Thank you, up front, to I’m a reader, not a writer, and Good Choice Reading for hosting this awesome hop!

So the purpose of this hop is to promote YA novels and I’m giving one away, but before we get to that book, I want to chat about kick-butt characters. Wouldn’t it be fun to put a few of them together and see what happens?

Like … Harry Potter. I mean, Harry IS a kick-butt character. He had to fight through 7(!) whole years of badness to finally win. Talk about a huge problem!

Then there’s Percy Jackson and his several trials.

Of course the rage right now is the Hunger Games … where they fight to the death.

What if we pitted Harry against Katniss Everdeen? Who’d win? How about Percy against Harry? Would either even make it to the end or would they end up killing each other? Or would they give up in favor of peace and harmony?

Who really knows? That’s the fun of make believe. We get to learn about these characters, their likes and dislikes, their loves and hates and in our own minds, we can make them do stuff the author never would have imagined.

I, too, have a kick-butt character to share in October, in my debut novel, After Dark. Her name is Mac Thorne. Here’s a little snippet of the opening chapter (unedited).

Endless screams. Maniacal laughter. The scent of prey. Chills raced up my spine. I wanted to run. To hide. To bury my head in the grave beneath me. Instead, I balanced on top of Samuel L. Wilson, someone’s ‘beloved father and son resting in peace,’ craving solitude and stressing like a vampire on a blood fast.

Good ole ‘Sam’ decomposed underneath the largest oak in Primrose Cemetery—a spot no human would visit at night except on Halloween. A night that should have been mine.

Mine alone.

That’s all you get for now. Heheheheheeee. My cover reveal is April 14th (I think) and the book comes out October 31st … on … of all days … Halloween. Perfect, huh?

Now, anyone who prefers to sit IN the cemetery, at night, on Halloween …. wouldn’t she automatically classify as a kick-butt character?

Anyhoo… this isn’t just about me and my gift to you in this giveaway is some sneaky-peaky cover love, some goodies from my adult-alter-ego and a book that I just read — a little novella from Amaleen Ison. My review is here. And why am I giving away THIS book?

Well … because it, too, has a little kick butt character in it. Two in fact. If you read it, you’ll see who I’m talking about, and it’s not Millie.

Now on to the fun! Be sure to answer the question to qualify for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway