Friday Forward: Worlds of Ink and Shadow, by Lena Coakley, AND A GIVEAWAY!!

Once upon a time, many moons ago, a budding novelist (that's me) sat in a critique group at a writers' conference in Niagara Falls and listened to a passage that left her feeling awed, slightly inadequate, and a weeny bit jealous.

That the passage was one which was put forward for critique, and therefore considered by its author to be somehow lacking or Not Quite Right, left the budding novelist feeling even more inadequate and jealous. But mostly, awed.

The author of said passage was Lena Coakley, and the passage - which did not quite make it into the final draft - was a magical beginning, that grew into an even more magical book: Worlds of Ink and Shadow.

Look at all the Pretties...

I have been waiting so long for this book to be born. I am so excited to have finally gotten it into my hot little hands.

SCORE.

Worlds of Ink and Shadow is an historical fantasy that, as anyone familiar with Coakley's previous novel Witchlanders would expect, accomplishes many things at once. At its surface, serves as an origin story of the Bronte family, and a most magical and mysterious one at that. Coakley makes every one of the four siblings - Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne - live and breathe and shine in this novel that takes each of their points of view in turn. The way she seamlessly slips from one point of view to the next, always showing exactly what the reader needs to see, is masterful. Additionally, the blending of fantasy with reality - the way in which a tale about siblings who can cross over into their invented worlds is interwoven with the tale of four siblings who achieved literary greatness in our world - is a literary accomplishment worthy of the Brontes themselves.

But this novel is so much more than that. As Coakley weaves the story of the literary beginnings of this famous family, she also spins the story of every author, capturing the simultaneous joy and anguish of creating entire worlds, the fervent wish that those worlds could be real coupled with the great burden of being a God in those worlds, of being responsible for the lives and deaths of so many. All authors know the grief that accompanies the death of a beloved character, the weight that every decision about a character carries, the worry that if one does not get it absolutely right, then the author is doing her characters - and her story - a great disservice. Coakley allows Charlotte and Emily and Branwell to carry this burden, and thus shares with the reader something of what it is to create story. For writers like me, it is a work of great empathy. For everyone else, it is the final fleshing out that makes this story of the Brontes truly complete.

This is a masterwork. It was so worth the wait, and I cannot wait to read it again.

And because I am lucky enough to know Lena, and to have been to her launch party (which featured tea and scones and bonnets and a reading of the funniest scene in an historical fantasy ever), I have a treat for you.

I got an extra copy. An extra signed copy.

OOOOOOH.

You want this. Trust me.

To enter, simply comment with your name and email address, and tell me which Bronte sibling is your favorite. (Your email address is important, since it's the only way I will have of contacting you if you win.)

One extra entry per share on Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr - link to your share in the comment, so I can see it, or if you tweet about it, put my handle @IshtaWrites in the tweet.

I will close the giveaway and draw a random entry at MIDNIGHT on the night of FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH, 2016. MIDNIGHT on the night of FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH, 2016.*

Open in the USA and Canada only. (Sorry, but shipping to Europe and beyond is EXPENSIVE, and the life of a writer is a hungry one. Just ask the Brontes.)

Good Luck!

*This week, I was taken hostage by alien invaders, and was unable to promote this giveaway the way it deserved to be promoted. So now that the invaders have released me, I've extended the deadline.

Announcing...

A while ago, I hinted that I hoped to have some good news to share soon. And then a few posts ago, I mentioned that my trip to New York City for the SCBWI Winter Conference had even more awesome than I was able to include in the post. There's no way you could have known, but those things were connected.

Hee-hee. I know. I'm such a tease.

ANYWAY. You probably want to know what my news is, right?

I bet you do.

Yup.

Have I drawn this out long enough?

How about now?

Okay, NOW. I have.

Okay, already!

I wanted to wait until all the paperwork was finalized, buuuuut, now that the contract has been signed, I am THRILLED to announce that…

I am now represented by the AMAZING Laura Biagi, of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency!

I queried Laura last September and she requested my full in November. After she read my manuscript, we made an appointment to chat in New York on the day that I arrived for the conference. Chatting with her was fantastic - I could see that she had really thought about my manuscript, and I could also see that she really "got it". She is smart and on-the ball, she's a great communicator, she gets and loves what I'm working on, and I am so, so excited to have her by my side as we plan my career together!

So. Laura Biagi, Agent Awesome. MY AGENT. I can't believe I get to type that.

What is this crazy life?

To celebrate, I'm giving away a free query critique. Comment with your email address for one entry, share (and link to your shares in the comments) for more entries. The winner will be randomly drawn at midnight on Friday, March 13th/Saturday, March 14th.

And as always: you guys have been with me since my earliest days, and your support has kept me going through both light and dark moments. I love and appreciate every last one of you. Thanks for stopping by!

It's a Party!

This is my second blog post in as many days.

I know. Crazy, right?

It’s a little ridiculous. But sometimes, life is just ridiculous.

I’m posting here to direct you to a party! What kind of party? A Facebook party! Which is the best kind, because PAJAMAS, amirite?

ANYWAY.

Some friends and I have teamed up to put together an event to celebrate our books. Come join me, LE Carmichael, Helaine Becker, and Joan Marie Galat while we SPRING into Science! We’ll have cool links, some science chat, a bit of origami, and, best of all, PRIZES! Including four GRAND PRIZES - one from each of us - for four lucky (randomly drawn) people who email us at the designated Spring Into Science email address posted on the event page.

My prize is this awesome collection of Bloodsucker-inspired cookie cutters. 

These will make the BEST COOKIES!

There’s a horse to represent the horsefly, lips to represent the kissing bug, a butterfly (Did you know there is a blood drinking butterfly? Have I given you nightmares now?), a chick to represent the vampire finch, a fish to represent the candiru, and a vampire bat. Awesome, right? I kind of wish I could keep these for myself. Think of all the possibilities!

The party is all online, so click THIS LINK between 1pm and 5pm TODAY, March 7th.

See you there!

MAKE LISTS! WIN PRIZES!

This year, the people behind the Scotiabank Giller Prize have put together an awesome Crazy for Can-Lit giveaway - make a list of books eligible for the Giller Prize in 2014 that you want to read, post it in a public place by 5PM on September 15, 2014 (that's today, guys),and you will be entered to win prizes! (Full details HERE.)

I had a look at the list of eligible books, and WOW, it was hard to pick just a few, but this is my To-Be-Read list from the eligible Giller Prize books:

1) HAIR TRIGGER, by Trevor Clark: Bookstore manager-turned-bank robber Derrick Rowe enlists two other men in an armed heist, setting off a chain of events that lead to a violent climax. I haven't read a good heist book in a while, and this one looks interesting.

2) THE DELUSIONIST, by Grant Buday: "Art, love, and history furnish the setting in this tale of fate and destiny. Set in Vancouver in 1962, we follow Cyril Andrachuk, son of immigrant parents from the former Ukraine, as he makes his way from high school to menial labour jobs, from first love to first heartbreak, from sibling rivalry to malicious family betrayal." I'm interested in stories that explore the concepts of fate and destiny, and there's something about the title that I find irresistible.

3) WORST. PERSON. EVER. by Douglas Coupland: A B-Unit cameraman enters an amusing downward failure spiral that takes him around the world and eventually finds him in the centre of a nuclear war. This book looks hilarious, and after the last book on the list, I'll probably be ready for a light read.

4) THE GEOGRAPHY OF PLUTO, by Christopher DiRaddo: "...perfectly captures the ebb and flow of life through the insightful, exciting, and often playful story of a young man's day-to-day struggle with uncertainty." I love this kind of book, and it's the kind of thing I hope to address in my own work, so I'd really love to see how DiRaddo approaches it.

5) FROG MUSIC, by Emma Donoghue: In 1876 San Francisco, a young woman is shot dead through the window of a saloon. Her friend, a French burlesque dancer, risks everything to bring her murderer to justice. This is based on a real unsolved crime and Donoghue used actual documents to craft her story, AND, I loved ROOM, so I will basically read anything that she writes.

6) THE STONEHENGE LETTERS, by Harry Karlinsky: "While researching why Freud failed to win a Nobel Prize at the Nobel Archives in Sweden, a psychiatrist makes an unusual discovery. Among the piles of papers in the 'Crackpot' file are letters addressed to the executor of Alfred Nobel's will, written by several notable Nobel laureates - including Rudyard Kipling and Marie Curie - each offering an explanation of why and how Stonehenge was constructed. Diligent research uncovers that Alfred Nobel added a secret codicil to his will, a prize for the Nobel laureate who solves the mystery of Stonehenge." One word: Stonehenge. I will read anything that even pretends to be connected to Stonehenge.

7) ALL MY PUNY SORROWS, by Miriam Toews: Two sisters. One who wants to die, and one who wants to keep her sister alive. Toews' work is always poignant and clear as crystal, and I love her books.

8) THE AFTERLIFE OF STARS, by Joseph Kertes: Hungary, 1956. As tanks roll in to crush the Hungarian revolution, two brothers flee with their family. As they grapple with sibling rivalry and incalculable loss, they arrive at a place they thought they'd lost forever: home. I think this sounds wonderful, and I'm curious to see how the story is told through the brothers' perspectives.

9) ALL THE BROKEN THINGS, by Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer: 14-year-old Bo is a Vietnamese immigrant living in Toronto, and his family has a secret: his 4-year-old sister was horribly disfigured by Agent Orange. When the circus learns about his sister, and one day his mother and sister disappear, Bo sets off on an extraordinary journey to find his sister. I'm SO INTRIGUED by the plot of this book!

10) WATCH HOW WE WALK, by Jennifer LoveGrove: "Alternating between a woman’s childhood in a small town and as an adult in the city, this novel traces a Jehovah Witness family’s splintering belief system, their isolation, and the erosion of their relationships." This description reminds me of Toews' A COMPLICATED KINDNESS. I'm very interested in books that shine a light on the inner lives of people who follow very strict religious practices, and this looks fantastic.

So there's my Top 10!

What are yours? Are you keen to get your hands on any of the same books? Have you read any of them already? Tell me in the comments!

SHATTER ME and UNRAVEL ME by Tahereh Mafi: Review and giveaway!

My review of the excellent SHATTER ME and UNRAVEL ME by the wonderful Tahereh Mafi!




The giveaway is international, but I have to have 20 or more people enter by midnight on the night of Thursday, April 4th, 2013 or I can't run the contest. (Choosing randomly between one or two people is ridiculous.)

Leave comments here or in the comments section on YouTube to win, and make sure you spread the word!

Friday(-ish) Forward: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll remember me getting a little excited when this book came out: 

Looooove...

And then I got even MORE excited when Tahereh Mafi came out to MY OWN BOOKSTORE to sign copies! ZOMG! Of course, I had to go there to meet her.

And, of course, I got her to sign the ARC that I had read. And I got her to sign another copy, too, for you guys. WOOT! More about that at the end of this post.

And, OF COURSE, I had to read Destroy Me, the e-novella that came out last month! Here's the blurb: Perfect for the fans of Shatter Me who are desperately awaiting the release of Unravel Me, this novella-length digital original will bridge the gap between these two novels from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .

Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

I ate this up. What surprised me most, in a good way, was how sympathetic Warner is as a character. I finished Shatter Me wishing that a sinkhole would open and swallow him up, crush him, and erase him forever. I hated his guts. But I finished Destroy Me kind of feeling sorry for him, despite myself. And also wondering if he is as bad a guy as Shatter Me led us to believe. Kind of the way I felt about Mitt Romney after the election: he's still not my guy, but at least I don't hate him anymore, and I can't help feeling a little sorry for him and wondering if he would have turned out better if he'd only had a different beginning. And I KNOW we're going to need to know this stuff about Warner by the time Unravel Me comes out! Destroy Me is available on e-book only, and you can order it from all kinds of places from the Harper Teen webpage here.

And to celebrate the release of Destroy Me, I am GIVING AWAY my beautiful, signed, original cover design, basically-a-collector's-item copy of SHATTER ME! AAAAAAHHHHH!

To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this here post. I will put all the names in a hat (because I'm old-fashioned that way, and also still slightly technologically challenged) and pick one at MIDNIGHT, on the night of DECEMBER 8TH.

One extra entry for every time you spread the word, IF you leave a link in the comments. I homeschool, guys. Time is a precious, precious commodity. The direct links really help me out.

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Friday Forward: Joanne Levy's SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE, and a DOUBLE GIVEAWAY!

It's Friday, and today at the blog, Friday means FREE STUFF!

But first, let me introduce to you the wonderfully funny middle grade book that is Joanne Levy's SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE.

Here's the blurb from Goodreads: After she’s hit by lightning at a wedding, twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom develops a new talent: she can hear dead people. Among them, there’s her overopinionated Bubby Dora; a prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a séance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one big fear: talking to—and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with—her crush, Andrew Finkel.

This is a delightful, fast read. Lilah is a frank, funny heroine, whose relationships with her best friend and dear departed Bubby sparkle with humor. While I found her to be a little on the nice side - her attempts to help her father AND her music teacher AND Andrew's ghosted father reveal a more generous and philanthropic girl than any twelve-year-old I have ever known - there was enough hilarity to win me over. The scene in which Andrew's ghosted father tells her to prove his existence by telling Andrew she knows about his underwear stands out, in the best possible (read: side-splittingly funny) way. This is definitely worth picking up.

And to hep spread the word about this book, I have a SMALL MEDUM AT LARGE Prize Pack!

The prize pack includes: One SIGNED copy of SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE, one bookmark, and one wristband, to go to one lucky commenter! WOO-HOO! And for TWO OTHER lucky commenters, I have a bookmark and wristband each!  THAT'S THREE PRIZES!

AND, as if that weren't enough, you may remember my review of Michael Ian Black's I'M BORED, illustrated by the immensely talented Debbie Ohi, from a couple of weeks ago. Well, I have a copy to give away! WOO-HOO!

So, Here's the skinny:

For ONE ENTRY, you need to:

1) follow this blog;
2) leave a comment on THIS POST with your email address so I can contact you if you win something.

For EXTRA ENTRIES, you can blog/tweet/facebook/Google+/whatever about it. One entry per thing you do, but you MUST PROVIDE ME LINKS IN THE COMMENTS. I have limited time to spend on the interwebs searching for random mentions of my giveaways. I need to spend that time writing my own book so I can give away a copy of it to one of you one day. Cool?

COOL.

You have two weeks. I will draw names on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, at MIDNIGHT. So get commenting!

And Happy Friday!

MMGM: THE CITY OF EMBER

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger, because she wants to give Middle Grade fiction the attention it deserves out here in the blogosphere. And I agree!

So this week, I'm spotlighting a real favorite of mine: THE CITY OF EMBER, by Jeanne DuPrau.

Here's the back copy: Citizens of Ember shall be assigned work at twelve years of age...


Lina Mayfleet desperately wants to be a messenger. Instead, she draws the dreaded job of Pipeworks laborer, which means she'll be working in damp tunnels deep underground.


Doom Harrow draws messenger - and asks Lina to trade! Doon wants to be underground. That's where the generator is, and Doon has ideas about how to fix it. For as long as anyone can remember, the great lights of Ember have kept the endless darkness at bay. But now the lights are beginning to flicker...


I loved so much about this book. I love the way the characters come to life. Lina and Doon are both so well thought out and fleshed out and consistent that I was rooting for them the whole way.

Additionally, there's a mystery element to this, and it's pitched just right: not so easy that my son felt insulted when he was reading it, and not so hard that my he couldn't figure it out. It was just enough for him to think about and he was able to make the discoveries either with Lina and Doon, or just barely ahead of them enough to root for them. Finding a book that does this well for this age group is tough, so I really appreciate it when I do.

Even more, this is a book that stays with you for a while. It raises questions about what it is to be a good citizen, what it is to be a good person, and what it means to wield power over others. It explores how even the best of intentions can, over time, go horribly wrong, and how individuals can make it into something positive again. It gets young minds asking some really good questions.

Finally, I loved the ending. I thought it was perfect. It wrapped up just enough to satisfy the reader, but not so much that anyone's intelligence was going to be insulted. It left things on just the right note, and I love it when I find a book that does that.

In short, this book is awesome. My son and I couldn't read it fast enough.

And for even more MMGM, check out the faboo list-o-links at the bottom of Shannon Whitney Messenger's post HERE.

Also: my amazing PB CP Kristen Hilty is doing a contest and giveaway over at her blog The Monkey Patch. Go HERE to check it out!

MMGM: JACOB WONDERBAR, and a GIVEAWAY!

FIRST: Have you entered to win a signed copy of FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater? Go HERE to do that.

So, for those of you who don't know, Marvelous Middle Grade Monday ( aka MMGM) was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger, writer and blogger and WriteOnCon organizer extraordinaire, because she thought that middle grade books deserved a little more attention on the interwebz. And I agree!

So this week, I'm spotlighting a book that I really liked, and that my 8-year-old son (who reads up, so don't go thinking that this is a chapter book) LOVED.

JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW, by Nathan Bransford, is a tale of three kids who trade a corn dog for a spaceship and accidentally break the universe. Here's the jacket copy: "Jacob Wonderbar has had a weird day. First there was that incident with the substitute teacher and the sprinklers. (Okay, maybe that wasn't so unusual for Jacob.) Then he and his best friends, Sarah and Dexter, discovered a silver man and a spaceship in the woods near their houses. Weirdest of all? The man offered to trade his ship for a corn dog! It sounded like a pretty good deal to Jacob, until he and his friends took their new ship for a test ride...and accidentally broke the universe. Now they must fend off space pirates, escape a planet that smells like burp breath - and find a way back home, before it's too late for them and their friendship.


The first book in debut author Nathan Bransford's hilarious planet-hopping series proves that all good adventures really do start with a corn dog."

I really liked this book. The action moves along at a good pace and the characters are well-done. I loved that Sarah Daisy's desire to appear as strong as the guys is actually as much of a flaw as a strength, and Jacob and Dexter both proved to be less caricature and more character, which was a real plus. The adventures they found themselves on were hilarious, as were many of the side characters, including but not limited to the villainous mischief-maker Mick Cracken. Additionally, this book shows that Bransford has honed an almost impeccable sense of comedic timing, which pops up throughout the book to great effect (as my son's giggling and guffawing proved). Finally, I really, really liked the way Bransford handled the best-friend-crush issues between two of the characters. Twelve years old is a time when kids start to feel extra-fond of their BFF but don't really know why, and I think Bransford navigated that murky territory extremely well here. He didn't ignore it, but he didn't make a huge deal out of it either, and I think he did a great job with that aspect of the storytelling.

Basically, if you have a kid between the ages of 8 and 12, this book is a really good bet.

And I'm giving away a copy to one lucky follower in the US or Canada!

To win, here's what you have to do:

• Follow this blog. (Old followers +2, New followers +1)
• Comment on this post. (+1)
• OPTIONAL FOR EXTRA ENTRIES: MyFacePlusSpace, with links in the comments, for +3 per link; Tweet it, with links in the comments, for +1 per tweet (up to +5); dedicate a blog post to it, with link in the comments, for +3; Put it in your blog sidebar, with link in the comments, for +5

That's it! Contest will close on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, AT 11:59pm PST (that's 2:59AM on Saturday for East-Coasters).


This book rocks, guys, so spread the word!


And for more Marvelous Middle Grade, check out Shannon's blog HERE for her post and links to other MMGM bloggers!

FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater - AND A GIVEAWAY!

I promised you on Monday that I'd do this post on Wednesday.


Then my dad arrived from out of town.


And I forgot.


*FAIL*


Sorry guys! In an attempt to sort-of honor my promise, I'll include the 5 people who commented on yesterday's post in the list of entries for this prize. Which is awesome, by the way!


So, I went to Indigo Yorkdale (that's in Toronto) to meet Maggie Stiefvater, and it was amazing. I made new friends, I got to chat with some pretty cool people, and we all gazed with wonder at the sharpied guitar, which was covered with Maggie's incredible artwork.

The Sharpied Guitar

And then, of course, there was Maggie. She was incredibly nice and very funny. And she had some awesome wolf stories!

Maggie = Awesome

And then, of course, there was Tessa Gratton, Maggie's best friend and partner in critiquing amazingness, who I had a lovely chat with about her own book and who told me that I have princess hair, which made me feel all happy inside.

Tessa and Me. With Princess Hair.

And, of course, there was the signing. DID I MENTION THE SIGNING? By Maggie? Of books?


I HAVE ONE SIGNED COPY OF FOREVER TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER.

I also have swag for one lucky runner-up. (bookmarks, keyring, etc.)


In case you don't know anything about FOREVER, here's the blurbie from Amazon: "In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater."

I really loved this book. I love Maggie's lyrical storytelling style, and I found the characterization to be even stronger than in the previous two novels. Each character felt very real to me, and I am so impressed when an author manages to do that across the board with all of her characters.

I also loved the ending - which i can't tell you about, except to say that it wraps things up while still leaving the story open at the same time. It feels like a very satisfactory ending, but it's also clear that life for these people is going to continue, and not everything is certain, and that is okay. These are my favorite types of endings - this part of the story is over, but there will be more to come, and we will never know about it, and this is okay! Because this is the way life really is. Awesomeness.

It's an amazing book. I still want to move into it; just pack up my clothes and go live in the bookstore in Mercy Falls with Sam and Grace and everyone else. I loved it.

SO, you want to win this, right?

Here's what you have to do:

• Follow THIS BLOG. (+2 for old followers, +1 for new)
• Leave a comment on THIS HERE POST RIGHT HERE. (+1)
• FOR EXTRA ENTRIES: MyFaceSpacePlusThingamy this post for +3 points, if you leave a link in the comments; Tweet it for +1 per tweet, up to 5 tweets, if you leave me the links in the comments; Put it in your blog sidebar for +5, if you leave me a link to your blog in the comments.

THIS CONTEST WILL SELF-DESTRUCT ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND, AT MIDNIGHT PST (THAT'S 3AM SATURDAY MORNING).

Happy entering, guys, and good luck to everyone!


*Edited to add PICTURES!!! Thanks to my friend Michele for sending them to me! You rock, Michele!

CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS!

I'm going to take a break from the usual blogging schedule this month. It's summer, my kids need attention, my WiP needs attention, and I figured we'd all benefit from switching things up a bit. Besides, half of you are going to be on vacation some time this month anyway, right?

SO - contests today!

First up is Gabriella Lessa's contest, in which entrants post their 30-word pitch and first paragraph in order to win critiques from one of four editors at Sourcebooks, who will also be judging the contest. Yeah, that's right - your pitch and first paragraph read and judged by an editor at a closed house. This is a golden opportunity, guys, so go HERE to enter.

And now, I'm hosting a giveaway of my own, for a very special book.

A while back, I won a copy of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, by Jay Asher, from Shannon Whitney Mesenger. It took me a while to get down to it, because I'd heard that it was pretty much a read-it-in-one-sitting thing, and I wanted to make sure I had enough time to at least get thoroughly into it, rather than sneak a page in here and there.

I had heard right.

Even though I ended up not being able to read this in one sitting because of demands from my kids and needing to sleep and write and things like that, I read it pretty much constantly until I had finished it - I snuck in pages while I was cooking, I read it curled up on the sofa when I should have been critiquing or revising, I read it on the bus... I could not put this book down, and when I absolutely had to put it down, I could not stop thinking about it.

And when I finished reading it, I could not stop thinking about its implications for me and my own life.

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY goes beyond the descriptions of it as original and fresh. This is an incredible, moving, thought-provoking, life-changing book. It will make you re-evaluate how you behave, how you speak to and about others, and how you go about living your life. And it might even change the way you think. This is a really, really important book.

So, I'm going to give away an unopened, unread, hardcover copy to one lucky blog reader.

THE RULES:

• Follow this blog. Not my Twitter account, not my Google+ account (although those are good, too). This blog. All followers get +1 for this.
• Comment on this post. Another +1.

That's it! Simple giveaway, simple rules. If you spread the word this time, there won't be any extra entries, but there will be virtual pie and hearts forever from me. :-) And since it's only the one book, this one is OPEN INTERNATIONALLY! Woo-hoo!

The giveaway closes NEXT FRIDAY, AUGUST 19th, at MIDNIGHT WEST-COAST (that's PST) TIME, to give my followers over there a chance to get their last-minute comments in.

And... Begin.

The 200-Follower Celebration Lauren Oliver Giveaway!

I know last week I promised you an extra-special giveaway if I reached 200 followers, and when I promise, I deliver. I was going to do a vlog, but... I don't know how. It's a caveperson thing. I'll learn, eventually, but in the meantime, you'll have to live with just pictures. And no voiceover. Boo.

ANYWAY - back to the giveaway! Which is extra-awesome, because the prize is double the size.

So, a while ago, I went to my local bookstore to see the lady who wrote these:

Lauren Oliver's NYT Bestselling Books

And she very kindly did this to them:

Lauren Oliver's signature in her books.

And I'm giving them both to one of you.

Pretty great, huh? And doubly great, because not only are these books incredible, but they're by an intelligent, thoughtful person. I love it when I love a book, but love the author even more.

The Rules:

• Be a follower of this blog. (+1)
• Leave a comment on this post right here. (+1)

And, that's pretty much it! Each person gets a minimum of two entries. But if you want extra entries:

• BLOG about it (+5)
• LINK to it in your sidebar (+5)
• TWEET about it (+1)
• MYFACEPLUS+ about it (+3 for each of those)

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, leave me links in the comments section so I don't have to spend hours on the Web searching for your MyFacePlusTweetLinkyBlogs. I get enough screen time as it is. I'm starting to turn an interesting shade of flourescent. My husband is a little wierded out.

This giveaway will remain open until Midnight on the night of July 31st, when it will close and I will do a lot of math before handing over the result-choosing of ONE WINNER to RANDOM.ORG.

And I'm sorry, but these are chunky (meaning HEAVY) books, so I have to limit this one to the US and Canada.

Are you excited? Because I am SO excited to be able to give these to you!

Happy entering!

The "The Blog Is Back" Giveaway!

You guys stuck with me while I was on a brief it's-summer-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-kids hiatus, and to make it up to you I promised you a giveaway today. So, here it is! Because when I make a promise, I deliver.

SO. Remember when I told you my crit buddies Brian Cretney and Peggy Collins had a picture book coming out a while back? Well, I went to the amazing TOOTER'S STINKY WISH launch party - seriously, they had a children's band and a real live (de-stinkified) skunk and everything - and I GOT THEM BOTH TO SIGN A COPY OF THEIR BOOK! A book signed by both the author and the illustrator is a rare thing, folks. And I am offering it to you! Just because I like you, and you guys rock.

So, here's the skinny on the stinky.


1) Be a follower.
2) Leave a comment on this post by MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY, JULY 15TH for one entry.
3) Tweet, blog, Facebook, etc. for one extra entry each (up to three extra entries), but please leave me the links in the comments.

And that's it! I'll randomly pick a winner out of a hat and announce it in my post on Monday, July 18th. And if I get more than 50 entries, I'll throw in an additional prize of a stuffed skunk. A toy one. Not a real one. That would be gross, and not a very good prize at all. But a toy skunk is nice and soft and cuddly, and you know you want one, don't you?

Also, if I hit 200 followers, I'll do another giveaway! Which will be so awesome and amazing, it will make your monitor explode. I promise. Because I have planned my 200-followers giveaway, and I have some amazing books waiting for you.

Happy contest-entering!

Saturday Special: WIN a copy of Elana Johnson's POSSESSION!

Just popping into the blogosphere for an extra-special post to direct you to Literary Rambles, where natalie Aguirre is giving away not one, not two, but THREE copies of Elana Johnson's YA debut POSSESSION! I picked up my own copy yesterday, and guys, you do not want to miss this!

Three copies = three winners.

Go! Enter! And spread the word...

P.S. I am close-ish to getting 200 followers. When I get there, watch this space for a giveaway of my own design... Bwa-ha-ha-ha-haaa!

Friday Shout-Outs: and TWO Giveaways!

It's Friday, and it's time for some shout-outs! And there are two pretty frawesome giveaways happening right now too, so make sure you read all the way to the end of this post.

First, a shout-out to fellow Greater-Toronto-Area writer-person Maureen McGowan, whose TWO debut novels were released last Friday! CINDERELLA: NINJA WARRIOR and SLEEPING BEAUTY: VAMPIRE SLAYER are two fractured fairy tales with butt-kicking princesses, which just rocks. AND, they're told in choose-your-own-adventure format! How awesome is THAT? (They're both available at Amazon, but try your local indie bookseller first. Let's support local bookstores while we still have them. Okay? Okay.)

And just because they're so cool to look at:

So, go. Buy books. Read blog. She's great! I know you'll like her, and I know you'll like her books.

Next a shout-out to one of my former PB critique buddies, Yolanda Ridge, who emailed to tell me that she is thrilled to be holding a copy of her MG debut novel, TROUBLE IN THE TREES, which will be released on May 1st! YAAAY! Yolanda is smart, talented, and one of the best crit buddies I've ever had. I'll miss her while she ignores picture books for a while so she can focus on her middle grade work (*shakes fist in air*), but I wish her the very, very best of luck with this and all her future books.

And just because it won't be released until May, that doesn't mean we can't have a look-see, does it?

Looks good, huh?

AND NOW: The giveaways! Get excited.

There's another book debuting soon. You might have heard of it. I'll give you some clues.

It's a dystopian, which is exactly the kind of book I love. It's coming out on June 7th. James Dashner (of MAZE RUNNER fame) gave it a kick-ass blurb. It's by Elana Johnson. It's called POSSESSION. It looks like this:

And Shannon O'Donnell is giving an ARC of it away. HERE. So go enter! (But not too many of you, because I WANT IT IT'S MINE ALL MIIIINNNE!)

ALSO: Elana herself is running the most freaktastic giveaway I have ever seen, and I am completely jealous of her book-writing, contest-creating genius. So go enter. Details are HERE.

*ahem* I might have had coffee today.

Happy Friday!

100 Followers Giveaway of Awesome!

I've reached 100 followers on my blog, guys!  And there are about a hundred people I have to thank for that.

YOU.


So I decided a while back that for my 100 Follower celebration, I wanted to have a giveaway!  At first, I thought I`d give away a critique or something.  Then, my husband came up with something even better.

See, when I found out the Smart Chicks Kick It tour was coming to a bookstore near me, I got really excited.  I mean, really, REALLY excited.  Like, buy all the first books by all those amazing ladies even though I hadn't read them yet so I would have permanent records of my couple of hours in the same room as them, grin and giggle my whole way home, tell all my friends EXCITED.  Then when my husband saw my hoard, he 1) had kittens; and 2) refused to continue to finance my literary excesses (and buy the bookshelves necessary to store the evidence of my literary excesses), and he insisted that he would only be okay with this if I agreed to give some of my newfound treasures away!

OUCH.


But, you know, this is understandable.  Our house looks like a book-junkyard.  We have WAAAAY more books than will fit on the shelves.  It's a lot of dusting, and it makes it hard to vacuum.  So, after reading those beautiful books, and caressing their beautiful covers, and gazing lovingly at the beautiful signatures in them, and doing some soul-searching, I have decided to give away my copy of SHADE, signed by Jeri Smith-Ready, to one of you, my faithful followers.


Here's the blurb from the jacket flap:

"Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift."

SHADE is a great book.  I read it in one sitting, and it literally churned my stomach, because it touches on drug and alcohol abuse, and this is my greatest fear when it comes to my kids.  As soon as it got to the drunken party part, my stomach started doing its clench-unclench-flip-flip-flip-clench routine and I thought, Please, God, don't ever let this happen to my kids.  Plus, it kept me wondering throughout the book about Aura and the secret behind her ability to see ghosts.  And Zachary?  Let's just say I have a thing for all things Scottish and leave it at that.  So, it's hard for me to give it up, but I know that one of you will really, really, really enjoy it, so that makes it a little bit easier.


And, Jeri signed it in purple.  How cool is that?


There will be one first prize awarded (SHADE, signed in purple by Jeri-Smith-Ready), and one second prize (a query or first-five pages or full PB critique by Yours Truly).


SO HERE'S THE DEAL:


To enter this giveaway, LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST.  One comment = 1 entry.  You must be a follower to enter this giveaway.  Old followers get +2 entries, new followers get +1 entry.  (So you get a minimum of 2 entries, guys!)

FOR EXTRA ENTRIES:
+1 For Tweeting this giveaway, link in your comment.
+1 For every follower you send my way, tell them to tell me you sent them.
+1 For linking to this giveaway in the sidebar in your blog, link in your comment.
+1 For linking to this on your Facebook page, link in your comment.
+5 For writing an actual blog post just about this giveaway, link in your comment.


You don`t have to add up all your entries; I like math.  (Yup.  Big huge NERD over here.  I'm cool with it.)  Deadline for comments is Midnight on the night of Friday, October 8th.  Winners will be announced on Monday, October 11th.

You have one week.

GO!