It Begins!

Today starts the blog tour of awesome around the internet. Twelve stops, twelve chance to win a copy of WISH YOU WEREN'T and astronaut ice cream – yum!

Here's where you'll find me this week:

Monday: Mundie Kids (I'm guest posting about -- you guessed it -- wishing on stars!)
Wednesday: Cover2Cover (This time I'm talking about other ways to wish)
Wednesday: The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl will be posting a review Friday: Sher A. Hart reviewer Ken Rahmoeller shares his thoughts on WYW

In addition to the tour, I'm thrilled that the esteemed Middle Grade Ninja will be featuring me this week on his amazing blog. Tuesday he'll do his Book of the Week review of WISH YOU WEREN'T and on Thursday, I'll be answering his famous 7 Questions Interview. If you're a writer and you've never visited the Middle Grade Ninja, do yourself a favor and go now. He's got interviews with agents, editors and writers like Sara Crowe, Tina Wexler, Kendra Levin, Lynne Reid Banks and Ingrid Law. Seriously cool interviews I'll be rubbing shoulders with!

If you're looking for more chances to win, the contest is still open over at Literary Rambles. You can win a copy of the book, a wish token and a pocket watch just like the one Tör uses to manipulate time in WISH YOU WEREN'T. (Although I don't guarantee that this watch will have the same magical properties as Tör's!)

Whew! It's going to be a busy week! I hope I'll see you around the web!

And just in case you forgot, you can always get your very own copy of WISH YOU WEREN'T from these magnificent retailers :)
Amazon   |  Kobo  |  B&N  |   Smashwords  |   Solvang Book Loft

Party Time!

Happy December!

Can you feel the excitement in the air?

It's that time of year when the champagne flows, the waistline grows, and gifts and parties are on the mind. Well, at least they're on mine!

I'm throwing a party all month long and you're invited! So pour yourself a glass and pass the shortbread cookies. Here's how it works:

I have this stack of books I was going to take to the used book store, but then I thought how much more fun it would be to give them away on the blog. But I'm not just giving away books. You could win a bracelet or a gift card, a critique or an ARC. Yeah, this is going to be fun!

It's really easy to play along. All you have to do is follow this blog and leave a comment. Every follower who leaves a comment is automatically entered to win. And I'll be giving something away every time I post. Would you believe I have 12 posts planned for the month of December? It's my 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway. Woohoo!!

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, an ARC of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Have you heard about this book? In a word, incredible!

This ARC actually was given to me by one of my true loves, Kathy Mullins at the Book Loft in Solvang. I've told you before how fabulous it is to be given books when I go to the book store. This is another awesome find that she sent my way.

Here's the blurb:

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
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.

Oh man, I get chills just thinking about it again! You can read more about the book (and the authors) over on Myra's blog. If you like paranormal YA, you'll love this book.

Of course, if that's not your thing, I'm all about choices. Alternate options for today's giveaway include TROY by Adéle Geras or a $10 gift card from Amazon. TROY is an award-winning YA about the epic siege on Troy, seen primarily through the eyes of a teenage girl. The Amazon gift card, well, you know what to do with that, don't you?!

I'll be randomly generating a winner on Friday.
All right people, party on!

And the Winner Is...

Wow, you guys...

Your stories of gifts received were wonderful! Corey, I LOVE the song your husband had written for your wedding day. How sweet is that! Michelle, it's so good to hear that people can be so kind to one another. I'm thrilled that someone would do that for you. Beth, I can only imagine the joy of talking to a son who is no longer at home. And T.Annne, a trip to Disneyland is the stuff memories are made of.

So, here's the deal. I couldn't pick just one winner. I think you've all won with the wonderful gifts you've received, but I'm going to add to it.

We put everyone's comments into a basket and pulled not one, but FOUR names. The first two out were Vivian and Kelly. They each win a bracelet. The next two out were Kelly H-Y and Suzanne. They both win books. Congratulations! If you will email me at solvang sherrie at gmail dot com, I will get those prizes out to you.

And for the rest of you, here's another chance to win something. I know you all like to read, and Lenore is giving away 11 books to one lucky reader. Check it out...