Delirium Winners!

Last week I posted about Delirium by Lauren Oliver and how much I adore it, along with the opportunity for some of you to win a copy of it as well.

I was totally blown away by your responses- I'm so happy to see that a few of you were so excited to read it! I've chosen five people to win copies of the special edition, and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I did!

Dayse
Michelle
Audrey
ebaker
and Bethanie!

I'm just about to send an e-mail to each of you, and remember that you have 48 hours to respond! Congratulations!

Witch Song

Witch Song by Amber Argyle
Release Date: September 1, 2011
Rhemalda Publishing
ISBN13: 9781936850167

5/5 Stars!

Goodreads Synopsis:
The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons--but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fade, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can't stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn't, there won't be anything left to save.

Witch Song completely caught me off guard by how much I enjoyed it. I'll admit that the cover didn't really draw me in the way others do, but I was enamoured wtih Amber Argyle's creative world and story laced with adventure and love by the end of the book. The world of witches she created in Witch Song is reminiscent of a fairytale, with appropriate pacing and lovely descriptions, and even lovelier characters.

I am such a huge fan of the love story in Witch Song! I really, really enjoyed Senna and Joshen and all the difficulties they faced. And some of the decisions they made were so difficult, but very brave at the same. And I was glad to see that they didn't narrow in so much on their affection for each other to forget the world circumstances around them. The adventure and upcoming battle remains constant as the plot centrepiece, and it really should seeing as the possible destruction of the world is fairly important. Fairly. ;) And there is just enough heartbreak in there to twist your heartstrings a little bit. It doesn't hurt either that Witch Song has one of my favourite kissing scenes ever! My one teensy little annoyance with the love plot was how irrational Senna's jealousy could be at times. I don't mind a little bit of jealousy (because it is natural and understandable at times) but I just didn't see that she had anything to be jealous of- this was something that she had built up entirely in her head, and even if that is the case I tend to roll my eyes at characters when they do this.

As a character, I did not care for Pogg. At all. I've never been a fan of those quirky, eccentric creature sidekicks. I didn't like Dobby in Harry Potter, and I hated Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars. So needless to say, I didn't think Pogg added anything particularly important to the story rather than some extra magical help which could have been fulfilled by some other forgetful secondary character.

I did enjoy the long ending. I'm aware that some people might feel that the ending drags on for too long, but it actually does give the story a proper explanation and allows Argyle to fully flesh out the reasons behind the events which took place in Witch Song. However, there was one problem with the ending, over the obsession with not allowing marriage... well, it just seemed kind of silly to me. Maybe because it's a little too practical for my taste, but it all seemed like a silly show for nothing. That was disappointing.

I received a PDF copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review; no other compensation was received.

...And I loved it so much that I had to buy a signed copy for myself and one to giveaway! I've already contacted the winner of my giveaway, and she has confirmed her prize. So congratulations to Marie! I'll be shipping that out to you shortly :)

Crossroads Giveaway Winner & Author Interview with Mary Ting

The winner of the Crossroads signed book and crystal heart necklace giveaway is Sierra (#82)! She has already confirmed her prize, so congratulations to her!

If you didn't win, then get ready for another round! Because I have TWO more giveaways starting today which will be posted soon!

And again, a big thank you to Mary for offering these prizes for a giveaway!

A few weeks ago Mary also did an author interview with me; thank you so much for joining me at Esther's Ever After, Mary! She is such a friendly woman, and I love the thoughtful answers she gave to my questions. There's also a tidbit about a Crossroads sequel... ;)

How are you and Claudia similar?

I have to confess. Claudia is very much like me. I was naïve and very sheltered growing up. It’s not so much that my parents sheltered me; I think I did it to myself. Don’t get me wrong, I was very social and had many friends, but I liked staying home rather than going out. Just like Claudia, I was always grateful and thankful for everything and still am.

You’ve said before that parts of Crossroads are based off of your dreams. Can you tell us which parts specifically are inspired by your dreams and life?

Chapter one is where I first started writing my story. It was easy to put it on paper because I was basically writing out my dream. The only part that I made up was Michael. Too bad I really didn’t dream about him…lol!!! Even though there was someone telling me to go back, no name was mentioned in my dream, only a bright light. I was pretty sure, she was female. Also, chapter two was based on my real dream. The part where I enter a room thinking that it was a classroom, but it looked more like a church. My friend gave me one last hug and she lifted a heavy burden off my chest. I don’t remember if she said anything to me, but she did give me a hug and then she let go.

This is one part that confused me- why are there two Claudia Emersons?

There are two Claudia Emerson because when I started writing this story, I basically started writing what happened to me in high school. I had a friend who had the same name as me. We attended the same Catholic church. We looked alike: same height, same hair style, and people would get us confused. She did know a lot more about fashion and boys. She also passed away the way Patty describes it on the phone, expect it was prom. She was the prom queen and her date was the prom king. No matter how long it has been, when someone you care about leave this world, you never forget them. The pain may lessen, but the memories are forever. Because this story is part of me, I didn’t take it out. I figure if there were questions, I could explain.

Besides Michael, who’s your favourite angel from Crossroads?

That would have to be Davin. I had so much fun writing about him. He is sweet, funny, and very friendly. Davin is also someone I knew who passed away. He was what you can say, everyone’s best friend. He also passed away in a tragic car accident. So in memory of my dear friend, I named this character after him.

Will there be a sequel?

YES!!! I had so many positive feedbacks and the readers are asking for more. Also, I had so much fun writing about these characters, they’ve become part of my life.

If so, can you tell us any hints about it?

Everybody is wondering about Austin. He will play a bigger role and as there will be more angels on earth.

Do you have the rest of the story planned out already or are you going to let it “write itself” so to speak?

I have somewhat planned out, but I like to start from chapter one. When I can’t decide which way to go, I take a break. I think in the shower, while I’m cooking, driving, and even when I’m sleeping…lol!!! Writing book one was easy because it was what I experienced: new car, first job, attending church, camping, falling in love and my dreams. Book two will be a bit challenging because there are more characters involved. The last few chapters are the hardest for me...how to end the story.

What was the hardest part about self-publishing a book?

The hardest part is that you basically have to do everything yourself. I was lucky to have had several wonderful friends who help me organize and edit. They were not professionals, but they did a great job. Being traditionally published now helps with reaching medias that only will accept traditionally published books; it will also be edited by professionals.

Do you have any tips for writers?

I sure do. First draft, getting it all down. Write down everything that you can think of, even if it doesn’t make sense because you can go back and delete. Then write details. Third, emotions-gotta have the emotions. Place yourself inside the character’s mind. What is that character thinking and feeling. You can never be too young or too old to write. If you are inspired to write, do it! Never in my wildest dream did I ever thought that I would publish a book… and here I am! Same thing can happen to anyone if you just believe. :)

What’s the most important thing you want readers to take away from Crossroads?

I give subtle hints about lessons in life. I started writing when my grandmother passed away. It was a way for me to heal her passing. Gamma is inspired by my grandmother. I had many emails letting me know how this book has touched them in a special way because they’ve lost their loved ones or how chapter two had happened to them too. I hope that this book helps them heal as it did for me. There are many readers who have lost loved ones. There are no words that can ever comfort them. But knowing that our loved ones are somewhere, whether we want to call this place Heaven or not, and that they are happy and at peace, can give us great comfort. Also, I’m going to sound like a parent, but… don’t forget to call and visit your parents and grandparents. Sometimes we get so busy with our lives that we tend to forget to call or visit. You may one day wish you had done it more often.

You can hear more from Mary on her Facebook page, following her on Twitter, reading her blog, following her reviews on Goodreads, or visiting her website. 


 

Giveaway Winners and Announcements!

Two giveaways finished up on here over the weekend, and there are three winners to announce!

The winner of the giveaway for Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma is Stepanien from Once Upon a Chapter! This prize has been confirmed.


The winners of the Summer Giveaway Hop for a summer release from the Book Depository are Spav and Gloria S.
These winners have both been confirmed and selected Wildefire and Forever, respectively. I hope you enjoy your books and congratulations!

This giveaway was huge, and I am so happy to see how many of you entered! 277 people entered and I wish I could give you all prizes... but I can only pick two! But I can promise you that there will be many more giveaways in the future- there's even a new one now for a copy of Crossroads by Mary Ting!

You can also see that we have a new design for our blog here! It looks fantastic, thanks to Erin from eedee Design Studios.

With this, there are some new features including a book Review archive section where my reviews are listed alphabetically by book title and by author.

There is also a Calendar page where I can list big upcoming events, such as giveaways and special posts.

The last thing I want to point out is my new Policy page as well- if you have any questions regarding general contest rules or my review policy, please look there first!

"She Walks in Beauty" Giveaway Winner!

I'm thrilled by all of the entries I had for my first giveaway!

I drew the winner using Random.org and the winner is Brittknee! Congratulations, your book will be arriving in the mail shortly!

For those of you who didn't win this time, keep reading because a new giveaway will be posted shortly! :)