Last week, I launched a giveaway for you to be in with a chance of winning a signed paperback of Blood Instinct. All entries were allocated a number and the winners were chosen using a random number generator.
I am thrilled to announce that the winners are:
HUGE congratulations to Kelly, Natasha and Suzanne! Please email me or message me via Facebook with your home or work address, and I’ll get your signed paperback in the post to you as soon as possible.
Thank you so much to everyone who joined in! The quality and number of entries, as always, was fantastic. I loved reading them. <3
I’ll be disappearing for a little while now as I plough into my Blood Bound revisions, but I’ll keep you updated as and when I can. All I’ll say for now is look out for news coming soon. 😉
Due to all the recent excitement with Vampire Book Club’s Alpha Showdown, this giveaway is a little overdue. But it’s finally here… your chance to win a signed paperback of Blood Instinct!
A BLOOD BOUND UPDATE FIRST!
Before I plough into our giveaway, I’m thrilled to be able to tell you that the first draft of Blood Bound (Blackthorn’s penultimate book) is written! I’m now in the midst of revisions. I’ll have lots more news for you over the forthcoming weeks. Still no release date yet, but I’ll keep you informed!
THE GIVEAWAY
I have two signed books available – and anyone can enter to win one.
HOW TO ENTER
As many of you have already worked hard enough this past week to get our Kane through to the final, I’m going to keep this quick and simple. To remain with our Alpha Showdown theme, all you have to do to enter is answer the following question:
IF WE WERE RUNNING A ‘BLACKTHORN ALPHA SHOWDOWN’, WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR:
KANE, CALEB, JASK or EDEN?
That’s all you have to do! But if you tell me why you’ve chosen them, your name will be entered twice.
LEFT A REVIEW FOR BLOOD INSTINCT? YOU CAN ENTER THE BONUS ROUND!
I also have a third signed paperback put aside for an exclusive bonus round as an extra thank you to anyone who has left a review for Blood Instinct. Whether it be on Goodreads or on a retail site such as Amazon, just add where you’ve left your review at the end of your answer. Once the two winners of the giveaway have been drawn, your name will go back in for another chance to win.
The giveaway is open now and will close on Monday 20th June at midnight (UK time).
Only one entry per person.
All entries will be allocated a number and winners will be selected using a random number generator. Two winners will be chosen from the main giveaway. After the first draw, numbers from the bonus round will go back in for a second chance to win.
All three winners will be announced here and on my Facebook page on Tuesday 21st June.
Winners must claim their prize within seven days of the winner announcement.
As with all Blackthorn giveaways, prizes will be posted anywhere. Proof of sending will be retained and prizes cannot be replaced if lost in transit.
And as with all giveaways, I will avoid commenting on entries.
He was deemed the underdog from the outset, but Team Blackthorn was relentless. I’m thrilled to be able to tell you that our very own Kane Malloy has won Vampire Book Club’s Alpha Showdown 2016!! And he claimed the title with over 4,000 votes!!
In the words of Chelsea, owner of VBC:
“We haven’t had a surprise like this year’s Alpha Showdown in years. It’s official, a first-time contender has taken the title.
Congratulations to Kane Malloy from Lindsay J. Pryor’s Blackthorn series, your 2016 Alpha Showdown Champion!
It’s been a minute since a vampire held the title, and we’re so happy to welcome all the Blackthorn fans who came out in force for this master vampire. He beat former Alpha Showdown champion Barrons. BARRONS, y’all. And then won a second fierce battle against Kate Daniels. It’s impressive. He’s impressive.”
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to vote and show your support for Kane. To all my readers here, as well as across all my other social media; to my brilliant publisher who backed Blackthorn all the way; and to my exceptional street team who didn’t take their foot off the pedal from the second this showdown started – I can’t thank you enough. <3
Winning aside, events like these are all about having fun and finding fantastic new books to read in the PNR and UF genres – whether well-known global names such as the New York Times Bestsellers that Kane was up against, or relative newbies like Blackthorn and me. I’m loving all the recommendations being banded around across various social media as a result of this competition. So here’s a HUGE thank you too to Vampire Book Club for hosting the showdown.
I’ll be back tomorrow with some Blood Bound news as well as that giveaway I’ve been promising. I think it’s more fitting than ever now we have a little something extra to celebrate with!
I was absolutely blown away by the support that came in for him during the 48 hours that the semi-finals were open. I put calls out here, on my Facebook page and all my other social media and, wow, did you step up to the mark! Votes came in from the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Europe (tell me if I’ve missed anywhere). In the end we got through with OVER 6000 votes!!!
A MASSIVE thank you to everyone who voted, commented and helped spread the word. <3
THE FINAL IS LIVE!
And now Kane needs you one more time. The final round of Vampire Book Club’s Alpha Showdown is LIVE – and it’s time for you to choose your champion for 2016!
He was deemed the underdog from the outset, but Team Blackthorn fought hard and relentlessly through three rounds to get our Kane Malloy to the final. Kane is now up against the mega-force that is Kate Daniels (created by #1 New York Times Bestseller Ilona Andrews) for the crown. It’s another tough one! Can he go all the way?
Please do leave a comment too, if you can, to show your support.
At the time of posting this, there are only 33 hours left – so please don’t delay!
And if you haven’t yet checked out all the fantastic characters and authors that were put forward for this competition, it’s well worth a look. I hope you find loads of great new books to read. The more, the merrier! Have fun! xxx
Whilst I’ve been working away on Blood Bound, there’s been a rather exciting event happening in the background. I know a lot of my blog followers might already know about this but, in case you don’t, our Kane needs your help.
For the first time ever, Blackthorn (namely our very own Kane Malloy) was entered for Vampire Book Club’s Alpha Showdown. This is a major event with some of the biggest names in PNR and Urban Fantasy pitched against each other for reader votes. There are lots of great prizes for readers too!
Please can you spare a few seconds to support our Kane?
WE SURVIVED ROUND ONE
I was thrilled enough just to have Blackthorn nominated, but then it got really exciting! After being deemed the underdog, Kane was the shock victor in his first round when he won against the uber-popular Jane Yellowrock (created by Faith Hunter). Not only was Jane the showdown’s number one favourite, our Kane made it through with over 1,000 votes!
THEN WE GOT THROUGH ROUND TWO
When Kane was pitched against Mercy Thompson (created by fantastic National Bestselling Author Patricia Briggs) in the second round, we knew it was going to be tough to pull it off again. So there was even more shock when Kane came out the winner for a second time – this time with almost 3,000 votes!
As you can tell, Team Blackthorn are really getting into this! I am so grateful to everyone who has pulled out the stops to get him this far.
NOW WE’RE IN THE SEMI-FINALS!
Now Kane is in the semi-finals – and this time he’s up against the almighty Barrons (created by incredible New York Times Bestseller Karen Marie Moning)! Cue palpitations and butterflies…
KANE NEEDS YOU!
The semi-finals are open now. Please can you take a few seconds to vote for our Kane?
HOW TO VOTE
It’s quick and it’s easy. You don’t have to give any details or sign up for anything. Vampire Book Club have made it as simple as possible for everyone to join in.
Scroll through and look for the vote box (it comes after the two nominations)
Vote for our Kane
It closes tomorrow, so please don’t delay!
We’re currently just about in the lead, but everything can change at any point. It’s already a mighty battle up against Ms Moning’s phenomenal fan base. We’ve come this far though so, as Team Blackthorn keep telling me, we’re not going down without a respectable fight! (And having a lot of fun with it along the way. 😀 )
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to vote to support Kane, Blackthorn and, of course, me too. <3 And an extra special thank you to Tracey Rogers who wrote Kane’s pitch for him. You did us proud, Tracey!
I’ll be back next week with a Blood Bound update as well as a giveaway! I think it’s about time we had another one. 😀 Have a wonderful weekend if you don’t hear from me before. xxx
So far, Blood Instinct seems to be going down a treat. As you can imagine, I’m more than a little relieved! I know some of my readers started reading their latest instalment the moment it was downloaded at midnight – and that others have been waiting until this weekend to lock out the world and head back onto the streets of Blackthorn.
There’s nothing quite like that feeling of knowing your book is being eagerly awaited. But just as readers anxiously open the first page with a hope that their next adventure is going to be worthy of the wait, there’s an author in the background with their fingers crossed it will meet their loyal readers’ expectations. So thank you to everyone who is already sharing their thoughts on places like Amazon and Goodreads.
The great news is that Blood Instinct returned to #1 in Gothic Romance on Amazon UK on the day of its release. Jask even managed to hip-shove his buddy Kane into second place – something he never quite managed to achieve when Blood Torn came out because Kane still dominated the charts. So well done, Jask! 😀 Blood Instinct also made it to #2 in Gothic Fiction on Amazon.com as well as remaining at #1 in ‘Hot New Releases’! I’m thrilled to bits.
Right, no more chart talk from here on!
Two more blogger reviews came through on Thursday and Friday too – both 5 stars! I’d like to say a huge thank you to authorLindsey Clarke for her fantastic review of Blood Instinct:
“Jask and Phia have always been effortlessly hot, but Blood Instinct takes things to a much darker and more gut-wrenching level…the action in this book was so exciting and so thrilling that I almost wished I could strap myself in, just in case I fell off the sofa in shock of it all. In fact, I’m not even sure how I managed to reach the end without turning blue and passing out, because I definitely felt I should be holding my breath throughout! …I’ll just say that if you want an intoxicating read that will leave you breathless and reeling for days afterwards, then Blood Instinct is the book for you. Just don’t forget the safety harness. Five beautiful big glittery stars for this wickedly wonderful read!”
As well as to Shirley at The Romance Cover for her wonderful Blood Instinct review and accolade to Blackthorn:
“Once again everything you could wish for in a book. It is dark, compelling and thrilling with erotic but intimate loving interludes… The story ramps up as Blackthorn is fighting for its existence and its intensity keeps you turning the pages…get ready for a thrilling ride that will get you biting your knuckles as the story unfolds. It has it all in this book…utterly brilliant… Roll on Book 7 so that I can once again immerse myself in the awesome world of Blackthorn.”You can read Shirley’s full review here.
Lindsey Clarke didn’t just review Blood Instinct though, but decided to sum up her take on my entire series so far. Thank you SO much for a stunning summation of your take on my series, Lindsey. I wish I could explain my own books as well as you do!
“Having been a fan since Blood Shadows, I don’t think I could ever have predicted just how the story would unfold. For me, it’s gone from a dark and gritty paranormal romance set in the dangerous backstreets of a fictional world, to something that has reached epic proportions, where the sizzling relationships between our characters sits alongside key themes of social inequality, segregation, prejudice and supremacism. Now I know that might seem a little heavy for your average PNR, but the facts are that Blackthorn has NEVER been your average PNR and I believe it’s part and parcel of what has kept me desperate for more after each release.
What’s intrinsically powerful about Blackthorn is that it creates incredible empathy and passion in its readers… But it’s the world that she has created behind all that, which provides the whole backdrop to the story – this is what makes it so blooming REAL. Quite frankly, open up a Lindsay J Pryor book, and you’re opening up a three-dimensional feast for the senses and if you’re going to step into that world, well, you’d better be prepared to start running because the action in Blackthorn never stops.” You can read Lindsey’s full combined review here.
I’d also like to say a HUGE thank you too to Katrina and Mindy at Paranormal Romance Trance for running a Blackthorn spotlight today. I really appreciate your shout out, ladies. <3
That’s it for now. It’s time I disappeared to focus back on Blood Bound. 🙂 With “tick tock” fast becoming a catchphrase amongst my readers who have finished Blood Instinct, it sounds like you want your next instalment as quickly as possible. I’m on it!
It’s finally here!! Today marks the day of the official launch of BLOOD INSTINCT!!
I’m going to keep this short and sweet because, let’s be honest, who wants to hear from me when you can be immersed in Blackthorn with Jask (Kane, Caleb, Eden…) instead?
I wanted to have a quick roundup of the day though to mark the occasion and to say thanks to everyone who has pitched in to make today so fantastic – because you have. <3 It’s been a full on fourteen hours now and I’ve loved every minute. 🙂
MORE REVIEWS ARE COMING IN
Reviews are already being uploaded from both reviewers and readers and, so far, the feedback is beyond wonderful. Thank you to everyone who is taking the time to do this, including…
Marcy from Keeper Bookshelf who gave Blood Instinct a glowing 5 star review:
“This is an intriguing, dark story with twists and turns that make you think you’re navigating the back alleys of Blackthorn – and maybe you are. Up is down, left is right… and nothing is quite what it seems. Secrets, lies and danger are rampant and just when you believe it’s safe… guess again. There will be nails bitten to the quick, tears shed and perhaps a good shot of whiskey might help at some points – but you will never be bored. If you enjoy dark paranormal tales… I don’t think I could recommend this story or this series highly enough.” You can read Marcy’s full review here.
Amy M at Dayreader Reviews for her terrific 4.5 star review:
“My heart broke many times while reading what is going on in Blackthorn and several times I was so utterly upset I had to stop reading because my heart broke into so many pieces… My wow factor in this book shot through the roof reading about halfway through! I am completely sucked into Blackthorn and have been hypnotized by Jask Tao into falling for the lycan leader. My hopes for the next book are extremely high… I am left of the edge of my seat, biting my nails off… A heart stopping, stomach turning 4.5 stars from Lindsay J. Pryor of Blood Instinct.” You can read Amy’s full review here.
Angel at The Book Spot for her wonderfully enthusiastic review:
“I loved this book as much as I loved every other book in this series and I really want to visit Blackthorn (Not on my own of course, its a scary place). I started this book meaning to read for an hour, Well, that didn’t work! Nothing got done in my house and no one got fed and when I finally looked up it was 2am. This book was exciting from start to finish… This is not a cutesy vampire/werewolf romance book, I really have to stress that. Its too fierce, too exciting, too enthralling and captivating to call it just a romance…”You can read Angel’s full review here.
…and to everyone who is posting their review on places like Amazon and Goodreads.
BLACKTHORN IN THE CHARTS
To add to the excitement, ALL SIX BLACKTHORN BOOKS were in the TOP 14 in Gothic Romance on Amazon UK today – with Blood Shadows back at the number one spot and Blood Instinct not far behind!
BLACKTHORN IS ON INSTAGRAM
Today also marked the official launch of Blackthorn onto Instagram and the response has been brilliant, with some images already reaching ‘Top Posts’. Do track me down if you’re on there (#TheBlackthornSeries) – and always feel free to share your own Blackthorn-related images. 🙂
AND LASTLY…
Before I leave you in peace to (hopefully) enjoy your latest Blackthorn adventure, I would like to say a huge thank you to three blogs who have given Blackthorn a shout out this week:
Maryse at Maryse’s Book Blog for announcing Blood Instinct’s preorder details to all her followers.
And The Romance Cover for spotlighting Blood Instinct’s release on their Facebook page.
A massive thank you to all the work that my fab publisher Bookouture have put into this publication day, and to my incredible street team who have not only given up their time voluntarily but have worked non-stop all day to spread the word about Blackthorn as far and as wide as possible. <3
And, of course, my heartfelt thanks to my awesome readers for all of your comments, pictures, likes, retweets, shares and everything else you’ve done across all of my social media sites today. Your response has been simply amazing. I’ve been blown away. I’m still catching up, but I’m getting there!
It’s BLOOD INSTINCT EVE!! In just a few hours time, Blood Instinct will be all yours!!
Thank you for all the incredible anticipation that has been coming through. Even though I was supposed to be working on Blood Bound (Blackthorn book 7) today, I have to admit abandoned it by mid afternoon due to me getting just a little bit excited thanks to all my fabulous supporters. We’re nearly there!
Last week, I gave you a chance to win one of ten prizes as part of a special giveaway to celebrate the release of Blood Instinct. I am now thrilled to announce that the winners (randomly selected) and their prizes are as follows:
HUGE congratulations to all the winners! PLEASE email me (or message me via Facebook) with your home or work address, and I’ll get your prizes in the post to you as soon as possible. 😀
Thank you to everyone who joined in. I have to say I was blown away by the entries. You really do know your Blackthorn books inside out!! <3
Because of so many fantastic contributions, I decided to post as many as I could below in case you too would like to look through what others suggested. There were a number of songs that came up time and time again, so I’ve only included them in the list once.
The most frequently chosen songs were:
Radioactive – Imagine Dragons
Mad World – Tears For Fears
Hungry Like the Wolf – Duran Duran (I can’t even begin to imagine who you were all thinking of with that one…)
Other popular songs included:
Sex On Fire – Kings of Leon
Tear Us Apart – INXS
Bring Me to Life – Evanesence
Sail – Awolnation
And other suggestions were:
My Love – Sia
Turning Page – Sleeping At Last
Under Pressure – David Bowie
Turn the Page – Bob Seger
Poison – Alice Cooper
Born to be Wild – Steppenwolf
Time is running out – Muse
I’m Not OK – My Chemical Romance
Band of Skulls – Patterns
Bad Blood – Bastille
#1 Crush – Garbage
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol
Hurricane – 30 Seconds to Mars
For Your Entertainment – Adam Lambert
My Immortal – Evanescence
Insatiable – Darren Hayes
Through The Fire – Chaka Khan
We Found Love – Ed Sheeran
Just Like Heaven – The Cure
Wish You Were Here – David Gilmour
Pure Feeling – Florence and the Machine
I Knew I Loved You – Savage Garden
New America – Halsey
Close – Nick Jonas ft. Tove Lo’s
Rule The World – Take That
November Rain – Guns ‘N’ Roses
Hard Habit to Break – Chicago
Warriors – Imagine Dragons
Bleeding out – Imagine Dragons
Demons – Imagine Dragons
Lullaby – The Cure
Deep End – Birdy
In the Shadows – The Rasmus
Animal I have become – Three Days Grace
In your eyes – Sylver
Feeling Called Love – Pulp
This Land is Mine – Dido
Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars
Run – Snow Patrol
Closer – Kings of Leon
You’re the one that I want – John Travolta and Olivia Newton John
Nothing Else Matters – Metallica
Knights of Cydonia – Muse
Behind Blue Eyes – Limp Bizkit
It Doesn’t Matter – Union Station and Alison Krauss
Not Meant To Be – Theory of a Dead Man
Third Bar – Snow Patrol
A Thousand Years – Cristina Perri
Witchcraft – Frank Sinatra
Lost it All – Jill Andrews
Came Back Haunted – Nine Inch Nails
Howling For You – The Black Keys
Here with Me – Dido
Catch my Breath – Kelly Clarkson
Supernatural – Daughtry
Home – Daughtry
No Light, No Light – Florence and the Machine
Closer – Nine Inch Nails
Time of my Life – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Fighter – Christina Aguilera
This Means War – Avenged Sevenfold
Light ‘Em Up – Fall Out Boy
Possession – Sarah McLachlan
Renegade – Xambassadors
Feel Again – One Republic
Iris – The Goo-Goo Dolls
Bad to the Bone – George Thoroughgood
Cambalache – Enrique Santos Discépolo
Dark times – The Weeknd
Layla – Eric Clapton
Zayn Malik – Pillow Talk
No Matter What – Papa Roach
Precious Things – Tori Amos
One More Night – Maroon 5
Give Me a Reason – Pink
Roar – Katy Perry
Love Can Build a Bridge – The Judds
Love me Tender – Elvis Presley
Blaze of Glory – Jon Bon Jovi
April Rain – Delain
Hopelessly Devoted to You – Olivia Newton John
Love Me Like You Do – Ellie Goulding
Swan Lake – Dark Moor
Swallowed – Bush
I’m in Heaven – Bryan Adams
You and I (Forever) – Jessie Ware
Alive – Sia
Obsession – Sky Ferreira
Castle – Halsey
Thank you, as always, to everyone who is supporting Blood Instinct‘s release. I’ll be back tomorrow with a release day post, though I won’t be offended if no one wants to talk to me. I know where you’ll be… hopefully. 😉
To mark the occasion as well as to celebrate a great week for Blood Instinct (still at #1 in the Gothic Romance chart, #1 in ‘Hot New Releases’ in Gothic Romance, and now the #1 ‘Most Wished For’ Gothic Romance too on Amazon UK!), there’s no better time to post another giveaway.
THE PRIZES
Here’s what you could win:
A LIMITED-EDITION BLOOD INSTINCT MUG
I have TWO available for this giveaway. These commemorative mugs feature the cover of Blood Instinct on one side, an enlarged image of Jask on the other and, in the centre, the release date and affectionately-named #JaskFest.
BLOOD INSTINCT POSTCARDS – SIGNED
I have TWO Blood Instinct cover postcards.
TWO limited-edition commemorative postcards.
And ONE prize consisting of both postcards.
A PAPERBACK OF BLOOD TORN – SIGNED
Paperbacks of Blood Instinct won’t be available until release day, but to mark the return of Jask and Phia I have ONE signed paperback of their previous adventure – Blood Torn – to give away.
BLOOD TORN AUDIOBOOK – SIGNED
Courtesy of Bookouture, I have TWO unabridged audiobooks of Blood Torn available. The audiobook consists of twelve discs (14.5 hours) narrated by British award-winning actress Anne Flosnik. You can receive your audio CD signed or sealed.
That means TEN prizes are available!
HOW TO ENTER
I love simple and fun giveaways, so all you have to do to enter is:
PICK A SONG FOR THE BLACKTHORN SOUNDTRACK
It can be a song that makes you think about one of the characters, one of our couples’ relationships, a particular scene or even the Blackthorn location.
(Disclaimer: We don’t really have a Blackthorn album, but there’s nothing wrong with making our own compilation. For those who remember, we did the last one over two years ago, so we’re definitely in need of an update!)
THE RULES
You only need to enter one song to be in with a chance of winning. However, if you’d like to increase your chances of winning, you can pick a maximum of THREE songs per entry. Enter one song, your name goes in the hat once. Enter two songs, your name goes in twice etc…
For your entry to be valid you must either:
leave a comment below, OR
leave a comment on the giveaway post on my Facebook page, OR
The giveaway is open NOW and will close Tuesday 3rd May at midnight (UK time).
All entrants will be given a number per song. Numbers will be entered into a random number generator. The winners will be announced here and on my Facebook page on Blood Instinct Eve: Wednesday 4th May.
Winners will need to claim their prizes within fourteen days of the announcement, so please check back to see if you have won.
As with all Blackthorn giveaways, prizes will be posted anywhere. Proof of sending will be retained and prizes cannot be replaced if lost in transit.
We have exactly ONE WEEK to go!! BLOOD INSTINCT will be yours as of NEXT THURSDAY!! 🙂
For those awaiting the paperback version (available from release day), here’s the full cover reveal. I do hope you like it!
Not only is Blood Instinct still at number one in Gothic Romance on Amazon UK three weeks on from first going up for pre-order, but I’m also thrilled to say it has received another 5 star review – this time from Fiona’s Book Reviews:
“I say it every time a new book in this series comes out, and I will say it again for this one. Wow wow wow, she has done it again! Not only has the author given us a book which grabs your attention straight away, she is drawing everything and everyone together towards a conclusion I cannot wait to read… The book is full of action, intrigue, secrets and lies. It grabs your attention immediately and will not let you go until you are screaming for the author to hurry up and bring us the next one! …This author is a huge favourite of mine, and the series is right at the top of my all time favourite book series ever. I can’t wait for the next part, but at the same time I don’t want to think about what will happen when the series comes to an end.”
Thank you so much, Fiona! <3
With the days ticking away, things are starting to get a little bit exciting now. I think I need to launch another giveaway tomorrow to help ease the final wait…
