Bullet Points and a Giveaway!

Why yes, indeed, I AM early.;) Go me!

I've been thinking all week about what to blog about and the problem is that I have a lot of little things going on. None of them big enough to really blog about, but things that are fun enough to mention anyway.:) So we have a bullet points entry today, with a giveaway at the bottom.:)

* It is ARCs month!!! (Okay, now you've discovered the real reason I blogged today.;)) It is November and I WILL be getting ARCs in November! Yay!!

* This week I got to see the design for my floor display. (Those cardboard things you occasionally see in stores that advertise the book and hold usually nine or twelve copies.) It's really, really beautiful and I will find out if I am allowed to share it at the same time I get to share my cover. This is a double-edged sword though, because if no one decides to stock it (in fact, I believe one of the big chains has to buy into it) they won't actually print it and all I'll have is a design. So help me hope that Barnes and Noble loves it like whoa and wants to stock it!;))

* I got my FPP in! It's both satisfying and a little nerve-wracking. This is the last time I will work on this book!! Hooray!!! . . . . On the other hand . . . this is the last time I will work on this book!! Ahhhhhh!! No!! It's not good enough yet!!! So yeah, weird mixed emotions.

* On the personal front, I've been working really hard at losing some baby weight the last few mnths. I'm down 25 pounds and it's time to shake things up. So wish me luck on those last ten pounds as I try something different.

* I attended my first homebirth last week and I have to tell you, anyone who thinks that midwives are not prepared to handle emergencies has never seen the loads and loads of medical equipment they bring with them, just in case. It was a great birth!

* I am talking to my publicist, Laura, for the first time tomorrow. I am totally nervous! I don't know what to say or what questions to ask, so I am going to spend the rest of the day making a list . . . then probably erasing the list . . . and making a new one . . . or maybe just re-making the same one. *eep!* Also, in case you didn't know, every author gets assigned to a publicist, so having a publicist is nothing special . . . but it sounds special, doesn't it? "Oh yes, yes, I was speaking to my publicist the other day . . ." I mean really, that sounds cool! So here's hoping my son sleeps when he is supposed to (he almost always does) and I don't have a screaming baby in the background for my phone call.:D

Okay, I know the internet has been totally buzzing about the book The Hunger Games, but there is a reason for that. This is one incredible book!! I have been going back and forth on whether or not to feature it in a giveaway, because I imagine a lot of people have it already. So this giveaway is an either/or giveaway. You have two choices: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, or The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong.

I am not feeling super-creative this morning, so I am shamelessly stealing the descriptions of these two books from Amazon.;)

Hunger Games: Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place. (Wow, this description so does not do the book justice!)

The Summoning:

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

These are both really good books (although The Summoning ends on a totall cliff-hanger. Noooooo!! What happens!!!!!) that I have thoroughly enjoyed this year.

So here's how it works. I am gathering good news vibes. So the way you enter to win your choice of these two books is simply to tell me some good news you've gotten lately. Big, small, personal, professional, it doesn't matter. Tell me something good that has happened to you recently! There is enough negativity in this world that I was to see good stuff! That's it! You have till next Monday when I put up my next plog post to get your good news in! Bring it!

Also, vote on Tuesday!

Ciao!