Congratulations to my fellow awesome WraHMer Leah McPhearson Miller (you should have received an email from me) for winning the hardcover copy of Lola and the Boy Next Door! I hope you love this book as much as I do!
And now for my newest giveaway we have Ripple by Mandy Hubbard.
Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim, or the pain will be unbearable. She is a siren - a deadly mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths. After a terrible tragedy, Lexi shut herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she soon finds herself caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?
Same rules apply, You must be at least 18 to enter (13+ with parental permission) and have a U.S. shipping address.
Ways to Enter
+1 for agreeing to the terms and agreements
+5 for leaving a blog comment
+5 for tweeting about the giveaway (you can also earn additional entries by tweeting every day.)
Despite getting less than three and half hours of sleep last night, I am in a surprisingly good mood! Today is the day that the Hubs life will change *fingers crossed* for the better. For the last two years he has lived in constant excruciating pain since being shot in the foot, (shattering most of the bones in his foot) along with his many other injuries that he sustained from his tour overseas.
It has been a long and arduous road full of tears, pain, and surgery upon surgery. But today is the day! His foot has finally healed enough to have a total ankle replacement, which means that in a mere 5-6 months he will be finally able to do the one thing closest to his heart…to be able to play with his boys relatively pain free! So for that I am tiredly overjoyed!
I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that sent your prayers and thoughts our way today…I can definitely feel them!
Also before I go, I have a few links for you to check out!
Don't forget to enter to win a copy of Lola and the Boy Next Door from me here!
Carrie Bastyr at Where I Get Wordy is also hosting a Giveaway for Partials by Dan Wells here!
And last but certainly not least, Daisy Carter at Fresh As A Daisy has another great post in her Characters A-Z series! If you aren't following her you need to be!
I'm so excited for this Giveaway, because Lola and The Boy Next Door & Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins are by far my two favorite YA Contemporaries on the market!
Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.
When Cricket—a gifted inventor—steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
Same rules apply, You must be at least 18 to enter (13+ with parental permission) and have a U.S. shipping address.
Ways to Enter
+1 for agreeing to the terms and agreements
+5 for leaving a blog comment
+5 for tweeting about the giveaway (you can also earn additional entries by tweeting every day)
+10 for following my blog (or for already following)
Now this Giveaway is going to run for two weeks, because the Hubs is finally having his ankle replacement surgery next week (6 to 12 hours long!!!!). And since he's going to be in the hospital for the week (and of course so am I) I'd never have the time to make it to the Post Office.
Also since the Hubs is going to be flat out on his back (on my favorite writing couch by the way) and out of commission no fewer than FIVE months, this means a lot less writing and blogging time for me. So I've decided to try to counteract that by having a Giveaway at least once a month, if not bi-monthy. I'm also going to try and stay consistent with at least one regular blog a week *fingers, toes, and everything else crossed*
So if you happen to be thinking about me or the Hubs on Tuesday, please feel free to send some prayers or good vibes our way.
I've been thinking about what inspires me recently, and while the visual certainly moves me (check out my Pinterest if you don't believe me http://pinterest.com/amberafterglow/) music really is the key to my soul and to my writing. If you're my friend on Facebook, you'll already know that I post music like crazy! So in honor of the music that touches me, I thought I'd post a few videos of my favorite songs and list my playlist as it is right now.
Please Don't Go by Barcelona
All You Wanted by Alison Sudol & Sounds Under Radio
Bloodstream by Stateless
What The Water Gave Me by Florence + The Machine
Fade Into You by Mazzy Star
Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars
Turning Page by Sleeping At Last
Sail by AWOLNATION
This next video I want to preface with saying that it is my villain song. I heard this one night while watching Malice in Wonderland on Netflix, and it was like magic. It just fit the scenes I was writing. The Hubs upon hearing the song and how much I loved it, "You scare me sometimes, you know that?"
Bring Back Her Head by Angelica
My full Playlist is heavy on all things Florence + The Machine and The Civil Wars…I heart them both beyond comprehension. Both are amazingly talented and I've yet to hear a bad song from either, but for the list below I've only added a few of my favorites from them!
Please Don't Go - Barcelona
All You Wanted - (TVD soundtrack) Alison Sudol & Sounds Under Radio Black Tables - Other Lives
Skinny Love - Birdy
Shelter - Birdy (Actually can't wait for her cd to be released in US, all of it is so good!)
Bloodstream- (TVD soundtrack) Stateless
What the Water Gave Me - Florence and the Machine
Binding - Florence and the Machine
Only If For a Night - Florence and the Machine
Heavy in Your Arms - Florence and the Machine
Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
It Will Rain - Bruno Mars (Breaking Dawn soundtrack)
Turning Page - Sleeping At Last (Breaking Dawn soundtrack)
Requiem On Water - Imperial Mammoth (Breaking Dawn soundtrack)
Cold - Aqualung & Lucy Schartz (Breaking Dawn soundtrack)
A Thousand Years - Christina Perri (Breaking Dawn soundtrack)
Arms - Christina Perri
Tragedy - Christina Perri
The Funeral - Band of Horses
Slow Life - Grizzly Bear
Poison and Wine - The Civil Wars
Falling - The Civil Wars
Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine
Safety Rope - Mick Flannery
Turn to Stone - Ingrid Michaelson
Changes - Stars
Sail - AWOLNATION
How It Ends - DeVotchKa
Wake Up - Arcade Fire
Breathe Me - Sia
Lullaby - Sia
My Love - Sia
I Go to Sleep - Sia
Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg
So Cold - Ben Cocks
Human - Civil Twilight
Cut - Plumb (TVD soundtrack)
This Woman's Work - Greg Laswell (although I love the Kate Bush version just as much)
Down - Jason Walker (TVD soundtrack)
Head Over Heels - Digital Daggers (TVD soundtrack) (remake of Tears for Fears that I love)
Wires - Athlete
The Story - Brandi Carlise
Transatlanticism - Death Cab for Cutie
Mad World - Gary Jules
Possibility- Lykee Li
Tonight - Lykee Li
Falling Slowly - The Swell Season
Need - Hana Pestle
The Greatest - Cat Power
I also want to link a recent post by Daisy on Rules for Dialogue because it was so good and helped me immensely! So head over to Fresh As A Daisy and check it out!
Also two awesome giveaways: 1. Carrie at Where I Get Wordy is having a giveaway for Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver 2. Sparkling Reviews is holding a $500 Amazon Gift Card giveaway. This is not a joke….go enter!
Hope I've managed to inspire you even a teensy bit. Be sure to let me know if you liked any of these songs, or if any are already on your playlist. Till next time...
Congratulations to the lovely Ashley Nixon (you should have also received an email from me), on winning the giveaway for Wither by Lauren DeStefano! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!
A big thank you also goes out to the rest of you who stopped by and entered my very first giveaway! For those of you who didn't win, please don't feel disheartened because I am planning another giveaway very soon! So please stop back within the next couple of weeks to enter!
*Hint* It just might have to do with one of my favorite contemporary YA authors and a boy next door. Any guesses?
Yea! I just found out I that I was awarded a Kreativ Blogger Award from Ashley Nixon. So as a giant THANK YOU, please go check out her blog...she's pretty awesome. I mean what's not to love, she has a twin brother, she's a writer, she has a tattoo on her wrist, she's completely adorable, and she loves Ben Barnes and pirates!
Now on to the challenge portion of winning this award. As you can see, I still have a few steps I need to accomplish until I may finally claim this beauty for my own.
1. Thank the blogger who gave you the award and provide a link.
2. List 7 interesting things about yourself that your readers might find interesting
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers, provide links, and let them know!
7 Interesting Facts About Me
1. I am the oldest of five children. Three brothers & one sister.
2. My sister and I have matching Sacred Heart tattoos on our right wrists. They have a banner that reads Sorella, which is sister in Italian.
3. I am currently planning a massive 6th birthday party for my oldest. It is a Star Wars theme and I have (bravely…stupidly…take your pick) invited his entire kindergarten class. I have also conned every adult related to me into wearing a costume. I am starring as Princess Leia. (Bring on the buns!) My two youngest brothers have also agreed to have a mock lightsaber fight as Obi Wan Kenobi & Darth Maul. (It is going to be EPIC and HILARIOUS, and I will capture it on video so that I may taunt them with it for the rest of their lives *rubs hands in glee*)
4. I read no less than three books a week (Is that interesting?)
5. I am secretly (ok not so secretly) addicted to America's Next Top Model. *hangs head in shame* Also hopelessly addicted to The Vampire Diaries, Once Upon a Time, Downton Abbey, Project Runway, Top Chef, and almost all HBO & Showtime series.
6. I am obsessed with owls and The Princess Bride….do with that what you will.
7. I'm in massively in love with Pinterest, and I seriously had a giddy fangirl moment when I realized (by some weird cosmic coincidence, ie: FATE) that Natalie Whipple & Laini Taylor were following my pins!
And my 7 fellow bloggers that I'm awarding and passing the challenge on to are as follows…
