I'll Miss You.....

But, I'm taking a break.

I'm going to unplug the modem for a week. Starting November 21, 2009. No blog, no twitter, no email, NO INTERNET.

I have scheduled some posts, but all comments will be moderated while I am gone.

I will not be answering my emails so, don't expect a reply until after Thanksgiving.

I have two contest that will be ending this week, be sure to get your entries in, winners will be announced when I get back. 

I've been having a hard time of things lately, personally and blog wise. I'm hoping to come back, my review pile a little smaller and my enthusiasm anew.

See you on the flip side.

Contest: Night World

I have five copies of Night World No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder and five copies of Night World: The Ultimate Fan Guide to give away!

Night World No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder

Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.

Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.

Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder. 

Night World: The Ultimate Fan Guide
 
You loved Secret Vampire and are counting down to the Strange Fate apocalypse. But who was the first made vampire? How do you properly greet a witch? And why are shapeshifters and werewolves rivals? Prepare to test your Night World knowledge with trivia questions from all nine books; get the inside information about the clans, the soulmate principle, Circle Daybreak, and the four Wild Powers; and take two quizzes to find out how you fit into the Night World.

Best of all, L.J. Smith shares her inspiration for the series, answers the questions you've been asking, and even reveals fun facts about herself in this official guide. Plus, look for the sneak peek at the dramatic conclusion to the series, Strange Fate!

Join the Night World Series Fan Page on Facebook!

Official Information:

• fill out this registration form to be entered
• contest deadline is December 1, 2009
• contest open to residents of the U.S. only 
• see Contest Policy/Privacy Policy

FTC Disclosure: Simon and Schuster is providing the copies for this giveaway.

New Moon Movie

This very non spoilery. I don't even really talk about movie elements much. This is just a run down of my night. And how very fangirly I am!

I headed out early to pick up the tickets that I had bought weeks ago. Only to find out that my small town theater had entirely sold out of tickets for ten screens. That is insane.

Last year my sister Chelcea and I went to the midnight showing of Twilight, so it was sort of a tradition to do it again. I liked the movie Twilight, but I wasn't really impressed, with the actors, with the movie itself. I wasn't sure what to expect with New Moon.

My sister Laci and her friend met me and the local neighborhood grill, Applebees. My other sister Chelcea had class until 8 and my friend Carrie who was also meeting us for the movie took a nap before, so it was just us three at dinner.

There were people lined up already when I went to pick the tickets up at seven, but I wasn't too worried since they were showing the movie in every theater, last year for Twilight there was only two theaters showing the movie.  Anyhow, we ended up getting to the theater at 8:30, to wait in line. I had brought Uno and The Dark Divine to read while waiting in line. But instead we ended up watching Twilight at 9 o'clock, so we could reserve our seats in the theater for New Moon.

The theater was crazy! CRAZY! There were lines outside with people waiting to get in. They basically let you go from theater to theater to try to find a seat, so glad we decided to get ours early. My friend Carrie finally made it after Twilight was over, I saved her a seat, I'm a good friend like that. Almost forgot to actually! She had to work today, so she got a good nap in before the movie. On to the movie.....

WOW! I was totally blown away. I loved it! I thought it accurately represented the book, I mean it's been awhile since I've read New Moon, but I can't think of anything that they left out. There were a few things that might have been a little different, but just worked so much better for the movie.

The actors were 100% better. Especially Taylor, he really stepped it up, it's easy to see why he secured the part of Jacob Black. And Robert and Kristen were exponentially better as well. I loved the Quilete boys! The ENDING! WOW! Total cliffhanger! So GOOD!

I am definitely digging Chris Weitz's style, I wish he would have directed the first movie! I am still in awe this morning. I will be going back to the theater sometime again to see it. If you're on the fence about seeing New Moon because you didn't enjoy Twilight, it's worth it. I can't wait for Eclipse!

Secret Project Revealed!

If you watched my In My Mailbox vlog last weekend, you might remember me saying that I was working on a secret project. Well, it's not really secret, a lot of people know about it, but I haven't officially made any statements about it on the blog.

I'm doing that right now!

Here's the deal. I'm hosting the 2010 Debut Author Challenge! I'll have more information about the challenge itself later on, but basically the goal is to read a set number of novels by debut YA & MG authors.

I'll be giving away some awesome goodies to the participants, which is why I mentioned it in the IMM post... because I've been receiving those awesome goodies! Wooohoo!

If you are a 2010 debut author and you'd like to help out with the challenge, please email me for more information. 

Please note that this is for an author with a debut in YA or MG literature, so you can have an "adult" title and still be considered a debut author, for the challenge.

I also asked a fellow blogger a few months ago to help design some buttons for the challenge, but the girl is crazy busy, which I totally understand! So, not a big deal at all... but I need some buttons! Can anyone out there help me!! I might even be willing to bribe you with some sort of goodies at this point, i don't know what right now, but perhaps something! (I really love the buttons that Kelsey of Reading Keep You Sane did for Kay Cassidy's Teen Author Challenge.) Please email me your designs!

If you're interested in submitting a button(s) design

• I'd like them to say 2010 Debut Author Challenge, or I'm participating in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge... something a long those lines.
• I like colors!
• I'd like it to fit in the sidebar so that participants can post their badges and such.
• I'd also like a larger button that I can use for the DAC posts themselves.

Well, I think that's it for now. So now you know. I'll have a sign up post later on, and a post that explains the challenge in a little more detail and show off the prizes and what not.

I'm really excited! You think you'd be interested in participating?

Books to Pine For (29)

Books to pine for... a collection of various Young Adult titles that have yet to be released. Books to pine for are found on my aimless wanderings on Amazon.com and Young Adult author websites. Almost all the titles mentioned are not in my possession, but oh... how I wish they were.

to pine (third-person singular simple present pines, present participle pining, simple past and past participle pined)

(intransitive) To long, to yearn so much that it causes suffering. (yep that pretty much sums it up)

My original books to pine for post: Books to Pine For, has a wide range of titles, some have been released since its post date. I hadn’t intended to make Books to Pine For a regular feature, but I continued to find books that caught my interest, thus, more posts where made: check out all the books to pine for posts!

The Iron King by Julie KagawaOther by Karen Kincy


The Princess and the Snowbird by Mette Ivie HarrisonWayfarer by R.J. Anderson(does anyone know if this is the final cover or even the U.S. cover? I've seen this one around, but I'm not sure.)


Whisper by Phoebe KitanidisRemember Me by Christopher Pike
(this is a re-release, three books in one.)


Keep Sweet by Michele Dominguez Greene
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June by Robin Benway


  Thief Eyes Janni Lee SimnerIt's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han(I really really want the first book!)


My Double Life by Janette Rallison
Take Me There by Carolee Dean

All the links will take you to the Goodreads pages! Easier to add them to your lists! Muhahaha!