3rd Annual Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon: Goals & Updates!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the 3rd Annual  Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon! For the past 2 years I've participated in this Halloween read-a-thon hosted by April & Kat @ My Shelf Confessions and had a blast doing so. Once again I will be joining but this time my wonderful reviewer Hillary will be too. This is Hillary's first time doing a readathon so please join me in welcoming her. 

On this post both Hillary and I will be sharing what books we will be reading, our goals, and daily updates.  We will also will be using our twitter accounts Beckie @SyCo4Twilight & Hillary @BookOwl93 to post more in depth updates as well as chatting with other read-a-thon participants.

Sign ups for the read-a-thon are still open. Use the link below to join. 

Runs October 17th-27th 2014

Sign up: HERE 

Twitter hashtag: #WWReadathon

Time Devoted to Reading

• I will be reading from September 17th-27th

Goals:

• Read at least 4 books.
• Do mini-challenges.
• READ MORE, GET DISTRACTED LESS! 
• Meets new people, make friends but most of all have fun!
• Be more proactive with posting daily updates on the blog, twitter and leaving comments on other read-a-thon participants blogs.

Books I will be reading - 
 - Note: All books below I will be trying to read or want to read.  My book choices may change thus a update will be supplied.

1. Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick - finished

2. Selection Stories: The Price & The Guard - finished

3. Amity by Micol Ostow - reading now

4. Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell (on my Kindle) - finished

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Day One Updates: October 17th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 100

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 0

Day Two Updates: October 18th 2014

Number of books read today: 1

Total Pages Read today: 227

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 1

Day Three Updates: October 19th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 24% 

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 1

Day Four Updates: October 20th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 0

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 0

Day Five Updates: October 21st 2014

Number of books read today: 

Total Pages Read today: 

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 

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Day Six Updates: October 22th 2014

Number of books read today: 

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Day Seven Updates: October 23th 2014

Number of books read today: 1

Total Pages Read today: 278

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 2

Day Eight Updates: October 24th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 300

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 2

Day Nine Updates: October 25th 2014

Number of books read today: 1

Total Pages Read today: 150

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 3

Day Ten Updates: October 26th 2014

Number of books read today: 

Total Pages Read today: 

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 

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Day Eleven Updates: October 27th 2014

Number of books read today: 

Total Pages Read today: 

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 

Number of books read in Total: 

None yet.

Goals:

* Read at least 3 books.

* Try to write reviews for books I finish.

* BALANCE out reading and outside activities EQUALLY!

* Meet people, make friends, and have FUN! :D

* Send updates to Beckie ASAP! (Or I’ll get distracted) Share updates on twitter too and comment on other read-a-thon participant blogs.

Books I’ll be reading:

1. Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

2. Panic by Lauren Oliver

3. The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

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Day One Updates: October 17th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 123

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 0

Day Two Updates: October 18th 2014

Number of books read today: 

Total Pages Read today: 318

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 

Number of books read in Total: 

Day Three Updates: October 19th 2014

Number of books read today: 

Total Pages Read today: 

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 

Number of books read in Total: 

Day Four Updates: October 20th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 0

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 1

Day Five Updates: October 21st 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 30

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 1

Day Six Updates: October 22th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 69

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 1

Day Seven Updates: October 23th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 130

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 1

Day Eight Updates: October 24th 2014

Number of books read today: 0

Total Pages Read today: 156

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 0

Number of books read in Total: 1

Day Nine Updates: October 25th 2014

Number of books read today: 

Total Pages Read today: 

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 

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Day Ten Updates: October 26th 2014

Number of books read today: 

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Day Eleven Updates: October 27th 2014

Number of books read today: 

Total Pages Read today: 

Mini Challenges Completed Today: 

Number of books read in Total: 

None yet. 

5th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop | Win $12 @ The Book Depository! Open to everyone!

Hello and welcome to the 5th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop is hosted by

I am a Reader Not a Writer.

Happy Halloween! ( well almost )

I am so happy to be a part of this spooktacular event once again as it is the largest giveaway hop of the year. I just love this time of year. Reading those scary books and watching movies like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Jason. SO. MUCH. FUN.

For my giveaway - 

 I will be giving away one [ 1 ]  book up to $12 @ The Book Depository. They ship to most any country but if you are unsure click HERE to check. 

Giveaway Rules:

• Use the rafflecopter form below to enter
• Open internationally! Everyone can enter.
• Winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize.
• No cheating. No using multiple names. You must complete each entry completely otherwise it will not count.
• There is one (1) mandatory entry but all others will increase your chances to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That's about it. GOOD LUCK to everyone! 
A big thanks to each and everyone of you who enters. YOU ALL TOTALLY ROCK!

Looking for more giveaways to enter?
CLICK HERE

Cover Reveal: Deadly Design by Debra Dockter + Author Interview & Giveaway: win 1 of 5 print ARC's!

Welcome everyone! 

I am so excited to say I've been asked by Penguin/G.P. Putnam's Sons to share with my readers today the cover reveal for the book DEADLY DESIGN by debut author Debra Dockter. The book is set to release in summer of 2015, which is a way off but today you will have a chance to win 1 of 5 print ARC's!! Yes, you heard me right! FIVE copies! (5 winners). How awesome is that? Along with the cover reveal and giveaway there is also a fun author interview. It's a great way to meet new author, Debra Dockter.

I am totally psyched about this one and the cover is without a doubt GORGEOUS! Don't you think?!

Though technically twins, Connor and Kyle couldn’t be more different. Star of the track team, valedictorian, and all-around golden boy of their high school, Connor’s always overshadowed his sarcastic loner brother Kyle, who’s most comfortable hiding out in the basement playing video games. But the most surprising difference is that Kyle and Connor were born two years apart. Conceived in vitro at the Genesis Innovations Laboratory after their parents struggled to have children, the decision was made to carry the embryos separately—and that decision made all the difference in Kyle’s world. Paralyzed with anger over being left behind and sure he’ll never be able to catch up to his perfect brother, Kyle doesn’t even try. But when the children conceived in the Genesis lab, including Connor, start dropping dead of apparent heart attacks on their eighteenth birthdays, catching up is the very last thing Kyle wants to do.

All he wants to do now is live—to figure out what happened to Connor, to keep from obliterating his parents’ already broken heart, and to love the beautiful Cami for as long as he can. He quickly discovers the key to his survival lies with a mysterious Dr. Mueller, who not only created Kyle and the others but genetically modified them, turning them all into virtual gods—the best looks, the best athletic and academic ability, the best everything. They were perfect with just one deadly flaw. In a race against time, Kyle sets off to find the missing Dr. Mueller and unlock the secrets hidden in his genetic code, because eighteen years is not enough. A gripping thriller where DNA proves fatal, Deadly Design is an adrenaline-charged ride through the dark world of genetic manipulation.

Me: Debra, please introduce yourself and tell the readers a few things you would like them to know about you. 

Debra: I grew up as the youngest child in a family of five kids. I had four older brothers who were the perfect combination of protectors and tormentors. For the most part they were pretty awesome, but I failed miserably as a tomboy. Ballet was more my style and of course, writing. But like so many people, I thought writers were born, not developed. I wrote because I loved it, and after many years of practice and conferences, got my first book deal. Yay! I live in Kansas with my husband and our three kids.  I teach at a local college and love writing for teens. To me, teens are individuals poised on the edge of life’s diving board. No matter how high the diving board, or how deep the water, they have to find the courage to jump.   

Me: Where did the idea for the book come from? 

Debra: Writers need to practice, and practice and practice. I wrote a book a while back, and while the book wasn’t that great (it was pretty awful really), I fell in love with one of the characters. I could let the book go, but not him. I also love science and the amazing possibilities it holds. As a professor, I study and teach about the wonders of DNA and the possibilities that can come with understanding genetics. Some of it’s really exciting, and some of it’s kind of scary. 

When Kyle, my main character, and science met, a story was born. I imagined what kind of people could be created if genes could be manipulated and what limits scientists would have, especially evil ones, in regards to what they could achieve. But we’re more than our DNA. We’re individuals, and it’s up to Kyle to prove that no matter what his DNA says, he has a right to live his life.   

Me: Tell us a little about the main characters in the book. Was there one in particular you enjoyed writing about the most? 

Debra: What can I say about Kyle? This may sound strange, but when I’m having a tough day, I think about him and how hard he fights to save his own life and he gives me courage. Sounds hokey, I know, but part of my writing process, was to imagine sitting at a table with him and having conversations. I don’t feel like I created him, as much as I got to know him, and well – I love the kid. He’s smart and funny, and like all teens, he’s got insecurities and he’s got strength. And did I mention he’s really, really handsome. 

The two main female characters, Emma and Cami, may seem like opposites, and in some ways, they are. Emma is all about climbing the high school social ladder. Cami loves art and her family. But both girls see something special in the McAdams twins, in Kyle and his brother Connor. In so many ways, these guys seem perfect – guys any girl would fall for. But how do you let yourself fall in love with someone, who seems destined to die?     

Me: If your book was made into a movie, who would you envision playing the lead roles?

Debra: This is such a tough question, but a fun one, too. Here’s what I came up with. 

Alex Pettyfer as Kyle and Connor

Madison McLaughlin as Cami

Maddie Hasson as Emma

Me: Is there anything you wish you could go back and change? A character, chapter or technique?  

Debra: This story has evolved so much from the first version I wrote.  As a writer, one thing a person needs to keep in mind is that writing is something fluid. There’s never a point where it becomes like some marble statue and you know it’s finished. If given the chance to tweak a thing here or there, I probably would. There’s always something that could be a little better. But I’ve been so blessed to work with my wonderful agent, Ayesha Pande, and amazing editors. People have asked me if I got upset or even angry when my editor, Stacey Barney with Putnam, asked me to change something. The somewhat annoying truth is that she was always right. Any writer should want their work to be the best it can be, and having Stacey and her assistant Kate helping me achieve that was amazing. It’s because of them that I can say I feel pretty good about the outcome. 

Me: Is there anything else you’d like to say or shout out to readers of my blog? Final Thoughts? 

Debra: I guess more than anything, I hope readers enjoy getting to know Kyle, and I hope he inspires them like he inspires me. If there’s something I’d like to say to your teen readers, I suppose it’s what I told Kyle when we’d have our chats at the kitchen table. Don’t give up. No matter how sucky life can be sometimes, hang in there. And don’t ever let anyone tell you your worth. Not to sound like a fortune cookie or Dr. Phil, but the reality is that while there are many people out in the world who know what fear and sadness and insecurity and hope are, no one knows them the same way you do. You’re unique and valuable. You matter, and that’s why I love writing for you.  Hope you enjoy Deadly Design!  

I can’t wait to connect with readers on the page!  Thanks for letting me share on your blog Becky!  

Find Debra @ Website / Twitter / Goodreads 

When my parents told me I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, I took it to heart. Even being a Kansas girl, I managed to become a ballerina (performing Swan Lake 28 times), worked as a magician's assistant (worst job ever!), became a child psychologist, and currently work as a college professor and a young adult author. I currently live in Kansas with my husband, our three children, one dog, one bird, nine fish and if my youngest gets her way, some sort of rodent. My young adult novel, "Deadly Design" is due out June of 2015 from Putnam/Penguin. I'm represented by the wonderful Ayesha Pande Literary Agency. Follow me on Twitter @debdockterYA

Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter. 

Prizes: 5 print ARC's of Deadly Design. 
Open to US/Canada Only.

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