Announcing the Great Honeymoon Competition

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So, as some of you might know, I’m leaving for my honeymoon in a bit more than two weeks. The catch is that the BF/H took the matter very much to heart, and that the destination itself is going to remain a complete surprise until the day we board the plane.

As some of you might also know, my first novel, the Aztec noir fantasy Servant of the Underworld, will be released in the US and Canada on October 26th, in a little more than a month. I’ve always said I was going to do a competition to celebrate the release, but I had no idea what it could be about.

Well, now I’ve got the perfect idea. Take a stab at where you think I might be headed, and get a chance to win a copy of Servant of the Underworld and awesome Aztec swag.

Servant of the Underworld cover>Asimov's February 2010

Here are the rules:

  1. The contest will be open from now until October 9th. You may enter by leaving a comment either at my main website, or at the LJ mirror.
  2. Prizes are as follow:
    • First Prize: A signed copy of Servant of the Underworld, an Aztec Fifth Sun coaster, and a nifty SoU bookmark.
    • Runner-Up Prize: a SoU bookmark, and a signed copy of the February 2010 Asimov’s issue, which contains my alt-hist short story “The Wind-Blown Man”.
  3. Anyone may enter, worldwide (bar those few people who already know the destination. You know who you are). You may only enter once.
  4. Announcing the winner is a teensy bit tricky, since I might be headed for the biggest Internet black hole ever, but I’ll do my best to post as soon as possible (worst-case scenario, October 24th, when we come back home. I hope it doesn’t come to that…).
  5. Guesses may be a country or a more specific area; I’ll tabulate the distance from the boundaries. Winners will be ranked by distance to our destination (if it becomes too hard to judge–ie lots of people with similar distances to our real destination–, I reserve the right to sort out the closest people at random).
  6. To help you a bit, the following countries are excluded from the guess list (because it’s been explicitly said by the H we wouldn’t go there): Antigua, Bahamas, Belgium, Egypt, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Morocco, The Netherlands, Seychelles, Spain, USA, Vietnam.
  7. I don’t have much in the way of clues other than the fact that there are historical remains there (broadly taken to mean anything pre-20th Century in sufficient quantities). Also, French isn’t spoken there, and English probably isn’t an official language either (I got echoes from websites with horrific English vocabulary and grammar).

There you go–have fun!

PS: I don’t ask for this often, but if you feel like signal boosting… It’s going to be much funnier for me and everyone else if we have enough entries.
PPS: I’ll post pictures of the coaster once I get home. It’s simili-stone with a Fifth Movement Glyph, very pretty. Picture posted.

0 comments

  1. Jeff

    Okay, here goes.

    Belize.

  2. Rob King

    Quite clearly, my dear, you are on your way to Mexico City!

  3. Kate

    Well, since someone has already said Mexico, I’ll vote for Peru – I reckon you’re heading for the Inca trail 🙂

  4. Rob

    Maybe it’s Belize.

  5. Paul

    I will take a stab and say you are going to Xian Province, China

  6. Rob

    Duh, someone’s already said that, then perhaps Guatemala.

  7. Guerry Semones

    I’d guess China in general, though that’s pretty, um, big. 🙂 So, I’ll amend with Beijing.

  8. Dave G

    Bali!

    And wherever you do go, have the most wonderful time, both of you.

  9. Sean Holland

    Hmm. I say you are heading for Incallajta in Bolivia.

    But where ever you go, have a wonderful journey. And congratulations!

  10. Kris Dalpiaz

    I’ll say Playa del Carmen. Have a great time!

  11. Gem

    Have a fab time wherever you go, and just for fun I will guess you are going to Malaysia!

  12. Adam Christopher

    Tricky… but I have to say, New Zealand!

  13. Kurt

    ummmm… I’ll say…. Costa Rica

  14. Deirdre

    I was going to say Mauritius, but it turns out English is the official language.
    Madagascar has both French and English as official languages.
    So, Maldives? Ihope it is so you can dine underwater.

  15. Darren

    From the colour of your dress, it has to be China!

  16. Shirley

    could it be turkey?

  17. Benjamin DeHaan

    Dear Aliette,

    You must be going to Antalya, Turkey right?

    This seems like a wonderful place for a romantic honey moon!

  18. Michele

    As others have already guessed Mexico, I’ll guess Brazil.

  19. Chris

    Checking out the Mayan ruins from a base in Antigua, Guatemala.

  20. Kulsuma

    Hm, i have no idea.
    i’ll make a guess though- algeria.

  21. Glenn R. Bell

    Since my first guess was taken, I’ll take CanCun, Mexico and the ruins close by, although I’d much prefer you take a walk on the wild side and visit Angkor Wat!

  22. Kathleen D

    Though it has been taken, I vote for Peru, Cuzco, and Macchu Picchu, maybe a fly-over of the Nazca Lines. You’ll love it. Best ruins in the world, magical and oh so scenic. Cool ruins around Cuzco, too, and the gold museum in Lima is amazing.

  23. Christopher Kastensmidt

    People already said Mexico… but I still think it’s Mexico. Mexico City and surrounding region.

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