Book Giveaways

I know. I know.  Where on earth have I been?  Well, if you've been following the weather here in Florida, you would know that it actually snowed in several areas close to Tampa Bay.  (Although, sadly, we did not get snow, so I have to go to work tomorrow.)  In any case, I have been reading up a storm with this cold weather and now it's time for you to benefit! 

  If you are interested in winning a copy of a book, please leave a comment in the comments section with the title of the book(s) you are interested in reading, and your email address so that I may contact you if you are chosen as the winner.  Winners will be drawn on Saturday, January 16, 2010, by noon EST!  (This is open to the US and Canada.)

I have one copy of each of the following books:


The Christopher Killer and The Angel of Death by Alane Ferguson--Books 1 and 2 in the Forensic Mystery series.  They are for young adults, but I must admit, I totally loved them!  That, and I got to meet the author last year when she came to Tampa for a visit!  Did I mention that they are signed by the author??  (These will be sent as a set.)








Prints Charming by Rebeca Seitz--If you love scrapbooking, then you're bound to love this book!  Not only is it a great chic-lit book about the search for Prince Charming, but it gives tips, tricks, and sample scrapbooking layouts in the back.












Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz--if you guessed that this book was about scrapbooking, then you guessed correctly, but it is also about so much more!  It's about relationships and families, about making peace with your past and looking forward to your future.  This is book #1 in the Sisters, Ink series and let me tell you--they are fabulous!

Where Would Cows Hide? by D.C. Stewart--this book is for tweens and is a great start to the Adventure series by this author.  You see, Brad, Charlie, and Zoey's parents have planned a trip to Hawaii, but Zoey mentions that they would not be going there after all.  Zoey has mentioned things that have come true before, so they family decide to visit the grandparents instead.  What they find are missing cattle and an exciting new mystery to solve!

That's all for the Book Giveaways at this time.  Remember, leave your comment by noon EST on Saturday if you want to be considered!   Good Luck!

Fall Into Reading Challenge 2008 Wrap-Up

I must admit--I failed miserably in the challenge to read all of the books on my list. I think the only books that I actually did read through were the ones for the blog tours I've done, or the blog tours that are coming up.

Here's my original list of books:

Florida Teen Reads Titles for 2008-2009:
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Firestorm by David Klass
Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
Street Love by Walter Dean Myers
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr


From My TBR Pile:
Single Sashimi by Camy Tang
Forsaken by James David Jordan
Cathy's Book by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman

Here's what I actually (in no particular order) read during the challenge. (If there's a link, then I've posted my review there. Otherwise, I'll put out a few words below each title.)

Single Sashimi by Camy Tang

Forsaken by James David Jordan

Ripple Effect: Time Thriller Trilogy Book #1 by Paul McCusker

Infidel (Graphic Novel): The Lost Books volume 2 by Ted Dekker

Leave It to Chance by Sherri Sand

Eternity's Edge: Echoes From the Edge series book #2 by Bryan Davis

Carter House Girls #3: Homecoming Queen by Melody Carlson
Carter House Girls #4: Viva Vermont! by Melody Carlson
Both Carter House Girls books are very quick reads geared towards the teenaged set. They're a Christian version of Gossip Girl and the It Girl series of books out there. I loved both books--although you'll probably want to read the first two books in the series to get the back stories on the girls. However, I think you'll fall in love with the feisty DJ as her grandmother has "taken in" other girls from various backgrounds as a "finishing school." The girls must learn to live together despite their many differences.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
This book has been on my TBR list for quite some time, and I probably would not have read it except for the fact that our school book club decided to choose it as one of their books to read for the month. (That, and it's a Teens Read book this year, so I would have eventually sat down to read it.)

I'm glad that I did read it because it's a gripping and somewhat heartbreaking story about the life of a woman in the middle east. You get two ladies from very different backgrounds whose lives tie together in strange circumstances so that they must work together through their problems in life.

I must admit, I did enjoy this book--albeit a little slow in some places--once you realize how the two women's lives fit together you won't want to put it down. Reading this book has made me more aware of the cultural differences between the treatment of women (they're more like cattle than people, as opposed to my own ability to speak out about whatever I feel like. I would have probably been killed by the time I was 5 because I've always been outspoken.) If you've been on the fence about reading this book--get off of it and go buy it or check it out from the library!

Frontier Courtship by Valerie Hansen
A very quick read sent to me by Harlequin to read and answer a few survey questions about it. Obviously it takes place during the frontier times and it's a Christian romance novel. Faith and Charity have just lost everything--including their mother--to a tornado that has hit their home. Now venturing off across the wild frontier, they must fight to survive this perilous journey in search for their father who left to find gold in the gold mines. Unfortunately, the wagon train leader is out for money, which he thinks Faith and Charity will have plenty of when they find their father, and he's looking to score for himself. Funny how--his previous love interests have died or disappeared mysteriously.

The Journey Home by Linda Ford
Another quick read for me to review by Harlequin. This book is also a Christian romance and a work of historic fiction that takes place during the Dust Bowl era. Half-breed Kody Douglas stumbles upon Charlotte Porter purely by accident as he tries to escape the raging dust storm outside of what he thought was an abandoned house. Charlotte's brother and his family decided to find other lodgings and promised to send for her as soon as they were able--which was well over a week ago. With no place to go, Kody reluctantly decides to take Charlotte to his parents home--a place where Kody was trying to escape from forever. Why is Kody running from his past? Will Charlotte ever be reunited with her brother? You'll have to read it to find out!

Gatekeepers: Dreamhouse Kings Series Book #3 by Robert Liparulo
(Go read the first two books in the series because this is a definite must read! Review to be posted on January 2!)

The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
At the time of this posting, I'm about a hundred pages out from the end of the story. This series is a cross of CSI and Nancy Drew. Cammie's father is the town of Silverton's coroner and Cammie wants to become a forensics pathologist--just like her dad. When he finally decides to hire her, a body of a young girl is found face down on a hiking trail in the woods. Cammie and her father rush right over, and the identity of the girl turns out to be someone that Cammie knows from town. Is this new death a result of the Christopher Killer? Is he killer still nearby or has he/she left town in search of a new victim? (After all, St. Christopher is supposed to be the saint of travelers.) You'll have to read the book to find out!

I will be doing a book tour for this book VERY soon so keep your eyes peeled for the tour. I'll also be giving away the first two books in her Forensic Mystery series: The Christopher Killer and The Angel of Death!

If you're interested in asking Ms. Ferguson questions about writing and her new books, please leave your questions in the comments area of this posting by midnight (EST) on December 27, 2008, and I'll post the answers when I post an interview with her during the book tour.


Well, I'm off to find out who the Christopher Killer might be--I have a couple of ideas! Let me know what you think about any of these books--or books you may have read for the challenge. And remember to post your questions for Alane Ferguson by next Saturday!! Happy Reading!

It's a beautiful day...

...here in Florida, and what did I do? I was sitting inside a classroom learning about how to "grade" teachers and help mentor other teachers. Yep--it's as boring as it sounds. Not to mention that I had the traingin about 10 years ago and NOTHING has changed. (Although that probably won't help me pass the test next week! Have I mentioned that I'm a bit Type-A and that the word TEST causes me to break out in hives? ACK!)


I must admit though, I am SO GLAD that the HOS event is finally over! The last night of the event was last Saturday, and I've been using the past couple of days to try and get caught up on my sleep. After all is said and done, the experience wasn't as horrible as I first thought it would be--especially since I was able to meet some really interesting people! Speaking of interesting, I met a Zombie....






a vampire....



some dead gothic club goers....

escaped convicts that have come back from the dead to exact their revenge....




and we musn't forget THE CLOWNS!!!!!





We also had members of the biker gang and the SLIDERS.....


(The one on the far left is one of my former eighth grade students....YIKES!)






In addition to the HOS event ending, I also had the chance to meet author Alane Ferguson while she was visiting some of the school's here in town. She has written one of this year's Teens Read books titled--The Christopher Killer.



Let me tell you--she is one of the coolest people you'll meet. She's a Christian, so she's been given A LOT of flack because her stories deal with crime and death, but she's so down to earth and has interesting stories to tell that I think it's horrible that some people are giving her a hard time about it. She's also a blogger (yay!) and teaches writing at the local community college in Colorado.

Stay tuned because there's more information and a giveaway coming to you soon!

Also during the week of Halloween, we had the Preschoolers come around trick-or-treating to the library. The had some of the cutest little outfits! One even had a cute little piggie tail!




Now that things have died down a bit, what am I planning, you ask?

Tomorrow, my aunt and I are going to see Phantom of the Opera at the Performing Arts Center!!!! It's my absolute favorite so I've been trying to remain low-key about the whole thing, but it's starting to wear off. I've been blasting the soundtrack for the last couple of days, "singing" at the top of my lungs and I think Madison is ready to kill me. I know she'll be excited when it's finally over. Hopefully we'll be able to get around to the back door and get our pictures taken with some of the cast members before they leave. I'm also going to bring my Sharpie so that I can hopefully get some autographs too. Here's a clip of Sarah Brightman and Antonio Banderas singing Phantom of the Opera...

I'll let you know how things went. Have a great rest of the day!