Monday, January 6, 2014

Blog Tour: The Headhunters Race!

So I've known Kimberly Afe for a while via her blog, and I'm thrilled to be a part of her Blog Tour for The Headhunters Race which was released Jan. 3! She's all over the blogosphere this week, and having a fabulous giveaway with a chance to win her ebook PLUS a $25 Amazon gift card and other cool prizes. Totally awesome! So if you haven't heard of it, here's the blurb:
 
Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Avene was sentenced to prison at thirteen for a crime she didn't commit. Now she has a chance to win her freedom back – if she enters the Headhunters Race. Second prize isn't so bad either, an upgrade to the Leisure Prison if you make it to the finish line. To win either prize, Avene and the other prisoners must navigate one hundred and fifty miles of dense forest, desert, and worst of all, cannibal territory.

With a mechanical collar timed to strangle the prisoners if they're not back in nine days, Avene allies herself with seventeen-year-old McCoy, another prisoner that insists on helping her at every turn and a boy she's trying hard not to fall for. Together they battle nature, other prisoners, and the timed death collars to win the coveted prize. But when Avene is tested with one deadly conflict after another, she realizes there is more at stake than winning her freedom – first she has to survive. 
 
And I love her story about how she came up with the idea in the first place. I'll let her tell it in her own words:
 
The Headhunters Race has a bit of a long journey.  The idea was born on June 26, 2011 after a Zelda game commercial inspired me.  The commercial was brilliant and I thought why can't they make a movie that cool?  And then I thought, why don't I write a cool adventure myself! 

So I brainstormed this story with my son over a dinner of spicy spaghetti a couple of nights after the idea came to me.  We worked out the entire novel:  the characters and their motivations, the world, and the details of the race as I frantically wrote it all down.  My husband and daughter also helped me brainstorm items that I needed worked out.  I then spent a little while playing around with Avene's voice and then wrote like crazy.  I finished in December of 2011.  I actually started having critique partners read it in November of 2011 and began querying agents in January of 2012 after more revising.  I also entered it into a few popular contests around the blogosphere in early 2012.  Then I took a very long break due to life circumstances with hubby’s heart and moving.  Early this year I got back into writing.  I’d been thinking about self publishing for quite awhile so when querying a few more agents and a handful of publishers didn’t work out, I decided to go for it, and now, 2 1/2 years later, the book is out there!  Wahoo!
 
 
 Author Bio

Kimberly is the mother of two awesome kids, wife of the nicest man in the world, and her dog's best friend. She works by day and writes middle grade and young adult science fiction and fantasy novels in her spare time. She lives with her family in the beautiful Sonoran Desert.

 Social Sites
 
Website     Goodreads     Twitter     Facebook     Blog  
 
Congratulations Kimberly! I'm really excited for you and wish all the best for you and your book. The rest of you, go forth and enter below. The last day to enter is Friday, January 10th!

Rafflecopter Giveaway

There are 3 prize packs to giveaway.   The Giveaway includes a copy of her eBook + the SAS Survival Handbook (2 of these to giveaway) and also giving away a copy of her eBook + a $25 Amazon gift card – the Rafflecopter lists all of these prize packs. :)  The Survival Handbook is awesome. :)
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

8 comments:

Kimberly said...

Thank you so much, Janet! :)

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Hey, Janet. Just stopped over to say 'hi'. It's been awhile. I just realized that somehow I stopped following you. Actually, I found quite a few blogs this happened to for me. Anyway, just corrected that. Following you again.

As far as this book, I loved it from the moment I saw the cover. Still on my TBR list!

Happy New Year!

Crystal Collier said...

Woot, woot! I can't wait to read this one. Seriously. But my time-stopper is broken. Frustrating, right? Guess I'm going to have to learn how to function within the realms of real time. On the plus side, I'll age slower. =)

Kimberly said...

Thanks so much, SA and Crystal!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow. This storyline sounds intense. Congrats to Kimberly.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow. This storyline sounds intense. Congrats to Kimberly.

Kimberly said...

Thanks Medeia!

Marcia said...

Sounds like it would definitely appeal to fans of The Hunger Games. I liked reading about her brainstorming process.