UNRAVELING + A Giveaway

You guys. YOU GUYS. Do you know what today is? Today is the release day of fellow Apocalypsie Liz Norris’s UNRAVELING. Now, I haven’t had the opportunity to read the book yet, but I've been dying to get my hands on a copy ever since I read the summary. Check it out and you’ll know what I mean.

Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.

To celebrate the release, some fellow bloggers/writers are answering prompts that are UNRAVELING related (or blogging freely about whatever their little heart desires). Here’s the one I’m answering.

When referring to thrillers: There is always some teeny, tiny obstacle to our dear protagonist's happiness. Like, say, the imminent end of the world. If you find out that the world's expiration date is somewhat nearer than anticipated, what's your next move? What would you do?

This is something I’ve spent an unnatural amount of time thinking about. My mother is a doom and gloom kind of person, so I grew up with someone always thinking and believing in the worst. When I first signed with Joanna way back in 2010 (after querying agents for years), the first thing out of my mother’s mouth was, “Are you sure she’s reputable? Why do you even need an agent? You’re basically giving money away.”

To which I replied, “WOMAN YOU ARE CRAY CRAY.” (Okay, perhaps those weren’t my exact words.)

And, my husband is a true believer of the zombie apocalypse. He’s a science geek, and he suspects if any type of horror/fantasy/sci-fi story came to life, it’d be zombies. Which means we’ve discussed strategy, the effectiveness of a moot in the face of a hoard (with alligators, natch), and whether or not an island would be safe. I suggested Mackinac Island, since it’s close to us, and hello, it’s like the fudge capital of the world (I totally just made that up).

Anyway, I’m getting way off track.

So what would I do if I knew the world was ending and when?

I’d start with the obvious things: stalk Ryan Gosling, steal a car, bungee jump, sky dive, eat a big fat steak, tell my mom I love her, “accidentally” cut off my dad’s (hideous) beard, buy my brother a riding lawn mower (he has a weird love for lawn mowers), punch my old boyfriend in the face, tell my ex-best friend she’s my ex-best friend, and eat lots of chocolate ice cream.

Then, to wrap things up, I’d watch The Notebook.

So, what would YOU do if you knew the world was ending?

Blog about it if you’d like, or answer in the comments!

And to further celebrate UNRAVELING’s release, enter the giveaway to win a copy.


Read the first 90 pages of UNRAVELING for free here (or just skip this step and go buy a copy here). 


And, to learn more about Liz, check out her blog, or follow her on Twitter.