The faction wars

The Faction Wars was an event that lasted no more than a few months in the winter of 2016. It was a humongous event that Martina and her team put an enormous amount of effort into.

Four factions. Four charities.

“Tons of ways to earn points. Points you will earn for your faction and for yourself. Points you can redeem for swag and other cool prizes. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes that are totally worth fighting for. I can’t tell you all of the prizes right now but I will tell you that the grand prize involves ONE winner walking away with 15 signed paperback books, signed book swag, a $100 book depository gift card and a ‘walk-on’ role in Book 4 of my Dead Things Series where you will be represented as a member of your faction. Much more information will be coming soon once my website is officially up this week but here we go.”

-September 10, 2016 (Martina’s Deadlings)

The contest ensued and as people took sides and started gaining points, another contest started at Maple Grove Middle School in Minnesota where Heidi Johnson introduced the series to 200 8th graders. They too began to take their places along the Witches, Shifters, Reapers, and Fae.

“Hey!  Happy Faction Wars Day!!!!  I presented the Faction Wars to over 200 students today and they are super excited!!!  Get ready, because you're going to have a bunch of 8th graders hanging out with you in your Faction groups! :)  Super excited!  #witchplease #factionwars”

-Heidi Johnson (Martina’s Deadlings)

People took the contest very seriously and it was one of the most fun things to happen to many.

“I swear this faction war has more drama than the 2016 presidential election and I love it #Shifterpride”

-John A. Cintrón (Martina’s Deadlings)

People created custom teas, jewelry, fanart, and read the books several times over for points.

Over at Maple Grove Middle School, Things were heating up. Two students of the Witch Faction, Ezri Farnum and Isabel Manrodt, donated $100 to Safe Child Africa from profits and donations from their homemade card business.

The faction wars went on for a bit longer until the winners were decided. From Martina’s Deadlings, Laura Henderson!

“Okay, and our supreme faction...this year's 2016 Faction Wars Winner is the Shifters!

And the master of the Shifters, the MVP for the shifters...the highest points earner for all of the competition by far, Laura Henderson.

I think Laura might have adopted every wolf at the Wolf Conservation Center. She kicked ass!”

-The faction war event

And from MGMS, Ezri Farnum!

“I was going to wait to announce this but I see that there is a certain somebody online tonight who I also need to congratulate. I've mentioned before that there is a middle school in Minnesota who's been participating in The Faction Wars and they have their own grand prize, a walk-on role in Book 3, Sinister Souls and Dead Things. So, please help me congratulate Maple Grove Middle's eighth-grade winner...Ezri Farnum. Can we talk about how amazing her name is? Or how awesome it is that she raised $100 for Safe Child Africa and the Witch Faction by selling handmade cards?”

“I want to thank each and every one of you for participating in this little contest/experiment of mine. There were some hiccups along the way (a car accident, a liver transplant and so on) but every single one of you worked really hard and we managed to raise a little over $2000 between the four charities and all of your posts had a major impact on raising awareness for each charity so for that...Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” -The faction wars event

Other key people and things:

“And finally our 2nd place winner for the faction wars...our very own Fae. Who helped raise money for the Rainforest Alliance as well as working so hard to raise awareness and sign endless petitions to help protect this planet and all the animals who live on it...even the humans. Ms. Annie Amsden kicked butt and was the top earner for her faction. She will also be getting signed copies of book 1 & 2. <3” -The faction wars event

“Our 3rd Place Faction was running neck and neck with our 2nd place faction throughout the whole contest. Our 3rd place contest. The reapers raised over $350 in cash donations and also bought beds for the animals in the shelter. Their top points earner was Cassandra McGilvray who I know for a fact already has signed copies of my books so I'll talk with her about finding a suitable prize. ;-)”

-The faction wars event

“Let's start talking about which factions reigned supreme. Our fourth place faction was...the witches...Now, they were our underdogs because they didn't have as many participants but they still held their own raising almost $500 for Safe Child Africa between their purchases and their fundraising. Amazing job. I'm so impressed. The witches top points earner was Ms. Rebecca Henry so I'm going to give you a signed copy of each book. <3” -The faction wars event

All in all, this hectic and mind-boggling event created an even larger loving fandom for the dead things series