In chatting with the Goodreads fangirls, I have decided to hold a couple of contests to keep all of you occupied while you wait for Defy to release. The good news is, Defy is falling together very well with a whole lot less tears and hair-tearing and forehead-thumping-on-desk than Deny. I don’t have an official release date, but I’m hoping I’ll have one by the end of March.
In the mean time, the contests! 🙂
Name That Character Contest
When I wrote Defy, I purposefully didn’t name two of the characters. Instead, I’ve decided to let you guys name them!
How it works:
- Fill out the form below with both a first name and a last name for each of the two characters and tell me why you think that particular name is the perfect name for that character.
- You may enter only 1 set of names.
- This contest runs from today through Feb. 18. On Feb. 19, I’ll announce 4 winners (one for each of the 2 first names and 2 last names, unless someone manages to pick the perfect first and last name pair) and 4-8 honorable mentions.
- The winners will receive a free ebook copy of Defy when it releases and will be mentioned in the acknowledgement section of the book. The honorable mentions will have their names also included in the acknowledgements section of the book.
The types of names I’m looking for:
In Acktar, most of the names have a Scottish, British, or Irish origin. I tried to go in families for name origins. For example, Renna and Brandi’s mother and uncle (who were brother and sister) have Spanish origin names with Annita and Leon. The royal family has Irish/Scottish origin names (Deirdre, Aengus, Rorin, Keevan, Duncan) Many of the nobles have English nobility sounding names (Like Lord Henry Alistair), while many of the people without rank have Scottish origin names (Leith, Lachlan, Hamish). Some names, I just plain made up because they sounded cool. And, of course, there are a lot of Biblical names.
Please do not submit any names that start with the letters R or L. I already have WAY too many names that start with those letters already, especially R.
Name #1 – General GENERALS NAME
He is a general in the Resistance army. He was a part of the old Acktarian army before Respen took the throne. He has been in hiding in Eagle Heights for nearly five years now. He is tall, gray-haired, and weathered.
Note: Due to the nature of his position, his last name will be mentioned more often in the book than his first name.
Name #2 – HE WHO MUST BE NAMED
Yes, all you Harry Potter fans, that reference was on purpose. 😉
He is a fourteen-year-old boy in the Resistance army. He is lanky and thin with light brown hair. He has been living in Eagle Heights for several years after him and his family fled Acktar.
Note: his first name will be used more often in the book than his last name.
Got a few names in mind? Please fill out the below form:
Fan Art/Photo/Fiction/Video Contest
I’ve also decided to hold a fan art contest. These look like a lot of fun, and I’ve never done this before, so we’ll see how it goes.
The fan art can have anything to do with The Blades of Acktar series. Take a creative photo with the books or dress up as the characters and take photos or write a fan fiction piece or make a book trailer. Get creative. Have fun. This contest is for all you fans to have fun. 🙂
How it works:
- You’ll be able to submit your entries between now and March 4. That gives you a whole month to come up with something crazy/cool/creative.
- When you enter, you’ll be entered into a drawing for 1 or more Amazon gift cards (depending on how many entries I receive). In other words, you have a chance to win something just by entering.
- Once I have all the entries, I’ll divide them into categories (most likely photo, fiction, video, and artwork. But these categories may change based on number of entries and the nature of the entries). Each category will be featured for one week on my blog, where fans will be able to vote on their favorites in each category.
- You can enter up to 5 different entries. They may be in the same category, though if they are too similar, I may ask you to pick one for the voting.
How to enter:
Email your fan photo/video/fiction/artwork to triciamingerink (at) gmail (dot) com. If the file is too big to email, please shoot me an email and we will figure out how to proceed, or send me the link to it on Youtube if it is a video.
By sending me your fan art in its various media forms, you are giving me permission to share it on my various social media sites.
So have fun! I’m looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!
Tricia Mingerink 
YAY! IT”S HAPPENING! …I wonder how those fan girls could have been…
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Hmmm… I wonder…. 😉
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I’m entering my names! 🙂
Hopefully I can enter the art contest, but I’m not sure I’ll have enough time. We’ll see.
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I’d love to see what you’d come up with, but I’d understand if you don’t have time. You’re critiquing Defy right now, after all. 😉
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You are awesome to put this on! Wish I had a more artistic flair to enter both contests… Just entered some names. Thanks and can’t wait for Defy!!!!!!!! There will be a fourth book, right? I hope and pray your writing journey will continue even after series end. More Books! More Series! 🙂
P.S. I actually ended up buying Deny off Audible afterall. Enjoying it. 🙂 You picked the perfect narrator!
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I mean the Dare off Audible!!! Lol
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I’m glad you like the audiobook! The narrator and I are working on Deny, so it won’t be too much longer before that one is available too.
Yes, there is a fourth book. 🙂
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Oh, yay!!!! I’m so excited! This sounds liek it’ll be so much fun! 🙂
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I hope so!
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Oops! Just realized two things after I submitted my answers: He Who Must Not Be Named is most likely already a Christian, and my last name for He Who Must Not Be Named starts with L. Man, I really need to read instructions better!
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Yeah, my name for him begind with an L, but it can’t be helped. 😀 this but had to be an l name for me.
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Ha, ha! No problem! 😉
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Yay!! So much fun. 🙂 I entered my names. I hope i did it right. 🙂
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Yep!
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Oh my goodness! This is so exciting. You made me do some research and find some really cool names that I will probably use for stories of my own. I can NOT wait to read Defy. I really need to buy paperbacks of all your books. I love them!
By the way, is there a limit for fanfiction, i.e., a certain number of words or even a certain topic or anything?
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No word limit, though I would be highly surprised if I receive a book. No certain topic. It just has to be related to The Blades of Acktar series.
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Alright, thanks!
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Awesomeness!!! What are the limits on submissions? Can we enter one in each category, or only one category, or multiples in one category, or multiples in each category? And yes, is there a limit for fanfictions? And would we retain the rights to our submissions, with the exception of allowing you to display them?
Sorry for all the questions. I am SOooo excited!!!
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You can enter more than one thing in a single category. Your submissions are still yours to share on social media, etc. Fanfiction can be posted on social media sites or fan fiction sites, but since the characters are copyrighted material of mine, you can’t use the stories for monetary gain (ie. publish as a short story on Kindle or something like that). Copyright laws and all that.
I’m glad you’re excited!
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Awesome! Thank you!
Oh I was not thinking of the Fanfiction when I asked about the rights, I was thinking more about the art. Sorry about the confusion! I was just asking because in some contest the artist has to relinquish all rights…and I just wanted to know what I was getting into before I get to work ;). But if your only asking for rights to post it around, and nothing else, then that sounds great to me!
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Can we enter more then once for the character names?
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I would prefer only 1 set of names per person. I’m already going to have loads of names to choose from.
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So fun! I just submitted my names… fingers crossed! 😉
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Thanks for submitting them! 🙂
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Uhhh… I kind of just submitted FIVE forms of names. D: I love names and there are so many to choose from. My dad helped me come up with some of them. I also have three brothers who have Scottish/Irish/English names too. So this was right up my alley.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the contest!
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This sounds so fun, Ms. Mingerink! I entered my names, and I might do something for the fan art contest, but I’m not sure.
The Harry Potter reference made me laugh :D.
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Thanks for entering a few names! Please do enter something for the fan art contest! The more the merrier!
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