My new addiction.....

.....free ebook links from Bookblast!


That's right - a website ( http://bookblast.co/ ) that will email you links to Amazon.com for free and super-cheap ($.99-2.99) ebooks all from Young Adult Fantasy and Paranormal or whatever genre you select to have included in your daily email.  Did you see that - I said DAILY! 

What could be better than coffee and browsing personally selected FREE ebooks?  Can you think of anything? 

                                         ...okay, free hugs maybe....

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Spreading the love with a giveaway!

It's Valentine's Day! And you know what that means -- love is in the air! And nowhere is that more apparent that at Entangled Publishing. We're sharing A LITTLE BIT CUPID with you today, and wish you a day filled with romance and of course, CUPID.

A LITTLE BIT CUPID, by Jennifer Shirk: Finding love should be easy, but wedding photographer Pheobe Ward knows better. When Cupid shows up on a crazy mission to help her —and save the world in the process—Phoebe realizes love might be even more complicated than she thought. Even with Cupid showing her Mr. Right , she can’t stop thinking about his best friend, Mr. Wrong. Cal Crawford has never had time for love, but now he’s falling for Phoebe. Which means it’s got to be just plain wrong to set her up with his best friend, right? But even though seeing Phoebe with someone else will break his heart, he can’t walk away from her. Phoebe can’t afford to choose the wrong guy with the fate of the world at stake. But maybe Cupid has it wrong. Maybe she has to rely just a little bit on Cupid, and a whole lot more on her heart. Get your copy today for only 99 cents!

To get you in the Valentine's Day mood, download A LITTLE BIT CUPID and then enter to win our CUPID inspired giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a swag bag that includes an eBook of A LITTLE BIT CUPID, an eBook of KISSING KENDALL, and a box of chocolates! Just enter using the Rafflecopter widget below--today only, so spread the love this Valentine's Day! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hastings, how do I love thee?

 Score!!! Went in to Hastings for a book for my 4th grader.......

..................Came out with a SIGNED copy of REACHED!!

If you haven't met Cassia, Ky and Xander in the Matched  trilogy, you have yet to read one of the finest modern dystopian teen-fiction. You can read my review here - Matched floored me with the subtle acts of resistance. I can't wait to finish the  trilogy with Reached.

Happy Blogversary RWRB!

Today is Reading, Writing, Raisin' Boys' 3rd Blog-versary! Yay!! Let the confetti fly!!

   While a few bloggers are moving to Wordpress, some are turning to other forms of social media, and some are re-evaluating blogging at all - I am here to celebrate. I am HERE. I haven't moved and I plan to stick it out until RWRB gets too big for Blogger and is forced to move (not even close yet).

     What do I get out of blogging? Why take time out of my busy, busy life with school, kids to raise, and job?

That's the best question ever!

Here's what:

     I've had a chance to practice my writing. Writing for an audience (even if no one reads it) is way different than just writing in a journal. It holds me accountable for my writing. It's got to be interesting. It's got to involve the reader. It's got to be spelled right and punctuated correctly. 

     I've had a chance to hear about and promote some of the most fantastic books that may not be getting out there in the hands of readers without word-of-mouth.  Small publishers are my favorite!  The Ganzfield Series published by Spencer Hill Press has been the most exciting of all to share.  Hopefully, Kate Kaynak will release the next book, Soulmate,  before I go nuts wondering about Maddie and Trevor.

     I've learned so much about writing from other bloggers. Authors are so generous in sharing their writing tips. It's like a mini-conference at my fingertips.

     It's a place to share my overflow of babble where people have the choice to tune in-or tune out. For me, I like that better than Facebook status updates. No one has to "unfriend" me if they tire of my incessant chatter.

     Best of all - the people I've met through blogging. This past three years of RWRB has opened the doors to meeting writers, bibliophiles, mom-bloggers, and random people I may never have know I had anything in common with- without the blogging (theirs and mine)

     I hope you all stick with me for this next exciting year. Soon to come: A new genre for me - Contemporary Romance. Also, the British-Lit tour and Mom-Mondays will continue (although the boys have been a bit private lately so it's occasional that I post about them). Here's looking forward to another great year!
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British Literature Tour

     Coming this summer - it's going to be all about British Literature coming to life!  I am so looking forward to blogging next summer about the study abroad course I'm taking in the late spring/early summer. My children's lit instructor has opened her overseas British Children's Lit course and we will be heading for Paris. As a bonus - an art expert will be coming along to help us appreciate what we'll be seeing in the Louvre.
     So far I have a list of about twenty stops we will be making: C.S. Lewis's house, Beatrix Potter's farm, Oxford (Harry Potter), Stonehenge, the Louvre - even the Crown Jewels. I just have to get through the my Spring 2013 semester and we will be on our way. So if you'll hang in there with me while I study in all things "teacher-ly"  and blog in between writing papers and cramming for tests, we are going to have a great 2013 summer on Reading, Writing, Raisin' Boys.

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You are in for a treat today!  Author Susan Kaye Quinn has given me the honor of sharing ..........

The Live-Action Mindjack Book Trailer Reveal

(from the bestselling Mindjack series by Susan Kaye Quinn)

With the help of over 20 cast and crew members, award-winning director Beth Spitalny has brought the concept of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy to life on the screen.

When everyone reads minds,

a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Please share!

It's no secret that I love Open Minds! 

To celebrate the release of the trailer, Susan is putting Open Minds and the Mindjack Trilogy on sale

$2.99 now $0.99

for one week only

$9.99 now $7.99

for one week only

That's Open Minds, Closed Hearts AND Free Souls - three amazing reads for the price of a half-caff/decaff with a shot of espresso!

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Series, which includes three novels, three novellas, and a trailer. She's currently writing a steampunk fantasy romance, just for kicks. When that's out of her system, she has ambitious plans to embark on a series about the Singularity (the time when computers become more intelligent than humans) that should appeal to fans of the Mindjack novels. Or possibly play on Facebook all day. Could go either way.

Can't get enough of the characters? Susan has lots of Mindjack extras on her author website.
For the making-of the trailer, see the Mindjack Trilogy website. 

To read my rockin' review of Open Minds, click here.

More Techy-Stuff

I have one more thing I learned from Mrs. Fleming at the Montana Teachers' Conference - 

Augmented Reality - ooooooo makes me think of Total Recall! 

No really, like the Morris Lessmore book app I posted on, you can mix what you are seeing with digital enhancement. Why? Why not?!

If you are fortunate enough to have a $20 bill, you can download Aurasma for free to your Smartphone or iPad and use it to scan in the image on the back of the bill and watch it come to life!  You have got to see this technology.

 Someday, you'll be at a national monument and see the 

and wonder what it's all about. You'll be thinking, okay - I see a statue of a guy but don't want anyone around me to know that I don't know my history. Hmmm, what if I grab the free Aurasma app and scan in this A real quick while everyone is taking pictures and maybe it will tell me. It will not only tell you - it will make it happen in 3-d and everyone around you will be begging for a turn with your phone. Apparently you can even be the one to create one - wouldn't THAT be fun?!

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Thanks Mrs. Fleming