Last week on FYFA (and in my life):
This week started out great, but then got strange fast. I’ll start with the good.
I’m writing this post from a swim meet again (on Saturday). We love swimming, but there’s lots of downtime. But that’s okay because that means I have plenty of time to write my Sunday Post today.
Last weekend, my daughter had a piano/voice recital and she also had a little ceremony because she was one of the winners of our library’s literary magazine contest. She wrote a really adorable short story for my homeschool writing class and entered it in the contest. I’m super proud and impressed with her writing skills (though her spelling is another story—good thing there’s spellcheck! LOL!). The fun thing is that our library actually lists her as an author now since they technically published the literary magazine. She can search for herself in our library’s catalog or in the world catalog and she comes up! (They also have like 30 copies that people can actually check out, even through interlibrary loan, which is really kind of cool.)
If you want to read her story and see a picture that she drew of our dog Bella (with big eyes, since that was the assignment for her art class), you can check it out here. (Can you tell I’m a proud mom, or what?)
Then the crazy thing happened. My house was robbed in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. We forgot to lock the back door before we went to bed apparently. My mom was staying over (as she often does) and she woke to someone walking around with an iPhone flashlight in the kitchen. At first she thought it was my husband coming down for some reason and using his iPhone so he didn’t wake her, but then the person came into the family room and shined the light right in her face a few times. He walked to a table and picked something up (which we later realized was my purse and some cash that I had sitting there) and then he walked around a little more and went back out the back door. My mom was, of course, frozen in fear and shock. When she was sure that she didn’t hear anything else, she went over to the back door and felt that someone had left wet footprints. He also left the storm door propped open. We called the police and they brought a dog and everything, but they didn’t find him. Apparently, he’s broken into several homes in the area when he finds doors unlocked.
The whole situation was more scary than anything. And of course, we had to replace all the locks in the house and get our car keys reprogrammed and replaced (since he had a copy and he obviously knows where we live!). And then there’s the pain of cancelling all the credit cards, etc. The important lesson here is make double sure you lock your doors and windows—you never know what can happen!
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog last week:
- Giveaway of the Gorgeous Juniper Books Edition of The Hunger Games Trilogy – Still time to enter to win this amazing special edition set, which retails for $99!
- The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari: Review, Giveaway & Cestari’s Top Ten Addictions – Still time to enter to win a copy of the book! (One giveaway per tour stop, so check them all out!)
- The Truth About Happily Ever After by Karole Cozzo: Review & Giveaway – Still time to enter to win a copy of the book!
- What You Need to Know Before You Open a NetGalley Account – If you’re already on NetGalley, I’d appreciate it if you’d share the post so that newbie bloggers will see it! 🙂
Next week on FYFA:
- Bite-Sized Reviews of the (start of) the Ruined and Gold Seer series (I actually already wrote this one. Can you believe it?)
- Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee: Review, Giveaway & Dee’s Top Ten Addictions
- Let’s Discuss: Something bookish! 🙂
Book Blogger Birthdays and Blogoversaries:
Lots of birthdays and blogoversaries this week! I hope you’ll go wish these bloggers well on their special days! Make sure you check out the calendar to see what you might have just missed or what’s coming up. (If you want to be added to the calendar, you can always fill out the birthday/blogoversary form.)
- May 21st – Karen @ KissinBlueKaren‘s Birthday
- May 23rd – Monica @ Tomes Project’s Birthday
- May 24th – Clara @ Lost in My Library‘s Birthday
- May 27th – Kirstie @ Upside-Down Books‘ Birthday
- May 27th – Paper Fury‘s Blogoversary
For Review:
Thanks to Raven Books for Dead Ed in My Head!
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
Apparently I didn’t keep track this week!
Pre-Order Deals:
I’m now putting these in order of release date to make it easier on myself (and you, I think). Any new deals that I just added to the list this week will be denoted with a *** so you can easily find them!
- Pre-order BRANDED by Eric Smith and you’ll get a set of signed postcards of the covers, an Inked and Branded quote postcard set designed by author and illustrator Ashley Poston, and a handful of temporary tattoos! (ends 5/22)
- Pre-order DARK BREAKS THE DAWN by Sara B. Larson and get a signed bookmark (and you’ll be entered to win LOTS of other great prizes!!) (ends 5/29)
- Pre-order FOLLOW ME BACK by A.V. Geiger and receive a signed bookplate! You will also be entered to win a grand prize #EricThornObsessed backpack filled with fangirl themed goodies. (ends 6/5)
- Pre-order DIVIDING EDEN by Joelle Charbonneau and receive a signed postcard, a set of 4 stickers and a flashing LED ring. If you enter from a tour stop store, you’ll also be entered into a drawing to win 1 of 10 t-shirts. (ends 6/5)
- Pre-order ONCE AND FOR ALL by Sarah Dessen and receive a pocket planner and you’ll also be entered to win a trip for two to Emerald Isle, the beachside town that inspires the setting in Sarah’s books! (ends 6/6)
- Pre-order ROAR by Cora Carmack and receive a Skyfire pendant and Stormheart Chart in a cloth bag! (ends 6/12)
- Pre-order SALVAGED by Jay Crownover and receive an advance excerpt of DIGNITY and a Saints of Denver Doodle download to print at home. (ends 6/19)
- Pre-order MIDNIGHT JEWEL by Richelle Mead and receive nail decals inspired by The Glittering Court and a chance to win a basket of Richelle Mead’s favorite things. (ends 6/26)
- Pre-order ENIGMA by Tonya Kuper receive an Enigma swag pack, including a signed book plate, plus the possibility of lots of other goodies as well! (ends 6/30)
- Pre-order WASTE OF SPACE by Gina Damico and receive a bookmark, a magnet, and a 4″x6″ print of Damico’s original hand-drawn sketch of the spaceship’s schematics. (ends 7/11)
- Pre-order WARCROSS by Marie Lu and receive “Life After Legend” an exclusive short story set after the events of the Legend Series (ends 9/11)
Other Current Giveaways on FYFA:
(Besides the ones listed with this week’s posts)
- It Started With Goodbye by Christina June: Review, Giveaway, and June’s Top Ten Addictions – Last chance to enter to win one of five copies of the book!
- April Wrap-Up Round-Up Giveaway – Visit people’s wrap-up posts and enter to win the giveaway! (No need to link up to be eligible for the giveaway.)
- May Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway – Link up your discussions here and enter the giveaway!
- Kill All Happies by Rachel Cohn: Review & Giveaway – Still time to enter to win my paperback ARC copy!
Latest FYFA Giveaway Winners!!:
- Nothing new to report this week!
Even More Awesome Giveaways on Other Sites:
- Megan over @ Book Birds is celebrating her 1st blogoversary and she’s giving you a chance to win a book from TBD to celebrate! (INT)
- Head over to Brittany’s Book Rambles for a chance to win a Set of Penguin Teen’s Game-Changers ARCs or one of 5 Copies of The One Memory of Flora Banks
- Head over to Lisa Loves Literature for a chance to enter FLYLeF’s 2nd anniversary giveaway. They’re giving away a one-month subscription box to Owl Crate or $35 Amazon gift card for an international winner! (INT)
- Lots of blogs participating in the Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop!
- It’s Kissin’ Blue Karen’s 3rd blogoversary and she’s celebrating with a $25 Gift Card Giveaway!
- Lots of blogs participating in the May New Release Giveaway Hop!
- Head over to Bookish Lifestyle for a chance to win a Skype Session with Evelyn Skye & an Evie Seo Tote
- Head over to Pink Polka Dot Books for a chance to win a Complete Set of Sarah Dessen’s Books in Paperback!
- XPresso Book Tours is giving away an Amazon Fire HD 8 and a $200 Amazon Gift Card!
- The Bookkeeper’s Secrets is doing a year-long giveaway!
Lots of good stuff! Have any giveaways or great discussions happening on your site right now? Feel free to share them in the comments!
OMG, Nicole! I am glad you are all ok! That is super scary. Your poor mom! Wow, I do hope they catch him!!!
Hope you have a less crazy week! (((hugs)))
I felt horrible for my mom. It was very scary for her!
Oh wow that is so scary!! Glad you are all ok. Congrats to your daughter – that is a great accomplishment. Hope you have a better week!
Thanks, Grace! Now that we’ve gotten over the shock of it, we can just take it as a lesson learned.
Awesome haul of books this week. There were a lot of great giveaways and pre-orders this week.
Grace @ Books of Love
Yes! Always lots going on around the blogosphere!
Oh my god that’s terrible! It could have been far worse, though. Thank goodness your mom was okay and no one got hurt, it can really go either way when it comes to break ins. I hope your mom’s feeling okay because that would obviously have shaken her up. Lesson learned, always double check doors and windows before going to bed.
At least you’ve had something positive happen this week, that must be very cool for your daughter winning and getting to be known as a published author. Even if her spelling does need work, there is a reason spellcheck exists in the world, right?
I hope you have a good week.
Yes, my mom was definitely shaken up. She was planning on going home the next night, but she would have had to sleep in an empty house and she decided there was no way!
Congratulations to your daughter. How exciting! And then, the robbery – how scary! I am glad you were all unharmed.
It was quite an eventful week!
I had my house broken into when my son was home alone. He was a teen and quite tall. When they opened his bedroom door and saw him, they said hi and turned and ran out. It still gives me nightmares and I’m always checking doors and windows. So glad you are all okay! And I read your daughter’s story. Teddy is a pistol. LOL Congrats on her becoming an author:)
My Sunday Post
Oh my gosh, how scary! I’m glad your teen was big enough to scare him away!! Thanks for checking out my daughter’s story! She’ll be thrilled that people are reading it!!!
Omg! That’s so scary!! Glad your mom was okay after all that! And ugh, the pain of cancelling credit cards and all the keys. I’ve had my card hacked before and even though it was just one card it was still a pain in the butt to get that fixed. Especially since I really only have the one credit card! Lol. Glad that you all are safe though!
Nice new read! That’s a new to me one! Cover is sure colorful! Hope you enjoy it and that this week will be more pleasant!
Here’s my STS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
Raven books is a pretty new publisher, so I’m guessing that this book is new to most people!
What a blast for your daughter and you to have her story published. 🙂 Ah, that is the worst feeling to know someone got into your home like that. Glad you were all safe.
Lots of fun book stuff going on, too.
Yes, the library contest was exciting—I thought it was so cute that they list them as authors in the catalog!
Oh no! I’m so glad everyone is okay, as bad and scary as it was, it could have been MUCH worse! I hope they catch the guy!
Have a great (and less eventful!) week!
Yes, it definitely could have been a lot worse. We’re thankful that it wasn’t!
That is really scary about your break-in. I am glad everyone is ok. I hope you enjoy your books and have a great week!
Yeah, it was definitely scary. Hope to never have to experience that again!
So sorry to hear that! How terrifying that must have been for your mother- thank goodness no one was hurt, but man the thought of someone moving around your house while you sleep is awful. We were robbed once when I was a kid but we were on vacation, we came home to a mess. I’m pretty anal about locks and such as a result, even as an adult!
Congrats to your daughter though, that’s awesome! She must feel very proud (and you too)!
Have a super week.
I was robbed when I was in college—during Thanksgiving break. My roommate came home when the person was still there and they ran out through the back door. Wish I’d learned my lesson because of that, but apparently I didn’t completely. (Though, I guess no matter what, mistakes are made.)
Wow thank goodness no one was hurt, that is so scary.
Congrats to your daughter! I like the picture she drew too.
Have a great week!
Thanks for checking out my daughter’s story! And yes, the robbery was very scary, but the good thing is everyone’s okay. I think we’ve learned our lesson about locking doors!!
Oh my goodness, such a scary situation to wake up and find someone in your house. I hope they catch him and thankfully no one was hurt.
What a cute story about Teddy and the drawing of Bella is great, she is very talented. Congrats to your daughter.
Hope this week will be much better for you. Take care and happy reading.
Aww, thanks for taking the time to check out my daughter’s story. She’ll be excited to see that people are seeing it!
Congrats to your daughter! And that’s awesome that the library has her listed as an author now!
I saw your tweet last week, that’s so scary! And I mean, the guy could see that your mom was awake and he just kept meandering around the house??? That’s especially strange. But still scary. And forgetting to lock a door one night, that can happen to anyone. Glad you’re all ok!
I thought it was pretty cute that she can find herself in the online catalog. It makes it feel so real!
That must have been so scary for your mum…I’m glad she’s ok. I must admit I’m obsessive about locking doors and windows, checking them countless times even when I know I’ve done it already. The one night I left it to my dad, he left the back door unlocked. We got lucky that night as nobody came in but it’s so easy to just forget. Thanks for visiting my blog and I’m happy to welcome you anytime to my Book Cave! *waves*
You’re smart for being obsessive about it. We were obviously lax and you see what happened!
OMG that’s terrible! He just kept walking around completely aware of your mom? So scary. Glad you are all okay and you only had to replace keys and stuff, its scary that he knows where you live.
Yeah, we can’t figure out if he couldn’t tell she was awake or if he could see that she was frozen and terrified so he just walked around a bit more. He did leave soon after, but still!
Congrats to your daughter! Being robbed would be terrifying. I’m glad that everyone is okay. Have a great week.
It was pretty scary! Just glad it wasn’t worse!
Omg, that’s terrifying! And your poor mom!! I’m glad that everyone is okay though. Congrats to your daughter! That’s awesome she’s a legit author now. 🙂
-Lauren
Well, “legit author” might be pushing it—but I’m definitely proud of her! 🙂
My gosh, Nicole, that’s is horrible! And your poor mother being awake and witnessing it. Thank goodness the person left and didn’t do any more damage. The hassle of changing everything over truly *is* a hassle… but it’s just so good that no one was harmed.
In better news, congrats to your daughter! That’s so exciting… and how cool that she’s now listed as an author at your library! 🙂
Thanks, Tanya. Yes, it could have been so much worse!
Wow, that is so scary. I’m so glad my parents are as paranoid as I am – they triple-check locks, doors, windows, etc., every single night. I used to laugh at my dad when I was little, because the whole procedure seemed silly, but I appreciate it as I’m older.
I hope you have a better week!
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Yeah, we were mad at ourselves for forgetting, but hopefully we won’t ever make that mistake again!
Oh well done to your daughter, and of course you’re super proud, it’s a huge moment in her life! And OMG so scary about the break in. Thankfully no one was hurt. And yes deffo a good reminder to double check everything is locked up. My husband is paranoid but I’m glad he is. Have a good week.
I can’t help but brag about my kids every now and again, right? 🙂 And yes, I’m now thinking paranoid is just right.
I hope you feel safe in your home again now that you’ve got new locks. That must’ve been terrifying!
Dead Ed in My Head has an awesome cover! What’s it about?
It’s about a teen boy (Todd) who befriends an old man named Ed. When Ed dies, he sort of “haunts” Todd, but not in a mean way—his voice is in Todd’s head and he helps him out. I found the concept intriguing—I hope it’s good! (I agree about the cover too.)
Wow, Nicole that is super scary, and your poor Mom. Glad everyone is ok. My hubby laughs at me because I never leave my purse out at home, and always keep it in a drawer. Very exciting about your little author! I will be sure to check it out.
I would probably have thought you were crazy for hiding your purse too, but obviously I now know you’re the smart one here!
OMG! How scary! I’m totally freaked out for you! I’m so sorry this happened and I’m so glad you’re all okay. I’m totally going to double-check all my doors every night before bed. xoxo
Yes, make sure to check the doors and windows. It’s not a good feeling to have this happen to you!
That’s so exciting and huge about your daughter! She must be so beyond proud of herself! What an accomplishment!!
And I’m so thankful your mom and all of your family were safe! How absolutely terrifying! I hope that guy gets caught!
My daughter was excited about her story—it was fun that they put so much effort into making them feel good about their writing!
That’s amazing that your daughter was published. I know you are proud!!
Wow, that’s so scary that someone was in your house like that. 🙁 I’m so sorry that happened.
It was scary, but luckily everyone’s okay. You never think something like that will happen to you!
swim meets must be great for blogging/reading! I wish I could say the same about soccer 🙂
Yay for piano/voice recitals! My son’s is June 3rd 🙂 Congrats on her winning the short story contest. What a proud moment mamma! Good she has you for all the editing 😉 I would be emailing the link to the library where she comes up to EVERYONE I know LOL It is indeed cool so congrats again!
Ok I’ll be back. Off to read her story now 🙂
Yes, swimming works well for blogging since there’s LOTS of downtime. 🙂
I’m back! wow you daughter is very talented!!! I want an ARC when she publish her first book! I could FEEL I was in Teddy’s head and it felt like a real dog! Such a great story!
Awww… thanks so much! She’ll love that you read it!