Before They Find Us by Michelle A. Hansen Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Before They Find Us by Michelle A. Hansen 
Publication date: November 2013
Genres: Romantic Thriller, Young Adult

Synopsis:

I’m going to make you wish you were dead.

Just a text. Seventeen-year-old Rebecca Hales tries not to worry. Probably a wrong number. Not really meant for her, and definitely not related to the crime she witnessed six years ago. Right?

Then two states away, a bomb goes off in her best friend’s locker. Soon Ryan is labeled a terrorist and runs to the safest place he knows—Rebecca’s house in small-town Wyoming. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to show up asking questions. Rebecca lies, of course, and says she hasn’t seen him.

Now she’s neck-deep in it with him, whatever “it” is. The only way out is to return to Vegas, where Ryan is a wanted man. The city of lies and illusion tests Rebecca’s wits as she struggles to find the person who framed Ryan and why.

Is Rebecca’s text linked to the bombing? And what does it have to do with a six year old murder? Rebecca needs to find out before she loses Ryan—and her own life.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18810467-before-they-find-us?ac=1

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Before-They-Find-Michelle-Hansen-ebook/dp/B00GXMLI28/ref=la_B006YJ8S0A_1_1_bnp_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389902951&sr=1-1

--B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/before-they-find-us-michelle-a-hansen/1117540305?ean=9780615856810

Get the prologue!

On the author's website, she is giving away copies of the unpublished Epilogue to BTFU to anyone who subscribes to her newsletter (via sidebar). The epilogue was cut when the book went to print, but it is a nice year-later wrap up for the story. 

Guest Post!

Top 10: Most Influential Books

I’m a firm believer that there are books for every personality and no one should have to apologize for the kinds of books they like. Personally, I’ve read classics to romance to thrillers, and it all influences my writing in some way, shape, or form. The real goal of all books is entertainment. This is a list of books I read and loved and remember, sometimes even years afterward. They are a good sampling of the books that have influenced me as a reader and a writer.

1. I Know What You Did Last Summer, by Lois Duncan

I was not a kid who read. I was a reluctant reader—said I hated reading—until the seventh grade, when Mrs. Cole took me down to the library and put a Lois Duncan novel in my hand. I was hooked. I read every Lois Duncan novel in our school library. One author and one great teacher made me into a reader.

2-3. All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque & 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 These were the first two classics that I remember reading and loving. It was like a little light bulb went on in my head, “Oh, these are classics for a reason!” That is how a reluctant reader ended up an English major in college.

4. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin

The first book I stayed up all night to finish.

5. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen’s novels have become YA classics. While Dreamland wasn’t her first novel, it was the first one I read. I consider Dessen a ground-breaker in the genre, one of the authors who broke the old YA lit model (90 pages and mostly plot driven) and made YA into what it is today.

 6. Tell No One by Harlan Coben.

This was the book that got me hooked on contemporary thrillers. Of all the Harlan Coben novels I’ve read, it’s still my favorite.

7. The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johansen

Iris Johansen was a romance writer who crossed over into the romantic-suspense genre. I read more than a dozen Iris Johansen novels one winter. I love the romantic element in a thriller, and I think it was those books that solidified that for me. I pretty much always have a romantic element in my stories. The romance shapes in my head right along with the plot—often before the plot.

8. The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman by Louise Plummer

The first book I read that was written by someone I knew in real life, proving that yes, authors are real people and real people can write books. I think we grow up thinking authors are this mysterious “other” like movie stars or rock stars, but authors are mostly ordinary people with overactive imaginations.

9. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Hamlet is my favorite tragic hero, and it was my favorite work to teach in the classroom. I think everyone should read Hamlet and see it performed. I was so happy when Kenneth Brannagh made his film version of the complete text.

10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I know, I know. There are people who hate Twilight, and I’m definitely not a Twi-hard. I read Twilight the month it debuted, and I passed my copy around to all my friends. I had no idea what it would later become, but I loved it because it had been years since a book really hooked me and pulled me in. While I read the whole series, I still like the first book best.

When people point to YA exploding, they often point to Harry Potter, but you have to remember that Harry Potter was published as a middle grade novel. Twilight made YA a huge, very profitable market. Love it or hate it, we all owe a great deal to Stephenie Meyer.

So, there you have it, a sampling of the most influential books I’ve read. Picking 10 books is like asking a mother to pick a favorite child. (I love them all!) I try to come away from every book I read with a new insight about life, characterization or craft. I think there is something to be learned from  every book, even one you hate.

Thank you for having me on Book Lover’s Life today and for participating in the Before They Find Us blog tour! 

** Great choices. I cant believe I've never read some of these. I need to read Last Summer cause I enjoyed the movie. Thanks for taking the time to do the guest post!

AUTHOR BIO

Michelle A. Hansen was raised in southeastern Washington. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in English teaching from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and taught high school English for six years.

Michelle loves Pepsi and Doritos more than chocolate. She loves summertime and hates to be cold. She has had three near-death experiences. She’s addicted to office supplies and has an irrationally large stash of pens and notebooks.

Author links:

http://www.michelleahansen.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5448154.Michelle_A_Hansen

https://www.facebook.com/michelleahansenauthor

https://twitter.com/michelleahansen

Giveaway:

Tour wide giveaway

Open INTL:

-- $25 Amazon gift card
-- Signed paperback copy of Before They Find Us
-- Before They Find Us charm necklace, bookmarks and signed postcard
-- Ebook copies of Before They Find Us & Painted Blind

a Rafflecopter giveaway