Cross the Streams Contest!
Hey, folks. Welcome to “Crossing the Streams,” an awesome, massive, multi-author book giveaway!
A whole group of us have gotten together to create something we think you’ll really enjoy–and to offer you a chance to win free stuff!
How the Cross the Streams Contest works
Each individual author involved is running a contest on his/her own site. The specific details vary from author to author; the contest I run on my site might be very different than the one on Kevin’s site, or Marcy’s site.
However, each contest has a few details in common. Specifically, each of us will select two winners from the contest on our own site. Each of those winners will receive one signed book, free, from the author whose contest they won. So, for instance, if you win here, you’ll win one of my books. If you win on Paul’s site, you’ll win one of his, etc.
But that’s not the BIG prize. Once the contests have ended, all the authors involved will get together and choose one single “super-winner” from all the entries on all our sites combined. This one lucky individual will receive a signed book, free, from each and every one of the authors involved.
Yep. Somebody out there’s going to win over a dozen free books.
You can only enter each author’s contest once, but you may enter multiple contests. So you could enter here, on Matt’s site, on Jason’s site, etc. Heck, you can enter on everyone’s site, if you want. (And even if you aren’t selected as the “super winner,” you might win more than one of the individual contests. You never know.)
You can find a complete list of the authors involved, as well as links to their sites, below. But first:
How to Enter Aaron’s Contest
Again, these are just the rules for my contest. The rules for entry on other authors’ sites might be very different.
But for me, it’s really simple. All you have to do is comment on this page and tell me your favorite novel and why you like it so much. And no, it doesn’t have to be one I wrote. 
I will select two winners. One will be chosen completely at random, so even if you don’t think your explanation is very interesting, don’t worry; you’re still in the running. The other winner will be chosen based on what I think is the most interesting explanation given for their choice of novel.
And of course, everyone who enters is also in the running for the random “super-winner” selection.
Entries must be received between February 1st and February 29th, 2012.
And, at least for me, that’s it. Really. Super easy, right?
Prizes
My two winners, and the super-winner, may choose any one of the following prizes:
The Birth of the Dread Remora: my rousing space-opera novel
WarCraft: Chronicles of War: a collection of WarCraft novels, including my Chronicles of Darkness and Beyond the Dark Portal
No Small Bills: my humorous science fiction novel
Eureka: Substitution Method: the first of my two Eureka novels, under the pen name Cris Ramsay
Eureka: Road Less Traveled: my second Eureka novel, also under the pen name Cris Ramsay
Lego Star Wars: Anakin: Space Pilot: my 3-D Lego Star Wars book
Incursion: My occult thriller, part of the O.C.L.T. series
If you’ve got any questions, just ask in the comments below.
The Rest of the Gang
As I said, there’s over a dozen of us involved in this. You can find names and links here.
Do me a favor. If you click over to one of these sites, don’t just look at the contest page, okay? Everyone involved in this contest is a great author or artist. If you like my stuff, you’re sure to like at least some of theirs. So take a few minutes. Poke around. See if any of their work intrigues you. Maybe even buy a couple of books. I know they’d appreciate it—I certainly would.
Thanks, and good luck.
Ari Marmell
Steven Savile
Keith Baker
Katharine Kerr
Jon Sprunk
Nathan Long
Kevin Hearne
Joshua Palmatier/Benjamin Tate
Matt Forbeck
Marsheila/Marcy Rockwell
Jason Bradley Thompson
Howard Andrew Jones
Paul S. Kemp
Eugie Foster
Scott Oden
Elaine Cunningham
Erik Scott de Bie
Edit: The contest is over! And, though it was extremely difficult, I’ve picked my winners!
First off, though, I just want to say thank you to everyone who participated. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to tell me about their favorite book. There were a lot of books mentioned that I already know and love, and a lot more that I don’t yet and now need to read!
Now–the winners!
First, the winner selected at random. That would be Jacob, who selected Jumper as his favorite book. Congratulations, Jacob!
Second, the winner who I felt had the best explanation/answer. That was tough, because so many of you spoke so well of your favorites! But in the end I had to give it to Steve Addona, who talked so feelingly about Conan of Cimmeria and how it launched his love of fantasy. Congratulations!
Guys, I will email you both to find out which books you would like me to send you.
Thanks again, everyone! And keep reading!
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Another Salvatore fan–what’re the odds?
I’ve already got one of his series on my list thanks to Jason, but I’ll add this one, too.
Hm, y’know, I met Dan years back, really nice guy, and I’ve read some of his other books but not Ilium. Clearly I need to remedy that.:)
Heh, that one’s already on my list! I’ve read some of his others and a good friend highly recommended Imajica, so I have a copy ready and waiting!
See, I’m not a fan of the Silmarillion–as a novel. I do think it’s brilliant as a mythology, I just don’t think it reads well. I have arguments about it with one of my best friends all the time.
I agree, American Gods is excellent. Though I personally prefer Anansi Boys–I find the story cleaner and easier to follow, and I really like the main character.
As I said to Alan, I love some of Pratchett’s other books but I haven’t read all of them. Hogfather’s one I’ve not gotten to yet. But I will!
Cool, Chris. I’m not a huge zombie fan, but I might have to give that one a try.
Absolutely, Shawn! And I agree, both are great books.
Gotta throw out love for Wolf Hunt by Jeff Strand.
It’s a great book, but most importantly to me, there is a complete lack of the usual “oh, woe is me, my life sucks so much, I am a killing machine and all I want to do is pet kittens and sing songs but I am so cursed why can’t I find love” crap that shows up in werewolf novels.
The main character is a complete bášŧárd, and revels in it. You will actively HATE him by the time the book ends, and you will love every page of it.
It’s hard to choose just one novel as my favorite, although I do like most of the ones mentioned so far and highly recommend the Coldfire Trilogy by C S Friedman and Small Gods is probably my favorite Pratchett novel. And I do love the Silmarillion. So, I’ll go with a favorite of mine: Dune. A great work that has an interesting universe and history, great characters, plenty of material to explore and holds much wisdom for the reader. And it can be read several times and you will still find things to learn from it. It can provoke thought and discussion, as well as enjoyment. A great book for readers.
Dear Aaron,
Thanks for doing the contest. Here’s my (qualified) answer to your question:
My first favorite novel was The Hobbit. My mother read it aloud to my brothers and me and it’s the first real fantasy story I can remember. I feel that I can rightly trace my love of fantasy back to the sounds of three trolls trying to cook a dozen dwarves and the smell of the grass in the Shire.
Very truly yours,
Michael J Winegar
My favorite book is the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Aside from the fact that it’s still just about the most hysterical thing I’ve ever read, I first read it at a formative time in my life. One of the ideas it presents – that everything is a matter of perspective – really resonated with me and informed my philosophy from then on.
My favorite novel is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss for his complete mastery of the beauty of the English language.
One of my favorite Novels is… well it’s more a series… the Belgariad by David Eddings! I love epic fantasy novels and watching Garion grow up and turn into Belgarion was fun. Eddings did such an awesome job!
My favorite novel would have to be Neil Gaiman’s ‘American gods’ because his ability to combine and twist multiple mythologies is unparalleled.
Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin. Baldwin captures family conflicts, crises of faith, sexual awakening in a very compelling style. Even in middle age, I reread this brilliant coming of age novel every couple of years.
My favorite novel is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. It’s an amazing read, rich and dense. Set at the start of the golden age of comics, it reads more like a biography than a novel. It is sublime and sparked in me an interest in the history of comics books. It is one of the very few books I have ever read that makes me want to research the people, places and events it is based on.
Right now my favorite fantasy novels are either the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie or the Danilov Chronicles by Jasper Kent. Both take standard tropes (epic fantasy for Abercrombie, vampires for Kent) and breath new life into them. The plots are complex, the detail makes the story come to life, and the characters are people we care about.
I’ve read too many novels to have a single favorite, but one of my more recent favorites is the Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I really enjoy the main characters Kaladin and Dalinar and the way that they develop through the story. The book is long, and Sanderson does quite a bit of world-building, but it really seems to fly by when reading through it.
Wow, so many choices. I think I will have to go with Stranger in a Strange Land, growing up in small-town Texas in the 70s and 80s it gave me a whole new outlook on how life might should be lead.
Chris
I do love Heinlein, Chris, though I have to admit, Stranger isn’t my favorite of his–I tend to like his lighter stuff, like Starman Jones and The Door Into Summer.
I haven’t read that one yet, Jim, but it sounds great! Thanks!
I’ve heard excellent things about Kavalier and Clay. I definitely need to get to that one!
Sounds good, Keith–that’s always challenging, giving new life to an old trope, so if they both did it well, that’s impressive.
Heh, that was actually on my PhD list, years back, but I wound up dropping out of the program (academic politics) and never got to it. Still have my copy, though.
You’re not the first to cite American Gods, Phil. As I said to the others, I do really like that one, though I personally like Anansi Boys better. BTW, if you’re looking for other authors who do wonders with mythologies I’d recommend Roger Zelazny and Tim Powers.
Yes! Love love love the Belgariad! It is one of my all-time favorites, and every few years I go back and reread the whole thing.
I actually just got a copy of this a few weeks back, Justin, and it’s next up on my to-read list.
I totally agree–I love the Hitchhiker’s Guide series! No Small Bills was very much in that mold, and if you get a chance I’d love to hear how you think I did with it.
The Hobbit is such a good book, Michael, and I think a lot of other people are in the same boat as you, with that being one of the first fantasy novels they ever read–or had read to them.
Dune is excellent, I agree. And you’re right, very layered. My favorite part is still that early dinner scene, with all of the intrigue and calculations and subtext.
Interesting–I don’t know that one at all, but the idea of a werewolf who doesn’t hate himself is certainly appealing.
Thanks!