Friday, April 29, 2011

iClue Made Easy: WIN AN iPOD TOUCH!

So, we've been blogging about iClue all week, but most of you guys haven't entered yet. We couldn't decide if you're too busy or we're boring, so we decided to assume the former and make it SUPER easy for you to solve The Case of Seth and the Secret Admirer.

Happy Friday super sleuths!

***

I shoved the last of a king-sized Snickers bar in his mouth as I wrapped up our weekly Northern Ohio Association of Conspiracy Theorists online chat. Kate thinks it's hilariously appropriate that a group of guys who spend the majority of their time debating whether or not the moon landing was a hoax goes by the acronym NOACT because we get NO ACTION. Get it? Yeah, Kate might be hot but I'm not giving her any points for originality.

I was just about to log out of instant messenger when a new chat popped up.

SethFan#1: Hi there!
SethaSaurus: Very funny, Kate.
SethFan#1: This isn't Kate.
SethaSaurus: NOT funny Liam.
SethFan#1: It's not Liam either.
SethaSaurus: ...ok? So who is it then?
SethFan#1: Someone who has a thing for you...
SethaSaurus: Yeah, sure. Logging out now.

My finger hovered over the logout button but I saw that SethFan#1 was responding to my message and I couldn't quite bring myself to log out without seeing what they said. I mean, what if it wasn't a joke? What if some girl actually had a thing for me. I grabbed the bag of Cool Ranch Dorritos shoved underneath my desk and tore it open with my teeth. Something told me this was about to get interesting.

SethFan#1: Meet me at Farrow's Arches at midnight and I'll explain.

My Cool Ranch Dorrito crusted fingers hovered over the keyboard, but I had no idea how to respond. It was 11:38. That gave me 12 minutes to get to the arches to either be humiliated or meet my dream girl.

SethaSaurus: Not sure this is a good idea.

I polished off the last few chips in the bag and poured the crumbs down my throat. There's no way I wasn't going to the arches, but I had to figure out who was going to be waiting for me.

My phone buzzed on the desk next to my computer. I had a new text.


Right. So apparently my secret admirer was into riddles. Not gonna lie, that's kind of a turn on for a guy who's been known to spend entire weekends trying to break a code created by someone named ConspiracyLuvR. I looked at the clock on my phone, only 10 minutes till midnight if I was going to get there in time I had to get going. I peeked my head out into the hallway, the house was silent and dark. My parents had a strict 9 PM bedtime routine and I could hear my dad snoring loudly behind the closed door of their room. It was now or never.

I fired up my mom's minivan and crossed my fingers that the sound machine in my parents' room would drown out the noise of the garage door opening. My stomach grumbled as I pulled out of the driveway. All this stress was making me hungry. Thank God my mom kept snacks for me in the car. I grabbed a package of Oreos and stuffed a few in my mouth. By the time I pulled up to the school I had finished half the package and it felt a little like all the cookies had congealed together in a giant cookie cannonball in my stomach. Not. Good.

The clock on the car radio read 11:58 PM. I threw open the car door and made my way through the shadowed gardens to the arches. Out of nowhere two hands flew around my eyes.

"Guess who?" The voice sing songed softly while someone else slipped a worn piece of paper into my clammy hands.

Honestly, I had no idea.

But when I opened my eyes and saw three girls staring back at me, I knew this was going to be more complicated than I ever could have imagined. Especially after I read the note.






Standing in front of me were three of the hottest girls in my school. I had to pinch myself to make sure this wasn't one of those dreams they teach you about in health class.

Pain shot up my thigh my bicep and I had to bite back the urge to yelp. Yep, this was actually happening. I grinned from ear to ear. I just couldn't help it. Three hot girls waiting in the garden for me? This was awesome.

"Eeew, Seth! You have all this black stuff in your teeth. What have you been eating?" Kate looked totally disgusted with me as usual, but she slung her arm around my shoulders and gave me a little squeeze. I don't even think she realized she was doing it. Typical Kate. Liking people in spite of herself.

Taylor hung back a little from the rest of the girls. Her icy blue eyes looked even more haunted than they usually did in the moonlit garden. She offered me a small smile and I had to wonder if she was the one who came here to meet me tonight.

Meanwhile Maddie stood next to Kate, pulling down her t-shirt and tugging at jeans that looked too tight now that she was eating again. Her eyes flicked onto my face and then flicked back to the ground.

All of the sudden I knew exactly who had called me there tonight. At first my jaw dropped in shock but then I felt my lips turn up into a smile when I noticed the tiniest pink flower embroidered on Maddie’s shirt.


So....now that you have all the clues, who do you think Seth's secret admirer is? Click here to enter and if you guess correctly you'll get an entry to win the iPod Touch loaded with 6 AMAZING books!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Do You iClue? The Case of Seth Allen's Secret Admirer Part #4




Kate Who? It's time for an iClue Mystery Featuring Our Favorite Binge Eating, Conspiracy Theory Obsessed, Ginger. Click here to read Part #1, Part #2 and Part #3.

It's Day 4 of Liar Society iClue week over here and The Reading Room has posted our final clue! Check it out and CLICK HERE to solve the mystery and enter to win an iPod Touch! Happy sleuthing! 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Do You iClue? The Case of Seth Allen's Secret Admirer Part #3




Kate Who? It's time for an iClue Mystery Featuring Our Favorite Binge Eating, Conspiracy Theory Obsessed, Ginger.

Click here to read Part #1 and Part #2.

It's Day 3 of Liar Society iClue week over here. SO sorry that we left you hanging yesterday regarding Seth's secret admirer. Lucky for you, you can see what happens next and get a clue to solve the mystery by visiting A Good Addiction. Happy sleuthing!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Do You iClue? The Case of Seth Allen's Secret Admirer Part #2




Kate Who? It's time for an iClue Mystery Featuring Our Favorite Binge Eating, Conspiracy Theory Obsessed, Ginger. Click here to read Part #1.

It's Day 2 of Liar Society iClue week over here. So sorry that we left you hanging yesterday regarding Seth's secret admirer. Lucky for you, you can see what happens next and get a clue to solve the mystery by visiting Mundie Moms. Happy sleuthing! 

Monday, April 25, 2011

Do You iClue? The Case of Seth Allen's Secret Admirer Part #1




Kate Who? It's time for an iClue Mystery Featuring Our Favorite Binge Eating, Conspiracy Theory Obsessed, Ginger

If you've read The Liar Society you probably remember Kate's dedicated sidekick Seth Allen. Well, those of you on Team Seth (and really who isn't?) are in for a treat this week because our iClue mystery is all about Seth and a Secret Admirer. What? You didn't think you were the only one with a massive crush on the pocket sized ginger, did you?

Click here to read the first installment of the mystery and check back every day this week to see where you can find clues that will help you channel Kate Lowry and solve The Case of Seth Allen's Secret Admirer once and for all. 

Every day this week we'll be posting more of Seth's mystery, so stay tuned!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Enter iClue NOW!


Have you entered iClue? No? STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND ENTER RIGHT THIS SECOND!

Click here to read Lee Nichols's amazing mysteries including a never-before-seen excerpt of SURRENDER.

Click here to read Kimberly Derting's fabu mystery featuring the always engaging Violet.

Click here to read Beth Revis's awesome Across the Universe themed mystery.

And after you've solved the mysteries click here, enter your personal information and the solution to the mystery. And VOILA, you now officially have one entry to win an iTouch loaded with 6 fabulous books. Stay tuned on Monday when we'll be posting our super-secret Seth-themed iClue mystery.

Happy sleuthing!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Friday Five: Television Intervention

1. The other day, I watched an entire season of 16 and Pregnant in one day including the Reunion Special. I cried multiple times throughout. I went to bed feeling hungover and dirty.

2. Income Property on HGTV makes me want to remodel our basement so we can reduce our mortgage to $300. Granted, we'd also have to share our house with a complete stranger, but a part of me thinks it might be worth it. Maybe they could help with childcare.

3. I will always turn on Little Bear if the show is requested. The reason for this is because on one episode, Little Bear wanted his mom to play with him, but she explained that it was time for her to read a book and continued to rock in her rocker. A good lesson for all wee ones.

4. I bawled my eyes out during the last two episodes of Parenthood. I'm talking lump in your throat kind of tears. All I could imagine was Lydia falling in love with some guy and not wanting to talk to me anymore. It was devastating.

5. I've watched the first three episodes of Pregnant in Heels more times than I care to admit. Someone needs to block the show from my TV. This might be a cry for help.

Please, dear God, someone cancel my cable. Happy Friday!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Booksanistas: SPOILED

Once upon the time, back when I had a desk job and no kids and an entire lunch hour to kill on the interwebs I discovered blogs. I have no memory of how I found these blogs (Probably I was bored enough to spend my time googling things like "hilariously bad celebrity fashion." Yes, seriously.) but eventually I ended up with a file of 30 or 40 bookmarked blogs that I scanned during boring conference calls. At some point along the way, bloggers became my rock stars. They were funny, entertaining, witty and amazing writers to boot. The Fug Girls were (and are) at the very top of my list of blogstars (see what I did just there?). 

I love them. I aspire to be as funny as they are. I want to skin them and wear them as last season's Versace. Ok, maybe not that last part, but The Real Housewives of New Jersey premiers next week and I couldn't resist.

Just when I thought I couldn't love La Femme de Fug any more than I already do they went and wrote a YA book called SPOILED. My worlds collided and my brain exploded with awesome when Gretchen McNeil sent an ARC my way. 

Here's what the back cover has to say:
Sixteen-year-old Molly Dix has just discovered that her biological father is Brick Berlin, world-famous movie star and red-carpet regular. Intrigued (and a little terrified) by her Hollywood lineage, Molly moves to Los Angeles and plunges headfirst into the deep of Beverly Hills celebrity life. Just as Molly thinks her life couldn't get any stranger, she meets Brooke Berlin, her gorgeous, spoiled half sister, who welcomes Molly to la-la land with a smothering dose "sisterly love"...but in this town, nothing is ever what it seems. 

Set against a world of Redbull-fuelled stylists, tiny tanned girls, popped-collar guys, and Blackberry-wielding publicists, Spoiled is a sparkling debut from the writers behind the viciously funny celebrity blog GoFugYourself.com

Lila's Take:
I predict SPOILED will be the book to be seen with on the beach this summer. I mean, Midwestern gal + Hollywood Celebutante in Training ÷ Fug Girls humor = WIN. The characters are engaging, the plot zips right along and nothing is what it seems in Hollyweird. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out which celebrity the unintentionally hilarious Brick was based on and I adored the many celeb cameos and asides. Molly is relatable and engaging while Brooke is flat out hilarious. But what I loved most about SPOILED is that it's not a book about superficial mean girls and it's not a book about a girl falling head over heels for a boy. It's a book about sisters and friendship and figuring out that people aren't always what they seem. Fug Nation fangirls are going to flip for SPOILED. Pick up your copy June 1st!

Check out what the other Bookinistas are up to this week:

Click here to join The Bookanista Book Club at The Reading Room where you can check out all the books we're buzzing about! 

Elana Johnson visits Dark and Hollow Places
Christine Fonseca has a passion for Possession – with giveaway
Shannon Messenger marvels at Moonglass – with giveaway
Jamie Harrington adores Invincible Summer
Shelli Johannes-Wells is in the grip of Possession
Scott Tracey bathes in Blood Magic
Carolina Valdez Miller interviews Invincible Summer author Hannah Moskowitz
Jessi Kirby praises Playing Hurt
Bethany Wiggins delves into Divergent
Shana Silver presents a Guestanista gushing over Between Here and Forever
Carrie Harris sings out about Shift
Rosemary Clement-Moore applauds Abandon
Sarah Frances Hardy enjoys Me Jane
Matt Blackstone loves Like Mandarin
Corrine Jackson delights in The Duff
Stasia Ward Kehoe discusses Displacement

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

POSSESSION: Control or be controlled

Look what popped up in our inbox yesterday from Publishers Weekly. YUP. Our friend is FAMOUS. And we couldn't be more proud. Soak it all in, Elana. You deserve everything coming your way!


Possession held me completely captivated from
beginning to end. And what an end! I fell in love with the
characters and had countless moments of ‘Wow.’”
—JAMES DASHNER, bestselling author of The Maze Runner
For more, visit possessionthebook.com


P.S. Sorry the image is wonky. Click here to request an eGalley!

P.P.S. The winner of ALICE-MIRANDA AT SCHOOL is #4, Sarah Frances Hardy! Congratulations, Sarah Frances! Also...once the book makes its rounds throughout your household, you might consider forwarding on to Jen Daiker. We were pulling for you, Jen!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tell The Truth Tuesday

1. I've watched Megamind five times over the past 48 hours. That's right, it's Spring Break and all bets are off over here.

2. Do they really expect me to believe that Bimbo Bread is pronounced Beembo? Nice try ad wizards.

3. An actual conversation at 7:17 PM EST at my house:

4-year-old: Mommy!
Me: WHAT!?! It's bedtime!
4-year-old: I sick.
Me: Duly noted...Goodnight!
4-year-old: My tummy hurts. I'm going to throw up.
Me: Just lay on your side! Nighty night!

4. We had a Skype chat with an awesome group of girls in Tampa, Florida yesterday and one of the kids escaped from the closet woke up from their nap in the middle of the chat so these poor adorable girls had to witness my patented DON'T-YOU-DARE-MAKE-A-SOUND-I'M-ON-THE-PHONE-look. Complete with a very stern finger point. Not. Pretty.

5. Another birthday that never ends has begun at my house. Made Dora cake on Friday--really, Dora? Pink shirt, orange shorts, purple backpack, yellow socks? That's a LOT of color changes and also explains why Dora was looking a bit more monochromatic than normal. Rice Krispies treats for school tomorrow, party on Saturday for actual birthday and mega Bowling Bash combined cousin party next weekend. Wowsa. That's a whole lot of birthday.


We're doing something a little different this week. We love reading your Tuesday Truths so much that we want you to post them on your own blog! Link up here and we'll swing by your neck of the woods.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Our Blogging Manifesto

At approximately 10:00 PM the night before a weekday, either one of us will ask the other the same question.

Any ideas for the blog tomorrow?

We usually (unless Laura breaks it) have an unspoken rule about having a blog post scheduled/edited before turning in for the night. And, we're not gonna lie, sometimes the posts flow freely, must-be-written type of writing, perfectly timely and witty and entertaining and enlightening, and others just...don't.

But we've been doing a whole lot of talking about the how and why behind our blog, so here goes nothing.

1. We're committed to random. Books? Check. Writing? Check. Kids? Check. Live-streamed thoughts on a crappy Lifetime movie? Check. We are incredibly random individuals (thanks primarily to our dad) and we love to share the random. No, it's not always going to make sense and yes, sometimes you will be offended (we're looking at you Regulator), but, hey, at least it's (sometimes) entertaining.

2. We're honest. We aren't known for beating around any bushes. If we're having a crappy mom kind of day, you'll be the first to know about it. If we cried when we saw our cover, yep, we'll let you in. If we think Gywneth would give the old D-Bag-O-Meter a run for its money, we'll put it out there. Honesty's the best policy, bitches.

3. We're not afraid to be the butt of the joke. We grew up with people making fun of us. Constantly. I have a memory of my parents joking around about how my braces and my general disdain for personal hygiene (In my defense I was 11! Ok, fine, it's still pretty gross.) wouldn't exactly earn me prom queen votes. It's kind of difficult to take yourself seriously after that although I made a valiant effort while dancing in a very unfortunate production of Swan Lake at Sharon's School of Dance. Yeah, I was the oversized swan in the back who was consistently five steps behind the rest of the class.

4. We try to admit when we're wrong. We make a lot of mistakes. Thinking about some of them makes us cringe. (Is it ever a good idea to give a book a thumbs down and TAKE A PICTURE OF IT??? Um, no. No, it is not.) We hope that when we make announcements about how we got rejected by 100 literary agents when we queried our first novel because we had no clue what we were doing and sent it out WAY too early that you'll learn from our complete lack of judgement. We're nothing if not a walking, talking cautionary tale about how not to succeed in publishing.

5. We're here because we love it. At the end of the day, we're not trying to be anyone except who we actually are. Some days we're rookie novelists launching our debut novel. Other days we're posting humiliating pictures to reminisce about the tragedy that was 90's fashion. And a lot of days we're hanging around in yoga pants wondering how people survive without Nick Jr. (aka preschool on demand). But mostly we're a couple of moms trying to have our cake and eat it too. Now, if we could just find that fork....

Friday, April 15, 2011

Friday Fabulousness

1. Happy Endings. The Michael Jordan of destroying friendships, hats signed by Turtle from Entourage, butchy mom hair and burgandy Windstars. So. Awesome. Full episode below.



2. Jane Eyre. Yeah, we never saw it. We totally ended up at a coffee shop gossiping with Scott Tracey and Leah Clifford instead. Not gonna lie, I'll take Chipotle and snark over longing and crazy attic ladies any day of the week.

3. Even better, we totally #Rock(ed)TheDrop and gave four very happy girls in Chipotle copies of Liar Society and A Touch Mortal. They were so pumped and were actually fighting over the books. And even better, we got it all on video!



4. THE FINAL SEASON OF FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS STARTS TONIGHT! TIM RIGGINS! COACH TAYLOR! TAMMY TAYLOR! Football. So, um, yeah. I'm excited. It's the only show on television that my husband and I watch together. Well, except when I catch him watching Keeping Up With the Kardashian marathons.

5. Kimberly Derting + iClue = AWESOME. Read Part 1, Part 2Part 3 and Part 4 of her mystery and then click here to enter to win an iPod Touch. DO IT. You know you wanna.

Any fabulousness to report this week? We want to hear it all in the comments. Happy Friday friends!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Bookinistas: ALICE-MIRANDA AT SCHOOL


ALICE-MIRANDA AT SCHOOL brought me straight back to my 6th grade classroom. And it makes me miss those days, which is not always easy to do.


What the back cover has to say:
Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennigton-Jones can't wait to start boarding school. When she arrives at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies, the adventure begins . . . only not quite as Alice-Miranda expects. The minute she sets foot on the school's manicured grounds, she senses that something is wrong: Miss Grimm, the headmistress, is nowhere to be seen, the gardens have no flowers, and a mysterious stranger seems to be hiding out on the premises.



But that's not all. Some girls are mean and spoiled, like Alethea Goldsworthy. Can Alice-Miranda defeat Alethea in one of three difficult tests she must pass to remain at school? Will she discover Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale's big secret—and make things right? Well, if anyone can, it's spunky Alice-Miranda!

What Lila has to say:

What a wonderful start to a new series. Tweens will fall in love with Alice-Miranda (as I did) and will be lining up for the next installment. And it's a super-easy sell making me wish I was back in the classroom again so I could pass it along. Readers will be thrilled with the cast of characters--Alice-Miranda is the youngest and has the most positive outlook on life, which can't help but make you smile, there are a handful of misunderstoods, who I always enjoy because they appear to be one way and end up altogether different and then some trusty friends, which after reading a ridiculous amount of mean-girl-inspired YA, is incredibly refreshing. Add in a fun mystery and a fascinating boarding school that doesn't seem quite right and get ready for a solid middle grade read.

This is one you can recommend without hesitation as girls will be drawn right into Alice-Miranda's world. Even better? It comes complete with a series of extras in the back. Recipes featured throughout, a handy cast of characters and an epilogue that pulls it all together. There's even a sneak preview of Alice-Miranda's next adventure. So glad I had a chance to read this one! It takes everything I loved about teaching those quirky, often-awkward, middle grade students and rolls it up into one perfect package. I'll definitely be sending a few emails out to my teacher friends after this one.

In fact, this book made me so happy, we figured why not spread the love? One lucky commenter will win a copy of ALICE-MIRANDA AT SCHOOL so you can see for yourself!

Check out what the other Bookinistas are up to this week:


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Live From New York it's Wednesday Morning

OK, this is so random and it contains some swearing, but I peed a little when they mentioned Eagle Eyed Cherry and grabbed a handful of scrambled eggs. I think there's something wrong with me.


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tell the Truth Tuesday

1. My Google Chrome is all jacked up and this makes me very, VERY stabby.

2. Laura went to bed without checking in about the blog post for today. This makes me want to reveal some controversial truths just to teach her a lesson.

3. Sadly, I'm all out of controversial truths. Blerg.

4. #askiClue was AWESOME last night. If you missed it you can go back and reread the tweets. Lots of fantastic questions and answers.

5. I found Mildred Pierce more disturbing than Black Swan. I blame Veda. That bitch is totally cray cray.

6. I want to write something that makes people feel the way this song makes me feel.



7. My kids are on Spring Break next week and every single year around this time I'm reminded of college Spring Break and the MTV marathon of disgusting challenges and reality dating shows that came with it. Not gonna lie, I'd much rather watch the cast of the Jersey Shore bong beers than sit through the Dora episode where Boots loses his bath toy. Judge me if you must.

8. One of the girls at the gym tried to tell me that Ben wasn't "enjoying" his time spent in the baby play room and I just shrugged and told her I'd see her tomorrow.

9. I liked the musical episode of Grey's Anatomy.

10. I keep checking B&N's site to make sure that our small victory isn't just a computer glitch. So far so good.

Ok, out with it. What's your truth this Tuesday? Tell all in the comments.

Monday, April 11, 2011

75 Degrees and Sunny

It's starting to feel like spring in our world so we got outside yesterday. The kids were bare-armed, smiling, sticky-fingered and squinting back the sun. And then, after baths and showers, one more book, a favorite song and sheets tucked up under chins, we settled in for our usual Internet shenanigans. It looks something like:

1. Check Sunday's PostSecrets
2. Check Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr
3. Read updated When Parents Text
4. Check stock on Barnes and Noble

Shortly after Lisa completed number 4, I received the following text: "Um...check b and n for our zip code. Did grandma harrass every store?" Our Grandmother has been known to call every Barnes and Nobles near her just to be sure they are stocking our book. So really, we wouldn't put it past her. But not only is our book carried in all of the B&Ns near us, but most of the B&Ns in other zip codes we plugged in. We're kind of thinking we're stocked in most of the Barnes and Noble stores across the United States!

Now, for many authors, this might not be a big deal. But for us???? This is a HUGE victory! Throughout the course of our release month, our book could be found at one or two stores in most major cities. But now it appears as though we're stocked more widely. We've learned a lot throughout this book publishing process, but one of the most important lessons we've learned is to celebrate victories. So...woohoo!

Granted, we have no idea what this means (if anything). We also understand that this might be a computer error or perhaps a mistake, but we'll take it. (Note to blog readers: If you visit B&N and don't find a copy of Liar Society, don't tell us. Probably best that we don't know.) In the meantime, flowers are blooming, we've packed away our winter coats and we're stocked in B&N, baby.

Happy Monday!

P.S.
In even BETTER news, Part 1 of Kimberly Derting's iClue is UP! Check it!

Friday, April 8, 2011

iClue in 4 Simple Steps


OK, so we can't help but notice that a lot of people are confused or intimidated by the big iClue promotion we have going on and today we're going to maneuver you out of the fetal position and show you how EASY it is to participate.

So...without further ado, here's how you can join in the fun:

1. Writers you adore have written 6 fantastic mysteries for YOU. That's right, YOU. Beth Revis kicked things off this week with her Across the Universe themed mystery and it's nothing short of awesome. You can read follow the links to all of the clues HERE at The Reading Room.

2. So, now you've read the mystery and the clues and because you're crazy smart, you probably have it all figured out. Now all you have to do is click here, enter your personal information and the solution to the mystery. And VOILA, you now officially have one entry to win an iTouch loaded with 6 fabulous books.

3. Next week the fantabulous Kimberly Derting will be sharing her mystery based on her smashing Body Finder series. Check her blog on Monday for all the details and repeat steps 1 and 2 to get ANOTHER entry to win an iTouch.

4. Still confused??? Email us! We want you to enter (and win!) this contest. Let us help you help yourselves. Or something like that.

Strap on your WWNDD (What Would Nancy Drew Do) bracelet and solve a mystery (or 6). We promise it's fun AND easy.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Bookanistas Give Back (And YOU win!)


Charitable donations are a very personal thing. There are so many ways our hard earned money can help others, and lately our world seems to be breaking into pieces around us. Needs are many and great. The Bookanistas want to give back, so in the coming months, we're going to be looking for ways to pour into communities, both bookish and worldwide. 



For the month of April, we've chose to spotlight Run For Your Life an event that's raising money for a cancer hospital, largely because the framework is already set up (we'd like to keep it simple our first time out), and also because of personal connections to the cause. Most everyone has lost a loved one to cancer or knows someone who has. 

*To encourage you to donate, we're going to give away some sweet prizes! 



Here's how it will work:* 





2. Make a donation. $5 is suggested, but lower or higher is fine. (Also know 
that for every dollar you donate, you'll be entered to win a private, advance screening for twenty people for Breaking Dawn. The Bookanistas have NOTHING to do with that part - that's all Charlie Bewley and Summit Entertainment.) 


3. Come back and fill out the entry form on this page. We're *trusting you* to be honest about giving, and about the amount you give. Don't be a mamby pamby. Keep up our faith in mankind. 


4. The Bookanistas will be giving away a selection of prizes (see list below). You will be entered *one time *for* each dollar* you donate ($5 = 5 entries). If you wish to be entered to win a specific prize, let us know in the designated section of the entry form. 



5. We're following the guidelines set forth by Run for Your Life, which means this particular event will only be open to those in North America. Entries will be closed on April 30th, and we will contact randomly selected winners shortly thereafter. 


6. Spread the word. Tweet, post the Run For Your Life logo (above) with a link to Charlie's site on your blog, or Facebook about the event, and receive an entry (one entry TOTAL for doing all or one of these things). Place a link/links in the place provided on the entry form.



HERE'S THE LIST OF BOOKANISTA PRIZES (this list WILL be added to, so check back): 



JUST ADDED by an anonymous donor!:
A signed copy of CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS by Cassie Clare

A fifty page manuscript critique

Signed copies of BLOOD MAGIC by Tessa Gratton, XVI by Julia Karr and RIVAL by Sarah Bennet Wealer

A signed copy of WHITE CAT and a signed copy of RED GLOVE by Holly Black

A 50 page manuscript critique

From Jessi Kirby: 
A signed copy of MOONGLASS

A swag pack of POSSESS goodies, a signed copy of A TOUCH MORTAL by Leah Clifford and a query critique

A 50 page manuscript critique 

A signed copy of AUDITION

A query and first chapter critique

A signed copy of LIAR SOCIETY and bookmarks

A box of ten mystery advance reader copies

A Dystopian Trifecta of Awesome - a signed copy of DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES by Carrie Ryan, a signed copy of MATCHED by Ally Condie, and a signed ARC of Elena's own POSSESSION

Signed copies of EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS and 101 SUCCESS SECRETS FOR GIFTED KIDS


A signed copy of DEMONGLASS by Rachel Hawkins (AND Rachel is throwing in a signed Demonglass totebag), a signed copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis, a signed copy of TORMENT by Lauren Kate, a unicorn, and a signed, annotated HOURGLASS. 

So, what are you waiting for???? Click here to enter! 

And don't forget to check out what the rest of The Bookanistas are up to this week!

Don't call this a comeback

So it’s been a minute. Or 10. Or truthfully more like 2,102,400. At least we think that’s how many minutes there are in 3 years, but let...