BOOKS AND BLOGGING PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is defined as a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought. Well, my theory is if I can add at least 10 new books to my Wishlist and move at least 5 older Wishlist selections to my TBR list every month, then life is a ice cream sundae. And if I can find those 10 books from at least 5 new blogs each month then that's the cherry on top.

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!
Well, I've made it almost 5 years now, so for better or worse, I continue on. I tend to blog in spurts as the urge to be creative erupts. As I don't have an artistic bone in my body, you will see very few changes in the layouts. Hey, I'm a reader not an artist like so many of the awesome bloggers I follow. I know you don't always have the time but if you stopped and looked, take a half a minute and say your piece. Recommend a book that you have enjoyed or hated for that matter. Thank you to all who visit.
Oh, and I moved my Google Friend Connect info and share this buttons to the top, as without our friends, who are we?


Saturday, June 30, 2012

JUNE New Release Giveaway Hop

Welcome to Stop #4 of the 
June New Release Giveaway Hop!
The  June New Release Giveaway Hop
  is hosted by 
and 

Take time to visit the other blogs 
on this awesome giveaway!
Winner may choose one (1) of the following!
Be sure and 
comment on any ongoing Book Blast post
for 5 extra entries in this giveaway!










Monday, June 25, 2012

Passing The Pages: Random Summer Reads Giveaway!


Passing The Pages: Random Summer Reads Giveaway!: Hello Lovies, Summer is crazy but there are always fun books about. I have five books here that are ups for grab. The winner will get two ...

Friday, June 22, 2012

amberafterglow: A Million Suns Winner and New Giveaway...

amberafterglow: A Million Suns Winner and New Giveaway...:
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Congratulations  Sally Michele Shaw (you should have received an email from me) for winning the copy of  A Million Suns by Beth Revis!  I ...

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

2nd Annual Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop

The 2nd Annual Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop 
will take place from June 20th to 26th
Thanks to Uniquely Moi Books for co-hosting.



Plan to spend the longest day of the year entering giveaways as part of the Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop.

Leave a comment telling me what you would
 like to be doing on the longest day of the year and 
then fill out the Raffelcopter form below.

Contest will be open internationally.
I will be giving away 
a $10 Amazon/Barnes and Noble Gift card 
or I'll let you chose 
a book from Book Depository
up to $10 and as long as they ship
 free to you, you can enter.
Just make sure they ship to you. If not sure, 
 check here.
I love to win Gift Cards and 
these are the simplest and the best 
as far as I'm concerned.
For every 50 brand new followers,

I'll give away another $10 Gift card or
book from Book Depository.
AmazonGiftCard
B&N
Book Depository

Click on the "Read More" to take you to Rafflecopter--
If you have any problem getting Rafflecopter to come up,
generally refreshing the page will fix it.
Read "Click for Instructions" before answering the question!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Clear Your Shelf June Giveaway Hop

CLEANUP  TIME  AGAIN!
It's time for some summer cleaning!
Normally, I open my giveaways internationally but since I'm shipping 3 books to you it's going to only be open to the US due to shipping costs.
I've got YAs, Paranormals, Romance, 
Horror, Sci Fi, Mysteries, Thrillers, 
Dystopians or a Variety. There will be new books that I've got an extra copy of or just haven't read, there are used books that I've read but have no space for, paperbacks, hardbacks, ARCs, you name it and it might be in this giveaway. If you have a 
genre preference you prefer 
or hate you can let me know.
These are just a few of the possibilities.



For the full list of participating bloggers on the hop.

This is a great way to meet more bloggers and win books. 



Click on the "Read More" to take you to Rafflecopter--
If you have any problem getting Rafflecopter to come up,
generally refreshing the page will fix it.
Read "Click for Instructions" before answering the question!



Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Ferryman & the Flame- $100 Gift Certificate- June 12th- 22nd

Flame of Surrender 
The Ferryman and the Flame, Book One
Author: Rhiannon Paille

The giveaway will be for a $100 Gift Card.  
June 12th to 22nd.
Bloom the weed of temptation and expire the great garden of life. Bloom the flower of sacrifice and sustain the great garden in strife. The boy who follows death meets the girl who could cause the apocalypse. Krishani thinks he's doomed until he meets Kaliel, the one girl on the island of Avristar who isn't afraid of him. She's unlike the other girls, she swims with merfolk, talks to trees and blooms flowers with her touch. What he doesn't know is that she's a flame, one of nine individually hand crafted weapons, hidden in the body of a seemingly harmless girl. Nobody has fallen in love with a flame until now. She becomes Krishani's refuge from the dreams of death and the weather abilities he can't control. Striking down thousand-year-old trees with lightning isn't something he tries to do, it just happens. When the Ferryman dies, Krishani knows he's  next and a lifetime of following death is his destiny. And Kaliel can't come with him. The Valtanyana are hunting the flames, the safest place for her is Avristar. Krishani can't bear to leave her, and one innocent mistake grants the Valtanyana access to their mystical island. They're coming for Kaliel, and they won't stop until every last living creature on Avristar is dead. She has to choose--hide, face them, or awaken the flame and potentially destroy herself. How far would you go to save everything you ever loved? 


Rhi was never a normal girl. Her life was an urban fantasy wrapped in a paranormal romance and served with a side of horror. To escape her everyday weirdness she began writing fantasy. She studied at U of Sedona and MIMT, obtaining a PhD in Metaphysical Science and Parapsychology. She's married to a chef/comic book shop owner and has a fondness for architecture. She frequents twitter and facebook, but if you really want to get to know her you should visit her site: www.rhiannonpaille.com





"I can't think of a single bad thing to say about this book, it was THAT good. ”
Corci

"I look forward to the next book of the series.
S.J. Wist

The end will leave you wanting more and wondering where the story will go.
Cory Putman Oakes

Thursday, June 7, 2012

DEAD SEXY Launching June 15th from Entangled Publishing



Her Forgotten Betrayal, by Anna DeStefano

Remembering will save her life. But will the truth destroy their love forever?
When the CEO of a global technology empire retreats to her ancestral mountain home to heal from a brutal shooting, she discovers the danger has just begun. The FBI suspects her of selling top-secret government research, and has sent an undercover agent to find evidence of her treason. Still suffering from amnesia, she is at the mercy of nightmares that soon morph into something much more terrifying—a determined enemy, plotting to make sure she never regains her fragile memory. When a handsome stranger sweeps in from the cold, claiming to be her protector—and her former lover—she suspects he’s not telling her the whole truth about his sudden appearance on the mountain. As their unwilling attraction blossoms to sizzling passion, she begins to trust him…unaware that he is about to repeat the most painful betrayal of her past—a past she doesn’t remember…a past that just may kill her.

No Hero, by Mallory Kane

A darkly handsome New Orleans detective who insists he’s no hero is blindsided by his one-time lover, a sexy investigative TV reporter, who exposes his secret troubled past to the whole world…and nearly costs him his job. When the at-risk teens he mentors start turning up dead, his vow to protect the other kids hits a major snag…his only clue to finding the determined killer is held by the one woman he never wants to see again. Compelled to work together to solve the vicious murders before another child dies, their passion reluctantly reignites, and their mutual mistrust slowly turns to respect as she realizes there’s much more to being a hero than outward appearances, and his deeply wounded heart gradually opens to the possibility of love.

Sacrifice of Passion, by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez

A tall, dark, single-dad Texas rancher finds himself facing more than his stubbornly silent son when the chupacabra, a supposedly mythical blood-sucking beast, starts killing his livestock—and stalking the town’s newly returned veterinary assistant, the sensual woman who ran from the altar and broke his heart twelve years earlier. Determined to purge his sizzling memories of her from his all-too-vivid imagination, he seeks her help to get to the bottom of the disturbing animal mutilations, only to have her break through to his sullen son…and rekindle the love he’d thought was lost forever. But her refusal to share a terrible secret sends her running straight into the lair of the chupacabra, plunging her back into her worst nightmare, and forcing them both to confront the wrongs of the past—in order to stay alive for the future they desperately want.

Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies, by Cynthia Cooke

Family secrets must be kept, and painful wounds must be ignored.

After an all-out assault by a vicious terrorist bent on destroying her entire family, a former government agent must break the strict rules she has always lived by when she emerges from hiding to reluctantly accept the help of her all-too-sexy ex-lover. Running a deadly race against time, they rush to rescue her kidnapped sister, find her missing father, and bring the notorious villain to justice. But nothing ever goes as planned. Bullets fly, danger abounds, and their passion reignites even faster than the lies are flowing. But their stubbornly held secrets just might spell the end of their rekindled love and hopes for the future…as well as their very lives.

http://www.entangledinromance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DeadlySecrets-500px2.jpg

Entangled Publishing is an exclusive, boutique publisher of romantic fiction. Located in Fort Collins, Colorado, Entangled's goal is to bridge the gap between traditional and indie publishing, giving both readers and authors the best of both worlds. Get more information at www.entangledpublishing.com


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

A thing « Jay Kristoff – Literary Giant

A thing « Jay Kristoff – Literary Giant

You stand to win:
  • A signed ARC of STORMDANCER. Perfect for propping up wobbly tables, lighting fires in cold winter months, and squashing small, scuttling insectoid lifeforms.
  • A signed copy of THE LITTLE STORMDANCER. This was a picture book I did for my UK editor when she had her first baby. It’s like an MG version of Stormdancer, with far less death and sex. It also has a happy ending. People think it’s cute. You may too. There’s only, like, 20 in the entire world.
  • A PDF of a short story I wrote in the Stormdancer world, called PRAYING FOR RAIN, which is going to be bonus content for the e-book version of the book. As it stands, only about ten people on the entire planet have read this thing so far. You’ll be one of the first people to read it, EVER.
Competition closes at the end of June. Go forth!

Reunited Book Blast -$100 Gift Card- June 5th -12th

A contemporary Young Adult novel Coming from 
Simon & Schuster - June 12, 2012 


1 concert. 2000 miles. 3 ex-best friends.

Back in middle school, Alice, Summer, and Tiernan were
 inseparable. They were also the number one fans of the 
rock band Level3. But when the band broke up, so did the 
girls' friendship. Alice spent high school with her nose 
buried in books, Summer was in the popular crowd, and 
Tiernan was lucky if she made it to class. Now, just as 
the girls are about to graduate, Level3 announces a 
one-time-only reunion show. Even though it's 2,000 miles 
away, Alice buys three tickets on impulse—
and as it turns out, Summer and Tiernan have 
their own reasons for wanting to get out of town.
 And thanks to Alice's graduation gift (a newly refurbished 
'78 VW van affectionately known as the Pea-Pod) 
they've got the perfect vehicle to get them there. 
But on their cross-country drive, the girls hit more 
than just a few bumps in the road. 

Will their friendship get an encore or is the 
show really over? 

To find out more about Level3, or to

HILARY WEISMAN GRAHAM

I began my career as an indie filmmaker fresh out of college (Boston University) making my debut as a writer/director at the tender age of 23 with LIFE'S TOO GOOD.

My second feature, I LOVE MY MOVIE, aired on PBS in Boston in 1999 despite the colorful language and brief nudity (go public television!). Both films premiered at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and played in art-houses and festivals around the world, where they racked up numerous awards and good reviews*.

During that time, I earned my living (you think indie films make money?) as a freelance television producer, working for shows such as THE WILD WEB (CBS/Eyemark), The Discovery Health Channel's BODY INVADERS, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, A&E's BIOGRAPHY, and PBS's ZOOM, and WMUR's CHRONICLE which earned me an Emmy nomination. (Let the shameless self-promotion begin!)

From 2004 – 2007, I took some time off from work to be a stay-at-home mom. Then, in the summer of 2007, my career took a dramatic turn when I was selected to be a contestant on the Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg-produced reality show ON THE LOT: THE SEARCH FOR AMERICA'S NEXT GREAT DIRECTOR (which aired on FOX primetime, the summer of 2007). Out of a pool of 12,000 submissions, I made it onto the show as one of the eighteen finalists and stayed in the competition until only nine contestants remained, making me the longest-standing female director. 

Twice during the show, Garry Marshall (Director, PRETTY WOMAN, VALENTINE'S DAY) picked my films as his favorites of the night. But among the many memorable moments of being ON THE LOT, my personal favorite came when Carrie Fisher, (New York Times best-selling author/screenwriter/Princess Leia) watched one of my short films, looked me in the eye, and said, "I am jealous of your writing." And yes, I will probably put that on my epitaph. 

Monday, June 4, 2012

Winners of the UNSPENT TIME Launch Event


"I'm very polite by nature, even the voices in my head let each other finish their sentences." Graham Parke, Unspent Time




I'd originally planned to have a monkey draw two random numbers out of a hat (then use the inverse hexadecimal value - because you cannot trust monkeys, not at the prices I'm willing to pay) but apparently there are laws against monkey labor. There are permits involved. It's a whole thing. So instead I asked a friend to think of two random numbers while dressed in a monkey suit, without telling him what the numbers were for. This seemed sufficiently random to me, although it later occurred to me how worrying it was that my friend would actually do this without ever asking why. There might be a thinly veiled cry for help in there somewhere...




Kindle Fire Winner:

Cecilia Huddleston



Kindle Touch Winner:

Kathy Habel






A big thank you to all the bloggers and readers who supported the Unspent Time launch event (especially those who bought multiple versions of the weird little novels that wrecked a thousand reasonably useful minds.)


Anyway, here's the results, thank you all for joining in, winners will be contacted and forced to accept prizes, let me know if you ever come across bits in the novels you like, stay healthy and sane,


Graham Parke

“We played for about half an hour before I realized we were actually playing two different games. What I’d thought of as ludo was actually a game called gin rummy, and what Warren was playing seemed to be a mixture of craps and table tennis. Once we started playing by one consistent set of rules, though, the fun was really over.” Graham Parke, No Hope for Gomez!


Book Whore: Follow Book Whore to 1000 G!veaway!

Book Whore: Follow Book Whore to 1000 G!veaway!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Forbidden Passions Reviews: 1000 followers giveaway

Forbidden Passions Reviews: 1000 followers giveaway: For this last part of my 1000 followers giveaway, I will be giving away 20 ebooks.  You can choose between Epub or Mobi so this is a great...