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: August Edition

Hey Everyone!

It's been a while since I've done a Things of Awesome post because I pretty much fail at being consistent when it comes to my own features on this blog. A feature or meme someone else has created? I'm on top of it almost every week, but apparently that same determination to stick with something cannot be applied to my own monthly feature. *sigh* Oh well. I do have some really fun things to share with you for this month though, so I hope you enjoy!

SCORCHED PRE-ORDER CAMPAIGN

This book was one of the ones I was most excited to grab at BEA this year because DRAGONS. Yes. I haven't read very many books that feature dragons, so I was pumped to get my hands on this and promptly devoured it as soon as I got home. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will post my review when it gets a little closer to release day on September 3rd!

The team at Sourcebooks has put together a fun pre-order campaign for this book, so I'll let them explain how it's all going to work:

It’s Game of Thrones meets The Terminator in award-winning author Mari Mancusi’s newest, powerful new series, Scorched which will be in stores on September 3rd!

A Gift for You, for Pre-Ordering SCORCHED by Mari Mancusi

We have a special offer for U.S. and Canada YA fans for the release of Scorched by Mari Mancusi in stores in a little over three weeks! If you pre-order the book, we will send you an exclusive dragon charm—perfect to wear as jewelry or to decorate as an accessory. You have until September 2 or until quantities run out.

Here’s how to get your charm:

1. Pre-order the book (print or eBook) through any retailer (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, your local independent bookseller/Indiebound, Books-A-Million, Hastings, etc.)

2. Email your proof of purchase (receipt or picture of the receipt) to teenfire@sourcebooks.com. Put “Scorched Pre-Order” in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your home address (US & Canada only please) so we can send you the dragon charm! If you’ve already pre-ordered this book—not a problem! Send us your receipt!

3. You will get an email back confirming when the items have been sent out.

4. Enjoy Scorched when it comes out in September!

Optional: take a pic of you and your dragon charm and share it with Mari Mancusi or Sourcebooks Fire on Twitter! You can find Mari @marimancusi and Sourcebooks Fire @sourcebooksfire.

COVER REVEAL: BROKEN

In addition to launching the pre-order campaign for Scorched, Sourcebooks has also recently revealed the cover for Broken, a new young adult novel from CJ Lyons releasing November 5th. Isn't it gorgeous?

Fifteen-year-old Scarlet Killian has one chance for a normal life. Only problem? It just might kill her. Diagnosed with a rare and untreatable heart condition, Scarlet has never taken the school bus. Or giggled with friends during lunch. Or spied on a crush out of the corner of her eye. Scarlet has come to terms with the fact that despite the best efforts of her doctors and parents, she's going to die. Literally of a broken heart.  So when her parents offer her a week to prove she can survive high school, Scarlet knows her time is now... or never.

Scarlet can feel her heart beating out of control with every slammed locker and every sideways glance in the hallway. But for the first time in her life she makes real friends. She also makes new discoveries about the truth behind her illness... a truth that might just kill her before her heart does.

• • • Find CJ online • • •

CRAVE

Releasing this week is Crave by Monica Murphy, a new adult contemporary romance from Avon Books, and they have decided to tease readers into a frenzied state of anticipation by releasing the first three chapters in advance. Woot! Should you find yourself dying to read the rest of the book, be sure and pre-order now as Crave is currently available at a special price of $1.99, but only until Tuesday (August 6th) when the book releases. Find out more about Crave and check out the link to the first three chapters below!

Billionaire Archer Bancroft always gets what he wants—and he’s wanted Ivy Emerson, his best friend’s sister, for far too long. Being forbidden and untouchable only makes her more tempting. When a million-dollar bet with his friends throws down a challenge-last bachelor standing takes it all-Archer knows he can win. That is, until one enchanted evening with Ivy takes his heart for a ride.

Ivy knows Archer is nothing but bad news: Infuriating, arrogant…and completely intoxicating. But despite her best efforts, she can’t seem to keep away. When a stolen kiss leads to a night of heated passion, Ivy realizes she’s in trouble and in head over heels.

But in the light of day, everything seems clearer and Archer’s not so sure a one-night stand is all he wants. Concocting a plan to keep Ivy by his side, Archer might just be willing to lose this bet…and win the jackpot instead.

• • • Read Chapters 1-3 • • •

ARE YOU ALLEGIANT?

Who's excited for the release of Veronica Roth's Allegiant in October? *raises hand* I still haven't read Insurgent yet, I decided to wait until Allegiant came out so I could read them at the same time, that way I wouldn't have to play catch up and try and remember everything that happened. *pats self on back for thinking ahead*

HarperTeen is of course going to be launching an outstanding campaign full of juicy tidbits, prize packs, exclusive sneak peeks, and more, and they've asked me to help in that endeavor, so stay tuned for much Allegiant epicness to come!

As for now, they've released the first set of online assets, complete with headers, backgrounds, buttons and badges should you be interested in decorating your blog, website, or desktop and letting your Allegiant fangirl colors fly. You can find all the graphics HERE. Enjoy!

My favorite background:

THE VAMPIRE'S HOURGLASS: COVER REVEAL + GIVEAWAY

Lastly, I'm excited today to reveal the cover of the newest book in the Of Light and Darkness series by bestselling author Shayne Leighton. The Vampire's Hourglass (New Adult Paranormal Romance) is scheduled to be published by Decadent publishing the end of this year or beginning of next. Be sure and check out the bottom of the post for a fabulous giveaway!

After narrowly surviving a near-death experience in an effort to save Valek from yet another showdown with Aiden, Charlotte awakens inside the forsaken, crumbling walls of the Regime Palace. Though she finds herself surrounded by her closest friends, she is conflicted over her feelings of the sudden absence of her Vampire guardian from her life.
 

With Nikolai there to console her, Charlotte cannot shake the undeniable chemistry she feels for this familiar stranger. But they are running out of time. Charlotte’s peculiar ailment will return and Sarah, the witch, will sacrifice her youth and beauty in order to save her best friend, unless they find the secret, Dark City.
 

Charlotte, Nikolai, Sarah, and several other favored characters travel down to the underbellies of Prague to find Valek. But what they end up discovering are the dark and nasty secrets the elder Vampires have been hiding for centuries. Charlotte must overcome her mortal limitations to win back the heart of the one she truly loves and escape the gates of Abelim with her throat intact in this enthralling, highly-anticipated third installment of the Of Light and Darkness Series.

 Exclusive Excerpt:

           “Does it hurt? You know...when I’m around?”

            He was talking about the scar that still thrived at the side of her throat. The one that appeared there after Valek left his first, initial bite months ago in Francis’ home. The one that had ailed her since and nearly killed her until she unwittingly saved herself by stabbing a hole in her own chest. Not her empty, openly bleeding heart and her feeling of abandonment and being alone, but a literal hole that she created herself some snowy weeks ago when she attempted to end it all to prove herself as something more than just an expendable mortal in this game of light and darkness. She wanted to finally be recognized as a hero, nearly having killed herself for the sake of saving her friends from Aiden. Knowing the tainted taste of the blood from her ruptured heart would drive him away.

            But what did she have to prove for it now? Another giant scar. And more than that, her nightmare came true. Valek was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard she looked. After everything he did, and everything that had happened because of his carelessness, she wasn’t sure how badly she wanted to find him. That thought made her heart constrict. But then again, Aiden had disappeared as well. At least there was that.

       “Not really. Not as much as the emotional pain underneath it,” she finally answered Nikolai’s question honestly. “The heartbreak hurts worse than the scar ever could.”

GIVEAWAY

Signed copies of The Vampire's Daughter and The Vampire's Reflection by Shayne Leighton! This giveaway is open worldwide and ends on August 8th, 2013. Must be 13 or older to enter (with parental permission).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Things of Awesome: May Edition

Okay. I think I just need to admit defeat with this feature and demote it to a every-once-in-a-while-when-I'm-not-too-lazy-on-the-weekends-to-do-it post, because the sporadic nature of it really prevents it from deserving the title of "feature". There are handful of fun things I want to share with you this month though, complete with a new conversational snippet between me and Kevin. I hope it makes you guys smile, and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

1. LOSING IT EXTRA SCENES

I read Losing It by Cora Carmack a little while back and loved it to pieces, so I'm thrilled to share the news that Cora is going to be releasing several scenes from Garrick's point of view! *flails* Please excuse me while I die of excitement. She's planning on releasing the below four scenes periodically as pre-orders for her new release Faking It (which is also completely amazing, I highly recommend - comes out June 4th) reach certain numbers.

Scenes:
•       The One Where They Meet
•       The One Where They Meet…Again
•       The One Where He Changes His Mind
•       The One Where Bliss Gets Her Way

Um. Yes please! I need inside Garrick's head as soon as possible. The below widget will keep you all updated as to where the pre-orders stand and which of the above scenes will be released next. I hope you guys add Faking It to your lists!

2. HARPER IMPULSE

HarperTeen's new Impulse imprint might be one of my favorite things ever. Novellas don't always interest me, but I love that Harper and their various authors are releasing these little shorts that give us a look at a familiar world through a different character's eyes. Some of the novellas and short stories, of course, are new and completely unrelated to any full-length series, but I've found I've even enjoyed those as well. Below are the newest Impulse titles for May!

Allies: An Insignia Novella

In S. J. Kincaid’s fast-paced and humorous sci-fi Insignia trilogy, the earth is in the middle of World War III when teen gamer Tom Raines is recruited to train with other young cadets as a pivotal member of the elite combat corps, the Intrasolar Forces. At the Pentagonal Spire’s training academy, he makes the best friends of his life—fellow government weapons-in-training Wyatt Enslow, Vik Ashwan, and Yuri Sysevich.

In this 47-page prequel novella to the series, budding genius Wyatt Enslow—intensely loyal and hyperintelligent if occasionally, hilariously, socially awkward—takes center stage as S. J. Kincaid reveals Wyatt’s life before she found her place, and her own inner strength, among her devoted band of friends at the Spire.

Playing Keira

From a breakthrough voice in YA fiction comes a captivating digital-original 50-page short story starring a supporting character from the novel You Look Different in Real Life.

The premise was simple: Five kids living their real lives, with a new movie about them every five years. But that was before Keira's mother walked out and the cameras captured every heartbreaking detail for the world to see. Now Keira doesn't even know what "real life" means—she only knows how to pretend to be herself.

Then she meets Garrett on a bus to New York City. At first, Keira creates a fictional identity and enjoys the freedom of being someone totally different. But as their brief connection turns into something more, Keira starts to see what life could be like if she just stopped pretending and accepted the person she really is.

Jennifer Castle's pitch-perfect teen voices and sharp insights—together with a teaser to You Look Different in Real Life—make this story a must-read, especially for fans of Sarah Dessen.

You fan find the full list of available Impulse titles HERE.

3. THE QUILL AWARDS

Fashioned after The Oscars, The Quill Awards is an awards show for young adult books put together by a couple bloggers, with various categories and nominees as well as a coterie of twenty-one bloggers acting as The Academy and voting for the winners.

From the website:

A new type of award show exclusively to celebrate the last year in Young Adult fiction. It will boast all aspects of a traditional award show: awkward banter, fancy clothes, signature statuettes, and all other attributes we both love and mock. What makes this "new" is that this award show will not take place at some fancy venue, but rather it will be filmed at multiple dates in multiple locations, and then edited to form one cohesive show.

You can expect appearances from many of your favorite bloggers and authors, as well as industry professionals and maybe even some special guest entertainers. It will truly be a time to honor all aspects of the YA community. It will be quirky and homey, but hopefully also interesting and well done. The show will air late June/ early July at a date to be determined. The final list of nominees will be posted on April 26th. 
 
You fan find the full list of nominees and place your vote for the Countdown Award here.

Website • Twitter • YouTube

4. BEA

In a couple weeks I will be in NYC attending BookExpo America for the third time. I will be there with a ridiculous smile plastered on my face and my mom and mother-in-law in tow to help me master the BEA monster with our now finely-tuned divide and conquer technique. I cannot wait.

Danny and Pushy of Bewitched Bookworms and Hannah of The Irish Banana have put together some fantastic posts about what to expect if you're attending for the first time, so instead of a long rambling post of my own, I'm just going to link to their sites because they've got everything covered.

I hope to see many of you there!

5. LIFE WITH KEVIN

For the full story behind these little conversational snippets go HERE.

Kevin: I know what's going on.

Me: What, now?

Kevin: I know what's going on with the movies.

Me: I haven't the slightest inkling what you could be referring to.

Kevin: You think I haven't figured out that all three of the movies we've watched in the past couple days have had Jeremy Renner in them?

Me: Coincidence.

Kevin: Really. That's what you're going with?

Me: Yes. Maybe I just had an intense desire to watch movies about a SWAT team, a genetically enhanced badass specializing in badassery, and a sexy, leather-clad superhero who rocks a bow and arrow. You ever think of that?

Kevin: No. Want to know what I think?

Me: I'm not sure I do. I don't think I like where this is headed.

Kevin: What I think is that you've chosen Jeremy Renner as a real life version of one of your fictional men and now you're obsessing.

Me: LIES!

Kevin: We both know I'm right.

Me: Huh. I'm not sure if I love that you know me so well or if I find it irritating that there's absolutely no mystery left in our relationship.

Kevin: It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out. Nearly ninety percent of the time you don't have a clue what we're watching because you're reading, and then all of a sudden you want to watch three very specific movies all in one weekend. Kind of a tip-off.

Me: I think you're mistaken. Subtlety is one of my strong suits. I excel at it. EXCEL.

Kevin: Clearly. You've probably already gone to IMDB to cyber-stalk him and are currently considering going and buying any of his movies we don't already own.

Me: Dammit Kevin! That's it. I want a divorce. I need to be with someone less observant who doesn't call me out on my romantic fixations. I'm going to go and make a profile on Match.com immediately.

Kevin: Sounds good. Let me know what kind of interest you get.

Me: I suffer you to live.

Things of Awesome: March Edition

Remember back in December when I started this feature and explained my inherent laziness and how it might affect things down the line? Yeah. That came into play a little bit last month when I didn't post any February Things of Awesome. New feature fail. The good news though, is that I'm feeling properly motivated again and have some fun bookish things to share with you all, including another short conversational snippet between me and Kevin.

1. MAYA'S NOTEBOOK GIVEAWAY

Nineteen-year old narrator Maya Vidal is struggling to make it through her teenage years. Abandoned by her mother and neglected by her father, Maya lives in Berkeley, California with her willful, outspoken, and wise Grandmother Nidia – affectionately known as Nini – and her gentle and beloved grandfather, Popo, who both help her navigate the turbulent waters of her adolescent years.

When her Popo dies of cancer, Maya is devastated and goes completely off the rails. With her girlfriends—together, they are known as the vampires—she falls into a life of drugs, alcohol, and petty crime. Her Nini attempts to help by enrolling her in a rehabilitation center, but she continues on a downward spiral, winding up in Las Vegas in a dangerous underworld of big time drugs, crime, and prostitution.

With a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol in hot pursuit, Maya flees the country with the help of her Nini to a remote island off the coast of Chile – Chiloé. Adapting to a completely strange new life and in the company of a torture survivor, a lame dog, and other unforgettable characters, Maya records her thoughts as well as her story in her notebook, uncovers a terrible family secret, comes to understand the meaning of love and loyalty, and initiates the greatest adventure of her life: the journey into her own soul.

Thanks to the wonderful people at HarperCollins, I have two ARCs of Maya's Notebook to give away on the blog today. To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below! Giveaway is open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2. TOUCH OF FROST ON SALE

Touch of Frost, the first book in the outstanding Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep is on sale for $2.99 at several retailers through March 25th. This is a favorite series of mine, so if you've been wanting to start it, now is the perfect time to do so!

Barnes and Noble • Amazon • Kobo

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy -- a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why - especially since I should have been the one who died . . .

 

3. ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE FUN

The marketing department at Little, Brown launched an epic and insanely creative campaign for Etiquette & Espionage prior to its release, and they haven't slowed down one bit since it's been out. They've recently designed a very entertaining graphic about what one should do if one's carriage happens to be hijacked by flywaymen. This is vital knowledge people. Many a peril awaits those who travel by carriage ;-)

Check it out HERE. 

4. BIG BAD BITE

Big Bad Bite, an adult paranormal romance from authors Crystal Leo and Melissa Pahl (writing under the name Jessie Lane), has undergone some changes and is being re-released. From the authors:

“We're excited to announce that Big Bad Bite had a makeover! Inside and out! We have a sexy new cover featuring our favorite Wolf, Adam, AND Big Bad Bite was sent off and edited by the amazing girls at C&D Editing

Some might wonder, "Has the story changed?

The answer to that would be yes and no. No, because the story line is still the same. Yes, because it no longer has those pesky grammatical errors, info dumps were cut down, inconsistencies were caught, and best of all, a tiny scene was added! Overall, it's a better story, but still has a kick ass, snarky heroine Jenna, and the snarly, but lovable, Adam who wants her. 

So, if you haven't picked up your copy of Big Bad Bite yet, then go get it today!”

• • • • • • • • • •

Jenna O’ Conner has been taught her whole life to hide from everyone. Never to let anyone to close enough to know that she would prefer a shotgun for her birthday over of a bouquet of roses. She’s been smothered by her over protective family so that no one learns what she truly is. Which is not human. Nor, is she considered the norm for the supernatural Other community that is benevolent enough to share this world with the humans.

In a desperate attempt to live her own life away from the small town she was raised in, Jenna obtains her dream job as the newest member on the Wilmington Police Department’s SWAT Team. What she didn’t predict was that she would run into trouble her first day on the job, in the form of a deadly, mouthwatering man named Adam McPhee. Who is also not human, but more like a wolf walking around in human skin. He’s determined to figure out exactly what Jenna is, which unbeknownst to him, could very well put her life in danger. He’s also determined to have her all to himself.

As if that wasn’t enough for Jenna to deal with, bad news blows into town. A group of extremist Shifters who think humans are cattle and factions of Others worldwide should stay within their own species - never to intermingle. Chaos ensues. Jenna has to find a way to shut them down, but in the process of trying to do that, discovers things about herself that even she never thought was possible.

Website • Goodreads • Amazon

5. LIFE WITH KEVIN 

For the full story behind these little conversational snippets go HERE.

Me: (reading in my head) He held out his arms, and she hit him full force right in the chest. He lifted her, hugging her so close that he was sure he crushed her. He spun her round and round as he buried his face in her hair, absorbing the feel of having her in his arms –

Kevin: RIIIBBBBIIIITTTT

*Please let it be noted that the word "ribbit" (yes, like a frog), in this particular instance was not yelled out, but rather belched. BELCHED.

Me: Wow. Seriously?

Kevin: What?

Me: You just interrupted a very romantic scene with your obscene burp. Must you always "ribbit"?

Kevin: Yes.

Me: I've never been less attracted to you than I am right now. I'm pretty sure Bowen (the hero) doesn't ribbit when he belches. In fact, I'm thinking he doesn't belch at all.

Kevin: *glances at book cover* You're reading a book about a highlander. There's no way in hell highlanders didn't belch.

Me: Bowen doesn't. I'm quite certain he doesn't fart either. He's a miracle of nature. And manhood.

Kevin: According to that cover, he's also perfectly waxed. Seems unlikely for a highlander.

Me: You don't know that Kevin. You weren't alive then. Maybe this particular clan of highlanders were all inexplicably hairless and perfectly toned. YOU'RE RUINING IT BY QUESTIONING!

Kevin: Okay.

Me: Let me preserve the fantasy, alright? I like to think that somewhere out there is a glorious male specimen who refrains from randomly belching out words in the presence of the woman he's madly in love with.

Kevin: Well, unfortunately for you, that man is not here. Here there be ribbits.

Me: *headdesk*

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.