Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Reading Lark

A new guy in town. Rumors of vampires. 

 Dangerous first love. 

This is where it all begins. . . . The mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood empty for years. But one day it seems to be occupied, and its mysterious, handsome inhabitant Alexander Sterling becomes the source of much talk around town. Raven, a vampire-obsessed Goth-girl who has always considered herself an outsider in "Dullsville," is determined to uncover the truth surrounding the secretive Alexander. As she gets to know him, and their spark intensifies, Raven finds herself in some unanticipated situations. Can Alexander make her lifelong dream come true? But love always has its complications--especially when it can only be awakened at nightfall. The first three books in Ellen Schreiber's bestselling Vampire Kisses series capture the thrill of a most unusual romance.

All GFC followers are welcome to enter! Just signup on the widget below with your email and thats it You're entered! There are a couple extra entry methods but those are optional! If you aren't a GFC follower, its easy! Just use the widget in the sidebar!

The Hosts: I am A Reader, Not a Writer , Reading away the Days & Reading A Bit of Everything.

**Full List of Participating Blogs**

Purpose: To promote a charity that you support.

For the post, tell a little about the charity.
It can be a local, regional or worldwide charity.

Along with the info about the charity host a giveaway.  It can be a giveaway related to the charity or it can just be book related!

12/09/2009

My Charity: Children International

Children International allows you to sponsor an under privileged child from many countries. Once you choose a child you have many options to interact with your child, including emails, letters, visiting and presents! Having my child in Ecuador has really meant the world to me! I've been sponsoring her for almost 3 years! Her name is Daniela Alejandra Chicaiza Charry. She is 15 years old now!

11/10/11

One thing that i really like is that they give you photo's as well as family facts every year! They also keep a photo gallery online with all the pictures taken of your child! I've learned so much about Ecuador and really want to visit soon! Consider sponsoring a child! Or click here to find other ways to help the children!

Rene

I also really love animals, especially horses! So i wanted to take this opportunity to take about my favorite horse charity/shelter. It's in Arizona (where I used to live). Its called Journey’s End Ranch Animal Sanctuary. They have different program's to sponsor a horse for like $1 a month (and all the way up to $100/month). They use it for feed, meds, shelter and other supplies!

Here's a little List for other Horse Charities:

• http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/ 
• http://www.horsetrust.org.uk/ 
• http://www.newc.co.uk/home/ 
• http://www.savingamericashorses.org/home.html 

Ok, Now for the GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Another event in our Indie Author is a Giveaway hop! This is a chance for you all to giveaway one of your favorite indie ebooks (nook or kindle)! Just pick a book you'd like to giveaway, create a post and signup below with the link to the post. Everyone who hosts a giveaway will get entries in the giveaway at the end of the month! Any giveaways  listed in February qualify! You can add the linky to your post if you'd like!
 Dont forget to collect your giveaway entries, click here!

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=MargaretSkipper&postid=18Jan2012a"></script>

Signup here:

My Giveaway: One winner will get a book of choice from Book Depository.

This Gratitude Giveaway Hop is to thank you all my readers/friends. I really love to read and love to have a community to share my adventures with!! I am deeply thankful for you all! Especially since i know my blog has been sparse lately!

To Enter:

• Be or become a GFC follower of this blog


• Leave a comment below as your entry containing your email or way to contact you

This giveaway is open to readers of any conutry as long as BookDepository.com ships there! Entrys will be taken from Nov. 17 to Nov. 27. One entry per person. Winner will be chosen on the 28th, and will have 3 days to respond. Good luck & Thank You!!!

Check out the other Giveaways too:

Gratitude Giveaway hop: Running 11/17 - 11/27; to show gratitude to our readers. Brought to you by I am a reader, Not a Writer and All-Consuming Books.

Wrapup:

Thanks Sooo much to my two participants: Temara and Goldilox! As a thank you two them, i have gathered some books off my shelf to give as a thank you gift to them! Each one can choose a book and ill send it out to them. :) (If you couldnt participate, i will do it again next year!) So the choice are (all are hardcover):

• Raven by Alison Van Diepen


• Swoon by Nina Malkin


• All Just Glass Amelia Atwater-Rhodes


• The Mermaid Mirror by LK Madigan


• The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell


• The Mark by Jen Nadol


• Blood Promises by Richelle Mead

Congrats to Goldilox on her readership and Happy birthday to Temara!!! Just let me know which book above youd like in a comment below!!

Image HTML:
<a href="http://lovelylit.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveaway-hop-sign-up.html"> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobQ_6D7nW9acNqLX6KCvLPSAD51f3OaEKlpdkA2EnOL-V9K87Z5ROexRcM3lCsFlnsoHFS0LMyXi4FpZ9UpFLeyRgRzXJ8Ua_vRCAhUOCV2ojKDmUViPRI4CQeO2vVk5Ys-01jAvT-HCE/s1600/fall+for+fiction.png"> </a>

Falling For Fall Giveaway Hop Nov. 2-8

Hey Yall!! I love love Fall! :D So, I decided to sponsor a Fall Giveaway Hop. Each person who signs up will host one book giveaway. If you decided to use Book Depository for your giveaway, it will cost you around $8 to $12 dollars for the giveaway. You can choose any book you'd like! The giveaways will start on Nov 2. at 12.01am and end on Nov 8 11.59pm.

Hosting giveaways on your blog are a great way to gain a bit traffic as well as to spread cheer to your readers!! Its easy! If youd like to particpate but have questions, please feel free to ask! Signups will be held from now until Oct 28.



Mr.Linky HTML:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=MargaretSkipper&postid=26Sep2011"></script><br />

Your giveaway post will need to contain these things:

• The Giveaway Image (html code above)
• Giveaway/Prize details
• The Giveaway Hop Mr Linky (html code above)

#103 @Zoey_42 Yayayay congrats!! Thank you Allllll for entering to win my spooktacular giveaway!! I am also hosting a giveaway hop here on my blog. We have 3 participants! Its not crazy large...but it is 3 more chances at a free book!! Check out my post on the home page!

Hey Everyone! I have been thinking about something to do for when 1 reach 500 followers. I'm only half way so far, but i wanted to start thinking early! What i decided to do was a Lovely Lit Lottery. Initial entries will be $1 then extra entries, for tweeting, commenting, etc, will be free.

Oh course I'm sure you all are thinking "Why would i give some stranger a dollar?" right? Well that is because you will be entered to win a KINDLE FIRE plus various other book prizes!!

The whole reason i wanted to do this giveaway is because I've been wanting to giveaway an EReader on my blog for awhile, but i cant just spend $250 on it. I cant even afford one for myself, much less one to giveaway away.

Ok the Catch: I would need atleast 200 people to enter at $1 to be able to do it!! So before i commit to doing it, i want to gage interest so i can be sure i will have enough people enter. The price is $199 plus shipping/taxes. If i get money over the actual price, i will list books as prizes too. That way all the money you all send in, you'll be getting back in prizes.

I think itd be pretty awesome to enter at $1 and win a book or even a ereader!!

SO if you think i should do this, please write a comment and let me know... Also, let your readers and friends know too. Hopefully we can get to 200+ then someone will get an awesome ereader!!!

Spootackular Giveaway Hop Oct. 24 - Oct. 31

My Spooky Giveaway: One Lucky winner will win a book of their choice from The Book Depository! This giveaway is open internationally as long as they ship to your country! To enter, all you need to do is (1) follow blog via GFC, (2) add your name and way to contact you to the comments, and (3) list your choice of spooky book if you win in that same comment! As an optional EXTRA entry, you can tweet about the contest and add the direct tweet url to a second comment. Your tweet must include this posts url to be a valid entry. 2 comments = 2 entries. 2 entries max per follower. Winner will be randomly chosen from the comments using random.org.

Thanks a lot for entering and Good Luck!! :) Please also check out the other blogs in the hop! They will all have a book giveaway you can enter.

Spooktacular Giveaway hop: 300+ Spooky halloween book giveaways!! Brought to you by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Diary of a Bookworm.



#WWReadathon

 Hey How is everyone's reading coming? Ok. As promised here is my lovely challenge!

The Challenge

I was having some issues finding my own challenge, so this one is from Michelle at Book Briefs. Its quite simple and super fun!!! Thanks to April at Shelf Confessions for helping me construct it.

For this challenge you will be making one sentence using only book titles. You cant add or leave out any words. You can use as many books as you'd like. Your sentence will probably be silly but that makes it even more fun! Just make sure its a real sentence. Subject & Verb! Here is my example:

A beautiful, dark witch song crossed the haunted, wicked woods.

Wow! that sentence sounds scary...sort of like youre lost in the woods...then you start hearing things.. :/ Here are my books:



Woo not too hard huh? If you have a blog, you can make a post with your sentence and book covers then link it in the comments. If you dont have a blog, just add your sentence to the comments then list the book titles and authors you used! Also, since our event here has a twitter tag, as a extra entry, tweet your sentence with the tag (#WWReadathon) and url to this post then add a direct link to your tweet in a seperate comment!

This challenge is TIMED!! Yes thats right...you will only have a few hours to complete this and get your entries in! The challenge starts at 4pm est and will end at 10 pm est. That gives you 6 hours. I will choose the winner promptly at 10:15 pm!! If you are having trouble please feel free to tweet me at @Alove4Lit !

Prizes

We will have 1 winner that will be chosen randomly from everyone who completes the challenge. The winner will get to choose one paranormal/supernatural/horror book of their choice from Book Depository.

**For more info on the Wonderfully Wicked ReadAThon and a schedule of events, Check out Aprils post over at Shelf Confessions.**

Here is the Signups for the Prize Packs:




Oh and before i forget, if you want to follow along on twitter, try going using TweetChat at http://t.co/8rnINl1L I found it to be soo easy!

Hey everyone!! This October had been one super great and scary month for my blog here. This weekend ill be particpating in another Halloween event called the Wonderfully Wicked ReadAThon. It will officially be running from Tomorrow Friday Oct. 21 to Sunday Oct. 23. I of course work every weekend (sigh) so ill be doing some unofficial read today and Monday..hehe. OH and of course, i forgot the best part, tomorrow ill be hosting a challenge for the readathon!!

The challenge will give yall a little time to rest your eyes.
Ill post the challenge up at exactly 4pm est time (1pm pacific) and it will last 4 hours until 8 pm est (5pm pacific). Wooo, ok back to reading now! I just wanted to give you all a heads up! Thanks to ShelfConfession for hosting the ReadAThon!

Heeyyy Guys,
I have a super surprise for you all today.... an review, a interview, a widget AND a giveaway!! Squee! Author P.T. Michelle ( @PT_Michelle ) and i have been working on this behind the scenes. Amazon has recently made the first few chapters embedable...so heres a snippet!! Hope you enjoy and keep scrolling down for your chance to win!!!!!

My Review

Title: The Brightest Kind of Darkness
Author: P.T. Michelle
Series Info: Book 1 of The brightest Kind of Darkness
Theme: Darkness vs. Lightness, Dreams, Fate
Rating: 5 hearts

Summary: Nara has an unusual gift. She came see her entire next day in her dreams. While she tries not to interfere, one day when she dreams of a bombing in her school she cant stay quiet... but soon her life starts getting chaotic. She meets a new gut at school Ethan who seems to be able to balance her..but suspcious, dangerous things start to happen and she cant tell whos behind them!

My Overall Thoughts: Excellent!! The action started from the very first page!! The timing and pace were great!! The romance was sweet and steamy! The mystery was infalliable with soo many twists! The authors writing style was beautiful. I was blown away by how perfect the book seemed, especially considering it was self published! Other self pubished books ive read had errors or were very short. This book didnt have any of those problems!! Its def ready for prime time! I honestly think its ranked in the top books ive read this year!!

What I Liked: My favorite part of the book, beside the scorching hot Ethan, was the last chapter. The last chapter is very visual and it is there that you learn the meaning behind the title and the cover! Its so vivid i felt like i was part of the story. The last chapter also introduces a new mystery to be explored more in book 2. The ending left enough open to make for a great sequal but tied up enough that you feel satistfied. I love the ending...although i continue to think about Nara and Ethan. I miss their story! (Fyi: a short story and a print copy will be coming out in November, then book 2 sometime after that)

What I Didn't Like: Honestly, the only thing i didnt like was the format...Ive come to depise kindle!!! Its soo slow and laggy on my android...maybe my phone is too slow..but i almost screamed with the sluggishness!! It was very distracting when i was reading...i much prefer the moon reader ebook app!! I will have to remember this!! As for the story or reading i didnt find anything to dislike!!

My Favorite Quote: "Knowing what was coming-even if i didnt like it- was better than not knowing what would happen if i changed something."



Amazon | Shelfari | Goodreads

The Fast Five: Interview with P.T. Michelle

1. How did you pick the names for your charcters?
I initially chose Nara's name when I heard the name Inara on a TV show (shout out to Firefly!). When I started researching the meaning behind Inara, I was so excited because the description of "illuminating or ray-of-light" fit perfectly into the theme of my book "lightness vs darkness". Ethan's name means "solid and enduring" and that's also a perfect name for his character, because he's already been through a lot in book one and will have to face even more trials in book two.

2. I love quotes!! What would you say is your favorite Quote(s) from the book?
Here are a few quotes from Brightest Kind of Darkness...

Ethan had this knack for leaving me breathless and teetering. Like a chair tilted on two legs, I was never sure if I was going to topple over or land on solid ground.

Ethan clasped my wrist and pulled me into his arms, holding me close. “I’ll always be here for you.”

Ethan leaned close and I closed my eyes as he lightly kissed my cheekbone, then my forehead. He had no idea that his gentle kiss had melted something inside me, how much I craved the physical connection.


3. If you could summarize your book in one sentence, how would that sentence go?
Brightest Kind of Darkness is about a girl with the ability to see the future, but when that power fails her, will the boy who seems to know her better than anyone be able to save her?

4. What can we expect from book 2?
Book two takes Nara and Ethan even deeper into uncovering who and what he is. At the same time, Nara will have to make some difficult decisions about her own heritage and the responsibility her powers bring her. There will be more mystery, new dangers, surprising discoveries and of course the stakes will be raised for Ethan and Nara. Can their romance survive it?

5. Since this series tackles dreams and seeing the future, what other ya theme would you like to explore in your writing (ie fairies, vampires, contempory topics etc)?
I'd like to write a story that incorporates magical realism or maybe an alternate reality. I think I'll always have some sort of paranormal element or unique twist in my books. I just can't seem to stay away from it.

More about the Author

P.T. Michelle is the young adult pseudonym of Patrice Michelle, author of fifteen romance novels and novellas. When P.T. isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading or taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets and anything beautiful or odd in nature.

P.T. loves to hear from readers. If want to share your thoughts on her books, click on the contact link above and send her an email.

She’s currently hard at work on the next book in the series.

Her Blog | Her Twitter | Her Facebook

The Giveaway

<center><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058J4KSQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=margasbooks-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0058J4KSQ" title="Click to Order"><img src="http://margaretskipper.webs.com/widgetdarkness.gif" width="90%" border="0" alt="Click to Order" /></a></center>

Wheee after all that scrolling... FINALLY the giveaway!! Ok, so the giveaway is for THREE (3) winners. Each will win the Ebook (amazon kindle version) of The Brightest Kind of Darkness!! (**If you dont have an actual Kindle device, you can read it on any iphone or android using the free app -OR- you can try the new cloud reader, where it just shows up in the internet browser! Check out the Amazon Kindle Help page for more info on reading Kindle books.**)

To Enter, all you have to do is add the widget to your blog. If you don't have a blog or webspace, you can also add a link back to this post on either twitter or fb (once a day, with a max of 7 total).

Each person can get up to 15 entires (1 for widget posting, 7 for twitter, and 7 for fb) although only one is required to have a chance to win. For each entry, please make a separate comment below with a direct link and your email or a way to contact you. At the end of the contest (Tuesday, Oct. 11th at midnight), I will randomly pick 3 winners out of the comments using random.org. This is open to anyone who is able to receive and view kindle books!



**GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE**

Did i forget something or do you have a question? Just use the "contact me" button on the bottom bar or leave a comment! Thanks!

Hey guys,
Did you know today is Free Book Friday!! Yess it is!! That means one lucky reader will get to win one book of their choice.

Usually i post the books spotlighted on the blog from the entire month, then let the winner choose thier prize from those books. But since i havent featured many books this month, the winner will choose whatever book theyd like (to be shipped from book depository).

To enter just: (1) follow my blog and (2) leave a comment with your email or a way to contact you.

Ill randomly choose a winner next Friday at 6pm. So you have until then to enter. One comment/entry per person.

Good luck!! :)

Free Book Friday: This is a periodical event hosted here that spotlights and gives away some of my favorite books. If you want to participate, leave a comment with your email. Brought to you by SweetSwan

Author @PT_Michelle will be visiting the blog next week. Shes the author of The Brightest Kind of Darkness which is a new paranormal romance series for ya. Ive started it already and its great!!!

She'll be here answering a few questions plus there will be a giveaway (3 winners get kindle ebooks) and a beautiful widget (im making it now)!! Be sure not to miss it!!! Until then, i kindly attached the cover for your viewing pleasure! Its sooo pretty...reminds me of halloween!!

PS I think i heard something about a print version coming out in november sometime. If so, ill hold a giveaway for that as well!

Wooo As promised, heres my giveaway for the 2011 Halloween list. Thanks you so much everyone for adding books!

Here the list: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13296.YA_Halloween_2011

I'll be using this list for a bunch of halloween events like the Readsthon and giveaway hop, so make sure you add your faves and your wishlist items that fit the list requirements which are: (1) .:recentish:. - published in the past 5 years and (2) .:halloween worthy:. - so ya paranormal, ya horror or ya supernatural.

To enter: (1) you must be a follower of this site, (2) have a goodreads acct, (3) add to/vote on the list, and (4) comment below! Extra entries include tweeting and following(friending) me on twitter/goodreads. Follow and read the rafflecopter carefully for steps to enter. Thank you again!

Hey there!!
Im putting together a list on Goodreads of recent-ish halloween books and would love your faves to be added. You can just click the link below and its really easy to add books!!

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13296.YA_Halloween_2011

Also, I'll be having a giveaway once my list hits 25 books. The winner will get to choose one book from the list, so be sure your favorites are there!

Any book published from 2006 to 2011 thats either ya horror, ya paranormal or ya supernatural is welcome on the list!!

Thanks everyone! Im going to use the list for all my halloween events here on the blog!! :)

And the $25 winner is......#15....

Violet

Also, i had a sudden flash of brillance and decided to send out a 2nd place prize! The winners were Spav and TwilightGrl38 who both won one book of their choice! It pays to follow my twitter because i always like have flash contests! :)

Congrats to everyone!! Our winners will have three days to respond! Thank you all for entering and be on the lookout for another giveaway soon! (hint hint next week...probably Juliet Immortal and/or The Dark Elite #1 and #2)

PS to the winners: If you have a blog, please consider leaving a link in the comments to the your reviews once you read your prize books! :D We wanna know what you thought!

Hey hey hey!!

Wow im at 110 followers!! Do you know what that means?? Yep a giveaway! Im so happy you all choose to follow me! Thank you so much!!!!!

Originally i wanted to give away Unearthly but i decided to let you choose your book books! Thats right however many books you can squeeze in for $25 including taxes and shipping!! Ill probably buy from book depostitory because there is free shipping!!!

To enter all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower!


2. Leave a comment with the top five books youd like to win in a numbered list! Make sure the #1 is your "most wanted" and #5 is your least wanted. Im going to scour the internet for cheap prices and send as many books as $25 can get!


3. Please tweet, blog, or share the contest and leave a link.


4. Lastly, Leave your email address in the comment!

Only one random winner will be choosen. International welcome...but book quanity will be reduced because of shipping. One entry per follower. Deadline to enter will be September 1st. Winner will have 3 days to respond and provide shipping address. Please feel free to ask questions.

Thank you all and goodluck!!

Hey everyone! Guess what I got in the mail?? The Eternal Sea bookmarks!!! Five of them!! This particular giveaway is for 3!  Three lovely readers will get one bookmark each!!

To enter, all you need to do is (1) follow my blog; (2) write 2 comments: one stating why everyone should read Everlasting and one stating what youre most exciting about in book 2 The Eternal Sea; (3) add your name and email address!

This giveaway is open international and will end in 2 weeks on Wednesday!

Good luck everyone!

WELCOME TO THE "ONCE UPON A TIME" BOOTH!!!

Hello All and Welcome to my booth! With the "Royal Wedding" just this weekend, I wanted my booth to alleviate the some of the possible envy! Maybe we all cant marry a Prince, but maybe emersing yourself in an excellent fairy tale could be just the thing! SO, if you complete my little challenge...you could get these books by Gail Carson Levine.

THE PRIZES

YEAH!! That's right! One winner will get all FOUR books! These are all great princess books!! WOOO! I havent even read these yet...but no worries because i bought 2 copies of each One for the winner and one for me!! :) I heard they are WONDERFUL!

THE RULES

Ok, so the rules to enter:

• Must be a Follower of my blog (GFC Follower).
• Must complete the Challenge Below and Submit on the form.
• Must Live on Earth (Any Country as long as The Book Depository Ships to you).

THE CHALLENGE

Step One: Fill in the Crossword puzzle! Hehe Not to hard huh?
Step Two: UnScramble these! Look to the Crossword for Hints! :D

Question 6

Question 7

 Question 8

 Question 9

Woooo Just 9 small question.



Be sure to Check out my main post for the Full Booth Schedule and Blog Hop locations!

Huge thanks to the Hosts: Candace’s Book Blog http://www.candacesbookblog/, Reading Angel http://www.readingangel.com/, Pure Imagination http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/, and The Book Swarm http://www.bookswarm.blogspot.com/ !