Debut Author Blog Hop

As you all know, I adore debut authors because they're so absolutely sweet. SO SWEET. So I'm absolutely thrilled to participate in this!

Today, AG Howard was so kind to donate this signed Splintered for this giveaway! Anita is unbelievably sweet and I LOVE HER TO BITS (It has nothing to do with Morpheus I swear. Or maybe I lie.)

I'm also going to give away any debut eBook for INT folks or those who already have a fabulous shiny copy of Splintered!

Remember, no cheaters! Only one set of entries per household or all your entries will be deleted.

About Splintered

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

---

a Rafflecopter giveaway

<!-- end LinkyTools script –>

Blogoversary: The Second (and Giveaway!)

Long post ahead. Leave all precious items here because I'm about to cry over you and get sappy.

Well guys. It's come. I'm finally an old blogger.

WELL CRAP.

No no, I'm good.

Seriously. See?

Yeah. We're good.

...

L;REKJRGALFSDKJ;KLFNSDFKJSDFAJSDCNDLSKJFLSDJLSDKJFJWEHFSDKJCHNAKSJNFKJSDFHJSDKCNKJSADHFKJDSHFAKLJSDHFKASDHFCKJDHFKJDHSNCKJSHNDFKJHDSKLCHKJSDHFKJDHSFKJSDHFCKJNKSDAJHFLKAJHSDF

Guys. GUYS. GUYS. Two years since I started this thing and it's been filled with amazing.

And no I won't stop with the gifs.

The thing is, and I've said this a bajillion times, I never really expected much from blogging. I never knew how giant and big the blogosphere was. I didn't know how much I would love the blogosphere.

Some people agonize over the decision to blog--they knew about the blogosphere beforehand, they knew what blogging was. I just dived right in, not knowing what the HELL I was getting into.

I thought I would quit when I got 100 followers. I didn't even think I'd get 10.

I thought I would quit when I wrote 50 reviews. It seemed like so much to me.

I thought I would quit when I reached 1 year. I didn't know how quickly that year would pass.

Blogging has been absolutely amazing and honestly. What would I be doing without it?
Shoving my face with chocolate while I watched Spongebob and Doctor Who.

But instead I'm part of this absolutely amazing community that sticks with each other, doesn't prejudice, and loves books. And authors! Bloggers! I TALK TO THESE PEOPLE. 

And now it's been two years of books, wonder, authors, bloggers, and everything.

I have spent two years on this blog. 

I have spent two years in this community.

I have spent two years being surrounded by crazy book loving people.

I have spent two years...having fun. 

And to all you people who've stuck by me those two years. Or one year. Or even one month.

Yes. Yes here comes the people part. And basically the dedications if my blog were a book.

FIRST TO MY FOLLOWERS. Because lord knows I would've given it up if not for you folk. Twitter, GFC, Bloglovin, Tumblr, whatever. You guys make me smile and I love seeing your comments or tweets. I mean. Guys. People actually care about what I have to say. And you're awesome for not running away.

AND TO MY BLOGGY FRIENDS. 
Merp Squad, first of all. Because they've always been my number one go to and the group of friends I will never let go of. They're awesome, they get me (HAHAHA no. Kudos for trying to understand my 2 AM tweets though y'all!) and I love them! They've pretty much been my first blogger friends and deal with my pettiness and horrible sides with me. (I'm so sorry about that!) I love you all. And we can be fat merpy birds together now!
-I may not talk to most of y'all anymore but I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU for being my closest bloggy friends! <3 Miss talking to y'all but life is rather bossy, isn't it?

Hafsah, Jessica, and Alex because I HAVE TEXAN FRIENDS. You guys don't know how big that is for me.
-Hafsah, the awesome writer who sent me her manuscript of Unbreathable for me to devour and sending me swag and for being up at 1 AM so I can talk to someone. YES.
-Jessica for being so super sweet and amazing. Almost no one does sweet like her!
-Alex for being crazy. And sort of nice. What? She tortures me with all the books she gets! MEAN! But also for being someone fun to talk to!

Kaede for being super crazy and super fun and almost always being on twitter. Or used to. (She sort of disappeared. Hmm) We need to talk more.

And Lucy, Shreya, Christine, YA Reads, and Alyssa for being oh so epic and being there when I must talk and for somehow becoming a close friends in a matter of days. You guys are wiggly things that made me love you all. And thank you for ranting with me. I need that.
-On that note, ALYSSA FOLLOWED ME IN JUNE OF 2012. OMFG GUYS. SHE FOLLOWED ME BEFORE SHE STARTED BLOGGING. HOW CRAY CRAY IS THAT.

Danielle who's not a blogger (totally should be though. Just saying.) but is still SO FREAKING AWESOME and let's me bounce ideas off her!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, Rachel for being my NaNo buddy and letting me read her AMAZING stuff and letting me rant to her. Also, for being up at all hours for no reason at all. Stay vampirish, my friend.

AUTHOR FRIENDS. 
You should all come to Houston. FYI. And please don't kill off any characters I'm/I'll get attached to.

Paula Stokes/Fiona Paul. Hey thanks a lot for confuzzling me with ALL YOUR PEN NAMES. But also for being so awesome when I randomly email you. Because I do that. And for making me less scared of authors almost two years ago and giving me that VENOM ARC that made my entire year. My first absolutely awesome author friend who I don't think I'll ever stop bothering. (So sorry about that!) I have a tag for Fiona Paul you know.

ANITA! (A.G. Howard)Who sent me awesome Splintered things and mailed me a birthday gift! How amazing is that? And for letting me facebook her pretty much every other day without being annoyed. Though come on. I am disappointed that you haven't killed of Jeb yet. *Tragic sigh* Also because I now have four Anita signed things. She also has pretty hair. PRETTY HAIR. 

Well hello Romily Bernard and Natalie Richards. Yes I must put you together in this post. Did you know these two both wrote thrillers? And both ripped my heart apart? They're nice like that. But in all seriousness they're amazingly nice people who I would love to squiggle (SQUISH+HUGGLE). Thank you for being so super sweet and letting me spam your twitter timelines. Yep.

Gina Rosati for talking to me about writing and putting me in touch with some professional people I needed answers from and for being so nice and generous about EVERYTHING.

Lili Peloquin! You have an adorable baby. Did you know that? I bet you did.
And for letting me email you randomly so much! I LOVES YOU. I met you! I MET YOU. Thank you for being super nice and not laughing as I fumbled with my books in that signing line.

And I actually didn't include all my author friends. Just the people I talked to recently. (So yes, I do still consider you a friend and I do love your face.)

MY 2014 AUTHOR FRIENDS.
Hello. I hope you consider me a friend and not just the random person who tweets you. Ahem.

(Off the bat, The YA Valentines are AMAZING and all so sweet! <3 Follow their blog here.

Well Paula. Fiona. You're already up there. HMPH.

Sara B. Larson FOR BEING SUPER SWEET on all matters and for using my idea of madlibs and for letting me fangirl over your hair, instead of your book (In my defense, I always wanted curly hair and I still haven't read Defy yet. MY EXCUSE.)

Bethany Hagen for being awesome when I randomly gchat her at 10 PM. And for having an awesome cover. And for letting Merp Squad run her blog tour. And for giving me a boy talk. And for letting me tell her about Cerritos Library 'cause God knows more people need to know about my hometown library. (The thing is massive.)

Lynne Matson because she gives me the blue M&Ms. *sniffles* Thank you for the sacrifice and putting up with my awkward tweetage that sometimes I don't even understand. And for tweets that totally make my day! AND THE SIGNED COPY OF NIL AND CANDY! Ah, one of the best packages ever! (Totally because of the candy. I kid I kid. Or do I.)

Sara Raasch who's last name I mispronounced on a monthly basis. Whoops! BUT NOW I KNOW RIGHT. Erm. ANYWAYS. The pictures of food that you continuously post that makes me hungry. Thanks for that. (I don't even know if that's sarcasm!) And for fighting off the birds. I depend on you to fight off the birds.

 Those birds. *Runs*

But yep! And if I left anyone out my excuse is that I wrote this at midnight a few days ago. 

So now all I have left to say is

Wait no! I have a giveaway too! You can win any of these following books. As long as they can fit in my box, feel free to choose as many as you like! This one is US only.
OR
If you're INT, you can pick any book from The Book Depository under $13 as long as it ships to your country and I've spotlighted, reviewed, or interviewed the author sometime on the blog.

The prize also includes a Catching Fire poster of Finnick (because I might've grabbed two) and an assortment of swag from the Fierce Reads authors and...any other good signed stuff I can dig up. And trust me, my piles are endless. You'll be good.

BOOKS
Auracle by Gina Rosati (signed hardback)
Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White (ARC)
Asylum by Madeleine Roux (ARC)
The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney (ARC or hardback)
Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler (ARC)
Desert Tales by Melissa Marr (ARC)
Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle (ARC)
Twinmaker by Sean Williams (ARC)
Blackout by Robison Wells (ARC)
Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt (ARC)
Deception by CJ Redwine (ARC)
The Innocents by Lili Peloquin (SIGNED)
Crewel by Gennifer Albin (UK signed copy)
Wake by Amanda Hocking
Lullaby by Amanda Hocking
Tidal by Amanda Hocking
Elegy by Amanda Hocking


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now I can say goodbye with

Books to Movies Blog Hop

Hey! I haven't done many giveaways this year, so I decided to join this one! There are a ton of awesome YA book-to-movie adaptations coming out/came out and I can't wait to watch the 2014 ones! Woot!

Prize List

*any book in the series

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead*

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins*

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan*

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Masque of Red Death*

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare*

Delirium by Lauren Oliver*

If you're INT and interested in an eBook copy then this is open to you too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2013 Reading Roadtrip: Minnesota

WHY HELLO ROAD TRIPPERS. Today on the 2013 Reading Road Trip (created by Hasfah @ IceyBooks and Britta @ I Like These Books) you're visiting North Dakota and...

Don't know much about Minnesota? Well...

(according to HubPages)

• You can't eat a hamburger on Sundays. WHAT?
• You have to tip your hat when passing a cow in the Pine Island District. Talk about respecting your food!
• All bathtubs must have feet. No, not human feet. The feet that fancy people make look like paws. 

• In Kalamazoo it's illegal to serenade (sing) to your girlfriend. Even if you use a kazoo. 
• Easy way to earn money--go hunting for rat heads and bring them to the town office! Ten cents per head! If someone managed to earn ten dollars, I'm so not visiting.
• In Brainerd, if you're a guy, by law you must have a beard. Imagine how many Santas must live there! 
• Even if it's technically land-locked, Minnesota has more shore line than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined because of all it's lakes! 
• No child under 12 may talk on the phone without parental supervision...I thought my parents were overprotective. Though I guess it does sort of keep those strange calls from damaging your child's innocent mind.

Had fun? Guess what! AMANDA HOCKING LIVES IN MINNESOTA. So I'm giving away...

A SET OF THE WATERSONG BOOKS 1-4 (so the entire series)

Wake

Lullaby

Tidal

Elegy

All in new, never been read condition! Sadly, I can only ship to the US, so US only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ah, but missed a few stops on the blog bus? No worries, just use your magical mouse teleporter and go check out those stops! 

Spring Fling Giveaway

FIRST OF ALL. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ERIKA. EVEN THOUGH SHE WON'T READ THIS POST. BUT STILL. She should totally read more books, but you know, whatever.

Oh. This starts on May guys. Sorry for exciting you too early. Also, no WoW tomorrow since I want this to be the top post and blah. Also, my laziness. Hey, I only have so much time!

About time I had another one of these suckers. Not to mention, I have a two month goal thing for school that I have to accomplish by the end of April and mine was to reach 1000 followers. What? I'm horrible at goals!

You can win a book from the list and please please please read the Terms at the bottom. Also, don't cheat. I will find you and hunt you down. (I'm kidding. Probably)

HERE IS THE LIST OF WHAT YOU CAN WIN. Most are ARCs. Some are not. Heehee.

List
Unremembered by Jessica Brody
Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Nameless by Lili St. Crow
Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone (ARC)
The Innocents by Lili Peloquin
Through to You by Emily Hainsworth (ARC)
Crewel by Gennifer Albin (ARC)
Natural Born Angel by Scott Speer (ARC)
Lullaby by Amanda Hocking (SIGNED)
Every Day by David Leviathin
Lost Code by Kevin Emerson
Fated by Alyson Noel
Mystic by Alyson Noel
The Last Academy by Anne Applegate
Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt (ARC)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also
http://fiction-freak.blogspot.com/2013/04/teen-book-con-recap-and-giveaway.html

BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. FOR A COST OF $19.99 + shipping...
No, just kidding. I don't know. I'm in a weird mood. Must be Spring and allergies.
Check out more giveaways here!

Teen Book Con Recap (and Giveaway!)

OMG SATURDAY WAS AMAZING. SO this will be very long and very detailed. (Pics at the end)

and

I

have

a

giveaway

for you

at

the

end

You walk into the place and this is pretty much the first thing you see. A humongous line and...walls. I'm so descriptive. You basically wandered around for an hour, buying books, exploring, etc. At 10, all of us Teen Book Con-ers went to the auditorium where we saw the authors go on stage. AND A.G. HOWARDS PASSED RIGHT BY MY SEAT but I was way too shy to say hello. I then took stalker photos.

Chris Crutcher then took the stage and gave the Keynote speech. And it. Was. Hilarious. Here are my two favorite parts:
"My dad told me to save my allowance for bail money" (something like that)
The book that got him reading was To Kill a Mockingbird and he felt as though the main character was talking to him only (then he saw over 6 million copies sold and obviously it was cheating on him. But of course he didn't care.)

AND THEN IT WAS TIME FOR THE FIRST PANEL. The first panel I went to was Take Me Away which had A.G. Howard, Shannon Messenger, Lenore Appelhans, Tera Lynn Childs, Stacey Kade, and Sophie Jordan! They were a HILARIOUS group! They talked plotting, titles, covers, and gave writing tips. My favorite came from Lenore! "If all else fails, blow things up." They also admitted that authors were evil. THANK YOU. I asked "If you have a love triangle, and you HAD to choose, who would you pick?" but by then time ran out. But NEXT ANITA, YOU SHALL PICK MOTH. Oh, also. Two main questions an author should ask him/herself. What if? and What's the worst that can happen right now to my character?

Lunch. I was lonely, awkward, and probably looked like a creeper. Oh, don't mind me, I'll just go into all the rooms and come out the same time as you.

Yeah.

So anyways. Next panel? Addicted to Love! With Jennifer E. Smith, Tamara Ireland Stone, Justina Chen, Stacey Jay, and Mary Lindsey, they definitely named the panel accordingly! What did we find out? That MAry Lindsey was locked in a locker (by her own doing) in a game of hide and seek. They talked about characters and the relationships between their characters and gave more writing tips! Read as much as you can, observe people (in a non-stalker-kind-of-stalkery way!), and be inspired by everything, good and bad.

And then? Making the Best of it with Chris Crutcher, Jen Calonita, Kay Honeyman, Amy McNamara, Lauren Morrill, and Francisco X. Stork. The first question was actually pretty funny. For Stork, "Was it hard writing from a girl's POV?" Cue awkward silence for about 1 seconds! He then said that writing from an autism boy's head was easier. Girls are so complicated, aren't we? WE TALKED INSPIRATIONS! And then the "What if" question popped up! Amy Mcnamara says that she writes contemporary to "teach herself." and Kay Honeyman says that "Books are a good place to confront dangerous, but real things that can potentially happen" (or something like that). Chris Crutcher said "Write what you can imagine, and how far you can take yourself out there" and "A story is a great place to find a witness" or someone who shares your thoughts and experiences, etc.

And then. My favorite panel. Of. All. Times. They (Dan Krokos, Bethany Frenette, Claudia Gray, Leigh Bardugo, Jessica Brody, and Lisa McMann) were BEYOND hilarious. Seriously. I was laughing pretty much the ENTIRE time. Dan Krokos was definitely the MOST HILARIOUS. And I loved Jessica Brody's joke in the intro! "The first book is Unremembered, the second is Unforgotten, and the third is Untitled because it's Unwritten." LOVED. SO MUCH. I was laughing so much, I forgot to take notes. Whoops! But we've determined that Bethany is in love with ducks. Very in love.

ENDING SPEECH. I FORGOT EVERYTHING. Sharon Draper basically just read to us, really.

And then. The signings. LOVED seeing all the wonderful authors! And I may have nudged them and told them who I was! Amy Mcnamara, Lenore Appelhans, Shannon Messenger, and Anita remembered me! SO YAY! (After I, you know, gave them a nudge)

I also took pictures. And stole (not really) some swag.
This is everything I got


















And this, is everything you can get















(The rolled up thing is a poster of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes! On the back is the cover for th sequel, Rebel Spring. All are signed except the stickers [I think]

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Staler Photo #1

Stalker Photo #2

Stalker Photo #3

Keynote speech

There was also this. DRESS UP THE FAMOUS CHARACTERS

4/6 of the authors on Take Me Away (Panel #1 for me)

All authors except Anita.

Addicted to Love panel!

Making the Best of it panel

Power of Memory panel! HILARITY ALL AROUND

A signing line. There were many. MANY. And
Anita had pretty much the longest line
(throughout the entire signing!)

A book buying stack.

ANOTHER BOOK BUYING STACK

Me and Claudia Gray

Me and Lauren Morrill

Me and Stacey Kade

Me and Bethany Frenette

Me and Leigh Bardugo (ACK!)

Me and Lisa McMann

Me and Lauren Morrill

Me and Claudia Gray

Me and Tera Lynn Childs

Me and Lenore Appelhans!

OMG YOU GUYS. IT'S ME
AND ANITA/A.G. HOWARD

Me and Michelle Rowan

Me and Amy McNamara

Me and Shannon Messen-
ger! EEEEP!

Me and Tamara Ireland Stone

Me and Jennifer E. Smith

Me and Mary Lindsey (!!)

Me an Dan Krokos

Me and Sophie Jordan