The time it was ten lords-a-leaping

I don't even know what to say about that title, so we'll just get right to it.  Here we are for day ten of the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway!

Today we have the lovely Elizabeth Norris on the blog! Let's welcome her, yes?

It's hard to think about the holidays without thinking of family. Mine is...interesting. I think it's my dad's love for all things Christmas, but my parents tend to go all out. Christmas music played almost six months a year and sometimes our Christmas lights were up until March.

When I was a kid, I dreaded the lead up because the "preparation" was so intense. We had to pull huge boxes of decorations out of the attic and spend at least an entire weekend setting up the house. Putting up the tree meant going to the tree farm and picking out the right one (not too tall but tall enough and full enough and one that looked like it would last). Decorating it meant stringing the lights, and wrapping the musical bells around the trunk of the tree, and hanging all the ornaments in just the right position that the reflective ones would the lights.

What I had the most love/hate relationship with though was my mom's Snow Village collection.

I think it started because they were cool decorations.  My dad got her a little cottage that was on our kitchen table: a cute snowy house that lit up on the inside. She liked it so the next year on Christmas morning, she opened up a group of three kids building a snowman and the following year it was a snow house that looked a lot like ours.

Somewhere along the line, we ended up with a bookstore and a hotel and even a police station. Then family members caught on. They noticed my mother was collecting a Snow Village. They knew exactly what to get her for Christmas. It didn't take long before we had our own little cul-de-sac of Snow Village houses. The cottage was surrounded by a Queen Anne Victorian, an Oak Grove Tudor, a Southern Colonial and even a Gothic Farm House. Our Snow Village Main Street had a costume shop, a barber shop, a post office, a fire station, and even a Starbucks. (Really, I couldn't make this up).

Picture taken from here. Not actually Elizabeth's family Snow Village. 

And the collection just kept getting bigger. We ended up with special edition pieces like the Snow Carnival Ice Palace and an ice skating rink with several moving skaters. We couldn't even keep them set up in the room of the house. They were on the top of the piano, in the living room picture window, on the hutch in the kitchen, and on top of bookshelves. One year, they even took over our dining room table.

On one hand, they were really cool miniature house (and other things) and when they were all set up, they were certainly a conversations started for anyone who came over. But they were taking over our house. It took days to set them all up and we didn't have room for them, and why did we really need to display an Armed Forces Recruiting Station around the holidays?

At some point, my mom admitted that she didn't think we needed anymore Snow Village pieces but she didn't know how to tell all of our relatives to stop buying them. So a few years ago, my parents decided to downsize and moved into a smaller house. My mother started rotating which Snow Village streets she was going to display each year, and last year when I opened my own presents, there was a distinctly cube shaped box among my packages. The tag read: "Now that you have your own place..."

I knew two things before opening it: inside would be something Snow Village and if this became a thing, I would be needing a bigger apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Huge thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time! Make sure you're following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, subscribing to her blog and adding all of her books on your GoodReads shelves.

And now for the giveaway!!

Reminiscent of Before I Fall, Elizabeth Norris's Unraveling blends realistic coming-of-age issues and heart-stopping romance with something just a little bit more. In this case, a gripping science fiction world.

Unraveling's heroine, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner, is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother.

And that was before she died...and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. The more Janelle tries to figure him out, the more she starts to believe he's connected to a case her father is working on. The one where people are dying of radiation poisoning and the body count is rising. The one that involves a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction. If Janelle wants to stop the clock and save the world, she has twenty-four days to uncover Ben's secrets--and keep from falling in love with him.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris, comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.

 and

Unbreakable, the sequel to Elizabeth Norris’s Unraveling, blends science fiction, mystery, and romance into a thrilling story YA readers won’t be able to put down.

It’s been four months since Janelle Tenner stopped the earth’s destruction with the help of Ben, the boy who resurrected her after she died. Ben is gone now—disappeared through a portal to his home world.
Even though Ben broke her heart, Janelle refuses to believe it when Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay tells her Ben is suspected of running a human-trafficking ring across several universes. She vows to uncover the true culprit and rescue the people who have been sold into slavery on alternate earths—not to mention find Ben and prove his innocence.

In addition to Ben, Barclay, and Janelle, Unbreakable brings back fan favorite characters Elijah and Cecily in this action-packed thriller.

That's right, I have copies of Unraveling and Unbreakable up for grabs. Rules for the giveaway are under "terms and conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget. This contest is international and books will be coming from The Book Depository. Oh, and don't forget that Ben is mine, I have proof.

**Good Luck!!**

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The time I had so many followers

You guys.

Today marks a pretty monumental day in my blogging adventure.  Today, I passed 500 followers on the blog via GFC and passed 1000 followers on Twitter. 

When I started this blog a year and a half ago, I never imagined that I would hit those numbers. I wasn't even sure that anyone would read this blog, let alone follow me here.  And today, I just watched the number of followers go up and up and up.

I'm stunned. Elated. Speechless. And a hot mess of flailing.

So.  In honor of this mega awesome achievement, not only do I want to jump through my laptop and hug each and every one of you, I'm going to have a giveaway of some of my favorite books by some of my favorite authors.

Up for grabs?

 

First up: a paperback copy of Unraveling and a hardcover copy of Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris.  I will also include the bonus content booklet. Both books are signed.

Also?

 

A paperback copy of Throne of Glass and an arc of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas.

This contest is international.  I'm setting up two different Rafflecopters, so there could be two different winners. Additional rules are on the Rafflecopter widget.

Now stand there and let me hug you.

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The time it was all bookish mail -- 3

Welcome to another episode of Signed Books I Got in the Mail...

Sarah Dessen was announced at the 2013 Festival of Books.  She also was going to be signing at the B&N in Huntington Beach over that same weekend.  I didn't want to deal with the crowd that I knew would be flocking to her, mostly because I had never read one of her books.  Thankfully, Jenn was going to be attending a Sarah event and was willing to pick something up for me.

I did send an arc of one of Sarah's books, but Hubs fucked up the address and it didn't get there.  At all.  So, Jenn came to the rescue and bought me a book! Now I can officially add Sarah to the collection.

When Elizabeth Norris announced that any pre-ordered copies of Unbreakable from Books of Wonder would receive special bonus material [including an alternate ending], I placed my order that day.  A couple of days before the book was released, Elizabeth tweeted me and said that she had just signed my book.  I didn't want to get my hopes up since BoW usually has a "no inscription/personalization" rule. 

I shouldn't have doubted her because the inscription is glorious.  Also? That means every single copy of Unraveling and Unbreakable that I own says that I have Ben. He is definitely mine. [I would later also win a signed copy of Unbreakable from Pitch Dark for participating in the Unraveling read along.] 

When Eleanor & Park was released, everyone and their mother told me to read it.  The ever so awesome Jaime offered to get me a signed copy when she went to Rainbow's event.  I think she ended up getting 11 copies or something...

Either way, I'm quite grateful she was willing to get me a copy.  The book is amazing and I can't wait to meet Rainbow myself.

Jaime also went to the Pitch Dark Days event.  I had already ordered Elizabeth's books [plus extra copies at her launch party, but that's another story] and was hoping hoping hoping that Amy Tintera would be doing additional events in SoCal.  Her launch party was at the Bookstore-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named and I refused to go.

However, Kiera Cass hasn't been to SoCal yet... Not one to wait, I asked Jaime to get me a signed copy of The Elite.

I had gotten my arc of Invisibility signed by Andrea Cremer when I saw her at Mrs. Nelson's for the Breathless Reads tour. When the tour dates were announced for Andrea and David to promote Invisibilty, I was unable to get up to the San Francisco date. Thankfully, Colleen was going to be attending the Seattle date. I sent the arc to her and asked for David's signature to be added.

I truly have the best friends.  And who's a spoiled brat?  I am!

What books have you gotten lately?

The time it was all about inspiration

My love for Elizabeth Norris knows no bounds.  This is common knowledge.  So, when I was contacted to be a part of the blog tour for Unbreakable [I got an email from someone saying they heard I was a "big fan"], of course I agreed.

Yesterday, Unbreakable was released.  Today, I get to share some of Elizabeth's inspiration behind the amazing series.

 

First off, Janelle. 

And Ben. [Back off, he's mine]

And some of the songs from the official Unbreakable playlist: Save the World. Save the Boy.

"Sober" by Kelly Clarkson The chorus opens, "Three months and I'm still standing... Three months and I'm still remembering" and that really captures what Janelle is feeling at the beginning of the novel.  Not only has the world undergone drastic changes, but Ben is gone and she's trying to pick up the pieces of her life unsure if she really will ever see him again.

"Shallow Life" by Lacuna Coil Janelle is seventeen.  She should be sitting in class, thinking about things like her schedule, homecoming, and what colleges she's going to apply to, but with everything happening to her in Unbreakable, she's being forced into a different kind of life.

"No Light, No Light" by Florence + The Machine This song is perfect.  It encompasses so many of Janelle's feelings.  She can't stop thinking about Ben.  She loves him, but at the same time she can't help be a little mad that he left her, and she really wants to do something to make him stay with her.  Only she's becoming a different person -- everything she's been through is having an impact on her and she wonder if he'll still love who she is.

"Blackout" by Breathe Carolina This song made this chapter happen: 03:11:05:00.  I listened to it in order to get Janelle out of a really tight situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Huge thanks to Elizabeth and her publicity team for asking me to be a part of this!

If you haven't read Elizabeth's books, you need to go get them now. Click the pictures of the books above to be taken to the GoodReads page for each.  If you want to learn more about Ben, read my interview with Elizabeth here.

Here are some other places you can stalk get ahold of her:

About the Author: Elizabeth Norris is the author of Unraveling and Unbreakable, and the e-novella Undone. Visit Liz on the web at ElizabethNorrisBooks.com and LizNorris.blogspot.com, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads and Pinterest.

And don't forget to check out the other blogs on the Unbreakable Spring Blog Tour:

April 16th -- Fic Fare
April 17th -- The Readers Lines
April 18th -- Confessions of an Opinionated Book Geek
April 19th -- Good Choice Reading
April 22nd -- The Book Monsters
April 23rd -- Ruby's Reads
April 24th -- Adventures of a Book Junkie
April 25th -- The Noctural Library
April 26th -- Reading Teen
April 30th -- The Book Smugglers

The time it was a book blast

 

Welcome to my first book blast!!  Check below for information about Unbreakable, plus an awesome giveaway for signed books and swag!!

 

Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.

And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed?

Elizabeth Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter.

She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together.

Unbreakable is out now, so go get it!! Wanna support my local indie bookstore [and Elizabeth's favorite when she lived in SoCal]? Click here to order it from Mysterious Galaxy!

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The time it was all about Ben Michaels

Have we all learned by now about my love for all things Elizabeth Norris and Ben Michaels? After countless posts about both of them, I feel like this is information that is well known.

 

After I won the arc for Unbreakable, I really wanted to do something with Elizabeth.  She's always so so so nice and so so so amazing.  Somehow I got it in my head *cough*Ava*cough* to ask for an interview and she said yes!!

 

But, before we get to that, did you know there is going to be a novella?

 

I've been waiting forever to use this gif

 

It's called Undone, it comes out on March 5th.  Did I mention that it's all Ben POV?


Before the accident. Before their universes collided. Before they fell in love.

Riveting and romantic, Undone: An Unraveling Novella contains three short stories set in the world of Unraveling, the first book in the gripping sci-fi duology by Elizabeth Norris.

Before Ben Michaels saved Janelle Tenner’s life, Janelle saved Ben when he stumbled through an interuniverse portal into a completely new world. That day, he fell in love with the girl of his dreams. And he never forgot her.

Through three stories told from Ben’s point of view, learn how Ben and his friends discovered their ability to travel between worlds, how Ben first met Janelle, and how he pined for her for years before he actually got the chance to meet her, save her life, and capture her heart. And find out what happens to Ben between the cliff-hanger conclusion to Unraveling and the beginning of its heart-stopping sequel, Unbreakable.

Doesn't that sound amazing?

Okay.  Let's get to Elizabeth now....

 

1. Was it easier or harder to write in Ben's POV?

 

It was definitely a little harder. I think Janelle's voice is a little closer to my voice (apparently I swear a lot) so I had to really make sure I thought about the differences in their character and the differences in his voice through out the whole process, and especially when editing. I also had my boyfriend read through the short stories and answer questions to make sure Ben didn't sound to girlie. At one point, I even believe we had a conversation that started with me saying, "Hey so if I died and you found me dead and all messed up, what would you be feeling?"

 

2. Did you see Ben as a character right away or did he grow in response to Janelle?

 

Ben was always a character in his own right. I think in my head, neither one of them could have existed without the other. Janelle was who I wanted to be when I was 17 and Ben was the guy I wanted to find in high school (but didn't), and then of course there's some sci-fi in there as well... 

 

3. When you started writing Unbreakable, did you know the ending right away?

 

Yes. I almost always know the ending when I start writing. It's the middle and the opening scene that sometimes take a little longer for me to figure out. (I rewrote the beginning to Unbreakable four or five times). When I started writing I of course knew where I had left all the characters at the end of Unraveling and I knew a little of what I was going to put them through in this one--but I knew where I wanted them to end. Even when I was contemplating whether to write a third book in this series or write something new for my third book, this is still where this story would have ended.

 

4. When you're writing the swoony lines, do you sit back and laugh at the flails you know you're responsible for making happen? :D

[I had planned to post an amazing swoony flail quote from Ben in Unbreakable, but I decided to let you find it all on your own. Also, I couldn't pick just one.]

 

Haha, no! I have no idea. A lot of the time when I'm writing, I think I'm in some kind of weird trance where I'm just typing away. Sometimes a scene just sort of comes together in my mind and I have to write it--I do a lot of typing in the notepad of my iphone, sometimes in the most random places, like bathrooms, the subway, department stores. And a lot of the time, I think those tend to be some of my best scenes.
 

I actually wrote part of that scene while I was walking down 6th avenue (I am that person that uses my phone and tries to walk at the same time. Once I walked into a street sign because I was checking my email and I hit my head so hard I ended up with a concussion, but it hasn't stopped me).

 

5. Who are your favorite swoony boys?

 

Jonah from Jellicoe Road, Po from Graceling, Adam from Where She Went, Adrian from the Vampire Academy books. And admittedly I was Team Edward and really wanted Hermione to end up with Harry instead of Ron.

 

Speed round:

 

1. You're in San Diego for one meal. Where do you go and what do you order?

 

It depends on how much money I have. If I don't have much, I go to Roberto's in Del Mar and get a carne asada burrito and guacamole with chips. Or I'd go to Miso Harney's in Old Town and ask Mike (he's an amazing sushi chef) to make me something spicy. He's like a wizard.

 

2. If you could wake up one day, just knowing how to do something, what would it be?

 

Dance. And I mean like So You Think You Can Dance dance.

 

3. What are you reading right now?

 

I just finished Pretty Little Liars which I had never read before, and I'm about to start Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.

 

4. Are there any authors out there that you fangirl over?

 

So many. I met JK Rowling at her signing for Casual Vacancy in NY and I was so in awe of her. I also totally fan-girled Melina Marchetta, Gayle Forman, and Kristin Cashore when they did a signing together, and I think I probably always will.

*sigh*

Isn't she just awesome?

Huge thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time to deal with my fangirling answer my questions!!

Now. 

Remember when I mentioned winning an arc of Unbreakable? I actually won the grand prize in Elizabeth's contest and the chance to name a character in Undone. [There is actually a hilarious story that goes with this, but I'm far too lazy to go into the specifics.  Just know that it was funny.]

Let's all take a guess as to what name I picked.

And this last part is just bragging, but I'm gonna tell you about it. 

Ben was the very first boy that was given to me, thanks to Kassiah.  After winning the arc of Unbreakable, I was on a quest to get an arc of Unraveling to complete the collection. I posted it on Twitter and Ava told me that she was working on it, to give her some time.  Less than a day later, she told me that she had found a copy, but wouldn't give me the details via text.

Turns out, she got me an arc straight from Elizabeth.  From her personal collection.

 

                                                               Yah, I kept the post-it.

Anyways...

To celebrate the release of Undone, I'm giving away stuff! There will be three winners.  The grand prize winner will win a hardcover copy of Unraveling, an e-book of Undone and a hardcover copy of Unbreakable [when it is released on 4/23/13]. Two winners will get an e-book of Undone.

The grand prize winner will get books from The Book Depository. Winners of the e-book copies will choose between Barnes & Noble or Amazon for delivery.

Rules for the giveaway are listed under the "terms and conditions" on the Raffelcopter widget.

Good luck!!

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The time it was a best of list

So. Everyone is busy posting their best books of 2012 and since I'm not a reviewer, I wasn't going to contribute. At the last minute [obviously], I have decided to add my very own best of list.

In no particular order, here are my top 4 [yes, 4] authors I met in the year 2012.

Michelle Hodkin

My love for Michelle is strong. I mean, we flew to Chicago for her. The trip was fun, Michelle was amazing. And most importantly? I got Noah.

  

I may or may not be in talks with MGRB to start a campaign to get Michelle here in 2013 for Retribution.

Sarah J Maas

I met Sarah several times in 2012. Every time, I was a hot mess of fangirling. First was ALA, second time was at CC, third time was the Throne of Glass release party and the fourth time was my birthday.

Where she gave me a birthday hat to wear. And signed my birthday card.

Disregard the fact that my eyes are shut. 

Sarah is always so amazing and I may or may not have some tentative plans with her in 2013, thanks to Ava.

Elizabeth Norris

I believe, by now, everyone knows of my love for Ben and how Kassiah got him for me.  And how I got him again when I met Elizabeth in San Diego.

  

But then, somehow. I won an arc of Unbreakable when Elizabeth had a contest. And in the arc, she signed him over to me again. In case anyone was going to dispute this ownership.  :D

Stephanie Perkins

The first time I met Stephanie was at Festival of Books. Ava made me stand in line with her to see Stephanie. And when I got up there, I proceeded to have the worst case of word vomit. But, Stephanie took it all in stride and hugged me.

I saw her again a few days later, on the YA or Bust tour. In the process, Lucy blew up on the freeway. We still decided to go and when I word vomited the entire story to Stephanie, she immediately got up, came around the table and hugged me. Again. And thanked me for coming.

 

She attempted to make Kassiah share Étienne, but since his name was spelled wrong [something Stephanie and I both missed], Kassiah says its not binding.

Guess I'll have to try again when Isla comes out.

All in all, 2012 was a great year. I met a lot of awesome authors and I can't wait to see what 2013 brings.

The time it wasn't about Jersey Shore

I don't even know how I found Unraveling. I do know that I read it right away and loved Ben it.  Elizabeth [who used to live in San Diego] now lives in New York.  When I saw that Elizabeth was going to be at BEA, I begged Kassiah to get my book signed. And while the inscription wasn't perfect, I was still so in love with it. Oh, and I got Ben.

As soon as I heard that she was going to be coming back to California, I knew I was going.  Even better that she was going to be at Mysterious Galaxy. 

I got there early to meet Michelle at Starbucks.  And of course that led us to browsing the stock at MG, but we both actually behaved this trip and only bought books for the authors who were appearing.

Dan and Elizabeth got to the store early.  They walked around the store, scoping things out.  It was pretty cool to hear that MG was Elizabeth's favorite bookstore when she lived in CA.  The signing started at 7.  Quickly, they agreed that they weren't going to do a reading. They each gave a brief synopsis of their books.  And then Elizabeth and Dan talked about how they got the ideas for their books. 


Elizabeth started her story with a "so there was this guy"... She had met a guy who she really connected with and found out that they didn't live close to each other.  And that started her thought process.  She started with the characters and then focused on the idea of a road block placed in between two people who were perfect for each other.

Unraveling was her 28th novel written.  It was planned as a stand alone and Elizabeth thought the ending was fantastic.  When she was offered a three book deal, the first question asked if there would be a sequel.  Thankfully, YES, there will be.  That ending is upsetting and I want more Ben. Unbreakable comes out in April, 2013.

Her third book will be a contemporary mystery that takes place in a small town infamous for a disappearance of a 7 year old girl. The book starts 11 years later, on the day that she returns.

Dan started out by telling us that he worked at a gas station for 9 1/2 years.  During that time, he read a lot.  False Memory started with him only knowing that Miranda North was 17 years old and doesn't know who she is.  He combined that with the idea of [enter some super science-y words that I didn't write down] and some sort of pheromones. Obviously, his explanation is a lot better than mine, so don't hold it against him.

His favorite part about writing is the brainstorming part of it.  He thinks that every idea is never as good as it is while brainstorming. That while it's amazing during the process, it might not translate into anything worthwhile. 

False Memory is Dan's 8th novel.  He also has a MG series that will be coming out, as well as the other two books following False Memory.


After about an hour of talking about books, Jersey Shore [which Dan brought up several times], Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Sherlock and other scifi goodies, the signing started.  No one was going up to them right away, so I decided I would go first.

I showed Elizabeth the inscription of my first copy of Unraveling and asked if she would give me Ben again.  She laughed and said that she remembered the photo from Twitter.  As I passed Dan's book to him to sign at the same time, he commented on my collection of fictional boys. 

Somehow, I mentioned I had traveled to see Michelle and claim Noah.  There were two 13 year old girls in line and one of them started yelling that she had Noah in her closet.  I showed her the picture of my inscription from Michelle.  Then they tried to claim Ben and I showed them my new inscription.  Both girls started claiming boys from Dan's book.

 As we were leaving, I broke down and told Dan that I did have Jersey Shore on my dvr.  He asked if I also watched Honey Boo Boo.  I admitted that I did, but in my defense, only started watching it after Sarah J Maas went on and on about it.  Dan asked if Sarah and I were friends and I said that we were best friends.  He asked if I was serious because they were really good friends.  I started laughing and said that I was more of a stalker of hers or perhaps her number one fangirl.  At that, Kim shouted out that if Dan asked Sarah about the "Stacee with two e's" she would know who I was.

He said he was going to ask her. 

Elizabeth and Dan are hilarious together.  They compliment each other and definitely make for an entertaining time.  I'm beyond eager for Unbreakable and can't wait to start reading False Memory.