Two-in-One Post

Debut Author, Joelle Anthony (RESTORING HARMONY), is celebrating Indie Bookstore Week over on her blog.  You can check out her blog post and contest here.  In honor of Indie Bookstore Week, I want to tell you about my favorite local indie Bookstore.

Vroman's Bookstore is located in Pasadena, CA.  It is an amazing bookstore, with incredible customer services, and the most fantastic  events.  Of course one of my favorite areas of the store is the children's section which is quite large (actually there are some indie Bookstores that would fit in the children's book area) and the selection of books from picture books to YA is fabulous.

Today, I was at Vroman's for an author event.  Two awesome YA authors were featured at the afternoon event. Ally Carter (Heist Society, The Gallagher Girls) and Melissa de la Cruz (Van Alen Legacy, Blue Bloods) shared the spotlight in front of a packed out audience.



Ally Carter began with talking about her books followed by Melissa De La Cruz.

Of course, Pasadena and the Los Angeles area is home to some great YA authors who also stopped by to show their support.

Yes, you guessed it Margie Stohl and Kami Garcia were in the audience.  They brought along Vania (known on Twitter as ReverieBr).



After waiting in line and getting books signed by both Melissa and Ally.  They were gracious enough to take pictures with me.



Thanks Kami for taking the picture of Melissa and me.  Vania snapped the one of me and Ally.



Also, another local blogger and friend was on hand.  Here is a picture of Janelle and Ally.



Now for a surprise.  I have a hardcover copy of the Heisty Society signed by Ally Carter and a copy of the Keys to the Repository signed by Melissa de la Cruz to give away.   One lucky winner will be able to win one book (either Heist Society or the Keys to the Repository).

Here are the rules:

1.  All entrants must complete the attached entry form.

2. Entrants must be 13 or older.  International participants are welcome.

3. Please leave a comment about which book you would like and why.

4. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, July 28, 2010.

Please complete the Entry Form (click for link).  If you have trouble with the link, please email me at kidlitfrenzy(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

Good luck everyone and if you have an Indie Bookstore in your area - go out and support it!

- Aly

Summertime Reading Giveaway...

Do some books remind you of a particular time of the year? Some books make me think vacation.  Others remind me of where I was or a particular time in my life.  However, some books seem like great summer reading material.  For the next few weeks, I am going to be hosting a series of book contests.  Yes, you read that right...book contests - plural.

I am kicking the Summer Reading Giveaway with a book that says summer to me but one that I don't think has gotten as much recognition as I think it should.  I am featuring Saundra Mitchell’s Shadowed Summer.  Saundra has been wonderful and sent me a signed book plate for the book, and some additional swag including a Shadowed Summer bookmark, sticker, and a Vespertine book card.

Description from GoodReads:

Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.



Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?

My Review:

I actually read Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell back in December.   It had come to me highly recommended, and someone joked that it should be read in the middle of the winter.  So I did read it surrounded by 2 feet of snow outside.  It is one of those books that warms you up.  When I jumped into the first chapter of the book, I could feel the heat and humidity of the Louisiana summer rising off the page.

But to be fair, this is truly a summer book.  Mitchell's Shadowed Summer is a southern gothic ghost story. From the first pages, Mitchell drew me into her world and kept me reading.  I could almost sense myself walking around this small Louisanna town in the summer with the heat and humidity rising from the ground, and the laziness of the days. Her characters - Richly developed, and come alive on the pages. There is friendship, secrets, and more. Mitchell's background as a screenwriter lends itself to crisp writing without excessive words and pacing that never drags. If anything, I wanted to spend more time in her world and was sad to see the story end even though the length was appropriate. And even though part of me thought I knew how the book was going to end, I was still was a little surprised.

I would highly recommend this to anyone, and I do.  Mitchell has been added to my favorite author "watch list" and I can't wait for her next book Vespertine to be released in 2011.

To Enter the Contest:

1. You must fill out the form below.

2. You must be 14 years or older to enter the contest.

3. You must submit the form prior to 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, July 11, 2010

For Extra Entries:

- Leave a comment in the comment section about your favorite summer book (1 extra entry)

- Tweet it, Blog about it, or post it on your blog or Facebook page (each item will earn you 2 extra entries)

- Follow the Blog (New followers will get 1 extra entry, Current Followers will get 2 extra entries)

Good luck,

-Aly

Click Here for Entry Form


Please email me at alybee930 (at) gmail (dot) com If you have any troubles with the entry form.