If you read my post Second Coolest Thing I’ve Ever Done, you might remember me mentioning getting to talk with author extraordinaire Holly Black about her then-upcoming book.
The Darkest Part of the Forest is that book, and when I saw this on Twitter, I jumped on it:
December NOVLbox announcement, curated by Holly Black
I don’t usually have much luck with those kinds of contests, but I couldn’t pass up the chance. TheNovl.com was one of the sponsors of that special dinner, and here they were with a box full of goodies to give way, goodies that were at least in part picked out by, OR EVEN MADE BY, Holly Black Herself. So I entered. And hoped against hope.
Then I got the email that I was one of the lucky winners. ME. I ran around my house screaming like an idiot. My housemate, who happens to be my big sister, thought I had hurt myself, or seen a spider.
I waited expectantly. And waited some more. And sooner than the 2 to 4 weeks promised, a weighty box showed up on my door. It was here, at last!
My box contained:
A letter from TheNovl.com folks and Holly Black
A quill and notebook for “plotting against faerie monsters.”
“The Darkest Part of the Forest” by Holly Black and “I Hunt Killers” by Barry Lyga, recommended by Holly Black.
(You can get a copy of I Hunt Killers here.)
“The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” by Holly Black complete with rave-ready glow stick necklace.
A poster featuring a quote from #DPotF
a thenovl.com tote bag
And definitely saving the best/worst for last, a walnut hiding a secret scroll bearing a faery curse.
The curse was especially poignant, as it is from the book (spoilery to explain more than that) and dementia/ memory issues are a curse of their own in my family. You could say my grandmother had a problem in that her usually scatter-brained self remembered everything, just not the right things at the right times, at the end. Kind of scary.
Since I already had a copy of The Darkest Part of the Forest ( #DPotF, purchased the day it came out) and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, I decided to add them to my treasure trove of books and goodies to give away. But not just hand out to someone–no, this had to be special. So I decided for #DPotF I would hide them someplace green and tree laden, and set up a faerie themed quest. I would even include another, announced, secret book as a Faery Changeling, a decoy book.
All of which I did.
Earlier today.
After a series of announcements about the upcoming quest and what one could win from it, I posted the following set of video clues (in which my voice is HORRID because, until this morning, I had lost my voice completely due to a head cold. The pitiful thing you hear is all I got back so far.) on the Russo’s Books Facebook and Twitter accounts:
The book, if you were wondering, is excellent! Much like when one falls into the inbetween land of Faerie, the book sucks you in, changes you, and spits you out again on the other side with your timeline shifted as much as your perception of the world around you. What I’m saying is, when you decide to read this book, clear your schedule, because you are going to want to do it in one sitting, and it is going to take you a while to stop thinking about it once you are finished.
I haven’t gone back yet to see if both books I hid have been found. No one has posted that they’ve retrieved them yet. Just in case you’re curious, or in case you’re one of the questers and are really stumped, this is where and how I hid them:
Both books are hidden here.
the Faery Changeling book…
Nightbird by Alice Hoffman comes out in March, but can be preordered here.
…is more easily spotted in the crook of a tree.
#DPotF and special note…
…are hidden where the last video shows a faery saying “this is the perfect spot.” Tricksy faeries!
*A brief note on the spelling of “fairy” and “faery.” I used the spelling “fairy” on the Facebook posts, because this is the most widely known and accepted spelling, going with the assumption that it would make the most sense to the broadest spectrum of people. This spelling usually evokes those lovely, little, spritely, Tinkerbell-type flower fairies, who look adorable and harmless. They aren’t, of course, but that’s still what comes readily to mind. There are many more types of creatures who are of the Good Folk, however, many of whom are quite fierce and grotesque, so those in the know usually use the alternate spelling, “faerie” to denote that, as I have in my post. To some degree there is also usage of the “ae” spelling to denote the perceived reality of faeries, much like folk who use “magick” to differentiate the real stuff from the stage magic of performing magicians. (Imagine the shooting star Katy Perry borrowed for the Super Bowl and the copywritten “More You Know” slogan and song inserted here.)
The Mean Bookstore Girl 