Random News & Extra Contest Entries

Hey everyone!

The new school semester is now underway, so you might see me a bit less than before. I'm still reading though and have lots of fun stuff (including contests and interviews) planned for the upcoming months! There are so many great 2010 books that I can't wait to chat with all of you about!

Don't forget that I currently have three contests running!

• Win BLEEDING VIOLET here!
• Win CAPTIVATE here!
• Win THE DARK DIVINE here!

In other news, I had the chance to speak with a great group of kids the other day at the local public library where I live! I was invited to come and speak about blogging, reading, and what I think makes a great review. The kids, though I really shouldn't call them kids, as I'm not very much older than some of them, were a wonderful audience and they asked some wonderful questions. Questions that prompted me to actually think, like which book or books sparked my love of reading. I always have tons of fun when I get to talk to other book lovers, but this group was unique because they are part of a galley program that reads and reviews books before they are released as well! Of course, I'm terribly jealous that they had this opportunity while in high school, as my library from back home had a sad YA collection and there were definitely no arcs to be found... Some of the participants were even budding authors, much like many bloggers I know! In fact, I was asked an interesting question by one writer, which I'll ask all of you other readers out there:

    How do you feel about exclamation points?

That is, as a reader, how do feel about the usage of exclamation points? Should they be used sparingly? Or at all? What do you think?

If you answer the above question in the comments, you'll get 2 extra entries into one of the three contests that are currently running (see above). I'll add the entries into the spreadsheet, simply comment.

Contest News and Updates

Hello everyone!
I'd just like to remind everyone about a couple of contests that are running at The Hiding Spot right now:

Go here to win an ARC of LITTLE BLACK LIES by Tish Cohen!

Go here to be one of 5 to win signed RAMPANT bookmarks!

When I reach 250 followers I'm planning on holding a big-ish contest for books and swag. This may be delayed until a bit after 250 depending on school and work, but it will happen!

I've gotten quite a few blog awards lately and I'd like to thank everyone that has given them to me! I love getting them, though I usually don't pass them on. If I have some extra time though, I'll try to! Thanks!!!

Updates and Randomness

Hey everyone!

I have done a random newsy post in quite awhile and now is a good time before I dive into The Tear Collector. Also, I apologize for the long-windedness of this post, sometimes I get carried away, plus I have a lot to share! :)

I just finished Soulless by Gail Carriger and let me tell you, it was AMAZING! My review and an interview with Gail will be up on the site at the end of September to celebrate the October 1st release! There might be a contest for Soulless, but no promises at this point.

For anyone that missed it, I reviewed The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander at the end of August/very beginning of September and I've just recently posted an fun interview with Jill. So be sure to check that out as well, here.

There is currently one contest at The Hiding Spot for a finished copy of Snap by Carol Snow. Followers of The Hiding Spot have until October 1st to enter this giveaway! Enter here.

I'd like to also mention a contest going on at the blog, Harlequin Twilight. There are two books up for grabs, so two winners! The prizes are a signed, paperback copy of The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran and a signed, hardcover of Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran. So head here to enter by Friday, September 11th.

Also, I've passed 150 followers and am rapidly approaching 200! YAY! Thank you so much followers! I am so grateful for those of you who follow me - especially those of you who follow out of love of books and my view and the info you get from The Hiding Spot, not only for free stuff. It really means a lot to me, as a bookworm who was pretty much alone in her book loving nerdiness before beginning to blog. It still astounds me that there are people as book crazy as me out there! When I reach 200 I plan on holding some type of contest to celebrate all of you awesome people, but I'm not sure of the details yet. I'm currently jobless, so funds are limited. :( But I really want to celebrate! :)

I also moved into my dorm Friday and started classes Tuesday at university. So far, I've had time to work on the blog and schedule posts, and I've also managed to check up on comments a couple times of day too. That said, I haven't had any homework yet or found a job. So this may change, but I will still try to have a least one new post daily and keep up on my reading and reviews, if not for the sake of the blog, then for my own sanity. After all, books are my hiding spot, and if I don't read I can't de-stress.

What kind of school schedules do all of you students have? I transferred this year from a community college with an Associates, so this is my first time living in a big city on a big campus. It is a totally new experience. I'm also living in dorms, which is not really by choice but more because of convenience and necessity, but I'm dealing with it. There are a lot of rules that chafe somewhat - as I'm very much into doing my own thing and, though if you ever met me in person you probably wouldn't believe me, do not like bowing down to authority, especially to people who are only a couple years older than me and running the dorms. Some of them are cool, some I just want to ignore. But I can't - and that bothers me. Maybe it is my age, I don't know, but I really don't like being told what to do. Okay, enough of that, I'm just a little bit peeved about it right now. Anyway my schedule is pretty good so far. I had my Media and Telecommunications class today which seems like it will be fun. There are 300 people in it and pretty much no extra seats. The professor is adjunct and runs his own company - directing, editing, making commericals - and we watch YouTube videos in class, which is pretty cool. We get extra credit for submitting YouTube videos that are pertinent to the lecture topic, so I'm all about that. Otherwise it is pretty basic: Public Speaking, Business Enterprise, Macroeconomics, and Business Stats. Can you tell my major is Business and Marketing? But enough about me, how is everyone else's back-to-school going?