contest winners and hilarious insight

The Book Extravaganza that Kristen of Bookworming in the 21st Century and Kate of The Neverending Shelf put together was a resounding success. At least on my end. Wait, did I actually go enter any other contests? Nope. BUT! I had a lot of new and wonderful visitors, crazy blog traffic, and a couple of my most successful contests ever. Thanks to all who participated!

And now, the part you’ve all been waiting for…

The winner of Holly Black’s magical con masterpiece White Cat, plus a bit of swag, is:

Ella Press of The Clock Monkey

Ella wrote, “Watching the latest HP [Harry Potter] trailer makes me smile. It also makes me kinda sad, to know that it’ll be over soon.”

And the winners of Jessica Day George’s fairy-tale type tale Princess of Glass are:

Cass of Words on Paper and Jenny N. of Dreaming of Books

Cass opined, “Who WOULDN’T want a fairy godmother? Do want!” While Jenny N. said, “Of course I’d like a fairy god mother. She’d be very handy to have around.”

In addition, my other contest (for SteamBoyz Week) also ended. The winner of a signed ARC copy of Matthew Kirby’s The Clockwork Three, plus a YA steampunk book from the list of choices is:

fredamans of Freda's Voice

fredamans answered the question, “What is the essential steampunk accessory?” with “Most definitely could not leave the house without my Steampunk Watch Gadget!”

Congrats, winners! Happy reading! Everyone: be on the lookout for more contests soon (yes, it’s an addiction. but it’s not a PROBLEM. i swear.)!

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Oh, you were waiting for the hilarious insight bit? I guess I’ll let you have it. This is SO ME. All my friends agree. Not sure if that’s depressing or hilarious, but the blog post almost made me wet my pants I was laughing so hard…

in which i pick winners the old-fashioned way

My three hundred follower celebration giveaway has come to a close, and I have three winners to announce. Please join me in congratulating…

BleuMoon from Witch Way and

Crystal from My Reading Room!

These two will split the books in the giveaway pile, which include: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (ARC), Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (ARC), Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti (ARC), Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles (signed ARC), Grace by Elizabeth Scott (signed ARC), Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (signed ARC), The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (signed hardcover), Siren by Tricia Rayburn (signed hardcover), Ash by Malinda Lo (signed hardcover), The Daykeeper’s Grimoire (Prophecy of Days) by Christy Raedeke (paperback), Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken (hardcover). BleuMoon will get first pick of five books, and Crystal will receive the remaining six.

The international winner is:

Good Golly Miss Holly!

Who will receive $40 to spend at The Book Depository (no pre-orders).

Many, many thanks to all of my followers, both old and new. You keep me on my toes, inspire me, and make me laugh. Now, go enter the giveaways for White Cat by Holly Black and Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George while they’re still open!

sometimes the conversation takes the cake

I used to write a lot more about my daily life on the blog. Actually, this thing started as a personal blog, and I talked about coffee, and sometimes my siblings (they’re awesome), and sometimes really embarrassing stories. But books are a huge part of my life, and after a while they took over the blog. That’s fine, but I still have a couple of people out there who request ‘normal stories.’

Behold, an email conversation with my sister yesterday on this very topic.

ginny: you are hilarious. i want to see some 'regular' life stories. like you used to. so how about posting about the sounders game [I went to a Sounders v. DC United game last night]? LOVES you bunches of bananas!

Me: I don't post about 'regular' life stuff because I don't know what to say anymore. Like, I don't know if it's funny or why anyone would want to read it. You know? If you gave me a way to spin it I might...Hugs!

ginny: just say: my sister demanded a 'real life' update. or if you want to post about the sounders game, you could say that although you like posting things about yummy recipes, you also like posting things about yummy looking males (cuz who doesn't??). and you could link to the cute guys w/ cats, hot guys w/ books, and then segue into the sounders game, and how yummy some of them are (cuz didn't you tell me that one of them was an ex-model?) and how you got to see them LIVE!!! easy peasy lemon squeezy.

ginny: and after reading that, i realize: 'why am i not an agent?' *big smile*

photo courtesy of CBC sports

There you have it, folks. Go check out Cute Boys with Cats, Hot Guys Reading Books, and Freddie Ljungberg, a Seattle Sounders star and former underwear model. If, you know, you want to. But my sister is pretty sure you’ll want to. *le sigh*

And, because I couldn't resist - Library Old Spice guy. Ah-MAZ-ing!

book extravaganza - princess of glass giveaway

And now for my second Book Extravaganza weekend giveaway, I give you Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George.

The engrossing companion novel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, with a wicked twist on Cinderella.

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other’s countries in the name of better political alliances—and potential marriages. It’s got the makings of a fairy tale—until a hapless servant named Eleanor is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince.

Ballgowns, cinders, and enchanted glass slippers fly in this romantic and action-packed happily-ever-after quest from an author with a flair for embroidering tales in her own delightful way.

I’m offering two copies of Princess of Glass for this giveaway, and one of them is signed by the author herself. First winner will get his/her choice, and the second winner will receive the remaining book.

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To enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me if you’d like to have a fairy godmother (or not). You can earn an extra entry in the giveaway if you comment on my review.

Please include a method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on July 18 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.

Good luck!