Guest Post & Giveaway: The Prince of Powys By Cornelia Amiri

From the pages of the ancient codex, The Anglo Saxon Chronicles, the warrior kings of Wessex and Mercia fought each other while they both battled the welsh king of Powys. Elisedd, the king of Powys’s deeds and genealogy is honored by a monument his great grandson Cyngen map Cadlel erected, the Pillar of Eliseg, which stands to this day.  Welsh poems from bygone days mention Elisedd’s unique crown, fashioned from thick, twisted links of gold. He also adorned himself with gleaming armlets and anklets of pure gold. This great king was succeeded by his son Brochfael, also a character in The Prince of Powys. The legend of these eighth century AD warrior kings, Celtic mythology, and the mystic hill fort of Dinas Bran where Elisedd ruled inspired me to write The Prince of Powys. It’s a young adult novel of an ancient god, a magic sword, and a brave prince named Blaise.

I created the heroine, Branda, the youngest daughter of Ethelbald of Mercia and the hero, Blaise, the youngest son of Elisedd of Powys.

Blurb:

In an age of heroes, Branda, a Saxon princess helps Blaise, a prince of Powys, escape her father’s stronghold. In turn, he vows to escort the princess to her sister in Scotland so she can escape an arranged marriage. Instead, he holds her captive as his hostage in the unbreachable hill fort of Dinas Bran, where she captures his heart. Will Blaise be forced to throw away his honor for love or tear out his heart for honor? 

GIVEAWAY:

I’m having a blogging contest and giving away three PDF Ebooks of the Prince of Powys to three lucky winners. Please fill this form and include your email so I can contact you if you are chosen. The winners will be randomly selected. Ends 20th March. 

For more on my young adult fantasy/romance, The Prince of Powys, please visit my publisher’s site at  http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615725823

and my website at http://CelticRomanceQueen.com

Here’s a short excerpt:

It's Monday! What are you reading? #4

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a weekly event hosted by the wonderful Shelia at Book Journey. It is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!

What I read and reviewed last week:

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) By Mindy Kaling : Book review

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/is-everyone-hanging-out-without-me-and.html

Anna and The French Kiss Book Review

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/anna-and-french-kiss-by-stephanie.html

Book review: Variant By Robison Wells

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/variant-by-robison-wells.html

There was also a guest post and a giveaway!

Guest Post & Giveaway: The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/guest-post-giveaway-earthquake-machine.html

A post on a few TV Shows and movies I saw:

Ides of March, Revenge and Smash!

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/my-week-ides-of-march-revenge-smash.html

And a few memes. 

Oh and I challenge I was tinkering around with,

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/01/read-classics-2010-challenge.html

This week I'll probably read some Margaret Atwood.
What are you reading this week?
And have you participated in this amazing giveaway?

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/guest-post-giveaway-earthquake-machine.html

Guest Post & Giveaway: The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry

I’m excited to be guest posting for Oops I Read That Book, not least because I LOVE both Wicked Willow’s sense of humor and the fact that she expects more from a novel than a stereotypical plot and a couple of shape shifters.

When I was a teenager, I thought I’d grow up to be an English professor. But then I realized I just want to have amazing adventures and write novels that inspire other women and girls. I’ve tried to find jobs along the way that support my writing habit, and provide great material for my books.

The most fun job I’ve ever had was working on an elite Type 1 Hotshot crew of forest firefighters. My second most fun job ever was writing the screenplay adaptation of my forest firefighting novel for a Hollywood producer. (Look for that novel, THE GODS OF FIRE, to be released in 2013).

When I wrote THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE I was living in a basement room at the Desert Rose Horse Ranch outside of Durango and working as an apprentice carpenter. Working outside during the Colorado winters was hard, but way better than being trapped in a lame cubicle in some office. I woke up early every day to write before dawn.

I want THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE to thrill and entertain readers, and also encourage them to take risks and live life fully!

The Earthquake Machine

The book every girl should read,

and every girl’s parents hope she’ll never read.

The Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14 year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda’s world, but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in Rhonda’s life is her family’s Mexican yardman, Jesús. But when the INS deports Jesús back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her increasingly painful family situation.

Determined to find her friend Jésus, Rhonda seizes an opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends to Big Bend National Park. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the border town of Milagros, Mexico. There a peyote- addled bartender convinces her she won’t be safe traveling alone into the country’s interior. So with the bartender’s help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for Jesús. Thus begins a wild adventure that fulfills the longing of readers eager for a brave and brazen female protagonist.

Author Bio:

 Mary Pauline Lowry has worked as a forest firefighter, screenwriter, open water lifeguard, construction worker, and advocate in the movement to end violence against women. Due to no fault of her sweet parents, at 15 she ran away from home and made it all the way to Matamoros, Mexico. She believes girls should make art, have adventures, and read books that show them the way.

GIVEAWAY!


Mary Pauline Lowry is generously giving away 2 ebooks. Open internationally.

How to enter:
Must be a GFC follower or subscribe to this blog.
Fill out the form.

Extra Entries:
(Not required)
+2 for tweeting about the giveaway


Fill out this  FORM.


Giveaway ends March 10.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) By Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”
Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

 Kelly Kapoor is awesome.

Mindy Kaling is awesomer.

Kelly is just supposed to be like an exaggerated version of Mindy herself. The entire shopping and celebrity obsession is real!

In a similar vein as Tina Fey’s Bossypants, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) is a collection of hilarious essays about growing up and finally becoming a writer and an actor on a NBC sitcom. This books was definitely less snarkier and wittier than Bossypants, but it was way more fun.

Mindy Kaling is a total girly girl and she is the best friend every girl needs! She has written about guys and hook ups and weight issues and REVENGE FANTASIES!

Who doesn’t have revenge fantasies? I have some elaborate ones myself. :D

A chunk of the book is also about The Office! Yay! As a huge The Office fan, this book was a must read for me.

And she had written about this incident when she was writing for SNL and met Amy Poehler!

For those who don’t know this, Amy Poehler is my HERO!

<3_<3

I have made a list of my favorite essays from this book.

Here goes,

Types of Women in Romantic Comedies Who Are Not Real
All About The Office
Franchises I Would Like to Reboot
Contributing Nothing at Saturday Night Live
My Favorite Eleven Moments in Comedy
How I Write
The Day I Stopped Eating Cupcakes
Somewhere in Hollywood Someone Is Pitching This Movie
THE BEST DISTRACTION IN THE WORLD: ROMANCE AND GUYS
Someone Explain One-Night Stands to Me
“Hooking Up” Is Confusing
Guys Need to Do Almost Nothing to Be Great
MY APPEARANCE: THE FUN AND THE REALLY NOT FUN
When You’re Not Skinny, This Is What People Want You to Wear
These Are the Narcissistic Photos in My BlackBerry
Revenge Fantasies While Jogging
Strict Instructions for My Funeral

Oops, that’s like most of the book.

And isn't the cover great!? It captures the spirit of the book perfectly!

In My Mailbox #10

IMM is hosted by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren.


Bought:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I am not sure I'll like this book but I had to at least give it a try!

Plus, I haven't read any John Green books yet and I needed to change that.

Austenland (Austenland #1) by Shannon Hale 

Once again, I am not sure if I'll like it but the plot seemed interesting.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Yup, I am gonna love this one. And, not just because it is named after one of my favourite Beatles song. 

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood 

This one I started reading and so far, it's brilliant.

Have you read any of these books?

What's in your IMM!?

Weekly Recap

Ides of March, Revenge and Smash!

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/my-week-ides-of-march-revenge-smash.html

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) By Mindy Kaling

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/is-everyone-hanging-out-without-me-and.html

Anna and The French Kiss Book Review

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/anna-and-french-kiss-by-stephanie.html

Book review: Variant By Robison Wells

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/variant-by-robison-wells.html

Challenges-

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/01/read-classics-2010-challenge.html

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Published December 2nd 2010 by Penguin Group (USA)

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

 Meh.

The protag was okay and the main guy was drool-worthy, the friends weren’t bad and the plot was simple but realistic. There was nothing wrong with the writing; it was actually pretty easy to read. Nothing really happened and maybe I am just too old for this. Or I can’t stand a pure romance novel.

I feel like EVERYONE loves this book. There are like barely any goodreads reviewers who have given it less than four star.

I have nothing against books that are just to be read for fun, but someone could have died, or someone could have killed someone, or there could have been some drama. I mean, real drama. Not boo-hoo my dad is so rich and famous and he is the worst dad ever because he is more Nicholas Sparks than Ian McEwan and he sends me to a school in paris and I hate my dad’s books and I like this guy and he has a girlfriend and my friends are confusing and okay  yeah, that was the basic plot. *Spoiler Alert* She gets the guy and lives happily ever after.

The book should have been funnier. It takes itself way too seriously.

But credit where credit is due, I loved Paris. The setting was epic. Stephanie Perkins (Could she be related to Ann Perkins?) nailed that part.  That’s the reason I read the whole book, well, except for the chapters I didn’t. There were these long talks and walks around Paris that reminded me of one of my favourite movies, Before Sunrise. 

My Week - The Ides of March & Revenge & Smash

I just saw The Ides of March yesterday, and it was this brilliant political thriller set during US presidential elections. I loved the drama and the cynical characters. 

It was an extremely well-acted and directed movie. Paul Giamatti and George Clooney were so good and Ryan Gosling was great! I thought it was his best performance after Blue Valentine. 

I found the theme was similar to that of Wall Street. Young idealistic boy realizes the career he longs for requires more foul play than skill. 

It is based on Beau Willimon’s 2008 play “Farragut North", which I might read. 

For those unaware of this, Ides of March is the 15th of March and was the day Julius Caeser was killed. 

Remember in Shakespeare's Julius Caeser when he was warned by this soothsayer to, "beware the Ides of March."

Also, I recently started watching Revenge which is inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo and it's epic. Not the most intelligent show, but it's fun and visually pleasing. Like a cross between Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives. It’s all Pretty setting (HAMPTONS!), Pretty Parties, Pretty People, Prettier Clothes and Ugly Drama.

So, if you like soapy- think sex, lies and videotapes and enjoyable TV Drama’s, it’s a must watch!

I like the poster. NOT. 

And I also saw the Smash pilot and it’s not bad! I like how grand it looks. Like NBC spent a lot of money on it. And I love NBC or at least Community, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock and The Office. Also, Debra Messing is such a good actress!

I wish the storyline was more Marilyn Manson than Monroe but whatever. The real problem here is WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THE POSTER!?!
It's just odd.


Did you watch any cool stuff this week?

Follow Friday #10

Q. I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What’s the most unique character name you’ve come across?

Bathsheda Babbling from Harry Potter. 

She was some ancient ancient runes teacher at Hogwarts.

Harry Potter was a treasure trove of weird names.

I mean, there was a GRUBBLY-PLANK.

Q. Book Blogger Pride: What do you take pride in when it comes to blogging?

I take pride that I blog at all. 

I have my university breathing down my back and dumping studies on my poor thin fragile shoulders. 

It's a wonder I manage to watch dozens of TV Shows, read several books, attend lectures, not kill anyone, not meet with an accidental accident and BLOG. 

You can follow me on Twitter for incessant whining, cynical view on life and general nineteen year old angst. 

https://twitter.com/#!/WickedWillow666

Yeah, I am pretty cheerful person. 

Weekly Recap

Anna and The French Kiss Book Review

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/anna-and-french-kiss-by-stephanie.html

Ides of March, Revenge and Smash 

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/my-week-ides-of-march-revenge-smash.html

Waiting On Wednesday

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/waiting-on-wednesday-5.html

Book review: Variant By Robison Wells

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/02/variant-by-robison-wells.html

Challenges-

http://oopsireadthatbook.blogspot.in/2012/01/read-classics-2010-challenge.html

Variant By Robison Wells

Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would 
be the ticket out of his dead-end life. 

He was wrong. 

Now he's trapped in a school that's surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive 

Where breaking the rules equals death. 

But when Benson stumbles upon the school's real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

Published October 4th 2011 by HarperCollins

WOW. THIS BOOK WAS WOW.
Creepy, nail-bitting and gut-wrenching good. 
If you think your school is strict, think again. Maxfield Academy is a freaking NIGHTMARE.
I was on the edge of my seat throughout. I honestly stayed up all night to read this book. There were these great, completely unexpected twists, and WOW! 
This book was perfect. 
The main theme was about survival and trust and reminded me of Lord Of The Flies. 
The protagonist was perfect. He was heavily flawed but really likable and you actually cared what happened to him!
It had so much of drama and intrigue and then this totally HOLY MOTHER OF GOD GIGANTIC CLIFFHANGER!
This book has so many things working for it, it is a must read for all Thriller/ Dystopian fans. 

An exciting and suspenseful Thriller.
But seriously, it was so good, I peed my pants. 
No, I didn't.
Or, Did I? o.O

P.S- There was PAINTBALL! That's a course I wish my univ offered!
:D
^^
Easily the best part of the book!

Waiting On Wednesday #5

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Social Suicide (Deadly Cool #2) by Gemma Halliday

Twittercide [twit-er-sahyd]: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.
Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper's brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went...a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the Homecoming Queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH's resident body finder, I'm stuck trying to prove that Sydney's death wasn't suicide.
I'm starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos...

Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by HarperTeen


Deadly Cool was amazeballs! Hartley Featherstone is quite the Veronica Mars. 
I love YA murder mysteries ( What can I say? Something about young people killing each other just gets me) and they are really hard to come by so when they do I snap up 'em. 
I mean what with the the entire population gobbling up paranormal romance which I can't and won't read anymore, there are few books left in the YA territory I actually look forward too. 
This book is one of them.  I mean, it can't get cooler than Twittercide! 
And the cover is a major improvement over Deadly Cool's weird Nina Dobrev-isque alien. 
This female reminds me a little of that new redhead from Transformers 4009. Rose-Huntingbottom or something.