sure to stop by! Here’s what’s still ahead (with amazing, don’t-want-to-miss daily prizes to be announced at each stop):
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Wednesday 7/25: Kat Zhang will discuss SS&D and the theme of identity
Thursday 7/26: Leigh Bardugo dishes about SS&D and setting
Friday 7/27: Amie Kaufman chats about SS&D and love interests
Monday 7/30: Marie Lu takes a look at SS&D and action
Tuesday 7/31: Susan Dennard will announce the grand prize winner!
In the meantime, help us spread the word on Twitter with the #SSaDOutbreak hashtag. And don’t forget to enter the grand prize giveaway for a chance to snag some epic prizes! For details on how to enter, click here. Erin and I also created a special Pinterest Board for the event, where we’ll be sharing the best pictures of you guys with the book (...or, if you don’t have a physical copy, send a pic with your Kindle and the title page, or do something super-creative)!
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And, Sooz...In case it wasn’t obvious by this point...We love you. We don’t know what we’d do without you. And you deserve every bit of success and happiness that is coming your way!
CONGRATS!!!!!!
Also! The winner of the 7/23 Giveaway (on Erin’s blog) of a finished e-copy of Something Strange & Deadly and the ARC of Tahereh Mafi’s Unravel Me is...
Gabby Matlock!
Shoot us an email at SSADOutbreak@gmail.com to receive your prize!!!