Jessica Brody's UNFORGOTTEN releases today~

I love it when people I like have new books coming out - not simply authors I enjoy but people whom I have a genuine fondness for.  Jessica Brody is one of those writers.  She is insanely hard-working, the very definition of "tireless" but she is also a kind person and a sincerely nice one. That's why I'm happy to help her promote her new book, UNFORGOTTEN, the second book of her sci-fi trilogy that began with UNREMEMBERED.

About the book:

Some memories are better left forgotten…
After a daring escape from the scientists at Diotech who created her, Seraphina believes she is finally safe from the horrors of her past. But new threats await Sera and her boyfriend, Zen, at every turn as Zen falls prey to a mysterious illness and Sera’s extraordinary abilities make it more and more difficult to stay hidden.

Meanwhile, Diotech has developed a dangerous new weapon designed to apprehend her. A weapon that even Sera will be powerless to stop. Her only hope of saving Zen’s life and defeating the company that made her is a secret buried deep within her mind. A secret that Diotech will kill to protect. And it won’t stay forgotten for long.

Packed with mystery, suspense, and romance, this riveting second installment of Jessica Brody’s Unremembered trilogy delivers more heart-pounding action as loyalties are tested, love becomes a weapon, and no one’s memories are safe.

To help you out, here is a link to her site where you can get the first 5 chapters of the new book for free:


Free sample!

And she is hosting a contest that anyone can win:

Contest!

Congrats, Jessica!  And good luck with the series!

Contest reminder...

...the contest to win a copy of ALL ABOUT VEE at Harmony Book Reviews ends Feb 2nd!

Congrats to the Winner of All About Vee!

At The Story Siren, Kristi hosted a contest for a signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE as part of my bookish experiment to release the sequel to Vee, THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER. And the winner is:

Kory!

Kory, I will send you a copy signed to you, unless you tell me otherwise. I'm happy to sign it to a friend or school, whatever you choose.

Yay! Many congrats! And thanks so much to everyone who entered, all 212 of you - wow!

And big thanks, as always, to Kristi the Story Siren herself, for hosting the contest and the sequel release. It'll be available on her site until Februray 12th!

Is it the end...

Or THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER?

Today at The Story Siren, Kristi is posting the 4th and final installment of the sequel to ALL ABOUT VEE. As before with parts 1, 2, and 3, it's available exclusively at her site and for absolutely no cost. And you can enter to win a copy of ALL ABOUT VEE there too - today's the last day for domestic and international entries!

This has been so much fun - I've learned an awful lot about the process, about how I might do things differently if I were to do something like this again, and what I might recommend to others. In a few days or so, I'll post about that. And in the meantime, I'd love to hear from readers of any of the parts! Please feel free to post here or to email me at leigh at leighpurtill dot com.

Cheers, everyone, and extra special thanks to Kristi for being my fabulous host!

Contest info!!

Harmony at Harmony Book Reviews is giving away a copy of ALL ABOUT VEE at her blog. You can enter by posting a comment on this post about the contest or this post which was my guest blog. Contest ends Feb 2nd! Thanks, Harmony! And thanks to all who enter!!

Kristi at The Story Siren is giving away a signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE at her blog also. This is part of the "bookish experiment" I am doing there with THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER - the fourth and final part of which will be posted on Monday. Her contest ends Monday, January 25th. Enter to win! Thanks, Kristi!!

Are you ready for Part 3?

Here it is! Part 3 of THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER at The Story Siren!

Exclusive.

Free.

Plus you can enter to win a free signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE! And yes, international readers are welcome to enter too.

Did I mention...free?

Gotta love free.

And while you're there, check out Kristi's post about covers and whether or not the content inside relates well. Among books like Justine Larbalestier's controversial "Liar" cover is mine. Readers familiar with Vee know she is well over 200 pounds yet the cover, below, is of a gorgeous young woman who clearly is not heavy.


Why? This was my question too. Well, according to my editor, this is modeling's idea of plus-size. Yeah, right.

FAT GIRLS IN LA, Book 2: The Rise of Ginny Cooper

Let the experiment begin...


To download the pdf for section 1, please visit The Story Siren. She has your exclusive access to the first quarter of the ALL ABOUT VEE sequel!

And be sure to enter the contest to win your own signed copy of VEE! My first international contest. Cool.

The winner is...

Chelsea!

Yay, Miss Page Flipper! Congrats on scoring a signed hardcover of LOVE, MEG from the In Bed With Books' contest. Just in time for the holidays - I'll sign to you or someone else if you want to give it to a friend.

Ah, I love giving things away. If only I could give away some of the chocolate-frosted Devil's Food cupcakes I made yesterday so they're not tempting me with their devilish-chocolate-y scent...

Random Thoughts on a Friday

Did you...

1. Enter the contest at In Bed With Books to win a signed copy of LOVE, MEG? Even if you have a copy already, I will sign it for a friend or relative - makes a great Christmas gift (which is coming very very soon!).

2. Get your Halloween candy? I love this season even though HH and I never get any visitors. Ever. Even when we lived in Brooklyn, Maurice would buy bags of candy in preparation for an onslaught of kids but never a single soul rang our bell. So he'd end up eating it all. Moved to LA - same thing. Now we don't even buy a single bag and instead we go to the massive Halloween Carnaval in West Hollywood.

3. Rent "Bolt"? Second only to "Wall-E" in my recent favorite animated movies and far superior to several Pixar flicks. Great voice cast, terrific story and my god, the animation is perfect! Take a look at the pigeons and the way they move their heads and flap their wings. CG animation has come a very long way.

4. Sign up for your flu shot? Me? No. It's not that I'm afraid of needles (like some people I know) and it's not that I think there's a conspiracy involved (like some other people I know - yes, really). I've talked to some people I trust who say this first vaccine may not be ready because it was rushed through the process and the proper clinical trials were not conducted. Honestly, I'm really not afraid of needles. I'm not.

Contest and Guest blog...

...at In Bed With Books!

Check it out.

Read. The blog.

Comment. As directed.

Win. A signed hardcover of LOVE, MEG.

Easy-peasy.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

Loving and Hating LA
1. Pro - The camaraderie of weather. When it rains here, just as on the east coast when it snows, people sort of wave to each other, shrug their shoulders at the traffic, wince at the accidents, and cautiously move along.

Con - It rains every year, people! Why do you all act like this is something brand new falling from the sky? It took me over two hours to travel 18 miles one evening because there were 2 massive rain-related accidents.

2. Pro - A reminder that movies are made in this town. When a movie can shut down a major boulevard for 4 nights in a row and blast humongous lights from cranes just to create a piece of entertainment for the masses, it makes you realize you live in a pretty unique place.

Con - hello? That road is a primary thoroughfare and you're shutting it down in both directions? For 4 weeknights in a row? And what about all those people who live in the area whose homes are being lit up from 9PM until 5 in the morning?

3. Pro - Dodger fever! Just when you think LA is so jaded about its sports teams, it catches Dodger fever, sending people into a frenzy just thinking about the possibility of a win.

Con - seems to me like fair weather fannage. Oh, they're winning? Yeah, sure, I love the Dodgems...I mean, Dodgers.

4. Pro - 90 degree weather after it's been cold and rainy. I love sun and being warm.

Con - um...there is no con. This is awesome.

Bonus randomness: next week is Teen Read Week! And this year's theme is Beyond Reality. I wrote a guest blog for In Bed With Books that she will post next week and you can even win a signed hardcover of LOVE, MEG! Whoo-hoo - free books!

Also, if you're in the area, I will be visiting Cypress Park Library with author Susan Casey on Tuesday at 4PM. We'll be talking about creating characters and inventing stuff. And yes, there will be a raffle there - free books and snacks too!

See you there~

Heehee, I won a book...

Check it out! I never win anything, I swear. I never enter contests or buy lottery tickets because I'm just not lucky that way. But thanks to Liviania's blog, In Bed with Books, I've won 2 books this year: John Marco's "Starfinder" and JK Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

I think the key to winning both books (in separate contests) was not realizing I had entered. I follow Liviania's blog simply because I love her posts so I'm always there to read and comment.

Voila! We have a winner!


And check this out: along with the HP7 book, she also sent a very cool HP 10th Anniversary pin!

Thanks, Liviania!!

The winners are...

Eileen Micale - ALL ABOUT VEE
Thao Tran - LOVE, MEG

Congratulations, Eileen and Thao!

I hope you both enjoy the books and that you'll let me know what you think when you've read them. I love getting feedback from my readers! And no, I don't think free books make people like the book better. Heck, I would give them all away if that were true!

Jessica at Teen Free Book Fridays told me over 300 people entered her contest which was just so shocking and thrilling. I love that so many people wanted to win one of my books!

Yay!

Random Thoughts on a Friday

5 Selfish Things

1. My episode of Connie Martinson Talks Books was on in the San Francisco area Thursday morning, which is very cool and means that other parts of the country may eventually see me trying really hard not to look into the camera while simultaneously attempting to impress Connie.

2. The LA Triathlon is this Sunday which means...virtually nothing to me except the road closures may threaten my dance class which is down in the Wilshire/La Brea area. That would totally bum me out, much as I appreciate other peoples' interest in running, biking and swimming. I wonder how many people entered after being inspired by the Olympics.

3. Speaking of Olympics, I had an AMAZING *gold medal* celebrity sighting on Thursday morning. Check the Lite Snacks page of my website for more info.

4. I want to add knitting to the things I wish could help me earn a living.

5. Another round of thanks to all the people who entered last weekend's contests at the Page Flipper and YA Fresh. I loved every single comment that was left at the blogs and was really touched so many people were interested in winning my book.

Winners!

I am so thrilled to be sending out signed copies of ALL ABOUT VEE to Vanessa who won at The Page Flipper's contest and Hope who won at YA Fresh's contest. Each one drew a TON of entries which was so awesome! I LOVED reading all the comments! It made me wish I had a hundred more books to give out.

I will sign and send those copies out ASAP and I really do hope Vanessa and Hope will let me know when they've read the book. And here's my plug to them: please post a review!

Love it? Hate it? Doesn't matter! Your opinion counts!

Many, many thanks to Chelsea and to Kelly and Tina at YA Fresh. I'll be back at The Page Flipper in a few weeks for a live chat (loved the last one!!) so definitely stop by for that!

VEE Contest at The Page Flipper!

Free Vee?

Can it be?

Si!

Chelsea at The Page Flipper is holding a contest to win a SIGNED copy of ALL ABOUT VEE! All you gotta do is post a comment over there and maybe YOU will be a winner! Whoo-hoo!

I will personally sign the book - with your name or maybe the name of someone you'd like to give it to (any name as long as it's not "Ebay" hehehe) - and ship it out to you. From my own post office! Yes, that's right! The post office right up the street from me which I will walk to and hand deliver to the post office person (they don't say "mail man" anymore, tsk-tsk).

And in October, I'll be doing a chat with The Page Flipper herself and her fantastic friends - many of whom I met in June during my first awesome chat! Can't wait for that!

Now, how much more incentive do you need? Get on over there and enter the contest!

Free Vee!

ASAP!

Random Thanks on a Friday

1. Thanks to all who read my guest blog at Teen Book Review last week and who entered to win the signed copy of LOVE, MEG. And the winner is: girlJordyn! Yay!! As soon as Jocelyn gets me your address, I will ship it out asap so you can enjoy it this summer! I hope you'll let me know what you think when you've finished. (btw, love your wordpress blog, ms. girljordyn!)

2. Thanks to all who attended the event at the Wallingford Public Library last night. What a fantastic time we had - me most of all! Great questions, great energy. I hope everyone who read or will read MEG will email me or post about the book. I love to get feedback from readers!

3. Extra special thanks to Jennifer Nash, the YA librarian at WPL who did an amazing job getting everything together and encouraging people to read my books. She made French toast sticks - and for everyone who read MEG, you know what French toast is all about - and played the Rembrandts and served pink lemonade! :) Ninja's Pics will go up on the website very soon!

3A. More thanks to Jerry Nash, Jennifer's husband, fellow Gemini and science teacher, who had great questions and owns the Friends soundtrack (yes!!) and who gave me a copy of the Friends theme song on CD for my very own!

4. Thanks to reporters Carrie MacMillan at the Waterbury Republican-American and Carole Goldberg at the Hartford Courant for helping me publicize my events and books. With their attention, the word is getting out that MEG and VEE are pretty cool books to read.

4a. Lots of thanks to my new special reporter friend, Stacey Graham Hunt, at the Meriden Record-Journal, who interviewed me over the phone and then came to my reading last night and who I'm so excited to be seeing when she comes out to LA this summer AND takes ballet class with me...yay!!

5. Thanks in advance to everyone who comes to Borders on Sunday at 2PM! I can see into the future and see that we're enjoying Seattle's Best Coffee and some sweet treats as we're talking about VEE. Yum!

Never too late to win free stuff!

If you're bored on a Sunday or you're too hot to move anything larger than your mouse, click on over to Teen Book Review and read my guest blog about, I don't know, whatever nonsense I'm talking about. Then post, I don't know, your name or something and you'll be entered to win a signed copy of the LOVE, MEG hardcover. Even if you already have one (cuz I'm sure you do - many, many copies, right?), maybe you want to give one as a gift!

Contest/Blog Reminder

One more thing for today...

You can still enter to win a signed hardcover of LOVE, MEG over at Teen Book Review! Just post a comment! It really couldn't be easier to get something for free!

Cheers!

Book list update...

Okay, so I have re-organized my piles of books and come up with the following list, in the order that the books need to be read. Let me say right up front that I will read the Meyers books at the same time, beginning with Twilight.

--The Ghosts of Kerfol
--Bliss
--Babylon Rolling
--Simon Bloom, Gravity Keeper
--Goth
--This Lullaby
--Chasing the Jaguar
--Catch a Mate
--The Lace Reader
--Millicent Min
--Someone Like You
--The Smart One and the Pretty One

There are more, I know, but I had to stop there because I'm pretty sure something will interrupt me, like my own work or something lame like that. The reason for this reorganization is twofold: one, if I don't make a list, I won't read the books at all and two, I want to give a lot of them away.

That's right, contests! Everyone else has contests so why not me? Right now, I am deciding how to divide them up, logically. They will be in reading packages, not single books, because I want to get them out there. What people do with them after that is their own business - give them away yourselves, donate to libraries, sell on eBay, whatever.

What this also means is I CAN'T BUY ANY MORE BOOKS! HH and I were in our fave used bookstore on Sunday and the urge to buy - to look - to glance quickly at - all of those books was so strong, I had to insist to HH that he keep me away from them.

I could seriously buy more books than I could ever read in a lifetime, like Burgess Meredith's character in that classic Twilight Zone episode, the one where he has all the time in the world to read - finally - after he survives a bomb blast but then breaks his only pair of glasses (ah, the pathetic irony). I have on my bookshelves a couple of King novels I haven't read plus a Koontz and some nonfiction, and that is simply inexcusable. The books are there to be read! I think I need to take a year off and just read...