12 Days of Christmas Contest is Coming!!CLOSED

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IT’S COMING!!!
Starting December 1rst, I will be featuring 12 whole days of contests just for you!  Each day will be a new contest featuring different prizes from different publishers. There will even be fun little questions with each post!
Since the contest doesn’t start until the first of December, I thought I would do a small giveaway now.  I am a horrible person when it comes to waiting until Christmas day to open my presents, so I thought we would get some excitement going now! 
I am going to give away one large envelope full of swag items to one lucky person!  The envelope will not only have a ton of bookmarks, but it can also include items such as author pens, notepads, etc. It will be like a large Christmas present in itself because you will have so many goodies to dig through. 
All you have to do for the swag envelope is make a post on your blog announcing my contest!  I have included a badge for you to go along with it below. Just copy and paste the code with your blog post.  Then just come here and leave a comment with a link to your post and you are entered! No need to be a follower, but I would love it if you would be!
This contest will end on Tuesday Nov.30th with the actual 12 Days of Christmas Contest starting the following day! 

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Re-Create A Cover Contest Winner!!!

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Time to announce a winner of the Ghost Town by Rachel Caine Re-Create A Cover Contest! Author Rachel Caine has been touring, so we had to wait for her to return to pick the winner. Here is the original cover:

And here is the winning cover with a note from author Rachel Caine:

WINNER: 
MICHY
“I think that although it was VERY close, and there were so absolutely stunning entries in the contest, I have to go with Michy’s beautiful design. I really liked the eerie, yet very real vibe to it. You guys are crazy amazing! Thank you so much for participating, and I’m sorry to be so late in getting back to you … I was touring, and then I was sick, and this is my first day of kinda being back to normal. (As normal as I ever am …?)

THANK YOU so much for participating, and Amy, thank you so much for hosting this contest!!”
 
Thank YOU Rachel for the amazing stories you bring us! The winner has 48 hours to respond!

CONTEST: The Lost Saint ARC + Nail Polish

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 CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

How many of you are waiting for the second installment in The Dark Divine Series by Bree Despain?  I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this wonderful book for review, which you can find HERE.  Thanks to the publishers though, I have an extra The Lost Saint ARC copy plus ONE bottle of The Lost Saint nail polish to giveaway to one lucky person!

*Spoiler Alert* – If you have not read The Dark Divine, this synopsis may contain spoilers.
Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot—a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel is put in danger—in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her—not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

RULES AND ENTRY:
1. Must be in the USA.
2. No need to be a follower but I would love it if you would be!
3. Leave a comment on this post with an email address for contact if you win.
4. If you tweet about the contest, please leave the DIRECT link in a separate comment for an extra entry.  (it will only qualify and be counted if left in a separate comment)
5. Contest will end 11/26/2010

Publishing Spotlight: Academic Success for All Learners

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Today I want to share something special for my readers.  I went to my daughters school last week and the teacher mentioned the Reading Program she was going to introduce for the second quarter.  She handed me a book that she raved about that brought great success with the children in learning to read.  When she handed me the books to look at, I couldn’t help but notice how faded and worn out the books were.  I mentioned to her that I didn’t think the books would handle another year of kids handling them.  She told me that these were the best Kindergarten reading books she has ever used and she wishes that she could afford more for the class.  You see our small town has schools with small town budgets.  I felt sad that these children might not even get to finish the program due to the books falling apart!  Reading is crucial and if the teacher is raving about these books being the best out there for young readers to learn with, then I wanted to help.

I looked online and contacted the publisher about these books.  I let them know about how the teacher raved about them. I asked if there was anyway their company could donate one set for the classroom .  Imagine my surprise when not only did they respond, but they were willing to donate FOUR sets to my daughters classroom!!

My daughter with her friends and teacher showing off her new books!
(yes, my daughter is the one with the goofy smile in the center! LOL)

Academic Success For All Learners went out of their way and shipped the first set in the I See Sam series.  I can honestly say that these books are amazing for young readers to start learning with.  My daughter has learned how to read 2 of these books already, and she always asks for more! This company has even started a Facebook page to help share news about their books!  They are even focusing on over the next few months helping out a group doing some work on literacy issues in Liberia Africa.  I urge you to take a look at their Loving Through Literacy Campaign they have going on right now.  They will be doing some various fundraisers to help support literacy in young children.

I personally want to thank this company for everything they have done and will do.  For one small town school, you have just opened up a new world of reading through your books for our children!

Loving Through Literacy Campaign: http://lovingthroughliteracy.com/