YA Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors . . . and a chance to win some awesome prizes! On this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 120 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are SIX contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the GREEN TEAM–but there is also a red team, a gold team, a blue team, a purple team, and a pink team for a chance to win a whole different set of books!

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.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the green 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 Sunday the 6th of April at noon Pacific time). Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I am hosting Lisa Manterfield, and award-winning author of Adult and Young Adult fiction. Originally from northern England, she now lives in northern California with her husband and over-indulged cat. When not at her treadmill desk, she can be found pulling weeds and daydreaming in her vegetable garden.

Find out more information by checking out Lisa’s website or buy her latest book here! This is the blurb:

“Kat Richardson isn’t running away from grief; she’s just hiding out in a gloomy Welsh university town until she’s sure it’s gone. Now, one year, nine months, and 27 days after the climbing death of her first love, Gabe, she thinks she’s ready to venture out into the relationship world again. And Owen—a cake-baking, Super Ball-making chemistry student—appears to be a kind, funny, and very attractive option.

“But the arrival of Kat’s newly adopted niece, Mai, forces her home to northern England, where she runs headfirst into all the memories of Gabe she’s tried to leave behind—and discovers that Mai stirs up an unnerving feeling of déjà vu. Before long, Kat’s logical, scientific beliefs about life after death are in battle with what she feels to be true—that reincarnation is real and Gabe has come back to her through Mai. The question now, is why?

“Taking on the topics of love, loss, and how we deal with grief, A Strange Companion is a twisted love triangle among the living, the dead, and the reincarnated.”

And now, meet Lisa herself . . .

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Hello,

I’m so pleased to be here again for YASH, and to introduce you to Kat and her story.

A STRANGE COMPANION is a story about grief and the cruel tricks our minds play on us when we lose someone we love. Naturally, a book about grief must also contain plenty of comfort food, and this book is no exception.

At the beginning of the story, when Kat is first venturing back out into the dating world after Gabe’s death, Owen bakes for her his infamous Chocolate Hazelnut Marble Cake, a sure way to win a girl’s heart.

I asked Kat and she agreed to share the recipe with you today. You can also get this and five other recipes in the companion cookbook, Recipes for Love, as part of your welcome gift when you sign up for my newsletter. You won’t want to miss Kat’s Pesto Chicken or Jon’s Lavender Blackberry Scones, trust me.

Lisa -x-

From Kat:

I had to use all my powers of persuasion to get Owen to part with this recipe. It’s super simple. Even I could make it. This cake is to die for, seriously. It’s gooey and delicious, but light enough that you can actually eat a slice and not feel sick afterwards. It’s nutty. It’s chocolatey. I mean, what else is there to say? Give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.

Serves 1-10! 😉

 

Ingredients:

Chocolate Batter:

• 3½ ounces self-raising flour, sifted*
• ½ ounce cocoa powder
• 4 ounces caster sugar
• 4 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon boiling water, if needed

Hazelnut Batter:

• 3 ounces self-raising flour, sifted*
• 1 ounce hazelnut butter or Nutella
• 4 ounces caster sugar
• 4 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon boiling water, if needed

 Chocolate Buttercream Filling:

• 4ounces confectioner’s (icing) sugar
• 2 ouncesbutter
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate chips

 Frosting:

• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

*If you can’t find self-raising flour use all-purpose flour mixed with one teaspoon baking powder

 Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas4. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with a dab of butter.

2. To make the chocolate batter, break the eggs into a medium bowl. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa, butter, and baking powder. Mix together until combined, being careful not to over-mix. Add the boiling water, as needed, until mixture easily drops off the spoon.

3. In another bowl, make the hazelnut batter. Break the eggs into the bowl and add the flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, and hazelnut butter. Mix together until combined, being careful not to over-mix. Add the boiling water, as needed, until mixture easily drops off the spoon.

4. Using a large spoon, drop dollops of each batter into the cake pans in a random pattern, with roughly the same total amount of batter in each pan. Gently swirl the spoon through the batter to create a marble effect, being careful nor to mix the two batters fully.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, until center of cakes are springy to the touch. Carefully turn onto a rack to cool.

6. For the filling, place the chocolate chips in a heat-resistant glass bowl and set atop a small pan of boiling water. Stir until melted. Add to butter and sugar and whisk until combined. Spread filling onto one cake half and place other half on top. Leave a small amount of filling in the bowl for the frosting.

7. To the remaining frosting, add melted chocolate chips and oil. Combine well and spread over cake top. Use a butter knife dipped in hot water to smooth frosting and leave to set.

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Thanks, Lisa! I know what I’m baking this week. 🙂

Now, don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win stuff. To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 5. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the green team and you’ll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author in line, Melissa Chambers. On her page you’ll find more exclusive material plus the next number you need to go in the draw.

BUT BEFORE YOU GO!

Enter here to be in the running to win an exclusive signed pre-release copy of Impossible Music, with YOU as a character (written by hand onto the page by me). I may give away some ARCs as well. Thanks for being part of YASH. Be in it to win it!