Dark Days Tour Recap

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to attend HarperTeen's Dark Days tour as it stopped at Books & Co in Dayton, Ohio. There has been an increase in the number of amazing author signings in the Dayton/Cincinnati area of late, and I can only hope this trend continues because it's hugely exciting for me to get the chance to meet and chat with such a wide variety of talented women.

Rae Carson (The Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy), Amelia Kahaney (The Brokenhearted), and Mindy McGinnis (Not a Drop to Drink) were all a part of this leg of the tour, and I was given the chance to spend a few minutes with them before the event started (I even managed to form coherent sentences this time, WELL DONE ME!). Since time was a little short, I decided to forgo actual interview questions and instead torture all three of them with word associations. I like to keep people on their toes you see ;-) They were up for anything though, and I have to admit to enjoying hurling words at them probably more than I should have. Below are all their responses, plus some pictures from the event as well as highlights from the general Q+A session.

WORD ASSOCIATIONS

Chapter 1

Mindy: Sucks (as in the writing of it; she said her actual first chapter doesn't suck ;-)
Rae: Revision
Amelia: Hard

Heroine

Mindy: Strong
Rae: Fun
Amelia: Super

Love Interest

Mindy: Dead
Rae: Hot
Ameila: Villain

Journey

Mindy: Internal
Rae: Interminable
Amelia: Indomitable

Family

Mindy: Dead*
Rae: Pain in the butt
Amelia: Out to lunch

*we all had to laugh at this point at the seeming death theme of Mindy's answers and how well she obviously fit on a tour called Dark Days.

Revision

Mindy: 6 months
Rae: Personal hell
Amelia: Redemption

Book Cover

Mindy: Beautiful
Rae: Fantasy
Amelia: Sexy

Leader

Mindy: Hard
Rae: Elisa
Amelia: Corrupt

Challenge

Mindy: Disaster
Rae: Writing
Amelia: Transforming

Fear

Mindy: Death*
Rae: Life
Amelia: Rebirth

*we all snorted at this

The End

Mindy: Angry
Rae: Triumph
Amelia: Twist

Writer

Mindy: Work
Rae: Sucker
Amelia: Poor

Imagination

Mindy: Flowing
Rae: Livlihood
Amelia: Atmosphere

Regret

Mindy: Theme of book
Rae: Perpetual
Amelia: Heartbreak

Future

Mindy: Bleak
Rae: Shades
Amelia: Lies

• • • • • • • • • • 

Q+A HIGHLIGHTS
(a huge thanks to Cathy for taking notes while I tweeted and took pictures)

• The idea for Not a Drop to Drink came from a fresh water shortage documentary Mindy saw called "Blue Gold". In the book, people in the country have water and people in the city want it, so her protagonist learns to be the type of person to shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to the pond she guards. She called the book "Little House on the Prairie on crack". Win.

• Amelia was asked how the idea for a character with a hummingbird heart came to be and she said she was doing research on hummingbirds and discovered numerous interesting facts that were catalysts for the book. A hummingbird's heart beats 10x faster than ours, and if it stays still too long, its heart actually stops. O.o

• All three ladies were asked what they enjoyed most about writing for a teen audience. Rae said she loved that teens were open to anything and tended to be less prejudiced and judgmental than adult readers, but she acknowledged that a huge chunk of her readers were in fact adults. Amelia chimed in with some stats she'd read in an article, saying nearly 35% of YA readers are between the ages of 18 and 35 with another 15-20% consisting of the next age bracket up.

• Both Mindy and Amelia said they were huge fans of Stephen King when they were teenagers, and Rae devoured every single Nancy Drew book she could find, sharing a story about getting out of class by pretending to go to the bathroom only to wander down to the library to see if they'd gotten a new shipment of Nancy Drew books in.

• The last question they were all asked was what they wanted readers to take away from their stories. Rae said she's not big on moral messages, and she just wants readers to have an overall experience. Amelia said there's some thoughts on trusting boys running through her story as well as a look at political corruption and class distinction. Mindy wrapped things up in the best possible way saying, "You probably shouldn't shoot people". Awesome.

I had such a great time with all three of these authors, each of whom was incredibly personable and easy to talk to, and I hope they had enough fun in Dayton that they might consider coming back in the near future!

Rae Carson, Amelia Kahaney, Me, and Mindy McGinnis

Rae, Amelia and Mindy getting ready to answer questions

Rae Carson

Amelia Kahaney

Mindy McGinnis

Mindy very appropriately brought bottles of water (with snazzy labels!) to the signing, along with fancy water droplet stickers made for her by author Sherry Thomas (The Burning Sky)

Things of Awesome: October Edition

Hey Everybody!

It's been a little while since I've done one of these posts, but I've had some fun bookish things come across my desk recently and wanted to share them with all of you. I apologize for the lack of "Life with Kevin" in this month's Things of Awesome, I've had some very amusing conversations with him lately but just haven't had time to write them down. I promise I will though, and then you'll all get to see once again how ridiculous my marriage can be sometimes (it of course has everything to do with Kevin and absolutely nothing to do with me. Obviously:) And now on to the bookish goodies!

1. COVER REVEAL: AUTUMN ROSE
(releases January 28th from William Morrow/HarperCollins)

I was intrigued by the first book in this paranormal new adult series by Abigail Gibbs, Dark Heroine, so I'm excited to see where things go now that we're following Autumn Rose rather than Kaspar and Violet.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Books-A-Million | iBookstore | Image Map

In book two of her breathtakingly magical series, Abigail Gibbs draws us even further into the dangerous and romantic world of the Dark Heroines.

Autumn Rose lives in a sleepy seaside town in the southwest of England, but buried deep under the surface of her quiet life are dark secrets. Her grandmother is dead, murdered eighteen months before, and the whirling social scene of London in which she was brought up is a world away. Even worse, at her new school she is shunned and condemned-all because of the swirling marks on her skin that prevent her from blending in the crowd.

But the appearance of a handsome young man at her school-who has the same curious markings as Autumn Rose-sends her world into turmoil. Suddenly the marks are cool and Autumn is thrust into the limelight, but her sudden popularity brings danger as her secrets threaten to come to light. Plus, there is the fact that Autumn keeps dreaming of a human girl who is about to be seduced by a very dark Prince… and Autumn must figure out how to save her before it is too late.

2. DARK DAYS TOUR

This Tuesday, October 8th, HarperTeen's Dark Days tour is stopping at Books & Co in Dayton, Ohio. Young adult authors Rae Carson (The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy), Amelia Kahaney (The Brokenhearted), and Mindy McGinnis (Not a Drop to Drink) will all be present to answer questions and sign their books, so I hope if any of you are in the Dayton area you'll be able to come by and say hi! I'll be there in all my socially awkward glory and will be doing a full recap when I get back.

If you can't make the Dayton event, Dark Days is continuing on to Cincinnati on October 9th.

3. SWOON READS

I'm enormously excited about Swoon Reads (YAY ROMANCE!), a new community for YA lovers of all kinds that was recently launched by the amazing team behind Macmillan Children's Publishing. Given they'll be able to explain all the epicness that is this new endeavor better than I could, I'm just going to give it to you straight from their far more eloquent mouths:

Swoon Reads is a new YA romance community for writers and readers, but even more exciting is that it is a revolutionary new crowd sourced romance imprint that is dedicated to publishing books that capture the intensity and excitement of teen love.

So what does that mean?

Are you a writer and working on a YA romance novel? You can submit your manuscript to Swoon Reads. We accept from any genre: historical, adventure, paranormal, contemporary, etc.

As a reader, you can become intimately involved with the publishing process by reading, rating, and commenting on submissions. The manuscripts achieving the highest ratings by readers and the Swoon Reads editorial team will be published in both print and e-book formats. Some manuscripts have already been submitted and are generating great discussion!

Swoon Reads wants to give you the opportunity to see what goes on behind the publishing process and you get to decide what we publish!

Our motto is “Fall in Love with Falling in Love” and we hope you get a chance to explore the site, read some manuscripts, read the blog, and maybe even submit that YA romance manuscript that you’ve been working on ever so diligently.

Swoon Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest

4. ARE YOU ALLEGIANT?

It's almost time everyone. Allegiant releases on October 22nd from Katherine Tegen Books, and as a way to tide you over in this home stretch, be sure and check out all the fun promotional graphics now available. 

You can also refresh your memories on all that happened in Insurgent with Epic Reads who is hosting a re-read this week. Get all the details HERE (scroll down to "other things to know", they should update the link for the Insurgent read-a-thon once it starts on Monday).

5. SOURCEBOOKS + WATTPAD

From Sourcebooks:

• Sourcebooks will edit and produce select new Wattpad-branded editions of YA stores into print and e-book platforms.  All of these new books will live under Sourcebooks Fire, our YA imprint.
 

Two titles scheduled for release in Winter/Spring 2014: My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak, a contemporary romance that has garnered over 22 million reads on Wattpad; and The Cellar by Natasha Preston, a mystery-thriller that has been read over 6 million times.

• Sourcebooks will be a prize sponsor for Wattpad’s 2013 Watty Awards and we’ll be developing channels for top Wattpad writers to have their stories be distributed into traditional retail outlets both in print and digitally

• Sourcebooks writers including CJ Lyons, Miranda Kenneally, Janet Gurtler, and Zoraida Cordova, among others, will be making exciting new stories available for free and engaging with readers on Wattpad! (Dates to come on their Wattpad debuts!)

Things of Awesome: January Edition

Back in December I put together a little fun-book-related-things post and promised I would try and turn it into a monthly feature if my inherent laziness didn't kick in and prevent me from doing so. Surprisingly enough, I've managed to put together this mini feature for the second month in a row! *self high five*

I've made a slight alteration to the format though. From here on out I'm going to list 4 bookish Things of Awesome and then share a book-related conversation between me and my husband. I did a post a few weeks ago about the differences between the romance of my reality and that of fiction, and many of you expressed an interest in reading more of the strange conversations I force Kevin to have with me, so I figured we'll see after this if it's still something of interest to you. Enjoy!

1. HARPERTEEN'S DARK DAYS TWITTER CHAT

HarperTeen is the publisher behind some of my most anticipated reads of 2013, and they're starting out the year in rather epic style with their Dark Days Tour.  You can find all the information about the tour stops and the participating authors on their website, and I'm crazy jealous of all of you lucky people who get to attend the various signings. Unfortunately, neither of the first two legs of the tour is coming even remotely close to me *sobs* but I've got my fingers crossed that they stop in Ohio at some point!

Though I won't be able to attend any of the actual signings, there is going to be a Twitter chat with Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Tahereh Mafi and Veronica Rossi on January 30th at 8:15pm EST, and I will be there with a big dorky grin on my face. Luckily, given it's Twitter, no one will be able to see it. I hope lots of you will join me in following @PitchDarkBooks!

2. THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT TRAILER

I absolutely adored Under the Never Sky and cannot wait to finally get a copy of Through the Ever Night. I've been reading tons of reviews for it and they're all glowing, so I have absurdly high hopes that my love for this series will only grow with the sequel. Check out the trailer:

3. SPIRIT ANIMALS

In September of 2013, Scholastic is going to be publishing a new multi-platform, multi-author fantasy adventure series. What does that mean you ask? Well, I'll let the fabulous people at Scholastic tell you:

Spirit Animals centers around the fantasy world of Erdas where children who come of age go through a ritual to determine if they have a “spirit animal,” a rare bond between human and beast that bestows great powers to both. In this breakthrough series, four children from different cultures undergo an annual ritual and discover that they have been chosen for a greater destiny. Each book in the series will unlock expanded gameplay on the immersive Spirit Animals online game site. The role-playing online game—available through any web browser—will allow kids to customize their own unique heroes, choose their spirit animals, and go on quests to help save the world of Erdas.

“With Scholastic’s latest entry into multi-platform, readers are transported into a whole new fantasy realm with Spirit Animals,” said Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade. “Spirit Animals has a compelling premise, a relatable cast of multi-cultural characters, magnificent animals, and a vibrant online game—this is 21st century storytelling at its best. We cannot be more excited about introducing this epic series to kids everywhere.”

The first book will be written by New York Times bestselling author Brandon Mull (releases September 10th), and the second book will be written by none other than Maggie Stiefvater (releases January 2014).

4. BOOK EXPO AMERICA

BEA Registration is now open! YAY! Anyone that registered last year will know that it was a bit of a debacle with things being unclear as to what type of badge bloggers were supposed to register for and what fees were associated with our badge. Fail. This year, the organizers of the BEA Bloggers Conference (formerly the Book Blogger Convention) have written a post outlining how registration this year has changed. Very helpful. The only problem at the moment (at least for me when I tried) is the registration for the BEA Bloggers Conference (which also includes the 3-day BEA pass) is not currently open, so when you try to go through the registration process, you get held up on the second page. I'm sure that will be remedied soon, unless I'm the only one having that problem in which case I'll need to call them. *sigh*

If you're not registering for the blogger conference though, you should be able to breeze through registration just fine. I'm so looking forward to seeing a lot of you there!

5. ROMANCE IN REALITY

A bookish conversation with my husband:

Me: Question.

Kevin: Yeah?

Me: How come you never say anything exceedingly romantic to me?

Kevin: Like what?

Me: “If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.” (The Evolution of Mara Dyer)

Kevin: Guys don't talk like that.

Me: I feel like some do.

Kevin: No.

Me: So what you're saying is I shouldn't expect any such heartfelt and swoon-worthy statements from you?

Kevin: Let me ask you this–

Me: Does your question answer my question?

Kevin: In a roundabout sort of way.

Me: Okay.

Kevin: Has the guy who said that ever walked into the bathroom he shares with the girl to whom he said it, climbed in the shower, and proceeded to snake the drain because it was clogged and both guy and girl were standing ankle deep in water whenever they showered?

Me: I'm not sure how this is at all relevant. But no, I don't believe so. Not many romance heroes take the time to snake a shower drain. At least on page.

Kevin: I feel like the above action proves I'm a hero in my own right.

Me: How so?

Kevin: Because, when I snaked said drain and then proceeded to pull out a two-foot long wad of smelly, disgusting hair, I heroically managed to refrain from vomiting.

Me: I'm not sure I'm entirely clear on the point you're trying to make here.

Kevin: I have many points, all brilliant. One, if this guy–

Me: His name is Noah.

Kevin. Right. Well, my point is that if Noah had to actually snake the shower drain of this girl he wants for a thousand lifetimes and was subjected to the misery that is pulling out monstrous clumps of wet hair like I do for you in our current lifetime, he might revise his statement. Some of the romance and mystery leaves a marriage when faced with massive shower drain hairballs. My second point is that I am a man of action, not words.

Me: You are a man of action.

Kevin: Yes.

Me: And?

Kevin: And therefore you know how I feel based on what I do, not what I say.

Me: So you're saying your lifetime-spanning love for me is expressed through an act of plumbing?

Kevin: For the sake of this argument, yes.

Me: It's possible you've made a good point. Though I feel it necessary to mention that if Noah did snake Mara's drain–

Kevin: *snorts*

Me: A little maturity please, Kevin. Honestly.

Kevin: You're one to talk.

Me: Anyway, if Noah was to snake Mara's drain in lieu of a romantic declaration, I don't think he would make Chewbacca noises while he did it.

Kevin: That just goes to show you he is clearly the lesser man. The noises were appropriate based on what I pulled out of that drain.

Me: Fine. You win this one.

Kevin: I fall in love with you a little bit more every time you admit defeat.

Me: If that's the best you can do, I guess I'll take it.

Dark Days Tour: Dayton Event Wrap Up

Happy Friday Everyone!

This past Wednesday I had the pleasure of being the live blogger for the Dayton, Ohio stop of HarperTeen's Dark Days tour featuring Kimberly Derting, Dan Wells, and Jill Hathaway, and it was an absolute blast! I took a ridiculous number of pictures at the event, but before I post those, I thought I would share with you all a bit of my experience because I tend to be rather special in social situations, and Wednesday was really no exception.

To help cover the event, I thought I would try and tweet fun tidbits as they were taking place and brought my Kindle Fire along to aid me in my tweeting endeavor. Confession: I'm extraordinarily technologically challenged. I know my computer design programs like the back of my hand, but anything else is completely lost on me, so I was a little nervous about getting the bookstore's WiFi working with my Kindle and figuring the whole mobile Twitter thing out. While I'm sitting in the audience waiting for the event to start and trying desperately to make my Kindle magically take me to Twitter, Kimberly Derting looks out at everyone gathered and says "Is Jenny here?"

Cue mild panic attack and deer-in-headlights look.

At her question, I'm pretty sure my hand shot straight up in the air with scary enthusiasm (a la Hermione Granger in the first Harry Potter movie when she knows every single answer to Snape's questions). Like I was the teacher's pet being called on in class. My hand remained in the air as though I had no control over it until the silence became a tad prolonged and Kimberly ever-so-politely said hello and asked what I was doing (probably because one of my hands was swaying in the air while the other was holding a black leather-covered device 3 inches from my face trying to see my teeny tiny tweets).

Me: Um. Trying to tweet?

Brilliant conversationalist, thy name is Jenny.

When it was clear that those four words were all that were going escape my lips, she tried to draw a few more out by asking me about the "trying" part of my stunningly articulate statement, then sweetly sympathized with me about my general failure at all things technological when I explained the situation to her.

I am quite possibly the most amazing social butterfly who has ever lived.

After my unforgettable introduction, Kimberly, Jill, and an injured Dan took turns discussing their books and spent a great deal of time answering questions. A huge thank you to all three of them for being so gracious, and to HarperTeen for allowing me to be a part of their Dark Days tour! Below are the pictures I snapped at the event:

 Books & Co in Dayton

Me & Kimberly

Kimberly had very special Last Echo nail polish to give away.

My nails are now a lovely shade of lavender.

Dan was incredibly personable and very funny, but how awkward am I in this picture? I got all flustered because I didn't know what to do with my hands. I was all "would touching him be weird? Probably. Try not to be weird Jenny." I put my arm around both Kimberly and Jill, but I didn't want to make Dan uncomfortable so I just sort of edged close to him and stood there like a champ. Well done me.

I asked Dan to please sign my mother-in-law's book with a flourish for the camera. That wonky line at the bottom there is his flourish. It's really more of a squiggle than a flourish, but he was a good sport about my photo direction ;-)

Me and Jill. I had to check with my mother-in-law after she took this picture to make sure I wasn't inappropriately close to Jill. When taking pictures with authors, I have a tendency to all but crawl in their laps, something I don't realize I've done until after I see the picture and notice my stalker-like nearness.

Signing books.

So there you have my Dark Days tour experience! If you haven't had a chance yet, don't forget to enter to win copies of The Last Echo, Partials, and Slide HERE, and stay up to date on all things Dark Days by visiting their Facebook page!

Also, if you're not aware of some the fabulous things HarperTeen has going on in April, I thought I'd share some info with all of you:

1. Epic Reads Grab bags - Throughout the Month of April enter to win 5 mystery titles. Winners are picked and announced every Friday!

2. Browse inside titles made of win:

Thumped

The Selection

Social Suicide

Sweet Evil

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Dark Days Tour: Interviews with Kimberly Derting and Jill Hathaway + Giveaway

Today I'm beyond excited to have authors Kimberly Derting and Jill Hathaway stopping by the blog as part of HarperTeen's Dark Days tour to answer a few questions for me! The Dark Days tour has been going on for several months and we're now in leg 4 of this epic event, but there are still some very exciting signings and things coming up so be sure to stay connected to all things Dark Days on the Pitch Dark Facebook page which includes exclusive content features every Wednesday!

For those in the Dayton, Ohio area, Kimberly, Jill, and Dan Wells will be at Books & Co tonight (April 18th) at 7pm so I hope some of you can make it! I can't wait to attend, though usually when I come face to face with authors I'm rendered mute and stand in front of them with a ridiculous smile on my face as my brain tries desperately to send my mouth intelligent, coherent thoughts to help start a conversation. Often to no avail. So if you do attend, I'll be the silent one staring blankly at Jill, Kimberly, and Dan and most likely slightly frightening them. If they look panicked, you'll know it's because I have my author game face on.

In addition to the Dayton event, all three authors will also be at the below locations. A blogger has been assigned to each event to report live and keep you up to date on all the happenings, so be sure to check out their sites as well!

April 18th at 7pm - Books & Co in Dayton, OH (Supernatural Snark)
April 19th at 7pm - Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL (Live to Read)
April 20th at 7pm - Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA (Books Complete Me)

INTERVIEW WITH KIMBERLY DERTING

If we could ask Jay about his friendship–and now relationship–with Violet, when would he say his feelings for her began to shift into romantic territory? Is there a specific event that made him see her in a new light, or any characteristics of hers that became appealing in a whole new way?

They kissed once when they were in the fifth grade, and I think for Jay, that was the moment he knew. He just had to wait for Violet to figure it out too!

Jay and Violet, and now Rafe, have all become characters about whom readers have very strong feelings. Has reader reaction to any of The Body Finder series characters surprised you at all?

Not surprised, really, but maybe a little amused by some comments I’ve read about Rafe (and a love triangle that could possibly...maybe (I’ll never tell!)...be brewing).  Let’s just say that there are a lot of Team Jay fans out there!  I can’t even begin to imagine what they might say if I ever killed him off...which is never entirely out of the question, you know? I’m just saying… ;)

*Jenny dies here. Jay NOOOOOOOOOO*

Are any of Violet’s “cases” based on real events? Is there any piece of trivia or tidbit of information you’ve discovered while researching that’s been particularly memorable?

The Girlfriend Collector in The Last Echo is very loosely based on Ted Bundy, but only in the sense that he’s charming and can appeal to the girls he wants to abduct. Mostly, though, I prefer to research serial killers in a broader sense. I like to find out what they have in common, what kinds of childhoods they had, what factors may have made them different from everyone else...to really get inside their heads, so to speak.

If Violet could wake up tomorrow without her gift with the dead, what do you think her reaction would be to its absence?

As much as Violet claims to want to be “normal,” I think her ability is part of her identity now.  She would probably be a little lost without it. Without realizing it, it’s become a very important part of who she is, and it makes her special. Secretly, I think she likes the fact that she can do something that others can’t...especially now that she’s found a way for it to be useful!

Name one of your favorite things about being on a book tour.

Meeting readers, hands down! It’s by far my favorite thing about tour!  Of course, that little cardboard sign that said “Derting” on it (which was held by the airport driver guy) was pretty cool too! :)  I may or may not have asked him if I could keep the sign. Okay, I totally did!

INTERVIEW WITH JILL HATHAWAY

 

If you could slide into the mind of anyone else right this minute, whose mind might you most like to briefly visit? 

Haha, I always say Jared Leto’s girlfriend when I’m asked this. Better not go into details. Also, sorry, Shane! I love you!

Let’s say you and Vee are walking down a dark street at night and suddenly her ability kicks in and she sees that someone with less-than innocent intentions is following you, waiting for the right moment to take advantage of the element of surprise. What’s the first thing you both do? 

Well, if Vee had slid into the bad guy, her body would be left helpless, so I’d probably have to drag her into a restaurant or something until she came to. And then she’d wake up and tell me what was going on, and we’d make a run for it. Or maybe turn around and use our Buffy-like skills on him. It’s whatever!

If you could transport yourself into one particular genre of fiction (mystery, romance, steampunk, etc.), which would you choose and why? 

I definitely wouldn’t want to be in my own mystery. I think I’d like to transport into the world of Candace Bushnell’s THE CARRIE DIARIES, especially after Carrie goes to New York and meets her besties. It would be so fun to wear all the newest fashions and hit up the trendiest parties.

Is there a single point in the overall process were the book begins to feel real to you? Either handing over the first draft, seeing the cover art, or finally seeing on the shelf surrounded by other titles? 

Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real and I have a box of hardcovers sitting upstairs in my bedroom. I think it might hit me when I see the book on the shelf at the bookstore.

Name one of your favorite things about being on a book tour. 

I’m super excited to meet Kimberly Derting and Dan Wells! Plus, I’ve never been to Boston. It will be so much fun! If anyone lives in the Chicago, Dayton, or Boston areas, I hope you come out to chat!

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Kimberly and Jill! For more information on the Dark Days tour be sure and check out the Pitch Dark Facebook Page.

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the awesome people at HarperTeen I have copies of The Last Echo, Slide, and Partials to give away on the blog today! To enter please just leave a comment with a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will run through midnight EST on Friday, April 27th after which time one winner will be chosen and announced on the blog. Good luck everyone and I hope some of you can make it to the signings!

Grab Bags And Other Things Made of Win

Happy Weekend Everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick post to share some fun things with you in case you've yet to hear about them. First, HarperTeen has put together a series of EPIC grab bags they will be giving away throughout the month. Each Friday in March, one winner will receive five crushable tales from the Story Crush library, so go HERE to check out all the awesomeness.

As you will see if you decide to enter, you need to "like" Epic Reads on Facebook in order to do so. I am not on Facebook because I work from home and the blog and Twitter are big enough distractions that I cannot possibly sign up and be tempted by yet another one, but my husband has an account. And I happen to know his password. So I logged in, "liked" Epic Reads, entered to win and considered it a job well done really. Then I get a phone call from my husband. It went a bit like this:

Hubs: Did you happen to use my Facebook account today?

Me: Um. What makes you ask that?

Hubs: I keep getting updates from something called Epic Reads.

Me: Huh. I can neither confirm nor deny responsibility for that.

Hubs: I'll take that as confirmation. Why did you "like" them on my behalf?

Me: Well, I'll tell you. They have a grab bag full of amazing books and I'm going to win it.

Hubs: You're going to win it?

Me: Yes.

Hubs: So you've simply entered to win is what you're saying, "liking" them didn't actually win you anything.

Me: If you care to interpret it as such. I'm more inclined to think positively and predict an outcome more in my favor.

Hubs: How many people have entered?

Me: Several.

.....

Hundred. Maybe thousand.

Hubs: So your chances of actually winning are....

Me: Slim. To possibly none. But that's not really the point is it?

Hubs: I thought it kind of was.

Me: No. The point is I went out there on a limb and took a chance. You should encourage and support me in all my endeavors, however large or small dammit.

Hubs: Uh huh. Please stop "liking" things for me. This is my account.

Me: I make no promises.

It was a good talk I feel. I think we got some things worked out ;-) Anyway, the grab bags have some really fabulous books in them, so don't forget to check out the Epic Reads Facebook page each week to enter. And hopefully win. *crosses fingers*

Additionally, I have some very cool Lauren Oliver related items to share with you. First up is a Liesl & Po Classroom sweepstakes, all of the details of which can be found HERE.

And secondly, the fantastic Dark Days tour is continuing this weekend in Los Angeles with Lauren Oliver, Claudia Gray, and Dan Wells all in attendance. Wish I could be in LA right now. For those of you who are like me and are nowhere near sunny California, you can catch the event as it's livestreamed tomorrow (March 11th) HERE courtesy of Tiffany at About To Read.

If you just can't wait that long to hear Lauren Oliver talk about the unbelievable Delirium trilogy, you can check out her stop in Raleigh, North Carolina in a video HERE.

Phew. That was a lot of links. Enjoy all the Epic Reads fun everyone!