The Weepers in Germany!

Today The Other Life hits shelves in Germany!
It's called The Weepers - Und sie werden dich finden and the publisher is Heyne/Random House!

I'm so excited to see it in stores around here!

The YAmazing Race + Bonus contest!

Welcome to my blog and the next stop on the third YAmazing Race! I hope you are excited about the MGnificent prizes, the crazy whirlwind blog hop featuring over 50 debut authors and prize packs featuring ARCs, swag, and more! This is my third round and I hope it'll be as successful as the last. The YAmazing Race officially starts at noon (EST) on October 22nd, 2012.

If you want to know more, then head on over to the Apocalypsies website to read the complete rules. Now on to the race!

THE WEEPERS: The Other Life

US cover (look to the right for the German and the UK cover)

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

THE OTHER LIFE is out now! 

And its sequel THE LIFE BEYOND will follow in 2013!

UK cover

And here's the UK trailer for my book:

In addition to the YAmazing Race, I'm having a bonus contest for you! I'm giving away two signed hardcover copies of The Weepers: The Other Life and awesome bleeding butterfly stickers to two lucky winners!

All you have to do to win is leave a comment. My contest is international and open until Monday, October 29 at noon EST.

But you can earn extra entries if you like:

Follow me on twitter + 1 entry

Follow my blog + 1 entry

Follow me on pinterest + 1 entry

Add The Other Life, and/or The Life Beyond, and/or my new YA thriller Impostor (X-men meets The Silence of the Lambs!) on goodreads! + 1 entry each

Let me know in your comments if you have any extra entries.

When you're ready to continue with the race, click here.

Cover Reveal: The Life Beyond!!

Today I'm finally allowed to share the cover for THE LIFE BEYOND, the sequel to The Other Life with you!

I love that it's similar to the cover of The Other Life. Black and white. I'm sure the two books will look fabulous together!
And do you see the bleeding butterfly? It changed, didn't it? It looks more like a hornet. And more dangerous, because that's what this book is. More dangerous for Sherry and Joshua and the other survivors!

And here's the back and the front together: (Don't read the text if you haven't read The Other Life. Spoilers ahead!)

It hits shelves March 1st, 2013 in the UK! Less than five months to go!
I can't tell you how much I love the cover! My UK pub Usborne has done such a fabulous job!
What do you think?

Updates + reviews!

A few days ago, School Library Journal reviewed The Other Life.
Here's what they had to say:

WINNACKER, Susanne. The Other Life. Bk. 1. 254p. (The Weepers Series). CIP. Marshall Cavendish. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-7614-6275-0; ebook $7.99. ISBN 978-0-7614-6276-7. LC 2011025228.

Gr 8-10–It’s been 1141 days since Sherry has seen daylight in a postapocalyptic Los Angeles. She and her family are bunkered by the military after a rabies outbreak and have been receiving sporadic radio warnings to stay put. Armed and at their breaking point (no rations and a deceased grandfather in the freezer), the 15-year-old and her father venture out to find food and help. In the light of day, they see the skyline of a bombed city and bodies strewn near deserted neighborhood bunkers. The gloomy setting launches a fast-moving tale of survival as Sherry’s father is snatched out of a deserted Walmart by grotesque-looking and terrifying creatures. Saved from the same fate by a teen vigilante named Joshua, Sherry learns about the Weepers, who evolved into human predators after the mysterious rabies outbreak three years earlier. Joshua drives Sherry to Safe-haven, an abandoned winery outside the city, where other survivors have gathered. Her quest to have Joshua help find her father and rescue her family from the bunker is fraught with violent and bloody clashes with Weepers and raises more questions than are answered about their humanness and the government’s role in their development. Flashbacks from Sherry’s former everyday life as a teen, in italics, contrast with her new stark reality, and her fascination with numbers adds layers to a character who is likely to become tougher and more heroic in future episodes. This title is sure to please reluctant readers craving action-driven dystopian adventures.–Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

So yay!

And as for the update, it's not really book related. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I started a vegetarian diet and I'm happy to say that I'm still on track. I haven't eaten meat or eggs in the last four weeks (except for a few bites of fish and shrimps at a wedding a few days ago...couldn't resist. *sigh*) and I'm feeling great and not yet missing anything. I've even lost 11 pounds so far, despite my falafel addiction! Maybe I'll have a longer post up in the next few days in which I'll write a bit about my experiences.

I hope my US followers have a great 4th of July tomorrow!

Giveaway Winners + Edinburgh Book Festival

Yesterday the Edinburgh International Book Festival finally made this year's program public. And I'm excited to say that I'll be on a panel with Anne Cassidy and Teri Terry on Wednesday, August 22nd at 5pm. We'll discuss crime fiction, dystopians and zombies!
And I'm one of the nominees for this year's Anobii First Book Award! Votes determine the winner, so if you liked The Other Life, you can leave your vote. :)

Last but not least: the winners of my book deal celebration contest.

Winner of a Razorbill book of your choice: Stephanie27
Winner of a signed copy of The Other Life: Tiffany
I'll email you soon!

Let me know if you'll be at the Edinburgh Book Festival!

Pub date + giveaway!

The day has finally come! THE OTHER LIFE hits shelves in the US today!

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

The Telegraph recommended THE OTHER LIFE for teens who loved The Hunger Games! Here's part of what they said:  
And Susanne Winnacker’s The Other Life, set in LA at a future time in which the Weepers, mutated by a strain of rabies, have begun to hunt humans, is especially memorable. The best parts, though, are the domestic early sections, reminiscent of Emma Donoghue’s adult novel Room, which show up the tensions of a family stuck in a bunker for 1,141 days and on the brink of starvation. 

THE OTHER LIFE was also an Editor's Pick of the Month on Amazon UK in February!
I'm so excited!
To celebrate I'm giving away two signed hardcovers to two lucky winners.
Just leave a comment with your email address and you're entered into the contest. It's international and ends this Friday, the 18th at 3pm EST. I'll announce the winners the same day.
If you want to earn extra entries:
Tweet about the giveaway or The Other Life's book birthday. + 1 extra entry
Post about it on facebook + 1 extra entry
Pin the cover on pinterest + 1 extra entry
Blog about it + 2 extra entries

Good luck!

YAmazing Race

Welcome to my blog and the next stop on the second YAmazing Race! I hope you are excited about the MGnificent prizes, the crazy whirlwind blog hop featuring over 50 debut authors and prize packs featuring ARCs, swag, and more! This is my second round and I hope it'll be as successful as the last. The YAmazing Race will go from Wednesday, May 2 at noon Eastern to Tuesday, May 8 at noon Eastern.

If you want to know more, then head on over to the Apocalypsies website to read the complete rules. Now on to the race!

THE WEEPERS: The Other Life

US cover (look to the right for the German and UK cover)

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

The Other Life releases May 15th in the US and it's already out in the UK!

And here's the UK trailer for my book:

In addition to the YAmazing Race, I'm having a bonus contest for you! I'm giving away two signed hardcover copies of The Weepers: The Other Life to two lucky winners!
All you have to do to win is leave a comment. My contest is international and open until May 8th at noon Eastern.
But you can earn extra entries if you like:

Follow me on twitter + 1 entry
Follow my blog + 1 entry
Follow me on pinterest + 1 entry
Friend me on facebook + 1 entry
Let me know in your comments if you have any extra entries.

When you're ready to continue with the race, click this link!

German cover!

I returned from a two week England vacation yesterday and I'll post a few lovely photos from it tomorrow or Friday. If you don't want to wait that long, you can check out my post on the League blog where I posted about my trip to the Harry Potter studios.
BUT for now:
The German cover of The Other Life!

I think my German pub Heyne/Random House captured the mood of the book very well. So deliciously creepy! It comes out in January/February 2013 in Germany.
What do you think?

Launch photos!

I had a wonderful launch on Wednesday in London. I still can't believe that THE OTHER LIFE is really out in the world.

I thought you might be interested in seeing a few photos of my special day.

This is my book next to The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, Legend, Blood Red Road and many more. Eeee! The pic was taken in Foyles Charing Cross where I signed stock!

This is the library room in the Soho Hotel where my launch lunch (what a word! hehe) took place.

There were copies of The Other Life everywhere!

The room's filling with guests! I'm the awkward girl in the red and white dress!

It was so much fun talking to everyone! Oh, and that posh guy in the back? He was our personal butler!

There were etageres with food! The sandwiches are still missing from this pic. But you can see the scones with clotted cream and jam, apple pies, chocolate cake, trifle! Yum!

And look at these!!! Usborne made butterfly cupcakes for me!

Too pretty to eat them!

Everyone was wearing name tags like this!

I signed books!

So many awesome book bloggers with me in the front.

My awesome publisher Usborne organized everything. They are fabulous!

The Other Life NEWS

Do you know what happens in exactly one week from today?
THE OTHER LIFE hits shelves in the UK!

In celebration of this big (and scary) event, there'll be a special UK blog tour next week, starting Monday January 30th and ending Friday February 3rd.
Why is it special, you ask?
Because every day one of the participating blogs will post a diary entry from Joshua's POV. This is so special because The Other Life is told from Sherry's POV and we only get to see Joshua through Sherry's eyes. But if you want to know what's going on in hunter Joshua's head, you'll have to check out the following blogs next week:
Monday 30th January: Dark Readers
Tuesday 31st January: YA Book Reads
Wednesday 1st February: Empire of Books
Thursday 2nd February: Book Passion For Life
Friday 3rd February: Books 4 Teens

I'm so excited! It was soooo much fun writing from Joshua's POV. I hope you'll enjoy what he has to say!

The YAmazing Race!

Starts Monday, January 16 at noon EST ~ Ends Monday, January 23 at noon EST

Welcome to my blog and the next stop on the YAmazing Race! I hope you are excited about the MGnificent prizes, the crazy whirlwind blog hop featuring over 50 debut authors and prize packs featuring ARCs, gift certificates, swag, and more! I know I am!

You’ve got no clue what the heck I’m talking about?

Well, then head on over to the Apocalypsies website to start from the beginning and read the complete rules. Now on to the race!

Oh, and this is my book:

(UK cover. Look to the right to see the US cover)

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world

Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.

When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.

But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

THE OTHER LIFE releases February 1^st in the UK and May 1^st in the US!

Maybe you’d like to see the trailer? Here it is:

Oh, and before you go – there’s a bonus contest! I’m giving away a signed ARC of THE OTHER LIFE. Just leave a comment with your email address and you’ll be entered! I’ll announce the winner January 24^th. My giveaway is international.

Are you ready to move on? Click here to go to Gina Rosati's website, the next stop on the race!

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Video Trailer of THE OTHER LIFE!

I'm so so excited to share with you the video trailer my UK pub Usborne did for THE OTHER LIFE!
I love it so much! It's so creepy! YAY!

Let me know what you think! :D

Books!!!

Look what Usborne sent me!

The final copies of the UK edition of THE OTHER LIFE!
Oh, the pretty!!!

And maybe you noticed that my hair is now purple, though the pic doesn't show it very well!

First chapter of The Other Life!

You can read the first chapter of The Other Life on the website of my UK publisher, Usborne.
Exciting!!! (and terrifying!)

ARC giveaway: The Other Life

I'm giving away one UK ARC of THE OTHER LIFE!

1568 people have already added it on goodreads! YAY!

Here's what you have to do to win the ARC:

Leave a comment (that counts as 1 entry) with your email address.

If you want to get extra entries:

Be a follower + 1 entry
Tweet about the giveaway + 2
Blog about it or add it to your blog sidebar + 3
Please add links if you've blogged or tweeted.

The contest ends next Monday, October 24th. It's international. I'll announce the winner on Tuesday.

Good luck!

On Amazon!

My book is now available for pre-order on Amazon!
It's the US version and the title is slightly different from the UK version.
It's THE WEEPERS: THE OTHER LIFE
As you can see on Amazon, there isn't a cover up yet. That's because the US cover isn't the same as the UK cover that I revealed a few weeks ago.
So Exciting!

ARC giveaway: THE OTHER LIFE

I'm giving away one ARC of THE OTHER LIFE!

But before I'll tell you more, I want to show you this:

That's how the final book will look (UK version)!

Here's what you have to do to win the ARC:

Leave a comment with your email address.

To earn extra entries:

Follower + 1 entry (please let me know if you are one)

Tweet about giveaway + 2 entries (please leave a link)

Blog about giveaway or add it to your sidebar + 3 entries (please leave a link)

The giveaway is international and ends August 31st. I'll announce the winner on September 1st!

ARCs!!!

Look what came in the mail today:

I've never been so happy to see the mailman!

It took me at least a minute to tear apart the packaging!

Ahhhhh! ARCs of THE OTHER LIFE! (as you notice they don't have the final cover on them)
I want to cuddle them all day!

And look at the chapter headings! Barbwire!

Soon I'll have a giveaway on this blog! So stay tuned! Until then you can still win an ARC of THE OTHER LIFE on Lenore's blog!

Want to win an ARC of THE OTHER LIFE?

I'm giving away my first ARC of THE OTHER LIFE. But not on my blog.
Lenore Appelhans (author of upcoming LEVEL TWO) interviewed me on her awesome blog for Dystopian August and I'm giving away one ARC of THE OTHER LIFE there. And the giveaway is international! So read my interview and enter!

Cover reveal The Other Life!

The moment I’ve been anticipating for months has finally come!!

The cover of The Other Life:

And here’s the blurb from goodreads:

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food.

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus.

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

I couldn’t be happier. Usborne did a fabulous job. Isn’t the bleeding butterfly deliciously creepy???