My Reading Challenge for January

The List Challenge was started in one of our shelfari groups to help us feel like we were making progress with our incredibly daunting mountain of books to be read. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to take a book off my TBR. It will be more of a challenge than ever though because starting January 5 I'll be waking with the chickens and driving to work everyday whereas for the last eight months I've been reading-oops!- I mean working at home.

Hopefully I'll be able to hang with the big dogs and keep up each month.

Evie's List Challenge for January

1. At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3)
2. The Luxe
3. Heart of Stone (The Negotiator Trilogy, Book 1)
4. The Vampire's Betrayal
5. Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and Lily of the West (Bloody Jack Adventures)
6. City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments)
7. Tiger Eye (Dirk & Steele, Book 1)
8. Him Her Him Again The End of Him

Alternatives:
1. Garden Spells (Bantam Discovery)
2. Daughter of the Blood (Black Jewels, Book 1)
3. By Venom's Sweet Sting (Hallowmere, Book 2)

Fairy Rock in St. Fillans, Scotland

This is the news clip I was desperately searching for several months ago when I had the paranormal news contest for Breaking Dawn in the forum Vampires, Witches, Weres and All That II. A few years ago I found it surfing the web and it became the inspiration for the fairy I wrote about in a writing group. I think it's incredible!

I'm reading a book, In the Serpent's Coils by Tiffany Trent, and St. Fillans, Scotland is mentioned on the first page. I recognized the name right away.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ifs_news/hi/newsid_4450000/newsid_4458200/bb_wm_4458256.stm

Living by the List Challenge Icons

Which ones would you like for the challenge? Anyone want to make the blog for our challenge and add everyone so they can post?

Prince Nuada in Hell Boy and Why I Got A Spear For Christmas

I have always enjoyed the choreography of fight scenes in movies, especially those with sharp, pointy things. Special effects enhance the visuals so I can't look away-not that I would anyway- because I'm so completely enthralled. It goes along with my favorite book genres to read: urban fantasy, fantasy, paranormal, paranormal romance, science fiction and historical fiction.

So this year I got a beautiful Greek Hoplite spear for Christmas and it looks similar to Prince Nuada's, sans the magic. The magic really ups the price these days with the economy being what it is and the shortage of magic spear craftsman around.

While opening the long, narrow box, I was thinking it was a flag pole or a garden spade...a very loooong garden spade. But through fits of laughter my family told me what it was and I couldn't believe it.

"You got me a weapon?" I asked, incredulously.

My pulse quickened. Photographs are proof of the fey-like grin that slowly spread across my face. My eyes sparkled.

I have a spear. I have a real spear! I can protect my kingdom from things that go bump in the night. I'm alpha female, one kick-ass chick.

Yeah, right!

Merry Christmas Everyone

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

The 2009 Pub Challenge

I've decided to give The 2009 Pub Challenge a try!

I haven't decided on the books just yet but here are the rules:

Here are the 2009 rules:

1. Read a minimum of 9 books first published in 2009. You don’t have to buy these. Library books, unabridged audios, or ARCs are all acceptable. To qualify as being first published in 2009, it must be the first time that the book is published in your own country. For example, if a book was published in Australia, England, or Canada in 2008, and then published in the USA in 2009, it counts (if you live in the USA). Newly published trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks do not count if there has been a hardcover/trade published before 2009.
2. No children’s/YA titles allowed, since we’re at the ‘pub.’
3. At least 5 titles must be fiction.
4. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
5. You can add your titles as you go, and they may be changed at any time.
6. Sign up http://1morechapter.com/pub/?p=1
7. Have fun reading your 2009 books!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Little Girl Giveaways

Little Girl Giveaway!



These items are just too cute! Head on over to http://shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com/2008/12/prize-pack-1-little-girls.html to enter to win!



Again, I'm very sorry about the delay in getting this posted, and it's still only the first part of this contest! The rest will be up this weekend, I swear!This first "gift basket" is for young girls. I won't say a specific age. I think everyone can decide that on their own based on the prizes. First up, we have some nailpolish and nailpolish remover from Piggy Paint, which is a company that sells these cute polishes and removers that are "non-toxic, odorless, and kid friendly." The one included in this prize pack is this!Next up, we have a $25 gift voucher from Hannah's Tutus. Whoever wins will have this emailed to you. It can be used at their site.Finally, this prize pack will include 6 ladybug cupcake wrappers from Yummycuppycrafts. Her shop can be found here!If you have a daughter, niece, granddaughter, goddaughter, family friend, etc. who you think might like all or some of these items, please enter this contest!DEADLINE: December 30, 2008 at 11:59 ESTWays to Enter: +1 for commenting+2 for following my blog already (just let me know!)+1 for following my blog NOW (let me know!)+5 if you go and buy something from one of these places (email receipt or proof of purchase to Lauren51990 AT aol DOT com)Another item from Hannah's Tutus:

Book Give-aways!

There are some great prizes, especially Need, Girl, Hero, ARC of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and autographed copy of Far From You to name just a few!

Lisa is having a contest!
« previous entry next entry »Dec. 17th, 2008 07:15 pm
Lisa, a writer who I LOVE, is having a contest. One of the prizes is actually a book by me, which is s-w-e-e-e-e-t. I was really honored to have my book be a prize and then I was all like - HEY! DOES THAT MEAN YOU THINK IT'S SO HORRIBLE YOU WANT IT OUT OF YOUR HOUSE???Anyway, all the details are under the cut... OH! I forgot to say that her book is coming out on the same date as my book, NEED, which is Dec. 23, a day made of awesome (for Lisa) and a day made of fear (for me).Lisa Schroeder, author of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, is celebrating the release of her upcoming YA novel, FAR FROM YOU, and hosting a contest with LOTS of great prizes!

For three days leading up to the book’s release date of December 23rd, you can watch VLOGs and hear some excerpts read from the book. The VLOG schedule is as follows:
Sunday, December 21st – Liv’s Book Reviews - http://livsbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 22nd – What Vanessa Reads - http://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, December 23rd – Lisa Schroeder, author - http://lisa-schroeder.livejournal.com/ AND http://myspace.com/writerlisa
Help spread the word, and you might win a fabulous prize!
Copy and paste THIS entire blog entry into your blog between now and December 21st, then come back to Lisa’s blog at either Livejournal OR Myspace and leave a comment with the link to your blog and you will get TWO enteries to win a number of prizes.
Wondering what you might win? Here is the list (there will be multiple winners):
~ An Advanced Review Copy of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, by Carrie Ryan
~ An Advanced Review Copy of SOMETHING, MAYBE, by Elizabeth Scott
~ Young adult novel GIRL, HERO by Carrie Jones
~ Young adult novel, THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Freitas
~ Young adult novel, UGLIES by Scott Westerfield
~ Pair of YA fairy tale retellings by Cameron Dokey (BELLE and BEFORE MIDNIGHT)
~ TWILIGHT movie soundtrack
~ $15.00 Barnes and Noble gift card along with some Harry & David’s chocolate moose munch
~ And of course, a signed copy of FAR FROM YOU
For more chances to win, watch one or all of the VLOGs and leave a comment on that vlogger’s page, and you get another entry. That means if you post the schedule on your blog AND comment on all three VLOGs, you can have FIVE entries for the contest!
A live drawing with winners announced will be done by Lisa Thursday morning, December 24th, in a special holiday VLOG.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

This book is destined to be a classic, a must read. Classified as young adult, this book easily crosses over to adult fiction as the theme is universal. The author's writing style is refreshing, uncluttered and powerful. Each sentence is high-octane as the story flows effortlessly and the words seem perfectly chosen to not just capture your interest but hit you over the head. Smartly written, it will make you laugh out loud and I swear, it'll make you cry.

Meet Miles Halter, a sixteen year old boy heading off to boarding school in search of the "great perhaps". He makes new friends, falls in love and learns the power of forgiveness. Not bad for one school year.

I read only brief comments about this book on various shelfari forums, one liners like-GREAT BOOK, LOVED IT. As fate would have it, it was sitting out at the library and without thinking twice I checked it out. Fate's a funny thing, karma is real and I'm not the same person I was before reading this book. And for those "grown-ups" that don't read YA, don't let the classification fool you. This book has a heavy take home message

The Vampire's Kiss by Raven Hart (Book 3)
5 Stars
Ballantine Books (December 26, 2007)
336 pages

This is the third book in The Savannah Vampires Series and it's as exciting and fun to read as the others-also rated 5 stars. It's the continuing saga of the Savannah vampires, the cultured William Cuyler Thorne and the amiable Jack McShane. I will do my best to do some telling without revealing.

Due to the cliffhanger ending of book two, William is forced to go on a journey far from the city he's been protecting for centuries, leaving it under the protection of Jack. Since William is the biggest, baddest otherworldly creature around town there have been few problems in Savannah in the past, but the word is out that Jack's been left in charge. Can he keep the city safe from ne'er-do-well werewolves while his sire is away?


Will William be able to successfully complete his quest as he struggles to reconcile his past with the most vile evil he's ever come across? Will his weakness be his downfall? Is there truth to the prophecy of a slayer?

Who or what exactly is Connie, the beautiful cop that Jack has taken a shining to?

The story has a creative, interesting plot with vampires, werewolves, voodoo, zombies and the story unfolds at a perfect pace. As always, the author does an excellent job with character development, fully expanding on the internal and external.

This is the first time that William and Jack are separated and the conflicts they meet and how they handle them are a true test of their strengths while revealing potential weaknesses. We definitely see a different side of William in this installment. It's a very suspenseful, exciting read that's just the right length and will appeal to anyone that enjoys the paranormal genre. The book has a cliffhanger ending leading to the next book, The Vampire's Betrayal, that was released in April, 2008. The fifth book in the series, The Vampire's Revenge, is due out in January, 2009.

I can't say it enough-these are just great reads. This series is as thrilling as it is funny and it never lets up. You don't necessarily have to read the preceding books in order to enjoy this one, but I highly recommend you do. You'll get such a wealth of information on the characters that will lead to a better understanding of their depth. Highly recommended and one of my favorite series'. Once I start reading Raven Hart's books, I can't put them down!

Coming soon: Stayed tuned for my blogs book giveaway/contest for the first in the series, The Vampire's Seduction.

http://www.ravenhartbooks.com/books.php

From the back of the book:

*Spoiler Alert*Spoiler Alert*Spoiler Alert*Spoiler Alert* (for those that haven't read the first two books)

A dark and brooding creature of the night, William Cuyler Thorne has spent five centuries mourning the deaths of his beloved wife and son. In that time, he has also grown into Savannah's most powerful vampire, attracting rich, beautiful women and commanding fear in all who dare cross his path. Now he seeks revenge. For it appears that his wife and son are not dead, but rather undead, having joined a malicious clan of European bloodsuckers-and that same group has now captured Renee, the young daughter of his dear friend, a voodoo princess. Leaving his suave sidekick, Jack, to hold down the fort in Savannah, William travels across the Atlantic to save Renee and settle the score.

While Jack is left to contend with his seductive ex-girlfriend and a rebellious band of werewolves, William must confront his own defiant temptress and an even more sinister threat. For the evil vampire lords will do much more than retaliate if William rescues Renee and her magical blood: They will wreak havoc across the land.