Halloween Fun

As part of my Spooktacular giveaway, I asked you what your favorite Halloween experiences were so I thought I’d share my favorite experience(s) as well as my Halloween fun this year!

I loved trick or treating as a kid, but my favorite memories were in my teen years. My uncle has a decent amount of wooded land behind his house so he used to set up a Spook Walk every year. He would set up displays, have people scattered around to scare everyone who walked through, and in the middle of the walk he would stop by a fire and tell scary stories. I was enlisted to help a couple years and had a blast. One time I was a vampire in a coffin and I would sit up and scare people. The other year I had fun jumping out of a dark spot on the trail and again scaring people. Do you see a common theme there? ;)

More recently my husband and I have bounced back and forth between our place and our neighbors place on trick-or-treat night and we just hang out watching trick-or-treaters. Well this year we had a small Halloween party to go to so I decided to go all out. I donned a black robe and painted myself up to become…
  




The Grim Reaper…MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
**please forgive the grainy cell phone photos :)

Hubby decided to go a different yet no less scary route…



I wanted to have a grand entrance so when we pulled up to their place I told my husband to go in and tell them I was still messing with my makeup and I'd be there in 10 minutes. Then I went around the back of the house and stood at their sliding glass door and stared into the kitchen where everyone was hanging out. I was there for about 5 min then they started to notice and I really scared some of them! Mission accomplished!! Haha!! I probably looked something like this




The host of the party came up with some creative food choices.

Tapeworms, severed fingers, brain punch, scabs, edible ashtrays, a cat litter box, and corny turds.






 





And here’s me eating some of those tasty tapeworms…











That's all I have for my Halloween fun but don't forget, today is the last day to enter the Spooktacular Giveaway! Just scroll down for the post or click on the image in the right column.

AND Thursday (Nov 3rd) is the last day to enter the 200 Follower Giveaway! Also linked to the image in the right column.

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop




This giveaway hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, I Am A Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm


What's up for grabs...

 The winner will get to pick TWO of the below books:

-Paperback of Dracula
-Hardback Snow White, Blood Red
-Hardback of Warm Bodies

To Enter...
-Leave a comment letting me know your favorite halloween memory or best halloween prank and don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you.


-Following is NOT required
-Open Internationally
-Must be at least 16 years old
-Must enter by October 31, 2011, 11:59pm EST
-Winner will be chosen and emailed on November 1st
-Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email

Good luck and don't forget to check out the other blogs participating in the hop!

RAT Update & End of RAT Questiones

Updates

RAT Start Time: 8 am Saturday
Current Time: 8 am Sunday

WE'RE FINISHED!!!!!!

Books Finished:
Deception by Lee Nichols
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper

Pages Read:
Deception - 310 pages
Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men by Molly Harper - 65 pages read
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper - 242 pages read
Blonde with a Wand by Vicki Lewis Thompson - 237 pages read

854 pages read





End of RAT Questions


Which hour was most daunting for you?
Hours 21-24

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Deception by Lee Nichols
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper


Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
More cheerleaders in the last 3-4 hrs


What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Most everything

How many books did you read?
Almost 3

What were the names of the books you read?
Deception by Lee Nichols
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper
Blonde with a Wand by Molly Harper


Which book did you enjoy most?
Deception

Which did you enjoy least?
I couldn't get into Nice Girls Don't Date dead men. I think I will like the book but it's not a good RAT book

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
Volunteer for later hours

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
Very likely

Thank you again to everyone who stopped by to visit or to cheer me on! And a big congrats to everyone who participated!

Until next time...

RAT Quick Update

Update:

RAT Start Time: 8 am Saturday
Current Time: 12:20 am Sunday

Books Finished:
Deception by Lee Nichols
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper

Pages Read:
Deception - 310 pages
Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men by Molly Harper - 65 pages read
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper - 242 pages read

617 pages read so far

I'm excited that I won the Book Title Mini Challenge :o)

And I'm surprisingly not tired.

Let's DO THIS!!!!!!


;)
Happy Reading RAT'ers!!

RAT Mid-Event Update/Survey

Update -
WE'VE HIT THE HALF WAY MARK!!! WWOOOO HHOOO!!! :)

RAT Start Time: 8 am
Current Time: 8:30 pm

Books Finished:
Deception by Lee Nichols

Pages Read:
Deception - 310 pages
Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men by Molly Harper - 65 pages read
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper - 125 pages read
500 pages read so far



Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?
The Cupcake Queen by Heather Helper

2. How many books have you read so far?
I finished one and started two others

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm not sure what I'll be reading next, probably Blonde with a Wand by Vicki Lewis Thompson

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Kicked hubby out of the house ;) Ok really I just encouraged him to work today

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Hubby is home now and tends to be chatty at just the moments that I don't want him to be...I'm attempting to ignore him, hehe

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I don't think I have been surprised by anything, I pretty much knew what to expect

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Maybe post the reader list a little earlier

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I can't really think of anything to do differently

9. Are you getting tired yet?
I was bored earlier, but I switched books and now I'm back on track.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Drink a lot so you have to pee a lot...sounds a bit odd, but it gets you off your bum ;)

Mini Challenge

I'll admit, I'm going through a bored patch. I don't know if I'm not into the book I'm reading or what. Anyway to break up my time a little I decided to do the book title challenge. I came up with two sentences using book titles.

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Across the universe, beyond the darkness, they hunger.


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Strange Neighbors howling at the moon, dancing with werewolves.


I also wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who has been stopping by and showing their support! It is very much appreciated!

RAT Update

Here's a quick update:

RAT Start Time: 8 am
Current Time: 2:45 pm

Books Read:
Deception by Lee Nichols - Just finished this and of course it ended on a cliff hanger!

Pages Read:
Deception - 310 pages

Next up is: Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men by Molly Harper

Happy Reading to my fellow RAT'ers!!

RAT Mini Challenge

Our first Mini Challenge is to take a picture of something that relates to your book...whether that means recreating a scene or just something that reminds you of a character.

I'm reading Deception by Lee Nichols and the book talks about Urns so here's my version of an urn...

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Read-a-Thon Intro Post

As requested, here are my intro questions


1)Where are you reading from today?

Pennsylvania, USA

2)Three random facts about me…

-I'm a technology junkie
-I have the cutest dog ever :)
-I love trying new things

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

More than I could possibly read ;)

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

To have fun and read around 4 books?..maybe 3...we'll see

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

Make sure you take breaks

My Read-a-Thon Preparedness

I started collecting all of my goodies and books together and this is what I've come up with so far.

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My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent

Goodreads Summary:

She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.

 My Review:

I have been challenged, it is true
To write a rhyming book review.
Let’s see if I’m up to the challenge
Let’s see what I can do.

Enter Kaylee, Enter Nash
They are the stars of this little bash
Kaylee thinks she’s crazy
Because her vision at times gets hazy

She feels the need to scream
And doesn’t know why
She wishes it were all a dream
Because it makes her want to cry

Nash seems to know Kaylee so well
But is he a guy with secrets to tell?
What happens there I cannot say
But Kaylee’s life is now in play

This story is one to read
Lies and secrets abound
Twists and turns all around
So read this book, follow my lead

Now that my challenge is complete
I am passing on this very hot seat
Wendy at Wall to Wall, you may want to sit
Let’s see what you can do, because TAG you’re it!! 

READ-A-THON!!!

Dewey’s Read-a-Thon (which will be referred to as RAT from this point on) begins in less than 24 hours!!

For all of my non RAT’er readers, I apologize but my blog will potentially be bombarded with RAT posts!

I'm really excited for tomorrow morning!  I have only read two books this month (**gasp**, I know) so I’m looking forward to bumping up that number!

I am going to wing it when it comes to book selections. I’m a big mood reader so I think I will just read whatever I’m in the mood for. When it comes to food, I am much more prepared…

My snack/meal list:

Circus Peanuts
Teddy Grahams
Vanilla Wafers
Sesame Sticks
Brownies (which I still have to make)
Mini Peanut Butter Cups (because they have the perfect ratio of chocolate vs peanut butter!)

Pizza Rolls (a nice simple oven meal)
Makings of my FAV sandwich (Sweet Bologna, Cheese, Mustard, Chips)

AAaaand a bag of raw carrots because I felt guilty for all of the yummy goodness above ;)


If you’re RAT’ing this weekend, comment with your blog addy and I’ll try to stop by a couple of times to do some cheering and what not :)

Almost 200 Follower Giveaway



I am almost at 200 followers!! I honestly never thought I would ever have this many followers!! SO to show my appreciation for you all, I'm hosting a very cool giveaway!

Update- I hit 200 followers!!! Because I hit 200, I decided to sweeten the pot...


First Prize

-Signed copy of Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
-Signed copy of The Mediator by Meg Cabot
-unsigned Maria V. Snyder bookmarks (2)
-Signed Bookmark (Little White Lies by Aimee Laine)
-Other random (yet still awesome) swag

 









Second Prize

-Signed copy of Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
-Unsigned Maria V. Snyder bookmarks (2)
-Signed Bookmark (Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready)



To Enter...

-Leave a comment letting me know the best book you've read in 2011 and your email address.

-Must be a follower...I don't normally require this but it is a follower giveaway
-Must be at least 13 years old
-Must enter by November 3, 2011, 11:59pm EST
-Winner will be chosen and emailed on November 4th
-Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email


Good luck and thank you for reading!!

Bronx Zoo, New York

Up until this past weekend I had never been to a zoo, but now I can check that off of my Bucket List. My friend and I took a bus trip to the Bronx Zoo and we had a blast.

We sat at a table with a peacock...
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And rode camels...
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These guys are definitely not as cute up close!!
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But these are...

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I'm pretty sure I was being sized up for lunch...

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This adorable bird was having fun diving...
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And last but not least, a cool building in the zoo...

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Blood Drive Blog Tour - WINNER



The winner of the finished copy of Blood Drive is...
 
 
 Bella!!

Congrats Bella!
I will be emailing you shortly, please respond within 48 hours with your address.

eSignatures – eYea or eNea?

The latest eCraze seems to be eSignatures. For those of you with no physical bookshelf this is definitely the route for you. Authors now have the ability to eSign your books.  Just like eBooks, eSignatures are fantastic when it comes to space and convenience. This is also beneficial to authors who only send their books out into the world in eBook format or authors who cannot travel to distant locations to hold signings.

I have learned that both Kindle and Nook support eAutographs and authors can email a signed cover image to a reader as well. I was clicking around on Kindlegraph’s website and it was quite slow…we’re talking molasses on a cold winters day! I’m not sure if I just entered it at a heavy traffic time or if it’s always finicky, either way make sure you have some time and patience when entering the site.

Personally, I have a love for signed books and own a lot, but they are hard copy books. (Click here for collecting tips and to see most of my collection). I do have one eSigned cover that I have won from Aimee Lane.

Normally I’m all for technology advancements; I usually have the latest and greatest phones with all flavors of bells and whistles BUT for some reason I have a hard time wrapping my little head around eSignatures. So am I on the band wagon? Not quite yet, but I’m running next to it and it’s just a matter of time before I hop onboard.

- - -

Below are the most recent eAdvanced authors I’ve come across and their opinions on eSignatures

Author of Darkness of Light (see my review here)

"The ability to eSign a book is a major leap for authors—especially Indie or self-published authors, who don’t always have the ability to set up the book signing tours so easily arranged for those contracted with the big publishing houses. I also think it is a HUGE benefit for the readers, too. Losing the possibility of having a book signed by the author is an issue for some readers, but this provides an alternative—the only difference being that they don’t get to meet in person. I’ve been using Kindlegraph for a couple of months. Admittedly, when I first signed up, as someone without a drawing tablet to create an autograph easily by hand, it was pretty awkward to utilise. However, the latest updates to the service are a vast improvement—not just on the authors end for signing but also on the finished product the reader receives, and I imagine the company will only continue to improve their methods. So, yep, I’m, all for this advancement in technology."

Author of Little White Lies (this is on my to-read list)

"I LOVE digital/electronic signatures. For books especially. Why? It's fast. It's usually free, and it's accessible through the Internet. I can't make a book signing by someone in California. Will such-and-such author come to the other side of the country for me? Probably not. But if I love a book and have the opportunity to get a signature from the author? I would jump on it. And that's where the power of technology comes into play. I would LOVE to have their signature on my Kindle version or on a cover that they've signed. It's just as special to me because it's from them. It doesn't matter that it's not on paper. It's still to me, from them. Perfection. :)"

- - -

And here are two more eAdvanced authors I’ve come across

Author of Somber Island (see my review here)

Author of Me and My Ghoulfriends (this is on my to-read list)

- - -

I also asked a few of my blogger friends to share their opinions with us


I am almost sure that eSignatures will become popular! That is just the trend that we are following now. eBooks are ever so popular, it just makes sense that eSignatures would be too. I have to say I am amazed at the technology that they can even do something like this!

As far as - Am I interested in them or how do I feel about them myself? I am not really sure! LOL

I guess there are a few Authors I wouldn't mind having the eSignatures of. But I have to admit that I was not intending on keeping all the ebooks I download. I will keep my favorites but just delete the others. So I would have to make sure that I kept the ones with Signatures in a safe spot on my nook so I don't delete them by mistake.

Also it is easy to show someone your signed book but a little more difficult to show them your nook with a few sigs. in it.

It also seems a little fake to me. With a real book you can see the ink, tell it’s real. You can't do that on an eSignature.

So... I guess I would have to sum it up by saying that - while I certainly wouldn't pass any eSigs. up, I don't think I will really go gaga over them like I would a real book.

Kay from K-Books  

When I first heard about signed e-books I was kinda like huh? How's that work? Then I received one and I do like it but I am very unsure as to how they will be received. I think it's a cool idea for people who mainly read e-books but I am very much a hard-copy kind of person and as much as i love my kindle I will always prefer paperbacks and hardbacks. I get so excited about signed hard copies of books as you can pick them off your shelf and look at them whenever you want. With e-books you have to search on your device to find the signature so I personally don't think they will be as prized as signed hard-copy books.


For me this I am not a fan of the Esignatures as I don't have an Ereader and the excitement of it is lost for me. Maybe in the future I could be converted into seeing the fun in this, but for now holding the actually paperback in my hands and seeing the actual product is so exciting for me, and knowing that the author has actually held the book and signed it with their own hand is pure excitement.

Cassandra from monkeycstars

I actually thought the idea of eAutographs was really cool. When I first saw it on Amazon, I wanted one. But, then I started to really think about it and I decided it's just a great BONUS to have. I'd much rather have a real hardcopy signed book--way more impressive in my eyes. I need physical books in my hands so, that's all I really want. I don't really think the eAutographs will catch fire and last for too much longer.

Chris from Reading is FUNdamental

Truth be told, I’ve never been one who was into collecting autographs of any sort. The only signed copy of a book I have is Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice, and that was a gift from my Uncle Joey who knew what a fan of Anne’s I was.

The idea of the book signing itself, however, is something I really enjoy. I would love to attend one, it’s just never worked out so that I could. Now-a-days, I read almost everything via audible or kindle, neither of which is very conducive to traditional signing, so I’m in favor of eAutographs done this way:
http://hothardware.com/News/Need-Your-Eb...

Essentially, those of us with eReaders would be able to participate at live signings while maintaining our preferred media. I’m not in favor of it used in a more generic manner, however. Say, for the publisher to jack up the price by offering signed copies in which I have no way of verifying that it was the author or some unknown person who actually did the signing. Afterall, in the digital format an author's signature can be reproduced ad infinitum and personalization of the message could be written by anyone.

- - -

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this post, it was great to see the different perspectives!!

- - -

What are your opinions on eSignatures?

Do you think they will spread like a wildfire, or will they continue to smolder for a few more years?

Do you know any eAdvanced authors not mentioned in this post?



Random Crumb - Today in History

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Today in 1888, Thomas Edison filed a patent for the optical phonograph (the first movie)

What would we do without movies? I, for one, am a movie lover!

Movies I've watched recently...

- The Footloose remake. I loved the original and the remake is as good as the original. My only gripes are that Ariel got on my nerves a smidge and the warehouse dance scene with Ren could have been a little better...but really that's just nitpicking.

- Fast Five which was great! I love all of the Fast movies, they have a star filled cast, awesome action scenes, and of course a good story line.

- Drive. I don't want to tear this one apart too much. I was expecting a movie similar to the Fast movies but I was very disappointed with it. One of my gripes was that the main character hardly spoke, which was fine in some scenes because it made him kind of seem more intimidating but overall it really annoyed me.

Have you watched any good movies lately?

Book Title Poetry

I've seen book title poetry a few times and thought it would be fun to give it a whirl. The goal is to write poetry by only using book titles.

I decided to further torture challenge myself by limiting my book title choices to only the physical books I own.

Here are my first attempts...

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Ghost Story
A Brush of Darkness
Panic
99 Coffins
Bled Dry
Breaking Dawn
She Wakes

Nightmare

- - -

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Dear Cupid,
Hello, It's Me
Juliet
One Wish...
A Hopeless Romantic
The Perfect Match

- - -

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When Darkness Comes
They Wake
On the Prowl
Insatiable Bloodlust

The Girl Next Door
Easy Prey
Isolation In the Woods
Death Du Jour

- - -

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Through Her Eyes

Insatiable Personal Demon
Paranoia, Panic
Just Breathe
Heart Sick Compulsion
Going Too Far
Red

Scars

Maria V. Snyder Book Signing

I had the pleasure of going to a Maria V. Snyder book signing this evening.

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I got two anthologies signed for myself

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And a whole bunch of books signed for giveaways here and two Goodreads groups I'm in. I haven't decided how I want to split up the giveaways yet.

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And Maria was awesome and gave me a lot of swag goodness.

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AND I got my hands on bookmarks for Touch of Power which is being released in December!!!

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Keep your eyes peeled for giveaway(s) in the coming weeks!!

Here are some places to find Maria:
Website
Blog
Goodreads