Rachele Alpine's Blog, page 12

Vampires Are Real!

Did you know vampires and werewolves are real?  

I know a lot of my paranormal loving students would be very happy if this sign did speak the truth!

We Found A Boo Hole!

Last week my main squeeze and I checked out Holden Arboretum.  It's a huge nature preserve about fifteen minutes from our house with over twenty miles of trails.  But the best part...dogs are allowed!  So we said the magic word "car ride," and the three of us headed there.
We had a blast exploring the different routes and gardens they had...


But the best part was when we found a Boo hole in one of the trees!  
We got some pictures of Radley in front of it, since she is named after Boo Radley.


Sadly, there was nothing left in the Boo hole for us.  We decided next time we come, we'll bring a surprise to put in it.
If you don't know what a Boo hole is, check it out here.

No Autographs, Please!

Radley, the wonder dog, is famous!

Well, at least on Ruche's blog.

I wrote a piece about her for their Love Stories series, if you want to check it out here!

And if you haven't gotten your dose of Radley cuteness for today, how about these two pictures of her that the photographer took of just her when I was getting my author photos done.



What do you think? She could be a model, right?!

40% off Moo.com

I've shown off my mini-business cards before.




And now is your chance to get some of your own.  Moo.com is having their summer sale today and tomorrow (ends July 14).  Everything is 30% off, which means you can get 100 mini-cards for only $13.00!  They also make business cards, stickers and other fun things.  There are tons of designs to choose from or you can upload your own!

And if you go to Moo.com with my referral link, you get another 10% off your purchase!  That's 40% off for the next two days.

It's basically foolproof to make the cards, and I love them to pieces.  I have even punched a hole at the top of them and strung ribbons to make bookmarks.


Seriously, these are so cute and this deal only happens twice a year!

P.S.  I also have the big business cards (I bought the ones that look like books, and I love those too!  It's just that the mini-cards are so so cute!)

40% off Moo.com

I've shown off my mini-business cards before.




And now is your chance to get some of your own.  Moo.com is having their summer sale today and tomorrow (ends July 14).  Everything is 30% off, which means you can get 100 mini-cards for only $13.00!  They also make business cards, stickers and other fun things.  There are tons of designs to choose from or you can upload your own!

And if you go to Moo.com with my referral link, you get another 10% off your purchase!  That's 40% off for the next two days.

It's basically foolproof to make the cards, and I love them to pieces.  I have even punched a hole at the top of them and strung ribbons to make bookmarks.


Seriously, these are so cute and this deal only happens twice a year!

P.S.  I also have the big business cards (I bought the ones that look like books, and I love those too!  It's just that the mini-cards are so so cute!)

We Are All Pretty Sweet

I couldn't help but post this picture that I found on a friend's Facebook page.  It's so cute and so so true.


Now if only everyone could realize this about what is inside of themselves!

Choices, Choices...Author Picture!

The wonderful Tess Smith sent me the completed pictures so took for my author photo.  She did an amazing job, and I'm so happy with them.

But now I need to decide which one to choose!

Want to help?

All you gotta do is vote for your favorite.  I'm so indecisive, I'd love to hear your opinion!

 Picture 1:
Picture 2:

Picture 3:

Picture 4:

Picture 5:

I'm not entirely sure I want to use a dog picture (even though I LOVE my pooch).  Thoughts?


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Book Tights!

How cool are these tights?  I would TOTALLY wear a pair of them.

If anyone knows where to get some, let me know!

Book Tights!

How cool are these tights?  I would TOTALLY wear a pair of them.

If anyone knows where to get some, let me know!

The Lucky 13s Six Month Until 2013 Contest!

Happy July 1st!

Do you know why today is so great!?

It marks six more months until the Lucky 13s' books debut!

Hot diggity dog!

And to mark this special day, we're running a contest over at our blog with a prize package of 20 books!  Check it out here!

But before you run over there to enter, let me tell you a little bit more about it.

We've each picked a book to give away that has inspired us and our writing.

My book?

Stolen by Lucy Christopher!

Told in a letter to her captor by 16-year-old Gemma, Stolen explores the influence that a really wild and remote space can have on the inner development of a young woman.

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma’s city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it.

Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma’s city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape.

But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops …but is this real love, or Stockholm Syndrome?

There are a bunch of books that I've loved as a writer, but this one really stayed with me after I read it.  I was drawn to the lyricism of the book and the gorgeous writing. It's a powerful book about a subject that isn't easy and Lucy Christopher doesn't shy away from anything.  There is such an amazing juxtaposition in the book between this horrible situation that the main character Gemma is in and the beauty that is around her.

I fought hard to get this book into my high school classroom and now have a class.  When I introduce the book to my students, I tell them that Christopher is going to make them think in a very different way.  She turns you upside down with the words of her main character to her captor and many of my students find they feel a connection to the kidnapper that they didn't want to feel.  It is a bit unnerving to the reader, and that's what I love so much about this book, Lucy Christopher's ability to make us feel this way.

Good luck to winning our prize pack, and if you don't, I suggest you go out and buy this great book yourself!