Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt!
Hello! I’m Shannon A. Thompson—young adult author, blogger, and poet. Every Saturday, I share writing and publishing tips right here. I also love to talk about books.
About Me
I’m a cat lady of three gremlins.
My favorite season is winter.
I’m addicted to coffee, KDramas, and Sailor Moon.
I currently live in Kansas City, Missouri.
Bill Murray passed me in the Charleston Airport once and I almost fainted.
I’m on TEAM PURPLE this year.
Searching for my exclusive bonus content? You’ll have to keep searching.
Somewhere on this blog hop, you can read a never-before-seen excerpt from the prequel of the Timely Death trilogy. That’s right. A prequel. You will get to see Eric Welborn’s parents when they were teens. You can also enter to win a signed copy of Bad Bloods: November Rain and Minutes Before Sunset below. Before you go looking for it, check out the amazing (and spooky) author I’m hosting.
But maybe you need the rules first.
Scavenger Hunt Prize Rules
Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve hidden my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the PURPLE 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 Oct 8, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
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.
Now that we all know the rules, please welcome…
I am super excited to be hosting…
Joshua David Bellin!
About Joshua: Joshua David Bellin has been writing novels since he was eight years old (though the first few were admittedly very short). A college teacher by day, he is the author of three YA science fiction novels: the two-part Survival Colony series (SURVIVAL COLONY 9 and SCAVENGER OF SOULS) and the deep-space adventure FREEFALL. Josh loves to read, watch movies, and spend time in Nature with his kids. Oh, yeah, and he likes monsters. Really scary monsters.
About Freefall:
Earth, 2150. Cam lives in the Upperworld, home of the elite 1%. Sofie is a revolutionary prophet from the Lowerworld, the remaining 99%. The two teens meet during a time of struggle over deep-space colonization. When their starships crash-land on a deadly planet, the choices they make may decide the fate of their people.
Find out more information by checking out the author website or find more about the author’s book here: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Buy the Book, Add on Goodreads
Exclusive Content
Deleted monster
From Freefall
© 2017 by Joshua David Bellin
In the first draft of Freefall, written in 2013 during NaNoWriMo, I envisioned the alien life form on the deep-space exoplanet quite differently than it ended up in the published version. Here’s the original scene where my narrator, Cam Newell, encounters (and kills) the creature. To give you an idea of how I pictured this thing, I’ve also included the sketch I drew at the time.
I grope in the dark, my fingers closing on my weapon. Then I go to inspect the thing I killed.
It sprawls on the spongy rock, easily twelve feet long, with hairless skin and four long, spider-like limbs ending in wicked-looking claws. Its torso is vaguely humanoid, but its head is anything but: a jagged slash like the prow of a vessel, filled from front to back with teeth that clamber over each other in their mad rush to burst free from its mouth. In fact I’m not even sure it has a mouth, or if the teeth grow from every part of the head. If the latter, I wonder how it ingests its food. How it planned to ingest me.
I don’t wonder for long.
In the red glow of the flare I notice a translucency to the thing’s abdomen, as if its skin is a clouded window. Leaning closer, I see that it’s fed recently—if fed is the right word. Something moves just below its skin, something still alive. Something with arms and legs that push futilely against the interior of the monster’s body, while eyes stare pleadingly and a mouth stretches in a silent scream.
Something that looks an awful lot like a human being.
Thank you for coming on, Joshua!
Isn’t that monster scary? I dream about monsters all the time, not going to lie. Last night alone I had 23 monsters in my dream. But don’t let that scare you from entering the YASH contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me and many more! Just check out all these awesome titles on the PURPLE TEAM!
To enter, you need to write down my fav number, and find all the other numbers on the PURPLE TEAM, add them up, and you’ll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
Exclusive Giveaway!
Thank you so much for stopping by! While you’re here, don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter bonus contest I am hosting exclusively during the YA Scavenger Hunt. One lucky reader will win a signed copy of Bad Bloods: November Rain. Another amazing reader will win a signed copy of Minutes Before Sunset! Both will win signed swag from both of my series. Good luck!
Enter this Rafflecopter for your chance to win.
Ready to move on to the next link in the hunt? Then head on over to visit author Katie French’s page.
LINK TO NEXT BLOG
~SAT
Shannon A. Thompson 
I’ve tried scavenger hunting before but didn’t get to finish it 😭 but it was suuuuuper fun!
It is fun! I know one year I only finished one or two teams, so it was easier. ☺
~SAT
No, I’ve done them in the past. I like them because I find new authors. I also like seeing playlists that go with the books.
I love finding new authors! If you like playlists that go with books, I have one on YouTube, but it goes with one of my previously published books that’s not currently published. (But I’m hoping to get it back out there soon!)
~SAT
This is my second YASH! It is so much fun!!!
So glad you enjoy YASH!
~SAT
This is SUCH a blast! I love discovering new authors!!!
Yay! Discovering new authors is the best. Thank you for stopping by, Laura.
~SAT
Hi Shannon A. Thompson! This is my second YASH participation, I really enjoy finding new books to read and getting to know the amazing authors!
That is awesome! I hope you’re enjoying your second YASH, Fay Tannerr! Thank you for stopping by.
~SAT
I’m having a decent amount of fun so far. I’m on my third color.
Yay! Good luck, Bella!
~SAT
I’ve been participating since the first few! Unfortunately, no such luck winning the big prizes, but I enjoy getting to learn about all the new authors and all of their stunning books!(:
That is so neat! I love blog hopping around during YASH. 😀
Thanks for stopping by,
~SAT
fun hunt
Glad you’re having fun!
~SAT
This isn’t my first time doing YASH, I’ve actually been doing it for a couple years now! I love it so much, I always look forward to it!
It’s so much fun! Have a blast!
Thank you for stopping by, Katy!
~SAT
This is my 7th(?) YASH. The hunt is fantastic since I get to discover new books and authors!
This is the first YASH I’ve actually participated in… I was too late to enter the summer hunt! So far it’s been fantastic!
So exciting! I hope you enjoy your first YASH.
~SAT
This is my first YASH and it is so much fun!
Yay! Have fun!
~SAT
Yes, my first. Slow but going. Almost done
Yay! Hope you’re having fun! Good luck!
~SAT
This is my second time participating in the YASH hunt. I’m having a lot of fun! 🙂
So glad you’re having fun, Angela! Thank you for stopping by.
~SAT
I love these Scavenger Hunts…even though I have never won anything it is still so fun to help out all these authors. It’s great❤️❤️❤️
They are a blast! I hope you win something this year. 😀
~SAT
Fingers and piggies crossed…but it’s fun so if I don’t I enjoy reading about different authors ❤️
This is my very first yash and I’m having a lot of fun.
What a blast! Have fun.
~SAT
This is my third YASH. I am now an addict. Thanks for participating!
It is SO addicting! Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
~SAT
i believe it’s my second year LOL
I hope you’re enjoying it!
Thanks for stopping by.
~SAT
I’ve done them in the past, it’s my mosth waited times of the year
Thank you for stopping by!
~SAT
This is my 2nd time doing this. It is a lot of fun discovering new authors and books to read!
That is awesome! I hope you’re enjoying it!
~SAT
This is my third or fourth time doing the YASH. They’re so much fun! I’ve never won any of the grand prizes. But I have won 1 of the smaller giveaways. 🙂
That is a blast! Prizes are always fun, right?? 🙂
Thank you for stopping by,
~SAT
This is my second YASH & I couldn’t wait for it to start after I had so much fun the first time! YAY YASH!
YAY YASH! Totally agree. Thank you for stopping by.
~SAT
This is my second time doing ya she, I love reading everyone’s posts and searching for the hidden numbers.
I love searching for the hidden numbers, too! So much fun.
Thank you for stopping by.
~SAT
Ive been doing YASH for a few years now I really enjoy it. My favorite part is all the new authors I get to discover ❤
That is awesome! I hope you discover lots of new authors.
Thank you for stopping by,
~SAT
so this is my 2nd or 3rd year doing YASH. so like 5 or 6 of them. I always have a blast. Not only do you (maybe) get to win a book or two, but the best part is discovering all these awesome authors/books. I LOVE that
This isn’t my first time doing YASH. I love it so much (So must fun)!!!!!
Thanks for participating.
THis is my second attempt at doing YASH. I tried last spring but ran out of time 😦
This is my first, and I love it.