A Cockroach Can Live 9 Days Without Its Head.

True facts.

You will be happy to know that there have been no evil baby bug sightings since the garage rag incident. Or maybe you aren't happy to know that. Maybe you wanted me to find evil baby bugs. What kind of person are you?!

So. In case you've missed it, my critique partner, Valerie Kemp, is hosting part 2 of her Back from Branson giveaway. Up for grabs--your choice of one of 17 books by some of the authors who attended the Branson Retreat.

Holiday Giveaway and a New Short!

Over at Sisters in Scribe, my scribe sisters and I are giving away 3 autographed YA books to 3 winners, ends Dec. 31st! Hop over there for the details and if you know of any other contests around the web, feel free to post it in our Mr. Linky meme.

In other news! Part 1 of BETHLEHEM, by me, is up on the TF blog! Here's a sneak peek! Hope you enjoy!

The last winter that time recorded started just like today, with a sky so bleak that you couldn’t tell where the earth ended and it began. It was the last winter I spent with my family in this same apartment, staring out this same window watching fat snowflakes fall. The last winter that would ever matter.

But it doesn’t matter today. Today I need food and things to burn. It’s light enough to start looking, but without the sun I can’t even guess the time. The sky is so thick and so gray, the city street so empty and muffled by snow, that it feels like I’m stuck in someplace in between. 

Speaking about rape and a SPEAK Giveaway

Swing over to my crit group blog for a special post and a chance to win SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson and a censorship button. Contest ends Oct 4th.

Book Giveaway!

In case you haven't seen it yet, my critique parters (Valerie and Kristi) and I are doing a giveaway on our shared blog. THREE winners, 1 of 4 books to choose from! Hop on over there and check it out. All you have to do to enter is be a follower and tell us what you like about the blog and what you would like to see more of.

As aspiring authors, we want to do our part to help other writers along their journey to publication. And we love books!

So whether you enjoy (or loathe) the writing tips, the Friday book recommendation, or the general ramblings of our bookish minds, let us know!

http://sistersinscribe.blogspot.com/2010/06/300-followers-giveaway.html

Beautiful Creatures Winner!!

This really surprised me! First I want to thank everyone who entered, whether you had 1 entry or 10. We had 72 people enter with a total of 292 entries! And now, on to the results!

NICKIE T!!!!

BuzzMyBlog Contest Winner Picker

Random Entry Selected:	33
Odds of Winning:	1 in 292
Entry Data:	1, Nickie

Thanks again! Nickie, I'll drop you an email for your shipping info. If I do not hear back within 48 hours, I will be picking a new winner.

I'll be doing more contests in the future, so keep a look out! In the meantime hop over to my critique group blog for a chance to win a signed RADIANT SHADOWS by Melissa Marr!

SEA book trailer.

The official book trailer for Heidi R. Kling's SEA is out now! Great job, Vania, on another awesome book trailer!

What do you think? Head over to Heidi's blog to enter for your chance to win a mystery book!

Followers Contest: Beautiful Creatures

***CONTEST IS CLOSED! WINNER ANNOUNCED SOON IN A NEW POST!***

I recently hit 500 followers on twitter and I promised I'd do something special so here it is!

Fill out the form below to be entered to win a hardcover copy of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl!

Big thanks to Kami and Margaret for sending me the autographed sticker from the Gatlin County Library for inside the book!

And a mega thank you to all of my followers, friends, fellow writers and bookworms.

Because this contest is to thank those who follow me on twitter and here, you MUST be a follower in at least one location. If you do not follow, I won't accept your entry. Please understand. If you follow Sisters in Scribe (link in my linkbar) and you mention it in the comments, I will add another entry. +1 for new, +3 for old SIS followers.

• 
  Shop Indie
• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316042676

Some loves are meant to be…
others are cursed.

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
There was a curse. There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Contest IS international and will run from now until 12pm EST Friday, May 7th. Winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

+3 for being an old twitter follower

+1 for new twitter followers

+1 for tweet

+1 for each link to the contest (facebook, myspace, sidebar)

+1 for new blog followers, +3 for old

+5 for blogging about the contest

Contest is for the first book only, but keep a look out for the second book in the Caster Chronicles, BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS to be released October 26th 2010!

Some secrets are life-altering…
others are life-ENDING.

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena’s family of powerful supernaturals for generations.

And now that Ethan’s eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there’s no going back.

Visit Kami and Margaret on the web at http://beautifulcreaturesthebook.com/

Book Giveaway! Merlin's Harp!

Park Ave Princess is hosting yet another fabulous giveaway on her blog! Enter for a chance to win MERLIN'S HARP by Anne Eliot Crompton.

Merlin's Harp
By: Anne Eliot Crompton
Published: First published in 1995, re-published March, 2010 by FIRE (Sourcebooks)

Book Synopsis:

When I was yet a very young woman I threw my heart away. Ever since then I have lived heartless, or almost heartless, the way Humans think all Fey live.

Among the towering trees of magical Avalon, where humans dare not tread, lives Nivienne, daughter of the Lady of the Lake. Her people, the Fey, are folk of the wood and avoid the violence and greed of man. But the strife of King Arthur’s realm threatens even the peace of Avalon. And while Merlin the mage has been training Niviene as his apprentice, he now needs her help to thwart the chaos devouring Camelot. Nivienne’s special talents must help save a kingdom and discover the treachery of men and the beauty of love…

Help Beth Revis Celebrate!

Beth Revis is celebrating the sale of her book ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, Penguin/Razor Bill, Spring 2011! Visit her blog and congratulate her and enter her contest for a chance to win one of two fabulous prize packs! CONGRATS, BETH!

Book Giveaway! Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

Enter to win a signed (and doodled!) BALLAD by Maggie Stiefvater, courtesy of Susan, aka Wastepaper Prose at http://bit.ly/bQc8eH

Hush, Hush Giveaway!

The lovely Shannon Messenger is giving away another autographed book! This time, she has HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick up for grabs! Head over to her blog for your chance to enter. You can tell her I sent you if you want to give me an extra entry. :D

Read This Book's Blogoversary Giveaway!

Read This Book blog is hosting a giveaway. You can enter for a chance to win several books and a handmade bag! Hop over there to enter. You can say I referred you, if you want. :)

Good luck!

http://readthisbook.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/blogoversary-giveaway/

Book Reviews by Jess, followers giveaway!

My book-blogging/beta-reading buddy, Jess, at bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com has reached 400 followers! And to celebrate, Jess is giving away books to FOUR lucky winners! AND you get to pick the book you want to win!!!

http://bookreviewsbyjess.blogspot.com/2010/03/400-followers-giveaway-love.html

Her blog is undergoing some construction, and will soon have a new address. You won't want to miss the move, so make sure you check back when her new blog is launched.

You can tell her I sent you if you enter. *wink*

Book Giveaway!

The fabulous Elana Johnson is giving away 7 signed YA books, to celebrate her 700 followers! Go here to enter.

HOURGLASS giveaway!

The Park Avenue Princess is giving away a copy of Claudia Gray's third book in the Evernight Series, HOURGLASS! Visit her blog for a chance to enter.

http://aparkavenueprincess.blogspot.com/2010/03/hourglass-by-author-claudia-gray-blog.html

Great contests going on!

Over at I Heart Monster, enter to win some great YA book!

Including:

HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick

BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves

BEAUTIFUL DEAD by Eden Maguire

And many more so get going!

ARC Giveaway: SEA by Heidi R Kling

SEA by Heidi R. Kling--Available Bookstores everywhere June 10, 2010! And pre-order now!

Haunted by recurring nightmares since her mother's accidental disappearance over the Indian ocean three years before, fifteen year old California girl Sienna "Sea" Jones reluctantly travels with her father's volunteer team to six months post-tsunami Indonesia. During her stay at the orphanage, she meets scarred and soulful Deni who is more like Sea than anyone she has ever met.

She knows they can't be together, so why can't she stay away from him? And what about her old-best-friend-turned-suddenly-hot Spider who may or may not be waiting for her back home? And why is her psychiatrist father so secretive about her mother's plane crash? The farther she gets from home, the closer she comes to the truth. And Sea's real adventure begins.

Some Very Nice Words About Sea
(Pick your three favorites!--don't forget to give credit to the blurber!)

SEA is a richly woven story as turbulent and beautiful as the sea itself, plunging us headlong into the depths of loss, devastation, compassion, and hope. A touching and romantic debut about the redemptive power of altruism and the heart's capacity for love."Sarah Ockler, author of TWENTY BOY SUMMER

"From the first page of SEA, the reader is plunged into a world of love, loss, and hope. The heat between Sienna and Deni is mirrored in the steamy exotic setting of Indonesia. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put this book down. Sienna is conflicted and compassionate... I truly loved this book and can't wait to recommend it to all the teenagers I know!"
-- L.K. Madigan, William C. Morris Award winning author of FLASH BURNOUT

"From the opening pages of SEA, the hair stood on the back of my neck, as it does whenever I encounter a writer who really knows what she's doing with words. Tragedies and miracles coexist in this entrancing debut novel about the aftermath of a tsunami."
-- Jennifer R. Hubbard, author of THE SECRET YEAR

"I was enchanted from the first sentence. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, Heidi R. Kling’s debut novel follows a California teenager who, mourning the death of her mother, travels to Indonesia to help tsunami survivors. While the setting is unique, the story of love and loss is utterly relatable. Sienna’s relationship with the beautiful, complicated Deni is compelling, romantic and real."
---Courtney Sheinmel, author of POSITIVELY and MY SO-CALLED FAMILY

"Heartbreaking but always hopeful; achingly romantic but never sappy-- SEA is simply luminous. What a remarkable debut!" -- Jennifer Laughran, "Not Your Mother's Book Club" Books Inc., San Francisco

"Heidi R. Kling takes us on a journey to an unfamiliar geography, but where we all recognize the emotional vocabulary of loss and grief, of attraction and love. And we long to speak the language." --Vivian Leal, Kepler’s Books

"Heidi R Kling left no room for doubts or anything with the strong connection Sea and Deni had. It was so intense and beautiful, you were simply drawn to it. Their relationship was so involved, and blew you away. When you are reading Sea, you would by no means guess that it is a debut novel. The story leaps off the page and speaks to you. It's a journey of the heart and emotions. Once I started reading, I had troubles putting it down. Sea is a book for all types of people, it is one you don't want to miss." --Erica, The Book Cellar

"I am blown away. Heidi Kling wrote one of my favorite novels. Sea was thrilling, sweet, adventurous, while still having that feel where everything seems like it’s going to be ok. I fell in love with these characters, they were written wonderfully. Some people think that the author chooses the book and some people think that the book chooses the author, in this case, Sea definitely chose Heidi." --Zoe, Zoe's Book Reviews

For more about SEA and Heidi please visit: http://heidirkling.com
Enter to win an ARC here: http://seaheidi.livejournal.com seaheidi
SEA debuts June 10, 2010 with Putnam (Penguin)

Win Incarceron by Catherine Fisher!

Reverie Book Reviews is hosting a contest. Prize: Hardcover copy of NYT Bestseller, Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, AND a poster and a bookmark of the cover!

Visit Reverie Book Reviews to enter! Good luck!

Open to US residents only :(

Win Autographed WAKE Trilogy!

YA writer, Shannon Messenger is known for giving away awesome autographed prizes on her blog. Next up, the Wake trilogy by Lisa McMann! Visit her blog to enter!

Great contest!

Laura Rennert, known to the book world as super fab agent of Maggie Stiefvater and Ellen Hopkins (just to name a couple), is also a children's book author.

Right now, Shannon Messenger is giving away a signed copy of Laura's book BUYING, TRAINING AND CARING FOR YOUR DINOSAUR on her blog.

Go there to enter for a chance to win this fabulous book! I am!