This past week on FYFA (and in my life):
Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!
We’re celebrating Mother’s Day and my daughter’s birthday with family today. Should be a wonderful day!
I decided to rename my Sunday Post so that people will realize that pre-order deals are included. I realized that only people who know me and care enough to come check out what’s going on with my week would click on my Sunday Post, and I want everyone to be able to find all the amazing pre-order deals that I have listed here! Hopefully this will help more people find them. (I’ve been including pre-order deals in this post for over two years, so it’s well past time I did this!)
My homeschool co-op classes are done! So, I guess I’m officially no longer a teacher, which is weird. Though I never “officially” felt like a teacher, so … Whatever. I do still have some work to finish—grading and reading through my students’ books and making comments—but I should have a lot more free time very soon. Which means I have NO more excuses for why I’m not working on my writing. I need to make myself a schedule and stick to it. Seriously. Feel free to pester me in the comments and ask me if I stuck to my self-imposed deadlines each week. (I’m horrible about self-imposed deadlines!)
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog this past week:
- March/April Wrap-Up Round-Up “Make Me Read It” Giveaway – Make me read one of my books and then you get to read it too!
- Bite-Sized Reviews of Hiding Lies, A Quiet Kind of Thunder, Alex Approximately, The Lost Path & Bubble
- My First Time Switching Between an Audiobook and a Print Book. Let’s Discuss!
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, it’s easy! Just fill out the birthday/blogoversary form.)
- May 18th – Austine @ Novel Knight‘s Birthday
- May 18th – Vivacious Hobo‘s Blogoversary
For Review:
I received LifeLik3 from Knopf Books for Young Readers via Rockstar Book Tours! Watch for my review coming on May 28th! And I received The Fall of Grace from the author. I’m going to try to fit that one in before the end of the month as well, so keep your eye out!
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
- Check out the new Ask a Publicist feature over at Brittany’s Book Rambles!
- Cait @ Paper Fury tells us How to Tell if a Book Has Good Autism Rep
- This article made me laugh: Ian McEwan helped his son write an essay about his own novel. His son got a C+
- Aleen @ Lampshade Reader tells us 5 Signs That You’re a Procrastiblogger
Pre-Order Deals:
Listed in order of release date. 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 I’M SAD by Michael Ian Black and Debbie Oh to receive bookplates signed by both author and illustrator as well as a hand-drawn/hand-painted Bored Potato. (INT)(ends 5/13)
- Pre-order BY INVITATION ONLY by Dorothea Benton Frank to receive a custom designed invitation and cocktail recipe. (ends 5/14)
- Pre-order MY SO-CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE by Nisha Sharma to receive a pin, sticker, bookmark, over-sized postcard with a mega list of Bollywood movies, and a mini bookplate. (US Only)(ends 5/14)
- Pre-order FURYBORN by Claire Legrand to receive a signed bookplate and (limited) map of Avitas and a limited edition set of Furyborn character trading cards. You’ll also be entered to win the grand prize. (US, CAN Only) (ends 5/21)
- Pre-order FROM TWINKLE, WITH LOVE by Sandhya Menon to receive an art card with custom character art, a signed bookplate, a bookmark and a sticker. (INTL)(ends 5/11)
- Pre-order ONYX & IVORY by Mindee Arnett receive an exclusive short story. Also, every participant will be entered to win one of up to fifty sets of character cards. (INTL) (ends 5/14)
- Pre-order WAR STORM by Victoria Aveyard to receive an exclusive tote bag. (UK ONLY)(ends 5/14)
- Pre-order RIDE ON by Gwen Cole to receive a character postcard, a cover postcard, a bookmark and a signed bookplate. (INTL)(ends 5/21)
- Pre-order LEGENDARY by Stephanie Garber to receive a custom set of playing cards with four unique suits and a signed bookplate. (INTL)(ends 5/28)
- Pre-order LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff to receive a collectible print featuring an original illustration of a map of the Grande Ol’ Yousay (US Only)(ends 5/28)
- Pre-order THE WORLD OF LORE: WICKED MORTALS by Aaron Mahnke to receive an exclusive enamel pin inspired by the book! (US Only)(ends 5/28)
- ***Pre-order SMOKE IN THE SUN by Renée Ahdieh to receive a paperback copy of Flame in the Mist and a signed bookplate! (US)(ends 6/4)
- Pre-order SAVE THE DATE by Morgan Matson to receive an exclusive notebook! (US Only)(ends 6/4)
- Pre-order BRUJA BORN by Zoraida Córdova to receive a signed bookplate and a bookmark. Also, possibly, a magical Brooklyn map, an enamel pin and a set of character cards. (US, CAN Only)(ends 6/4)
- Pre-order BREAKOUT by Kate Messner to receive a poster and a set of 30 bookmarks to share! (US, CAN Only)(ends 6/4)
- Pre-order LITTLE DO WE KNOW by Tamara Ireland Stone OR reserve it at your local library to receive an autographed, limited edition bookplate, two signed bookmarks and a chance to win the grand prize! (INTL) (ends 6/4)
- Pre-order NEVERWORLD WAKE by Marisha Pessl to receive a beautiful, limited edition poster and a leather-bound mini notebook! (US)(ends 6/4)
- Pre-order REAPER AT THE GATES by Sabaa Tahir to receive an Ember Series swag pack and enter to win a reading survival basket! (US Only)(ends 6/11)
- ***Pre-order CHEMISTRY LESSONS by Meredith Goldstein to receive a Serotonin molecule charm necklace. (US)(ends 6/18)
- Pre-order THE BRINK OF DARKNESS by Jeff Giles to receive an exclusive enamel pin! (Open to some INTL) (ends 7/9)
- Pre-order THE DARKEST LEGACY by Alexandra Bracken to receive an enamel pin. (INTL)(ends 7/11)
- Pre-order NYXIA UNLEASHED by Scott Reintgen to receive a signed postcard featuring one of four favorite characters from the Nyxia series. (US, CAN Only)(ends 7/16)
- Pre-order KILL THE FARM BOY by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne to receive a themed 4 button set! (US Only)(ends 7/16)
- Pre-order ENDLESS WATER, STARLESS SKY by Rosamund Hodge to receive a signed bookplate, and a print of one a portrait of one of the four main characters. (INTL)(ends 7/24)
- ***Pre-order DANCE OF THIEVES by Mary E. Pearson to receive a special, die-cut bookmark. And one grand prize winner (and a guest) will be able to attend Texas Teen Book Festival this October, where Mary is a featured author. (US)(ends 8/6)
- Pre-order CATWOMAN: SOULSTEALER by Sarah J. Maas to receive a cat-tastic PopSocket! (US Only)(ends 8/6)
- ***Pre-order CATWOMAN: SOULSTEALER by Sarah J. Maas to receive a limited edition cosmetic bag! (UK/ROI Only)(ends 8/8)
- Pre-order MIRAGE by Somaiya Daud to receive a set of Mirage-inspired nail polishes and a signed bookplate. (US Only)(ends 8/27)
- Pre-order ALL THE WANDERING LIGHT by Heather Fawcett to receive an exclusive world map, a signed bookplate, a bookmark and two stickers. (INTL)(ends 12/3)
Other Current Giveaways on FYFA:
(Besides the ones listed with this week’s posts)
- May 2018 Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway – Link up your May discussions and enter to win the giveaway!
Even More Awesome Giveaways on Other Sites:
- Head over to Books of My Heart for a chance to win the first book in a paranormal series that the readers choose and Magic Steals and Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews.
- Head over to The Life of a Booknerd Addict for a chance to win a Finished Copy of Picture Us in the Light + Prize Pack
- Head over to With Love for Books for a chance to win Books of choice worth $30
- Head over to Owl Always Be Reading for a chance to win one of three finished copies of CAPTAIN SUPERLATIVE
- Fierce Reads is giving away some of the best items from their booth at YALL WEST
- Head over to Star-Crossed Book Blog for a chance to win a signed copy of International Sensory Assassin Network and swag
- Stuck in Books is giving away Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
- Tressa @ Wishful Endings is giving away a Book from her April/May TBR (INT)
- Bookfever is giving away a book of your choice to two people (INT)
- Lots of blogs participating in the May I Suggest Giveaway Hop!
- Enter Read It Forward’s weekly giveaway! This one is: A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
- Head over to Writer Writer Pants on Fire for her weekly giveaway! This week’s is a chance to win one of two EDEN SUMMER by Liz Flanagan
- Head over to Stuck in Books for a chance to win Branded and Hunted
- Head over to Alyssa Carlier’s blog for a chance to win Reflection (A Twisted Tale) by Elizabeth Lim (which is a Mulan retelling).
Lots of good stuff! Have any giveaways or great discussions happening on your site right now? Feel free to share them in the comments!
Happy Mother’s Day, and happy birthday to your daughter. Congrats on finishing your co-op classes. I hope you get lots of writing done now. Have a great week!
I’ve been doing pretty good about putting in a few hours a day of writing this week, so it’s a good start! Editing is VERY slow though, because I’m working on making those little updates that make all the difference—taking out filter words and such. Sometimes those changes can take the longest because you really have to think about the best way to rewrite.
Happy Mother’s Day…and daughter’s birthday!
Enjoy your books…and thanks for the pre-order info.
Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
You’re welcome—I’m always happy to hear that people appreciate the pre-order info (and the giveaways). It makes the time I put into putting these lists together worth it!
Happy Mother’s Day! And yay for more free time! Best of luck with keeping to your self-imposed deadlines (I’m bad at sticking to them too!) 🙂
I need someone breathing down my neck, apparently. Or like a NaNoWriMo goal to keep me going. I’ve been doing good about working on the book for a few hours a day this week, though!
Ooh nice! I’m debating over LifeLike! I hope you enjoy it! Good luck with your writing schedule!! I reallllllly need to get one of those in place for myself too. Lol! Happy Reading!
Here’s my STS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
It’s so hard to self-impose a schedule! But I just realized it’s been almost a year since I sent my book off to that editor at Penguin. I really need to get myself in gear and start querying!!
Good luck with sticking to your writing deadlines! I’m generally terrible at self-imposed deadlines too though, to be honest.
Have a great week! 🙂
I need real, actual deadlines that can’t be broken—or at least that “feel” like they can’t be broken (since obviously, I could fail at NaNo, but I don’t want to).
Good luck with the grading and the writing, and I hope you enjoy your “retirement”.
Ha! Nope, no retirement for me—if I look at it that way, I’ll never get anything done again! LOL!
Happy Birthday to your daughter and Happy Mother’s Day! Thanks for the pre-order links and good luck with your writing. Nice new reads too!
Thanks, Laura!
Happy Mother’s Day! And congrats on the final days of your teaching. I hope you find lots of time to work on your writing, though I get what you mean about self-imposed deadlines. I’m SO the same way. hah
-Lauren
I’ve been doing well the past couple days with at least getting a few hours in. I need to keep it up!!
Happy Mother’s Day!! Hope you had a nice one. 🙂 And good luck with the writing too. Time and making ourselves write is one of the hardest things, I think!
I’m very curious about Lifel1k3 since I’ve never read a solo Kristoff book, but his stuff seems popular and I did like the Illuminae books. I may try it if reviews are good.
Have a fab week!
I read Nevernight and enjoyed it, though not quite as much as a lot of other people seemed to. The weird thing is, the book has stayed in my mind a lot more solidly than many books that I thought at the time I liked better. Books that make an impression like that are few and far between, and I think it has to count for something.
Happy belated mother’s day and happy belated birthday to your daughter. I hope you had an amazing weekend.
Thanks so much!
Hope you and your daughter enjoyed your special day, Nicole. And hooray for classes being done and having more time!
Thanks! We did have a great day!!
Yay for being done with teaching so you can really concentrate on writing! I also checked out the Ask a Publicist post last week and it had some good info. I’m looking forward to more of those. Have a great week!
I thought that was a great feature! I’m looking forward to more of them, too!
So I’m enjoying seeing all the interesting things people are doing on their blogs as I look around the Sunday posts. You do some different things and I like the layout. One of my team, Robin is also reviewing LIFeL1K3 May 25th. I’ll also mention as of tomorrow I have 4 different giveaways going on at my blog. Anne – Books of My Heart
I added your giveaways to the list, Anne. Thanks for letting me know about them! (I found three—if you let me know which one I’m missing, I’ll add the fourth one too.)
oh I thought I said as of tomorrow. Anyway, with tomorrow’s post, a review of Ascendant by Jack Campbell, I’m giving away the hardcover the publisher sent me because I also have the digital and I’m trying to get everything digital for easier moving and traveling. It’s a goregous book, with a dust jacket and everything. Smells amazing and new. lol Anne – Books of My Heart
You did say that—my mistake! I was thinking you’d commented yesterday!
Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you had a wonderful weekend celebrating that and your daughters birthday. ? And congratulations on finishing up your classes! That’s going to be amazing that you’ll have more time to work on your book…..but I always get distracted too from what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ll rearrange our pantry instead of what I should he doing HA! And thanks for featuring the ISAN giveaway on our blog here! I’ve tried some that authors other books and they weren’t for me but this book is easily going be in my favorite books for this whole year, it was much fun!!
Too many typos…..sorry!!!??
I’ll forgive you. 😉
I’ve seen her around for years, but I think this is the first review I’ve seen of one of her books.
Good luck with the writing!
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing all the pre-order deals! I think I will cave and pre-order at least two Bruja and Flame
Wow I cannot believe that you are officially no longer a teacher! You may never “officially” thought of yourself as a teacher but I did for years so yup… weird. I bet you’ll miss it but yeah… NO more excuses! OMG I see BOOKS!!! Books by Nicole! YAYYY [claps hands]
Since I’m horrible with self-impose deadlines too I wanted to start a regular writer’s feature in June [because I’ll be prepping for July camp] that I hope will help me keep me on my toes I was debating between:
1) resurrecting a writer’s monthly wrap-up feature I stared during my second year of blogging (but I didn’t keep up with it!) or..
2) Something I can combined with my reviews like maybe a favorite/least favorite duet of books and then discuss a different topic every week/month like the genre. theme, writing, voice, setting, etc and compare to my own WIP’s progress.
IDK I’m still thinking about it LOL because.. that would be another thing that would take time away from writing! decisions decisions LOL 🙂
BUT… I guess that where I’m going with this is that maybe that would work for you! If you had a regular feature about your writing that may hep you stay on track AND will give us your readers a change to pester you in the comments! 🙂
It’s such a hard thing to choose how to spend your time. Today I spent a bunch of time updating stuff for GDPR (which feels silly, but whatever). And then I’ve been working on replying to comments—haven’t gotten to writing a post OR working on my WIP yet today, and I’ve already been up for four hours. Sigh.
ugh I hear you that’s exactly what I’m doing right now GDPR! Maybe that’s why you got that error message. Today or tomorrow a discussion post is going up exactly on how my blogging springeddon is going and how I made the math that it will take me gazillions hours to catch up with my comments and visit my favorite blogs. And dealing with that [yes silly!] GDRP thingy IS NOT HELPING [she sobs] 🙂 Good luck and thank you for the twitter DM Xoxo
That was probably it. It’s definitely working now!