Chesire Cat Scrabble Tile Pendant

16 Feb, 2010 by in etsy, paperpistol 18 comments


Our giveaway today is in honor of Grimilkin in J Kagawa’s “The Iron King.” Thanks to PaperPistol at Etsy. Hello! I’m Carissa and I run Paperpistol in my little homeshop. I love my Min Pin, History, and Cupcakes.Oh, and my family too!

Check out our sister site at:
Klodesigns.etsy.com

♥♥Need more? We also do custom amounts♥♥

http:///Twitter.com/paperpistol
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chico-CA/Klo-Designs/110487053394

To enter to win the Grinning Cat Scrabble Tile necklace
leave your name and email address below +1:
Additional entries
+2 go to her sister shop and comment on your favorite item by pasting the link
+2 go to Etsy and heart her shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperPistol
+3 tweet this contest-leave the link
+5 post it on your blog or facebook- leave the link
+5 add our button to your blog
+3 follow us on twitter @FireIcePhotos
+2 visit our Etsy shop and pick your favorite item http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeatherZahnGardner

Add your entries up and leave the total in your comment Contest ends March 15th and is open to International Entries. Good Luck!

Author Spotlight: Anastasia Hopcus

15 Feb, 2010 by in shadow hills 2 comments


Anastasia Hopcus wrote her first book in the 2nd grade.It was entitled Frederick the Friendly French Ferret and was seven pages long. During high school she wrote numerous short stories and started (but never finished) three screenplays, all as an alternative to doing actual school work. At the very wise age of twelve her career ambition was to drive a Mack truck, but when that didn’t pan out, she tried acting, bartending, and being a receptionist in a dojo before finally returning to writing. Anastasia loves horror movies, Joss Whedon, obsessing over music, and British accents. She lives in Austin, Texas and her debut young adult novel is out Summer 2010 from Egmont. Taken from her website:

Kibbles and Bits of Writing
Gingerbread House
Silver coin streets glimmer

first sprinkling, now pouring

oil slick rainbows drain off

swirling colors bleeding into gutters

StreetSweeperSpring is barreling through

Still our clean slate has dirt underneath

debris trapped in ice

obscured by layers upon layers of resurfaced fresh starts

the bread crumbs lie frozen and buried

Here is a little toddler of a teaser from Shadow Hills. No full chapters yet. I’d say this just meets the minimum requirements to qualify as a paragraph.

The campus lay before me, pristine and untouched by the terror I was experiencing tonight. The school had dorms filled with people who would hear me scream, which made it my best option. The quickest path was through the graveyard, so, already gasping for breath, I took off at a sprint, bearing down on the old cemetery.

Become a fan on Goodreads
Visit her livejournal page
twitter @anastasiahopcus
Pre-order her book and enter her contest in the post below

Shadow Hills Giveaway

15 Feb, 2010 by in shadow hills 34 comments

Today’s Giveaway is SOOO awesome! Anastasia Hopcus, author of Shadow Hills and Egmont books sent us some swag in the mail and we are passing it on to you!~

First place winner receives: A new Hardcover book “Hunger” by Michael Grant,2 Shadow Hills signed bookmarks, one Shadow Hills Magnet, one Shadow Hills button, one of our Twilight inspired Cd’s, and one of our buttons

Second and third place receive one Shadow Hills button, one magnet and two signed bookmarks!

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.
Click here to learn more about Anastasia and her book to be released July 13th, 2010 http://fireandicereads.com/2010/01/waiting-on-wednesday-shadow-hills.html

Three winners will be chosen.

To enter: Leave your name and email address below +1
Additional entries +3 visit Anastasia’s website http://www.anastasiahopcus.com/ and leave a comment
+2 Add Shadow Hills to your Goodreads list
+3 tweet this contest-leave the link
Contest Ends March 1st, 2010 and is open internationally

Steampunk and Fairy Bookmark Giveaway

14 Feb, 2010 by in etsy, Meredith Dillman, steampunk 31 comments

Our Valentine’s Giveaway is from the incredibly talented Etsy shop of Meredith Dillman Fantasy and Fairy Art and Illustration

“I mean by a picture, a beautiful romantic dream of something that never was, never will be – in a better light than any light that ever shone – in a land that no-one can define or remember, only desire – and the forms divinely beautiful” – Edward Coley Burne-Jones

————————————————-

I am an artist from the frozen north. I would prefer the real world was always filled with autumn leaves and colorful flowers, but at least I can paint them with my watercolors instead:)

My artistic influences include Pre-Raphaelite paintings, Art Nouveau and Japanese comics. I love painting fairies, elves, medieval and Japanese themes. My art has been published role playing games, the book Watercolor Fairies, How to Draw and Paint Fairies, and 500 Fairy Motifs and recently was the cover artist from the fantasy novel Mercury Brightman: The First Sign ( http://www.thefirstsign.com/ )

Blog: http://meredithdillman.blogspot.com/

She is giving away a prize pack of two bookmarks and one postcard to our lucky winner! To enter leave your name and email address below:

Additional entries
+2 go to her shop and comment on your favorite item by pasting the link
+2 go to Etsy and heart her shop
+3 tweet this contest-leave the link
+5 post it on your blog or facebook- leave the link
+5 add our button to your blog
+3 follow us on twitter @FireIcePhotos
+3 follow our blog
+3 become a fan of Fire and Ice on Facebook
+2 add us as friends on Goodreads

Add your entries up and leave the total in your comment

Contest ends March 14th and is open to International Entries. Good Luck!

Welcome Our Newest Affiliate

13 Feb, 2010 by in YA book reviewers 1 comment

Jennifer of Book Crazy!

She is an awesome person, who leaves comments and keeps up on blogs and books. I adore her layout and design on the page and we are thrilled to be affiliated with her!

About Jennifer:

First off, I am Jennifer, Jenn for short. I am a single mom of two kids. Aubrey, my daughter is 10 – she’s an avid reader and loves to get lost in a good book. She is a really outgoing kinda girl, who has tons of friends, and can basically get along with anyone. Zachary is my son and he’s going to be 6 next month. Zachary is just starting to learn to read, and I hope he loves it, someday – for now, reading is not his “thing.” He’s my shy guy…

I started really getting back into reading about 6 months ago, when I picked up Twilight, the movie had just come out on DVD, I saw it and something made me want to pick up the book and the movie….so I did. I devoured the book, with in 2 days I was finished and had bought all the rest…with in a week they were read! (I stayed up all night at least once to finish, I just could NOT stop.)

Since then, I have been reading non stop, finding I would rather pick up a book than turn on the TV, which is so not like me! 🙂 Before, I started my renewed love for reading, that’s where you found me, any time – even sitting working at the computer…the TV was on…now, I am getting back into music, as well as reading!

Mostly I read YA Fiction. And this blog is to help me remember all the awesome books I have read, find new awesome authors and new friends!

I Love the idea of affiliating and joining forces to share good news. The affiliates we have are incredible! I’ve enjoyed everyone I’ve met. If any of the rest of you out there in blog world are interested let me know!

Angel Wings Handmade Soap Giveaway

13 Feb, 2010 by in satinandbirch, soap, valentine's 20 comments

Our giveaway today is from Etsy seller SatinandBirch. I was browsing angel wings the other day and ran accross this soap! WOW! Here’s what she says about it: It’s hard to believe this is soap. My tribute to hoping there are Angels all around us. I will leave it to the imagination.

I make my own Fragrance, commercially made fragrances can be very hard on sensitive skin. This is a light floral that is fresh and feminine. The top note is Jasmine followed by Lemon the bottom note is Rose.

I think they look best in white but I will do them in any color you like. I have done these for wedding favors.

They measure about 3×3. Two of them come with your order Gift Wrapped.

Each Wing is almost 2 oz each.


I guess I just wanted to create something unique and pretty.

It may just be soap you say…but beauty comes in all forms.

I am 50 something going on 20 something years old and living in Reno Nevada, I used to think I was a beach girl, but I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

I was raised in So Cal and I have the most wonderful son who still is in So Cal. He is the Pride and Joy of my life.
I have lots of family here in Reno who I consider not only family but my best friends.

As I continue to browse on Etsy I am overwhelmed by the talent I see. So much beauty in one place.

I consider my soap more of a gift. A very usable gift.
The sculptures are really fun and look amazing on a soap dish.

They always will come gift wrapped and are the perfect way to say Thank You to a Neighbor or Friend, Mom’s for sure.

You can be sure that my soap is completely free of harmful ingredients. Your Friend- Leslie – Avoir une journée agréable et un beau voyage.

She is gifting us soaps for Three winners! To enter:
Tell us who is your favorite angel and why +1
Leave us your email and name +1
Visit her etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/SatinandBirch

and tell us your favorite item +2
Heart her etsy shop +2
Contest ends March 12, 2010

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

12 Feb, 2010 by in the iron king 3 comments

Pub. Date: February 2010
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback, 368pp
ISBN-13: 9780373210084
Synopsis from Barnes and Noble: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Publishers Weekly
In this first book in the Iron Fey series, Meghan Chase is turning 16, and odd things are happening. Her four-year-old half-brother, Ethan, is clingier than usual, and a tutoring session with the school hunk goes horribly wrong. But her best friend, Robbie, is always there for her, even when Meghan comes home to find her mother unconscious and her brother snarling like an animal. Robbie knows what’s happened: Ethan has been taken by the fey, a changeling left in his place, and the only way Ethan can be brought back is if Meghan embraces the truth—that the fey are real and that she is half-fey herself. She agrees, but her agreement is nearly the most active part she plays in her own adventure. After that, Meghan generally gets help from a series of male characters and is towed along by their decisions and actions. It’s an odd, throwback faerie tale, and while first-time author Kagawa is a talented writer and her descriptions are lush, Meghan’s ongoing passivity disappoints, though she has the potential to develop more fully in later books. Ages 13–18.

I finished this book last week and the landscape and characters have lived strong in my imagination ever since. Julie’s fairy world is absolutely magical and hard to forget. She does a masterful job of combining traditional faerie lore and myth with her own new creatures and iron fey creations. And let me just say, Ash, the main man is SOOOO swoon worthy. He is one to look out for in more ways than one.

We are first introduced to Puck, Meghan’s neighbor and long-time friend and he steals a little piece of your heart by calling her “princess”, looking out for her and playing cute little pranks. As the story progresses, things get weirder and weirder as Meghan begins to see things and her little brother Ethan complains of a man in his closet. Soon her world is turned upside down as she discovers things are not as they seem and her brother has been kidnapped. She steps into another realm of danger, determined to find her long lost father and replace the changeling in he rhome with the real little brother now held captive.

Julie Kagawa presents a fast paced fairy tale that will keep you intrigued until the end. Four stars, (only because Meghan seems to have the mouth of a sailor when in the human world) May I say this is an amazing start for a kind and down to earth author who is fun to chat with!

I can not wait for the next installment, “The Iron Daughter” which will be out in August 2010. In the mean time, Julie is working on a brequel between books one and 2 of the Iron King Trilogy check here: http://enterthefaeryworld.com/ironfey/ around June.

Check out our Iron King photogallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherzahngardner/galleries/72157623382772724/

Two websites are currently giving away the book! Ticket To Anywhere giveaway: http://tickettoanywhere.blogspot.com/2010/02/contest-iron-king-by-julie-kagawa.html
and Pageturners Blog http://www.pageturnersblog.com/2010/02/spotlight-giveaway.html Enter to win and happy reading!

Photography Friday- Aveteva1

12 Feb, 2010 by in retrogression, the iron king, urban decay 10 comments

Our featured photographer for today is Tony from Retrogression Photography. I found him after finishing the book “The Iron King” by J Kagawa. The ending scenes were in the realm of the King, full of metal and machinery. I stumbled across Avteva’s big steel set http://www.flickr.com/photos/retro1/sets/72157606640756649/
and it fit my imaginings of an Iron King’s lair.


Tony Joined Flickr : November 2007
Currently lives in : Poughkeepsie, NY.
I am: Male and Taken Website: Retrogression
Tattoo artist, photographer, musician. Very laid back and down to earth.

He has donated one print of your choice up to an 8×10 to our winner. To enter to win: leave your name and emial address in the comments

+2 for visiting his photostream and commenting below your favorite photo
+2 for visiting our Iron King gallery and choosing your fave photo
+3 for sharing this contest on facebook-leave the link
+5 Share this contest on your blog
+3 Tweet it on twitter- leave the link
+5 add our button to your site
+3 become a fan of Fire and Ice on Facebook
+2 for following us on Twitter @fireicephotos
Total your entries and leave them in the comments below

Contest ends March 11th, 2010

Open internationally