Happy Bday YAedge!! And the Winner of Beautiful Darkness

Before I announce the winner of Beautiful Darkness, I wanted to say a few words about what YAedge means to me.

First off, I can't believe Tracy and I have been blogging for 2 years today. I wanted to thank her for sticking with me. I know some weeks it's hard to find something to blog about and after 2 years coming up with something insightful or original to say. For me, the posts that are the hardest to write sometimes are the best. We've been through ups and downs with our writing since we've started this blog, but we've come a long way. I wanted to publicly say I'm proud of you and the success you've found so far with Under My Skin.

Now onto what you've all be waiting for. Just to remind you, I decided to give away a signed ARC of Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl as a token of our love to our readers for the past 2 years.

For those of you who didn't win, thank you for entering and also for reading our blog! We really appreciate it and I wish I had a book for everyone. We do giveaways from time to time, so be sure to stick with us for a chance to win another great book.

I picked the winner by randomly generating a number--that being my husband choosing a number between 1 and 31 (we had 31 total comments). At the time, he had no clue why I asked him to pick a number, so it was completely random.

Drum roll please.....And the winner is:

The Brain Lair (KB)

CONGRATS!!!! Please email me your name and address at YAedge (at) yahoo (dot) com and I will send the book to you on Tuesday (if you send me your info in time)!

If the winner doesn't email by Friday, October 8th, a new winner will be randomly chosen.

Beautiful Darkness Signed ARC Giveaway

Next Friday is YAedge's 2nd birthday. I knew I wanted to do something special for our readers, but wasn't quite sure what. Then, in July I was able to pick up an extra copy of Beautiful Darkness, the sequel to an amazing book by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia, Beautiful Creatures. Luckily, I had my husband in line at Comic Con when they were signing and giving them away, so he grabbed it for one lucky winner on our blog!


At first, I wasn't sure what would be the special occasion. It's not every day we give away a signed copy of an ARC before the release of the book! Then I remembered, October 1st is YAedge's 2 year birthday! There is no better way to celebrate such a huge date then to say thank you to one of our readers. I wish I could give each of you a book, but unfortunately, that is impossible.



Starting today, leave a comment on this post for a chance to win. The contest will close at noon PT on Thursday, September 30th so that I can choose the winner on our blog birthday, October 1st. The contest is open to all residents in North America (US, Canada, Mexico). Sorry to International readers, but I just don't have the cash to ship overseas at this time. I will be shipping the book to the winner that following Tuesday so that it will arrive before the book is in stores.

If you haven't read Beautiful Creatures yet, now is the perfect time. It was just released in paperback! Here is the description from bn.com:

There were no surprises in GatlinCounty.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

And of course, the desciption for Beautiful Darkness from amazon.com (which officially releases October 12):

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

If you visit the official Beautiful Darkness webpage, you can read the first 200 pages of Beautiful Creatures and the prologue to Beautiful Darkness right now for free!

Good luck everyone!

SWEET Giveaway Contest: The Great YA Bake Sale

YA author, Christine Johnson, (Claire de Lune) has organized one hell of a sweet tooth appeasing giveaway contest. Here's Christine with the details:

It’s here, it’s here - The Great YA Bake Sale of 2010!

It all started when I realized that YA authors seem to have one big thing in common - an obsession with sweets and baking.

That gave me an idea. I started calling (well - okay, emailing) around and ended up with more than a dozen kind, sugar-loving authors on board to bring you one amazing contest.

Here’s the deal:

To enter, simply leave a thoughtful comment on an author’s Bake Sale blog post, or tweet about the contest with the hashtag #YABakeSale10. Voila! You’re entered.

When you enter, you become eligible to win any one of the Personal Prize Packs (i.e. a comment on Saundra Mitchell’s blog may net you the Cyn Balog prize pack. You’re entering the whole contest, not just that particular author’s part of it.) You also become eligible to win the humongonormous Grand Prize Basket.

What’s in the Grand Prize Basket?

Each author has hand-written two copies of a favorite sweet-treat recipe. One copy has gone into a beautiful recipe book that is part of the Grand Prize Basket. In addition to the (hand-written! Did I mention that?) recipe collection, the Grand Prize winner will receive:

A signed copy of Cyn Balog’s SLEEPLESS
Bookmarks for KAT, INCORRIGIBLE by Stephanie Burgis
Signed bookmarks for THE CRESCENT and HALF MOON, pencils, and a crescent moon and crystal-studded star necklace from Jordan Deen
A (signed?) copy of THE BODY FINDER, a THE BODY FINDER tote bag, sticker and bookmarks from Kimberley Derting
An EVERLASTING-themed notebook, bookmark and pin from Angela Frazier
A signed copy of CLAIRE DE LUNE, signed stickers and a silver, moon-themed bookmark from Christine Johnson
A signed copy of SHADOWED SUMMER, matching chocolate candies, Twilight-themed heart candies, bookmarks and THE VESPERTINE dance card from Saundra Mitchell
A signed copy of THE PACE, by Shelena Shorts, along with bookmarks and THE PACE pencils
A signed hard-cover of SHADE and a Keeley Brothers pin from Jeri-Smith Ready
A signed copy of PERSONAL DEMONS, a PERSONAL DEMONS tank top, temporary tattoos, and bookmarks from Lisa Desrochers
. . . AND MORE!!! All for ONE LUCKY WINNER!


But that’s not all!

Each author has one other handwritten recipe that will be part of each author’s own Personal Prize Pack.

The prize packs include:

Cyn Balog - Signed copy of SLEEPLESS and a handwritten recipe for Coconut Bread.
Stephanie Burgis - UK paperback copy of A MOST IMPROPER MAGICK and a hand written recipe for Apple Muffins
Kay Cassidy - Hand-written recipe and giveaways
Megan Crewe - Hand-written recipe and giveaways
Shannon Delaney - Hand-written recipe and giveaways
Jordan Deen - Basket with Pampered Chef baking gear and a recipe for Orange Pineapple Cake
Kimberley Derting - Signed copy of The Body Finder, stickers, a totebag, bookmarks and a recipe for Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lisa Desrochers - A copy of PERSONAL DEMONS and a recipe for Sunday Coffee Cupcakes
Angie Frazier - A signed hard-cover copy of EVERLASTING, bookmark, and a recipe for Butter Rum Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting
Judith Graves - Copy of UNDER MY SKIN, a character card, and a recipe for Dead Lady Fingers
Christine Johnson - A signed hard-cover copy of CLAIRE DE LUNE, stickers, a silver moon-themed bookmark and a recipe for Chocolate-Chip Butterscotch Blondies
Saundra Mitchell - Recipe and giveaways
Jennifer Murgia - ANGEL STAR swag, Octogram earrings, and a hand-written recipe
Shelena Shorts - Signed copy of THE BROKEN LAKE and bookmarks and a hand-written recipe
Jeri Smith-Ready - SHADE UK paperback edition and a recipe for Scottish Oat Scones


Fine print: The contest entries must be posted by midnight eastern time on September 20th. This contest is open to the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Questions? Leave them in the comments or email me - christine(at)christinejohnsonbooks.com

1k-a-day Grand Prize Winner!

Sorry for the delay in posting this, but Blogger didn't like me yesterday morning and I had a concert in the evening an hour and a half away from where I live. Needless to say, I was a little frazzled.

Before I announce the winner, I wanted to thank everyone for participating in 1k-a-day. Tracy and I had a great time (as always) and I hope you did too. Please leave comments (or you can email us) anything that you can think of to make 1k-a-day even better next time. We try to hold it at least once a year (sometimes twice) and would appreciate any feedback you may have.

Here again is a breakdown of items included in the prize packs:


















From Tracy:

- signed copy of UMS
- Class of 2k10 bookmark
- UMS postcard
- UMS character card
- UMS ribbon and cross bookmark - based on Eryn's necklace






















From Tami:

-Beautiful Darkness bracelet
-Twilight-themed playing cards
-A Dexter (the TV Show) pin and lanyard
- Losing Faith by Denise Jaden bookmark
-How it ends by Laura Wiess
-The China Garden by Liz Berry
-Tattoo by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
-An amigurumi crochet cupcake (not shown. Winner can pick the color of "icing" if you want since I will have to specially make this item.)


I wrote down each person that participated in 1k-a-day and then numbered them going down the list from 1-7. I then used a random number generator to selected the winner, which came up #4.

And the winner is.....


MISS TAMMY!!!

Congrats! Please mail your address to YAedge AT yahoo DOT com, as well as what color icing you'd like for your cupcake amigurumi (I pretty much have every color yarn)! Remember, your package will be coming in two parts, one from me and one from Tracy.

Thanks again to everyone. I hope you join us for the next 1k-a-day challenge.

YAedge will begin our regularly scheduled blogging starting next week. Please come back and join us as we talk about writing, reading and great YA books!

1k-a-day Grand Prize Giveaway!

Since the first of July, Tracy and I have mentioned there will be one final large giveaway for 1k-a-day! Today is the day we finally announce what is included! The prize consists of two parts, because we are each including items. The winner will be receiving it in two packages since Tracy and I live in different areas (and heck, even different countries!)

To be entered to win, all you had to do is participate and comment during the month of July! We will be selecting the winner Tuesday (tomorrow), so please check back then to see if you won! Good luck everyone!

If you ask me, there is some awesome stuff here. Some of it is swag from YA authors, a signed copy of Tracy's book (which, IMO is amazing!), YA books and swag from Comic Con! Oh, and a little amigurumi crochet cupcake made by me!

Here is a breakdown of items included in the prize packs:



















From Tracy:

- signed copy of UMS
- Class of 2k10 bookmark
- UMS postcard
- UMS character card
- UMS ribbon and cross bookmark - based on Eryn's necklace






















From Tami:

-Beautiful Darkness bracelet
-Twilight-themed playing cards
-A Dexter (the TV Show) pin and lanyard
- Losing Faith by Denise Jaden bookmark
-How it ends by Laura Wiess
-The China Garden by Liz Berry
-Tattoo by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
-An amigurumi crochet cupcake (not shown. Winner can pick the color of "icing" if you want since I will have to specially make this item.)

1k-a-day Friday Giveaway Winner 4

As you know, we're giving a book away to a random winner each Friday. All you have to do is post your word count once throughout the week to be entered.

This week's book is Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Here is the description from scottwesterfeld.com:

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

I used a random generated number site, listing each person in no particular order who posted their word count at least once. This week's winner of is:

Leona!!!!!!!!

Congrats Leona! Please email me at YAedge at yahoo dot com with your address and I'll mail it off.

For those who didn't win this week, don't worry. We still have tons of books to give away and big prizes for the last week of the challenge! Thanks again to all who participated last week!

1k-a-day Friday Giveaway Winner 3

As I posted yesterday and through the contest, we're giving a book away to a random winner each Friday. All you have to do is post your word count once throughout the week to be entered.

This week's book is Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Here is the description again:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

I used a random generated number site, listing each person in no particular order who posted their word count at least once. This week's winner of Graceling is:

Mary Brebner!!!!!!!!

Congrats Mary! Please email me at YAedge at yahoo dot com with your address and I'll mail it off.

For those who didn't win this week, don't worry. We still have tons of books to give away! Thanks again to all who participated in week 2 of 1k-a-day!

1k-a-day Friday Giveaway 3

This week's 1k-a-day book up for grabs is Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I've owned this book for awhile and got it because of all the buzz about it. I'm not a huge fan of hard-core fantasy, but finally, the book called to me. Thank god it did! I can't describe how much I loved this book. I sped through it and as soon as I did, I wanted the sequel. I hurried to my library's ebook website and checked it out right away. I'm reading it now! The characters pop out at you, the world feels like one I could travel to. If you haven't read this book, it's a must. Maybe you'll be the lucky winner! Below is the synopsis taken from bn.com:

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

To enter, comment in this post, or any post from last Friday leaving your word count by 9pm PDT today. Please remember, you must reside in the US/Canada to win the weekly prizes due to the cost of international shipping. The final contest for 1k-a-day, the prize pack will be opened to all participates. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section of this post.

I will be announcing the winner some time tomorrow via the blog and Twitter. Thanks everyone and good luck!


AND, I promised to announce the winner of the surprise book giveaway. I had my husband pick a number from 1-3 (three people entered to win) and let my husband pick a number. He picked #3!

Sarah Olutola is the winner!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Sarah! Please email me at YAedge at yahoo dot com with your address and I'll mail it off ASAP.

1k-a-day Friday Giveaway Winner 2

As I posted yesterday and through the contest, we're giving a book away to a random winner each Friday. All you have to do is post your word count once throughout the week to be entered.

This week's book is Dull Boy by Sarah Cross. Here is the description again:

What do you do if you can deadlift a car, and you spend your nights flying to get away from it all? If you're fifteen-year-old Avery Pirzwick, you keep that information to yourself. When you're a former jock turned freak, you can't afford to let the secret slip.

But then Avery makes some friends who are as extraordinary as he is. He realizes they're more than just freaks—together, maybe they have a chance to be heroes. First, though, they have to decide whether to trust the mysterious Cherchette, a powerful wouldbe mentor whose remarkable generosity may come at a terrible price.

I used a random generated number site, listing each person in no particular order who posted their word count at least once. This week's winner of Dull Boy is:

Jennifer C.!!!!!!!!

Congrats Jennifer! Please email me at YAedge at yahoo dot com with your address and I'll mail it off.

For those who didn't win this week, don't worry. We still have tons of books to give away! We're only into week two! Thanks again to all who participated in week 1 of 1k-a-day!

1k-a-day Friday Giveaway 2

This week's 1k-a-day book up for grabs is Dull Boy by Sarah Cross. I loved this book because it was a fun read with a comic book feel, yet everyone can relate to the characters for being different. Below is the synopsis taken from bn.com:

What do you do if you can deadlift a car, and you spend your nights flying to get away from it all? If you're fifteen-year-old Avery Pirzwick, you keep that information to yourself. When you're a former jock turned freak, you can't afford to let the secret slip.

But then Avery makes some friends who are as extraordinary as he is. He realizes they're more than just freaks—together, maybe they have a chance to be heroes. First, though, they have to decide whether to trust the mysterious Cherchette, a powerful wouldbe mentor whose remarkable generosity may come at a terrible price.

To enter, comment in this post, or any post from last Friday leaving your word count by 9pm PDT today. Please remember, you must reside in the US/Canada to win the weekly prizes due to the cost of international shipping. The final contest for 1k-a-day, the prize pack will be opened to all participates. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section of this post.

I will be announcing the winner some time tomorrow via the blog and Twitter. Thanks everyone and good luck!

Life Experiences Contest Winner!

Thank you to all who participated in the Life Experiences contest! It was a very hard to choose the winner as both your stories were good!

The winner is:

Bee!!

Please be sure to email us by Wednesday, April 7th at YAedge AT yahoo DOT com (new winner will be selected if I do not hear back by said date). Please make sure to let me know which book you'd like.

The books up for grabs are:



Eight Grade Bites by Heather Brewer (Paperback)

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer.




I heart you, you haunt me by Lisa Schroeder (paperback)

From Amazon:

Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear hisvoice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she'scrazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.


My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger (hardback)

From bn.com: Best friends and unofficial brothers since they were six, ninth-graders T.C. and Augie have got the world figured out. But that all changes when both friends fall in love for the first time. Enter Alé. She's pretty, sassy, and on her way to Harvard. T.C. falls hard, but Alé is playing hard to get. Meanwhile, Augie realizes that he's got a crush on a boy. It's not so clear to him, but to his family and friends, it's totally obvious! Told in alternating perspectives, this is the hilarious and touching story of their most excellent year, where these three friends discover love, themselves, and how a little magic and Mary Poppins can go a long way.


The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty (paperback)

From bn.com: The Ashbury-Brookfield pen pal program is designed to bring together the two rival schools in a spirit of harmony and "the Joy of the Envelope." But when Cassie, Lydia, and Emily send their first letters to Matthew, Charlie, and Sebastian, things don't go quite as planned. What starts out as a simple letter exchange soon leads to secret missions, false alarms, lock picking, mistaken identities, and an all-out war between the schools--not to mention some really excellent kissing.

Using Life Experiences in Your Writing- A Contest!

We've all had that day that is quite unbelievable. The moment that you stop what you're doing and say "This can't really be happening." Stranger than fiction indeed.

I had a moment like this (not really strange mind you, but was a total face palm moment) last weekend and one of the first things Tracy said to me when I told her the story was something like, "you have to find a way to get that into a story." I wanted to share my stupidity, because I thought it would be fun to hear your stories of 'ohmygod, why did I just do that?'

The commenter with the best story will win one of the books below! All you have to do is tell us a short story or moment that was stranger than fiction, or was something you needed to write in one of your stories. The contest will end Tuesday, March 30th at 10pm PT. Good Luck!

Now, for my story!

My husband and I just bought a 1950 Chevy 3100 truck. Now, this truck is currently 60 years old, so there are a few things that are a little different than cars produced today. For example, the starter is on the floor. To start the car, you turn the key to the "on" position and then step on the button to the right of the gas pedal to start the car. Weird, huh?

Anyway, so we got it home and parked. Since it was parked outside, instead of the garage at that moment, we wanted to make sure it was locked. My husband rolled up the window of the passenger side, looked the door (by pushing the door handle down) and then slide out on the right side. We then proceeded to push the handle down on that door and slammed it shut. Perfect, the door was closed and locked!

Not so perfect once we tried to unlock the door with the key. The cars back in the '50s, or at least this one, only has one keyhole on the whole truck, which is located on the passenger side. We slide the key in the lock and turned, hearing a click! Sweet, the door is unlocked again...or so we thought! After a good five minutes of wiggling the key, we solemnly walked to the phone and called the previous owner. "What's the trick?" we asked, hoping he would tell us you have to give it one turn to the left and two to the right, or something fancy like that. Nope, of course not. We aren't THAT lucky. So, the previous owner drove the 15 miles to our house to try to get it open. Again, no such luck. We ended up calling AAA (which we didn't have, but he did!). AAA...not so helpful in the whole opening the door thing. The guy thought it was a cool truck and then proceeded to tell us he had no way into it and all he could do is tow it. An hour later, it was on the tow truck, pulling away.

We owned the truck for two hours tops and had proceeded to already lock ourselves out of it, with the only solution being to tow it to a shop that could pop out a back window to get inside. I'm happy to announce that we now have the truck back, with a new seal on one of the back windows. We learned our lesson, and also you can't lock a 1950 truck door from the inside and then unlock it from the outside.

Now, I must find a way to write the story into a book. Who locks themselves out of their new vehicle less than an hour after owning it? Apparently us!



Can't wait to hear all of your crazy stories! The books to choose from if you are the lucky winner:



Eight Grade Bites by Heather Brewer (Paperback)

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer.




I heart you, you haunt me by Lisa Schroeder (paperback)

From Amazon:

Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear hisvoice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she'scrazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.


My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger (hardback)

From bn.com: Best friends and unofficial brothers since they were six, ninth-graders T.C. and Augie have got the world figured out. But that all changes when both friends fall in love for the first time. Enter Alé. She's pretty, sassy, and on her way to Harvard. T.C. falls hard, but Alé is playing hard to get. Meanwhile, Augie realizes that he's got a crush on a boy. It's not so clear to him, but to his family and friends, it's totally obvious! Told in alternating perspectives, this is the hilarious and touching story of their most excellent year, where these three friends discover love, themselves, and how a little magic and Mary Poppins can go a long way.


The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty (paperback)

From bn.com: The Ashbury-Brookfield pen pal program is designed to bring together the two rival schools in a spirit of harmony and "the Joy of the Envelope." But when Cassie, Lydia, and Emily send their first letters to Matthew, Charlie, and Sebastian, things don't go quite as planned. What starts out as a simple letter exchange soon leads to secret missions, false alarms, lock picking, mistaken identities, and an all-out war between the schools--not to mention some really excellent kissing.

The Winners of the Valentine's Day Contest!

Thank you to all who participated in the Valentine's Day contest! It was a very hard to choose the winners.

The winners are:

Sherry @ Flipping Pages for All Ages

and

Violet

Please be sure to email us by Tuesday, February 23rd at YAedge AT yahoo DOT com (new winners will be selected if I do not hear back on Wednesday, February 24th). Please make sure to let me know which book you'd like. If each winner picks the same book, the first to email will receive it.

The books up for grabs are:


Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles:
(From bn.com) When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.


Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (ARC):
(From BN.com) The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

Evermore by Alyson Noel:

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen.

Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

And the Winner of Liar is....

And the winner is...Shelley/Book Fanatic!

Congrats! Please email us your address at YAedge@yahoo.com to claim your prize! Please make sure to contact us before Wednesday, January 13th. If we don't hear from the winner by that date, I will be picking a new winner. I will be making a trip to the post office this Saturday, so if you send me your info before then, I'll be able to send it out right away.

This is how I picked the winner: I picked a random number using a number generator and then counted out the followers of the blog.

Don't forget, we will be giving away another book when we hit 60 followers! Make sure to tell your friends to follow the blog!

Thanks again to all of our loyal readers/followers.

Happy New Year, Hello 2010!

Happy New Year everyone! Wow, 2010. To be honest, parts of me feel like 2000 was forever ago, and other parts (maybe my fingers and toes?) feels like it was just yesterday. So much happened for me in the first decade of the 2000's. Some good (I graduated college, got engaged and married, bought a house, started taking writing seriously and my two nieces were born) and some bad (but we won't go into those).

As promised in my last post, I'm going to give my New Year resolutions like I did last year. Also promised in my post last week, I said I would tell you what I loved about each of my favorite books of 2009, but that will have to wait next week.

Before I get into my resolutions, I have exciting news! We hit 30 followers on YAedge this week. As promised, I am going to give a FREE book away to a random person who follows us every time we pass a new increment of 30. So, if you aren't the lucky random winner this time, we just need to get to 60 and you'll have another chance to win!

The book in play this time is:

I will pick the random winner Wednesday, January 7. Check back then to see if you are the lucky one! If you aren't following us yet, be sure to start now! I won't be picking the winner until Wednesday morning so you still have a chance.

Back to my New Year resolutions.

1. Like everyone else seems to say, I need to get back in shape. But this time, I'm not joking. Seriously, I need to lose my vacation and holiday weight.
2. Last year I read 71 books and hoped to read more in 2009. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I think it didn't help that in 2009 I worked full time throughout the whole year. My grand total for 2009: 56. I will say it again: in 2010 I hope to read more than I did in 2009.
3. Last year I wanted to finish my WIP, Lost and Found. I did finish, as well as edit it. I even shopped it around, getting some interest. In fact, right now, I have a full out to an agency! This year, I'm going to say the same. I want to finish my current WIP (I currently have about 53,000 words and am close to the end), edit it and get it ready to send out to agents. Maybe 2010 will be the year I get an agent! One can hope, right?
4. Be less stressed. I think we can all try and do that with our daily lives. I need to be like a duck in water. Just let everything roll off my back. I hope to be less serious and let more happiness into my life. This is easier said than done, but it can happen. I hope next year, in my year end post, I can say that number 4 from 2010 was accomplished.
5. Save money. This past year (2009), I tried to put a little money away with each paycheck. The way the economy is in the US and even the world, you never know when you will be laid off or your company will faulter. I hope to do the same in 2010.

What are your New Year resolutions?

NaNoWrimo- Week 3...already?

See below on how to win a free YA book, but first we discuss NaNoWrimo!

I can't believe it's week three of NaNoWrimo already. Does that scare anyone else? I'm practically shaking in my boots...or Converse actually.

All in all, week three has been a success so far. I have yet to write today (today being Thursday afternoon) and I'm at 30,291. I was able to fill gaps and grow my characters while writing like a madwoman. I hope to come close to 35,000 today since I won't be able to write Friday-Sunday. At this point, I'm happy with my progress, despite realizing that I will have to rewrite the whole thing over again. That's what NaNo is for, right? Developing your ideas and characters before making the next draft pretty. Make sure to share how you're doing in the comments section.

Our frequent visitors may have noticed that we've placed a YAedge Follower widget in the sidebar. If you aren't following us already, please do so! Once we hit 30 followers, I will be giving away one YA book* to one lucky random follower. For every 30 followers, a new book will be available to win (one free book at 30, then 60 and so on)!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and hits their NaNoWrimo goals!

*I have yet to decide what book that will be, but will keep you updated.

To End the Month of Halloween: A Contest!!

To end the Halloween spirit on a high note, we're giving away free books! To enter, just comment in this post for a chance at not one book, but THREE! That's right, I've bundled three books that I loved and would be happy to pass on. I've tried to pick books with the Halloween-type theme. Good luck to all! Please comment by Sunday, November 1 at 10:00pm PST. I will post the one winner on Wednesday, November 4.

Please have a safe and fun Halloween! Eat tons of candy and watch your favorite spooky movie! Want a tip on a few classic horror films? Check out my post from a few weeks ago here.

On another note, don't forget to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night, as we are moving back to Standard time (or at least those of you who live in an area that changes their clock for daylight savings.

We gain an hour, which is great news for all participating in NaNoWrimo this year. I'll be posting about my trip through NaNoWrimo this year here at YAedge. Stay tuned! If you need a NaNo buddy or just want to follow my progress, search for me under username Seeker4! The more the merrier.

Now, what you have all been waiting for...the list of free books!


Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer (Paperback)

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer.





Spirit by J.P. Hightman (ARC)

From BN.com: Now, ages later, in the cold, dark heart of the Victorian era—an age of black clothes and black moods—one train is bound for Blackthorne, near Salem, where a winter carnival awaits. The cars are full of the promise of fireworks, sleigh rides, and skating. But for Tess and Tobias Goodraven, this train will take them to a place much darker than they imagined.

Even a seasoned pair of ghost hunters like Tess and Tobias didn't expect a witch like Old Mother Malgore—a witch who stalks the forests, silent as snowfall, hunting, hungering. When the train derails and the casualties climb, the Goodravens must bridge the gap between past and present tragedies if they have any chance of quieting the souls of the living, the dead, and the haunted.

In J. P. Hightman's richly woven story of ghosts and witchcraft, the simple is sinister, the dead stalk the living, and the only real weapon is love.

I heart you, You haunt me by Lisa Schroeder (paperback)

From Amazon:

Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear hisvoice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she'scrazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

Winner of Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Thanks for those who participated in the contest for a copy of Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell. To pick the winner, I used a random number generator. I'm happy to announce, the winner is:

Gina

Gina, please email us at YAedge AT yahoo DOT com with your address so that I can have the book sent to you!

Watch for another contest next week to win free books!

Happy October!

October is my favorite month of the year. Not only does it include my birthday, but also Fall is upon us. The leaves are changing, the air smells fresh and the winds are blowing. That can only mean one thing...Halloween! Like Tracy, Halloween is my favorite holiday. There's something about piles of candy, cool weather, leaves on the ground that make me excited.

This month, Tracy and I have fun things planned on YAedge: Contests, interviews with a few paranormal YA authors and much more. Please come celebrate our favorite month with us and maybe win a free book or two! And did I mention candy????

1k-a-day Week 2 Winners!

We're ready to announce the winners of week 2!

The top word count for week 2 goes to: karinlibrarian with a whopping 13 870! Whoot!

AND, because you all were awesome, the second free book of the week goes to: Lori with 7221 for her week 2 count.

As a reminder, here are the great books to choose from this week.

• A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
• Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
• Undone by Brooke Taylor (hardback)
• You Know Where to Find Me by Rachel Cohn (hardback)
• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (hardback)- I have to say, this is one of my fav. books. I just ended up with 2 hardback version for some reason. :)
• Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell (hardback)
• Eighth Grade Bites (Vlad Todd, Book 1) by Heather Brewer

If both of you could email us at: YAedge at yahoo.com (w/o the spaces and replace the at w/ @) with your name, address and your book choice, Tami will send out your prizes when she returns from vacation. If you both request the same book, it will go to first come, first serve.

Congrats! Remember, keep track of your word counts for week 3 to win free books! There will be books added to the list for the new week, so check back soon!