Audiobook giveaway + May's LFT

I'm doing a flash audiobook giveaway of IF I SPEAK TRUE! Also, considering how crazy-busy everything is this time of the year, I thought I'd put together a post sharing what's coming up, rather than and end-of-the-month, what's already passed. (That's where the LFT comes in, which stands for May's "looking forward to".)

So, first, the audiobook giveaway:

I'm giving away a total of THREE audiobooks of IF I SPEAK TRUE, book one in the Flora series. This giveaway is going to be posted on more than one platform, with ONE audiobook given away here on Rafflecopter, one on Facebook, and one on Instagram. It's a quick, two-day giveaway, just for fun. (Psst: if the series has sparked your interest, the ebooks--Rowan's novella, especially--are quite fairly-priced. :D )


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next, here's a giveaway that ends in two days... Beth Revis' PAPER HEARTS series (original post):

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

and, coming up this month...

May 7th: My 19th wedding anniversary! Oh, wait.

May 7th: The Lonely Ones by Kelsey Sutton excerpt. Find Kelsy and/or The Lonely Ones on:

Goodreads | Twitter: @KelseyJSutton | Facebook | Website

Coming up the entire month of June: YA Reads' DEBUT AUTHOR BASH! (Sign-ups are closed, but if you'd like to get an idea of just how many awesome-sauce YA authors will be featured this year, check out this post.)

I'll be featuring Amy Allgeyer, author of DIG TOO DEEP, on June 3rd!

And that's about it! :) Have a blessed week!

September's #JLBgivesawayanINDIE (audiobook style): IF I SPEAK TRUE + I CAPTURE THE CASTLE + a FREEBIE!

I'm so excited about this month's #JLBgivesawayanINDIE. I MEAN... how exciting is three audiobooks? 

First up: the recently completed IF I SPEAK TRUE, book one in the Flora series. Angel Clark did a wonderful job narrating her versions of Dahlia and Eva and David and Rowan (and Hawthorne) and Aster and Acacia... and... everyone else (hehe). I'm so happy with how the audiobook turned out, and wanted to share a copy so ya'll could enjoy it (and meet everyone)! 

Check out the deets on IF I SPEAK TRUE (Flora, #1) HERE. Find it on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Then, on a completely unrelated note (or, unrelated until now), it seems I've been talking to quite a few people lately about how lovely Dodie Smith's I CAPTURE THE CASTLE is (if you're read it, you know it's true), especially on Instagram. So I thought, all right, time to share a copy of this audiobook, too. :)

Check out the deets of I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, HERE. Find it on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

ON TOP OF THAT... We're all SUPER BUSY this time of year but also wanting to read ALL THE BOOKS, right, so I figured, why not throw in a freebie? *twirls*

So there you go... THREE audiobooks for one winner: IF I SPEAK TRUE, I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, and a YA audiobook of your choice! Woohoo!

The rules: I have had a heck of a time trying to share audiobooks with listeners not from the US recently, so I'm going to have to stick to the US this time. *sad face* But I promise, next month's #JLBgivesawayanINDIE will be international! 

And now, here's the Rafflecopter! :D (I can't wait to see who wins and what book they choose for the freebie!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Giveaway Bonanza

Hey, guys! A couple of giveaways are ending soon, so I just wanted to send out a reminder! (Click the link to see all of the giveaways in one place!)

Have a blessed weekend! :)

June's #JLBgivesawayanINDIE = FIVE YA #audiobooks

Yep! You read that right! I wanted to give an all-around variety of YA indie ebooks and ended up deciding to add two traditionally-pubbed books to the mix! Woohoo! So there you have it... FIVE audiobooks altogether: dystopian, magical realism, comedy/coming of age, science fiction... an eclectic mix but I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy them! Contest ends Sunday, June 28th at 11:59 p.m. PST, and is INTERNATIONAL (long as you have an Audible or Amazon account!) Check out the blurbs for the books, below, and then enter the Rafflecopter! :D 

Pity Isn't An Option (Cozenage, #1) by Jessica L. Brooks (narrated by Matthew Dunehoo):

Seventeen year-old Jonas' blood disorder has taken away everything that matters. Sixteen year-old Hattie's father is losing his marbles. When Jonas' perfectly healthy twin brother and Hattie's crazy dad are drafted into the President's army, Hattie's dad disappears. Jonas and Hattie embark on a journey to find him, and find something they'd lost long ago in the process.

Add to Goodreads I Find on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks



An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1) by Sabaa Tahir (narrated by Fiona Hardingham & Steve West):

Laia is a slave.

Elias is a soldier.

Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself. 

Add to Goodreads I Find on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks



Somewhere Only We Know by Cheyanne Young (narrated by Francesca Santoro):

Sadie Bradford’s life is one anxiety attack after another. All she wants is to escape life's realities for the summer and hang out with her best friend Aaron. But her grandmother has other plans: Sadie will get a job. Sadie will do volunteer work. Sadie will make new friends - friends without brain injuries that make them forget everything...friends that aren’t Aaron.

While Sadie struggles to survive her anxiety with all these new changes, she finds an escape when she dreams herself into the beautiful world of Isola Fiona. It’s a place that cures memory loss and anxiety. It’s a place where she and Aaron can fall in love. 

But after dragging Aaron along with her to her dream world, things take a turn. Every time they return home, Sadie’s anxiety is a little better but Aaron’s memory is still gone. And Isola Fiona may not be much of a dream after all. As Sadie realizes that Isola Fiona is as real as her anxiety, she rushes to change the course of fate and make things right, but she may be too late...

Add to Goodreads I Find on Amazon | Barnes & Noble 



The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga, #1) by David Estes (narrated by Julia Whelon & Will Damron):

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. 

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

Add to Goodreads I Find on Amazon 



Stupid Fast (Stupid Fast, #1) by Geoff Herbach (narrated by Fred Berman): 

I, Felton Reinstein, am Stupid Fast. Seriously. The upper classmen used to call me Squirrel Nut, because I was little and jumpy. Then, during sophomore year, I got tall and huge and so fast the gym teachers in their tight shorts fell all over themselves. During summer, three things happened all at once. First, the pee-smelling jocks in my grade got me to work out for football, even though I had no intention of playing. Second, on my paper route the most beautiful girl I have ever seen moved in and played piano at 6 a.m. Third, my mom, who never drinks, had some wine, slept in her car, stopped weeding the garden, then took my TV and put it in her room and decided she wouldn’t get out of bed.

Listen, I have not had much success in my life. But suddenly I’m riding around in a jock’s pick-up truck? Suddenly I’m invited to go on walks with beautiful girls? So, it’s understandable that when my little brother stopped playing piano and began to dress like a pirate I didn’t pay much attention. That I didn’t want to deal with my mom coming apart.

Add to Goodreads I Find on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks


Please note that some of these books are definitely upper YA due to language/underage drinking/sexual references.


And now for the RAFFLECOPTER!!!! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get ready for a par-tay! :D And writerly news

Hey all! So, the first bit of news for this week is, Pity Isn't An Option is finally available to purchase on audiobook! YAY! *throws coffee beans* *dances like Davey Jones* You can check it out and listen to the first two minutes on Audible.com HERE. (It's also available on ACX.com and iTunes.) Also, if you've thought about getting an Audible account but haven't been sure about it, they have a pretty cool deal where the first book you pick is free. (We did this a week ago when my sophomore decided to get A Tale of Two Cities--required reading--boy did reading along with the narration make a difference!) I'm pretty sure I'm going to take advantage of Audible, as I already have a list of audiobooks I'm wanting to get! ;) 

audiobook cover

Anyway. That's the first bit of news...

2) Next month I'm going to turn the big THREE-FIVE and in order to celebrate, I'm going to do a pretty big giveaway. This means indie AND traditionally pubbed YA books (one might, just MIGHT, be ROSE UNDER FIRE) will be up for grabs, along with Pity Isn't An Option's ebook and audiobook, and of course, book swag. It's going to be so fun, and best of all, this is the kind of party you can participate in whilst still in your PJs (the best kind! of parties... not of PJs... as for those, however, feel free to wear ratty, threadbare ones or whatever... no one'll notice) Isn't that great? ;)

3) Reading-wise, I'm still reading The Count of Monte Cristo and have officially decided that I'm going to purchase the DVD when I'm done and compare the two (with an open mind whilst watching Henry Cav--I mean, the movie) and perhaps have a fun twitter session of quotes. (I give myself weird rewards. I know this.)

4) IF I SPEAK TRUE is officially with the editor, guys. *squee* *freaks out* *panics* *flails* This means it really is going to come out soon, and to this, I say:


(If you're curious, I do have a pretty detailed IF I SPEAK TRUE board on Pinterest!)

and last:

5) If you missed it: I was over at Operation Awesome talking about how therapeutic words are here, and my Waiting on Wednesday post was, incidentally, about Operation Awesome alumni, Wesley Chu's, The Deaths of Tao! (Check it out here.) 

Have a blessed weekend!!! :)

June is audiobook month!

I just realized today that June is audiobook month (which is cool, as Pity Isn't An Option is currently being made into one--did I mention how exciting this is? I have? Oh. Right.) when I was reading a post on Page Turners' Blog titled: Five Reasons Why Audiobooks Are Great For Students. (I personally LOVE audiobooks and can't wait to add more to my library.) Recently, my younger two and I spent a few weeks of driving back and forth to school (it's kinda far away) listening to the YA book, IF YOU FIND ME by Emily Murdoch. (UGH! Good recommendation for audio, by the way, if you have teens. Even Lovemuffin was enthralled when he was in the car!)

Anyway. The five reasons listed are great, which leads me to my point: summer is the perfect time for audiobooks, as many families are on the road a lot! And if not vacationing/traveling, a lot of time is spent in the house doing chores or crafts, ect. and audiobooks are the perfect for that! So, I wanted to share Page Turners' post, because

1) THE BOOK THIEF is so good (and is being made into a movie, you know, so of course you have to read/hear it first)

2) The other two books look good, too

3) Any time we can encourage students to read is a GOOD time, right?

and

4) Librarians and teachers receive an extra entry, and that's just awesome!

Check out Stacey's five reasons why audiobooks are great for students and enter the giveaway HERE. 

Pity Isn't An Option audiobook celebration

Harry is celebrating!

Summer break has officially arrived! *throws coffee beans* 

With last Friday commencing the beginning of two months without school, there's a lot going on right now, but the most important bit of news is... *drumroll please* The audiobook version of Pity Isn't An Option is officially about to be narrated! Woohoo! *throws MORE coffee beans* *does cartwheels* I have found the perfect guy for the job--he does Jonas and Hattie well and is definitely going to do PIAO justice. YAY!!! *applause* *applause*

Also, PIAO received a very lovely review last week--Genie explained the mood so well (including this line:  This novel had something that some dystopian novels lack: FEELING - and that counts for a lot in my eyes.) that I just had to thank her for taking the time to read and review by sharing her review HERE. 

Join me in celebrating this lovely news by entering a few current contests that are floating around the interwebs for no other reasons than this is SO EXCITING and entering is FREE (and so are the books if you win)!!! I've listed them below for your convenience:

*** Check out an interview with Jonas and Hattie at Sara's Blogoversary celebration and enter to win a copy of Pity Isn't An Option and signed bookmark HERE 

*** Read an all-new excerpt from Pity Isn't An Option (Hattie's POV) and enter to win a copy of Pity Isn't An Option at Say It With Books' Indie Self-Published Author Event HERE

Thanks for joining me in the celebration and have a blessed week!