SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE AND I WANT TO GIVE AWAY SOME BOOKS!

Like that picture of me you see above? That's me, big hair, braces and all, back in eleventh grade, at the height of my Sweet Valley High books obsession. When I was in junior high and high school we spent our summers on the east end of Long Island (the very East End that Reality Check is set in) and I would pretty much read a book every few days. I'm not kidding--what else did I have to do really? It was me, my younger sister, and my parents in the beach house, and while I loved it, there wasn't much in way of entertainment. I dare say we didn't even have cable back then (how did I ever survive?)! To make matters worse, back then I HATED the beach and we spent every day on the sand. Now I love the beach, but back then I couldn't stand sand in my shorts, in my turkey sandwich, in my hair. And the heat! UGH! The only thing that made the days bearable was that I would devour this series called Sweet Valley High. Thankfully there were over two hundred books in the series along with all these super special books that were double the length. Basically I had plenty to read. I just drove my parents nuts begging them to drive me to the local independent bookstore to get another book. My paperbacks worked hard for me--they had watermarks from being read in the pool with wet fingers. They had sunscreen smears on the book jackets and sometimes even food fell on them, but that's the beauty of a paperback --it takes a licking and keeps on ticking!
I hope you have as memorable of a summer as I had when I was growing up. To help you celebrate, I'm giving away one of my books in paperback a week, every week from June 26th to August 29th and you can start entering to win the first book right now! It could be a Secrets novel, or the new Reality Check paperback that just came out, or maybe it will be Sleepaway Girls, but the book given away will always be a surprise! (No grumbling if you don't get your pick, okay?) Every week starting on June 26th a new winner will be chosen at random and there are a bunch of ways you can enter to win. Here's how:
Each of the following will earn an entry:
Follow me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/jen.calonita) and leave a comment there saying "I'm entering the Jen Calonita summer paperback-a-week giveaway!"
Became a fan of the brand new Belles page on Facebook. The Belles Series facebook page will have upcoming book giveaways, book excerpts and quizzes so while it looks bare now, stay tuned for major updates! To put an entry on the Belles Series page go to (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bel...), post on the wall, and leave a comment saying "I'm entering the Jen Calonita summer paperback-a-week giveaway!"
Follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/jencalonita) and leave a comment there saying "I'm entering the Jen Calonita summer paperback-a-week giveaway!"
Become an email subscriber of JenCalonitaOnline's newsletter. (Info under contact section on my website).
Winner will be chosen randomly each week and notified via email. Good luck and happy summer!
Published on June 13, 2011 07:34
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Hi GoodReads readers!
This is my first blog post here and I'm still finding my footing on this site, but I really like it, which is why, um...is it weird my first post is about another site?
I'm curiou Hi GoodReads readers!
This is my first blog post here and I'm still finding my footing on this site, but I really like it, which is why, um...is it weird my first post is about another site?
I'm curious how many of you use Pinterest and whether you use it to talk about books. The reason I ask is that I've recently become addicted to it both in my own life and for my books. I've actually added a Pinterest board to my profile that is entirely about BELLES -- pictures that remind me of scenes in the book, places the book talks about, outfits I think Mira and Izzie would wear, things that remind me of the girls. Every day I seem to find more and more images I want to share, and I hope you like them and they give you a more visual image of what I have mapped out in my head before writing it down to share with you. I'd also love to see Pins you guys find that remind you of the BELLES. More to come soon....I promise! ...more
This is my first blog post here and I'm still finding my footing on this site, but I really like it, which is why, um...is it weird my first post is about another site?
I'm curiou Hi GoodReads readers!
This is my first blog post here and I'm still finding my footing on this site, but I really like it, which is why, um...is it weird my first post is about another site?
I'm curious how many of you use Pinterest and whether you use it to talk about books. The reason I ask is that I've recently become addicted to it both in my own life and for my books. I've actually added a Pinterest board to my profile that is entirely about BELLES -- pictures that remind me of scenes in the book, places the book talks about, outfits I think Mira and Izzie would wear, things that remind me of the girls. Every day I seem to find more and more images I want to share, and I hope you like them and they give you a more visual image of what I have mapped out in my head before writing it down to share with you. I'd also love to see Pins you guys find that remind you of the BELLES. More to come soon....I promise! ...more
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I don't think anyone was more excited than me when they released the follow-up to the series, with Elizabeth and Jessica at 27. However, I was sorely disappointed... what a letdown. I knew the books were written by ghostwriters but I was sure there was a Sweet Valley Bible out there to keep the canon straight. Apparently Francine can't keep her characters OR her facts straight. Wow, I just really geeked out there. Yes, I am a Sweet Valley nerd times ten and so when I found out one of my favorite teen lit authors was too, the geekism came out. Forgive me. *Ahem*
/returning to my usual professional editor self now.