Giveaways
Erin L. Schneider
Goodreads Giveaway: SUMMER OF SLOANE
Goodreads Giveaway: SUMMER OF SLOANE

My Review: DEAD UNTIL DARK by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1)Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....

Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

My Review:

So, this was my third attempt at reading this book - and I promised myself, I'd finish it this time.

And why so many attempts, you might ask? It's simple.

First Page Made Of Awesome Contest

Shelley Walters over at Is It Hot In Here, Or Is It This Book? is hosting a fabulous first page contest of awesomeness.
The quick gist of it? Post the first 250 words of your manuscript for a chance to win a 10-page critique! For all in-depth details of what you need to do, please check out Shelly's website, but believe me, it's easy-peasy!
And the guest agent? Judith Engracia of Liza Dawson and Associates. Judith is currently building her client list and looking for all types of fiction, especially middle grade, young adult, urban fantasy, steampunk, and paranormal romance.
Now I will say, I tend to shy away from posting my actual writing on my site, but the contest sounded too good to pass up. So without further ado, here's my 250-word submit. I'd love to hear all comments, but just remember, I know where you live. :)

Friday Fives: Five Biggest Distractions On The Internet

Oh, this one is a fabulous topic for me, indeed!
When it comes to internet distractions, I'm worse than Dug the Dog in the movie, UP! when he sees the Squirrel!
One of my absolute favorite scenes:
Dug: Hi there. 
Carl Fredricksen, Russell: [surprised exclamations] 
Carl Fredricksen: Did that dog just say "Hi there"? 
Dug: Oh yes. 
Carl Fredricksen: Whaa! 
Dug: My name is Dug. I have just met you, and I love you. 
[he jumps up on Carl] 
Carl Fredricksen: Wha... 
Dug: My master made me this collar. He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar so that I may speak. Squirrel! 
[looks to distance for a few seconds]
And in case you need to see it live, here's the clip on YouTube:

As fellow professional procrastinators writers, we want to know what are FIVE of your most distracting (procrastination-worthy) things (habits, websites, etc.) on the internet?

1. Email: This rings especially true, when I'm in the query process. There simply aren't enough minutes in an hour, where I can refresh my in-box to see if I've received some type of response to my recent queries. Only to step away for a second, then run back to my keyboard with my hair on fire, and refresh again. No OCD here at all. (I hit refresh 14,369 times since I started typing this blog - amazing, huh?).

UsA Today's Top 150 Bestselling Books as of 05.22.2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011: According to USA TODAY, the following list contains the top 25 best selling books (out of 150) - based on sales through Sunday, 05/15/2011.  For the complete list of 150 books for the week or just to check out more information - plus reviews, book news and a searchable archive of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list - visit their website.
Note of the week:  Same ole', same ole' children's / YA books in the top 25, including the annual appearance of Dr. Seuss's, Oh The Places You'll Go, just in time for graduation. 

Legend:

Position This Week, Last Week, Title, Author (Publisher), Price

1 2 Heaven Is for Real, Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson), $16.99

2 1 Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen (Algonquin), $7.99

3 7 Something Borrowed, Emily Giffin (St. Martin's Press), $7.99

4 3 The Throne of Fire, Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion), $18.99

5 0 10th Anniversary, James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown), $14.99

WOW! Women On Writing: Spring 2011 Flash Fiction Contest

The fine folks over at WOW! Women on Writing, are holding their Spring 2011 Flash Fiction Contest - and the guest agent judging this seasons contest? None other than fabulous Sarah LaPolla from Curtis Brown! Sarah is interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, science fiction, literary horror, and young adult fiction - so if you write within any of these genres and are interested in getting your scribbles in front of Sarah, here's your chance!

Per the WOW! website, most of the details are below - there's a link at the bottom for contest rules and specifics, as well.

So, won't you join me in what is sure to be an amazing contest? Come on, it'll be fun!

Friday Fives: Five Things You Can't Live Without When Writing

Yet another fab-u-lous topic to blog about on a sunny day here in Seattle (not often I get to say that!). Today's question from the fine folks over at Paper Hangover:

FIVE things you can't live without when you're writing/revising.

And here are my five:

1. Music. My iPod is with me at all times, no matter what - just like my trusty Moleskin journal. When I'm on my lap top, it's iTunes I have open. Wherever I am, I always have music at my fingertips. However, I don'talways listen to it. It's the idea of having it there, when I need it, be it for white noise or inspiration. But sometimes when I'm in such a zone, I can't have any noise at all. But it's nice to know it's there. And what's playing? Almost can always guarantee it's either Kings Of Leon or One Republic. HUGE fan of both and for some reason, these two bands make my fingers fly across my keyboard. Even when I'm in my car and they're playing on the radio, I can't help but whip out one of my journals and start writing. It's a good thing I'm good at multi-tasking.