The Best Reader [Search results for crusade] 

Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié
Publisher: Simon Pulse (September 7th, 2010)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 470 pages
Source: Publisher
Series: Crusade #1
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
For the past two years, Janen has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.
Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Janen discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Janen is isolated — and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Janen stands to lose.
Then Janen is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Janen must find the courage to trust herself — and her heart.
Review: Crusade is a fabulous start to this series involving so many kick-butt paranormal beings. I would describe it as"an adult book, in a YA package", which means that it is set up like an adult series (with lots of action, characters, details) but made for YA readers.

Crusade doesn't just follow one character. We get to look at each one as we go throughout the story. It jumps from Janen, to Antonio, to the others in their group. Janen is the main focus in the book and she is such a strong character! Janen has been in training to fight The Cursed Ones, vampires who are beginning to take over the world. Many people believed they were harmless but now things are changing and hunters are needed to kill the vampires. Janen has been in Spain but after a family loss, she returns to San Francisco to see her family.

San Francisco isn't what Janen remembers and she is faced with several obstacles along the way. She is alone to fight her own battles and, although she doesn't see herself as a strong member of her group, she proves exactly what she can do.

Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié have created a frightening, dangerous world where vampires rule and humans are too scared to fight. The new group of hunters may be young but their diversity and skills make them a powerful force.

Jenn does have someone in the group she cares deeply about, Antonio. But their relationship comes with it's very own obstacles and dangers. This was an exciting twist for the story and it was interesting to see how Janen felt about Antonio, and how he felt about her. Crusade is full of action-packed adventures and heart-pounding moments! There was never a dull moment. The range of characters we meet in this book constantly amazed me. Each person had their own past that brought them on their journey to Spain and their only common element seemed to be a hatred for The Cursed Ones.

Crusade takes readers on a treacherous journey through locations where vampires hold the power and hunters are the only things keeping them at bay. Full of detailed settings and scary paranormals, Crusade will have readers at the edge of their seats!

Find out more about Nancy Holder Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Find Debbie Viguié
Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Purchase Crusade Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

I am honored to kick off the tour for Damned, the second book in the Crusade series. I have an interview with both authors, Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié and an amazing ARC giveaway listed below. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour. You can see the stops on Nancy Holder's blog.

1. What is it like working with another person on a book? Do you two have a certain system for writing?

Debbie: It’s amazing and fun. What’s great about our relationship is that her strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa. We are able to rely on eachother. Also, the ideas are exciting because with the two of us working on a book it morphs into something awesome that isn’t necessarily what either of us would have done if working solo. Being a co-author means you have to put your ego aside and decide together what’s best for the story. Nancy and I have had no problems doing this with each other and the results have been remarkable! We usually trade off writing chapters and then we swap and edit until by the end we can’t even tell who wrotewhat originally!

Nancy: The real question is, What is it like to working with DEBBIE on a book? It’s no wonder we write about magic. Not only do we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but we often independently come up with the same edits and fixes. We’re about to celebrate a decade of partnership and it’s flown by.

2. This question is for both of you. Who is your favorite character to write about? Do you tend to focus on certain characters over others while writing?

Debbie: I love writing for Jamie. He isn’t my favorite character, but writing him is just fun. We try really hard to give all the characters a lot of time to have their story unfold. We try to make sure we have several point of view scenes for each main character.

Nancy: Antonio. I love him. I admire him and I would tell you that I pity him, but if he found out he’d be very cross with me.

3. How did you develop the world we see in CRUSADE and DAMNED?

Debbie: We thought about what it would be like if WWIII happened with vampires as the enemies. We tried to craft a world that we thought was a realistic depiction of how people and nations react in times of great despair and how they try to fight foes that seem unbeatable.

Nancy: Our vampire hunters are like the Resistance in World War II. They’re outnumbered and outgunned, but they have stealth and courage on their side. There were so many unsung heroes in WWII. This is our tribute to them, and to soldiers in the trenches today.

4. If each of you could describe your main characters in one word each, what would they be?

Debbie:
Jenn heroic
Antonio devoted
Skye conflicted
Jamie explosive
Eriko tormented
Holgar compassionate
Father Juan enigmatic

Nancy:
Jenn couragous
Antonio idealistic
Skye awakened
Jamie bitter
Eriko suffering
Holgar warm
Father Juan mysterious



5. What was your reaction to the new covers for the series?

Debbie: I love, love, love the cover of Damned. I think it’s vibrant and exciting and the fact that Antonio has his sleeves rolled up in a snowstorm shows you just how different he is from humans.

Nancy: I also love the cover of Damned. The name of our cover model is Sterling and he’s been in Los Angeles auditioning for pilot season. Good luck, Sterling!

6. If you could both pick to be a vampire, werewolf, witch, or hunter, which would you pick and why?

Debbie: Werewolf. You get to live a normal life except for one night a month at which point you get to unleash your inner animal. It sounds very cathartic. (Frightening and horrific too, but not as life altering ultimately as the others.)

Nancy: Witch Definitely. You have powers to change the fabric of the universe based in a tradition of goodness and mercy.

Damned by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (August 30th, 2011)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 384 pages
Series: Crusade #2
There is a fine line between love and sacrifice… Antonio would do anything for his beloved fighting partner Janen. He protects her, even suppresses his vampire cravings to be with her. Together, they defend humanity against the Cursed Ones. But tensions threaten to fracture their hunting team and his loyalty—his love—is called into question.
Jenn, the newly appointed Hunter, aches for revenge against the Cursed One who converted her sister. And with an even more sinister power on the rise, she must overcome her personal vendettas to lead her team into battle.
Antonio and Janen need each other to survive, but evil lurks at every turn. With humanity’s fate hanging in the balance, they must face down the darkness… or die trying.

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive an ARC of Damned by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié and a SIGNED bookplate for your book (signed by both authors!).

It's been 3 weeks since I have had an IMM post. I've been so busy with Haunted Halloween and grad. school starting back (yuk!). But since I've gotten so many amazing books I wanted to make sure to do an IMM and thank those people this week!
Thanks to RandomHouse (LOTS of great books!), Lauren Hammond, Shelley Workinger, Julie Berry, Julie Chibbaro, Kari from A Good Addiction, Kimberly Derting, Nancy Holder, Little Brown, HarperTeen, Harlequin Ambassadors, and Susie Fishbein.

Review Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher by Wendelin Van Draanen
Ice Claw by David Gilman
Love Sucks by Lauren Hammond
Solid (SIGNED) by Shelley Workinger
Dark Water by Laura McNeal
Trash by Andy Mulligan
Fixing Delilah (ARC) by Sarah Ockler
Secondhand Charm (SIGNED) by Julie Berry
Deadly (SIGNED) by Julie Chibbaro
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Delirium (ARC) by Lauren Oliver
The Rat Brain Fiasco (SIGNED) by Julie Berry
Curse of the Bizarro Beetle (SIGNED) by Julie Berry
Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah McLean
Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-somethings by Susie Fishbein
Case File: Canyon Creek, Wyoming (5 copies) by Paula Graves

*The picture next to Deadly is also from Julie and her husband! He drew this picture for her Haunted Halloween post HERE and I ask her if he would mind printing it for me and signing it because he is an amazing artist, and just so happens to be the one who illustrates the pictures inside of Deadly. I was so honored that he drew this just for Haunted Halloween and THRILLED when it came in the mail. Thank you so much Julie and Jean-Marc. This means so much to me!
Won Alexis by Alexis Papalia — won from A Good Addiction

Swag Splurch Academy (stickers, bookmarks, and tattoos) Thank you so much Julie! This is the cutest swag!!
The Body Finder (tote, poster (not pictured), stickers, bracelets, bookplates, bookmarks) Kim you are AMAZING! I flipped out when I saw the"Desires" bracelet!
Crusade (card, bracelet, mints) The Wicked mints are for the twitter party swag pack winners. And, Nancy was kind enough to send me 2 Crusade bracelets and some Vampire mints! Nancy, you are one of the sweetest people!! Thank you for all your support during the Haunted Halloween event!
Crossroads Tour swag (bookmarks, tattoos, magnets, and more!) *Not Pictured because a giveaway is starting tomorrow! But thanks so much to Judith Graves for putting together the tour and sending the swagy-goodness!: )

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

*IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristie at The Story Siren and it was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Ghost Cams!

When I’m writing the Possessions series, I work very hard to put myself into the fear zone. I usually watch a scary movie every morning (never at night, because that’s too scary!) and listen to horror movie soundtracks. I also watch ghost cams. Ghost cams are live webcams that take real time footage of places that are said to be haunted. There are ghost cams inside abandoned buildings, in hospital basements, libraries, castles, ships’ docks—if there’s been a ghost story told about it, there’s a good chance there’s a ghost cam taping it. I think they’re especially eerie because they’re silent. They remind me of shipwrecks, also a subject with a creep factor for me. Adding to my unease, ghost cams tend to refresh at fairly long intervals—sometimes as long as five minutes or more—so there’s a possibility that I’ll see something scary that’s already happened, and for some reason, I find that even more frightening. I had a bad scare one Halloween when a friend sent me an email of one of those trick landscapes… you know the kind, where you’re supposed to focus on an element in the distance, and then once your guard is down, the head of a hideous demon fills the screen? I fell for it, and when the demon’s face appeared, I was so frightened I got a headache on the spot. I’m always afraid a ghost cam is going to turn out to be one of those practical jokes, with some awful face staring out at me; and or that someone will saunter into frame pretending to be a ghost. And I won’t know the difference. I think it would be more unnerving to see that a piece of furniture had been moved, seemingly by itself, or to spot a shadow on a wall, or a face in a mirror. Some of the cams provide a means for you to do close ups on different parts of the room, and to submit a sighting. WillardGhost.com’s submission button says, “I SEE A GHOST!” Newstead Abbey has a “Ghost Grabber,” complete with a list of ghosts who have been previously sighted. Just writing about it makes the hair rise on the back of my neck. This is why I still haven’t seen Paranormal Activity. I just don’t think I could make it all the way through… even in broad daylight! Here’s a link to a website that lists a lot of ghost-cam sites. http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/ghost-cams. Enjoy… if you dare! And Happy Halloween!
--Nancy Holder

Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié Publisher: Simon Pulse (September 7th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Hardcover: 480 pages
The ultimate battle. The ultimate love.For the past two years, Janen has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.
Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Janen discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Janen is isolated—and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Janen stands to lose.
Then Janen is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Janen must find the courage to trust herself—and her heart.

Find out more about Nancy Holder Nancy Holder / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook

Purchase Crusade Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Book Trailer

Possessions and The Evil Within

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive a copy of BOTH Possessions and The Evil Within by Nancy Holder.

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is International and ends October 18th.
• Once contacted the winner will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

*Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post with Kathy Charles and a chance to win a copy of John Belushi is Dead.

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.

It has been a crazy month since we moved so I am extremely behind on IMM. This isn't everything from the past month but it's most of the books/swag. Hopefully soon I can get back on track and do them each week again: ) Sorry for the picture overload in this post!

Special thanks to HarperTeen, Penguin, Bloomsbury, Little Brown, Random House, and Sourcebooks.
And, big hugs to Deb Caletti for taking the time to sign my books, Jeri Smith-Ready for sending me a signed copy of Bad to the Bone, Nancy Holder and Erin (love you both!), Angeline Kace, Michelle Zink, and Sophie Jordan for the other goodies this week!

Signed Books

Review
Audition (ARC) by Stasia Ward Kehoe
Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink
The Power of Six (ARC) by Pittacus Lore
Supernaturally (ARC) by Kiersten White
Love Story by Janenifer Echols
The Carrier of the Mark (ARC) by Leigh Fallon
Don't Breathe a Word (ARC) by Holly Cupala
The Fox Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson
Vanish (ARC) by Sophie Jordan
Sweet Venom (ARC) by Tera Lynn Childs
The Dream Catchers by
The Predicteds by Christine Seifert
Glow (ARC +2 HB copies) by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evens
Hades by Alexandra Adornetto
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
Melody Burning (ARC) by Whitley Strieber
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
The Shattering by Karen Healey
… and adorable towel from Little, Brown!

Purchased
A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford
The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells
Birthmarked by Caragh M O'Brien
The Fledgling Handbook 101 by P.C. Cast

Purchased (Signed)

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Gifted (Signed)
Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready
Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (and signed bookplate)

From Ash to Nash Tour (got signed)
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Swag
Firelight and Vanish cards and stickers from Sophie Jordan
Descended by Blood bookmarks (signed) by Angeline Kace
Card from Deb Caletti

Deb Caletti (Signed)
When I worked with Deb Caletti on the Stand Up Against Abuse feature she was kind enough to sign all of the books I had by her!
The Fortunes of Indigo Sky
Honey, Baby, Sweetheart
The Six Rules of Maybe
Stay
The Secret Life of Prince Charming
The Nature of Jade

Something that didn't come IMM!

I got a new car!! It's a 2011 Kia Soul (Alien color!) and I absolutely love it. Technically this is my very first car that's just for me (okay.me and my 3 year old, ha!) But if you are thinking"ya know, this car makes me think of a hamster" you would be correct! It is the car that was featured on the VMAs and I adore their commercial!

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

*IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and it was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Have a spooky or creepy story stuck in your head waiting to get out? How about something scary or freaky that happened to you that you can't explain and you've just been waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell? Well, now is the time, this is your chance!

There will be 3 rounds of voting. Each new round begins on a Sunday and ends the following Friday.

Prizes:

• 4 winners

Entries:

• The scary stories can be fiction or nonfiction
• The story must have a title.
• Stories must be at least 300 words and not to exceed 600 words.
• Stories must be posted on your site/blog so people can vote.

*Note: The story will be voted on by others (not Lisa or myself) so the stories submitted must be on a blog where they can be read. If you do not have a blog, and have a friend who may let you post on theirs, that is fine. You may also use an alias but please make sure it matches the name you submit in the form below.

Rules:

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• The entry form must be filled out by Friday 10/8.
• One story entry per person.
• Stories must be posted on your blog by Friday 10/8.
• Contest is US ONLY and ends October 31st.
• Once contacted the winners will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Honorable Mention

Once you have posted your story on your blog, fill out this form.

* This is the same form found at A Life Bound By Books. Please only fill it out once. Thanks and good luck!

The wonderful Jackie Morse Kessler is here today on her tour for LOSS, the upcoming book in her Riders of the Apocalypse series.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a Loss poster!

Loss if the third book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series. How do you come up with your main characters? Do you have a certain image in mind or do you let them form as you go along?

JMK: I tend to have a basic idea when I start writing, and then the characters get fleshed out as I go. They reveal themselves to me gradually. With Billy, the protagonist of LOSS, it took longer than it did for either Lisa (from HUNGER) or Missy (from RAGE). Part of that might have been because Billy’s a guy, but I think most of it was because he has two consuming issues—he’s horribly bullied, and he’s a caretaker for his Alzheimer’s-suffering grandfather—whereas the protagonists of the earlier books had one consuming issue each (eating disorders in HUNGER; self-injury in RAGE).

If you were to see these characters come to life on the big screen, are there any particular people you would like to see as the actors?

JMK: Ooh. Well, Death looks, sounds and sings like Kurt Cobain, so if they ever make that biopic about him, whoever plays Kurt would be perfect. Or, you know, I’d settle for Matt Damon or Jared Padalecki, because I luv them. Deep luv. Much luv.: ) For the Conqueror, please, please, please, Robert Carlyle. So love him on Once Upon A Time! For everyone else, I’m very open.

Do you have a specific routine while writing or do you just wing it and see what happens?

JMK: There’s a lot of winging going on.: ) But when the words are flowing, everything else falls away. Which can be problematic when, say, dinner is in the oven. When I’m on deadline, I do my best to hit a specific wordcount goal for the day. There may be chocolate involved.

Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler
Publisher: Graphia (March 20th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 272 pages
Series: Riders of the Apocalypse #3

Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. But things change drastically when Death tells Billy he must stand in as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now armed with a Bow that allows him to strike with disease from a distance, Billy lashes out at his tormentors… and accidentally causes an outbreak of meningitis. Horrified by his actions, Billy begs Death to take back the Bow. For that to happen, says Death, Billy must track down the real White Rider—who is lost in his memories.

In his search, Billy travels through White Rider’s life: from ancient Phrygia, where the man called King Mita agrees to wear the White Rider’s Crown, to Sherwood Forest, where Pestilence figures out how to cheat Death; from the docks of Alexandria, where cartons of infested grain are being packed onto a ship that will carry the plague, to the Children’s Crusade in France—all the way to what may be the end of the world. When Billy finally finds the White Rider, the teen convinces the man to return to the real world.

But now the insane White Rider plans to unleash something awful on humanity—something that could make the Black Death look like a summer cold. Billy has a choice: he can live his life and pretend he doesn’t know what’s coming, or he can challenge the White Rider for his Crown. Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
LOSS by Jackie Morse Kessler comes out March 20, 2012!

GIVEAWAY: One lucky commenter below will win a small cover poster of LOSS —and will be entered in the grand prize drawing! The grand prize winner will receive signed copies of HUNGER, RAGE, and LOSS—and will get to name a character in BREATH, the fourth book in the Riders of the Apocalypse series. The grand prize winner will be picked on Sunday, April 1, 2012. No foolin’.

Website | Blog | Twitter

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Just leave a comment below (WITH YOUR EMAIL) to be entered to win a LOSS poster!

For the month of October, here at Confessions of a Bookaholic and over at my co-hosts blog — A Life Bound By Books, we will be hosting a Comment Contest! We love comments, authors love comments, and for each comment you leave on either of our blogs during our Haunted Halloween Event — will get you entries to win some great prizes!!

How does it work you ask? It’s pretty easy – just leave a comment (one comment per person, per post) with your email address and your entered! Comment on as many posts as you’d like. The more posts you comment on, the more entries you get.
Just remember, one comment per person per Haunted Halloween post and you must include your email address each time which lets us know you’d like an entry.

Prizes:

• 4 winners

- 4th Place — 2 books Gothic: Ten Original Dark Tales by Deborah Noyes, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Celia Rees, Barry Yourgrau, Janni Lee Simner, Vivian Vande Velde, Joan Aiken, more… M.T. Anderson, Neil Gaiman, Caitlín R. Kiernan
The Sallie House Haunting by Debra Lyn Pickman

Entries:

• ONE comment per Haunted Halloween post on this blog and A Life Bound By Books counts.
• Comments count as extra entries into the giveaway for the prizes listed. One comment with email per post = 1 extra entry to win!
• No form required. As long as you leave your email and are eligible to win (are at least age 13 and have a US address) you can enter!

Rules:

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• You MUST leave an email with each comment for it to be counted.
• Only one comment for each post will count.
• Comments can ONLY be for Haunted Halloween posts! No other comments will count!
• Copying and pasting comments WILL NOT be counted.
• Contest is US ONLY and ends October 31st.
• Once contacted the winners will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

4th Place

Contest starts NOW so start commenting! Remember to include your email with each comment!

I am "stealing" this from The Story Siren. If you want to find out more about it in my blog. Anyway, these are books I got this week at the bookstore, library, and in the mail, of course. This week was the winter season Library Sale... yes, I said LIBRARY SALE! The great thing about library sales are that the books are not in perfect condition — which means that when my students dog-ear the pages, break the spines, tear the covers, or sneeze on the pages (yes, that happens) it doesn't really matter! I love it! I got three bags worth for $6! For Review: Won: From the library: Purchased:

• "Midnight for Charlie Bone" (Audio)
• "Tuck Everlasting" (Audio)
• "Burned"
• "The Book Thief" (Second copy)
• "The Au Pairs" (Second copy)
• "City of Ashes"
• "The Time Capsule"
• "Where Are the Children" (one of my FAVORITES from High School!)
• "Crusade"
• "Brian's Winter"
• "Titanic Crossing" (favorite from Middle School)
• "The Secrets of Sarah Revere"
• "The Battle of the Labyrinth"
• "The Diary of a Teenage Girl: I Do"
• "Holes"
• "Brinsingr"
• "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen"
• "Fahrenheit 451"
• "Eldest"
• "The Lightning Thief" (second copy)
• "Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code"
• "Pretty Little Liars #1" (third copy)
• "The au pairs: Skinny-Dipping"
• "Speak" (third copy)
• "The Virginity Club"
• "The Year of Secret Assignments"
• "I Am Not Esther"
• "The Sight" (exciting find!)
• "Flawless"
• "Flawless" (second copy)
• "Ghostgirl" (MOST EXCITING FIND)
• "Blood Promise"
• "The Truth About Sparrows"
• "Jane and the Genius of the Place"
• "Jane and His Lordship's Legacy"
• "13 Little Blue Envelopes"

This contest is to show everyone your creative side! We're looking for anyone who would like to enter by making a cover from scratch — something that's scary from the title to the art. If you had a scary story or book, what would you think that cover would look like? Show us, share with everyone for your chance to win.

There will be 3 rounds of voting. Each new round begins on a Sunday and ends the following Friday.

Your covers must be turned in to us or posted on your blog by FRIDAY, 10/8!

Prizes:

• 4 winners

- Honorable Mention — 2 books The Restless Dead by Deborah Noyes, Herbie Brennan, Nancy Etchemendy, Chris Wooding, Marcus Sedgwick, Libba Bray, M.T. Anderson, Holly Black, Kelly Link, Annette Curtis Klause
Dracula by Nicky Raven

Entries:

• The covers should reflect what you would want if you were to write a scary or paranormal book.
• The book cover must have a title.
• An alias can be used as your"author name".

*Note: The covers will be voted on by others (not Lisa or myself). The covers with the most votes will go onto the next round.

Rules:

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• The entry form must be filled out.
• One cover entry per person.
• Entries must be posted on your blog, or emailed to one of us by Friday, 10/8 (Email addresses listed below).
• Contest is US ONLY and ends October 31st.
• Once contacted the winners will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Honorable Mention

Once you have posted your entry on your blog or emailed it to us, fill out this form.

* This is the same form found at A Life Bound By Books. Please only fill it out once. Thanks and good luck!

Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #3) by Simone Elkeles (Walker Books for Young Readers 8/16/2011) Bargains and Betrayals (13 to Life #3) by Shannon Delany (St. Martin's Griffin 8/16/2011) Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead (Razorbill 8/23/2011)

Sweetly (Sisters Red #2) by Jackson Pearce (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 8/23/2011) The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies #2) by Pittiacus Lore (HarperCollins 8/23/2011) Nocturne (Claire de Lune #2) by Christine Johnson (Simon Pulse 8/23/2011)

Hades (Halo #2) by Alexandra Adornetto (Fiewel & Friends 8/30/2010) Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna Dressed in Blood #1) by Kendare Blake (Tor Teen 8/30/2011) Damned (Crusade #2) by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing 8/30/2011)

Twisted (Intertwined #3) by Gena Showalter (Harlequin 8/30/2011) The Fox Inheritance (Jenna Fox Chronicles #2) by Mary E. Pearson (Henry Holt and Company 8/30/2011) Soul Thief (The Demon Trappers #2) by Jana Oliver (St. Martin's Griffin 8/30/2011)

Possess by Gretchen McNeil (Balzer & Bray 8/23/2011) Descended by Blood (Vampire Born #1) by Angeline Kace (Accendo Press 8/23/2011) Fury (Fury #1) by Elizabeth Miles (Simon Pulse 8/30/2011)

If you know of any other new releases for August 16th-31st feel free to add them in the comments so others will know about them!

Today I have the winners for Stand Up Against Abuse. Thank you all so much for joining me in this feature and for helping spread the word about the topic. I plan to do this again next year! I also have the winner of BlogFest 2011! Sorry for the delay in picking winners. The reason for that is listed below.: )

• 1st place
• SIGNED copy of Bitter End
• Stay
• But I Love Him
• The Six Rules of Maybe

• 2nd place
• Bitter End
• Stay
• But I Love Him
• The Six Rules of Maybe

• 3rd place
• Bitter End
• But I Love Him

And the BlogFest winner is…

Abigail R (abbyra@… )
She picked a copy of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
News

Big news! I'm MOVING!! We bought a house and will be moving next weekend, EEK! Pretty much the only things I have packed so far are my books. Once we are settled in, I do plan to do a big giveaway to get rid of some of my extra books. I will still be posting reviews/interviews/and other giveaways while I'm moving because those will, hopefully, be set up by next week.

Guess what?!? I will be kicking off the DAMNED book tour on August 1st! You can see the full list of bloggers and other tour details on Nancy Holder's blog.

You can win a copy of DAMNED on goodreads.

And there's more!

From Nancy's blog: We will also be hosting contests online to give away special signed copies of the limited edition “rock concert style” poster for the Damned Book Tour to several lucky winners during the months of August and September. Stay tuned for details on how to win your signed copy of the poster! One hint on how to win is to visit the blogger tour stops on the dates listed.

You never know when a book or poster will be up for grabs.

To really kick off Damned‘s release, we’re also giving away free copies of “Passing,” the short story that inspired the Crusade series, to anyone who pre-orders a copy of Damned.

All you have to do to receive your electronic copy of “Passing” is to 1) pre-order Damned from any physical or online store; 2) send an email to mailfornancyholder@gmail.com; 3) include the word “Passing” in the Subject Line; and 4) tell us in the message of the email where you pre-ordered your copy of Damned.

Emails must be received by August 29th to be valid.

There is a fine line between love and sacrifice… Read the first chapter of Damned here

And, as many of you know, it is almost time for the release of CHAIN REACTION by Simone Elkeles. I am a huge fan of this series and the book trailer was just released! I also love these book trailers! I think it's so cool that they are set up like a movie and they bring in all of the characters. CUTE!

Be on the lookout for more about this new release coming up on the blog. I may have a very cool video to share with you all soon!

Chain Reaction will be released August 16th.