This past week on FYFA (and in my life):
This week was back to being crazy busy because I added three new classes to my teaching schedule at our homeschool co-op. Our co-op has some 32-week classes and some 24-week classes, and three of the four classes I teach are 24-week. (I was already teaching One Year Adventure Novel, and now I added two acting classes and a middle grade language arts class). I’m teaching poetry in language arts to start off, which is lots of fun—maybe it will inspire me to do those poetry reviews I was talking about before.
I also did some editing on the first ten pages of my book (the one I wrote) so that I could send them in for a critique—I’m headed to a children’s book publishing conference at the beginning of November and one of the options was to get a critique of those critical first ten pages.
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog this past week:
- The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle: A Black Sheep Review
- Bite-Sized Reviews of The Blood Will Dry, Hunted, Hostage, and Monstress
- I Wrote in a Book and I Liked It. Gasp! Let’s Discuss.
Next week on FYFA:
- Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco: Review & Giveaway
- Let’s Discuss: Something bookish! 🙂
Latest FYFA Giveaway Winners!!:
- None this week!
Book Blogger Birthdays and Blogoversaries:
Here are the 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.)
- September 17th – Alicia @ Awesome Book Assessment‘s Birthday
- September 17th – Annette’s Book Spot‘s Blogoversary
- September 18th – Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales‘ Birthday
- September 18th – Tanya @ Girl Plus Books‘ Birthday
For Review:
Okay, I’ll confess that I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan, but Leia has always been my favorite character, and when I saw that Leia, Princess of Alderaan was by Claudia Gray, I couldn’t help but say, “Sure, send it my way!”
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
- Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales tells about 14 Upcoming YA/MG Desi releases we should know about
- Sam @ We Live and Breathe Books gives us her book confession: She obsessively monitors book prices
- Megan @ Book Birds created this amazingly thorough list of 2018 YA Releases!
- Did you know that September 23rd is Barnes & Nobles’ B-Fest, their second annual teen book festival? If you go to their store locator and click on Find an Event, you can type in B-Fest and click on the little “All Stores” link in the search box to change it to “Stores Near My Location.” That will give you a list of all the B-Fest events near you!
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!
Please note: Almost all pre-order giveaways run “while supplies last,” so I can’t guarantee that they’ll be open until the date listed. Pre-0rder early for your best chance to get all the goodies!
- Pre-order ONE DARK THRONE by Kendare Blake to receive a set of custom THREE DARK CROWNS SERIES playing cards! (ends 9/18)
- Pre-order HUNTING PRINCE DRACULA by Kerri Maniscalco to receive a special limited-edition novella featuring a STALKING JACK THE RIPPER story told from Thomas Cresswell’s perspective. (ends 9/18)
- Pre-order MOXIE By Jennifer Mathieu to receive stickers, buttons, temporary tattoos, a mini-zine and more! (ends 9/18)
- Pre-order THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH AND THE NIGHTMARE KING by Max Brallier to receive a zombie slugger, bookplate signed by the author, and to have your child’s name listed in the Acknowledgements of Last Kids book #4! (ends 9/24)
- Pre-order INVICTUS by Ryan Graudin to receive a FREE set of five character trading cards designed by Elvishness. (ends 9/25)
- Pre-order STARFISH by Akemi Dawn Bowman to receive a signed bookplate, a bookmark featuring a quote from the book, and a gorgeous STARFISH promo card! (ends 9/25)
- Pre-order THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS by Leigh Bardugo to receive a quince flower enamel pin. You’ll also be entered to win one of six grand prize packages! (ends 9/25)
- Pre-order THERE’S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE by Stephanie Perkins to receive a custom keychain wallet! (ends 9/25)
- Pre-order AHIMSA by Supriha Kelkar to receive a bookmark, bookplate and mini coloring sheet. (ends 10/1)
- Pre-order HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN ILLUSTRATED EDITION and receive a Knight Bus tote bag (UK & ROI Only. If you’re in AUS or NZ, find the offer HERE). (ends 10/1)
- Pre-order GHOSTS OF GREENGLASS HOUSE by Kate Milford to receive 3 adorable buttons in a green pouch. (ends 10/2)
- Pre-order RINGER by Lauren Oliver to receive an exclusive never-before-seen digital chapter from REPLICA. (ends 10/2)
- Pre-order BROODING YA HERO by Carrie DiRisio to receive stickers, bookmarks and limited edition postcards. (ends (10/2)
- Pre-order BEFORE THE DEVIL BREAKS YOU by Libba Bray to receive a FREE custom book plate signed by Libba Bray AND a set of three “The Diviners” tarot cards. (ends 10/2)
- ***Pre-order THE RULES OF MAGIC by Alice Hoffman to be entered to win a signed bookplate! (ends 10/6)
- Pre-order GRAY WOLF ISLAND by Tracey Neithercott to receive a book map, character stickers, post card, bookmark, signed bookplate and illustrated character print (first 15 people). Plus, you’ll be entered to win even more! (ends 10/9)
- Pre-order DARE MIGHTY THINGS by Heather Kaczynski to receive a signed DMT bookplate, DMT bookmark, and metallic DMT temporary tattoo. The first 25 pre-orders also receive a sparkly I Believe in Science enamel pin. Everyone will also be entered to win a grand prize! (ends 10/9)
- Pre-order IT DEVOURS! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor to receive a free audio download of chapter two, performed by the one and only Cecil Baldwin! (ends 10/16)
- Pre-order THE EMPRESS by S.J. Kincaid for a chance to win a signed Empress cover, author illustrated THE DIABOLIC and INSIGNIA trilogy, clock, USB hub, fun little magnets, bookmark, pin and quote cards! (ends 10/30)
- Pre-order RENEGADES by Marissa Meyer to receive your choice of a Renegades or Anarchist button pack! (ends 11/6)
- Pre-order ROSEMARKED by Livia Blackburne to receive a signed bookmark, bookplate, postcard with ROSEMARKED map, a PDF of bonus content emailed to you with a self edit letter Blackburne wrote to herself after the first draft, and an early deleted scene that shows how the book could have gone in a VERY different direction. (ends 11/6)
- Pre-order RETRIBUTION RAILS by Erin Bowman to receive Kate & Jesse — an exclusive novella set after the events of Vengeance Road and only available via this pre-order campaign! You’ll also receive a bookmark, a signed bookplate, stickers, a Vengeance Road laptop decal and two Vengeance Road quote cards. You’ll also be entered to win a grand prize. (ends 11/6)
- ***Pre-order THE NOVEMBER GIRL by Lydia Kang to receive a swag bundle. Plus the first 150 pre-orders will receive a wish bracelet and buttons as well! (ends 11/6)
- Pre-order MEET CUTE by various authors, including Jennifer L. Armentrout, Dhonielle Clayton and Katie Cotugno, to receive a set of 6 pins based on the cover! (ends 1/1)
Other Current Giveaways on FYFA:
(Besides the ones listed with this week’s posts)
- A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland: Review, Giveaway and Sutherland’s Top Ten Addictions – Still time to enter to win one of three copies of the book!
- August Wrap-Up Round-Up Giveaway (with a new, interactive Make Me Read It twist) – Make sure you check out the new format for the giveaway. I think it’s going to be really fun and it has the possibility of being more interactive.
- September Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway – Link up your September discussions here and enter the giveaway!
Even More Awesome Giveaways on Other Sites:
- Read It Forward is giving you the chance to win Robert Lacey’s The Crown!
- YA Books Central has a HUGE giveaway of Buzzworthy Books going on!
- Star-Crossed Book Blog also has a blogoversary celebration going on with LOTS of prizes!
- Lots of blogs participating in the September New-Release Giveaway Hop!
- Head over to YA Books Central to see the cover for City of Bastards and enter to win one of Four Hardcover Copies of Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
- 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!
Wow, you are taking a lot on with a couple more classes! All sound like fun ones though. I’ve decided for my NaNoWriMo this year I’m going to go back and edit the one novel that I’ve finished and maybe get it ready to start sending out to publishers. Have a great week!
Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to write a new book for NaNo this year. I really want to focus on this one first.
Your new class sound fun. My youngest daughter is really shy so I encouraged her to join the drama club. Now she loves it and it has given her confidence for speaking in front of crowds. I love Star Wars and Claudia Gray’s books so I can’t wait to read Leia. I hope you have a great week!
I’m so glad that your daughter found confidence in the drama club—I think it’s a great way for kids to do that!
OOoh nice new read! New to me but hope you enjoy it!
Here’s my STS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
Thanks, Jessica!
Good luck with the classes- that does sound busy.
I’m curious about the Leia book, especially since the other two Star Wars books that Claudia Gray wrote were pretty good. And I did not know about the Barnes & Noble B-fest. That sounds fun!
Have a great week Nicole!
I didn’t realize that she wrote other Star Wars books. I loved Claudia Gray’s last book, though, and that was enough to convince me I needed this one.
Oh wow that sounds busy with all those classes. Good luck!! Happy reading and have a great week!
The school year is always so crazy—don’t know why I’m still surprised when it happens. 🙂
It sounds like you’re going to be doing a lot of teaching. Good luck with the novel edits!
Yep, it’s a busy year!
Three more classes… wow! I’m kind of in awe of your energy and commitment. 🙂
I loved Sam’s post of checking books prices at Amazon… probably because I tend to do the same thing. LOL
You guys are very dedicated to checking prices. I’ll confess that I’m an impulse buyer! 🙂
Poetry is so hard! I used to be so much better at it in high school, and now I don’t think I could write one unless my life depended on it. Lol. Though I did write those haikus for SUMMER HAIKUS which were a lot of fun.
I loved the poems in SUMMER HAIKUS. I often still think about them!
Woah, you are busy! Your new classes you’re teaching sound like fun though! Yay for doing some of your own book editing. That conference sounds awesome.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
I’m excited about the conference. It should be a great experience—plus it’s good motivation to get my editing done on a deadline. 🙂
So many pre-orders, so little money!! Lol.
Ha! Yes—isn’t that the truth!
I also saw that book about Leia, but I had to turn away from it 😀 because wayyyyy too many ARCs.
Anyway, have a great week 🙂 I hope you can do even more editing 🙂
You’re smart—I probably should have done the same. Sigh.
It sounds like you are going to be really busy with all of those classes. I am really excited for you about your book. Thanks for sharing all of the pre-orders and giveaways!
You’re welcome! I’m always happy to share!
We used to start with poetry, too, and then some “genius” decided it needed to be in April. You can’t identify figurative language in the fiction or literary nonfiction units without first learning it IN the poetry unit. We’re stuck like this for the second year. We have started our fiction unit, which the kids are getting amped up about! I hope all of your classes are going well.
I agree that it’s easier to start with poetry and introduce the figurative language there. We’re reading The Hiding Place right now along with doing poetry and I’ve been underlining metaphors and personification and the like, thinking, “I can’t wait till we’ve learned this so I can show them!” 🙂
I can’t wait to hear all about your conference in November! That sounds like so much fun for you! And here’s wishing you a wonderful week!
I’m really looking forward to it!