5th Annual Black Friday Book Bonanza (#booklove / #giveaway)

Welcome to the 5th annual Black Friday Book Bonanza hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Jennifer at Bookshelfery! This is my first time participating in the BFBB, and I am so excited! As I'm writing this post, there are over 60 participants. Wow, right? I mean, yay books! (And yay CHRISTMAS!)

If you haven't participated in the BFBB before, the rules are pretty simple. Each participating blogger/author has their own bookish-related giveaway that will run from 12:01am on November 27 through 12:01am November 30 (so basically the entire Thanksgiving weekend). Some will be US only, some will be INTL. (To find/enter the other giveaways, see the links beneath the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.)

And now, my Black Friday Book Bonanza shtuff:

What's up for grabs (US only):

* And then I realized adventure was the best way to learn 7x9 journal

* IF I SPEAK TRUE (book one of the Flora series)

* The Princess Bride DVD

* Sailboat 5x7 journal 

* $10 Target gift card (get that book you've been wanting!)

* bookish swag (not pictured)

Total value: Over $45!!! (Give as a gift, split it up into a couple of different gifts, or keep everything for yourself!)

I love journals because they're great for keeping track of your favorite book quotes, organizing bookish wish lists, or jotting down writing ideas that come to you while reading! The Target gift card was a given, because hello: books. And The Princess Bride DVD, well... Dahlia in IF I SPEAK TRUE loves The Princess Bride, so I had to throw that in, too! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Oh and hey, INTL peeps! Of course I didn't forget that you're special, too! Here's an easy peasy ebook giveaway just for you:


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Now check out the rest of the Black Friday Book Bonanza participants!

       or:

Join the #HolidayCRAMATHON read-a-thon Nov. 22 through Dec. 13!

Recently, as I was working on my ongoing book wish list, I came to the realization that I'd acquired a lot of books in the past couple of months. With NetGalley being awesome, #booksfortrade being stinking awesome, BookOutlet.com being so stinking awesome, and Lovemuffin getting me a B&N gift card for my birthday (because HE's awesome), I ended up with quite the collection in a very short amount of time. O.0

Not that I'm complaining--that would be crazy, of course--but it was then that I came to the very logical conclusion that I can't justify getting any more books (or have room for any more, come Christmas, either), if I don't get my tush in gear, and READ SOME STUFF.

I then decided to give myself a goal of reading 20 books before Christmas... and checked the calendar.

Time was running out!

*insert hands-to-cheeks emoji here*

Naturally, my next move was to tweet out a call to fellow #booklove-ers. Was anyone else needing to get caught up? Would anyone like to join?

Some of you were, and did... and one thing led to another, and we came up with the

HOLIDAY CRAM-A-THON!!!! 

(Or, if you're my spell check, the "Holiday Cremation". Womp womp.)

Feel free to share this wherever... and if you'd like the HTML for the above image, let me know, and I'll send it to ya. 

Now, some of you have asked if this is going to be a serious signup thing... and the answer is, no, not  really. This is all about having fun and spending as much time as possible reading. 

Therefore, a simple post will go up here on the blog the day it starts (Sunday, the 22nd), with the option to share a link to your blog, or Facebook post, or Instagram, or wherever you post/will be posting your books or updates, so we can all stay in touch and encourage one another to keep on keepin' on!

Not to mention, it's fun to see what others are reading, because it

a) spreads the #booklove

b) spreads the #authorlove

and

 c) helps us add more books to our TBRs!!!! (Which we totally need, of course.)

SO. There ya go. The plan. A Holiday Cram-a-Thon, yo.

Feel free to share this around the interwebs if you'd like... Or come back Sunday, and share it then.

Be blessed!

Jessica / @coffeelvnmom

Spring 2015 YA SCAVENGER HUNT (#YASH) + exclusive #giveaway

It's #YASH time! Woo hoo! Welcome to the SPRING '15 YA SCAVENGER HUNT. On this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each participating YA author, you also get their favorite number. Add up the numbers, and enter the total for a chance to win a major prize. Every team will have a winner, and that winner will receive at least one book from each author on that team! This means there are EIGHT SEPARATE GRAND PRIZES of at least 20 books in each grand prize!!!! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only last until noon PST on Sunday, April 5th!

A few quick things: If you get lost for some reason, no worries--just go to this link: YA Scavenger Hunt: Stuck? Each team AND all of the authors are listed there, so you can pick up where you left off--easy peasy! :) And, if you've never done this before but would love to participate, check out YA Scavenger Hunt: How to Hunt.

Directions: Somewhere below, you'll see that I’ve listed my favorite number (in pink). Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on TEAM PINK, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally. Anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by April 5th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

Here are the books up for grabs for #TeamIndie/Team PINK:

And now... *drum roll please* I'd like to introduce you to...

WOMAN OF HONOR, by Nicole Zoltack! 

WOMAN OF HONOR is the first book in a YA fantasy trilogy.

Aislinn of Bairbhe dreams of becoming a lady knight to honor the death of her fallen brother. To her mother's horror, King Patrick grants Aislinn's wish. 

Despite the mockery of the other pages and the disdain of Prince Caelen, who also trains to be a knight, Aislinn commits herself to her training and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery. 

Through the years, Aislinn and Caelen grow from sparring classmates to good friends. Honor, bravery, and yes, love are worth fighting for even when they both know that someday Caelen will have to marry for the sake of the kingdom. Buy WOMAN OF HONOR

WOMAN OF HONOR is told only from Aislinn's POV, but there's a certain other character who wants to share some thoughts in his POV. Take it away, Prince Caelan!

***

He wasn't sure when it happened. The fire in her eyes, the stubbornness in her jaw, the determination, the drive… All those years ago when his father had agreed for a probationary period for not one but two girls, Caelan had thought it merely a gesture to appease them, that there was no way either would muster up enough strength or brains to be able to continue on in their training.

He had been wrong.

At first, Aislinn had been closed off, almost too focused on learning everything. Being a knight, well training to become one, it formed a brotherhood, a bond, and she wouldn't be able to stay away like that.

A part of him wanted him to be the one to reach out and help her, but he couldn't. That fire and stubbornness, it drew him to her, and he couldn't have that. For years now, he knew he would have to marry for the sake of Arnhem. The last thing he could do was lose his heart to someone he could never be with.

But when Geoffrey started to spout bad poetry to her, Caelan couldn't help himself. He cornered her in the library. And he had kissed her.

She pushed him aside and ran away. All of his life had been chosen for him. This, and this alone, he would do as he wished. His heart deserved a little bit of happiness.

But would she let him kiss her again? He could only hope so.

***

Connect with Nicole at these 5 places: Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | blog | Amazon 


And now, for the Rafflecopter! In celebration of YASH, I'm giving away FOUR audiobooks and a $5 Amazon gift card! Enter the exclusive YASH giveaway below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
For the next stop on the hunt, visit Cady Vance's blog, HERE. 

To check out the other seven teams, go HERE.

#DIY #Bookish Gift (ideas) 2014

It's my third annual DIY bookish gifts post! (This was supposed to go up yesterday. My bad!) I've been meaning to make some of these for months, now... Maybe I'll have time during Christmas break! Enjoy, and make sure to pin the ones you love to your Pinterest board/s so you can easily find them later! :)  

1) Bookish letters:

2) Bookish ornament:

3) My favorite! Book page votives:

4) Book/photo suitcase:

5) Book pockets: 

and last...

6) For hardcore book lovers: Name that Book game

What to do with library books that are falling apart and have lost pages? Cut them up for a name-that-book contest! Here's ASHFALL in a jar created by Melissa at the Pike High School library in Indianapolis:




So... what do ya think? Have you tried any of these before? Click HERE for 2013 and 2012's posts if you're looking for more ideas! :D Have a blessed weekend!

11 Reasons Why I Love Book Bloggers

Recently, as I went through my favorite books, couples, and quotes looking for fun things fun to share on an feature at  Kayla's The Bibliophilic Nerds, it occurred to me that I was limiting the post to only authors and their fictional characters. But what about love with the readers? And love shared by those readers, with everyone else, all over the interwebs?

 Whoa! I thought. I’ve got an idea for a feature.

Which turns out to be quite apropos, considering If I Speak True’s blog tour just ended and I am seeing (for a second time) just how much work bloggers do on a daily basis. (Not that I didn't see it before... but when you're watching the process of a post from start to finish you definitely appreciate it more.)

So, without further ado, here’s my “love” list for Valentine's Day, because I love all ya'll, and you are SO appreciated:

11 Reasons Why I Love Book Bloggers

1) Book bloggers are the best. Eclectic group. Ever. Doesn't matter if they're thirteen and from the US or ninety-two and from Costa Rica; tall or short; love coffee or don't (gasp), all of them rock and share one thing: Their love for books. Therefore, they are equally amazing.

2) Book bloggers take time out of their busy schedules to share the books they’ve read with others. Not just once, not just twice, but time and time again, week after week, month after month, year after year. That's dedication, folks. 

3) Sometimes, after sharing the books they've read, they even recommend them, so others can fall in love with them, too.

4) Book bloggers love to squee about favorite characters. Which then gives the rest of us permission to squee with them. And then we all get to squee, and everybody’s happy. Until we read the next book. Then, we do it all over again. (Repeat this for every other emotion, too.)

5) Not only do book bloggers share their feelings about the books they’ve read on their blogs, but a lot of times they go that extra mile and share those thoughts on websites (like Barnes and Noble or Amazon or Goodreads, for example). This is two-fold awesome: a) it helps lead readers to books and b) enables readers to make informed decisions regarding whether a book is their kind of thing. 

6) Book bloggers host giveaways constantly. Have you noticed this? I mean, nowhere else except in the blogosphere can you click around and enter book/swag giveaway after giveaway for free, just BECAUSE. They are like, full of sweet-book-sharing-awesomeness that never stops. (I don't know about you, but I imagine my favorite circus music when I see giveaways. Come one, come all, to the greatest giveaways on our blogs! Ahem. Anyway...)

7) Book bloggers bring their personalities to the table. You hardly ever see the same blog design twice, which is crazy, considering how many bloggers there are! I love checking out everyone’s designs. (I also tend to swoon over owl ones, as well as anything that mentions coffee. But you already knew that, didn't you, friends?)

8) Book bloggers do cool cover features (like this one, or this one) and make fan art and sometimes even start Pinterest boards (which sends #booklove fans into crazy town and makes authors feel so stinking special).

9) Some of the best memes have been thought up by book bloggers, like Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday, What's Next, New Releases, GIF posts, Hot Off the Presses, and so on. (If you're looking for more/new memes, holy canole does Bookshelf Fantasies have a list for you.)

10) Their blog titles are so stinkin' unique. Here are just a minute few, so you can see what I mean:

Perpetual Page Turner
Such a Novel Idea

Chasm of Books

Turning Pages

The NerdHerd Reads

A Day Dreamer's World 

The Book Addict's Guide

Feed Me Books Now

Oops I Read A Book Again

A Book and a Latte

Page Turner's Blog 

The Story Siren

Me My Shelf and I

Lit Up Review

YA Midnight Reads

Geeky Chiquitas

The Escapist

I'd So Rather Be Reading 

11) Not only do bloggers come up with/do fun memes and have great blog titles, but they do reading challenges, too! Like, all the time! A tiny smithereen of examples:

Standalone Reading Challenge 

2014 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

2014 Reading Challenge: Indie-Fever

2014 TBR Pile Challenge

(This isn't on a blog, per se, but I even came across a reading challenge board on Pinterest and it lists quite a few.)

Now of course, there are way more than eleven reasons why book bloggers are awesome, but these are the ones that came to me. I know a LOT of us appreciate the book blogging community for various reasons, so everyone please feel free to add your reasons in the comments (or, better yet, do your own post on 11 reasons why you love book bloggers--using the banner the lovely Hafsah (@iceybooks/@iceydesigns) made)!

Okay now, fall in, everyone! Time to give all of the bloggers one big ***SQUEEZE***!!! 

Thank you for everything you guys do! *throws coffee bean confetti*


Disclaimers:

* as stated, there are many more bloggers who equally deserve thanks and credit. Each and every one of you is greatly appreciated, full of awesome, and most of you smell nice, too. If you aren't mentioned on this post, it's only because Lovemuffin put too many shots of espresso in my coffee and I'm on caffeine overload and my brain is going a thousand places at once and I can hardly even concen

** sometimes, authors are book bloggers, too, which means that they count as both. So to all of you authors who also blog and share the love of books with fellow authors/readers, you are totes included in the bloggerly love.

*** bloggers! If you have something you'd like to share, like a meme or reading challenge, ect. please feel free to do it in the comments! (YA and up appropriateness, please) 

**** when I said it would be cool of you to do your own 11 Reasons Why I Love Book Bloggers post, I wasn't kidding. It's Valentine's week. Heck, it's Valentine's month. Which means, basically... Go forth, and do it. Do it NOW.

***** wasn't trying to be demanding in that last comment... go forth and do it... please? Also: Here's a cookie.

Top Ten Character Names I Love

As I'm getting deeper into editing and writing and reading again, I'm finding a lot of the readerly blog memes to be a lot of fun and a nice break from "work"! In fact, there are two separate Tuesday memes/features I especially enjoy -- Top Ten Tuesdays, and Teaser Tuesdays. The first of those requires making decisions, however, and I tend to have a hard time doing that (for some reason... is this a writer thing?). So, while I will participate in Top Ten Tuesdays on occasion, I think the one I'm going to do more often is Teaser Tuesdays. (First one coming up next week!)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at
 The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is:

Top Ten Character Names I Love

1) Viola: I love the name Viola, and not just because She's the Man is one of my favorite movies.* I actually first found this as a book character name from is Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani.

2) Azalea: If you've followed my blog long enough, you know that my upcoming book, IF I SPEAK TRUE, was first called FLORA (I've since titled it "The Flora Series"). There are a few reasons for this, the most obvious being many characters are named after flowers and trees. So of *course* I like flower names, and I haven't heard of Azalea much, plus I really enjoyed Entwined (which is where this particular name comes from), so there you go.

3) Lennie: Four words: The Sky is Everywhere. That's really all I have to say. I love the name because I love the story and I love Jandy Nelson's voice as Lennie, so therefore I love Lennie, too. (Not to mention, it's not a typical girl name, so that's another reason I like it.)

4) Rowan: This reason is two-fold. IF I SPEAK TRUE has a Rowan (he's a good guy) and Hafsah's Unbreathable has a Rowan (not so good). Maybe it's the name. I don't know. All I know is, if I had a boy I'd name him Rowan right this very moment and never ever regret it. ;)

5) Will: Lately, it seems like every other guy character name in YA is Will. For two years, my David (sorry, IF I SPEAK TRUE on the brain right now, guys) was a Will, too, and as I continued to write and read, I realized just how popular Will is. Wills are just naturally charismatic and nice with big smiles and great eyes and the perfect hair and sometimes have an English accent, too. I don't care what book you're reading, if there's a Will, you're going to fall for him. So yeah. I love Will.

6) Jonah, Jonas, Joel: I've read the three of these multiple times (and have a Jonas myself in PITY ISN'T AN OPTION). Apparently I really like guy names that start with J. **

7) Warner: If ya'll have read any of Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series, you will recognize this name. I just like it. It's different, but not too much. I'm finding I'm really enjoying names that should be last names as first names as long as they're not too "out there". Warner just works. 

8) Malcom: My Malcom pick comes from Suzanne Selfors' Coffeehouse Angel. I just loved him and it made me love this name. (I've seen it somewhere else but can't remember where... and not just as the creepy, tarantula-loving guy on She's the Man!***)

9) West: First time I saw this was in L.M. Augustine's Click to Subscribe. Love it. (I obviously have a thing for W names, too! Ha ha) ****

10) Emerson: Ah, back to last names for first names again. This comes from Myra McEntire's Hourglass series. I just love this as a first name for a girl!

And there you have it!***** How about you? What are some of your favorite character names?

Pssst! I'm throwing a #JLBBirthdayBash for my birthday week and giving away books, book swag, t-shirts, and the good folks at Rafflecopter have thrown in a free month! You can check it out, HERE.

* Fun fact: She's the Man is actually based on William Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night. Which I haven't read. But the main characters' names are true to Shakespeare's play. 

** If you're into zombies, Carrie Ryan's (very) short enovella, What Once We Feared, has a Jonah in it that I totally would have loved to get to know better! (grumble grumble) If you're not into zombies but like a good novel that weaves tons of elements into the story and at the end makes you go WHOA, read On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta to find another Jonah. :)

*** Pardon all of the She's the Man references. It's like one of our favorite movies (along with Stick It) so we tend to quote it a lot around here.

**** Also, West is a character's last name in the Shatter Me series. (Had to make that connection for ya'll.) And as I am a huge fan of The Princess Bride movie and saw this mentioned somewhere else, I have to add that Westely is a pretty darn cool name, too. Okay. I am done now.

***** Remember how I said I can never make up my mind? Well I can't. And had to add that I've been seeing Thomas around a lot, too, and I just *love* the name Thomas. And Cam (from Neal Shusterman's UnWholly). So I kinda shared, technically, fourteen favorite names. But it could have been worse. And for some reason most of these are guy names. I don't know why. Still, I think I did pretty well. *pats self on the back*

An hour before the sun would let me read (#booklove)

In the search for some material for the second book in the Flora series, a friend of mine (Stephanie Wardrop) suggested the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning and I am absolutely loving her work. In my research, I came across a very long poem called Aurora Leigh and had to share an excerpt from it:

“Books, books, books!

I had found the secret of a garret room

Piled high with cases in my father’s name;

Piled high, packed large,--where, creeping in and out

Among the giant fossils of my past,

Like some small nimble mouse between the ribs

Of a mastodon, I nibbled here and there

At this or that box, pulling through the gap,

In heats of terror, haste, victorious joy,

The first book first. And how I felt it beat

Under my pillow, in the morning’s dark,

An hour before the sun would let me read!

My books!”

 ~ from Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning