Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Fury of the Phoenix Contest!!!!!


When you are friends with an author, there are a few things you have to worry about. First you worry that you won't like your friend's book. Then you worry that people will think you're just saying you like your friend's book because it's your friend's book. Then you worry about what other people will think of your friend's book.

These are the thoughts that went through my head when I got a copy of Fury of the Phoenix. I was anxious to read it and worried all at the same time. But I can't even tell you how ecstatic I was when I finished reading Fury. I've always known Cindy is a wonderful story teller and writer, but in Fury, Cindy has blown me away. It is an incredibly powerful, moving and exciting story. I absolutely loved it and I believe that anyone who reads it will see exactly what I'm talking about. She did something really hard to do, take an evil character and nuance him so that we actually come to care for him.

And while I think a reader could read Fury without having read the first book, I firmly believe you have to read Silver Phoenix to truly enjoy Fury. Silver Phoenix is an excellent read, but Fury, in my mind, is my favorite book - it's intense, emotional, deep, rich and utterly satisfying. I couldn't stop thinking about Fury for days after reading it. I was so proud of Cindy after reading Silver Phoenix, but I can't even begin to express how much I admire her now. So many writers suffer from the sophomore slump. Not Cindy. Her second book is an absolute triumph and I can't recommend it enough!

Not only is Fury coming out on March 29th, but today is the release of the paperback version of Silver Phoenix and with a beautiful brand new cover!


Yes I know there has been controversy over the cover. But I don't have a problem with this cover. Do you know why? Not as many bookstores carried Silver Phoenix in the first go around. But Cindy's publisher believes in her books so much that they were willing to do a cover redesign for the paperback to help give her books a second life. That makes me so happy because it means a new chance for more people to read Cindy's books. It's a beautiful cover and I love how the jade necklace gives it an Asian feel. After the cover controversy, I showed the girls the new covers of Silver Phoenix and Fury and asked them what they thought of the covers. They loved them and immediately said that the girl on both covers must be Asian. I asked why and they said because the necklace and the dagger look Asian. And that was good enough for me.

So in honor of the paperback release of Silver Phoenix, Cindy has been gracious enough to donate a copy of a highly prized Fury ARC and 2 copies of the new Silver Phoenix paperback! I'm adding to the fun by donating 2 gift cards to either Barnes and Nobles or Amazon (winners choice). That's right - 2 prizes to try for:

1. Grand prize includes Fury ARC, Silver Phoenix paperback and 1 $50 gift card.
2. Second prize includes Silver Phoenix paperback and 1 $25 gift card.


To win prize,
All you gotta do
Is Haiku.

That's right, a haiku contest. If you have a twitter account, and you want to win one of these fabulous prizes, just tweet your haiku to @elloecho and you will be included in the contest. You can do 3/5/3 or 5/7/5 - the haiku must contain the word Fury or Phoenix in it. And you also need to tweet a link to this post as follows - (Haiku contest for Fury of the Phoenix ARC, Silver Phoenix paperback and $50 gift card @elloecho http://bit.ly/hNEKIN). How are you going to do this all on twitter? Just split it up into 2 back to back tweets and it will count as one entry, tweet the haiku first and then the contest info second (both to @elloecho). You may enter as many haikus as you want. Cindy will choose the winning haikus so dazzle us with your haiku powers! This contest is open to everyone and prizes will be sent wherever the US mail will deliver to, so spread the word and help Cindy's book find tons of new readers!

For those of you who don't have a twitter account, you may also post your entry here in the comments. Just link your blog or your facebook account to this post and you will be entered into the contest. The twitter contest will end at midnight EST but you can continue to enter entries on this blog post until this Friday at 9PM.

Oh and as an added bonus, Cindy will also include these beautiful post cards of the main characters, Silver Phoenix and Zhong Ye from Fury of the Phoenix in the winning packages. Aren't they lovely?

45 comments:

Laurel said...

I love both covers. I thought the original was gorgeous. Maybe now it will have "collector's edition" cache!

C.R. Evers said...

Can't wait to read it!

Laurel said...

Okay, I tweeted my real one but here's a funny:


Fire and feather
“I do NOT taste like chicken!”
Phoenix screams fury.

Posting bloglink now!

Anonymous said...

Hi there!

I just looked up a few reviews and the books sound amazing! I had a quick question--do the haiku have to be either 5-7-5 or 3-5-3? Can they be 4-5-3 for example?

Thanks!

Gisele

Kimbra Kasch said...

Lovely and Oh now I've got to come up with a haiku to enter.

cindy said...

thanks everyone!

laurel, ha!!

gisele, it is strictly 5-7-5
or 3-5-3. sorry.

can't wait to read more!

Charles Gramlich said...

That certainly does mean the publisher has faith in the book. Cool. I like that first cover quite a lot myself.

Gisele LeBlanc said...

No problem! Thanks Cindy.

Gisele

YA Bibliophile said...

Fun contest! I tweeted my entry :)

Amber Lough said...

AWESOME.

I must say, I'm Cindy's biggest fan.

;-)

Yahong Chi said...

Oh goodness that post card is bootiful! I rather liked Silver Phoneix's first cover, as well. Am now wracking brain to come up with a good haiku...

Meghan @ Books and a Cup of Tea said...

I have five so far:

There is beauty stuck
in between the pages of
The Silver Phoenix.

Fury lifts their eyes
To see the soaring height of
The Silver Phoenix.

Fury glistens in
Her eyes as bright as the sun
I have never loved more.

She loves the surprise
That nature provides our souls
It rained like fury.

The snowy fury
Settled in like a warm glove
I'm awaiting Spring.

Blog: http://www.booksandacupoftea.blogspot.com/

Meghan @ Books and a Cup of Tea said...

Shoot. The third one should be:

Fury glistens in
Her eyes as bright as the sun
I've never loved more.

I accidentally wrote that out instead of doing the contraction which made it two syllables. Does that count for contractions like that?

Kiki Hamilton said...

I loved the original cover to Silver Phoenix, but this one is gorgeous and so tantalizing! Can't wait to read FURY!!!!

Haiku? erm.....haven't done that since high school....do I remember how? oy! I'll try!!

Kelly Polark said...

Great contest, Ellen!
What beautiful images!
I'll tweet you my entry!

Nell Q-G said...

Ahhh! I'm SO bad at haiku!!! Ok here goes.....

His wings spread in flight,
the phoenix was free to sing,
just to show the world.

I'm a little embarrassed I even wrote that, but OH WELL. :D

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1263006279

alovelywriterxo said...

I can't wait to read it! I don't have a twitter, so here is my haiku:


Stopping in her tracks
Surprise covered her fury
As snowflakes drifted.


I'm not really good, but I decided to give it a shot.=]

Blog: http://ittssierraily.blogspot.com/

Books said...

When people walk by
They think that I look silly
How foolish of them

Noelli Spanelli said...

waves crashing
monsters fury close
but you're here

I'll hide you away
on the sea we sail for good
love will beat fury

the monster's fury
cannot be matched by the dead's,
their kingdom we fight

Ai Ling and Chen Yong
their two hearts beating as one
fighting monsters fury

monsters fury holds
no candle to its power,
Kingdom of the dead

the Phoenix fury
together we fight and will
live another day


http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000529532232

ur.bloody.valentine@hotmail.com

I'm not that great of a poet, but this is like the best giveaway I've ever seen so I had to try!! :D crossing my fingers!! thanks for the contest!

Ashley said...

Here's some!

Fury in both her eyes
As you have said your last goodbyes
Walking away as nothing happened

The Phoenix had risen again
Out of the ashes which it came
Awakening from it's beautiful sleep

The fury in those eyes
The ones you have loved so much
Have dissapeared from your mistakes

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000092612162

Ashley said...

Some more....

sweet old fury
the anger that builds up
i love you

I have this cool secret
This bird i named Phoenix appeared
My first love, formation: bird

It was like a dream
Her fury was building up, she attacked
Her target was the air...?

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000092612162

Anastasia Beck said...

Hmm. . .

Phoenix spreads its wings
Fire bursts and ashes fall
Reborn again free.

The darkness
She reaches for him
Phoenix song

I think those are okay. . . Anyways, that postcard was absolutely inspirational and beautiful! I'm in awe of the illustrator! I can barely draw a circle. . . my friends call it an oval but they don't have enough imagination:) Both of the books look absolutely framable! Museum-istic! (I don't believe that's a word, but it is now.)

-Nastya

Maddie Arszulowicz said...

Here are a few of my haikus.

The fury
I scream in protest
Will it stop?

Death awakes
The pheonix flies on
Feathers drop

P.S. I am the same on facebook (Maddie Arszulowicz)

Maddie Arszulowicz said...

Here are a few of my haikus.

The fury
I scream in protest
Will it stop?

Death awakes
The pheonix flies on
Feathers drop

P.S. On facebook I'm Maddie Arszulowicz

Mrs. Heise said...

The Phoenix rises
Languishing in her fury
Waiting for the book

http://teach8bookblog.blogspot.com

I would have tweeted, but apparently I'm a little late to the party!

Elizabeth Keyser said...

i would love a book
but two are better than one
more the merrier

Lucy said...

The phoenix burns bright
From ashes it is reborn
A new life begins

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000603189313

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

These haikus are absolutely wonderful! I don't envy Cindy's job! I would not be able to choose a winner! I swear! I'm SOOOOO glad it's Cindy's job!!!

Thanks everyone!!

Kimbra Kasch said...

Okay 9:00 west coast time...?

Day and night
Ai Ling’s fury lives
Catch her fight

Sarah said...

Here are some haiku:

Storm

It swept across,
and Nature fell upon us.
Beautiful Fury.

Reborn

Ashes still glow red
And dead fire still haunts until
Reborn a Phoenix.

Wrath

Zeus sent a fury
Punishment for betrayal
In the eyes of gods.

Promises

Never ending Love
Until it ended badly
Invoked my fury.

Well, there are my entries. I hope you like them!

Sarah said...

A few more I forgot to add:

A blizzard's fury
I suffocate under snow
The blanket's heavy.

Phoenix fly higher
You will never fade away.
Keep fighting for more.

In seen in the hills
Softly glistened in the sky
the Gentle Phoenix.

My soul may not rest
a fury forever burns.
It's for you, My Love.

Sarah said...

Oops, the third one should read:

It's seen in the hills
Softly glistens in the sky
the Gentle Phoenix.

cindy said...

i love it!

keep haikuing with a Fury.

ello, you gonna have to help me
choose final winners, yo!!!

dagger16 said...

Flame raging beneath,
Burying past emotions,
Waiting for fury.

Ashes stained with tears,
Drifting apart by the wind,
A bitter fury.

Her tears ran with flame,
Igniting fury within,
Sick of holding it.

>_>. Haiku poetry isn't my forte.

Blog: http://dagger16.blogspot.com/

KayleeAyanaHofstetter said...

The Pheonix
carried Harry out
of the dark.

KayleeAyanaHofstetter said...

The Pheonix carried
Harry Potter out of the
Chamber of Secrets.

KayleeAyanaHofstetter said...

Fury is how I
feel when I'm interupted
while reading a book.

Sarah said...

@Cindy

I always
Haiku with Fury
Feel with words.

:)

Michelle said...

The postcards are absolutely beautiful.
I tweeted @elloecho

If you need to contact me, clubkokoro@aol.com

Samantha C. said...

?!?!?! I feel like I'm back in middle school!!! I'm bad at writing but I love reading... I shall give my very best try:

Black fury in her eyes
Isabelle charges forward
And raises her sword

I don't have a Facebook or Twitter or any of those advanced technology thingies... hope I still qualify!

If you need to contact me, here's an email address:
hsiu_an@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Virginia said...

That first cover is one of my all-time favorites. Sorry to see it go.

Mary Witzl said...

Jade as softly green
As the tender grass of spring
Crushed beneath our feet

See the shining stone
Shimmering on beating breast
Lighting up the night


(I have a Twitter account, but I'm crap at using it...)

Nandini said...

Here goes ... groan. If I didn't want an ARC I wouldn't subject the world to these ...

No evil can stand
the fury of the phoenix
but what of love then?

Searing birth
from the hearth of her
own fury

Phoenix ash
not the end at all
not yet dust

Nandini said...

Nevermind... just realized the contest closed Friday. Gah!

Anonymous said...

Looking up
I see the fury
In your eyes.

Looking down
My shame burns. I will
Not return.

I tried to make an 'opposite' phoenix reference in that second one. Probably didn't work. =_= Hope you like!

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