Zombies ate my brains

I promise you, they did. I knew I'd forgotten my brain somewhere--I took it out because revising makes it itchy and it second guesses everything my heart says--and *sigh* the zombies got to it before I found it.

I tried to ask them why brains, specifically, are so tasty, but I think they only know how to say one word: "Brains."

I have only a couple neurons left. I stuck them back into my head, but I need to face the reality: my head is now empty.

My heart is glad to have more control over the manuscript. My spleen thinks it has an input, too, since you know, back in the 18th century people would have attacks of spleen all the time. My spleen is a big Alexander Pope fan, but I still don't want its input since I'm not a fan of any kind of organ attack. (I actually thought the spleen was vestigial, but it turns out it's not.)

I'm glad my heart is happy, though I can't say I am. I did really like my brain. Sometimes it had some kind of okayish ideas.

Plus, I thought I was bad at math BEFORE this. Now, forget it.

Celebratory giveaway WINNERS!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my contest to celebrate Karen Amanda Hooper's book deal!

So, if all of you who entered remember, I asked you a question just for fun on the giveaway form. It was about whether you prefer mermaids or selkies, since Karen's book has both. Before I announce the winner, I tallied those up, and here are the results of that:

mermaids: 61%

selkies: 14%

both: 25%

Poor selkies.

Anyway, without further ado:

The winner of SIREN'S STORM is:

Sarah Nicolas!

And the winner of SWEET VENOM is:

Jennifer Danford!

Winners, I'll e-mail you today to get your mailing addresses. Thank you again to everyone who participated! And congratulations to the winners!

Last day to enter my celebratory giveaway!

Do you want to read an ARC about gorgons or sirens? Interested in an easy-to-enter giveaway?

Check it out: http://alexandrashostak.blogspot.com/2011/07/celebratory-giveaway.html

Giveaway closes tonight at midnight EST so don't wait!

CELEBRATORY GIVEAWAY!

Earlier this week I announced some really cool news: that Karen Amanda Hooper, a good friend and awesome CP, just signed a book deal with Rhemalda Publishing.

To celebrate, I have a themed giveaway, with two great ARCs! How is it themed? Well, Karen's story, TANGLED TIDES, focuses on mermaids, selkies and sirens, and incorporates gorgons into the fabric of the fantasy world.

So, I'm giving away an ARC of:

SIREN'S STORM by Lisa Papademetriou (theme: sirens)

and

SWEET VENOM by Tera Lynn Childs (theme: gorgons)

How do you enter? Fill out the form (ETA link removed). If you give me your name and a way to contact you, you will be entered. If you have congratulated Karen already, or if you do go congratulate her before you enter, you are much more likely to win one of these books. :)

Giveaway closes next Wednesday, July 20th, at midnight EST.

P.S. I'm not the only one celebrating. Natalie Bahm is giving away a copy of ENTWINED by Heather Dixon to celebrate Karen's news!

12:01 AM, WINNERS of my ALA GIVEAWAY!

Without further ado...

The winner of FOREVER is:

Nicole Zoltack!

The winner of PERSONAL DEMONS is:

Lisa Potts!

The winner of FORGOTTEN is:

April X!

And the winner of FALLING FOR HAMLET is:

Rani Streff!

Congratulations to the winners! You'll each be receiving an e-mail from me shortly so I can find out your mailing addresses (probably tomorrow, since I'm tired right now.)

Exciting news!!!

My awesome friend and cp Karen Amanda Hooper just signed a book deal with Rhemalda Publishing for her sea creature YA book TANGLED TIDES!

Karen is a fantastically talented writer--I've had the pleasure to read TANGLED TIDES and it is an AMAZING story with endearing characters and a very unique underwater fantasy world. You'll love what she's done with sea creature lore, and you won't be able to get enough of her spitfire main character, Yara.

The book will be available in spring of 2012, and the ebook will be available before then (as early as november, I've heard!).

Check back here in a few days...I might be giving away some REALLY COOL STUFF in celebration. (Themed stuff.)

Go congratulate her!!!

Enter my first ALA GIVEAWAY!

If you haven't already, enter my giveaway to win great ARCs and books: FOREVER, FORGOTTEN, PERSONAL DEMONS, and FALLING FOR HAMLET. Click anywhere in this blog post to be taken to the directions! The giveaway closes Wednesday at midnight! :)

Book Review - THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson

My friend and CP Karen Hooper recommended Rae Carson's debut novel THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS to me a couple of weeks ago. I was lucky enough to snag an ARC at ALA, and because Karen swore to me it was a really, truly fantastic book, it was the first of my ARCs that I read.

Karen was not wrong. In fact, she was very, very right.

THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS is fantasy at its best. The world is rich, wide, and well-imagined, described beautifully and intricately, and woven into the story with such skill you barely realize Carson is building a world around you until it's already been built. Landscapes, clothing, people, and food seem real.

The characters are wonderful balances of strength and weakness, crafted with subtle details that make humans unique. Elisa, the main character and narrator, begins as a fat, frightened girl who would rather hide from her fate than embrace it. As the story moves, Elisa undergoes a fantastic transformation that is so well-written, it wasn't until the end that I realized every single word was a small change, a tiny turn in Elisa's outlook. She takes physical journeys across several landscapes, but the most rewarding one to read is by far her emotional journey. I don't want to give too much away, but throughout the novel you can't help but root for her; she has such potential as a human, and it's a pleasure to watch her slowly realize some of it, and to cheer her on as she does.

Though THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS is the first of a planned trilogy, it ends in a conclusive place, for which I was grateful. I'm dying for the next book, but the ending of this first book had enough closure to satisfy me, and to make the story feel complete in its own right.

An honestly stunning debut, which will have wide appeal far beyond fantasy fans.

PRE-ORDER:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Borders

(Karen is buying a copy every month until the book's release in September. She also hinted that she might have a giveaway for her ARC. Watch her blog for details!)

ALA giveaway! (part the first)

The weekend before last, I went to ALA in New Orleans! I had so much fun, got to meet and hang out with so many awesome people, and I got to hold a baby alligator!!!!! (That wasn't part of ALA, but it's so cool how can I not mention it?)

I also brought home a bunch of REALLY great books, and I'm going to be giving most of them away! Today I have FOUR really awesome books and ARCs to offer you:

A signed copy of PERSONAL DEMONS by Lisa Desrochers (plus signed bookmarks!)

An ARC of FALLING FOR HAMLET by Michelle Ray

An ARC of FORGOTTEN by Cat Patrick

An ARC of FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater (if you were wondering, the ink IS a burgundy red!)

How to enter:

Fill out the FORM! (ETA link removed) That is all you have to do--leave me your name and e-mail. You will be entered if you do that for me.

Want extra entries?

+4 for old followers

+3 for new followers

+1 for tweeting (max 3 tweets)

+2 sidebar

+3 blog post

+1 for each book you mark as "to read" on Goodreads

+1 for each author you follow on Twitter

+1 for leaving me a comment (+1 extra if you say hi to my cat Lucy. I'm completely serious.)

(Sorry to say this time it's a US only giveaway.)

GIVEAWAY CLOSES WEDS JULY 13 AT MIDNIGHT. Winners announced Thursday!

THE IRON WITCH WINNER!

Thank you to everyone who entered my graduation giveaway of THE IRON WITCH by Karen Mahoney! Random.org chose a number for me, and the winner is...

Enbrethiliel!!!

(You should have an e-mail from me in your box, my dear.)

If you didn't win, don't be sad. I was just at ALA and I have a big stack of ARCs to give away, as well as some reviews to post! Watch this space for more giveaways soon (like, probably tomorrow or Monday)!