Posted on Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 by the1stdaughter
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Welcome to the Mid-Winter’s Eve Giveaway Hop at There’s A Book!
I’m thrilled to be taking part in this wonderful event for the second year and am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has planned in these last few days of the year!
Because the days of 2011 are numbered and by the time this giveaway closes all of those gift giving holidays will most likely have come to an end I thought what better to giveaway than the opportunity to pick up that last book for the year? Did your favorite and most-anticipated book not make your holiday loot? Well, maybe with this giveaway you’ll be able to pick it up yourself! So, what’s up for grabs? Take a look…
Two $15 USD Gift Cards to Amazon or Barnes & Noble!
Details: Two winners will be chosen at random after the contest closes. You MUST fill out the entry form, comments will not count alone as entries. Only one entrant per household. No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open Worldwide.
I’d highly recommend also taking a look at the Giveaways page while you’re here as we have number of giveaways currently going on (some worldwide). And be sure to take a look at our Reviews page to get any help you might need in last minute shopping for yourself or others! That’s it! Thank you again for stopping by There’s A Book, we hope you’ll come back again soon and make sure to stop by the rest of the Mid-Winter’s Eve Giveaway Hop for more great giveaways! Good luck!
Posted on Monday, December 19th, 2011 by the1stdaughter
This fabulous weekly recap is hosted by Shelia of One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and the kidlit version is hosted by Jen from Teach Mentor Texts. Each week we recap what we’ve read and look at what’s coming up this week. If you’re interested head over to Shelia’s site as well as Jen’s and get involved! It’s a blast and I may even stop by to see what you’re up to!
Here’s what we’ve been up to this week:
This is actually going to cover the last couple of weeks because I missed out on last week due to a sinus infection/migraine. Lets just say that I’ve had it with health issues and 2011, I’m so ready to start 2012 with a fresh start! What about you?
As for the rest of the week, it’s been great! I started my “Twelve Days of Christmas” with some of my favorite bloggers and it’s been going wonderfully! I’m looking forward to rolling out the next week of my favorites as well as quite a few reviews before the end of the year!
Reviewed (Just click on the title to see the Review!):
Posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 by the1stdaughter
A little over a week ago I posted a “Book Dreaming” article about my hopes to read Small Blue Thing by S.C. Ransom sometime in the very near future. Well, thanks to the marvel that is Twitter I was put immediately in contact with the charming author herself! Sue is wonderful and instantly offered to write up a post about how her novel came to life and also became Nosy Crow’s first published book. It’s a brilliant story and I can’t wait to share it! So, without further hesitation on my part, author of Small Blue Thing S.C. Ransom…
I used to read every day as I sat on my commuter train into London, England. I love reading, and it was a great opportunity to catch up with my favourite books and discover new ones. One day when I was in a hurry I picked up one of my daughter’s books. I thought it would be interesting to see what she was enjoying, and I found that I really liked it. It was set in the US and was all about vampires. I read through more on her shelf, and was struck by the fact that everything she seemed to enjoy was set in the States. I thought she would also enjoy something which was set in her world, with places she had knew, but books like that were hard to find.
I started wondering if I could write something myself. I’d never written any fiction, not since school anyway, but I decided to give it a go. It was February 2009, and Ellie, my daughter, would be 12 in September. I could write her a birthday present. I used the time on my commute to start planning, working out how I was going to structure my story and who was going to be in it, and soon had everything sorted in my notebook, but then I hit a snag. I had to get the story written on the laptop, but it was really too big to be carrying around London. Writing at the weekends wasn’t an option as I was too busy with family stuff – it had to be done on the commute. I was thinking about the problem one day as I was writing an email on my BlackBerry. As a smartphone it was really just a very small computer – maybe I could use that?
I tried a few test files, and once I got my thumbs into gear it was fine. Using the notes function I tapped away, and as I reached the final station every day I emailed the file to myself. When I got back on the train in the evening I re-read what I’d written in the morning and carried on. I found that I could manage about 300 words or so per journey, so the pages soon built up. At the weekends I took all the little email files and patched them all together into chapters. Finally I printed out a draft copy and edited it, and with a few days to spare, got the final copy printed out and bound into a proper hardback book. On the morning of Ellie’s birthday I handed it over nervously, really hoping that she would like it. I had written a story about a 17 year-old girl, Alex, who discovers a mysterious bracelet in the River Thames, and finds that it allows her to talk with Callum, a drowned soul. Callum is gorgeous and Alex quickly falls for him, but then things start to go horribly wrong and Alex has to decide – is he lying to her? And if so, what does he want?
Luckily Ellie loved it, and it was soon being borrowed by her friends and we had to loan out some loose leaf copies to keep up with the demand. Eventually someone suggested that I try to get it published. I wasn’t sure at first, because it was Ellie’s story and very personal to her, but when we talked it over she was keen, so I made some enquiries. It seemed pretty time-consuming to submit manuscripts, so after one refusal from an agent I spoke to the colleague of a friend, just to get a feel for whether I was wasting my time. She loved it so much she set up a company to publish it!
A year to the day after my first meeting with Kate Wilson, Small Blue Thing came out as Nosy Crow’s first book. Six month later the sequel, Perfectly Reflected, was published, and in January the final part, Scattering Like Light, goes on sale. My daughter’s birthday present is now being sold around the world and has been enjoyed by tens of thousands of girls. I still can’t quite believe it!
Thank you so much Sue! I adored this post! It’s amazing that you were able to write the entire first novel on your Blackberry and then to have written it solely for the purpose of giving it to your daughter is brilliant. Now I’m dying to read the series even that much more! Thank you again, this was wonderful!
Today’s post is part of our month long celebration of all things Nosy Crow. Make sure to stop by the Nosy Crow site for more information about this title and more. For more information about our Book Publishers 101 feature take a look at this month’s opening post.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Nosy Crow, for coordinating many of this month’s features and reviews! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook! Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.
Posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 by the1stdaughter
Each week The Broke and the Bookish host this fantastic weekly feature that poses different bookish questions.
This weeks topic? Top Ten Books I Want To Give As Gifts
This is such a fun topic! But seriously…SO difficult! How do I pick ten? Well again, I’m going to try my best to keep it ten and of course I’ll miss a few of my favorites inevitably. So, lets get started!
1. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness narrated by Nick Podehl – The audio version of this is a book I’ve been recommending to anyone and everyone who needs an amazing audiobook. I love Patrick Ness and his writing, but bring it together with Nick Podehl’s narrating abilities and I don’t care who you are, you will fall in love with this book. I especially recommend it for the guys on my shopping list this season, they’ll love it!
2. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick – Loved. this. book! Wow! Blew me away! If you have a young teen on your list or someone who loves a good graphic novel then this is the book to buy. I adored every page of this hefty novel and would gladly pass it along to anyone and everyone.
3. The Naming by Alison Croggon – This is the YA equivalent of The Lord of the Rings without feeling like you are bogged down in songs every other page. I adore Croggon’s writing and as soon as I finished the series I couldn’t help pawning it off on every person I knew that loved reading. It’s addictive and brilliant!
4. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty – My favorite “Chick Lit” read this year! I loved the entire concept and the characters, everything! I’d give this to pretty much any girlfriend of mine but especially my two sisters.
5. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen – I adore anything Sarah writes and this is probably my favorite of hers. It’s because of this book that I fell in love with magical realism and I can’t help but want to share it with everyone!
6. Doodle Bites: A Tilly and Friends Book by Polly Dunbar – A much looked over series here in the US, but one every family should have! We love the entire Tilly and Friends book series, but this is our favorite of the bunch. It’s another that gets read on at least a weekly basis if not more frequently. The entire set would be perfect for a family with a burgeoning toddler!
7. Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems – Our favorite picture book this year, and potentially ever. This is the book that has almost been worn through we’ve read it so many times. Our family loves Elephant & Piggie and this is “the” quintessential book to have from this amazing duo.
8. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead – My go-to middle grade read. This is the book if you need an introduction to middle grade fiction and aren’t sure where to start. It’s beautifully written and has an incredible story. Readers of all ages will love this!
9. Scrawny Cat by Phyllis Root – It’s possible that I know way too many “cat people”. That or I simply adore this book and hope that anyone who could potentially take an animal into their home would be inspired by this poor little kitty. I loved this book this year and can’t wait to send it off to friends!
10. Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt – This is a picture book for children and adults who love to laugh at the things that make us human. Without a doubt my second favorite and go-to series for pre-school age kids. Love Scaredy Squirrel!
Now, your turn! Which books are you buying this holiday season and who for?
If you want more details just click on the title and you’ll be taken to my review or Goodreads.
Posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2011 by the1stdaughter
I’m thrilled to be a part of the group of book bloggers selected to reveal the cover for the first book in the Embrace series by Jessica Shirvington! Isn’t it gorgeous?! I love the purple and hint to the main character’s name Violet Eden. Her “wings are also so tastefully done, I can’t help but love everything about this cover and I can’t wait to share my review of this spectacular book.
As an added bonus I also have the video of the behind the scenes making of the cover itself! It’s so neat! I love being able to see how they put it all together and now I can’t wait for the remaining books in the series! Enjoy!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Sourcebooks, for providing a copy of this book for review and giving me the opportunity to be a part of the reveal! Connect with them on Twitter and at the Embrace the Series site! Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.
Posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 by the1stdaughter
Book Dreaming is just that. It’s a feature I’m using to highlight those books that make readers dreamy or possibly just end up making them dream. It could be anything from newly released books to ones that are already out that I can’t get out of my head to those I can’t seem to get my hands on soon enough!
Today’s Book Dreaming pick is Small Blue Thing by S.C. Ransom. I’ve been reading Nosy Crow children’s books for the last few months now and loving them. So when I found out they also had a young adult novel as well I was beyond thrilled, until I found out it isn’t published here in the US, yet. I may be checking into the possibilities of picking it up via Book Depository because I really must read Small Blue Thing very soon. Take a look at the synopsis to see for yourself…
Celebrating the end of exams with best friend Grace, 17 year-old Alex rescues a swan caught on a wire in the Thames mud and finds an extraordinary bracelet. Through its disturbing and compelling powers, she finds Callum, a soul locked in a half-life of sadness and mystery following a terrible accident, and his persuasive and sinister sister, Catherine. As Alex and Callum grow closer despite the enormous obstacles to their love, the dangers mount until Alex must risk everything to save Grace and Callum must risk everything to save Alex.
I’m so intrigued by the bracelet and it’s origins! It sounds so much like a hint of a classic fairytale mixed with today’s time period which sounds fantastic! What do you think?
Today’s post is part of our month long celebration of all things Nosy Crow. Make sure to stop by the Nosy Crow site for more information about this title and more. For more information about our Book Publishers 101 feature take a look at this month’s opening post.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Nosy Crow, for coordinating many of this month’s features and reviews! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook! Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our various affiliate relationships.
Posted in Giveaways | 211 Comments »
Luckily Ellie loved it, and it was soon being borrowed by her friends and we had to loan out some loose leaf copies to keep up with the demand. Eventually someone suggested that I try to get it published. I wasn’t sure at first, because it was Ellie’s story and very personal to her, but when we talked it over she was keen, so I made some enquiries. It seemed pretty time-consuming to submit manuscripts, so after one refusal from an agent I spoke to the colleague of a friend, just to get a feel for whether I was wasting my time. She loved it so much she set up a company to publish it!
