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Monday, November 28, 2011

LIE by Caroline Bock - Winner(s)


Winners have been chosen by Mr. Random.
#15 Jodie Baker - Signed 1st Edition of LIE
#12 Kristen Pelfrey - Signed 1st Edition of LIE

And, just like I promised - one supa-dupa special surprise! I chose randomly from one person who took the time to leave a genuine and personal comment.
Alba Solorzano - Stomp Out Bullying bracelet & 1st Edition of LIE

Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to the winners. A special thanks to Caroline Bock for help in sponsoring the giveaway and most of all, for writing the book. 


Sunday, November 20, 2011

IMM 8

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at: The Story Siren.

Hi guys. It's been awhile. So, I'll get busy..


Goodies For Review:
Hunted  The Legend of Lady MacLaoch  Moving Neutral  Dangerous Lies

Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield - (Thanks to Cheryl Rainfield & JKS Communications)
The Legend of Lady MacLaoch by Becky Banks *Signed, personalized copy with 3 pucks of Sex Wax! (Thanks a mega ton to Becky Banks!)
Moving Neutral by Katy Atlas (Thanks to Katy Atlas)
Dangerous Lies by Lisa April Smith *Signed Copy (Thanks to Lisa April Smith)



Goodies Purchased:
Amplified  The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1) 

Amplified by Tara Kelly - Purchased from B&N

Goodies Won:
Blood Bound (Unbound #1)

Blood Bound (Unbound #1) by Rachel Vincent - Thanks so much to Rachel at Fiktshun

***

Welp. Here's the part that matta's. On stuff like your opinion! Have you read any of my new goodies? Did you think they were just okay? Or, was there one (or more) that you thought was abso AMAZING?!
When you’re through here please leave a link in the comments and tell me what goodies you got in your mailbox! As always, have a wonderful week and thank you for stopping by.

 Reminders:
Lie by Caroline Bock Giveaway Ends 11/21 Enter --> Here!
Gratitude Giveaway Hop Ends 11/27 Enter --> Here! 

Good luck and until next time.
Happy Reading & Arrivederci

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop


Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and All-Consuming Books.

This giveaway is a way to say "Thank-you" to all of my followers. New and old. 
I appreciate each and every one of you.

The Goodies.
Book of your choice up to $15.

The Deets.
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is International.
4. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on November 27th

Enter Giveaway --> Here. 

There are tons of other blogs participating in this hop. Don't forget to stop by their sites as well.
Have fun and Arrivederci.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday - The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour


Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we seriously can’t wait for. 
I read LaCour's previous title, HOLD STILL and I just knew that I would need to have anything and everything else that this author would publish. The time has come. (almost) The book has started to make it's way around the blogosphere and I am getting antsy. Dear February, please hurry!

The Disenchantments

Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans - and Colby - to start college in the fall. But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?


Morris Award—finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.

***

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: February 16th 2012 by Dutton Juvenile
Pre-Order via Amazon
Pre-Order via Barnes & Noble
Enter to win a copy of The Disenchantments via Goodreads (US only) Ends 12/01/11


 Don’t forget to leave a link in the comments and tell me what goodies you’re Waiting on this Wednesday! As always I hope you have a wonderful week and thank you for stopping by.

Happy Reading!
Arrivederci.



Romance at Random Veteran's Day Giveaway Hop - Winner


Thanks to everyone who participated in the Romance at Random Veteran's Day Giveaway Hop! I hope everyone had lots of fun and made new friends. Now on with the winner..

Mr. Random chose:
#20 Donna Simmonds 

Congratulations, Donna! (Winner has been notified.)
*Don't forget the Gratitude Giveaway Hop begins Thursday, 17th.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Romance at Random Veteran's Day Giveaway Hop

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Romance at Random Veteran's Day Giveaway Hop is hosted by Kathy at I Am A Reader Not A Writer. 

A Salute to Our Veteran’s – Veteran’s Day Blog Hop
In honor of Veteran’s Day & their awesome service for our country we’d like to celebrate with our very own Jessica Scott, active duty army captain, full time mom & author & her husband, first sergeant deployed with the army on his final tour; with promoting Jessica’s new book, BECAUSE OF YOU, the first in her Coming Home Series.

About Jessica Scott:
Jessica Scott is a career army officer, mother of two daughters, three cats and three dogs, wife to a career NCO and wrangler of all things stuffed and fluffy. She is a terrible cook and even worse housekeeper, but she's a pretty good shot with her assigned weapon and someone liked some of the stuff she wrote. Somehow, her children are pretty well adjusted and her husband still loves her, despite burned water and a messy house.
The Soldier
I'm a career soldier, with 16 years in the Army and I love everything about Army life. I joined right out of high school and was promptly shipped off to Germany where I met my husband. I went from Sergeant First Class (E7) to Second Lieutenant (01E) in 2007.
Now, I'm a company commander in charge of 130 soldiers, a mom with two young kids who never sit still, and an Army wife, whose husband is back in Iraq.
The Author
Until a few years ago, I had no idea hard writing really was. I'd always written and started several projects over the years, burning out after a few dozen pages. After the War was the first novel I ever finished and it will always hold a special place in my heart because of that, even if it now remains under my bed. Blogging from Iraq landed me a spot on PBS Point of View, tackling tough issues involving women and war. Its an experience I'll never forget.
After the War was followed by multiple novels, all pulled from my experiences as an soldier who has lived through both being deployed and being the spouse left at home with the kids. Most of those books will never see daylight.
Jessica Scott can be found at these locations:

The Giveaway:

 

From the war-torn streets of Baghdad to the bittersweet comforts of the home front, two wounded hearts navigate the battlefield of coming home from war in this explosive eBook original from newcomer Jessica Scott.

Keeping his men alive is all that matters to Sergeant First Class Shane Garrison. But meeting Jen St. James the night before his latest deployment makes Shane wonder if there's more to life than war. He leaves for Iraq remembering a single kiss with a woman he'll never see again- until a near fatal attack lands him back at home and in her care. Jen has survived her own brush with death and endured its scars. And yet there's a fire in Shane that makes Jen forget all about her past. He may be her patient, but when this warrior looks her in the eyes, she feels - for the first time in a long time - like a woman. Shane is too proud to ask for help, but for Jen, caring for him is more than a duty -it's a need. And as Jen guides Shane through the fires of healing, she finds something she never expected - her deepest desire.


The Deets:
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is International.
4. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on November 13th


Enter the Giveaway --> Here!

Each participating blog found in this linky, will be giving away a FREE ebook of BECAUSE OF YOU. Be one of the first to read this powerful love story – comment below or on any of the participating sites to be included in this random drawing – 25 winners total as each site will choose a winner — increase your chances to win by visiting all of these sites.

Mr. Zogs Sex Wax - The Best Wax For Your STICK!


Ahhh.. So, who is going to send me a puck of this yummy smelling wax? 
Anyway, I'll get on with the goods. I know you're dying to know who gets the freaking awesome copies of STICK -- right?

Mr. Random chose:
#31- Kelley Flanagan Hardcover Copy
#42 - Jeffrey Smith Hardcover Copy
#13 - Mike Knell Hardcover Copy
#32 - .Ambur. Kindle Version 

Thanks to everyone who played and congratulations to the winners. Thanks to Macmillan for their contribution and to my daughter for donating a book as well. 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Ten Truths about LIE with Caroline Bock and a Giveaway


Ten questions posed and answered truthfully by the author of LIE, the debut young adult novel from Caroline Bock, just out this fall from St. Martin’s Press, and already called: “Unusual and important,” in starred Kirkus Review, “Gripping” in starred Library Journal Review, “Smart… painfully truthful” in starred Publishers Weekly review and “Suspenseful and thought-provoking,” in starred Booklist Review.


Caroline BOCK (AUTHOR)


So, where did you grow up?
Forty-five minutes from Broadway.

Uh?
That’s actually the beginning of an old, old song about my hometown –
New Rochelle, New York, and yes, it’s about 45 minutes north of New York City.

Anything unusual about your childhood?
I was raised by a single parent – my father. He raised four kids, two girls, two boys, after my mother had a stroke when I was four-and-a-half. She was left brain-damaged and paralyzed. So let’s say I had an unusual, often chaotic, childhood. And I was the oldest of the four of us. In order to escape, I read all the time. My life-long dream was to be a writer, and I’m often stunned these days to call myself one.

What’s the most unusual place you ever visited?
Comer, Georgia outside Athens, Georgia. My brother and father live there, and that’s a whole story in itself. A beautiful state park is along the river, but it’s as if I’m visiting another country – small town and Southern, where everybody knows you. I’m used to New York City. I’ve never lived anywhere else but in New York City or in its suburbs, and there’s an anonymity here. LIE is set on Long Island, where I live now, which is a suburb of New York City.

Let’s get back to your debut novel, you’ve said it’s inspired by real events?
Yes, most notably the Marcelo Lucero murder on Long Island three years ago this month. Two brothers were walking down the street in this suburban town and a group of teens out for so-called fun, they called it, ‘beaner-hopping,’ were driving around looking for Hispanics to hurt. They ended up murdering one of the two brothers. But there were similar hate crimes in Brooklyn, New York and in Pennsylvania around the same time. I kept asking myself, ‘how could this happen here?’ in the 21st century, this kind of vigilante justice, but here it was. I thought someone else would certainly write about this, until, I had this moment of realization – why couldn’t that someone be me? Yet, it was only until I hit upon the structure of ten distinct first person voices, five teen and five adult, and the fact that it was about the aftermath of the crime, the reaction to it, that the novel took off.

How long did it take you to write?
About eight weeks for a first draft. But it was a mess.

A mess?
Yes. The first draft was way too short. I revised it for about another year with the help of close readers, and ultimately my agent and editor. If you are a writer, the best thing you can find are early readers that care about you and your work to read closely and tell you why something is working, or not working.

Any other advice to writers?
Write. I know that sounds so basic, but I know a lot of people want to be writers, but the idea is better than the reality. Writing is hard. I have to do it everyday whether it’s working that day or not, whether every line I write sounds worse than the last one. I have a sign up in front of my desk (I’m big on inspirational quotes or sayings or news clips or poems around my desk), and this one says, “Writing is easy… just a matter of staring a blank page until your forehead bleeds,” from Gene Fowler, an old-time scriptwriter.

Am I going to enjoy LIE?
I’m starting not to like this word ‘enjoy.’ You read this novel because life doesn’t always have fairy tale endings, because sometimes we make bad choices and we have to live with the consequences. Sometimes we follow our friends, or our boyfriends, without questioning ourselves on whether it’s the right or wrong thing to do. Sometimes we hear what our parents are saying about others, and don’t question them. We don’t always tell the truth to one another, or to ourselves. This is a novel you read with your teen, or with your book club, and ask, could this happen here? What would I do or say to my teen if I heard they were speaking or acting against another group of people? There are a lot of novels out that you read to escape the world, I read them too, but sometimes you need a novel that makes you question the world.

What’s your favorite line in the book?
‘A lie can take you many places, but never back.’
It’s said by Skylar’s father. Truthfully, I stole it from my own father.


--Caroline Bock, November 8, 2011
Teens. Race. Hatred. Love.
This murder, in part, inspired LIE:
Marcelo Lucero was killed Nov. 8, 2008, when a mob of teens attacked him in Patchogue.
May Marcelo Lucero rest in peace.

***

Caroline has been super awesome and is offering up Two Signed First Edition Copies of LIE just for you guys. And because I think you guys are so special I'm going to throw in a supa-dupa special surprise for one lucky person.

 The Deets.
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is US only.
4. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on November 21st.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Giveaway - Stick by Andrew Smith UPDATE!

Stick
STICK by Andrew Smith

Quick update guys! Just because I like you. I don't want you to miss out on such an awesome opportunity.
This fantabulous giveaway ends at midnight 11/7. Don't make yourself regret not entering. 

The info is below. 

The Goodies.
Beautiful Hardcover copy/(s) of STICK
eBook copy/(s) of STICK

The Deets.
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is International.
4. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on November 7th.

Have fun and good luck to everyone. Play nice. Oh. yeah. To enter the giveaway.
Go ---> HERE! <---

Book Bloggers Holiday Swap

bookbloggerholidayswap

The holiday swap is a way for book bloggers to connect and celebrate the holiday spirit by sharing gifts. It’s done secret Santa style; all of the participants are randomly assigned a blogger to send a gift to, and these assignments are kept secret until the gift has been delivered. So no one knows who their gift is coming from!

Do you have questions? Hopefully, we have all the answers right here. Ready to join the gift giving fun? Great! 

Make sure you do so before our deadline: Midnight, Friday November 11, 2011. In order to make sure everyone gets matched up and gifts get sent in a timely manner, we will be closing sign-ups after November 11

So go ahead and fill out the form now! If you’re not sure how to answer one of the questions, refer back to the FAQs. If you’re still not sure, leave a comment and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.

–>Click HERE to go to the Google form and sign up.<–

Help spread the word, please! 
  • A brief mention of it in your next blog post.
  • A button in your sidebar (steal the one in this post or go to our buttons page for a smaller version).
  • Whatever you want to do!
We have a Twitter presence as well: our account is @holidayswap, so follow us for more holiday fun (and maybe an appearance or two by Santa himself) and the hashtag is #holidayswap if you’re tweeting about it.

Looking forward to seeing the spread of holiday cheer!