Guest Post: Rachel Vincent +Giveaway!

♥ About the book:

Everyone else is talking about Eastlake High’s gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck, but Kaylee Cavanaugh has bigger things on her mind. Kaylee’s a banshee—her scream is a portent of death. 
But the next scream might hit too close to home. Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline has almost run out. 
Yeah—it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself from her own problems, Kaylee is determined to defend her school against the latest supernatural threat. That hot new teacher is really an incubus, who feeds from the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s delinquent ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human either. 
But Kaylee’s running out of time, and those who love her will do anything to save her life. 
Anything. 
Soul Screamers: The last thing you hear before you die.

♥ About the author:

A resident of San Antonio, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.

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If I Die, the fifth book in the Soul Screamers series, will be released on September 27, 2011. To celebrate, Kaylee and Sabine (Kaylee’sboyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, who is a living nightmare) have agreed to be in the same room long enough to interview each other. Sabine won the coin toss, so she gets the first question. They’ve 

been told to keep it civil, but I make no promises…

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Sabine: Kaylee, truth or dare.

Kaylee: This is an interview, Sabine.

Sabine: [shrugs] Think of this as an alternative format. Truth or dare?

Kaylee: There’s no good way to answer that question, is there?

Sabine: Why does there have to be drama behind every decision you make?

Kaylee: Fine. Truth.

Sabine: say—hypothetically—that you found out you were going to die in a few days and you had to decide who’s going to get all your stuff when you’re gone. Who would inherit, oh…your boyfriend?

Kaylee: That’s not how it works. You can’t inherit a person.

Sabine: Sure you can. People inherit kids from dead parents all the time.

Kaylee: Nash isn’t a kid, and I’m not his parent.

Sabine: That’s why this is hypothetical.

Kaylee: No, it’s hypothetical because… Whatever. You’re not going to inherit Nash, no matter what happens to me.

Sabine: Okay, but if you were going to die—

Kaylee: It’s my turn. Truth or dare?

Sabine: Dare.

Kaylee: I wanted you to say truth.

Sabine: That’s why I said dare.

Kaylee: Fine. I dare you to tell me the truth.

Sabine: [rolls her eyes] That is SO lame.

Kaylee: You started this.

Sabine: Ask your question.

Kaylee: What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?

Sabine: I don’t understand the question. Worst, according to what unit of measurement? Monetary damage? Physical destruction? Psychological impact? Number of laws broken? I’m gonna need you to be more specific.

Kaylee: It’s not a complicated question. What do you feel guilty about?

Sabine: Okay, I’m not saying this is actual guilt—I’m not entirely sure what that feels like—but I don’t feel great about telling Nash that you don’t want to go to prom because you’re afraid you’ll look flat-chested in a formal dress.

Kaylee: Sabine!

Sabine: Well, it’s the truth! If you two are meant to be, shouldn’t he know what you’re afraid of? Besides, it’s a valid concern.

Kaylee: But it isn’t your concern!

Sabine: [glances down at her own chest] Thank goodness.

Kaylee: That’s not what I meant.

Sabine: My turn. This one’s easy. Wood or steel?

Kaylee: Wood or steel what?

Sabine: Casket. For your hypothetical funeral.

Kaylee: No more death questions.

Sabine: Okay. Fashion, then. How long afterward will Nash have to wear all black?

Kaylee: Do you want me to haunt you?

Sabine: If I answer that, is it my turn again?

Kaylee: No! It’s my turn, and you can’t take it away.

Sabine: You’re only clinging to your turn because you know I want it.

Kaylee: That doesn’t even make any sense.

Sabine: Is it true you’re so shiny and pure you actually glow in the dark?

Kaylee: Is it true you shriek and scurry into the corner every time someone turns the light on?

Sabine: Ha! That was pretty good.

Kaylee: Thanks. I’ve been practicing. To give credit where it’s due, though, you make a great target.

Sabine: You too. I might actually miss you once you’re gone. Hypothetically.

*********************************************

♥ About the giveaways:

The first giveaway is ONE DAY ONLY. As in today...and no other day. So get right to this one! Win two copies of If I Die-one for you and one for a friend-by tweeting:

Dying for IF I DIE? - Follow the #SoulScreamersTour for daily giveaways & a NookTouchhttp://wp.me/P1r4rR-fv @rachelkvincent


The winner will be notified via Twitter, so be sure to check your @replies! 

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The second giveaway runs the entire blog tour! If you live in the US/Canada you came enter to win a Nook Touch completely stocked with the Soul Screamers series! To enter>

*Follow Rachel Vincent on Twitter, +3
*Like Rachel Vincent on Facebook, +3
*Like The Soul Screamers on Facebook, +3
*Sign up for Rachel's email subscription to get the latest updates, +3
*Promote the tour by adding the button {shown above} and link back to the tour page, +5
*Leave a comment on a blog post throughout the tour, +1 {up to +10!}







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♥ Follow the tour:

Monday, September 19th - The Story Siren 

Wednesday, September 21st - Chasing Words 

Friday, September 23rd - The Page Turners 

Monday, September 26th - The Elliot Review 

Tuesday, September 27th Book Birthday - Mundie Mom's 

Wednesday, September 28th - Harlequin Blog 

Friday, September 30th - IB Book Blogging 

Monday, October 3rd - Electrifying Reviews 

Wednesday, October 5th - A Cupcake and A Latte (YA Reads, Reviews and more) 

Friday, October 7th- Teens Read and Write

"Lake Of Fire"-Nirvana,

win win win

For those of you who only want me for my contests:

you're in luck! :)

In celebration of the release of the fifth book in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series, If I Die, I'm giving away the first four books in the series! This is also kind of a warm up to the If I Die blog tour which kicks off September 19th {P.S. I'm the second stop!}.

Haven't yet decided if I want to give all four books to one winner or split them up or what, so let's just say there will be at least one winner. US only. Ends September 30th. Good luck!!

Form's after the jump {AKA, click "read more"!} :)

Hey, guess what? I have a WINNER.

First of all, I'd like to say some of the obligatory stuff-no-one-wants-to-read like "Thanks for entering!" and "I really wish I could give you all a July release except then I would be broke. Actually, I kind of am already close to broke."

So, thanks for entering and I really wish I could give you all a July release except then I would be broke. Actually, I kind of am already close to broke.

There, now that that's out of the way, let's get to the good part shall we?

.......

.......

.......

.......

.............

Congrats to Kris!


I'm emailing you now! 48 hours to respond or a new winner is picked. Now, let's  celebrate:

P.S. I know you all skipped to the winner like:

{Also, I never get to use that .gif. So there, USED.}

Happy Wednesday!

"Shine On"-The Kooks,

Reminder!

Hello, my lovelies! Just popped in on this very warm-seriously I'm sweltering-Fourth of July to let you all know that tomorrow is the last day to enter my Summer Solstice Celebration. I'm giving away one copy any July release. Winner's choice! So head on over to the original post for the rules, and then fill out this here form.

Happy Independence Day to my fellow US dwellers!

"Changing"-The Airborne Toxic Event,

Summer Solstice Celebration!

I strongly believe that reading Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is a rite of passage into high school. I honestly don't know anyone who's read Stargirl from start to finish and found themselves disliking the book.* So yeah, if you haven't read Stargirl...please do.

Anyway, one of the awesome things Stargirl Caraway does is throw solstice parties for both the summer and winter solstices. The summer solstice, which marks the beginning of the season, occurred on Tuesday the 21st. To celebrate summer's start and the wonder that is Stargirl I'm having a contest. Huzzah!


I will be giving away a brand spanking new copy of a July 2011 release to one winner. Any book released next month is fair game!


Some Rules:

• US only. I'm sorry internationals! I do love your accents and awesome food yet I do not love your extreme shipping costs. If you live outside the continental US but have someone who I can send it to in the country you're eligible.
• Ends July 5th!
• Extra entries must be put in at the same time.
• One entry per person or you'll be disqualified.
• Please read the rules on the form that can be found HERE.
• Good luck!

Have you read Stargirl? Favorite character? Favorite Stargirl quirk?

*There are some scathing reviews on Goodreads that boggled my mind a bit. My reaction:"HOW CAN YOU DISS STARGIRL?" That book is like a small child, you cannot chide it without feeling guilt.

"Indigo Girl"-This Century,

I have a WINNER and random babbling a plenty...

First, let's get down to business, the part you've come for: the Paranormalcy ARC winner...

The winner

is....

Caitlin Darrell!!!

Woohoo! Congrats! I'm emailing you as soon as I publish this post and you have 48 hours to respond. I'll send out your prize ASAP.

Now, onto other things. I miss you. All of you. I've missed reading your posts and responding to your comments, and I fully expected to come back to two followers. So, thanks for sticking around. I know I haven't been commenting on others' blogs or anything I should be doing. I even forgot about a blogfest and am thoroughly ticked at myself for it. (Sorry Jen!)

The truth is that I'm going back to school in a few weeks and I don't have the time I had earlier in the summer. Cheering has also started back up and I have 4-7 hour practices every week day, which means I'm usually ready for bed by 10:00. Anyway, the point is that I might only be posting once or twice a week now, but I'm going to try to put much more work into those posts and make them worth a week.

My first act of business though is catching up on what you guys have been up to. If you comment with a link to a post you've put up in the last two weeks I promise I will read and comment on it, because I've been horrible with that. Thanks and have a great weekend!

EDIT: I realize this post is all SRS BSNS and such. This is odd for me, so I decided to catch you up on my favorite eye candy of the moment. It's been so long since I've posted some! I give you Joel Kanitz from the band This Century (Enjoy.) :

*Before I go, some shameless promotion. I'm one of the thirty new bloggers participating in The Story Siren's Backstage Blogging feature and the first post is up here!

"Put Your Hands Up"-Family Force 5,

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White! + A CONTEST.

Hello my lovelies! I know I haven't been posting as much as I usually do and I have a good reason for this. It's called real life. It's kind of awesome sometimes. Anyway, to make up for it I come bearing a review and a contest!

Overall Rating: 4.6 out of five

Characters: 4.9 out of five

Plot: 4.5 out of five

Cover Art: 4.9 out of five

Originality: 4.3 out of five

Concept: 4.7 out of five

Favorite Line(s):

Everything that comes out of Evie's mouth.

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal. 

Normal is so overrated.

Paranormalcy is one of my favorite debuts of the year...

I honestly don't know how to start this review so I'll just begin with my favorite part: Lend. He makes me want to dance around my house, carrying Paranormalcy of course, whilst singing show tunes.

I'll admit that I almost always like the 'bad boy' more than the good guy when love triangles are involved, mostly because they're usually much more interesting characters. This is most definitely not the case with Paranormalcy. Lend is interesting, more than a bit mysterious, and a genuinely nice person. *gasp* I know, it's unheard of. Lend's fantastic and I adore him.

I also adore Evie. She's such a fun, happy character. Instead of letting everything get her down she mostly maintains a positive attitude and actually works to get things done, as opposed to sitting on her bum moping. One character I despise with an intense passion is Reth. For some reason I imagine him looking a lot like the Shamwow guy:

...I think that alone says enough about my feelings for Reth.

Moving on! The concept of IPCA (the International Paranormal Containment Agency) is original and actually kind of logical. (I mean, if paranormal creatures were real, I'm pretty sure the CIA or some other government group that likes initials would know about and try to contain them. Hence, IPCA would most definitely exist.) It was refreshing to read a novel about paranormal creatures in which they're not ZOMGTHEHOTTESTTHINGSTOGRACETHEEARTH. Even more refreshing to see a protagonist that doesn't let the few hot paranormals mess with her head.


Besides having some awesome characters (Lish is also fantastic), the plot flowed very well and had a nice mix of Evie-teenage-superhero and Evie-sixteen-year-old-girl. The fairies were terrifying and the fairie paths even more so. Imagine being stuck somewhere that doesn't even exist in our world with a creepy, vindictive creature. Yikes! No thank you. While the action was pretty awesome and Evie's reactions were hilarious, the world of Paranormalcy is not one I'd want to spend much time in.


Summing it up:


Loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. August 31st people!


Giveaway:


Thanks to a mix-up with mailing, I have one BRAND SPANKIN' NEW, never been read ARC of Paranormalcy to give to one of you fantastic readers. (Thanks to Kim at Harper Teen for allowing me to give it away!)


Since this is my very first ARC giveaway, this is followers only. I'm sorry, but this is a big deal to me! This is also US only. Contest ends one week from today or Friday, August 20th.


Fill out the form below to be entered. Good luck!

"Kiss N' Tell"-Danger Radio,

I have a WINNER!

First off, I have to thank everyone who entered and followed because of this contest. I hope you enjoy my blog enough to stay for a while! (: I received over 130 entries, and random.org chose entry number 71! Yay!

Now, I'll tell you who entry #71 is....

Any minute now....

Congrats to Liz A. from Consumed by Books!!

I'm sending you an email right now! You have two days to respond before I pick one of the other lovely people who entered. I hope you enjoy everything!

For those poor souls that haven't won anything this time, don't fret! I have another contest coming up next month where I'm giving away more free stuff!*

Thanks again for entering my contest!

*Let's face it, it doesn't matter what I give away. Everyone loves free stuff!

"I'm Not Saying Goodbye"-A Rocket to the Moon,

Part One of the Infinite Day: The Contest!

It's the moment you've all been waiting for, the Infinite Days contest! Yay! {I know you probably weren't as excited as me, but I forgive.}


Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel is one of the most highly anticipated YA novels of the year and I can tell you that the hype is well deserved. In case you haven't read the synopsis yet, here it is:


When Lenah Beaudonte, a 500-year-old vampire queen, wakes up a human teenager at an ultra-cliquey prep school, she must choose between embracing the humanity she’s always craved and saving her new friends from her vicious coven. The first in a sizzling new YA series. 

Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish. 

Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?


What you can win: Since Infinite Days is coming out next month, I'm offering up a pre-ordered copy, so you can have your very own nice shiny hardback! Along with this I'll be sending the winner some cool promotional cards. These have the cover of Infinite Days on one side and some fantastic reviews of the book on the other. Along with all this, I'll throw in some cool items that relate to the story in one way or another. Once you read the book you'll see how they fit in! I thought this would be a cute addition to the book and cards and I love surprising people.*

Fill in the first form, or you're not entered. The second form is for extra entries! Ends July 18th! Good Luck!

"5 Years Time"-Noah and the Whale,

Contest Winner!

The moment you've all {hopefully} been waiting for has now arrived, the moment when I send someone some stuff for free!

This lucky person will win:

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Ann Schroeder

&

a signed copy of Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia & some Angel Star swag!

And now.

The winner.
Is.

Julie from Manga Maniac!


Yay! *blows vuvuzela* Congrats!

Email me at chasingwordsreviews@gmail.com* within 48 hours to let me know you've seen this, and I'll send everything to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I'm having at least two more contests this summer, so you have more chances to win.

I also wanted to thank each and every one of you for following this blog, it really means a lot!

*God knows that's the longest email address in the history of email addresses, but just 'chasingwords' was taken. I blame Google.

"Daylight"-Matt & Kim,

Holy Kazoo!

50 Followers?!

*does crazy happy dance* Huzzah! Thank you thank you thank you! I can't say it enough! Thank you so much for being awesome people who for some reason that escapes me want to read my slightly insane reviews and ramblings. This event, my friends, calls for a contest! I'll pick up any three books that you'd like, just leave a comment telling me what books you want to win that are already published or will be released within the next month. I'll take suggestions for the next two weeks, then I'll have a form ready for anyone who wants to enter! One more time: thankyouthankyouthankyou!

"Here"-Hellogoodbye

Cara