Monday, October 31, 2011

All Hallows Eve Carnival! Day 8: Grand Prize Giveaway!!!


Happy Halloween Everyone!!! We wish you all a night filled with frights and delights! We hope you have enjoyed the All Hallows Eve Carnival at Bookish Delights. Today is Day 8, the last day of the carnival. Today we will be having the grand prize giveaway!!! And don't forget, the final letters to the Carnival Unscramble are on the bottom of today's post!!!

Also there are only a few entries so far for the Spooky Short Story Contest and the Spooky Photo Contest, so feel free to enter those if it is something you are interested in! *Update: I will extend the deadline to enter the Spooky Short Story Contest and the Spooky Photo Contest until Nov 15 by 11:59pm PST to give people more time to enter. All other carnival giveaways will also be extended until Nov 15 by 11:59pm.
Grand Prize:





1) Halloween Candy!! It wouldn't be a real Halloween giveaway without candy!
2) A $10 Book Of Your Choice (Pre-order ok!)
3) A Paperback book of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
4) A Signed Paperback book of The Hollow by Jessica Verday
5) A Paperback of the book Immortal: Love Stories With Bite by P.C. Cast
5) An ARC of Wither by Lauren Destefano
6) An ARC of Huntress by Malinda Lo
7) An ARC of Vixen by Jillian Larkin (my favorite book of 2010)




8) Two ARCS from these four (depends on which ARC the winner of Spooky Photo Contest Winner chooses):
-Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
-Always A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
-Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade
-Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting
9) Audiobook of The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker


10) Signed Destined Bookmarks from YA Author Jessie Harell
11.) Signed Slide Bookmarks from YA Author Jill Hathaway
12.) Signed Forbidden Bookmarks from YA Author Megan Curd
13.) Signed Elemental Bookmarks from YA Author Emily White
14.) Signed Exiled Rack Cards from YA Author RaShelle Workman
15.) Signed Monarch Swag including Bookmarks and Posters
16.) Some Signed and Unsigned Random Swag from Roshini


The Grand Prize Giveaway Ends On Nov 15, 2011 by 11:59pm PST
To Enter The Grand Prize Giveaway, you must do the following:
*Restrictions: US ONLY!!!!

1) Be or Become a GFC of Bookish Delights.

2) You must have entered at least one (or more if you like) of our All Hallows Eve Carnival game giveaway(s) or contest(s).
*You'll get bonus entries into grand prize giveaway if you enter more carnival giveaways/contests!

3) Unscramble the letters posted at the bottom of each carnival post to reveal the secret two word message from Bookish Delights to You on Halloween!!
(*Hint: Carnival Letters from Day 1 through Day 5 spell out the first word. Then Carnival Letters from Day 6 and Day 8 spell the second word.)

4) FILL OUT FORM BY CLICKING THIS LINK!!!


FOR EXTRA ENTRIES:
1) In a comment below let us know what you did for Halloween. +2
2) Spread the word about our All Hallows Eve Carnival GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY! (*Be sure to Leave Link in FORM, Please DO NOT add link in a comment).


Thanks!!

Hope You All Have A Happy Halloween!!!!

HERE ARE THE FINAL LETTERS:

E L N A E H L W









Sunday, October 30, 2011

Cover Reveal: BETRAYED by Ednah Walters


Title: Betrayed 
Series: Guardian Legacy 
Author: Ednah Walters 
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press, www.SpencerHillPress.com 
ISBN: 978-1-937053-18-5 (Trade Paper), 978-1-937053-19-2 (e-book) 
Release Date: June, 2012

BETRAYED 
Lil isn't just an average teenager. She's one of the Nephilim--the descendants of humans and angels--which gives her some serious psi skills and a mission for redemption. Just when Lil thinks she's found a balance between her normal life with human friends and her training to become a Guardian, she's warned that someone close to her will betray her. When the boy she loves starts acting strangely and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability, Lil begins to realize that someone is manipulating the people she loves... and won't stop until she's been lured to the dark side.
I'm honored to reveal the cover for the new Spencer Hill Press novel, Betrayed by Ednah Walters! What do you guys think? Thanks to SPH for contacting me about revealing the cover!



Saturday, October 29, 2011

All Hallows Eve Carnival! Day 6: Pick your Poison!















Today is Day 6 of Bookish Delight's All Hallows Eve Carnival!




Today we will be having a "Pick your Poison" Apple Bobbing Contest!



Rules: The rules are simple, just pick an apple (either A, B, or C) from each row (there are a total of 5 rows) and hopefully you will pick the RIGHT POISONOUS APPLE. One poisonous apple in each row corresponds with a YA book about poison! You have to decide which apple the reader ate while reading a book about poison and as a result, poisoned the apple! You get one entry just for entering and trying. Then you get one additional entry for each correct answer you get. Then fill out the entry form below.


Deadline To Enter: Nov 5, 2011 by 11:59pm


Restrictions: US ONLY Giveaway


Prize: An ARC of Poison: A Novel Of The Renaissance by Sara Poole.

*Winner will be chosen by random.org, once all the entries are tallied.



Get Ready To "Pick Your Poison" From The Five Apple Rows Below! Five Readers Read A Book About Poison. Determine Which Apple Each Reader Ate And As A Result Poisoned The Apple! Submit Your "Letter Choices" From Each Row Into The Form At The Bottom. Remember you get one entry just for entering and trying. Then you get one additional entry for every correct guess.




1. Which apple did the reader of Poison eat?

Row One: A B C




2. Which apple did the reader of the Poison Study eat?

Row Two: A B C




3. Which apple did the reader of The Poison Diaries eat?


Row Three: A B C



4. Which apple did the reader of Poison Apples eat?

Row Four: A B C




5. Which apple did the reader of The Poison Eaters eat?

Row Five: A B C





That's it! Good luck!!!











DON'T FORGET!: TO BE ENTERED INTO THE GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, YOU MUST UNSCRAMBLE A BUNCH OF LETTERS THAT WE WILL BE POSTING DURING THE CARNIVAL! SO BE SURE TO COME BACK EACH DAY TO COLLECT ALL OF THE LETTERS!







HERE IS TODAY'S LETTER:














Thursday, October 27, 2011

All Hallows Eve Carnival! Day 5: Halloween Trivia!





How are you all enjoying the All Hallows Eve Carnival so far?!! We hope you haven't had enough spooks yet! Did you check out our carnival guest post yesterday of the Bone Chilling Story by YA author Emily White (Elemental, May 2012)?! Click Here To Read It, it will scare the socks off you! Be sure to come back daily this whole week for more games, giveaways, and guest posts from awesome authors, and our grand prize giveaway on Halloween night!Today is Day 5 of Bookish Delight's All Hallows Eve Carnival!



Today we are having a Halloween Trivia Giveaway!!

How fun is that! Learning more about Halloween!! Time to test your Halloween Trivia Skills!! Are you up for the challenge?! We hope so!

Rules: Take Our Halloween Quiz Below To Be Entered Into The Giveaway For The First Five Books In The House Of Night Series!! Each Correct Answer Gives You One Entry Into The Giveaway. There Will Also Be Bonus Entries As Well. Once You Are Done With The Quiz, Submit Your Answers In The Form Below.




Restrictions: US Only Giveaway, (sorry International folks!). Also you may only take the quiz once. No retakes.



Deadline To Enter: Nov 5, 2011 by 11:59pm

*Winner will be chosen after adding up all entries, then using random.org.




Prize: First five books of the House of Night series!!
















Take Our Halloween Quiz Below. Once You Are Done With The Quiz, Submit Your Answers In The Form Below.


About Halloween History:



1. Halloween's (or Samhain's) origins date back to an ancient ___ festival:



A. German



B. Celtic



C. Jewish



D. Hogwarts



2. When Rome took over the above region, what holidays did they combine with Samhain?


A. Saturnalia (a midwinter celebration of the Solstice) and a day to honor Minerva (Goddess of Wisdom)



B. Black Day (an unlucky day) and a day to honor Persephone) (Queen of the Underworld)



C. Feralia (celebration of the passing of the dead) and a day to honor Pomona (Goddess of Fruit & Trees)

D. Festival of the New Sun (celebration of the new sun) and a day to honor Aurona (Goddess of Dawn)





3. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Young women believed that on Halloween they could divine the(ir) _______ by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors.



A. number of children they would have

B. day they would marry

C. day Voldemort would return

D. future husband


4. By ___ and ____, Halloween had become a secular, by community centered holiday, with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment.

A. 1920s; 1930s

B. 1930s; 1940s

C.1940s; 1950s

D. 1950s; 1960s


About Trick-Or-Treating:


5. Trick or Treating probably dates back to the Early All Souls' Day parade in England.

True or False

6. To avoid being recognized by _____, people (back when Halloween first started) would wear masks to disguise themselves.

A. dementors

B. ghosts

C. their neighbors

D. demons


7. People would leave ____ on their doorsteps to appease ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

A. candy

B. food

C. horcruxes

D. crosses


About Pumpkin Carving:


8. _____ immigrants brought the "jack-o-lantern" tradition to America.

A. Mexican

B. Irish

C. Celtic

D. Wizard


9. According to what myth does this practice come from?

A. The Deathly Hallows

B. Jack o Lamp

C. Stringy Jack

D. Pumpkin Jack


10. In England, back when this tradition first started, they used what instead of pumpkins?

A. Pears

B. Apples

C. Beets

D. Turnips
That's it! Hopefully you guys get them right!!

Did You Know....?

About 50% of American's decorate their yard for Halloween?

More than 35 million pounds of candy corn is sold annually. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces--enough to circle around the moon nearly 21 times if laid end to end!!

Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween!



DON'T FORGET!: TO BE ENTERED INTO THE GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, YOU MUST UNSCRAMBLE A BUNCH OF LETTERS THAT WE WILL BE POSTING DURING THE CARNIVAL! SO BE SURE TO COME BACK EACH DAY TO COLLECT ALL OF THE LETTERS!

HERE IS TODAY'S LETTER:






All Hallows Eve Carnival! Day 4: Guest Post: Bone-Chilling Story + Giveaway: Emily White, Elemental

Hey, guys! Are you ready for Day 4 of the All Hallows Eve Carnival? I know I am so without any more delay, here is Day 4!


Today's spooky carnival treat is a bone-chilling scary story from author, Emily White (Elemental, May 2012). She has also been really sweet and offered us another treat! She will be giving a lucky winner at the end of the carnival a Pre-Order of Elemental and another lucky winner a Signed Poster!


Hi, everyone! I'm Emily White, the soon-to-be-published author of Elemental (coming out in May through Spencer Hill Press). I feel so honored to be a part of this. I just have to mention that, yes, I do believe in ghosties and demons. In fact, there's been a lot of demonic activity in my life (this story--which is very true, by the way--just happens to be the most recent one).

Enjoy! 


The Night of Terrorrrrr

It was a clear, warm night. Not dark and stormy like it should have been. Not like a traditional Night of Terrorrrrr would be. But all the same, it was a Night of Terrorrrrr. And it all started in the afternoon, when the sun was still up.

My strapping husband and I prepared our sons for dinner at my parents' house. I wasn't my normal, excited self about it, though. Something was wrong. Something was off. My stomach felt heavy and my skin crawled. I was being watched. I could feel it. Even alone in the kitchen, getting my youngest son's bag ready with his sippy cup and bib, I knew I wasn't really alone.

My husband would not be joining us for dinner. He had to leave for work soon. Which meant on the night when I first felt the eyes watching me, I would be alone to protect the children.

After putting on his work boots and saying goodbye to Gabriel and Elijah, he turned to kiss me and I kissed him back, pretending nothing was wrong. And all the while, I felt the eyes watching, waiting.

The sun was still out, though. And when there's light shining through the windows, it's easy to pretend everything will be all right.

But it was dark when we came back from dinner, and as I walked up the broken, sinking steps of our covered porch with Elijah in my arms, the eyes I'd felt in the kitchen were on me again. And I hadn't remembered to turn any of the house lights on. My skin crawled with trepidation. 

Just turn around and go back to Mom's and Dad's house, I thought to myself. We can sleep there tonight.

But I didn't turn around. I told myself to ignore my crawling skin and sinking stomach. I had to be crazy, that's all. No one was really watching me.

I went inside the dark house with my two boys and turned on every light. I put them both to bed. Elijah in his crib, Gabriel in his big boy bed. And then I went downstairs to watch tv and get my mind off the crazy notion that I was being watched.

It worked. While my mind was so occupied, my skin ceased to crawl and I forgot about the eyes I'd felt on my back. At 9:30, I turned off the tv and all the downstairs lights, grabbed a book, and went up to my room to read. The feeling started to come back in doses. I was still pretty sure I was crazy, though, so I snuggled into bed and read for another hour. When I decided I couldn't postpone the act of actually going to be any longer, I put my book down with a sigh and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. 

I cleaned my face, avoiding the mirror as much as possible. And before I could take my first step out of the bathroom into the hallway, a dark shadow passed over my eyes and my blood chilled to ice. It wasn't just my skin crawling anymore. Every molecule in my body tingled, knowing something dangerous was there. I couldn't move. I stood there for minutes, contemplating if I could make it through the hallway and if I should leave the bathroom light on.

I finally decided I needed to face this. I needed to stop showing fear. So I left the light on and stepped into the hallway. Something popped into my vision directly in front of me, and then flashed away. Whatever was watching me wanted me to know it was there. I froze again, every muscle in my body screaming at me to grab the kids and call my mom to pick me up.

No.

We would not be kicked out of our home. I walked slowly forward, my eyes wide open, and turned off the hallway and then my bedroom light before getting into bed. The moment those two lights were off, I realized my mistake. I should have turned the bathroom light off, too. Whatever was watching me would use the muted light against me. I knew this. My heart seized and pounded in my ears as I ran to my bed and curled into a ball with my blankets wrapped tight around me.

I couldn't sleep.

I knew the thing was behind me. I closed my eyes and prayed to be left alone. Something brushed my leg.

I whimpered and pulled my leg tighter against my body. Through the force of my own will (and after almost an hour of trying), I started to fall asleep. Something put weight on the bed, pushing it down. I jolted out of sleep, sweat pouring down my back and neck.

After another hour, I fell asleep again. This time I dreamed. I was lying on my bed in the dream--curled up and terrified--and an invisible force was pushing on my head, over and over again. I screamed and woke up with my head pounding.

Elijah started to cry.

Elijah never wakes up in the middle of the night. Something was wrong. I pushed my fears away and ran to him. I turned on the hallway light, opened his door, and froze. Elijah stood with his back toward me, facing the wall. It was like he was looking at something. Something I couldn't see.

I walked to him, laid him back down, and went back to my own bed (but not before turning off the bathroom light).

I fell asleep again, my skin crawling the whole time, the eyes watching me.

When I woke again, it was morning and the sun was out. The eyes were gone. I smiled as all the stress of the previous night washed away and made me feel light. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. 

And there on the bench beneath the mirror were the socks Elijah had worn to bed the night before.


Emily White
Emily White lives in NY, wedged between two of the Great Lakes and a few feet of snow and ice. She's spent most of her life running away from the cold, and even spent a year in Iraq, but now contents herself with writing her characters into warm, exotic places in faraway galaxies. When not tapping away at her computer keys, she can be found reading, reading, and reading some more. And when she's not doing that, she's usually playing video games with her husband, peek-a-boo with her kids, or walking through her garden, wondering why the bugs insist on eating all her vegetables. Emily's debut YA Sci-fi novel, ELEMENTAL, will be published by Spencer Hill Press in 2012. 

Elemental
For ten years—ever since she was a small child—Ella has been held prisoner. Now that she has escaped, she needs answers. 
Who is she? Why was she taken? And who is the boy with the beautiful green eyes who haunts her memories? 
Is Ella the prophesied Destructor… or will she be the one who's destroyed? 

Coming in May 2012.
Giveaway Time!
The rules will be stated in the Rafflecopter Widget! Please only US, no international, since it is sponsored by Emily and not one of us!
Prizes:
Pre-order of Elemental from Emily
Signed Poster of Elemental

DON'T FORGET!: To Be Entered Into The Grand Prize Giveaway On Halloween Night, You Must Unscramble A Bunch Of Letters That We Will Be Posting During The Carnival! So Be Sure To Come Back Each Day To Collect All Of The Letters!

HERE IS TODAY'S LETTER!:

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

All Hallows Eve Carnival! Day 3: Spooky Photo Contest!






Today is Day 3 of Bookish Delight's All Hallows Eve Carnival!
Today we will be having a Spooky Photo Contest!!!




If you are visiting our YA Book Blog today for our All Hallows Eve Blog Carnival, then I am sure you love to read YA books. I thought why not do a mash up of Halloween and Paranormal/Horror books in a Spooky Photo Contest. So show us your best Bookish Halloween Photo!!!!

Photo Submission Guidelines:
All you have to do is submit the most unique, spooktacular photo of yourself dressed up in your Halloween costume holding up (or somehow include in the photo) one or more of your favorite paranormal or horror YA books. The more unique, creepy, scarier the background setting and the more Halloween props, the better! You may even want to recreate a scene from a scary book or movie, if your costume applies. So you have a lot of freedom in this photo to really make it what you want. The photo that is the most interesting and over the top by being the most creative, unique and exudes the paranormal, spooky feel of Halloween will win the contest.

How To Submit Your Photo:
You may submit your Spooky photo to the email: bookishdelightsreviews@gmail.com with the Subject Heading as "Spooky Photo Entry."
Also be sure to include in the email:
1. Your First Name & Last Initial.
2. A short description of your Spooky Halloween Photo
3. If you would or would not like your photo to be put on the winner's post if you win.
4. The photo attachment (DON'T FORGET THIS!!)
*If you forget to attach the photo, we can't judge it!




Restrictions: US ONLY!!



Photo Submission Deadline: Nov 5 by 11:59pm



Photos Judged By: Elise @ Bookish Delights



Prize: One Paranormal ARC of your choice from these:










Always A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough







Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton







Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade







Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting





DON'T FORGET!: To Be Entered Into The Grand Prize Giveaway On Halloween Night, You Must Unscramble A Bunch Of Letters That We Will Be Posting During The Carnival! So Be Sure To Come Back Each Day To Collect All Of The Letters!




HERE IS TODAY'S LETTER!: