I (heart) Dogs Week 5!

Welcome in for Week 5 of the I <3 Dogs blogfest, hosted by the awesome blog, Small Town Rescue.

In case you want to join the fun, here are the weekly themes:

Week 1 (2/20-2/26) – Favorite animal organization/rescue

Week 2 (2/27-3/4) – Favorite pet story (Tell us about your favorite pet! Doesn’t have to be a dog).

Week 3 (3/5-3/11) – Favorite animal-related book, movie, song, etc.

Week 4 (3/12-3/18) – What I know about dog rescues organizations?

Week 5 (3/19-3/25) – The gorgeous, the active, and the unique. Tell us your favorite dog breed.

Week 6 (3/26-4/1) – Favorite Dog/Pet Stores in your area.

Week 7 (4/2-4/8) – Favorite dog parks and dog-friendly attractions in your area.

Week 8 (4/9-4/15) – If I had a dream… What would you do for rescue dogs if you could?

I love dogs of all kinds, all breeds, all shapes and sizes and colors. I am the proud mother of two mutts who own my heart. But since "mutt" isn't a breed (that I know of), I have to go with my old standby to answer today's question.

My first dog (and by "my" I mean, the one who chose me) was a black lab we named Jack. He mutinied against my neighbors when he saw we had a girl dog, and I loved him with everything I had. Jack was my best friend. I told him all my secrets, and he'd stare at me with nothing but love in his honey-colored eyes. 

I have a lot of stories about Jack. We had him for yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeears. There was the time when he and Mollie (above-mentioned girl dog) had a litter of puppies and he consistently ran to the top of the hill where they couldn't get to him. There's the many excursions he and Mollie took with my sis and me. There's the time I watched him and Mollie tag team a possum (it was totally bad ass, too--she ran it under a building and when it came out the other side, he grabbed it and killed it). 

However, my favorite Jack story is this:

We often joked about how Jack had claimed me. Mostly it was because he monopolized my time, which I had no issue with. He always sought me out, and while he didn't intentionally ignore anyone since he was a belly rub addict, it was obvious I was his pick.

One day, my sister and I took Jack and Mollie for a walk out the road and back. It was a nice, warm summer day. The dogs were getting a little heated, so we took a break. I sat on a log at the fork in the road, and Jack took his usual spot beside me. In the midst of a conversation with Sis, she burst out laughing and I couldn't figure out what was so funny. Then I looked at my left side. Jack had PEED on me. 

I don't mean that he'd meant to pee on something else and hit me a little. He straight up PEED ON ME. 

I couldn't be mad. After all, we joked about how he'd claimed me. I guess he just wanted to make it official.

He's the reason I love Labradors. If ever there was an advocate for a breed, it was him, and I'm grateful that Jasper got some of great-great-great-great-great grampa Jack's sweet attributes, including an absolute love of belly rubs. 

Don't forget to check out the other entries. Stop by the Small Town Rescue blog for a chance to win some great prizes!

Sky Pirates Unite!

Like most people, I'm totally enamored with Steampunk. I love the ideas of it, and how it combines my love of the Victorian Era with my love of crazy science-y things. And like most people, I don't exactly know what Steampunk entails.

That's why I'm calling on my Steampunk-loving, Steampunk-writing, gear & steam enthusiasts to help me celebrate this awesome genre. 

This is the official call for guest posts, and I'll be promoting it for a while. I'm planning on doing a giveaway myself at the end of Steampunk Appreciation Week, and any authors who participate and want to do giveaways of their own are absolutely encouraged. If you'd like to participate with a guest post or interview (or both!) then please email me at c (dot) peace (at) live (dot) com! Please include topic, what on date you'd like to participate, if you plan on doing a giveaway (and of what), and the appropriate links for any sort of promos. Thanks!!!!!!!

Let's have some fun with this! ;)

I (heart) Dogs blogfest Week 4!

Welcome in for Week 4 of the I <3 Dogs blogfest, hosted by the awesome blog,Small Town Rescue.

In case you want to join the fun, here are the weekly themes:

Week 1 (2/20-2/26) – Favorite animal organization/rescue

Week 2 (2/27-3/4) – Favorite pet story (Tell us about your favorite pet! Doesn’t have to be a dog).

Week 3 (3/5-3/11) – Favorite animal-related book, movie, song, etc.

Week 4 (3/12-3/18) – What I know about dog rescues organizations?

Week 5 (3/19-3/25) – The gorgeous, the active, and the unique. Tell us your favorite dog breed.

Week 6 (3/26-4/1) – Favorite Dog/Pet Stores in your area.

Week 7 (4/2-4/8) – Favorite dog parks and dog-friendly attractions in your area.

Week 8 (4/9-4/15) – If I had a dream… What would you do for rescue dogs if you could? 

Back home (home being the smallish town of Harlan, KY), my mom's a part of the local humane society. One of the women in charge is an AMAZING woman named Jeannie, who gives everything she has to the animals she rescues. Last tally at her house? Over forty dogs. Forty. And that's not including cats. Or any of the other random animals they seize. Jeannie commits herself to protecting animals from abusive owners and seeking prosecution for them. She's incredible.

Jeannie has seized dogs, cats, horses, mules, you name it, she's seized it from a neglectful owner. She and her fellow humane society members are Harlan's Animal Cops.

She also finds strays, and believe me, Harlan has a lot of them. She's been instrumental in helping to provide affordable spaying and neutering for lower-income families who love their animals but can't afford the procedures. In a town with a high-volume high-kill shelter, these changes carry a huge impact in the community.

One of the HHS's new "pet projects" is getting horses in Kentucky covered under Romeo's Law. For anyone unfamiliar with this law and the case that prompted it, settle in for a brief history lesson.

Romeo's owner was caught on tape brutally beating his dog. Before this law was enacted, dog and cat abuse was only a misdemeanor offense. Under Romeo's Law, abuse is a class D felony--but only in the cases of dogs and cats.

So far, there hasn't been much action on the petition to get horses included under Romeo's Law. So...I started my own online petition. I can haz signatures?

Don't forget to check out the Small Town Rescue blog to read the ladies' contributions AND for deets on how to win some pretty stellar prizes!

Change.org|Start an Online Petition »

I (heart) Dogs Blogfest - Week 3!

Welcome in for Week 3 of the I <3 Dogs blogfest, hosted by the awesome blog, Small Town Rescue.

In case you want to join the fun, here are the weekly themes:

Week 1 (2/20-2/26) – Favorite animal organization/rescue

Week 2 (2/27-3/4) – Favorite pet story (Tell us about your favorite pet! Doesn’t have to be a dog).

Week 3 (3/5-3/11) – Favorite animal-related book, movie, song, etc.

Week 4 (3/12-3/18) – What I know about dog rescues organizations?

Week 5 (3/19-3/25) – The gorgeous, the active, and the unique. Tell us your favorite dog breed.

Week 6 (3/26-4/1) – Favorite Dog/Pet Stores in your area.

Week 7 (4/2-4/8) – Favorite dog parks and dog-friendly attractions in your area.

Week 8 (4/9-4/15) – If I had a dream… What would you do for rescue dogs if you could?


Today is one of the weeks I'm most excited about because I get to talk about two of my favorite dog-related media...thingies. 


I've been a dog-lover since I was a wee one, and that is evidenced most by my love of and devotion to the book The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey. I made my parents read me this book over and over and over again because I couldn't get enough of the precocious little puppy. Also add in the fact I'm a little poky myself, and you have a match made in literary heaven. Of course, the book had its lesson as well, but I thought I could live without dessert if I got to roam around ;) 


My other absolute favorite dog-related thing of all time is Disney's The Lady and the Tramp. OH! It's still my favorite Disney movie to this day (even more than Beauty and the Beast) because it's a sweet tale of love and acceptance. Tramp was by far my favorite, although I loved Jock and Trusty (I still want a Scotty dog to name Sean Connery). I remember when I was a kid being incredibly affected by the scene in the dog pound, where this sweet, kinda dopey dog is taken into the back to be put down. I cried then and I cry now thinking about it. If I had to pick a place where my love for adoption and taking in strays started, it would be this movie. 


Don't forget to check out the Small Town Rescue blog for your chance to win a copy of Katharine Ashe’s newest historical romance When a Scot Loves a Lady or a $15 Starbucks Giftcard.

I (heart) Dogs Blogfest - Week 1!

Welcome to Week 1 of the I <3 Dogs blogfest (AKA an awesome excuse to post pictures and info about totally adorable dogs *and the hot guys who love them, as demonstrated by the yummy Matthew Gray Gubler of Criminal Minds*). The blogfest is hosted by the awesome Small Town Rescue, and its' not too late to join in.

Unfortunately, my giveaway didn't quite pan out as I'd hoped, but that's okay. I'm still going to donate $25 to a shelter and pick a winner, and I'll try to have giveaways throughout the blogfest to encourage participation. I will do anything for puppies, as I have two of my own, and about 10 between my parents, my sister, and myself, most of them adopted (or born under my parents' bed, in Jasper, Max, and Skye's case).

In case you want to join the fun, here are the weekly themes:

Week 1 (2/20-2/26) – Favorite animal organization/rescue

Week 2 (2/27-3/4) – Favorite pet story (Tell us about your favorite pet! Doesn’t have to be a dog).

Week 3 (3/5-3/11) – Favorite animal-related book, movie, song, etc.

Week 4 (3/12-3/18) – What I know about dog rescues organizations?

Week 5 (3/19-3/25) – The gorgeous, the active, and the unique. Tell us your favorite dog breed.

Week 6 (3/26-4/1) – Favorite Dog/Pet Stores in your area.

Week 7 (4/2-4/8) – Favorite dog parks and dog-friendly attractions in your area.

Week 8 (4/9-4/15) – If I had a dream… What would you do for rescue dogs if you could?

For this week's theme, I have two choices, one local to my area and one not. 

First, I want to recognize SAAP, the Stray Animal Adoption Program. Located in Newport, Kentucky, SAAP works tirelessly to adopt out the animals under their care. They don't have a shelter, so all of the animals up for adoption are fostered in homes. The group is solely volunteer-run, and they've adopted out hundreds of animals since the program's founding in 1998.

I have a lot of respect for SAAP and the people who run it. Unfortunately, I haven't participated in a volunteer capacity yet, but I've met a lot of the people who run the adoptions at PetSmart, and they're some of the nicest, sweetest people who adore the animals they're trying to adopt out. Whenever I go out there on adoption weekends, I'm always astounded by how much care and attention they give to the animals. They're also incredibly knowledgeable about them and are more than willing to answer any questions and handle any concerns. I really, really love this group.

My second group is the Best Friends Animal Society located in Kanab, Utah. I've adored this organization since I first watched the show Dogtown on NatGeo. They take in all kinds of animals--dogs, cats, horses, lizards, parrots, wild animals (which they rehabilitate and re-release). What I love most about BFAS isn't that it's a no-kill refuge. It's that they hire people who take time to work with animals I've seen put to sleep on other animal shows (Animal Cops, especially). They'll work with aggressive animals, get to the root of the problem, and either help the animal become adoptable, or they keep it for the rest of its life. I've never seen a dog put down due to aggression--only terminal illness. If only every organization could do that...

Well, those are my picks. As our Wk 1 continues don’t forget to comment here or on any of our blog participants' posts to enter our drawing for the book PRINCIPLE DESTINY by David A. Cleinman or a chance to win a $15 Starbucks gift card! Thank you for your support and your time!

A Touch AWESOME Blogfest WEEK FIVE

Hello and welcome to the last week of the A Touch AWESOME blogfest. I am SO SAD to see this blogfest end because it's been so much fun to do and has really reawakened my love of Leah Clifford's awesome YA urban fantasy craziness A Touch Mortal. 

For anyone who's somehow been out of the loop, Katelyn Torrey of Tales of Books and Bands and I have been hosting this 5-week A Touch Mortal love fest in celebration of the sequel A Touch Morbid, which releases in A WEEK AND TWO DAYS!!!!!! Woo hoo!

Even though we haven't had an overwhelming participation, I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to share these last five weeks with Katelyn and Leah and the rest of the awesome Darklings. 

Here's a reminder of what we did:

Week 1 (1/21-1/27): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite quotes from A Touch Mortal.

Week 2 (1/28-2/3): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite swoon-worthy moments from A Touch Mortal.

Week 3 (2/4-2/10): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite characters from A Touch Mortal.

Week 4 (2/11-2/17): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite ANYTHING. This is a free week to post your top 5 favorite randoms from A Touch Mortal.

Week 5 (2/18-2/24): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite moments from A Touch Mortal.

And as promised, here's my top 5 favorite moments from A Touch Mortal.

1. "Shopping with Kristen." Oh. My. God. I love Kristen. If Gabe wasn't in this book, Kristen would be my absolute favorite. This scene is so hilariously uncomfortable that it created an insta-like for Kristen.
   
   FYI: By "Shopping with Kirsten" I mean grave-robbing.
   
2. The Funeral. The first time Kristen takes Eden out after Eden's...um...unfortunate demise, they go to a funeral. It's morbid (oh hey, look at that), and Kristen's blase attitude amuses me to no end. Actually, Kristen amuses me to no end. She's on my top 10 list of favorite characters of all time. Just below Gabe.
   
3. Eden and Az's reunion. Admittedly, this did NOT go like I thought it would. I was so excited for Eden and Az to see each other and for her to see he was okay, but hoooooo boy. I would NOT want to get on Eden's bad side! I love scenes that don't go like I think they will. Honestly, this entire book doesn't go like I thought it would. That's part of its awesome.
   
4. The jumper. This scene is cool because it's actually A Touch Mortal's original beginning point (or jumping off point! *rim shot* I'm here all week, folks). The group of Siders watching this dude threaten to jump is so entertaining for me because, again, they have a fantabulous reaction--mild curiosity. It's actually quite fitting for the group. They've already been where this guy is, and they kinda know how it's gonna end up. See you on the other side, mofo.
   
5. The showdown. I. LOVE. Epic showdowns. And Leah delivers with the last several chapters of A Touch Mortal. Rooftop showdown between good and evil? Yes please! It doesn't get better than that! What I love most about the showdown is that it's another genesis for our beloved main characters. Eden and Az are going to start some sort of effed up life together and Gabe...oh Gabe. Gabe has to figure out what to do with himself. I have NEVER been more anxious to find out what happens to a character than I have with Gabe. I adore him, and my hope is that somehow, it'll all be better in the end.
   
   See that, Leah? It better be okay for Gabe. Or else I WILL HUNT YOU.
   
   OK. Maybe not that, but seriously...the guy needs a break. 

Well, that does it for the A Touch AWESOME Blogfest. Katelyn and I have had a fantastic time putting this together for you, and we hope that you've enjoyed reading these posts. If you haven't read Leah's book, hopefully these posts have enticed you to pick it up.

Keep your eyes here or at Kate's site for a major announcement regarding some awesome Twitter fun AND a giveaway or two. Also, if you've not done it, you should add A Touch Mortal and A Touch Morbid on Goodreads. Also, you can follow Kate, Leah, and me on Twitter!

Darklings, don't forget to link up with us. If you want to talk all things A Touch Mortal with us on Twitter, just use the hashtag #Darklings. 

Once again, thanks for reading! Please please please show Katelyn some love. Without her, none of this would have been possible.

A Touch AWESOME Blogfest WEEK TWO

Welcome to Week Two of the A Touch AWESOME blogfest, the five weeks of fun I'm hosting alongside the fabulous Katelyn Torrey!

Don't forget to check Leah Clifford's blog for information regarding awesome swag, especially for pre-orders of Mortal's sequel, A Touch Morbid.

This week's theme is: 5 Favorite Swoon-worthy Moments.


Now, for me, the term "swoon-worthy" doesn't just mean romantic. I'm also a huge fan of self-sacrifice, and there seems to be a lot of that in this book.

So let's get started, shall we? I tried to keep these spoiler-free. Really I did. But...I kinda couldn't...so...yeah......I'll warn you at least.

1. When Az shows Eden his wings. I absolutely adore this scene. I love Eden's trepidation. I love Az's fear. To me it all feels so potent, so real. There's a lot of emotion in this entire book, but this scene is the beginning of it.
   
   Excerpt: Her brow wrinkled. You've had them the whole time, right?" He nodded, his heart in his throat as she seemed to consider. "Anything else you wanna get off your chest?"
   
   Az dropped his hands to hers. So much, he thought. "How are you okay with this?" he asked. It didn't feel real. her still being there.
   
   She pulled her hands away slowly. "I don't know." Her voice grew even quieter. "If I freak out and leave, I lose you. I don't want that." Her fingers found his again, entwining with them as their eyes met. "I want you. And if this is you, well..."
2. The first scene between Gabe and Kristen. Oh. My. God. This is when I started loving Gabe. The tenderness he shows Kristen in this scene made me puddle. After that, I was sold.
   
   Excerpt: "I came as soon as I could."
   
   Kristen swiveled the chair toward him finally, her face indifferent. The quiver in her lip was so slight, he almost missed it.
   
   "Oh, Kristen," he said quietly. He didn't have to read her mind to guess her thoughts. "I should have called. Did you think I wasn't coming?" She seemed to give in suddenly, forgetting the pedicure and hurrying across the floor to throw herself into his arms. He hugged her tight.
3. Adam and Eden. I like Adam. I also like Az, though. Really, above all, I like Gabe, but Eden's not his type *ahem*. But I thought Adam was good for her. At least in the beginning...
   
   Excerpt: "I watched [Az] sleep once. The last night, before I..." She cut off, forced herself to go on. "I was so tired but I wouldn't let my eyes close because I was afraid he wouldn't be there when I woke up, that I just dreamed him."
   .....
   [Adam] stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. His breath hit her cheek as she kissed his neck once.
   
   "Don't," he whispered, tucking her head back against his shoulder gently. "I don't want that."
   
   Eden felt her face flush. "I thought..."
   
   "I want you to close your eyes. I want you to fall asleep first."
   
   "Why?" she asked, suddenly afraid he would slip out of the room as soon as she did.
   
   "Because I'll be here in the morning."
4. This one scene with Gabe... Ok, it's kinda hard for me to explain this one because it's more the idea than the actual moment. But there's a scene when Gabe...falls. He does it for Az and for Eden, so they can be together. Happy. *sigh* Gabe's amazing. To keep it spoiler-free, there's no excerpt for this one.
5. Gabe trying to play matchmaker. He's adorable no matter what he does. Really. I absolutely love him.
   
   Excerpt: "You have to call Az," he said. "You know how he feels about you. He'll protect you better than anyone else could. And if something happens to me, he'll need you to get him through without a Fall."
   
   Her head started a slow shake, building until she finally met his eyes. "No. He's not my responsibility. I'm over him."
   
   "You've always been a terrible liar." He pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't be so stubborn! This is your excuse to call him. Use those feminine wiles to get back what you need"--he cast a quick glance at the door and stepped away from her-- "instead of luring in boys who will never measure up. I trust you, and I trust you're smart enough to swallow your pride and do what's best. They'll protect you for now, but soon I'm afraid it won't be enough."

I (heart) Dogs blogfest ***UPDATE***

Hey guys, rescue group Pawsibilities is hosting a blog tour highlighting rescue dogs and the owners who love them. I'm planning on participating (and this does run concurrent with the A Touch AWESOME blogfest for about a month, so you guys will have lots to read!), and I hope you guys will too.

If anyone doesn't know, shelter dogs are incredibly close to my heart, and I'm a HUGE fan of adopting vs. buying from a pet store for a variety of reasons. So I'm certainly looking forward to this.

For more information, click here.

***UPDATE*** I'm going to enter every person who leaves a comment on this post AND participates in the blogfest into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card or a $25 donation to the shelter of your choice. I'll check with Landra and have the drawing on Feb 20th, the day the blogfest starts.***

A Touch AWESOME Blogfest WEEK ONE

OMG YOU GUYS! It's FINALLY HERE!

The A Touch AWESOME blogfest has officially begun!!!!

Katelyn and I are so excited to be hosting this. Don't forget to check out her blog for her answers and Leah's blog for important info regarding A Touch Mortal's sequel, A Touch Morbid.

Just a reminder of what we're doing:

Week 1 (1/21-1/27): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite quotes from A Touch Mortal.

Week 2 (1/28-2/3): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite swoon-worthy moments from A Touch Mortal.

Week 3 (2/4-2/10): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite characters from A Touch Mortal

.

Week 4 (2/11-2/17): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite ANYTHING. This is a free week to post your top 5 favorite randoms from A Touch Mortal.

Week 5 (2/18-2/24): Anytime during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite moments from A Touch Mortal.

So let's get on to this week's fun!

For people who haven't read A Touch Mortal: 1) Shame on you! Getting ready for this blogfest has reawakened my absolute love for this book. And I'm excited to be able to gush about it for FIVE WEEKS. 2) I've tried to keep my choices spoiler-free. But I'm not making promises.

Onward to this week's topic. My five favorite quotes from A Touch Morbid. 

1. "The water's not even blue, jackass." ~Eden. Admittedly, when I first read this line, I snorted. But the best thing is that it's available on a T-SHIRT (and other assorted apparel).
2. "You're going to regret me." ~Az. Sure but without him, we wouldn't have much of a book.
3. "You're nothing but a rumor now." ~Kristen. I know it's on the book jacket, but when I read it in the text I got chills.
4. "Az trying to cook breakfast." Gabe smiled. "The bane of chickens everywhere." ~Gabe *sigh, Gabe*. I lol'd at that too.
5. "Your boyfriend's heartstrings make such a lovely melody when they snap."~Luke. Oh, Luke is so deliciously eeeeeeeeevil. 

Peeps, keep in mind that with every pre-order of A Touch Morbid, Leah is giving away a super-awesome gift: a signed and numbered 8x10 of Morbid's cover, which is awesome. It looks like this:

*Gorgeous, right????*

A Touch AWESOME Blogfest!!!!!

Hello fellow book bloggers! As many of you may know, Leah Clifford’s A Touch Trilogy is continuing on with the release of the second book, A Touch Morbid on February 28^th. I along with the AMAZING Katelyn Torrey, are planning to host a five-week blog tour that will lead right up to the date of the book’s release. In order to make this event extra fun we are keeping the entry/participation expectations pretty low and we are also inviting anyone and everyone to join in! Here is what we plan to do:

Every week there will be a new topic to post on. You have six days to publish your post; it can be any day during that 6 day period. Please keep in mind it is not required to participate in every week but it would be greatly appreciated! Cate and I will be posting ours on the first day of every week that way links are ready and available for all others to join in. Since it is a blog tour of sorts, linking up your posts is required and we would love it if you stopped by at least a few participating blogs each week.

Since the blog tour is pretty flexible, please feel free to come up with other fun posts to link up throughout the month. Some ideas of what to do could be cover talk, links to some of your favorite reviews, vlogs about the book, etc. If you do any fun posts throughout the month, these can be linked each week along with the themed posts.

A special note: If you plan to host A Touch Mortal themed giveaway at all during the month, please try and hold the final entry date off until the very last week of the tour. We will be hosting a giveaway the last week with an option for other bloggers to link up their giveaways too. Not only does this get more people to enter your giveaway, but it also makes it easier for people stopping by to enter multiple giveaways at once.

The schedule for the blog tour is as followed:

Week 1 (1/21-1/27): Any time during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite quotes from A Touch Mortal.

Week 2 (1/28-2/3): Any time during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite swoon-worthy moments from A Touch Mortal.

Week 3 (2/4-2/10): Any time during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite characters from A Touch Mortal.

Week 4 (2/11-2/17): Any time during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite ANYTHING. This is a free week to post your top 5 favorite randoms from A Touch Mortal.

Week 5 (2/18-2/24): Any time during the week make a post about your top 5 favorite moments from A Touch Mortal.

We hope to gain a lot of interest with this fun, easy blog tour so sharing links through twitter or your blogs would be greatly appreciated! Katelyn and I will love you all for forever if you did a special blog post telling people what is going on and where they can sign up to be a part of it too!

If you are interested, please enter the required information in the form below and of course, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me (c.peace@live.com) or Katelyn (katelynsblog@aol.com)! We will be available for any questions or concerns you may have.

Also, feel free to steal the above blogfest button (via Katelyn, doesn't she rock?!) and add to your blogs. We want to get A TON of support for Leah and her awesome series!

Thanks in advance for your participation!!!

***If you have trouble viewing or submitting this form, you can fill it out online: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDJKdUxFeThIcTJWUXMyUnBVUndWdGc6MQ***

If you are interested in signing up to be a part of the blog tour, please fill out the following information!

I would have given anything to be like...

Found this via Elana Johnson's blog and decided to play along, even though my memory is totally shoddy and I hated high school.

When I was a teenager...ugh. I don't even like to think about it. Teenage years were unpleasant for me, as they are for most people. I was nerdy, had big-ass hair (not the good kind, although, is there really a good kind?), was entirely too unmotivated... I was the music geek, the writing geek, and relatively unpretty. So I pretended to be other people in my head. All. The. Time. Heck, I still do. Most of the time, they're just people I make up in my head and stick into someone else's world because I'm lazy.

When I was a teenager, "reality" TV was starting to really break through. There was Survivor, Big Brother, and loads of other ones that I didn't bother to watch. I watched anime a lot, though. Still do from time to time. The aughts were when I discovered Gundam Wing.

That's right, I said it. Gundam Wing. Like Voltron, only better.

And on GW was a kick-ass woman--Lady Une. So cool she didn't even NEED a first name. So cool that the entire freaking army respected her. She was cool, calm, and collected. Except when she wasn't. There were a few times she went a little far-side. But more often than not, Lady Une was, quite simply, a badass.

And nabbing Treize (before he got obliterated by Wu-Fei, WHICH I'M STILL PISSED ABOUT) just gets her bonus points.

Then there was my video game total obsession freakout of 2002. All right, fine, I totally made that up. I don't remember when it was that I picked up Final Fantasy VIII, but OMG. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. So...the Sorceress. Edea. Yes. TOTAL BADASS. Almost more than Lady Une, if she'd kept her badassery up long enough instead of being possessed by an evil witch from the past/future or whatever it is (it's been a while)... At one point, you can use her in your party. And NOTHING stands in your way. Plus, seriously awesome wardrobe.







So those are two of mine. I seriously try to forget that most portions of my teenage years existed, with a few awesome exceptions.

'Tis the season

Well, this schedule thing is going to be fun. Typically, I blog when I have something to share, and some days I don't. I don't want to force anything or make up by posting pictures of cats in Santa hats or something, but I do want to keep at this somewhat regularly. So, what may end up happening is that I'll blog 3 times a week or so (maybe), but probably not the same 3 days each week. Keeps you guys on your toes that way ;)

Obligatory linkage:

Contest to win $50 B&N gift card here. Thanks to some very thoughtful (and blogger-adept) friends, I'm now up to 10 entrants. So get your name in the hat (proverbial one, although maybe I'll just write the names and throw them in a hat, so then it'll be a literal one; must think on this). You still have until MONDAY!

Jodi Henry's blogfest here.

My entry for above-mentioned blogfest here. Admittedly the feedback I've gotten from this has been fantastic. So thank you to everyone who stopped by to critique!

OK, moving on.

I've added another little gadget to my sidebar. I think I'm starting to develop an unhealthy addiction to these little things, but I think this will be the last one. Until the next one. Anyway, this gadget is for a site called SocialVibe, which is a free way to contribute to a LOT of different causes (so many I had trouble picking one to start with). The current cause is Stand Up 2 Cancer and contributing minutes to cancer research. The process is pretty simple. You'll be asked to do six activities. By completing these activities, which only take a few minutes apiece, and then sharing them to Facebook or Twitter, you can contribute to cancer research. For free. It only takes a little time to help save someone's life. Plus, it's even easier than blood donation, and you can do it more often than every three months ;)

In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda big on doing things to help other people. I don't have much money *yet*, so I try to find alternative ways to contribute to things besides monetarily. Blood donation is one of the best, and let me tell you, there's nothing better than getting a phone call telling you that your blood saved someone's life. It's probably the most humbling, amazing phone call you'll ever get. And sadly, only a handful of people who are eligible donors actually donate. Only 6% of the population has my blood type, and there are rarer blood types than mine. If you're one of those, I especially urge you to donate. It's for a fantabulous cause, AND you get cookies and juice afterward. Or, at my place, cookies and Mt. Dew. Fabulous.

But for those who are squeamish around blood or needles, something like SocialVibe is down your alley. I'm thinking about alternating causes, maybe every three months I'll switch to a new cause. Like I said, there were quite a few to choose from including other cancer groups, the Trevor Project, and World Wildlife Fund. So yeah. Just a few mins of your time. And if you don't want to go through all of them at once, that's just fine. I did two (until I got to some flipping Covergirl thing) and earned 4 minutes. Only took me about 5 to do.

Now, I'm not going to find you and hunt you down to do this. Some of you may think this is a dumb waste of time, and that's fine. I'm sure you'll find other ways to help. But if you have a few minutes to kill and don't want to hover on Facebook or Twitter for the next 5-10 minutes, give it a try and earn some research time. I'm pretty sure that everyone knows someone with cancer. I've lost a lot of family members to it. I have close friends who are enduring chemo. This is a horrid disease, and the havoc it can wreak on a person's body and life is overwhelming. So...I guess here ends my ramble. Thanks.

Curiosity...well, hasn't done anything tragic. Yet.

Although I may have a dead cat if she keeps climbing the Christmas tree.

*Obligatory linkage ahead*

If you're looking for my uber fantastic contest where you (YES, YOU!) have the chance to win a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card just by following and leaving a comment, then click here. So far, I've only had 3 takers. Come on, peeps! You still have until Monday!

If you're looking for my entry for Jodi Henry's uber fantastic blogfest, click here. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, if you want to view the other 29 uber fantastic entrants, click here.

All right. I think that's all of my obligatory linkage.

I don't have anything earth-shatteringly important to share with you. I know, you're disappointed. So am I. Hopefully you'll still be entertained.

Thanks to Mr. Rodell over at Eight Days to Amish (sorry, more linkage, but not obligatory, just...fun) and his post about his readership stats, I decided to look at mine, just out of curiosity. As I figured, most of my page hits are from this here United States. A lot recent hits came via Jodi's blog (yay blogfest!). What kinda boggled my mind, though, was that a teeeeeny tiiiiny percent of my readership was in Croatia.

Ok. One hit from Croatia. But it's Croatia! How cool is that?!

Strangely, after the US and Canada, my largest amount of views (a whopping 14) came from India, followed by:

United Kingdom - 8

Libya - 4

Netherlands - 2

Australia - 1 (has to be Hugh Jackman, right? :-D)

Switzerland - 1

France - 1

Croatia - 1

To me, that is strangely random. And completely awesome. But mostly, random. *Inner editor is screaming about my adverb use right now, btw*.

So. In honor of this, I'm thinking I'm going to begin scheduled posts after the holidays. Actual, scheduled, themed posts. Like normal writers do. This sporadic thing probably doesn't work out well in agent searches...

SO! I have one question and a follow-up question for you (which, in my mind works out to about 1.5 questions).

Q4U: What makes you become a follower of a blog? And what would you like to see here? I'm not the most knowledgeable person on earth, but I am supreme when it comes to research. So, whatever you guys want. How does that sound?

FOLKSES!

All right, folkses (I'm stuck on that word for some reason). If you're interested in my contest, click here. Otherwise, my query for Jodi's blogfest is below. You can check out the other participants by clicking here, and believe me, there are some really awesome queries in this blogfest. I'm having trouble critiquing them ;)

Here goes, based on Chris and Nicole's, and also Jodi's and Tracy's, and Roberta's suggestions:

Dear Super-awesome Agent of my Dreams:

If Subject 31 could remember her life, she’s damn sure she’d want it back.

The Humani Project’s latest experiment believes she’s human, but after seeing her sleek black fur, claws, and tail, she’s not so sure. Her only clue to an existence before panther DNA was spliced to hers is a fragment of a memory and a name—Janelle.

According to the scientists, she's the perfect blend of human and animal. Most importantly, she can still speak, making her the lab's most successful Humani to date.

Imprisoned in the Phoenix, Arizona lab, 31 must complete the grueling, and sometimes deadly, physical assessments administered by resident asshole Dr. Frederick James. Her failure means immediate termination. To survive, she must tame the wild animal that wants to take over—only she has no idea how. That ability wasn’t coded in her new DNA.

When she fails an assessment, death looms in the form of the lab-made creature she was supposed to kill. She’s surprised that the project's founder breaks his own protocol to save her without hesitation. When he calls her “Janelle,” 31 understands that somehow the scientists have erased the existence of someone they knew. Someone who deserves to understand her fate.

The closer she gets to piecing together her past, the harder she has to fight to stay alive. Buried in her past is knowledge that could bring the Project to its knees, and Dr. James will do anything to protect the Project, even if it means killing its greatest success.

DUALITY is a science fiction novel complete at 114,000 words.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Lexcade

Query Blogfest

OK, so you remember that blogfest I wrote about a while back? Yeah. Well, it's here. SOOOOOOOO, that being typed, I guess I should post my query and not feel like a loser ;)


Here goes:

Dear Super-awesome Agent of my Dreams:

If Subject 31 could remember her life, she’s damn sure she’d want it back.

The Humani Project’s latest experiment believes she’s human, but after seeing her sleek black fur, claws, and tail, she’s not so sure. Her only clue to an existence before panther DNA was spliced to hers is a fragment of a memory and a name—Janelle.

Imprisoned in the Phoenix, Arizona lab, 31 must complete the grueling, and sometimes deadly, physical assessments administered by resident asshole Dr. Frederick James. Her failure means immediate termination. To survive, she must tame the wild animal that wants to take over—only she has no idea how. That ability wasn’t coded into her new DNA.

Then she fails one of the challenges. With termination looming in the form of a lab-made creature she was supposed to kill, she’s surprised that another doctor breaks protocol to save her. When he calls her “Janelle,” 31 understands that somehow the scientists have erased the existence of someone they knew. Someone who deserves to understand her fate.

The closer she gets to piecing together her past, the harder she has to fight to stay alive. Buried in her past is knowledge that could bring the Project to its knees, and Dr. James will do anything to protect the Project—including terminate its greatest success.

DUALITY is a science fiction novel complete at 114,000 words.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Lexcade