QUICKY GIVEAWAY! GONE BY LISA MCMANN

GONE by LISA MCMANN

This is an ARC and it is just too scary for me!  How funny is that!  I am very squeamish, so I just can't bring myself to read it, although I've heard this is an awesome trilogy!  This book is the 3rd in the series, and I am offering it up for a quick giveaway!!!!!  Contest is open to US and Canada only as I will be paying for shipping myself.  A HUGE thank you to MICHELLE over at Simon and Schuster Canada for sending this along to me! 

The rules are super simple, you must be a follower and comment here.  Please leave a way for me to contact you, if you leave your email address and do NOT want me to publish it just let me know and I will note your entry and not publish your comment. 

ONE ENTRY per person, please.

CONTEST ENDS ON FEBRURARY 15TH.

GOOD LUCK!!!  :0)

REVIEW: LEVIATHAN BY SCOTT WESTERFELD AND STEAMPUNK GIVEAWAY!

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Firstly, I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Michelle at Simon and Schuster Canada for sending this out to me!!!!

And now on to my thoughts on this book.  I can sum it up in two words:

HOLY.


CRAP.

I literally just finished it yesterday and I cannot WAIT to tell you all about it!  Now I have to somehow put my words into some sort of coherant meaning. 

This is my very first Steampunk EVER, and suffice it to say it will NOT be my last.  I am so in love with this genre I cannot even see straight. 

Westerfeld has recreated World War  I in this little gem, and in it we follow two main characters - Deryn and Alek.  Deryn is a 15 year old girl who wants desperately to join the air service and train as an airman, and with the help of her brother she disguises herself as a lad and does just that.  Turns out she is naturally good at pretty much everything that comes her way, which makes her a solid asset to the military.  Alek is the son of the Duke and his common-wife who were murdered at the beginning of the story.  He is hoisted from his room by two of his father's men and quickly realizes that he is on the run for his life. 

The world that Westerfeld has created is fascinating!  Basically there are two camps and two trains of thoughts.  There are the Clankers and the Darwinists. The Clankers are the sort that use these incredible machines to fight the war, and the Darwinists use fabricated animals.  Seen through the eyes of Deryn, the beasties are to be respected and even loved, but seen through the eyes of a Clanker they are repulsive.  And Westerfeld gives us an authentic look from both view points. 

The story is loosely based on actual facts from World War I.  The "shot heard round the world" when Arch Duke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian-Hungary throne and his wife were murdered, started the war and in Leviathan the beginning is exactly the same scenario.  He explains the similiarities and differences in the last section of the book.  For history buffs and the layman it is very interesting!

The Steampunk genre is awesome as it intertwines futuristic creatures and machines with old world ideologies and time frame.  The clothing is extremely cool, with the goggles and the boots and leather and bowler hats, along with the inventions of the time. 

The artwork is GEORGOUS, by Keith Thompson, and it accompanies the book nicely with illustrations sprinkled throughout.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to ANYONE of ANY age.  It is a relatively fast read, and you will be immersed into the Steampunk world in all its glory.  What an amazing movie it would make!  And the BEST part is that this is the FIRST in the TRILOGY, I just found out.  WOOT! 

RATING: 5/5

Now for the GIVEAWAY portion of this post!!  Because I got this book for free for the purposes of review, I want to show my support for this author and select one lucky winner for which I will order the book from Book Depository and ship it directly to them! 

Here are the rules to enter:  PLEASE PROVIDE SEPERATE COMMENTS FOR EACH ENTRY OR THEY WILL ONLY BE COUNTED AS ONE!

• post a comment, you do not have to put your email address if you do not want to, you then must just check back here on the contest end date when I will announce the winner and we will sort out the details then.  (1 entry)
• Follow my blog and get an extra 2 entries.
• Post about the contest in your sidebar or tweet about it and get another 2 entries.

Total of 5 chances to win! 

The contest will close on January 15th at midnight Alberta time.  January 16th I will announce the winner and will follow up with email if it is provided.

This contest is open to EVERYONE!  (Thank you to LADYBUG for the tip for ordering books from The Book Depository for free shipping!)
Good luck to the winners, and I can't wait to hear what the winner will think about the book!!

PS since this giveaway will definately bring me over the 200 follower mark, I will be doing the huge giveaway once we hit 300!  :0)

YA ASPIRING AUTHORS COULD WIN A CHANCE TO GET DISCOVERED!

This is SUPER EXCITING news!!!    In honor of the annual writing competition, Nanwrimo, some of the biggest names in publishing (Random House, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Source Books, and Penguin) has teamed up with  New Yorks' extremely popluar Gotham Writers' Worshop,  to bring you the YA Author contest that just might be your big break!

Here are the details (from the official Press Release provided by Source Books):

 Get in front of TOP YA Editors and Agents with ONLY the first 250 words of your YA novel!

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win both exposure to editors, and a one-on-one chat with one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks.

Regina Brooks is the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency and the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults. Brooks has been instrumental at establishing and building the careers of many YA writers, including three-time National Book Award Honoree and Michael Printz Honoree Marilyn Nelson, as well as Sundee Frazier—a Coretta Scott King Award winner, an Oprah Book Pick and an Al Roker book club selection. As an agent, she is known for her ability to turn raw talent into successful authors.

ADDITIONALLY: The top 20 submissions will all be read by a panel of five judges comprised of top YA editors at Random House, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Sourcebooks and Penguin. All 20 will receive free autographed copies of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks. Of the 20, they will pick the top five submissions and provide each author with commentary. ONE Grand Prize Winner will win a free 10-week writing course courtesy of the Gotham Writer’s Workshop.

Please submit all entries via the contest website at http://www.writingclasses.com/ContestPages/YAPitch.php. One entry per person; anyone age 13+ can apply. Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited). Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1 until 11:59pm (ET),

NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—this contest is meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words.

So apply now! http://bit.ly/1PYGaN

JUDGING

YA literary agent Regina Brooks, along with editors at Sourcebooks, will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by Dan Ehrenhaft, head Acquisitions Editor at Soucebooks Fire; Alisha Niehaus, Editor at Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin); David Linker, Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books; Michele Burke, Editor at Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House); and Evette Porter, Editor at Harlequin. These judges will whittle the top 20 down to four winners and a grand prize winner—all five will be provided commentary on their submissions.