{Blog Tour} Nightfall by Jake Halpern & Peter Kujawinski - Top Ten & Giveaway

Today on the blog, I'm hosting a stop on the Nightfall Blog Tour, brought to you by Penguin Teen. For today's stop, the authors have each contributed a list of their top ten favorite things they can't live without. First, though, here's a little more about the book, which releases on Tuesday:


Title: Nightfall
Author: Jake Halpern & Peter Kujawinski
Series: n/a
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 22, 2015
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

The dark will bring your worst nightmares to light, in this gripping and eerie survival story, perfect for fans of James Dashner and Neil Gaiman.

On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours—it comes every twenty-eight years. Now the sun is just a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold and the shadows are growing long.

Because sunset triggers the tide to roll out hundreds of miles, the islanders are frantically preparing to sail south, where they will wait out the long Night.

Marin and her twin brother, Kana, help their anxious parents ready the house for departure. Locks must be taken off doors. Furniture must be arranged. Tables must be set. The rituals are puzzling—bizarre, even—but none of the adults in town will discuss why it has to be done this way.

Just as the ships are about to sail, a teenage boy goes missing—the twins’ friend Line. Marin and Kana are the only ones who know the truth about where Line’s gone, and the only way to rescue him is by doing it themselves. But Night is falling. Their island is changing.

And it may already be too late.

Top Ten Favorites
by Peter Kujawinski & Jake Halpern

Peter Kujawinski’s Top 10 – but in no particular order!

1. Snow – I’ve gotta have a little cold in my year. I’m notorious in my family for suggesting cold weather vacations during the winter, when everyone wants to go south!
2. Coffee – I guess this is relatively obvious, but it’s a crutch, an excuse, a well of creativity, and the sometimes the only thing that keeps me going with a full working day and three kids under the age of 5! Happily consuming since the age of 17.
3. My NYTimes.com subscription – When I was in high school, I’d go home and first thing I’d do is read the newspaper. I’m an omnivorous news junkie – local, international, style, politics, sports, everything and anything – I’ll probably want to read about it.
4. Storytime with my children – it’s the distillation of everything I love most about having children. They’re inquisitive, totally mesmerized, even if it’s an alphabet book with a very meager plot. It’s also a nice reminder that even the children of our ultra-wired generation cannot escape the lure of a good book.
5. Chicago Cubs – my hometown team. During all these years without a World Series, I can’t shake this tightly wound allegiance. It’s worse now, of course, given that they’re in playoff contention. Hope springs eternal – especially with my Cubbies.
6. Camping/canoeing/hiking – Sure, these are all slightly different, but it’s all part of the same idea. Being outside and experiencing nature in all its glory. From when I was a kid to now, going outside frequently is the surest way to keep myself on track. There is no substitute for experiencing the world they way our ancestors did many generations ago.
7. Biking – This is a more recent “can’t live without.” I completed my first triathlon about a year ago, and in preparation for that, I bought my first ever road bike. Compared to knockabout bike from years past, it was like going from crawling to sprinting. Euphoria is a word I use a lot when it comes to bike riding.
8. Writing – It’s not only what I do for a living – it helps me live. A day without writing is much, much worse than a day without a shower. If I’m writing, the rest of my life always seems to snap into place. I’m a better husband, better father, and nicer to strangers!
9. Jake Halpern – my creative partner’s infectious energy and love of life have inspired me over so many years. A day without talking to him – either about a plot point in Nightfall or what we did the night before – is a sad day indeed.
10. Ice Cream – Ask my mom about this. She claims ice cream has had profound, happiness-inducing effects on me over my entire life. I don’t know about that, but it’s true that for a 4th grade project, I did a mash-up of ice cream and cartography to produce a map of Ice Cream Land:

Jake Halpern's Top 10

1. Lifting weights. I go to this amazing Crossfit gym, which is basically in an old warehouse. I go here three times a week, sweat, grunt, gasp for air, and high-five a gang of other men and women who have become my pals.
2. Coffee. I have to down my coffee each morning. My favorite place is Manjares in New Haven.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Running. I run this rock twice a week and and love it.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Skiing at Butter Nut resort in Western Mass with my kids
   
   
   
   
   
5. New Haven pizza at “Bar.”
   
   
   
   
   
6. Exploring the old historical buildings in my hometown of Buffalo
   
   
   
   
   
7. Watching Game of Thrones
   
   
   
   
   
8. Playing Legos with my kids
   
   
   
   
   
9. My buddy and coauthor Peter, AKA KUJO. This is him as a kid:
   
   
   
   
   
10. Listening to the audio version of books by Nicholas Guy Smith, who reads Nightfall 
    
    
    

I love seeing what's most important to authors, what they can't live without. And I love that the authors each made each other's list, as did coffee! :D

About the authors:

Jake Halpern is an author, journalist, and radio producer. His first book, Braving Home (2003), was a main selection for the Book of the Month Club by Bill Bryson and was one of Library Journal's “Best Books of the Year.” His next book, Fame Junkies (2007), was the basis for an original series on NPR's All Things Considered and portions of the book were published in both the New Yorker and in Entertainment Weekly. Jake’s most recent nonfiction book, Bad Paper (FSG), was excerpted as the New York Times Magazine and it was chosen as an Amazon "Book of the Year." Jake’s debut work of fiction, a young adult trilogy, Dormia, has been hailed by the American Library Association's Booklist as a worthy heir to the Harry Potter series. In September of 2014, Jake signed a two book deal with Putnam / Penguin for two more young adult novels. As a journalist, Jake has written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Sports Illustrated, The New Republic, Slate, Smithsonian, Entertainment Weekly, Outside, New York Magazine, and other publications. In the realm of radio, Jake is a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and This American Life. Jake's hour-long radio story, "Switched at Birth," is on This American Life's "short list" as one of its top eight shows of all time. One of Jake's stories is the basis for a new movie being produced by 20th Century Fox and Heyday Films (which made the Harry Potter movies). Last, but not least, Jake is a fellow of Morse College at Yale University, where he teaches a class on journalism. He recently returned from India where he was visiting as a Fulbright Scholar.

Find Jake:

Website | Goodreads | Instagram

Peter Kujawinski is an author and diplomat born in Chicago. His first fictional work, Dormia, was co-written with noted journalist Jake Halpern. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2009, Dormia was hailed by the American Library Association's Booklist as the next Harry Potter. The second book in the series, World's End, was released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2010. The third book in the Dormia series is tentatively titled The Shadow Tree. He also works for the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer. His assignments as a diplomat include US Embassies in Tel Aviv, Paris, the UN Security Council in New York City, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In addition to his fiction, his nonfiction commentaries have been published in the international edition of the New York Times.

Find Peter:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

Thanks to Penguin Teen, we've got a hardcover of Nightfall to give away to one lucky winner! Open to U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Two Chicks on Books – Interview - 9/14
In Wonderland – Would You Rather? - 9/15
Forever Young Adult – Guest Post - 9/17
The Starry-Eyed Revue – Top 10 list - 9/18 - YOU ARE HERE! :)
The Social Potato – Guest Post - 9/21
Once Upon a Twilight – Book Playlist #1 - 9/22
The Passionate Bookworms – 25 Random Things - 9/23
Lili’s Reflections – Interview - 9/24
The Young Folks – Review & Giveaway – 9/25
Readers in Wonderland – Book Playlist #2 - 9/28
The Book Cellar – Interview - 9/29
Winterhaven Books – Interview - 10/1
A Reader Under the Sea – Review & Giveaway – 10/2

Labels: blog tour, giveaways, guest post, horror, jake halpern, nightfall, penguin, peter kujawinski, top ten