Cover Remake Contest

I did these cover remakes for Cindy's contest . . . Enjoy. I had fun making them. I suggest entering it!

Winner of FIRE by Kristin Cashore!

I had a total of 41 entrants and 77 entries! I total success I think!

I used random.org to determine the winner, sadly the winner didn't leave an email address I could reach her at, and I specifically said to leave an email address in the post or else they would be deleted from the contest, I'm sorry to say it. So I had to pick a new winner, and they happened to be:

Shawna Lewis!

Congratulations Shawna you have won a signed finished copy of FIRE by Kristin Cashore! I will be emailing you before tomorrow and you have before the end of the weekend to email me back with an address so the publisher can get the book out to you!

Now, I asked what you could do if you were named Fire, I had a blast reading the fantastic answers and they made me laugh, which is what I was going for!

Shawna answered:

If my name was fire it would suit me because I have such a enter fire burning bright all the time so Fire fit me Perfect that or Sunshine!!

And a few others I enjoyed.

Chelsie said:

If my name were fire, I could go to your school and burn all your homework. Or torch some crabby teacher's butts... whichever would make you less stressed =P

Sara said:

If my name was Fire, I'd cause a lot of accidental fire alarms when my friends come running after me (trying to catch up because I'm a fast walker) yelling my name. People would see them running and yelling "Fire!" and think there was a real fire... :)

Thao said:

If my name was Fire... if someone ever accidently sit on me, my friends can tell that person, "you're on Fire"

Julie Ke said:

If my name was Fire, I would dye my hair three different colors of fiery red, and learn how to fire dance.

Of course they were all great, you can click here to read them all.

Getting To Know The Characters of FIRE: Contest!

Did you see the post before this? Do you want a chance to win Fire by Kristin Cashore? Keep reading to learn how!

How to enter:

To win the signed hardcover of Fire leave a comment sharing what you could do because your name is Fire. Be creative! I've had a very stressful second week of school, I could use a pick-me-up. :)

For 1 extra entry blog about this post.
For 1 extra entry tweet about this post with the hashtag #firetour and @reply me @kelseybee17.

For 2 extra entries comment on my reviews of Graceling from yesterday and come back tomorrow to comment on my review for Fire.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the United States only. Sorry International readers!

ATTENTION:

All commenters must only have one comment on this post with an added up total of how many extra entries you recieved with the appropriate links and information along with your name and a email address. If it is not in this format the comment will be deleted.

The giveaway will end October 1st at 11:59 pm Central Time.

Sweepstakes

Winners Announced!

The winners of the Suite Scarlett giveaway are:

Erica
Mari
holdenj

The winner of the ARC of Along For The Ride is:

Krista/Tower of Books

Congratulations! Since I'm actually pretty busy this weekend and week, you have all have until Monday at midnight to email me your addresses, be sure to put which book you won in the subject line!

And, because I really want to, I'll share my answers to the questions I answered.

For Suite Scarlett I asked: What do you like better? Hardcover or Paperback? WHY?

I answer: I like hardcovers better mostly because paperbacks drive me crazy when I have to bend the cover on the paperbacks and they stay bent!

For Along For The Ride I asked: What is your dream car?

I have two dream cars. My first one is one I've had since I was in the 3rd grade, seriously. It's the new VW Beetles. I'd like it in a baby blue with a black convertible top like this one:Another car I would love to have too is the Audi TTS Roadster in red:
I think if I could afford it, I'd take the Audi over the Beetle because, well, the Audi is more luxurious and you don't see as many around as you do the Beetle. But, you never know. :)

4th of July Giveaway!

Happy 4th of July! (And Happy Anniversary to my grandparents!)

To honor today, I'm hosting a giveaway.

Details:

• One winner will randomly chosen to win a ARC edition of . . . . ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sarah Dessen!
• US only! Sorry international readers!
• The contest will be from now until, ummm, let's say the same day as my other contest is ending, so (If I remember right!) July 17th!

To Enter:

• To enter, answer this question:

What is your dream car? Please give me a link to a picture too!

• Post about this on your blog, myspace, facebook, whatever and in a SEPARATE comment, give me a link for an extra entry.
• Follow me or tell me if you are following me for an extra entry in a SEPARATE comment, please.
• Have a way for me to contact you, I'm not going to be searching everywhere for an email address.

REMEMBER:
All extra entries MUST be in a SEPARATE comment to be counted.

Thanks! Have fun!

A Suite Giveaway

So I'm having a giveaway. For three books. And if you can't tell from the title, the book will be Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson. The paperback edition.

Details:

• Three winners.
• One winner each will get a paperback copy of Suite Scarlett.
• US only. Sorry international readers!
• Contest will go from now until July 17th at midnight Pacific time.
  

To enter:

• Comment on here with the answer to this question:

What do you like better? Hardcover or Paperback? WHY?

• Post about this on your blog, myspace, facebook, whatever and in a SEPARATE comment, give me a link for an extra entry.
• Follow me or tell me if you are following me for an extra entry in a SEPARATE comment, please.
• Have a way for me to contact you, I'm not going to be searching everywhere for an email address.

REMEMBER:

All extra entries MUST be in a SEPARATE comment to be counted.

And here is a video of Maureen discussing Suite Scarlett:

Winner of Release Day Contest!

Sorry this has taken long, it's my last week of school and it's been crazy!

The winners of the Release Day Contest are:

• Llehn (Instant Win)
• iluvhersheys_andbooks
• kim
• Khy
• KD

Since I am busy this week, you all need to email me with you're addresses at readingkeepsyousane(at)gmail(dot)com by Midnight at Friday, besides Llehn.

Congratulations everyone! I hope you enjoy the book!

Winner of Waiting For You

And the winner of the signed finished copy of Waiting For You is:

Okay, after much fiddling with the random.org widgets. I couldn't put it on my blog. Sorry!
Anyway, the winner is comment 7.

And comment 7 was made by the one and only: CHELSIE!

Congratulations Chelsie! You have won a signed finished copy of Waiting For You!

I shall be emailing you soon to collect your address and the book should probably be mailed out on Monday! Congrats again!

On to the comments and why I asked the question I did. I asked what you wanted to be when you were growing up because in this novel, Marisa grows up and becomes someone. I wanted to know what you wanted to be when you were little to, maybe, remind you a little of yourself when you were a young one and to see how far you have grown since then. I hope it made you think at least a little.
Also it gave me some ideas for what I want to be when I get to that age. :P

Anyhow, congrats Chelsie, and thanks for entering everyone! You can always enter my contest to win one of 4 copies of Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow, here.

Release Day Contest!

I am lucky enough to be able to host a contest for a book that is release today. That book happens to be the first in a series that features vampires, werewolves, and a butt-kicking female main character.

This book is:
STRANGE ANGELS by Lili St. Crow!“Dad? Zombie.

Mom? Long gone.

Me? Well, that’s the Scary Part.”


Dru Anderson’s not afraid of the dark. But she should be. STRANGE ANGELS (Razorbill; Trade Paperback Original; 978-1-59514-251-1; $9.99; 304 pages; Ages 12 up; May 14, 2009) is the first in a thrilling new paranormal series that introduces readers to Dru, the toughest teen hunter since Buffy hung up her stake. When something evil taps at her kitchen door, can this strange angel stand the heat? Or is it just a matter of time before her blood turns cold?

Dru and her father travel town to town hunting “Real World” baddies like suckers, wulfen, and the occasional reanimated corpse. Then Dru’s dad turns up dead (but still walking), and she suddenly finds herself in the middle of a deadly game of cat and mouse where she’s going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. Even worse, she’s got two guys (Graves, freshly bitten by a werewulf, and Christophe, a half-human vampire hunter) hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever— or whoever— is hunting her?

Fans of vampire series and paranormal romance will be mesmerized by the action-packed adventures and self discovery Dru must face in order to come to terms with her destiny. And this girl’s not going down without a fight.
___________

Contest details:

• There are five ARC copies to be won.
• There will be five winners.
  
• The first person to comment will be an instant win.
  
• The other people who want a chance to win the other four copies will have to also comment to win. I am excluding the first comment from this.
  
• US only, sorry international readers!
• This contest will run from now until Sunday, May 24th. (Sorry it's not longer but that's my last week of school and I'll be going to California on Friday of that week, so I'll be busy busy!)
• To officially be entered to win this contest you will have to comment with the answer to the following question. This includes the instant win.

If you had to be something, who would you rather be? A vampire, werewolf, or zombie? Why?

Extra entries (All +1 entry):

• Comment about this on your blog, myspace, facebook, whatever. Yes twitter counts. Because twitter is awesome.
  
• Follow my blog. Already following? Tell me.

EACH OF THESE HAS TO BE IN A SEPARATE COMMENT. IF NOT, THEY DO NOT COUNT.

Thanks and have fun!

And The Winners Are . . .

I'm SO sorry it's taken this long, I have a good, honest reason though! I started watching the first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And, well. Yeah, it's obviously addicting. BUT, I finished it, so hopefully this weekend I'll get some reviews written of the 10 (I think, there might be more, but far as I know, it's standing at 10 now) I need to write.

Before I say the two winners of my contest to win a personalized signed copy of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey, I want to tally up the answers to the question I asked.

I will say everyone who got more then one vote, and in order of the most votes:

What fictional YA character would you most like to date and why?

1)-Edward Cullen (Twilight saga)-25

2)--Jace (Mortal Instruments series)-9

3)---Wes (The Truth About Forever)-6
3)---Seth (Wicked Lovely)-6

4)----Shane (Morganville Vampire series)-5
4)----Owen (Just Listen)-5

5)-----Spencer (Suite Scarlett)-4
5)-----Dimitri (Vampire Academy series)-4

6)------Alex (Perfect Chemistry)-3
6)------Cabel (Wake trilogy)-3

7)-------Dexter (This Lullaby)-2
7)-------Luke (Lament)-2
7)-------Ron Weasley (Harry Potter series)-2
7)-------Jasper (Twilight saga)-2
7)-------Char (Ella Enchanted)-2
7)-------Nate (Lock & Key)-2
7)-------Kartik (Gemma Doyle trilogy)-2
7)-------Emmett Cullen (Twilight saga)-2
7)-------Lucius (Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side)-2

So, it looks like Edward from Twilight is the big winner! Yeah! Do you agree with this? Why? Why not? Let's see some discussion going on!

This contest was a huge success. We had 191 entries total, and 135 answers to the question!

Now, to the two winners! Randomized by random.org.

First we have comment number 172, comment 172 was made by: xdaisyx! Congratulations! xdaisyx's comment was on who she wanted to date was: "I would have to say Emmett from Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer because he's pretty funny. Also Dimitri from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead."

Second we have comment number 24, comment 24 was made by: Jocelyn! Congratulations Jocelyn! Jocelyn's answer to who she would love to date: "Tough question. I guess....Seth from Wicked Lovely? Let's just go with that one :-)"

Congratulations everyone who won! Sorry to everyone who didn't! Jocelyn and xdaisyx, you shall receive and email from Beth soon!

Hopefully a review will be coming your way soon enough!

Contest!!!!

Okay, here is a contest. I was just going to have ti because the awesome author of the books given away offered them. But now I have a huge reason! This week I got a huge accomplishment on my blog! I got my 100th follower and I got 20,000 visits on my blog! This is huge and I'm glad this author offered her book at the time she did!


On to the contest:

Prize:

• Two winners will each win a personalized signed copy of Jessica's Guide To Dating on the Dark Side provided by Beth herself!

How to enter:

• Comment on this post with the answer to this question:

What fictional YA character would you most like to date and why?

Extra Entries:

• Post about the contest on your blog, myspace, or facebook page for +1. Mention the link for proof.
• Follow me get +1 (Please, only if you really want to.), following me already get +1.

When:

• Today through March 27th, midnight, Minnesota time (That's central!)

Who:

• This contest is for . . . INTERNATIONAL! Whoo!

~If you could please post one comment for each entry that would be awesome. This will help make it easier for me to calculate the winner, and quicker. One comment for ONE ENTRY! Please!

And if you've already posted it, I suggest going back and fixing your comment.

You will have to make it so I can find a way to email you if you have won. So please, if you can. Have your email in the comment or on your blogger profile. Thanks!

So get commenting and spread the word!

Willow by Julia Hoban + Celebration!

Title: Willow
Author: Julia Hoban
Publisher: Penguin
Reading Level: Young Adult/14 and up
Publication Date: April 2, 2009
Pages: 342
Amazon Page

Rating: A
Plot - 17/20
Characters - 20/20
Writing - 19/20
Originality - 18/20
Entertainment - 10/10
Recommendation - 10/10
Total: 94/100

Summary:
Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year-old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy —one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down.

Told in an extraordinary fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her.

Review:
Wow, this book just blew me away.

Willow is the heart-wrenching story about a girl who lost her parents and starts cutting to make her feel pain, and the story of what happens when her world is interrupted when a boy figures out her terrible, horrible secret and somehow in the terrible mess she's in, a friendship forms, a romantic relationship even.

Willow started off in full force. When we enter Willow's world we enter her in her most vulnerable state. We follow along in a voice told like I'm reading it aloud to an audience, and having it in the point of view, having somebody else tell the story besides Willow herself, makes the book the much more interesting.

Willow, Guy, David and the rest of the characters are developed in a way no other characters I've read before has been. We don't know what they look like, that is for us to find out. We only know who they are and what they are feeling. That only makes the characters Hoban created original and definitely one-of-a-kind.

Willow and Guy's relationship is, well, swoon-ish. Minus the knowledge of Willow's cutting, the emotional and reality is gorgeous and perfect. I loved reading when they were together, I was always hoping that they would meet again after they left each other. I was sad to see Guy go, or the chapter end. Guy's ability and his knowledge of Willow's cutting made their relationship amazingly strong and deep.

Hoban's ability to create the emotions Willow goes through when she cuts was just brilliant. It felt real. It was real.

Willow is a deep and strong book that will keep you glued to it and you won't be able to stop. I started reading the end of it one night and it took me into late in the night because I just couldn't stop until the novel was done. I cried, I smiled, and I was most of all, hopeful. The ending in this novel was perfect. I couldn't of asked for a better way to end it. So, the novel started with full force, and it ended with a bang, a great, strong bang. I honestly cannot say anything bad about this novel and I can't begin to tell you how amazing this novel is, but I tried.

When Willow hits the shelves of book stores around the country, it will hit it with a huge whack. So head to your bookstores on April 2 for Willow. You will not be disappointed.

~~~

Okay now on to the Celebration. I don't want to post all the details on my blog in case I confuse some people, but let's just say that I am so excited to be apart of a huge contest that Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag has put together to honor Julia Hoban and her fantastic book, WILLOW. Julia is super nice and I am so happy I could be apart of this! If you want the details, simply head over to Lauren's blog to find the info about it. It's awesome. Trust me.

Winner of Anniversary Week Contest!

This will be quick because I have a ton of reviews to right and I want to get at it before I lose my interest in doing it now, so randomly chosen by a custom number generator is Erika Lynn! Congratulations, you live in the United States so you will be winning that awesome t-shirt congratulations! I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you guys for this awesome, exciting week for me! I had so much fun and let's thank that fabulous Stacey Jay and congratulate her on her debut release so go ahead and buy a copy! So you might expect a post tomorrow with the few questions a few people asked me on Wednesday. And a In My Mailbox post on Sunday, I got a ton of books this week, so look for that. And as always, expect some reviews if I get them posted written.

Winner of The ABC's of Kissing Boys!

This will be quick because I'm excited for LOST starting again in 15 minutes. But anyhow, I was shocked to see how many people signed up for the contest! I was so pleased and am so happy that On The Outside is doing great, I have a ton of authors lined up to share their cover and/or title stories with us until at least April. And maybe longer, but please if any authors are reading this and want to do a On The Outside post with me, please email me with the address on the left.

Anyhow, the winner, randomly chosen from a random number generator is Ashley from Ashley's Bookshelf! Congratulations! I have already emailed you and if you haven't already, you should be receiving an email from Tina soon!

Also, thanks Tina for offering your book!

Anniversary Week Contest

Hey Everybody, so I bet your expected to find out what the contest is about, and I'll tell you, but first you'll probably want to know who the special guest is, right? Well, she is the author of a new book in stores Thursday and it's the first book in a new series, about . . . Zombies! So, if you haven't already figured it out yet, our special guest this week is . . . Stacey Jay! Her novel, You Are So Undead To Me, will be out January 22 or Thursday. I read it and I highly enjoyed it, so you might want to buy a copy!

Anyhow, back to the contest. Stacey generously offered a You Are So Undead to Me t-shirt (Sizes Medium or Large) or a $10 Amazon Gift Card, no this might be confusing so pay close attention. It all depends on where the person lives for what prize, if the winner is from the United States, they'll win the awesome t-shirt, and if the winner is international, they'll win the Amazon gift certificate. To enter leave a comment with your name, email address, and if you live international or in the US of A. A winner will be chosen with a random number generator. This contest ends Thursday at 11:59 pm central. A winner will, hopefully, be posted on Friday!

(T-Shirt graphics on left---->)

Thank you and have fun commenting!

And We Have a Winner!

The winner of the prizes Jennifer Banash offered on the earlier On The Outside post last week is, picked my a random number generator, Deidre! Congratulations Deirdre! You will be receiving a signed copy of The Elite and In Too Deep, a custom CD, and a copy of Faketastic by Alexa Young. You shall receive an email from Jennifer soon.

Congratulations!

Winners!

Okay, so, you ALMOST didn't get the winners until at least Friday because one of our foster dogs, Missy, at through the cord that connects me with the internet, and we wouldn't of been able to get a new one until friday, but we made it! So yay! The winners!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered! I had about 165 entries total! What a huge success!

Okay, how I'm going to do this is that there will be four (4) winners total, I was going to have six (6) winners, but shipping costs are pretty expensive now, so I'm sorry!

One (1) person will win a personalized signed copy of Sleepless by Terri Clark from Mrs. Clark herself.

One (1) person will win a personalized signed book of choice by John Marco from Mr. Marco himself.

One (1) person will win a boxed collection set of the Blue is for Nightmares series by Laurie Faria Stolarz from me.

One (1) person will win a collection of books: A signed copy of Wake by Lisa McMann, I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder, and Switch by Carol Snow from me.

Is that okay?

So this is my handy dandy Valentine's Be Mine M&M mug, that beheld the contestants:

And this is the mug full of the many, many possible winners:
And these are the winners:

Carol M. you have won a personalized signed copy of Sleepless by Terri Clark!

Book~Adorer you have won a personalized signed copy book of your choice of book by John Marco!

Rylie you have won a boxed collection set of the Blue is for Nightmares series by Laurie Faria Stolarz!

AND. . .

Amee you have won a collection of books: A signed copy of Wake by Lisa McMann, I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder, and Switch by Carol Snow!

Congratulations!

I will email you shortly and I will need your addresses by Friday at midnight or else I'll be force to pick a new winner!

Sorry to everyone else! I hope to have another contest soon!

Extra Entry in Current Contest?

Do you want a quick and easy extra entry into the Halloween/Birthday Contest I'm running? All you have to do is follow this blog, everybody who is already following will get 2 extra entries.

For more information on this contest click here, and for another way to get extra entries, click here.

Thank YOU!

P.S.-Are you watching the election? What do you think?

Survey: Halloween/Birthday Contest

BOO!

Haha, sorry, that was me being a dork.

So, having a nice Halloween yet? What are you doing this year? Trick or treating? Handing out candy? Going to a party?

Me? I'll be handing out candy this year, as with last year. Where I live, it's pretty cold on Halloween, heck, last year I was wearing my winter jacket handing out candy. I have no idea how all those little kids do it. But anyway, it's time for my Halloween/Birthday contest survey to win extra points for the contest ending on my birthday, November 17th.


Each question answered will be one (1) extra entry to the drawing on November 18th.

Email the answer to kels.m.17@gmail.com --- kels (dot) m (dot) 17 (at) gmail (dot) com --- with Contest Survey in the subject line with your name and email address also, so I know who to give the extra entries too. You will have until the end of the contest to get your answers in.

If you want more information on the contest, click here.

Questions:

1. What do you like most about my blog?
2. What do you like least about my blog?
3. What should I improve on with my blog?
4. What should I tone down with my blog?
5. Anything else you want to add about my blog?

So, remember, EMAIL me with the question and answers to kels.m.17@gmail.com before the contest ends on my birthday, November 17th at midnight.

Have fun!