Join TeamKilt and Rule the World!

There's this phenomenon called #TeamKilt. It's the ultimate fan group for the incredible Jeri Smith-Ready, the gift of support and friendship unrivaled anywhere else, step after step of stepping stone helping you no matter where you want to go.

#TeamKilt is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. If you know me in real life (even though this totally is real life), you might think that I'm sad all the time. Just ask anyone who knows me. But #TeamKilt? #TeamKilt is the reason why I keep going, man. Here's a small secret: I spiraled into a really bad depression earlier this year and almost completely lost it. And then #TeamKilt, along with books, finally dragged me out. In truth, I owe #TeamKilt so much, but not the monetary or obligatory kind--the kind of owing that comes with so much love it sometimes hurts.

But this--this is not the time to be sentimental. Today I am here with a mission: to get you to vote for #TeamKilt. So please, head off to YA-Sisterhood right now and vote for Zachary Moore. 

Now you might be thinking: why should I vote for Zach when someone as amazing as Will is his opponent? That's a legitimately good question,and luckily, my amazingly eloquent friends Amy and Jen from Fictitious Delicious have solved that problem. Just read their advocate post and prepare to be wowed. Besides, Zach is from the Shade trilogy, and so compared to The Infernal Devices, well, underdogs gotta unite, yeah? :)

But. I, too, provide you with incentives. You can check out my good bud Karen (from For What It's Worth)'s #TeamKilt giveaway hop right now to enter even more jaw-droppingly fabulous prizes (if Zach gets 10,000 votes, Jeri is giving away a full manuscript critique! Even if you're not a writer, as a reader you can fully appreciate just how much Jeri loves her fans). I don't have much to offer since I just spent all the money I have for this month, but here it is:

-Prize #1: For every 300 votes Zachary receives, I will photoshop you, your spouse, or anybody you can find a full body shot of (gotta be sure that it's not against copyright for Creative Commons Use, though. If you're unsure, just ask me) into a kilt. 

So I know it's not that amazing, but alas. It's a kilt. Thus.... #TeamKilt. *sighs at self's terrible pun-ness*

-Prize #2: For every 1,000 votes Zachary gets, I will personally chat with you about WHATEVER it is you want to chat about (gotta be PG13 or under though, haha) for 15-30 minutes on Gmail. The chat can be set to private if you want and I promise I will never speak a word about its content unless you wish so otherwise.

You might think, why would I need to chat with you?!?! But see, I interned for a psychologist just a few years ago and I've been through the weirdest things (like, um, getting stuck in traffic with giant hippos and camels punching your door. Literally & seriously.) so I can probably help you on some level, whether it is letting you vent or brainstorm or whatever. :)

-Prize #3: If Zachary makes it to 10,000 votes, you get the option of receiving a) an original composition by moi, b) a full design--Keep that Dream,  or c) your choice of something artistic (writing, paintings, etc.) that you want. As long as I don't have to spend money on it, I will happily comply. Critiques (even though you KNOW you want Jeri's, but yanno, a fresh set of eyes is a fresh set of eyes, and Jeri's probably sighing that I am sneaking in the light of her awesomeness again), custom avatars, whatever.

If you're wondering about my credentials, feel free to click on some of the links I've linked to above.

SO! GO VOTE FOR ZACHARY, leave a comment stating that you did--please do not cheat--and any tweets with links to them will be +1 entry! Please leave your twitter handle or email address so I can contact you if you win. NOW SPREAD THE WORD AND VOTE! :D

GODDARN IT YOU SCOTS

I have approximately two minutes before my mother will discover my terribly uncivilized motives and drag me off to sleep, so bear with me as this post will be incredibly incoherent and insufficient and vague and boring and full of crab and basically

GO VOTE FOR ZACHARY MOORE AT THE YA-SISTERHOOD! NOW!

Like I mean I have incentives and stuff but I'm on this little thing called "vacation" and I don't even know.

So yeah go vote for Zach because even though I love Alex, I admit I love Zach just a wee bit more.

Oh, who am I kidding. Okay, fine. Perhaps quite a drastic distance from a "wee bit," aye?

SO GO VOTE! 

*falls asleep*

P.S. Isn't Jen & Amy just amazing?

SHINE, shine, shine your light (The GIF edition)

Shine
By: Jeri Smith-Ready
Reported by: Julianna Helms
Source: Paperback from publisher and author
Release date: 5/1/2012
Disclosure: I am friends with the author, but that of course does not influence my opinion in any way.

In this dramatic conclusion to the Shade trilogy, Aura and Zachary’s relationship sizzles as the secrets of the Shift are revealed.

Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past.

As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves...even if that means betraying her own heart.

-Summary from Goodreads
Pre-order: Mrs. Nelson's||Constellation Books||Amazon||Book Depository

There's a very distinct reason why the Shade trilogy is one that I fall in love with again and again: its intensity is unmatched, of both romance and need. 

Kiss Me I'm (secretly) Irish Giveaway!

I have approximately 12 different things I need to work on, so I'm so sorry, but this post is going to be short.

(I'm not Irish, but kiss me anyway! <---that was a picture I had in this post before which I've now taken down for reasons.)

So, today's St. Patrick's Day, and you know what THAT means! #TeamKilt is going to celebrate with some Logan Irish goodness! In case you live in a cave, #TeamKilt is dedicated to the STAR author Jeri Smith-Ready--basically we're Jeri's loyal fan group, divided on the Zachalicious Zachary Moore and rock STAR Logan Keeley from Jeri's Shade series. Since we celebrated Zach at Burn's Night a fwe months ago, it's Logan's STAR day today! Bloggers are having giveaway hops, and get this: not only do you have a chance to win individual prizes, the winner will also get their name entered into a grand drawing for the LAST SHINE ARC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah. I know.

I was supposed to share my favorite thing about Ireland or my first kiss or just a kiss story, but um, since I haven't had my first kiss yet (does that limit my age range? Oh darn, I was hoping that'd remain a mystery), I shall share some Irish funny stories!

My best bud, who I shall call Colie right now because that's my nickname for her (long story), decided that we would move to Alaska together after we finish college (noooo I just limited my age range again!!). But she said that it would be too cold (I disagree-I LOVE THE COLD!) and started searching up beautiful sights. Then she called me and said,

IRELAND.

WE ARE MOVING TO IRELAND.

So yeah, my first thought? HOLY COW IRELAND!!!!! And then I thought, but... but... Alaska! 
 In case you don't know, my trip to Alaska last year consisted of beauty like this:

my own picture

Yeah. But then I saw this: 

(found on google images)

and so now I think I'll spend the rest of my life divided in between Alaska and Ireland. What do you think?

And now! The giveaway!

I didn't know what to do at first, but I knew I wanted something GREEN. And if you've been reading this post closely, you can see the STARS I've scattered throughout. What does it mean?

This:

GLOW-IN-THE-DARK GREEN STARS!!!!

okay, okay, please just pretend you're excited, kk? :) And I'm so sorry, but unless you're willing to pay the shipping fee, I'll have to limit this giveaway to U.S./Canda ONLY! :( I promise I'll do an international giveaway soon!

Now just fill out the giveaway after the jump!

Aura puts the SALVA in SALVAMOORLEY!

 *Edited to add: I uploaded all of the GIFs onto Photobucket, but then Photobucket bailed out on me, so this post is no longer in its awesome GIF glory. I'm sorry! D: *

Jeri Smith-Ready is a RIOT. Respectful Ink-slinger Oh-so-awesome Too-crazily-amazing-to-put-into-words. (What did you think I was going to say?)

Yeah, in case you haven't figured it out yet, I L-o-v-e Jeri Smith-Ready with a capital L. So when some of my favorite people (Amy & Jen, Brooke, and Karen) opened up a new fan site for Jeri's Shade trilogy, I was like, HECK yeah!

And today, I will tell YOU why I love--and why YOU should love--Aura Salvatore, the protagonist of Shade, Shift, and Shine.

(...just kidding. I can't write a post that will properly display my feelings. So I suppose I'll just have to resort to GIFs.)

(sorry if the GIFs don't work. They don't really like me too much. Something about me kidnapping too many of them...)

(Also: Disclaimer: I do not own any of the GIFs. Just found them while digging through the internet.)

So, I know I may have kind of cheated with this, but hey, I love Aura, and I can't really find a way to express my love for her. And why should you love her? BECAUSE I SAID SO she's brave, she's smart, she's awesome, she's basically someone you want to be your best friend. And because Zach and Logan say so.

DUHHHH.

So. If you wrote a post about how much you love Aura, (which, of course you did!), share it in the comments below! (But don't get mad if I don't get around to checking it out. I've been... well... stuck in the rabbit hole lately.)

An
Unanimously
Rational and awesome
chAracter

And now... I- hey, where's my chocolate?

Winner, Winner, On the Newspaper!

WINNER WINNER!

That's right! Remember my Heroines Tourney Contest? Well, we have a WINNER!! :D WOOT!

And the winner of a (her choice) photo-editing for TWO pictures is...

AMANDA @ Letters Inside Out!

Yay! I have e-mailed Amanda, and if she doesn't respond within 72 hours, a new winner will be selected.

Also: Some of you may be wondering about my #AuraFTW contest. Well... Aura... lost... :( But!!! I'm so proud of Team Aura! We were only about 40 votes behind Kaylee of Soul Screamers. It was a "well-fought and extremely close" match, as said by the YA Sisterhood. It's alright. Why?

Because TEAM KILT BOWS TO  NO ONE! And we're bringing Zachary Moore to victory next summer. Just. you. watch.

That's it for the short update! Sorry for being MIA lately--schoolwork, work, too much work... pick your reason. But, I'm back regularly for Winter Break.

Happy Holidays!

JOIN AURA'S ARMY!!!

Once upon a time, there was a YA Crush Tournament.
Once upon a time, there was a book called SHADE.

Before the Happily Ever After... it's time for you to vote in the YA Heroines Tournament for Aura!!! (Voting lasts for 24-hours, from 12/13/11 to 12/14/11, so hurry!)

I HAVE PRIZES! INCENTIVES, ALL!!! COME ON! LET'S GET THIS ARMY STARTED!

1) An early Merry Christmas... Hey, hey, do you still need to buy a Christmas gift? Have you run out of money? Or are you just feeling a bit voracious and want to just, oh, I don't know, WIN something?

IF YOU VOTE FOR AURA, YOU MIGHT WIN....

THAT'S RIGHT! A $15 BARNES & NOBLE GIFT CARD! I mean, since you're on my blog, I'm pretty sure you like reading. And there's plenty of uses for such a card, no?

So. If Aura wins (and only if Aura wins! Sorry. My money supply is dangerously low), one U.S. only (sorry) winner will receive a $15 Barnes & Noble Gift Card! YAY!!!

2) Muuuusic! Okay, so, I kinda sorta write music and play a bunch of instruments, and I wrote my own version to Forever by Logan Keeley. I'm not going to post the link, 'cause I'm doing something special with it right now, and don't wanna ruin the surprise, ya know? (Shh! Don't tell Jeri! I mean, she knows, but she doesn't know about the surprise, soooo... HEY! I saw you! No, no, don't you dare go tell on me! *holds out plate of cookies* PLEEEEASE?)

Ah. The point: I'll write music to something in SHADE! I know you probably care about my music as much as I care about cabbages, but hey, don't you wanna at least see me fail so you can laugh at me? 'cause I'm giving you permission to do that. Yeah. Okay, not the best thing ever, but it's something, isn't it? So, as long as you vote for Aura, you can make a suggestion to a scene or whatever in SHADE, SHIFT, or SHINE (if you're lucky enough to have read it already and don't mind, ya know, telling me some of the stuff. ;) ) I should compose about! (I say suggestion because I can't guarantee any inspiration.)

*EDITED TO ADD*
AND NOW WE HAVE 3!!!! 

3) A FULL SHADE SERIES GIVEAWAY! Jazmin is made of awesome, you guys. She's so awesome that she offered-guess what?!?! A FULL SHADE SERIES GIVEAWAY!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! Y'all should go and thank Jazmin for being so awesome! (Note: This is another win-win situation. For you to win, Aura has to win, too, so GO VOTE FOR AURA!!!)

That's... it. I know it's not a lot, but it's only Round 1, and I've got to save some tricks prizes up my sleeve! So, go vote for Aura, leave a comment with your e-mail address on this blog, follow moi blog if you want (+3 entries if you do, but obviously you don't have to), tweet and tell everyone to vote for Aura (+1 for each link. You don't have to link to this post; just telling everyone to vote for Aura would suffice!), and WIN LOTS OF AWESOME STUFF!

Oh, and of course, run over to Brooke's blog and tell her she did an amazing job advocating Aura, will ya? Tell her Juli sent you. :)

GO JOIN AURA'S ARMY!

Why I shouldn't make promises

*Update: Contest is now over!*

So yesterday, I made a silly little promise that I knew was going to have to happen anyway...

In case you've been living in Antarctica, the YA-Sisterhood is hosting a tournament of (plug your ears!) fictional heroines... and Aura from the SHADE trilogy made it in!! :D

So... yeah. I'm hosting a giveaway. An AWESOME (at least I hope so) giveaway.

Now I have to first make a disclaimer that I am not an expert at this, but... the winner will get some really cool stuff.

Like, a free design. By me. If you... want one. *smiles sheepishly* (Blogger only. Sorry.) I won't be making full templates (maybe later on in the tourney), but I can, if you want, make headers/buttons or just stuff like this:

Yeah. I said I wasn't an expert, but I promise I can do some cool things! (Most of my designs are saved on this one flash drive that I can't find right now, so, the previews are limited!)


Now let's say you don't have a blog/website. No problem! I can photo-edit for you, too!

Perhaps you would like to make your photograph look more like art? Like paint? Or just give it some COOL effects?

Perhaps you would like to combine different photographs together to create something OUT OF THIS WORLD? 

Or perhaps you want to change the weather? Add some snow? Rain? Wind?

But let's say you don't want either. How about some Alaskan beauty?

 I know. It's totally like paradise. <3

Or maybe you just want some nature shots, regardless of where?

This was NOT edited. Just the photograph.

So, see anything you like? Yes, no, maybe? If you're interested, and you promise to vote for Aura, you may enter. :)

Here are the extra entries:
+3 if you follow my blog
+1 if you share this on Twitter
+1 if you share this on Facebook
+5 if you share this on your blog/website
+1 if you share this anywhere else

This entry will run from today (11/24/11) until December 12th, 2011!  

Thanks, and may the odds be ever in your favor! :)

P.S. None of the pictures are mine except for the last two. The others ones I simply edited but am not responsible or copyrighted for their illustrations and/or photographs. If you are the artist/photographer of the original photograph and you do not wish for the photos to be used, please let me know and I will be more than happy to remove them.

Waiting on Wednesday {12}

 

This week, I'm waiting for...!!!!

Shine
By: Jeri Smith-Ready

No other love has burned so bright.

Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It's been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She's finally letting go of Logan's violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past. As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced that she has a connection to the Shift. She's trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura's secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves... even if that means betraying her own heart.

-Summary from Fictitious Delicious, the wonderful blog that revealed the cover here! 

Release date: May 1st, 2012

OMG ISN'T THE COVER JUST GORGEOUS? If you don't know yet, the covers for the series are getting re-designed! See more information at the link I provided above to the awesome Fictitious Delicious girls!

I. Seriously. Can. not. wait. for. Shine. I absolutely adore this series (see my review of Shift here), and Jeri is one of the nicest people I know. For those of you who don't like ghost stories, please trust me when I say that this story is more unique than you'll ever guess--and this is coming from the girl who once started a petition to banish all things ghost-y (yeah, I know, I know, you hate me now. Whatever. Just go read the book).

I'm so excited for this book! SO excited, I tell you! :D

What are YOU waiting for this week?

 Juli