Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Bookanistas: Winner Announcement and PAST MIDNIGHT Series Giveaway!!!!

It's a big day around these parts. First of all, we are excited to announce the winner of THE WHITE ASSASSIN giveaway from last week. Congratulations Corey Schwartz--you are the proud new owner. Email us your address ASAP and we'll pop it in the mail, lucky girl!

Second of all, it's almost Halloween. Halloween is taken VERY seriously in Laura's household. If you remember from last year, Lydia dressed up as Mickey Mouse and her husband rented a full out Donald Duck costume, tights and all. Well, this year Lydia has chosen to be Rapunzel from Tangled and hubs is taking on Flynn Ryder, her romantic interest, which is wrong on many levels and will embarrass Lydia to no end when she's old enough to understand. Pictures to follow--just know the costume involves some controversial leggings that Laura is rallying to have replaced by khakis. The neighbors will thank her.

In honor of Halloween, we're excited to offer yet another giveaway on the blog, this time with THREE of Mara Purnhagen's SIGNED books from the PAST MIDNIGHT series. Mara is absolutely fabulous and the series is not to be missed (especially around this time of year) so even if you don't win, definitely check them out.

PAST MIDNIGHT:

Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear. All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive…. 


ONE HUNDRED CANDLES:

It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.


BEYOND THE GRAVE:


I can't move forward with my life, until I know my demons are confined to the past…

Being Charlotte Silver, the daughter of famous paranormal investigators, means my life isn't like that of other teenage girls. Especially after what happened to my parents. Things changed. I missed prom and deferred my big college plans. But I still have my boyfriend, Noah. He's everything I could want—if I can figure out what's up with him. Suddenly Noah is secretive.

I fear it has something to do with what happened to us three months ago. The bruise Noah suffered during a paranormal attack has never completely faded. Now I've learned Noah is researching demons. And when he disappears, it's up to me to find him—before something else does.


To win, tell us about any ghost encounters of your own in the comments. GOOD LUCK!

And check out what the other Bookanistas are up to this week:


Elana Johnson cheers for Crossed

Christine Fonseca reveals books she cannot wait to read

Beth Revis interviews My Very UnFairytale Life author Anna Staniszewski

Shannon Whitney Messenger interviews Skyship Academy-Pearl Wars author Nick James & agent Jennifer Rofe – with giveaway

Jessi Kirby twirls for Audition

Shana Silver burns for Circle of Fire

Carrie Harris devours Deadly

Stasia Ward Kehoe travels to The Day Before

19 comments:

Bwyatt said...

So, I don't know if it was a ghost, but it was definately freaky. I was laying in bed one night (in the basement, I know, cliche) and my dog, a toy poodle, starts staring at the corner and barking. I couldn't get him to shut up or lay down. So I took him upstairs and brought the Golden Retriever down. I was just snuggling up with Lillie (the dog) when she sat bolt upright and started staring and barking AT THE SAME CORNER! Needless to say, I hightailed it up stairs to the guest room, put both dogs in the bed with me, and left the lights on. I slept up there for at least a week. FREAKY!
Thanks for the giveaway!
britneywyatt[at]gmail[dot]com

storyqueen said...

I am pretty sure the house I grew up in was haunted...not hugely haunted, but a little. There were always strange sounds when there was nobody home but me and I hated being in that house alone.

And my stuff was always missing...and not because I was scatterbrained or anything like that...hey, where's my comb?

Kerri Cuev said...

Hi gals! Sorry I've been MIA, but I dropped in on contest so woohoo! I used to live in a place where at night the kitchen utensils would be thrown across the room. Every morning I would have to pick them up. I never learned to put them away. So, either the ghost wasn't to fond of cooking or calling me lazy. You decide! Lol.

Halloween is serious business in my household also. Costumes, neighborhood stratagies, and candy trading are planned MONTHS in advance.

Unknown said...

I've never had any ghost encounters, and I don't want any.
amandarwest atgmaildotcom

MarcyKate said...

I haven't had a ghost encounter myself but I used to work in a haunted theatre. Ghost Hunters even did a show there! My co-workers had a lot of strange experiences such as computers turning on and off by themselves, phantom tap dancers, and strange lights on the stage (one of which was captured in a photo and looks just like the figure of a woman - CREEPY!).

The books sound fantastic! Thanks for running the giveaway!

Matthew MacNish said...

There is a cool visual theme that connects these covers. I like it.

Marsha Sigman said...

One time I was in this old haunted house and I lit a black flame candle and brought these witches back from the dead...no wait. That was Hocus Pocus.

Well, another time I visited this old mansion and the guy who owned it trapped me because he thought I was his long lost lover back from the dead...no wait. That was The Haunted Mansion.

Sorry, I got nothing. But I want these books!

Jessy said...

I haven't had any ghost encounters, but I always wanted one. After reading a lot ghost stories on the blogs for Halloween, I think I may have changed my mind!

Vivien said...

I haven't had a ghost encounters. However, I love going through those creepy abandoned places in town in the hopes of one!

Vivien
deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

When I was younger, I was laying on the bed in my uncle's room late at night and I could swear I heard something outside and I look out the window and I'm sure I saw a lady in a white dress...who looked transparent.

Kailia

twilightforever.edward at gmail dot com

Melissa said...

On a New Year's Eve weekend away with four other couples we stayed at an old mansion called Martindale Hall in the Clare Valley in South Australia. It is a beautifully preserved mansion built in the 1800's with a lot of original furniture and decor. On New Year's Eve we had a murder mystery night (roughly based on some of the former occupiers of the home), we had a lovely dinner and lots of fun, with some very bad acting! It had been extremely hot that weekend (around 105 degrees Fahrenheit), and with no airconditioning we struggled to get to sleep that night. We had all gone to bed around 2am in the morning, at 2.30am we were jolted awake with the obnoxious sound of the fire alarm. There was no fire, and the owner couldn't find any fault in the fire alarm...
When we returned home we recieved an email from one of the other couples with photos from the evening, a photo from the front parlor displayed an eery blob of greenish light seated on a chair in the corner of the room.
Perhaps some former residence of the mansion did not approve of our New Year's Eve fun? Was our acting that bad??

Thanks for the contest, I hope it is open internationally!

Melissa
kllamp(at)internode(dot)on(dot)net

Rebekkah Ford said...

I grew up in a paranormal family, (that's probably why I write YA paranormal books), but my parents weren't ghost hunters. Instead, they were UFO investigators, and my dad used to go on hunting trips. But he didn't hunt game. Oh no. Not him. LOL. He hunted Big Foot.
When I was very young, we lived in a haunted house where weird ass things would happen: strange noises, things disappearing and reappear, covers levitating. One time, my parents left a tape recorder on during the night and when they played it back the next morning, it sounded like a party was going on in our house. My dad had told my mom he didn't care if the spirits threw a party in our house, just as long as they cleaned up their mess Lol.
Thanks for the contest Count me in, :).
Rebekkah
htt://themusingwriter.blogspot.com

J.C. Martin said...

What an intriguing series!

Sadly, boring old me have no ghostly encounters to tell, unless you count the one where we decided to investigate the supposedly haunted toilets in my high school, a block of toilets situated at the bottom of a hill and half-concealed by strangling vines. We were staying the night in the school as part of a camping expedition. I bravely entered the unlit stalls alone, the only girl to do so. Then a cold clammy hand patted me on the shoulder. I shrieked like a banshee and tore out of there. I knew full well when it happened that what I felt was no phantom hand, but when I realised what it REALLY was -- a squirmy, icky gecko that fell off the wall onto me when I pushed open the door -- it freaked me out even more than any ghostly encounter would, as there is nothing that scares me more than lizards!

J.C.

Join me in the Trick or Treat Spooktacular! Could you help make the Grand Prize a brand new Kindle Touch?

Gabi said...

My aunt and uncle bought this old house on a 1 mile by 1 mile piece of nowhere in Nebraska. It actaully has a lot of history: some millionaire used to live there, way back when in the early 1900s. Anyway, this guy never trusted banks so he kept all of his money in a chest. Before he died, he supposidly burried his chest (full of his life's fortune) in the creek that runs through the property. We were visiting, and we went out to see the old house. It was huge, two stories, and all the windows and doors were borded up. My cousins told us that if you banged on the wall, you would disturb the ghosts inside. So of course we did, and then loud knocking noises came from inside. We were totally freaked and believed we'd heard the ghost of the millionaire for YEARS afterwords (until my mom took pity on us and confided they were bats). And yes, we did look for the chest of money in the creek. We never found it. :]

That's my only "ghost" story!

Gabi: teddycavygal at yahoo dot com

Orchid said...

Sigh, I have never had a ghostly encounter so I have nothing to share. Yes, I am lacking an interesting story (fail).

Orchid
hauntingorchid(at)aol(dot)com

Diana said...

When I was really young, on a particular night after having a scary dream, I saw something.

It was as I was walking down the hall to my parents' room for comfort from the dream.
Everything was quiet, and my nerves had calmed down enough for me to actually move and brave my way out of my covers.
I began the walk down the hall, perhaps dimly lit by a nightlight somewhere, or perhaps dark; I can't remember.
But I do remember the shape I saw in front of me.
I was just floating there, between me and my parents' room.
Nothing above it, nothing below.
It oddly looked like a T-shirt.
I froze and stared at it, trying to understand what I was seeing.
Then I realized that it was slowly making its way toward me.
I unstuck myself and ran back to my room, flinging myself back under my covers.
Why is it we think our covers are so safe?

The next morning during breakfast, I told my mother and sister about my night.

They laughed and asked me if I tried it on.
I was very offended.

ladyofnarnia(at)yahoo(dot)com

Jill the OWL said...

I've never really had one! The best I can do is that sometimes I'll smell my dad's tobacco from his pipe. He died almost 15 years ago. It's the coolest thing when it happens!

themgowl at gmail dot com

donnas said...

I was walking down the hall in the house where I grew up and I saw a figure in an old fashioned dressing gown standing in front of my closet as if looking for something to wear. Another time, many years later, me, my mom and my sister were getting ready to leave my apartment to go to a funeral. One of us said its time to go and the TV turned off. We were all across the room by each other and the remote was on the coffee table in the middle of the room. I dont think we were supposed to be late.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

donnas said...

I was walking down the hall in the house where I grew up and I saw a figure in an old fashioned dressing gown standing in front of my closet as if looking for something to wear. Another time, many years later, me, my mom and my sister were getting ready to leave my apartment to go to a funeral. One of us said its time to go and the TV turned off. We were all across the room by each other and the remote was on the coffee table in the middle of the room. I dont think we were supposed to be late.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

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