Big Day at Murder by the Book, Then Off to the Sleep Clinic

I am feeling almost human again and hope to feel 100% after the next four, yes four, Doctor visits. 

Tonight is the sleep study.  I am told that I snore quite loudly, I would not know I am asleep!!  But many have told me that this is why I am so tired all the time, so I will be sleeping tonight hooked up to a machine to see just how bad it is.  Wish me luck!!

But, before that, I am spending the day at Murder by the Book.  There are two great authors coming out today!

The first is a Houstonian that writes crime thrillers set in Texas with a female Texas Ranger as her main character.  Author Kathryn Casey will be signing all of her books, I have set my limit and will only be buying three of her novels.  She has written both fiction and non-fiction and her third novel, The Killing Storm, is being praised by many.

Check her out at her website:
http://www.kathryncasey.com/



The second author of the day is one that all you YA enthusiasts will love!

Kathy Reichs, author of Virals.  This is her first YA novel but has already written numerous novels that have made it to the New York Times Bestsellers list.  In fact, her Temperance Brennan novels are what inspired the tv show, Bones!

You can check her out at:
http://www.kathyreichs.com/




I will be back tomorrow to share pictures and scoop. 

Have a great Saturday!
Lisa

Website Wednesday

I have been a bit under the weather this week, so my posts have fallen behind.  I wanted to share a couple of websites with you that you might like. 

The first is a website that allows you to keep track of book series that you are reading.  I have the problem, especially with authors such as James Patterson who come out with new books all the time, of remembering which books I have or have not read.  This website keeps track of that for you so you know what book you are ready to read next when you go back to that series.  The website is called fictfact.

Fictfact

I also am not always sure I have the first book of a series.  This website is the know all and be all of book series!!

The next website that I like is called librarything.com.  This website is somewhat like goodreads.com, but not quite as user friendly.  What I do like about the website is that you can sign up to be an early reviewer and get free books!  And as you know, I have a very hard time turning down free books!!  LOL

Library Thing

So, check out these sites and let me know what you think.

Happy Wednesday!

Lisa

And the Winner is.....

I apologize, I am a bit late getting the winner out for the ARC of The Girl who Became a Beatle, I have been recouping after my weekend. 

The winner was chosen using random.org out of 13 entries, the winning number was 10....

and that person is....

Fairy Whispers



The winner has been notified and the book will be shipped out shortly. 

I have several more books to give away so check back and see what else there is to offer.

Thanks!!

Lisa

My weekend at YALSA in Albequerque

Before I tell you about my weekend, let me tell you a few things about me:
1.  I have a rule when traveling, I try to never eat where I can eat at home. 
2.  I have never ridden a bus as public transportation.
3.  I am not a big fan of crowds or chaos, controlled or not.

Keep these things in mind as I tell you my story.

I arrived at the Albequerque airport, picked up my luggage and headed out to find a cab with no problems.  This was a very good sign!  The cab brought me to my hotel and I checked in and headed up to my room.  Very nice room....that faced the freeway, not the mountains.  The gentleman that checked me in called this the "city view"!

I then headed out to find a restaurant for lunch.  I am just across the street from a mall.  The problem with this is that there are many chain restaurants but not much of anything else.  I did finally find a restaurant that I had not heard of and had lunch, again no problems.  It was beautiful outside so the walking was very nice. 

I returned to the hotel, layed down for my daily catnap...only to wake up with terrible allergies...darn that nice walk!  I should also let you know that my insurance company decided on Friday that they would not longer pay for my Allegra-D and Singulair...thanks Obama!  So, at this point I am without anything other than those wonderful OTC meds!  By this point my eyes are itching, my nose is running, the top of my mouth is burning and I can't stop sneezing!  I can't possibly go down to the HH like this, so I decide to call for room service....no, not here!  I walk down to the restaurant and order a soup and salad hoping that this may help.  The French Onion soup and Caesar salad was delicious, but I think all the patrons around me were afraid to eat while I was there with all of my orifices leaking as they were!  I take two Benadryll and lay back down.  Take two more four hours later and finally stop sneezing long enough to sleep. 

Day 2--
I still am not feeling well, so I decide that sitting in sessions will never work.  So, I go down around 10 AM and ask for a cab to take me to Old Town, this is a shopping area that was the original downtown area for Albequerque.  The lady at the front desk tells me I could take the bus as it was much cheaper.  I must say, I like taking subways, but buses are another issue all together.  The concierge was nice enough to walk outside with me and show me where the bus picks up and let the bus driver know where I wanted to go once the bus arrived.  Remember...this was PUBLIC transportation.  All I will say as to not offend anyone is that the public that rides the bus in Albequerque is interesting to say the least.  It is amazing how many lonely, old men want to talk to you on the bus!  I was polite and friendly, but not even my sneezing deterred these people!  Forty-five minutes later, I finally reached my destination.  Thankfully, there was a CVS at the bus stop so I headed in to immediately pick up some Claritin.  Thankfully, this had some effect.

I head over to Old Town...nothing like a little shopping to make anyone feel better!  I always buy two things when traveling, a book about the area and a Christmas ornament. 
But first I wanted green chilis, on anything!  If you have never had Green Chili stew, I highly recommend it.  But I wanted something more substantial after soup and salad the night before.  So, I headed to a Mexican restaurant for lunch.  The Mexican food at Las Haciendas was delicious and I was full and now ready to shop!  The little area was very nice and the shops were full of Indian pottery and such.  I hit a few stores, bought my wares and headed back to the hotel.  Oh, what I forgot to mention was that the main thoroughfare through Albequerque is the old Route 66, so I actually did enjoy the view, despite the fact that I was hit on by every old man on the bus!!  As I headed back to the hotel, another elderly man found his way next to me.  He made small talk and bless his heart, he smelled like a distillery. He did thank me for my company as he got off the bus!!  Public transportation is quite interesting!!

Ok, now for the chaos.  I knew that we would receive a bag with a "limited number of signed books" but really had no idea what that meant.  So, minutes before entering the book signing room, we are each given five tickets to choose five books to have signed.  Enter room to several hundred librarians running around trying to find the author of choice.  Me....first line I see to get out of the chaos.  Luckily, my first line was a good choice.  I quickly figure out they are not taking the tickets...so, shame on me!  I go from line to line picking up books and getting them signed.  Being in line means being out of the chaos! 

I have my goods, I am happy so I head to the room to drop off the books and get ready to head to the Pueblo Indian Museum .  This was a great museum, but did not take long to get through.  Back to hotel, off to bed, off to the mall the next day and then back home.  Still not feeling well! 

I did not sit in on as many sessions as I thought I would but I did get my free books and some shopping done so overall I would call it a successful weekend.

Blog Hopping Today!!!

I am super busy over the next week...and I will keep you posted on all I do and see.  I am sitting in the airport waiting on my flight to Albequerque for the Young Adult Library Services Assoc. Symposium.  I am excited to check out what books will be coming out in the near future and talking with the authors who will be attending.

Next week is all about politics....
Next Tuesday, I will be meeting Rick Perry and have his books signed.  He will be at Minute Maid Park to discuss and sign his books



Next Wednesday, I will be going to listen to Condoleezza Rice and have her book signed. 

If you haven't already figured it out, I love to meet authors and I love geting autographed books by the authors I meet.  I have had to start putting a limit on my visits as well as put in a budget!  My library is growing far faster than my paycheck!!  LOL

I will going in for a sleep study on Saturday night.  That will most likely be the most excitement I have next weekend! 

And finally...

Welcome Blog Hoppers!!

This is my third week on the blog hop and I have seen so many amazing blogs.  I hope you like what you see and will become a follower.

I do have one giveaway going on right now that will end on 11/8.  It is open to anyone that lives in the US or Canada.

Check out the entry from yesterday for the form.

"What are your feelings on losing followers? Have you ever stopped following a blog?"

I am new to blogging and every time I see a new follower, I get all excited.  I have not seen the numbers go down yet, so I don't think I have lost anyone yet.  However, I do understand if someone does find that they do not find my blog interesting and chooses to stop following.  There could be any number of reasons why someone leaves and I have learned not to take that kind of thing personally.

I have stopped following friends on FB, but I have never stopped following a blog.  I try to only join blogs that interest me so that I don't have to stop following for whatever reason.

Giveaway Reminder

I will be giving away an ARC of The Girl Who Became a Beatle by Greg Taylor on Nov. 8.  If you would like to be entered into the giveaway, complete the form below.

The Lost Art of Writing in Complete Sentences!

With the invention of Twitter, texting and Instant Messaging, I am seeing a real impact  in student writing.  Namely, students are unable to form coherent, complete sentences when asked to write a paper.  Students simply want to get the information down in as few words as possible.  After all, many of the online writing and texting platforms have a limited number of characters available. 

What can we as parents do to help enhance student writing?  Make them write!  Some great ways to get them writing more:
1.  Have them write hand-written thank you notes for Christmas, birthday and other gifts.
2.  Send hand-written invtations to Thanksgiving or Christmas, explaining what will be going on, what the tree looks like, what they would like for Christmas, any other pieces of information that the guests will need.
3.  Read a book with your child and then keep a journal that each of you can write in about the book.
4.  Each person in the house keep a journal that you write in and then once a week share one of your entries with the family.

There are many ways to get kids to write, but you first have to get them off the computer, ipods, phones and other electronic devices and go back to the good old-fashioned pen and paper.

Other suggestions?

And the winner is......

I put all of the entries into Random.org...and the generator chose...

cupcakequeenblog

The winner has been notified and as soon as she notifies me which book she has chosen, I will let you guys know.  I will put another of the books up for grabs during the Thanksgiving Giveaway!

Thanks to all who have joined my blog. 

And Congratulations to my first winner!!!

Monday's Musings

I can't believe that it is already November!!  So, what is happening this week, you ask?

I have my Awesome Giveaway ending today.  This is my first giveaway and am so excited!

I have another giveaway that ends next Monday, an ARC of The Girl Who Became a Beatle due out next February.

I will be in Albequerque, NM this weekend at YALSA.  That means more free books and ARCs.  There will be over 35 YA authors there this weekend. 

Melissa de la Cruz, author of the Blue Bloods series, will be at Blue Willow Bookshop on Thursday.  I am going to try to make this one.  It depends on if I can sit in on a morning class and what time my daughter's powder puff game is over! 

Laurie Halse Anderson will also be at Blue Willow on Friday signing her books.  Sadly, I will be out of town!



Condoleezza Rice will be at the Blue Willow Bookshop on Wednesday, Nov. 10 signing her new book.  She will be in Austin, TX at the Book People on Nov. 11.


If you are unable to make these events, but would like an autographed copy of any of the authors books, you can call the store and place an order.

http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/

Giveaway in its last few hours!!! Join Today!!

It is getting closer to the day of the Awesome Giveaway!!!  If you are a follower of my blog by 7:00 PM Central Time on Nov. 1, you are automatically entered into the contest.  It you would like additional entries, check out the options below.  The first contest will be for anyone, no matter where you live!!  It is my way of thanking everyone for taking the time to follow my blog.  I will be giving away one book regardless of the number of followers.  So, even if I don't reach 50, I am still going to give away one book!!!!

The rules:
1.  Become a follower of my Blog. +2
2.  Recommend a friend to join my Blog. +1 for every friend that joins.  Post a comment letting me know who your friend is so I know to give you your bonus points.
3.  Post a comment to one or more of my blog postings. +1
4.  Add my blog address to your blog. +1  Post a message if you do this with your blog name so I can check it out, and join your blog if I have not done so!

On Monday, Nov. 1, I will put everyone's names into random.org and choose one name for every 50 followers I have on my blog on 11/1.  You will get multiple entries by doing the above 1-4.

The first name drawn will have first choice of books I have to offer.  If there are 100 followers, I will choose two names through random.org. 

Let me know if you have any questions about the rules.  I think I have covered everything.  This is my first giveaway, so this is all new to me....but alot of fun!!!
Books available(all are autographed by the author):
Autographed by Holly Black--Hard Cover

Autographed by Jeff Lindsay--Paperback
Autographed by Meg Cabot--Paperback

Autographed by Laurie Halse Anderson--Hard cover--1st edition

 

Happy Halloween!!!!

Jim Shore, Laura DiSilverio and Hilary Davidson...Oh, My!

 What a busy day!!!  My Aggies beat the Raiders and I am looking forward to Baylor giving UT a run for their money!!  Yes, I am a huge football fan!  LOL
But, I was not sitting around the tv watching football all day.  I was out doing a little Christmas shopping and listening to a couple of authors discussing their debut books.

I started my day at the Hallmark store where Jim Shore was signing figurines.  If you have not ever heard of him, I highly recommend you check out his website.  He has some of the absolute cutest stuff I have ever seen!  I especially love his Disney figurines.  I am going to get on my soapbox for a minute here.  I went in and asked what the rules were and was told he would sign two pieces per person.  I had my daughter with me, thank goodness, so I dutifully picked out my four pieces and went to get in line.  The problem, the line moved incredibly slow because people had six to ten pieces they were getting signed and they were there by themselves!!  I have no problems with stipulations to signings, but if you are going to set the limits then stick to them!!  I would have loved to pick up a couple more pieces to be signed but I did what was told only to have to stand in line twice as long because I as about the only one that did! 
http://www.jimshore.com/

Me with Jim Shore

Two of the figurines I bought today.  The other two are too cute, but Christmas presents so I have to keep them under wraps.

Jim's signature

Anyway, because of this I was late to Murder by the Book to hear the first of two authors.  If anyone is at all familiar with the store, you know that one co-owner recently died very suddenly.  I did ask someone there today whom I have seen at the store several times for book signings and he said that David had a clot which caused a massive coronary.  Very sad for the store and the community.

Laura DiSilverio was the first author.  She has a new mystery book out called Swift Justice.  This is the first in the series and she stated that the second is on the way to the publisher soon.  Laura is a former Lt. Colonel in the Air Force.  When asked why she turned down the Col. offer, she stated that she had two small children and was no longer willing to go overseas for extended periods of time.  She also stated that she had always wanted to write and she felt that the time had come, so she retired from the Air Force and became a full time mom and writer.  She also has another book out that is a cozy mystery called Tressed to Kill(Southern Beauty Shop) under the pen name Lila Dare.  When asked why that book was written under a pseudonym, she said that Berkley wanted rights to the name and she wanted to publish other books under her real name, so she was not about to let a publisher own her name.  Both books sound fun to read.  I look forward to reading her current and future books!



Me and Laura DiSilverio



After a quick trip to Rice Village for an early dinner and a trip to the British Isles store, we headed back to Murder by the Book for the second author of the day, Hilary Davidson.  If the name sounds familiar, she has written numerous short stories as well as a number of travel books for Frommer and numerous articles for travel magazines.  Her first novel is entitled The Damage Done.  Hilary was an absolute joy!  Not to take away from Laura, but remember Laura is a former Air Force Lt. Col. and Laura is a travel journalist.  You can't find two more different people on one day!  Laura is originally from Canada and now lives in New York.  As you can see from the picture below, she is just precious and has a personality to match.  She does, however, have short stories that are quite disturbing according to one audience member.  Her short stories can be found in such magazines as Thuglit if that tells you anything!  She let us know that her sequel is written and will be to the editor shortly.  She talked a little about her own writing and said that with her first novel, she did try to stick to an outline, but found herself re-writing the outline quite often so with the next novel she only stuck to the outline for about a third of the book.  She said she often knows the beginning and the end, but the middle is what tends to change frequently during her edits and re-writes.  If you have a chance, I strongly encourage you to go and listen to her speak, she was a lot of fun to listen to!  I have put her blog link below the book, so check her out!

http://blog.hilarydavidson.com/
http://www.thuglit.com/

Hilary reading from her novel.

Me and Hilary Davidson.

It was a great day and now it is time to settle in for the evening to watch the Baylor take care of UT!!  LOL

Blog Hop Friday!!! My Favorite Day of the Week!!

This is my second week to hop on the blog hop, I had a great time last week and look forward to joining more blogs this week.  I have seen some great blogs and love all the diversity I am seeing!


If you are stopping by on your hop today, THANK YOU!!!  Please also check out the two giveaways I have going on right now.  You can find the information to the right under Awesome Giveaway! and The Girl Who Became a Beatle. 

No for my answer to this weeks question:
If you have, or would have a daughter, what book would you want your daughter to read?

I do have a 14-year-old daughter and if you read some of my past entries, you will see that I speak of her often.  I have always been an avid reader and thankfully she is too!!  My first book that I recommended to her once she started reading chapter books was Island of the Blue Dolphins.  That was my absolute favorite book growing up!

The other books would have to be anything by Judy Blume.  I grew up reading her books and loved them all!





Have a great Friday!  Thanks for stopping by!

On This Day in History...and other reminders

I am getting a late start tonight, it has been a long week.

I am so excited to see a few more followers every day!!  Don't forget, everyone that is a follower of my blog by Monday, Nov.1 will be entered to win your choice of one of four autographed books I picked up at the Texas Book Festival a few weeks ago.  I have decided to give one away regardless of whether or not I have made 50 followers to thank those of you that have joined my new blog!!  Your choices can be found at the right in the entry entitled Awesome Giveaway!

I will also be giving away The Girl Who Became a Beatle on Nov. 8.  You will need to complete the form to be entered into that giveaway.

I will have more giveaways to announce once I return from YALSA next weekend.

What was going on today in History...

In 1886, The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

In 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment.

In 1905, George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs. Warren's Profession, which dealt frankly with prostitution, is performed at the Garrick Theater in New York. The play, Shaw's second, had been banned in Britain. After only one performance, puritanical authorities in New York had the play closed. On October 31, the producer and players were arrested for obscenity, but a court case against the play failed to convict playwright, producer, or actors. Although some private productions were held, the show wasn't legally performed in Britain until 1926.

The Girl Who Became a Beatle ARC giveaway

I will be giving away an ARC of The Girl Who Became a Beatle by Greg Taylor on Nov. 8.  If you would like to be entered into the giveaway, complete the form below.











Follow the below link to sign up for the Firelight Giveaway.  This blogger is doing her first giveaway as well!
http://burningximpossiblyxbright.blogspot.com/2010/10/firelight-giveaway-my-first-giveaway.html