500 Blog Followers Giveaway! (closed)

Welcome gentle reader!

My little blog has reached 500 followers and I also have 900 followers on Twitter. Overwhelmed by those whooping numbers, I have decided to thank you all by having a massive giveaway. Hopefully everyone will find something of interest here…

Giveaway 1: For Readers

For those of you interested in winning books, I’m giving away my favourite YA books:

YA books giveaway

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (YA High Fantasy)

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (YA Fantasy)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (YA Paranormal Romance)

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (YA Dystopian)

The giveaway is open until Sunday 25th August 2013 at 9am (BST time). There will be one winner per book (=4 winners). This giveaway is open Internationally, as long as the Book Depository ships to your country.

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name, email and title of the book you’d like to win. Since this giveaway is to thank my followers, you have to follow my blog via email or WordPress to enter. If you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Giveaway 2: For Writers

If you’re a writer, you might be interested in a critique. I’m lucky to have wonderful writerly friends and awesome Critique Partners who have agreed to give away the following critiques:

Juliana Haygert is a NA Author and a co-founder of NA Alley. She writes Contemporary Romance and Fantasy with strong romantic elements. She has published several books, including Destiny Gift and Breaking The Reins. She’s offering a 15-page critique.

Rachel O’Laughlin writes Adult Epic Fantasy and she’s a member of There And Draft Again. Her debut title, Coldness of Marek, just came out this summer. She’s offering to critique your query and first 50 pages of your manuscript.

Jessy Montgomery is a YA writer and a freelance editor. She writes Fantasy and Dark Contemporary novels. She’s also my wonderful CP and a member of There And Draft Again. She’s offering to critique your query and the first 10 pages of your manuscript.

Serena Lawless is a YA writer and a member of The Great Noveling Adventure. She writes Magical Realism. She’s offering to critique the first 20 pages of your manuscript and to interview you on The Great Noveling Adventure blog.

The giveaway is open until Sunday 25th August 2013 at 9am (BST time). There will be one winner per critique (=4 winners). The giveaway is international.

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name, email and genre of your manuscript. Since this giveaway is to thank my followers, you have to follow my blog via email or WordPress to enter. If you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

Winners will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck everyone, and feel free to leave me a comment below!

Sunday Giveaway – Between Two Thorns (closed)

Sunday Giveaway

Hello gentle reader,

this summer I give ONE BOOK per week, (almost) every Sunday.

Today I’m giving away BETWEEN TWO THORNS by Emma Newman. It’s a YA Fantasy book first published in February 2013 by Angry Robot and it’s the first book in the Split Worlds series.

BetweenTwoThorns

From Goodreads:

Something is wrong in Aquae Sulis, Bath’s secret mirror city.

The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer.

There is a witness but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break. A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs.

But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she’s been born into?

Giveaway information:

The giveaway is open until Wednesday 14th August 2013 at 9am (BST time).

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name and email. If you follow my blog by email or WordPress , if you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

This giveaway is open Internationally, as long as the Book Depository ships to your country.

The winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck and feel free to leave me a comment below!

Sunday Giveaway – Soulless by Gail Carriger (closed)

Sunday Giveaway

Hello gentle reader,

this summer I give ONE BOOK per week, every Sunday.

Today I’m giving away SOULLESS (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger, a Historical Fantasy/Steampunk novel published in 2009 by Orbit.

Soulless

From Goodreads:

First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Giveaway information:

The giveaway is open until Wednesday 10th July 2013 at 9am (BST time).

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name and email. If you follow my blog by email or WordPress , if you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

This giveaway is open Internationally, as long as the Book Depository ships to your country.

The winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck and feel free to leave me a comment below!

Sunday Giveaway – The Bane Chronicles (closed)

Sunday Giveaway

Hello gentle reader,

this summer I give away ONE KINDLE E-BOOK every Sunday.

Today I’m giving away Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale (The Bane Chronicles #3) by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan (published 18th June 2013).

Bane Chronicles

From Cassandra Clare’s website:

“Ever wondered about the enigmatic, mysterious warlock Magnus Bane? The only character to appear in every Shadowhunter book, Magnus has a past even more shrouded in mystery than his present. I’ve teamed up with acclaimed YA writers Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan to create the Bane Chronicles, the backstory of Magnus told in ten linked stories. Each story will be released online for the next ten months — and then for those who don’t read e-books, the full print collection will be available in bookstores and wherever else books are sold.

Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale: this standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series.

Magnus Bane leverages his alliances with Downworlders and Shadowhunters on a venture to Victorian London. One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.

When immortal warlock Magnus Bane attends preliminary peace talks between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders in Victorian London, he is charmed by two very different people: the vampire Camille Belcourt and the young Shadowhunter, Edmund Herondale. Will winning hearts mean choosing sides?”

I’ve been reading The Infernal Devices series and I’m very excited that this third short story about Magnus Bane is set in Victorian England. This is why I’m sharing it with one lucky reader today!

Giveaway information:

The giveaway is open until Wednesday 26th June 2013 at 9am (BST time).

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name and email. If you follow my blog by email or WordPress , if you are a Twitter follower, if you like my page on Facebook, if you follow me on Pinterest or Tumblr, or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

This giveaway is open Internationally.

The winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I am only giving away one Kindle e-book per giveaway. No other format, sorry!

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck and feel free to leave me a comment below!

Sunday Giveaway – A Dawn Most Wicked (closed)

Sunday Giveaway

Hello gentle reader,

this summer I give away ONE KINDLE E-BOOK every Sunday.

Today I’m giving away A Dawn Most Wicked (Something Strange And Deadly 0.5) by Susan Dennard. It’s the companion novella to her SSAD trilogy and it tells the story of Eleanor’s suitor Daniel. I read it this week and it’s awesome! You can even read it if you haven’t read Something Strange And Deadly, because the story is set before the events of Book 1.

Dennard - A Dawn Most WickedFrom Goodreads:

Daniel Sheridan is an engineer’s apprentice on a haunted Mississippi steamer known as the Sadie Queen. His best friend–the apprentice pilot, Cassidy Cochran–also happens to be the girl he’s pining for…and the captain’s daughter. But when it looks like the Sadie Queen might get taken off the river, Daniel and Cassidy have to do whatever they can to stop the ghosts that plague the ship.
Fortunately, there happens to be a Creole gentleman on board by the name of Joseph Boyer-–and he just might be able to help them…

Giveaway information:

The giveaway is open until Wednesday 19th June 2013 at 9am (BST time).

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name and email. If you follow my blog by email or WordPress , if you are a Twitter follower , if you like my page on Facebook or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

This giveaway is open Internationally.

The winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I am only giving away one Kindle e-book per giveaway. No other format, sorry!

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck and feel free to leave me a comment below!

Blog Update and ROW80 Check-In 10

Hello gentle reader,

I hope you had a lovely week!

If you’re here to enter my Best Book Ever Giveaway and have a chance to win The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo, click on the image below (giveaway ends tomorrow):

Best Book Ever Giveaway

If you’re here for my ROW80 Check-In, know that I spent my week running like a headless chicken for my crazy day job. Therefore I didn’t do any writing, I barely did any editing and I only did a bit of reading.

ROW80 LogoPlease note this is my last check-in for this round (although this round won’t be over until 20th June).

Indeed I have decided to join a summer challenge called Ready. Set. Write!

ready-set-write-button

Hosted by Alison MillerKaty Upperman, Erin Funk, Jaime Morrow and Elodie Nowodazkij, it’s a summer writing intensive that starts Tuesday 11th June and will go on for 2 months. The idea is to update weekly on Wednesdays on what we’ve been writing and on our new goals for the week.

Sunday Giveaway

Finally and starting this week as well, I’ll be hosting a giveaway each Sunday. I will give you the opportunity to win one e-copy of a YA book I’ve read this year or will be reading this summer. I borrowed this idea from the wonderful Amy Plum whom I met in Paris at the SCBWI Conference in March.

So that’s what will happen on my blog until 15th August!

I wish you all a great summer and hope to read your comments below.

Let me know how your week was and what you have planned for the summer!

In the meantime, happy reading, and happy writing!

The Best Book Ever Giveaway Hop! (closed)

Hello gentle reader,

Somehow my blog has gained a lot of new followers lately. To thank you all for your support, I am taking part in the Best Book Ever Giveaway Hop hosted by The Best Books Ever & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

Best Book Ever Giveaway

The giveaway runs from today until Monday 10th June 2013. It is a chance for you to win:

A paperback copy of The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo (UK edition)

Leigh-Bardugo-The-Gathering-Dark-UK

You may know this New York Times Best Seller by its US title, Shadow and Bone.

Same book, but here I’m giving away the gorgeous UK edition!

This giveaway is, as always, international.

*GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!

The winner will be contacted by email.*

Giveaway information:

The giveaway is open until Monday 10th June 2013 at midnight (BST time).

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name and email. If you follow my blog by email or WordPress , if you are a Twitter follower , if you like my page on Facebook or if you tweet about the giveaway, this will grant you an extra entry. Mention it below.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

This giveaway is open Internationally.

The winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I am not responsible for items lost in the mail.

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck and feel free to leave me a comment below…

This is a blog hop! Visit the other giveaways here.

My Week In Review – ROW80 Check-In 8

Hello gentle reader,

It is time for another weekly check-in! This week I’m happy to be back to my normal routine, and I can offer you a proper Week In Review post…

Quote and Film of the Week

the-great-gatsby-leonaro-dicaprio_1

“I was within and without. Simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. Film by Baz Luhrmann.

To me, The Great Gatsby is a masterpiece because of its writing, not because of its story. Thus turning the book into a film is incredibly hard. I enjoyed Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation because that’s what it is: a vision of the book.

TV Show of the Week

World Without End

World Without End (Channel 4)

I missed this show when it aired in September. I played catch-up this week because I love The Pillars of the Earth and this is the sequel. However I was a bit disappointed: the plot is exactly the same and therefore very predictable.

Good News of the Week

I bought my first Kindle! I resisted peer pressure for a long time, because I love reading paper books. But I travel all the time and my bookshelf space isn’t unlimited, so I finally gave in and got the Kindle Fire. Any tips welcome!

ROW80 Check-In

ROW80 Logo

My goal for this round is to write every day. This week again I managed to write

2 days out of 7.

With my WIP in the hands of beta-readers, I basically took the week off writing…

Links of the Week

I was interviewed by the ever awesome Serena Lawless about my Work In Progress. You can read it here.

On my blog I posted my reasons for writing Lily In The Shadows.

On There And Draft Again this week, it’s giveaway time! Our group blog has reached 100 followers and we’re giving away Fantasy books to celebrate. Make sure to enter here.

The Like a Virgin Contest has been announced! It will be held in July 2013. It is co-organized by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez, the ladies behind the weekly Thursday’s Children blog hop. It will be open only to manuscripts that have yet to go through the online contest trenches. They want your fresh, sparkly and new manuscripts. How exciting is that?!

Next week

Next week on my blog I will be sharing my latest readings…

How was your week? Make sure to share your writing progress and what inspired you this week in the comment section below!

Signed Book Giveaway (aka 400 Followers Giveaway)! (closed)

signed book hop

Welcome gentle reader!

My blog has reached 400 followers and to thank you all I am taking part in the Signed Book Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

*GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!

THE WINNER WILL BE CONTACTED BY EMAIL*

The giveaway runs from today until Monday 22d April 2013. Since this giveaway is to thank my followers, you have to follow my blog via email or WordPress to enter. If you do, it is a chance for you to win a SIGNED paperback copy of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. The giveaway is, as always, international.

A-Discovery-of-Witches

EM Castellan - Signed Discovery

Giveaway information:

The giveaway is open until Monday 22d April 2013 at midnight (BST time).

To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name and email, and let me know if you follow via email or WordPress. You HAVE TO follow my blog by email or WordPress to enter.

Entrants must be at least 13 years of age.

This giveaway is open Internationally.

The winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.

I am not responsible for items lost in the mail.

I hold the right to end the giveaway before its original deadline without any prior notice.

I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Good luck and feel free to leave me a comment below…

This is a blog hop! Visit the other giveaways here.

Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop! (closed)

spring cleaning (2)

Giveaway is now closed – Thanks to all who entered!

Winners will be contacted by email

Hello gentle reader,

yesterday was my birthday and as a result, I have even more books on my shelves than before, so I thought it was time to do some “Spring Cleaning” with a book giveaway! This giveaway hop is hosted by Kathy @ I am a reader, not a writer and it runs from today to Monday 25th March 2013.

Here you can win ONE of the five following books:

EM Castellan - Spring Cleaning Giveawayvampireacademy

Fever (The Chemical Garden Book 2) by Lauren Destefano

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Masquerade (Blue Bloods Book 2) by Melissa de la Cruz

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

All books are paperbacks, UK editions. They are used books in very good condition, but the spines are broken since I have read them. The giveaway is, as always, international.

Giveaway information:

  • The giveaway is open until Monday 25th March 2013 at midnight (BST time)
  • To enter please fill in the contact form below with your name, email and the book you wish to win. Please state if you’re a blog follower (by email or WordPress) or a Twitter follower or if you like my page on Facebook, as this will grant you an extra entry.
  • Entrants must be  at least 13 years of age.
  • This giveaway is open Internationally.
  • The 5 winners will be notified by email and will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
  • For official giveaway rules and guidelines please consult the I am a reader not a writer page.
  • Privacy information: no information given for this giveaway will be used for other purpose than this giveaway. All information provided (names, emails and mail addresses) will be deleted after the giveaway.

Thanks for entering my giveaway and good luck! Feel free to leave a comment below…

Visit the other giveaways here.