It is my absolute pleasure today to introduce my lovely readers to a series that snuck up on me in the best possible way. The Army of the Lost is the thrilling third installment of the Deadlands dystopia series in which mother-daughter writing duo give readers a story unlike no other. Under the pseudonym, Lily Herne, Savannah and Sarah Lotz have crafted a story that embraces both the political climate of South Africa and a backdrop of a zombie apocalypse...and yes, it is that amazing!

The Army of the Lost Synopsis

One of us is dead, one of us is broken, one of us will betray the others and one of us will have to sell her soul to survive...

Eleven years after South Africa was ravaged by the walking dead, most of Johannesburg's survivors are forced to scratch out a living in the filth of Sandtown, an enclave in the old Sandton City mall, ruled over by a minority of rich, self-serving bureaucrats. Tommy, a bullied fourteen-year-old Sandtownite, dreams of joining the Army of the Left, a radical organisation intent on setting the city free of the dead that lurch around its walls. But fate has other plans for him.

Betrayed by one of their closest allies and sold to the highest bidder, Lele, Ash, Ember and Ginger - the remaining Mall Rats - find themselves sucked into the dark heart of Jozi's twisted political system. While Ash is forced to face his traumatic past and Ginger struggles to regain his sanity, Lele goes head to head against Jozi's most powerful manipulator - a man who has sinister plans for her. Meanwhile, left for dead on the outskirts of Jozi, Saint begins her own journey. A journey that she hopes will provide the answers to all of the Mall Rats' unanswered questions.

1. What made you choose a South African setting for your dystopian novel? Did past political unrest play some sort if part?

We live in Cape Town, so familiarity played into that choice quite a lot. At the time we wrote the first in the series, no one had written a walking dead novel set in SA, and someone had to address this appalling state of affairs (!) There is a political element to the novels – it’s almost impossible to write anything set in SA and not include an element of social critique. It’s in our DNA and the fallout from apartheid is still evident all around us. For example, there’s a huge rich-poor divide, which we’ve tried to comment on in the novels.

2. If you could use just five words to describe your protagonist, what would they be, and why?

In the first novel, our narrator Lele is sulky, gutsy, honest, jealous and impetuous. She also has the tendency to be quite rude (although that would make it six!) But as the series progresses, the people and traumatic events she encounters force her to deal with issues and situations with more maturity (she will always sulk though – we reckon that’s her signature emotion!)

3. What do you think sets your books apart from other dystopian novels, and what do you hope readers will take away from reading them?

Lauren’s Beukes’s fabulous Zoo City and Charlie Human’s insanely brilliant Apocalypse Now Now aside, there’s not a great deal of dystopian YA set in South Africa, so the setting probably sets the novels apart. In a departure from the first two novels in the series, The Army of the Lost is set in Johannesburg, and we had a great time coming up with different settlements and considering how the survivors in this city might have corralled themselves out of reach of the walking dead. For example, there’s an almost utopian society who have holed up in the self-sustaining Johannesburg Zoo, and as mall culture is quite prevalent in Jozi, the majority of the survivors are crammed into the Sandton City mall complex, ruled over by a handful of greedy bureaucrats (which isn’t dissimilar to what’s actually happening!) Primarily, we hope readers have a blast reading them!

4. What do you do to make sure your series continues strong from one novel to the next?

As well as (hopefully) including some plot twists that readers won’t see coming, we’ve tried to focus on character development and show how our protagonist have changed after experiencing the various horrible events we’ve forced them to endure. They aren’t the same people as they were at the beginning of the series (and they might not all be alive at the end of it…)

5. If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

Savannah: I’d be a professional gamer, but as this really isn’t an option, I’d love to be an extra in The Walking Dead.

Sarah: Gosh. Tricky question. I love cars and driving, so I wouldn’t mind being a stunt/precision driver (!)

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Doesn't it sound absolutely amazing?! Be sure to check out the other books in the series (Deadlands and Death of a Saint), as well. But for now - here's your chance to win a copy of The Army of the Lost all for yourself! This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight MST on 4/25/14. Simply fill out the Rafflecopter for your chance to win! 

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I never thought I'd be able to say this, but today marks my fourth year of blogging about books here at i swim for oceans! It was rough going there for me for a while, and I actually went on an indefinite hiatus, but I missed this blog, and I missed all of you, so how could I really stay away? In the past four years, I've seen book blogs come and go, I've been to BEA twice, I've read countless incredible books (and quite a few duds, too) and I've really come to appreciate both what the authors do for us and what we can do for them, if we really put our minds to it.

I could get all sappy and ish about this, but let's be honest, it's really just a whole lotta love that I have for the whole dang lot of you! And, to show my appreciation for all of my lovely followers and friends, I'm offering up a little giveaway for all of you. 

There will be three lucky winners with three awesome prizes.

The first name picked will get to choose which two books they'd like most from the books below.

The second name picked will get to choose two books they'd like most from the books below.

The third name picked will win the last two books from the list below.

Some of these are ARCs. Some of them are not.

All of them, however, are pretty dang good books that I hope you'll read and love!

This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight EST on January 30, 2014,

which means you have a month to enter!
Good luck!

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Today, I am so excited to feature one of my favourite books thus far in 2013. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales turned out to be a hugely profound, powerful read that really resonated with me and many of my favourite bloggers. Leila took time out of her busy schedule to answer some of my questions, and if you read on, there's even a giveaway. 

Watch the Trailer for This Song Will Save Your Life

Leila Sales: Website -- Twitter -- Facebook

Fierce Reads Book Tour

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, This Song Will Save Your Life is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

1. The beauty of This Song Will Save Your Life Is that so many people can relate to the story in so many ways. How did you manage to perfectly bottle that time of one's life and spin it in a way that it can resonate for so many people?

Wow. I’m honored that you thought the book accomplished that! I’m not really sure how to answer this question, though. I just set out to tell the story of one girl in a way that felt true, and I hoped that there would be readers out there who would understand her.

2. Did This Song WIll Save Your Life draw from your own high school experience in any way and, if so, how?

Sure. My friends and I started going out to a nightclub that really was called Start! in Boston when we were seniors. Some of Elise’s experiences at Start are inspired by my own. And I did experience bullying, though more in middle school than in my small, all-girls high school. I went to a big, impersonal middle school, where I think it was easier for kids to get away with reprehensible treatment of others. 

3. In This Song Will Save Your Life life, which is highly character-driven, music was almost a character in and of itself. What does music mean to you, and how did that impact your use of it through the story?

I think music is one of the purest expressions of emotion there is. Feelings are complicated, and hard to explain to other people; sometimes you just want to play them the song that exemplifies how you feel and say to them, “See? This. This is what I mean.” They probably won’t even hear that song in the same way that you do, but it seems like the closest we can come to letting someone else into our inner lives.

4. The characters within the novel are all characters we've all known at some point in our lives. Were they inspired by people you know, or are they just extremely realistic and genuine characters?

I borrow character traits from people I know, but I don’t borrow whole people. I’m most likely to borrow physical descriptions of people, like Vicky’s outfits and Char’s tattoo. But if you look at someone like Char, he’s an amalgam of many people I’ve known in my life, some of them well, some of them whom I just saw once in passing, and additionally he includes characteristics that I made up just for him.

5. In the vast realm of contemporary fiction, what do you think will make This Song Will Save Your Life stand out the most, and why?

Well, I hope it will stand out! I think there are a few things about this book that are unusual in the current YA market. A girl who becomes a DJ and a nightclub setting, of course, are not things you see all that often. I also think the romance doesn’t follow a typical YA romance track. And, while there are lots of books out there with suicide references (trust me—I’m a YA editor, I see a lot of them), most of them don’t have a character who acknowledges up front that her “suicide attempt” is a targeted bid for attention. For some reason there exists this belief out there that if a kid attempts suicide “just for attention,” then it doesn’t need to be taken as seriously as if he or she attempted suicide in order to actually die. I think that belief is pernicious and I wrote this book in part to address it.

6. If you could hope for readers to take one message away from this book, what would it be?

Different readers will take away different messages or truths, and I love that; I don’t want to control what every person takes home. For me personally, the heart of the story comes from Elise: “Sometimes people think they know you. They know a few facts about you, and they piece you together in a way that makes sense to them. And if you don't know yourself very well, you might even believe that they are right. But the truth is, that isn't you. That isn't you at all.”

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And now, I have an awesome giveaway for you all! One lucky winner will get a hardcover copy of This Song Will Save Your Life, as well as a disc with the full book soundtrack on it. This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only, and it will end promptly at midnight EST on September 20, 2013. Still want to enter? Simply fill out the Rafflecopter to do so!

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Guys, I thought I'd do a little something different today. One of my favourite clothing shops approached me a few weeks back to offer up something for my readers, and I just couldn't resist. While we're a book blogging community, this site is also a reflection of me, and I'm more than happy to give my readers a little taste of what makes me tick. So, without further ado...let me introduce Shabby Apple!

Shabby Apple offers ladies some of the finest, most original vintage clothing to express your very own retro style. Whether you're looking for retro jewelry, classic dresses or just a great skirt with an awesome fit and some fashionable flair, this amazing shop has something for everyone. A personal favourite of mine? The Gondola dress...tell me that doesn't just scream timeless beauty!

But, perhaps best of all, I get to offer up my readers another favourite of mine that I'm sure you'll love.

This fun, beautiful and undeniably flirty faux wrap dress is called Heart of Me, and it's been a staple in my wardrobe for a while now. There's something about the little pockets, the bloom of the skirt and the fun, crimson/coral colour that just exudes femininity. I kid you not when I say that this dress will fast become a favourite for you, too, whether for a date night, an office outfit or simply a day on the town. Anddd...you can WIN it!

To enter this giveaway, you must be a US resident or have a US mailing address (sorry!) This giveaway will end promptly at midnight EST on September 15th. To enter this great giveaway, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below!

Please note - this post is sponsored by Shabby Apple. All opinions expressed in this post, however, are entirely my own.

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If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know that I was convinced a very long time ago to give this middle grade series a shot, despite my staunch protests and great hesitation. And, well, I loved it. Since devouring the entire Percy Jackson series by author, Rick Riordan, we've had the great fortune of watching this series become an epic  adventure film series. 

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters is the second novel in the Percy Jackson series, and Sea of Monsters is the second film in this great new franchise. Today, I'm lucky enough to offer up my amazing followers a fantastic giveaway from the kind folks over at 20th Century Fox. So, without further ado...here's a bit about the film:

Based on the publishing phenomenon, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters continues the young demigod’s epic journey to fulfill his destiny. To save their world, Percy and his friends must find the fabled and powerfully magic Golden Fleece. Embarking on a treacherous odyssey into the uncharted waters of the Sea of Monsters (known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle), they battle terrifying creatures, an army of zombies, and the ultimate Evil.

Starring Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Douglas Smith, Stanley Tucci.

Like I said, one lucky winner on this blog will have the opportunity to win an amazing prize pack from 20th Century Fox. One winner will receive a $15 Visa gift card to see the film in theatres, as well as The Sea of Monsters movie tie-in books. Want to see this prize pack? Yeah, me too.

Per rules from 20th Century Fox, this giveaway is open to US Mailing Addresses only. The total retail value of this sweet prize pack is $22.99 and all prizes will be mailed directly from the source. This giveaway will run for exactly one week until Monday, August 5, 2013 at 12 am EST, at which point one winner will be selected by Random.org and notified by email.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Online
Like Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters on Facebook
Visit the official website
Follow @PercyMovies on Twitter and Instagram
Watch the trailer, clips and more on YouTube
Follow on Tumblr

Winners have 24 hours to respond with their mailing address and information, or a new winner will be selected by Random.org.

Good luck!

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Mia Kish is afraid of the dark. And for good reason. When she was a toddler she fell deep into her backyard well only to be rescued to great fanfare and celebrity. In fact, she is small-town Fenton,Colorado’s walking claim to fame. Not like that helps her status at Westbrook Academy, the nearby uber-ritzy boarding school she attends. A townie is a townie. Being nationally ranked as a swimmer doesn’t matter a lick. But even the rarefied world of Westbrook is threated when emergency sirens start blaring and the school is put on lockdown, quarantined and surrounded by soldiers who seem to shoot first and ask questions later. Only when confronted by a frightening virus that ages its victims to death in a manner of hours does Mia realize she may only just be beginning to discover what makes Fenton special.

The answer is behind the walls of the Cave, aka Fenton Electronics. Mia’s dad, the director of Fenton Electronics, has always been secretive about his work. But unless Mia is willing to let her classmates succumb to the strange illness, she and her friends have got to break quarantine, escape the school grounds, and outsmart armed soldiers to uncover the truth about where the virus comes from and what happened down that well. The answers they find just might be more impossible than the virus they are fleeing.

Guys, I am so excited today to feature The Well's End, an upcoming novel by Seth Fishman from Putnam Juvenile! This awesome new addition to the world of YA is set to release on February 25, 2014 (one day apres my birthday, mind you), and it promises a whole lot of mystery, thrilling adventure and maybe just a touch of terror to make you think twice about those things that go bump in the night. Seth dropped by to answer a few of my questions today....and there's even a giveaway for all of you lovelies, so stick around to the end! 

1. What inspired you to set The Well's End in Fenton, Colorado?

Hi Melissa! First of all, thanks to you and your kind readers for their time. I hope this is something interesting to you, and that I provide some vague form of entertainment for your day! This is a good question, with a fairly nebulous answer. I'm from West Texas, which means that if we wanted to go skiing, we went to New Mexico and Colorado on these long trips, so I've been there a number of times in snow and in summer, and feel a sense of teenage familiarity with the area. I made up the town, of course, but I also needed mountains, snow, and the ritz of places like Aspen and Vail nearby. So, it all came together.

2. You have an MC that's a swimmer! This speaks to me (ie: the blog title)...of all the sports in all the world, why swimming?

I'm kinda terrified that you'll read the book and be like, 'no way, swimmers don't do that...' But I made Mia Kish a swimmer for a number of reasons. One is that she fell down this well, which means she was in the dark and in/around water. So she swims to conquer her fear. Another reason is that I wanted her to swim under the ice of a frozen lake, and she has to be good to be able to do that. I interviewed my friend, Matt Block, who used to be nationally ranked in college, about swimming and learned all sorts of things I never knew, like drag suits and how you sweat tons in a pool but never realize. I hope it all works realistically!

3. Mia is terrified of the dark, and it sounds as though The Well's End might be just creepy enough to terrify your readers. What do you think might be the scariest aspect of this book for us?

Great question. I think I made a number of scenes scary (at least, to write, ha), and I hope that comes through. But specific moments aside, I wanted to tackle the idea of trauma defining a person, and how everything they do will be seen through the lens of that trauma. Creepy death, icy cold water, these things, in the book, are more than just plot points, but efforts to make Mia confront herself and her past. Getting lost in the memory of her childhood fall feels so scary to me.

4. Kate Beaton, an incredible artist, has created some brilliant illustrations for The Well's End, including fantastic sketches of your main characters. Do you think she captured their likenesses and personalities in these images? Why, or why not?

She is amazing isn't she? Sadly, there will be no interior art in the book, so these are just one offs, but I think Kate did an awesome job capturing the feel of the characters. To do so, I sent her very long descriptors of each character and we went over them a few times, her asking really smart questions and working really hard to get it right (she went way above and beyond). The physical descriptors of these characters are all spot on, but I love how she has the mood too. Mia, standing at the edge of the icy lake, is just so inside herself. It's perfect!

5. The Well's End releases from Putnam Juvenile on February 25, 2014. What about this book do you think will capture readers and get them dying for a copy as the release date approaches?

Ooh, tough to answer this without sounding to self-congratulatory! But, I'd say that I read lots of YA and I tried to write something that's a bit different. The goal, for me, was to feel realistic, to have characters you recognize and connect with, but then, suddenly, pull you out of your comfort zone and into a new place, so that by the end, you're not sure how you got there. It's a book that's hard to define via genre/category, and I think this is something that's really appealing when I read books. So there's that. But it's also fast-paced and fun and mysterious, which I hope hits you for an entirely different reason!

Find Seth on:

Twitter

Tumblr

Website

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And now, the giveaway! Thanks to the extreme generosity of Putnam Juvenile, one lucky winner will receive an advance e-galley of The Well's End, as well as a piece of original art from Kate Beaton. Be sure to check out more of her character work for the book HERE. This giveaway is open to US/Canada only...simply fill out the Rafflecopter to enter!

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I can't believe it's almost that time of year again! On December 30, 2009, started my a little blog called i swim for oceans because nobody wanted to hear me babble about books anymore. In just over one month, I will be celebrating my second blogoversary! Can you believe it?!

In that time, I've learned to write better reviews, interact with publishers and authors, met some incredible bloggers and even had the opportunity to go to BookExpo America in NYC (and can't wait to go again!) In honour of this though, I'm celebrating all of YOU! Thank you for reading my blog. Thank you for making this SO much fun, and thank you for being a part of the blogosphere!

The Details:

There will be four (4) winners. Each winner will win two books. The first name drawn will choose their books. The second winner drawn will choose two books. The third winner chosen will two books. The fourth winner will win the final two books. Want to see what's up for grabs? (Bear in mind that they are all ARCs for which I have duplicates, so they are untouched.)

The Rules:

You do NOT have to be a follower to enter but, as always, it is greatly appreciated! This giveaway is open internationally, and it will end promptly at 12 AM EST on December 21, 2011.

Click HERE to enter!

I received a second copy of Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar (book one) back in August at BEA. Recently, I've received two copies of The Rift Walker (book two), and I've decided to share the wealth with one of my lucky readers! If you don't know much about the series, here is what you could win:

Title: Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar
Author: Clay & Susan Griffith
Publisher: Prometheus
Publish Date: November 18, 2010
Genre: Paranormal, Steampunk
Pages: 303

Vampire predators run wild in this exciting steampunk adventure, the first in an alternate history trilogy that is already attracting attention. In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath.

One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender: a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions.

Title: The Rift Walker (Vampire Empire #2)
Author: Clay & Susan Griffith
Publisher: Prometheus
Publish Date: September 20, 2011
Genre: Paranormal, Steampunk
Pages: 399

Princess Adele struggles with a life of marriage and obligation as her Equatorian Empire and their American Republic allies stand on the brink of war against the vampire clans of the north. However, the alliance's horrific strategy for total victory drives Adele to abandon her duty and embark on a desperate quest to keep her nation from staining its hands with genocide. Reunited with her great love, the mysterious adventurer known to the world as the Greyfriar, Adele is pursued by her own people as well as her vengeful husband, senator Clark. With the human alliance in disarrray, Prince Cesare, lord of the British vampire clan, seizes the initiative and strikes at the very heart of Equatoria.

As always, you do NOT have to be a follower, but it is always appreciated! This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight EST on Saturday, October 15, 2011.

Click HERE to fill out the form and enter to win!

Today I am SO excited to feature an amazing interview with the cover designer and the artist of Anna Dressed In Blood. The lovely ladies behind Kismet Book Touring have put together another incredible tour and coordinated with the too-awesome-for-words, Kendare Blake, to offer a fabulous giveaway for all of you, too! Be sure to read through the interview and find out how you can win the amazing prize! Also, my review for Anna Dressed In Blood will be up tomorrow with yet another giveaway for you guys because it is a must-read!

An Interview with Seth Lerner - Cover Designer

1. Can you give us some background on what your process is in designing a cover? Do you read a book first or do you work from notes and if so who makes the notes for you?

In most cases I work from the notes the editor puts together. In this case, a new series, and a new author, I felt I needed to read it. I also looked at the comparison titles the editor sent to get a feel for what it should look like. In the end I had a lot of help in putting it together. The editor’s ideas and take on what the cover should be really made the difference. As for the artist, I’ve known of Nekro’s work for a few years. I really didn’t have a project that spoke to what he was doing, until Anna came along. He really made it the success it is. My part was easy after that, don’t obstruct the really cool art with too much type, let it speak for itself. We haven’t posted it yet, but I can say the second cover in the series is just as wonderful as Anna is, and Anna is one of my favorites this year.

2. Do some books speak to you more than others or you have a favorite genre of books to design for?

Lately, I have really enjoyed working for the YA and Teen market. I don’t read a lot of it, but the books we’ve been doing are a lot of fun to design for. The market has changed over the years, and the consumer is really aware of bad design. I hope we’re putting out product that makes them take notice. I love to work with such talented artists and designers. It also doesn’t hurt that our editors are receptive to trying out new artists and ideas.

3. If you could design a cover for any book, published or unpublished, what would it be and why?

That’s an easy question to answer, the next big thing, whatever it may be. Why? Because if I’m successful, then I’ve helped launch it. It’s nice to be a part of something. I know it’s cliché, but it’s still true.

An Interview with Nekro - Cover Artist

1. Did you create the picture that was used for the cover of Anna Dressed In Blood specifically for that book or was it done before you'd even heard of that book?

Yes, it was made for the book.

2. If you created the artwork specifically for the book, do you do that often and what is your favorite part of working on a commission like that? 

Yes, usually, I receive a briefing with all the details to make the illustration. Although they use to be a very detailed commissions, my preferred part is the personal touch I can add to the image

3. Do you primarily do artwork for books or is that more of a side project for you?

At present, I mainly work making book covers but I also work in personal projects.

4. Who is your favorite artist and why?

I can’t say only one artist, I admire and look for inspiration in a lot of artists, like: HR Giger, Kris Kuksi, Brom, J.S. Rossbach, Aleksi Briclot or Jason Chan, among others. I specially admire their style and originality. 

Kismet Book Touring has put together an incredible giveaway for you guys, giving you the chance to win a Kindle 3 with the skin featured above, as well as the book pre-loaded on the device! Be sure to check out all the features at each of the tour dates listed below for your chance to win...Here's how the contest works:

Contest Info: Who is about to take on Anna next? Last week we met the ghost hunters and this week they reply!

Each day this week, each of the ghost fighters introduced last week will reply to Anna's challenge. Follow the tour for the next two weeks to find out who accepts the challenge, who does not and, ultimately, who among the five is the one who will enter Anna's house on the last day of the tour! A list of all the tour dates, including last week's dates where the ghost hunters were introduced, click here.

On the last day of the tour, a link will be provided where you can enter the ghost hunter's name for 15 entries into the contest to win a Anna Dressed In Blood skinned and loaded Kindle 3! Open US/Canada.

My Ghost Hunter - (Click to enlarge):

For an extra points in the meantime, you can gain +1 point a day by tweeting the following:

Who will make it to Thunder Bay? Join the contest to best Anna and win an Anna Dressed In Blood Kindle! Follow #ADIBtour @KendareBlake

Monday, September 12th - Rachel, Parajunkee
Tuesday, September 13th - Stacey, A Reader's Record
Wednesday, September 14th - Alyssa, Teens Read and Write
Thursday, September 15th - Heather, Buried In Books
Friday, September 16th - Jenny, Supernatural Snark


Monday, September 19th - Melissa, I Swim For Oceans
Tuesday, September 20th - Tawni, The Book Worms
Wednesday, September 21st - Alice, Alice Marvels
Thursday, September 22nd - Julie, That's Swell
Friday, September 23rd - Angela, The Reading Angel


Monday, September 26th - Julia, Rex Robot Reviews
Tuesday, September 27th - Ashley, Smash Attack Reads!
Wednesday, September 28th - Britta, I Like These Books
Thursday, September 29th - We Fancy Books
Friday, September 30th (Anna's 1 month birthday!) - Kristi, The Story Siren


Tuesday, October 4th: Announcement of the big prize winner on Kendare's Site!

Find Kendare on:

Facebook

Twitter

Website

I'm thrilled to welcome the lovely Lisa McMann to i swim for oceans today to talk about her brand new MG dystopian novel, The Unwanteds. Today she's talking to us about the all-too-awesome cover art for The Unwanteds and what she thinks it lends to the novel...take a look!

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret—behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.

But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

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And now....the giveaway! Thanks to the amazing generosity of Lisa and Kismet Book Touring, you guys have the chance to win a full-sized class pack of copies of The Unwanteds (and yes, that's up to 20 books!)

Contest Info: Are you Unwanted? Gather entries to be entered to win the grand prize book club class pack (up to 20 books!) by explaining which camp you’d be in: Wanted or Unwanted:

• leave a comment +1 entries

• provide a picture of you that shows what you'd be (be creative) +2 entries

• provide a video and tell us what you would be! +5 entries

Link can be provided in the comments of this post, on the Kismet Book Touring Facebook page or on Lisa's Facebook page. Open US/Canada. Contestants under 18 years of age must have parental consent to enter.


Find Lisa on: Twitter - Facebook - Website

Find The Unwanteds on: Goodreads - Amazon - Indiebound - Barnes & Noble - Books-a-Million - Powells

Also, be sure to check out the entire lineup for this awesome tour for The Unwanteds!

Monday August 29th - Danny and Pushy, Bewitched Bookworms
Tuesday, August 30th (The Unwanted's Book Birthday!) - Katie, The Mundie Moms
Wednesday, August 31st - Alyssa, Teens Read and Write
Thursday, September 1st - Heidi, YA Bibliophile
Friday, September 2nd - Becky, Stories & Sweeties

Monday September 5th - Jill, The O.W.L
Tuesday, September 6th - Mary, Book Swarm
Wednesday, September 7th - Reading Teen
Thursday, September 8th - Melissa, I Swim For Oceans
Friday, September 9th - Sab, YA Bliss

Monday September 12th - Cynthia, A Blog About Nothing
Tuesday, September 13th - Nancy, Amusing Reviews
Wednesday, September 14th - Michelle and Leslie, Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks
Thursday, September 15th - Darkfallen and Greta, Paranormal Wastelands
Friday, September 16th - Alice, Alice Marvels

Tuesday, September 20th - Grand prize announcement on Lisa McMann's blog!

As many of you know, it's Kirsty Eagar Appreciation Week, and this lovely feature is hosted by the all-too-awesome Linds from Bibliophile Brouhaha and Nic from Irresistible Reads. Raw Blue is a one of a kind read that transformed my opinion of contemporary fiction in a single read, and I'm still blown away by the book to this day. I jumped at the chance to share the love for the brilliant author and incredible book. Please join me in welcoming Kirsty Eagar to my little blog for a post about something we share in common...our love of the ocean and the setting of Raw Blue!

RAW BLUE - THE PLACE

Hello people! Thank you all so much for supporting Raw Blue. Writing that book affected me a lot, so it’s lovely to know that the story is travelling and some of you guys have met the characters. I know not all of you will be familiar with Sydney’s northern beaches – the setting for the story – so how do you feel about coming on a quick virtual tour with me?

1. North Narrabeen

The place where Carly is living and surfing. It’s a beachside suburb that is pretty well awash with water when you consider that it not only fronts the ocean but is also home to Narrabeen Lakes (people sometimes call it ‘the lagoon’ – pick your pony). I’ve just spent a year living directly across the road from the surf break there, and the photo on the left is what I looked out at from my writing desk – !!! (Although I should say that I usually had to cross the road to check the surf. It normally breaks further up. That photo was taken on a huge winter’s day). The photo on the right is the other extreme – that’s me on some incredibly small summer slops.

2. The Café - Manly

When people talk about the northern beaches what they’re referring to is 30 kilometres (18.5 miles) of coastline that starts at a suburb called Manly and stretches northwards to a place called Palm Beach. The café where Carly works is in Manly, which is a really lovely suburb bracketed by the beach on one side and the harbour on the other. It’s very popular with tourists because it’s a ferry ride away from the city. The café in the story is fictional, but based on real places that I worked at while I was travelling around Australia. I’d love to name them but I’d better not. I think they’d sue. Hollandaise sauce, anyone?

3. Turtlebacks at Dee Why (chapter 22)

Dee Why is the place where Ryan and Carly go to check out a huge south swell. It’s three beaches north of Manly. There really was a large Tasman Sea swell that hit Sydney during the year I wrote the first draft of the book (2006). I took these photos of it from Dee Why. Note the two guys at the edge of the tidal pool about to get smashed – they’re the turtlebacks in the story.

4. The Collaroy Services Club

At the risk of getting all Big Yellow Taxi on you, I’m surprised at how many things have changed since 2006. The Collaroy Services Club (chapter 26) is now called The Beach Club. And The Sands (a pub mentioned briefly in chapter 24) has been bulldozed for apartments. They’ve built a new Sands – I don’t like it, though; it’s not as good. But I’m getting sidetracked. This is the Collaroy Services Club where Ryan takes Carly for a drink when he first comes back from the mines. Nice location, hey?

Well, that wraps it up. Thanks for having me! I hope it’s all humming for you, wherever you are.

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Thank you so much for dropping by, Kirsty! Now for all of you, please visit the rest of the events this week - you can view the full list HERE...annnnnnndddd thanks to the lovely author and coordinators of this event, I have a signed copy of Raw Blue up for grabs for you guys! Want to enter? The rules are simple:

As always, you do NOT need to be a follower to enter, but it's always appreciated! This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight on September 7, 2011 at 12 AM EST.

Click HERE to enter!

I was lucky enough to receive one ARC of this incredible book at BEA in May, and this past week I received a second copy (with the new cover) from the lovely folks over at HarperTeen, so I have another hot-list book up for grabs, guys! Here's what you could win:

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: November 15, 2011
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Pages: 352

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Does this one sound like it's up your alley? Read on, my friends...the rules are simple:

As always, you do NOT have to be a follower, but it is always appreciated! This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight EST on Saturday, September 17, 2011.

Click HERE to fill out the form and enter to win!

Well, I'm still swimming in a sea of ARCs that I may never make it to, so I've decided to continue my trend of giveaways for my lovely followers. What's up for grabs now, you ask? See below:

Title: Shut Out
Author: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Poppy
Publish Date: September 5, 2011 (ARC)
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 288

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...

Does this one sound right up your alley? Still interested? Read on, my friends - the rules are simple.

As always, you do NOT have to be a follower to enter, but it's always appreciated!This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight EST on August 17, 2011.

Click HERE to fill out the form and enter! Good luck!

As you all know, I had the great privilege and honour of attending BookExpo America in May, and I'm still swimming in a huge sea of books (many of which are duplicates). So, what better way to celebrate our shared love of reading than to offer some books in a giveaway to all you lovely people, eh?! In that spirit, we're onto giveaway number 3...here's what's up for grabs:

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

February 8, 2001 - Flux

Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Awesome, right?! Here are the rules to enter: You do NOT have to be a follower but, as always, it's always appreciated. This giveaway is open internationally and will end promptly at midnight on Sunday, July 24th. Still interested?

Click HERE to enter!

In My Mailbox is an amazing weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren that features the books we have received during the week. It's so much fun because we get to see what our fellow bloggers stumbled upon this week and add even more to our piles of books! Without further ado, this week I received the following books:

FOR REVIEW

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle (ARC) - Thank you, HarperTeen

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick (ARC) - Thank you, EgmontUSA

Swimming to Chicago by David Matthew Barnes (ARC) - Thank you, Bold Strokes Books

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Now, in the spirit of having had the great fortune of meeting SO many generous publishers lately, I'm offering up another BEA goodie for one of my lucky readers! What am I offering this time, you ask? Why, an ARC of The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore, of course! Here are the rules:

You do NOT have to be a follower, but it's always appreciated!

This giveaway ends promptly at midnight EST on July 15, 2011...and it's international!

Ready to try and win a copy?!

Click HERE to enter!

So, as you all probably know, I spent the better half of this past week at BookExpo America, or better known as BEA at the Javits Center in New York City. I went in with few expectations, but I came out with a lot of books, amazing experiences and the chance to meet with some of my favourite authors and bloggers, as well as some of the fabulous contacts I've made since starting this lovely little site. It would be easy to say that the trip was worth it for the books, alone, but truly my time at BEA was made better by meeting other like-minded bloggers, readers and reviewers like myself, not the least of whom were the fabulous ladies behind Supernatural Snark, Bewitched Bookworms, Hobbitsies, Fiction Folio and more.

Now, a lot of what happened at BEA was exactly as I'd expected. For example, there were lines. LOTS of lines. There were also hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people milling about the center throughout the day. There was also definitely a tangible air of excitement from the time the doors opened and well past closing time. There were, however, also things I didn't expect. The bruises from book bags, overzealous fans and many more events that I was even expecting. I will definitely make a more set schedule next time because I most certainly intend to go again, and I definitely want more time to spend with more people, too. To those who couldn't go, don't worry! There's always next year, and remember that each year, things change up a wee bit...plus, I've made sure to get a few treats for those of you who couldn't make it this year, too.

So, in the spirit of kicking off just the first of many to come BEA giveaways, I'm offering a very coveted ARC of the third book in Maggie Stiefvater's popular Shiver trilogy. What book, you ask? Well, see below (yes, it's really up for grabs!)

Here are the rules:

This giveaway ends at exactly midnight on June 11, 2011, and it's open internationally. You do NOT have to be a follower to enter, but it is definitely always appreciated. The winner will be chosen by the all-too-awesome Random.org, and the winner will be emailed directly. Still interested in the ARC of Forever? 

Click HERE to enter!