Monthly Archives:: January 2010

We Have Buttons

07 Jan, 2010 by in giveaway, the seven rays Leave a comment

Hip Hip Hooray! Special thanks to Jean at Fallen Archangel for all of her hard work. She just rocks… Check out our two angel buttons on the sidebar and feel free to grab them. They will link to Heather’s Etsy shop with YA jewelry, photography, our music CD and journals.

snowy medium

Now we just need a button with code for our Fire and Ice logo with the words written on it and small enough to fit on the side bar.

We absolutely love the ones already posted on the sidebars at Mundie Moms http://www.mundiemoms.blogspot.com/ and Past Times Geneaology
http://pasttimesgenealogy.blogspot.com/Thank you!!!

If anyone out there could write us the codes for these and send them on we will be forever grateful!

Here is the photobucket account some photos uploaded, but we are always up for new design ideas! http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv57/zahngardner/Blog%20Buttons/

So, we are giving away a free copy of Jessica Bendger’s new book “The Seven Rays” to anyone who would like to make us new buttons with code. Comment below to win.

And if you add one of our buttons to your site, let us know…we will send you something special in the mail 😉

Caster Girls BC Ridley Contest

07 Jan, 2010 by in margaret stohl Leave a comment


Caster Girls is giving away some great Ridley swag from the book “Beautiful Creatures” by Kami Garcia dn Margaret Stohl.

You can win: a 5×7 Ridley Print from VLC Photo, BC bracelets and dog tag, Pink Hair clips, Ridley’s candy, and Ridley’s shoes signed by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl!

Click here to enter http://castergirls.com/ridley-kicks-a-contest/

Contest ends February 1st.
Open to USA only.

Frozen Fire Giveaway

06 Jan, 2010 by in free stuff, giveaway, tim bowler 10 comments

Frozen Fire by Tim Bowler
The title grabbed us…
From Booklist

Winner of the Southern Schools Book Award 2009

Read what others have to say about the book here:http://www.timbowler.co.uk/frozenfire.html
“In this atmospheric, British supernatural thriller, a stranger comes to town. Fifteen-year-old Dusty first hears his voice on the telephone, and she is startled by his words—last said to her in similar language by her long-missing older brother, Josh. As snow falls on the remote English countryside where Dusty lives, she searches for the mysterious boy, and the closer she comes to him (and he to her), the more danger surrounds her. Bowler’s writing chills, both in the way the author heightens the tension, chapter by terrifying chapter, and through his descriptions of the relentless snow beating down, brightening and frightening—the frozen fire of the title. Sometimes the descriptions burden the story, because readers will be anxious to get back to the compelling interplay between Dusty and the boy. Both spectral and powerful, the boy sends messages (by phone, in person, even through the snow) that propel Dusty forward, always hoping the boy will lead her to Josh. The tension doesn’t wane until the last possible moment.”

I am going to give away a hardback copy of Fozen Fire for our lovely blog followers. All you need to enter is tell me the name of your favorite Children’s book ever in the comments below. Additional entries as follows:
+3 for old blog followers
+2 for new blog followers
+2 for Facebook fans of Fire and Ice
+2 for new twitter followers @fireicephotos
+2 for entering our other two contests below
+2 for tweeting our blog site (post the link)
Contest ends January 20th, 2010 and winner will be randomly selected. Open to US and Canada only this time (but check out our Facebook Follower and Twilight contests still going on the blog)

Waiting on Wednesday "Shadow Hills"

06 Jan, 2010 by in paranormal YA fiction, shadow hills 2 comments

“Shadow Hills” by Anastasia Hopcus

to be published July 13th 2010 by Egmont USA

details Hardcover, 400 pages

isbn 1606840835

Synopsis from Goodreads: ” Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.

But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

Visit Anastasia’s website at http://anastasiahopcus.livejournal.com/

Or follow her on twitter @anastasiahopcus Here she is wearing one of our Patch black wing necklaces inspired by the book “Hush, Hush”- Becca Fitzpatrick http://twitpic.com/wufnr Anastasia found our blog and was the winner of our first Twilight giveaway. Ever since then we have been huge fans! We can’t wait until July and the release of “Shadow Hills.”

Click here for a chance to win the first chapter of Shadow Hills plus Brightly Woven at her blog

http://anastasiahopcus.blogspot.com/2010/01/brightly-woven-contest-as-promised.html#comment-form

Bree Despain’s Launch Party

04 Jan, 2010 by in Heather Gardner Photography, Matthew Kirby, paranormal YA fiction, the Dark Divine, the king's english, The Six, utah authors 2 comments

Bree and I…she is just beautiful!
Saturday Bree Despain hosted her launch party for the Dark Divine at The King’s English bookstore in Salt Lake City. I arrived at 3:05, five minutes late, and had to wait in line two rooms away from where Bree was reading. They finally let us in and we found a seat on the floor where it was standing room only…and we still didn’t all fit! Spotted in the crowd were Sara Zarr, author of “Once Was Lost,” Brodi Ashton author of “Echo,” Emily Wing Smith author of “The Way He lived”, AmyO administrator of TwilightMOMS, Bree’s writing buddies “the Six”, Bree’s husband and two sons as well as Matthew Kirby of the 10-ers.
Bree read to us all from The Dark Divine where Grace tells her family she accidentally ran into Daniel, the dark main character of the book. She explained to us how she named the book with the help of her six writing friends’ vote after originally pondering the title “Daniel Divine.” She shared writing and editing tips with fellow aspiring authors in the crowd and updated us on how the sequel is coming along. It is obvious from Bree’s reported life schedule that her family comes first and her husband is very supportive of her writing.
After the reading we all filed in line for purple frosted crescent moon cookies and a chance to get our purple Dark Divine nail polish. Bree was kind to each of her guests and personable. She is very approachable and friendly. The owner of the King’s English, Anne Holman congratulated Bree saying “We have hosted a lot of very famous authors here at the store and Bree just blew them away!” They sold out of all copies of The Dark Divine to guests at the signing. Congratulations to Bree on her great launch! Pick up the Dark Divine, you won’t be able to put it down. Scroll down on the blog for our five star review as well as TDD journals and jewelry.


Brodi Ashton and Cam Ballou, guests and friends of Bree

Here are Bree’s upcoming events as listed on her website

“1. On January 5th, I will be the special quest on the “Book and a Chat” show on BlogTalkRadio.com. You can listen online, and even call in and ask me questions.

2. On January 6th, l8bloomeronline.blogspot.com is hosting a group chat in honor of TDD. Come chat with us and ask me your questions.

3. I’ll be doing a reading and signing at the West Jordan (Jordan Landing) Barnes & Noble on January 16th at 2pm.

4. I’ll be participating in an Authorpalooza at the Sandy B&N on February 6th. This is a great opportunity to meet several local authors at once, and pick up great V-day gifts for your friends and family.

5. On February 13th I will be signing books at the Orem B&N. Come get a signed TDD for the special someone in your life–just in time for Valentine’s day.”

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

03 Jan, 2010 by in once was lost, sara zarr, story of a girl, utah authors, YA fiction Leave a comment


Pub. Date: February 2008
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 224pp
Age Range: Young Adult
ISBN: 0316014559

Synopsis
As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also each other’s only friend. So when Cameron disappeared without warning, Jennifer thought she’d lost the one person who would ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she is popular, happy, and dating—everything “Jennifer” couldn’t be. But she still can’t shake the memory of her long-lost friend.

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they both are confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

Sweethearts is a story about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts.

From Sara Zarr’s website :

Honors

•2008 Cybil Awards Finalist
•Oprah Book Club Kids Reading List
•American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults
•New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
•Utah Book Award Finalist
•TX Tayshas Pick

Reviews

•“…dark and engrossing, thanks to Zarr’s full-bodied characters and creative storytelling.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review
•“Zarr’s writing is remarkable.” – Booklist, starred review
•“…subtle, beautifully written…” – VOYA, starred review
•“…an engrossing novel.” – The New York Times
•“…wistful prose and skillfully layered characters.” – The Horn Book

About the book:

The story of Jenna/Jennifer and Cameron was inspired by a friendship I had as a child with a boy, Mark, who came back into my life when we were both adults. When Mark and I got back in touch, I was surprised at what a strong bond we had despite having not seen nor heard from one another since third grade. I started asking myself—what if Mark and I had been reunited in high school? What if our lives had taken divergent paths? Would we still be loyal to each other, based on that childhood friendship, even if we wound up in different social circles and with different destinies? If so, why? What kinds of emotional and practical challenges would that bring? Though the details of what happened to Jennifer and Cameron were all made up, I did my best to be as emotionally truthful as I could with their story. I continue to be been blown away by reader response to this book, and how many people out there have Jennas and Camerons of their or their own.

I met Sara Zarr soon last month after completing her book “Once Was Lost” at the “Beautiful Creatures” release party. She was sitting on the couch and I knew no one else around, as our friend Brodi had not yet arrived. I went up and introduced myself in a Jennifer Harris moment of my own. I tried to spark up conversation about my opinions of her book and in the process made a complete fool of myself. Sara was down to earth and genuine. Meeting her made me want to read more of her work.

Sweethearts was so realistic and heart warming for me personally. Cameron Quick is the kind of friend you want for all of your life, despite his understandable walls and ability to disappear. I could relate to much of their life story which is I think why I was pulled completely into the pages. I finished it in 24 hours and it left an impression I am sure I won’t forget. Having worked for several years as a child protective service and foster care worker for the State, I see so many of Sara’s descriptions as real-life struggles for teens seeking independent living and seeking to break the cycles of their childhood.

Sara tackles every day issues in today’s world like abuse, single parent homes, popularity, school bullies, religion, compulsive eating, and teenage relationships. She leaves you hopeful that there are every day heroes and loves that endure the bounds of time and space. Five out of five stars for “Sweethearts.” I think it would be an excellent book to explore in the classroom.

Watch a fan made trailer on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM8gfCJUTMs

Fallen by Lauren Kate

01 Jan, 2010 by in paranormal YA fiction 1 comment


Excerpt From Goodreads: published December 8th 2009 by Delacorte Press

details: Hardcover, 452 pages

characters :Lucinda Price, Daniel Grigori

isbn: 0385738935 (isbn13: 9780385738934)

“There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.”

Once again I will start by saying I chose this book because of its cover. It is by far my favorite cover of the year, absolutely stunning in every way. Even the paper feels good in your hands while you are reading it!
The story itself is one I am going to have to wait for the sequel to decide on. The plot was slow moving and I kept waiting and waiting for Luce to find out, along with the rest of us what is really going on. I relished the descriptions of the old buildings on campus, the graveyard, the dreams and Daniel’s true self. And I have to say I kinda like Cam in a way. I like my bad guys bad and my good guys good, Luce and Daniel’s personalities seemed watered down to me. By the end of the book, I was hoping Luce could have found a way to be an active participant in her own story, rather than being afraid. I also hoped we would learn more about the shadows that keep haunting her and why they are there.
I prefer a stronger heroine, who can fight back , which I am hoping to see in the sequel. Luce and Daniel have a lot of catching up to do, which for me was wanting in this book. I really liked Penn and Arrianne’s role in the book and felt they were fleshed out more than Gabbe. This book was refreshing in that I think it is suitable for Young Adults. There was a little drinking and fighting, but all in all, the content was good. The Epilogue did leave me waiting for more, but this first book as a stand alone, I think merits a three out of five stars.
Here is the American book trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKfDmWHibUs