Giveaways Smugglerific Cover

A Smugglerific Cover + Excerpt & Giveaway: Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Kate Milford is a Smuggler-favourite and we have loved all of her books so far (The Boneshaker, The Broken Lands and the short The Kairos Mechanism).

That’s why today, we are thrilled to host the cover reveal for Greenglass House, her next book as well as to offer an ARC to one of our readers.

And now, without further ado, behold! The Smugglerific Cover (and summary)!

THE SMUGGLERIFIC COVER:

Greeglass Cover

ABOUT THE BOOK:

It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House—and themselves.

Greenglass House is out on August 2014 and is a standalone (with minor connections to the other books).

THE EXCERPT:

CHAPTER ONE: THE SMUGGLERS’ INN

There is a right way to do things and a wrong way, if you’re going to run a hotel in a smugglers’ town.

You shouldn’t make it a habit to ask too many questions, for one thing. And you probably shouldn’t be in it for the money. Smugglers are always going to be flush with cash as soon as they find a buyer for the eight cartons of fountain pen cartridges that write in illegal shades of green, but they never have money today. You should, if you are going to run a smugglers’ hotel, get a big account book and assume that whatever you write in it, the reality is, you’re going to get paid in fountain pen cartridges. If you’re lucky. You could just as easily get paid with something even more useless.

Milo Pine did not run a smugglers’ hotel, but his parents did. It was an inn, actually; a huge, ramshackle manor house that looked as if it had been cobbled together from discarded pieces of a dozen mismatched mansions collected from a dozen different cities. It was called Greenglass House, and it sat on the side of a hill overlooking an inlet of harbors, a little district built half on the shore and half on the piers that jutted out into the river Skidwrack like the teeth of a comb. It was a long climb up to the inn from the waterfront by foot, or an only slightly-shorter trip by the cable railway that led from the inn’s private dock up the steep slope of Whilforber Hill. And of course the inn wasn’t only for smugglers, but that was who turned up most often, so that was how Milo thought of it.

Milo had lived at Greenglass House ever since he’d been adopted by Nora and Ben Pine when he was a baby. It had always been home. And he was used to the bizarre folks who passed through the inn, some of them coming back every season like extended family who showed up to pinch your cheeks at holidays and then disappeared again. After twelve years, he was even getting pretty good at predicting who was going to show up when. Smugglers were like bugs or vegetables. They had their seasons. Which was why it was so weird when the huge old bell on the porch, the one that was connected to the winch that drove the cable that in turn hauled the car up its tracks, started ringing.

The old iron bell’s tone changed with the seasons, too, and with the time of day. This afternoon, the first of winter vacation, was cold and brittle, and the snow had just begun to fall. Today, therefore, the bell itself had a brittle tone. It had a sound like a gulp of frigid air.

Milo looked up from the coffee table where he was doing a math problem. He liked to get his homework out of the way right off the bat so he could enjoy the holidays without thinking about school. He glanced at his mother, who was sprawled across the rag rug in front of the big stone fireplace, reading. “Someone’s coming up?” he asked incredulously.

Mrs. Pine got to her feet, tucked her book under her arm, padded across to the foyer, and peered out the window by the door. “Someone wants to. We’d better go start the winch.”

“But we never have guests the first week of vacation,” Milo protested. He felt a vague unease start to rise in his stomach and tried to swallow it down. Vacation couldn’t possibly get spoiled so quickly, could it? He’d only stepped off the launch that ferried the quayside kids to and from school a few hours ago.

“Well, usually we don’t,” Mrs. Pine said as she laced up her boots, “but that’s not because we have a rule about it. It’s just because that’s the way it usually turns out.”

“But it’s vacation!”

His mother shrugged and held out his coat. “Come on, kiddo. Be a gentleman. Don’t send your mom out into the cold alone.”

Ah, the all-powerful gentleman card. Still grumbling, Milo got to his feet, quietly whispering vacation vacation vacation as he slouched across to join her. He had just about finished his homework. That was supposed to be the end of responsibility for a while.

The bell rang again. Milo gave in to his frustration, stopped in the middle of the foyer with one boot on and gave a single, furious yell with his hands clenched at his sides.

Mrs. Pine waited with folded arms until he was finished. “Got that out of your system?” she asked gently. Milo scowled. “I know this isn’t the usual routine,” his mother added, “and I know you don’t like it when things don’t happen the way you expect. But look, being surprised isn’t always a bad thing.”

The fact that it sounded logical didn’t change the way Milo felt, of course. But he nodded and finished getting dressed for the cold. He followed his mother out onto the porch and across the lawn to a break in the dark wall of bare white birches and blue-green firs that covered the hillside. There, in a pool of shadow, the grass gave way to a stone landing.

All his life, ever since he was really small, Milo had been very bothered by sudden changes of plan. More than bothered. Being surprised made him uneasy at the best of times. Now, tromping across the fresh snow in the bitter cold to haul a stranger up the hill, an unexpected stranger who was going to require him to work when all he really wanted was a quiet week or so with his parents and his house to himself . . . well, that made the uneasiness feel uncomfortably like panic.

The pool of shadow flickered and melted into butter-gold; Mrs. Pine had turned on the light in the little pavilion hidden in the trees where the cable railway landed.

The railway began a hundred yards below, at the river. There were other ways to get to the bottom of the gorge, or to get to the top if you were down. There was a steep and winding stair that ran more-or-less parallel to the railway and led to the same pavilion. There was also a road that snaked away from the inn and around the side of the hill down into the city proper, which was about a twenty-minute drive away. But only Milo, his parents, and the inn’s chef, Mrs. Caraway, ever really used the road. Guests didn’t come from the direction of the city. Guests came by river, and given the option of being hauled up the steep hill in an antique conveyance that looked like a demented and oversized bumper car on rails or climbing three hundred and ten steps (Milo had counted), they always chose the former.

Inside the stone-floored pavilion were a bench, a shed, and the steel tracks of the railway. Mrs. Pine unlocked the shed, and Milo followed her inside to where the heavy cable that ran between the tracks looped around the giant spindle of the winch. Thanks to a complex mess of gears, once you got the winch going, it did all the work necessary to haul the single car up the slope. But it was old, and the lever tended to stick. Getting it moving was easier with two pairs of hands.

Together, Milo and his mother grasped the lever. “One, two, three!” Milo counted, and as one they hauled it forward. The cold metal of the gears whined like an old dog, and then they started to turn.

As Milo and Mrs. Pine waited for the railcar to click and clank its way to the top of the slope, he wondered what kind of person it was bringing up. Smugglers came in all kinds, and of course sometimes the inn had guests who were sailors or travelers and not smugglers at all. But not very often—and almost never in winter, when the Skidwrack and its hidden inlets were so often frozen.

While Milo was thinking, winding trails of glittering white firefly-sized lights came to life, outlining the pavilion and trailing off down the hill along the railing of the stairs. His mother straightened up from where she had just plugged them in.

“So what do you think? An elf on the lam from the North Pole? A popgun runner? Eggnog bootlegger?” she asked. “Best guess wins a brownie sundae. Loser makes it.”

“What are those flower bulbs Grandma always sends you at Christmas that you love?”

“Paperwhites?”

“Yeah. It’s a guy with a cargo of those. And stockings. Green ones with pink stripes.” A low whine joined the creaking of the cable around the big spindle in the shed. You could tell where the rail car was by how the sounds it made changed. Milo pictured the misshapen old iron lamppost the car would be passing right about now.

“Green and pink stockings?”

“Yeah. He probably knows it was a bad idea, but now he’s stuck with them. He was forced to take the cargo on—no, tricked into it—and now if he can’t move the stockings, he’s ruined. He’s already trying to figure out how to convince people to switch from baskets to striped socks for Easter.” Milo leaned over the pavilion railing and peered through the thickening snow falling through the bare birches and icing the pine branches, searching for the first glimpse of the car and its passenger. It was still out of view, but from the vibration of the rails, he knew it was being hauled up the steepest part of the slope now. “He’s got meetings set up with people this week, too. Magazine writers, some weird tv star, trying to see if he can make green-and-pink stripes a big fashion thing next year. And a sock-puppet company.”

He leaned over the railing again, just far enough out that a few flakes of snow managed to make it past the roof onto his eyelashes. There it was: the blue metal nose of the rail car with its silver racing stripes (painted a few years back by Milo and his father along with its name, Whilforber Whirlwind, on the sides). And then, a moment later, its passenger: a lanky man in a felt hat and a plain black coat. Milo could just make out a pair of oversized glasses with huge tortoiseshell rims on his nose.

He wilted. The stranger looked disappointingly like somebody’s grandfather. Maybe even a bit like a schoolteacher.

“I don’t know,” Mrs. Pine remarked, as if she’d read Milo’s mind. “I could kind of believe that guy would take a chance on green-and-pink stripes.” She ruffled his hair. “Come on, kiddo. Put on your welcome face.”

“I hate the welcome face,” Milo mumbled. But he straightened up and tried to look cheerful as the Whirlwind made its final ascent to the pavilion.

Up close, the stranger looked even more boring. Plain hat, plain coat, plain face, plain blue suitcase tucked in the boot of the car. Beneath the glasses, though, his eyes were bright and sharp as they flicked from Mrs. Pine to Milo and back.

Milo felt himself stiffen. It always started this way, whenever the Pines met someone new. You could just about see that person’s thoughts: one of these things is not like the other. This stranger was hiding it better than most, for sure; there was no change in his expression, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking it too. How did a Chinese kid wind up in Nagspeake with that lady for a mom? Obviously adopted.

The car came to a jerking stop at last, nearly sending the unexpecting passenger’s face straight into the Whilforber Whirlwind’s padded dashboard.

“Hi.” Milo’s mother beamed as the stranger clambered out of the car and brushed the accumulated snow from his shoulders. “Welcome to Greenglass House. I’m Nora Pine. This is my son, Milo.”

“Thank you,” the stranger said, his voice just as boring as the rest of him. “My name’s Vinge. De Cary Vinge.”

Well, Milo thought sourly, he had an interesting name, at least. “I’ll get your suitcase for you, Mr. Vinge.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” Mr. Vinge said quickly as Milo reached for it. “Let me carry that. It’s quite heavy.” He grasped the handle and pulled. It must’ve been heavy; Mr. Vinge had to put a foot up on the side of the car and push off for leverage.

Which was when Milo’s mother gave him a significant glance. Uncomprehending, Milo took another look at the stranger. Then he spotted it: one garishly-striped sock, visible for just a moment before Mr. Vinge stumbled backwards with his suitcase. If anything, the orange-and-purple combination was even weirder than Milo’s imaginary green-and-pink.

“Looks like maybe I owe you a brownie sundae,” Mrs. Pine whispered. Then, louder, “This way, Mr. Vinge. Let’s get you in out of the snow.”

Divider

THE GIVEAWAY:

Courtesy of the author, we are giving away one ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of Greenglass House. The contest is open to ALL – everybody, anywhere – and will run until Saturday, September 28 at 12:01am ET. To enter, use the form below! GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

73 Comments

  • mary anne
    September 23, 2013 at 8:37 am

    I have “The Boneshaker” on my To-Be-Read pileand I figured as soon as I finish it I will end up grabbing “The Broken Lands”.

  • Heather Poland
    September 23, 2013 at 8:52 am

    I LOVE the cover art! Can’t wait to read it!

  • Dhonielle Clayton
    September 23, 2013 at 8:59 am

    OMG!!!!! Kate, I love it! It’s exactly what I envisioned Nagspeake to look like. Swooning.

  • Mieneke van der Salm
    September 23, 2013 at 9:04 am

  • Mieneke van der Salm
    September 23, 2013 at 9:05 am

    I’ve never read any of Kate’s books, but I’ve always loved the look of her books and this one is no exception. What a lovely cover 🙂

  • Katrina
    September 23, 2013 at 9:13 am

    Nope, never! Your reviews have been so positive that I would really love to!

  • Shannon
    September 23, 2013 at 9:20 am

    Everything she’s got out, I have read. And I love it all!

  • Stephanie
    September 23, 2013 at 9:49 am

    I haven’t read any of her novels yet. My too read is so massive and every time she comes out with something new it jumps to the top of which of hers I want to read first.

  • Alli
    September 23, 2013 at 10:15 am

    The cover art is fantastic! It reminds me so much of the covers of books I loved as a child – somewhere between a “Wizard of Oz” and Narnia and “Dorrie and the Blue Witch.” GORGEOUS!

    I’ve loved all of Kate’s work thus far and am sure this will be no exception. Thanks for the sneak peak!

  • sandyg265
    September 23, 2013 at 10:41 am

    Kate is a new author for me.

  • Christina B
    September 23, 2013 at 10:54 am

    No I haven’t yet but it sounds really good

  • jennie
    September 23, 2013 at 11:07 am

    I have not ready anything of Kate’s yet, but I’m going to the library today and checking out as many of her books as I can!

  • jennie
    September 23, 2013 at 11:09 am

    …have not read…
    (ack, spelling mistakes!)

  • Vivien
    September 23, 2013 at 11:10 am

    I haven’t read anything by Kate Milford but I’ve wanted to!

  • superbwg
    September 23, 2013 at 11:28 am

    I am very much looking forward to reading books by Kate Milford, they are in my TBR stack as we speak!

  • Sarann
    September 23, 2013 at 11:30 am

    I haven’t read any yet, but several of them on on my TBR list (which is way too long).

  • Lindsay Eland
    September 23, 2013 at 11:42 am

    Oh my gosh!!! The cover is BEAUTIFUL!! And of course, Kate’s writing is astounding and mesmerizing! Can’t wait to read!

  • Paige
    September 23, 2013 at 11:52 am

    Oooh, this looks so good!

  • Mrs Mac
    September 23, 2013 at 11:53 am

    Unfortunately, I haven’t read any of Kate’s books yet, but based on the excerpt above, I plan to see if any of my libraries and/or favorite bookstores can help me correct that problem!

  • Vicente L Ruiz (@VicenteLRuiz)
    September 23, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    Yes, please. I loved The Boneshaker and The Kairos Mechanism; this is so good I cannot resist!

  • Lan
    September 23, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    I have not read any of Kate Milford’s books yet, though I’ve heard a good deal about them. This seems like a good place to start 🙂

  • Genevieve
    September 23, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    Haven’t read any Milford but this sounds pretty good.

  • Jana
    September 23, 2013 at 12:53 pm

    I haven’t read any of Kate Milford’s work yet, but the excerpt from Greenglass House is so intriguing that I may have to stop by the library today to see if that can be changed in the near future.

  • jpetroroy
    September 23, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    I haven’t read one yet, but can’t wait to!

  • Faye
    September 23, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    I haven’t read anything by the author yet, but this one sounds great!

  • Ann
    September 23, 2013 at 1:35 pm

    This book incorporates so many of my favorite things – winter, secrets, old rambling inns. And the cover is amazing. Can’t wait to read it!

  • Penny Blubaugh
    September 23, 2013 at 2:03 pm

    I think she’s amazing. I loved both Boneshaker and Broken Lands and this sounds like it’s going to compete with both.

  • Dina
    September 23, 2013 at 2:04 pm

    I read The Boneshaker based solely on your recommendation and I was so enchanted that I can’t wait to read more by Kate Milford. The synopsis of this book sounds even more up my alley, so it jumped right to the top of my wishlist.

  • Karina C
    September 23, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    I loved BoneShaker, and would love to read this one too!

  • Justine
    September 23, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    No, I have not read any novel by Kate Milford.

  • Lexi
    September 23, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    I keep meaning to read Boneshaker but have not so far.

  • Stephanie Burgis
    September 23, 2013 at 2:15 pm

    I haven’t read any of Kate’s books yet (although I’ve heard fabulous things about them), but I LOVE this excerpt! I can’t wait to read the whole book.

  • Lisa Amowitz
    September 23, 2013 at 2:23 pm

    Yes! I own two copies of The Boneshaker, one copy of Broken Lands. I LOVE this new cover!!

  • LibrarianLady
    September 23, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    I haven’t read any of her books yet – but I want to start with this one!

  • Hannah
    September 23, 2013 at 2:46 pm

    I love all of her books! My favorite has to be the Boneshaker, though. Show me a book with a demonic circus, and I will show you something I’m certain to love.

  • Allison
    September 23, 2013 at 3:13 pm

    That cover art seriously rocks. I have yet to read any of her back list – although I do have Boneshaker waiting on my Kindle.

  • Kat
    September 23, 2013 at 3:22 pm

    I haven’t read anything of hers so far, but I’d love to.

  • Jack
    September 23, 2013 at 5:50 pm

    I LOVE KATE MILFORD BOOKS!! the way she spins horribly fantastical worlds is so amazing and I CAN NOT WAIT to dive into Greenglass House!

  • Janine
    September 23, 2013 at 5:51 pm

    Boneshaker is on my to be read pile. Looking forward to picking it up!

  • Taffy
    September 23, 2013 at 5:57 pm

    I haven’t read any books by Kate. 🙁
    But I LOVE the featured cover!

  • Lindsay
    September 23, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    I haven’t read anything by her yet, but I definitely plan to!

  • Hebe
    September 23, 2013 at 6:30 pm

    I haven’t read anything by Kate Milford, but this sounds really interesting!

  • Haven Lee
    September 23, 2013 at 7:34 pm

    OMG! this sounds exactly like something I would read! The premise sounds promising and the plot sounds exciting.

  • Jennifer
    September 23, 2013 at 7:34 pm

    I haven’t read anything by Kate Milford but that’s a great cover, it shows an intriguing setting.

  • Gaby Metivier
    September 23, 2013 at 8:51 pm

    No, I haven’t read any of her books, but I want to read them all! The covers of her books are just amazing, and this one is no exception 🙂

    Thanks for the giveaway, guys!

  • Victoria Zumbrum
    September 23, 2013 at 8:52 pm

    I never read any of her books but I would like to. Thanks for the giveaway.

  • Anita Yancey
    September 23, 2013 at 9:41 pm

    I have not read any of Kate’s books. But I would love to read this one, it sounds wonderful. Thanks for having the giveaway.

  • Katharine Ott
    September 23, 2013 at 9:41 pm

    She’s on my Want to Read list on Goodreads, but haven’t made it there yet!

  • Llehn
    September 23, 2013 at 10:45 pm

    I loved The Boneshaker!

  • Eliza
    September 23, 2013 at 11:52 pm

    I’ve been away for a while and look what greats me on my return. I’m started flailing in excitement when I read the news. A new Kate Milford book! Another beautiful cover! An excerpt! A chance to win the new book (and thereby, possibly, not having to wait almost a whole year to read it)!!! I never enter contests but I am entering this one.

    I’ve read both The Boneshaker and The Broken Lands and loved them both. They both were such strong books that I don’t think I can choose a favorite. Gun to my head, I may go with The Boneshaker ’cause it was my introduction to Kate Milford’s wonderful writing, characters and world creation and it has a creepy carnival, one of my book catnip. But then I think about Jin and waver in my choice of a favorite book. I want to see Natalie and Jin meet up sometime.

    For all of you who commented that you haven’t read any of Milford’s books, what are you waiting for? They’re wonderful.

  • Kate & Zena
    September 24, 2013 at 2:00 am

    I haven’t yet. I keep forgetting to get one of her books! I’d love to make it one with receiving this one!

  • Lara Palmquist
    September 24, 2013 at 4:56 am

    This book sounds great! Thanks for sharing the excerpt and for running the contest!

  • Claudia K.
    September 24, 2013 at 6:36 am

    I’ve read The Boneshaker and loved it!

  • Becky C.
    September 24, 2013 at 8:09 am

    Never read any of her books yet!

  • Luke Billings
    September 24, 2013 at 8:33 am

    I loved ‘The Kairos Mechanism’ fantastically strange and imaginative.

  • Raina
    September 24, 2013 at 10:24 am

    I haven’t yet read any of her work, but they’re in my TBR.

  • Vanessa L
    September 24, 2013 at 10:52 am

    I haven’t read any Kate Milford yet. She’s been on my “going to get to” list for a while, but I actually like the sound of this one even better than the others.

  • Meghan M.
    September 24, 2013 at 10:55 am

    I’ve read both The Broken Lands and The Boneshaker. I loved both, but I think I might prefer The Boneshaker by a tiny miniscule bit!

  • April V.
    September 24, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    I’ve only read The Boneshaker so far and I liked it quite a bit. I just haven’t had the chance to read the rest yet. My TBR list is about 1400 titles long right now.

  • Eliza
    September 24, 2013 at 1:07 pm

    Oops. I think your comment section is broken. It shows the 9 most recent comments and when you click on “Older Comments” it shows only 1 comment. Somehow the remaining 49 comments are AWOL. Please delete this comment once read as it adds nothing to the discussion 🙂

    If it helps troubleshooting: Browser = Firefox & Chrome (same issue in both)

  • SaraC
    September 24, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    I haven’t read anything by Kate Milford yet, but this one looks good!

  • Isabelle L.
    September 24, 2013 at 9:59 pm

    I haven’t read any of Milford’s books, but this one sounds amazing! I love Milo already.

  • scribe k.
    September 24, 2013 at 11:49 pm

    sadly no. but i would love to start!

  • Joni Patterson
    September 25, 2013 at 7:47 am

    I haven’t read any of her books, but this one sounds delicious. Thanks for the giveaway! ^.^

  • Heather C.
    September 25, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    I haven’t read anything by Milford yet, but this sounds terrific!

  • Mary Preston
    September 25, 2013 at 10:23 pm

    I don’t have a favorite yet.

  • Marisa
    September 26, 2013 at 8:14 am

    I haven’t read a book by Kate yet, but that was a great teaser excerpt!

  • Malvika Jaswal
    September 26, 2013 at 11:25 pm

    This would be my first novel by Kate. And I do love a book with good covers, I am shallow that way. I read the synopsis though, I refrained from reading the excerpt because it is terrible to read a bit and then have to wait for the rest of it.

  • Betsy Powell
    September 27, 2013 at 10:15 am

    I’ve never read anything by Kate Milford, but this sounds like a fun book.

  • susana
    September 27, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Sounds good. I would love to have the chance to read this book. thanks for the chance

  • Anonymous
    September 27, 2013 at 10:23 pm

    I haven’t read anything by her yet, but have been interested in Boneshaker and Broken Lands.

    Gorgeous cover on the new one!

  • Elisquared
    September 27, 2013 at 11:13 pm

    I haven’t read any of Kate Milford’s books! This would be my first, and it sounds like an amazing one to start with!

  • Book Review |Greenglass House | Donna Stone
    February 17, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    […] You can read the first chapter here. […]

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