Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Real Mermaids Love The Holidays Blog Tour - Christmas Popcorn Recipe!



 Today for the Real Mermaids Love The Holidays Blog Tour, I have one of the characters from the series sharing one of her favourite holiday treats! :D Below you can find the recipe to make your own Chocolate Popcorn with Candy Cane Sprinkles! :D



Real Mermaids Festive Treats

Hi everyone! Jade here from Real Mermaids.

One of my favourite things about the upcoming holidays is the great treats we get to make and share. I love food so much, in fact, that I included a recipe for some of my favourite snacks in each of the Real Mermaids books.

My friend Cori and I thought we’d experiment a bit and ‘holiday-ize’ each recipe for you!

In Real Mermaids Don’t Hold Their Breath, Cori and I were totally desperate for a sleepover snack so Cori whipped up a batch of chocolate covered popcorn with some popcorn kernels, chocolate chips, a brown paper bag and a microwave. I’m not kidding—that girl’s a genius! We added some candy cane sprinkles here to give it that festive touch.

Chocolate Popcorn with Candy Cane Sprinkles


Supplies:
- brown paper lunch bag
- stapler
- measuring cup
- microwave

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp chocolate chips
- 3 tbsp butter or margarine
- pinch of salt
- 3 candy canes, crushed

Pour the popcorn kernels into a brown paper lunch bag then fold the top of the bag ¼ of an inch, twice. Secure with two staples (trust me, Cori Googled it!) at the folded part to seal the bag shut. Put the bag flat in the microwave and cook on HIGH for about two minutes. Each microwave is different, though, so you may need to adjust the time.

Meanwhile, add the brown sugar, chocolate chips, butter/margarine and salt to a microwave-safe measuring cup. Cook on HIGH for about 15 seconds or until the gooey buttery-chocolaty mixture is melted. Mix well with a fork then pour it over the popcorn.

Toss like a salad, add the candy cane sprinkles on top and munch away!

Happy treats and have a great holiday, everyone!

Love,

Jade

Goodreads Links:  

The first two books in the Real Mermaids series are already released, and the third book comes out in February 2013! :D



So, do you have any favourite holiday treats? And are you planning on making some of this fantastic looking popcorn? I know I will! :D 

Monday, 17 December 2012

Georgetown Academy Character Interviews!

Since the second Georgetown Academy book just recently came out and the third one is coming out soon, I'm sharing with you all a few character bios from the book! The three main character that you're going to get to know today are Ellie, Taryn, and Gabe! Ellie and Taryn are both narrators...and Gabe is one of the male characters that you'll get to meet when he and Ellie run into each other once again....and drama ensues. ;D

So...here are your bios! At the end of the character bios I've also provided you with some links to find out more and to purchase if you want to read it right away...which you should because it's a really fun series. :D


Ellie
Name: Ellie Walker
Age: 16
Hair Color: Chestnut Brown
Democrat or Republican: Democrat
Parent’s (or Parents’) Position(s) in Politics: My mother is a long-time Democrat Senator representing Massachusetts.

Any Political Aspirations?
On good days, when I watch my mom push through a bill on an issue that’s going to have a huge impact on the country, it’s inspiring and makes me want to follow in her footsteps. But on bad days, when the media drags me into it just because my mom is a politician and plasters my face all over The Huffington Post for being at the center of some alleged scandal, I want to run as far away as possible from a life in politics.

Tell us a bit more about yourself:
I was always pretty much a normal girl, flying under the radar – or as normal as you can be when your mom is a high-ranking senator. But two years ago, Vanity Fair did a spread on my mother and at the last minute, ended up including an America’s Next Top Model-style photo shoot with me. Overnight, I went from being that girl to that girl, the one who everyone at Georgetown Academy was suddenly obsessed with. Yeah, the attention is still weird sometimes, but it’s hard to complain when Hunter McKnight (aka the JFK of Georgetown Academy) is now your boyfriend.

You follow the scandals surrounding your mom very closely. Why do you take such an interest in them?
Imagine how awful it feels hearing someone say something bad about one of your parents – and then imagine having to listen to a pundit on Meet the Press or a correspondent on The Daily Show broadcasting it for the whole country to hear. And my dad isn’t really around – my mom and I just have each other so I guess that makes me even more protective of her. I even have a Google News Alert on my phone so I know the minute another story comes out about my mother. Although, it’s not really necessary. If anything big happens with someone’s mom or dad at Georgetown Academy, it spreads around school faster than it does on the Hill.

Taryn
Name: Taryn Reyes
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Democrat or Republican:
Democrat (with Green Party leanings…)
Parent’s (or Parents’) Position(s) in Politics:
My dad has been the Governor of California for the last eight years. Now, he’s been elected to Congress, though everyone says it’s just a stepping-stone for his next aspiration…being the first Hispanic President of the United States. My mom is a yoga guru, Pilates addict and avid juicer…and, along with my dad, made People magazine’s Most Beautiful People issue last year.

Any Political Aspirations?
Maybe! There’s a lot of things I want to do in life and a lot of causes I’m passionate about, like the environment and animal rights (why would anyone even wear fur at this point when there are so many cute faux options?). I never really considered politics before when I lived in L.A., but now that I’m in D.C., it seems like more of a possibility. But you wouldn’t catch me becoming some stodgy, partisan representative. I don’t like being put in any one category and I’m the type who would definitely want to shake things up…

Tell us a bit more about yourself:
I’m a recent D.C. transplant, but still a California girl at heart. I try to stay pretty laidback and adhere to my favorite mantras like “Everything happens for a reason”.  I’m a boho-chic style lover, and not afraid of a little hair glitter either. Obsessed with fro-yo, Coffee Bean Ice Blendeds, In’n’Out Grilled Cheese sandwiches and authentic Mexican food.
As for my guys, I like them edgy. Before I left L.A. my (not-so-fabulous) boyfriend Nick and I broke up, so now I’m single in D.C. and on the look-out for someone with a little individual style in the sea of preppy khakis and polos. So far, I’ve only seen one guy who’s caught my eye…but Gabe is so hot maybe I don’t need to waste time looking any further….

What’s it like being a new student at Georgetown Academy?
Umm, different! The school is much more formal than my school in Los Angeles and everyone takes things way more seriously here. They all use aliases on Facebook because they’re scared of anything they say being leaked to the press and refuse to join extracurricular clubs because they’re worried about being held to a political position ten years from now if they do! I like to live life out loud, but I’m starting to realize it’s a lot more dangerous to do that out here.
The other big difference is that because everyone’s parents are in the political game, it’s hard to tell if people like you for you or like you because one of your parents can help out their parents. I try to believe the best of everybody, but after my first week here, I had to re-adjust that line of thinking. If someone doesn’t like you – or if your family is a political threat to theirs – they will do almost anything to bring you down…

Gabe
Name: Gabe
Age: 16
Hair Color: Dark brown
Democrat or Republican: Is there really a difference?
Parent’s (or Parents’) Position(s) in Politics: After being a Republican Senator from Arizona for six years, my dad lost his seat two years ago. He was recently re-elected, meaning we all just moved back to D.C.

Any Political Aspirations? Hell, no.

Tell us a bit more about yourself:
I’m pretty laidback and I don’t play the political game at school or anywhere else for that matter. Life’s too short to care what people think – especially random people who only know you because your dad is on the news every night (he’s a big fan of anyone with a camera and a microphone).
I’d rather go hear a band than go to a Homecoming party and I’d rather see an indie movie than pick up a lacrosse stick. But I’m not completely non-conformist. I do have a Facebook page.

You’re a returning student to Georgetown Academy, so why’d you come back and what’s your return been like?
I’m back because my dad’s been re-elected and my parents felt it was better for our family to relocate as opposed to my dad commuting back and forth to Phoenix every weekend. I had to leave some good friends in Arizona and I can’t stand the pettiness of a lot of politics in D.C. (and the way it plays out in the hallways of Georgetown Academy), but there was one big reason I didn’t fight my parents too hard about moving back to D.C….Ellie Walker. But that whole thing’s turning out to be a lot more complicated than I thought it was going to be.



More about Georgetown Academy: Book One:
It’s the beginning of a new political administration. That might not mean much at most high schools, but at Georgetown Academy, Washington D.C.’s most elite prep school, January 20th means new alliances, new flings, and new places to party.

While freshmen—nicknamed “interns” for their willingness to jump into bed with anyone higher on the D.C. totem pole—navigate the not-so-friendly halls of GA searching for Algebra and Bio classes, the school’s lifers have other things on their minds.

For self-proclaimed D.C. royalty Brinley Madison (of those Madisons), the first day of school is all about establishing the social hierarchy and playing the part of perfect political wife to her boyfriend, the outgoing Vice President’s son. Too bad he has a wandering eye that puts Bill Clinton’s to shame. Can she keep him, and her own secret vice, in check?

Ellie Walker, Brinley’s best friend, floats through the halls on the arm of golden boy Hunter McKnight (the JFK of GA). But when her ex-boyfriend, Gabe, returns to town and her Senator mother’s political nemesis is reelected, Ellie’s life starts to snowball out of control.

Shy, quiet Evan Hartnett is more into books than beer, and her closet is full of t-shirts and jeans instead of Jason Wu and Jimmy Choo. No one’s ever really noticed her—but she’s been noticing them. When her star rises as an intern at D.C.’s most-watched political news show, she soon finds the two worlds colliding in ways that make her question what’s secret and what’s fair game.

New girl Taryn Reyes is all laid-back, California cool; with a father who’s in line to be the first Hispanic president, she’s ready to dive into the D.C. scene with an open mind. But when her fellow students turn out to be more interested in spreading rumors than making friends, she realizes that forging a drama-free path might be a lot harder than she thinks.

With so many new friends and former flames in the mix, things are bound to get a little heated. And while diplomatic immunity might keep the cops away, there’s not much it can do about the press.
In a town where one teenage misstep can turn into a national scandal, the students at Georgetown Academy will have to be on their best behavior—or, at least, they’ll have to make the world believe that they are.

Because there’s only one rule: whatever you do, don’t get caught.

What’s Cool from Coliloquy:
As the party scene at Georgetown Academy gets under way, authors Alyssa and Jessica let readers decide which of the main girls to follow. You’ll see scandalous behavior, unexpected liaisons, and secret betrayals…all giving you a different perspective as events unfold.

And don't forget to take the Georgetown Academy Quiz! http://bit.ly/VgUgMm



I've already read Book One, but I definitely enjoyed getting to know more about these characters. How about you? What do you think of Ellie, Taryn, and Gabe??

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Heidi R. Kling Interview and Giveaway!

I have an awesome guest on my blog today! :D Heidi R. Kling, the author of Sea
and her new interactive series The Spellspinners of Melas County, has answered a few of my questions! And her fabulous publisher, Coliloquy, has generously provided a giveaway that you can find at the end of this post. :)
 
Also, a note, this interview does not contain any spoilers for the series, but it does make mention of characters that you might have never heard of if you haven't started the series yet.

You can find out more about Witch's Brew, and The Gleaning on Coliloquy's website.
And here are their Goodreads pages: Witch's Brew | The Gleaning



Heidi R. KlingAbout Heidi R. Kling:
After earning her BA in Literature & Creative Writing Literature from UC Santa Cruz and finding her voice in YA, Heidi went on to earn her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. She has directed and written children's theatre on both coasts and lives with her husband and two children in Palo Alto, CA.
(Photo and Bio from Goodreads)
 Other Links: Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr


And finally, here is my interview with Heidi R. Kling (questions are bolded):


Hi Heidi! :D Thanks for stopping by my blog and chatting with me! 
Thank you for having me!

First, for people who are just hearing about this series, can you tell us a bit about The Spellspinners of Melas County?
The Spellspinners of Melas County is an interactive eBook series akin to those Choose Your Own Adventure books we loved as kids. But this time there’s no falling off cliffs on page 8 and starting over. Throughout you have choice points and you can lead our main character Lily, head of the young witches, on her dangerously romantic adventure with Logan.

Witch’s Brew is the set-up. The Gleaning tests the strength of their relationship.

 
What made you want to write about witches?
It was actually my agent’s suggestion! After I finished my debut novel SEA, she tossed out, “What do you think about witches?” I’d recently had my second child, a daughter, and while in a hormoned-out state created Lily and her fascinating world.


When you’re writing an interactive story does your method for writing change? / What is the process for writing an interactive story like? Is it a lot different from how you write when the book you’re writing doesn’t have choices?
Yes. It’s both challenging and exhilarating! I want to make sure the readers of each path gets all the pertinent information in regards to plot and character development, so if in Path A Lily finds a specific clue, or has a certain feeling toward a character, I try and repeat it in some way in the other path. It gets tricky! 


In Witch’s Brew and The Gleaning you alternate between Lily and Logan as the narrator. How do you decide when to go from a Lily chapter to one about Logan?
That’s a great question! It just sort of flows like that. I write one POV until it has a nice conclusion line, then I switch. I’m writing Spellspinners 3 now and I’m doing something quite different than in Witch’s Brew and The Gleaning in regards to POV. Remember this question when you read it. J


I love the whole prophecy surrounding Lily and Logan. Did the idea come from anything, or is it all from your imagination?
Thanks! It’s all from my imagination. I love the idea of Yin/Yang and the way females/males balance each other out, create a whole. I practice yoga and the theme comes up again and again about balance. So, I played around with the idea of being unbalanced. What that does to us as people, and, in the specific case of witches, how it would alter your magic.


What can we look forward to in the next installment?
The Gleaning pushes the bar as far as Lily being tempted. The theme largely moves around temptation and want. Also betrayal. Spellspinners 3 is largely about loyalty. Who do we love, why do we love them. (Friendship as well as romantic love.) If they betrayed us in the cruellest way imaginable would we still try to save them? Spinners 3 is action packed AND has the perfect ending (in my humble opinion). :D


And finally, what are some of the things that you love about getting to write in such an interesting format?

Unleashing my creativity in a way that is totally acceptable.
My publisher, Lisa Rutherford, is so awesome in so many ways, but what I love best about her is that I will throw out something like, “Invisible ink! Can we do a magic trick in this book?!” and she’s like, “Yes! Let’s try that!” She’s very much a yes person and I’m a yes person, so it works out great.

Thanks for having me! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the series!



What awesome answers!!! :D I hope you all enjoyed Heidi's interview as much as I did, and....now here's your chance to win a set of the first two books in the Spellspinners of Melas County series, Witch's Brew and The Gleaning! :D


GIVEAWAY!

Details:
- US/Canada Only
- 1 Winner will win a set of Witch's Brew and The Gleaning in the ebook format of their choice.
- Ends Dec.28th
- Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize.

 TO ENTER FILL OUT THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW:


Also, The Gleaning's official release is today, so if you've read Witch's Brew and can't wait for The Gleaning, you can get yourself a copy at these sites:
Google Play Store  | Barnes and Noble | Amazon.

First, Happy Book Birthday to The Gleaning!!! Second, thank you to Heidi R. Kling for her fabulous answers and Coliloquy for setting up our interview. :)

Now, what did you all think of the interview?
Are you a fan of this series, or is it new to you?
Either way, what do you think? :)

Thanks for reading, and if you've entered, good luck in the giveaway! :D

Sunday, 9 December 2012

Stacking the Shelves (16)

Stacking the Shelves is Tynga's Reviews' version of In My Mailbox (from The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie).

Stacking the Shelves is a way to share the books that you're adding to your physical and virtual bookshelves. It's easy to participate. You just make your own post, and link it to the main post over at Tynga's Reviews. Also, in case you're curious, Tynga's post for it goes up on Saturdays, but you can post it any day that you like. :) You can find out more about participating by reading the Stacking the Shelves Launch post.

Since I didn't post last week, this StS is what I got in the past 2 weeks. :)

For Review:

Things I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3) by Miranda Kenneally (from Xpresso Book Tours)
The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook (from Simon and Schuster Canada)
Georgetown Academy: Book 2 by
Silent Echoes (Games of Zeus #2) by Aimee Laine (from J. Taylor Publishing)

I've gotten some fabulous review books in the past couple weeks! :D I'm excited for all of these, especially Things I Can't Forget now that I read Stealing Parker! :D

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Won:

Hunger (Riders of the Apocalypse #1) by Jackie Morse Kessler (won from Zoe at In the Next Room)

I've already read this one, and I have a copy, so I'm sharing it with someone for Christmas....shhhh. I won't tell you who I'm going to give it to though, that way it'll still be a surprise. ;) This is an amazing series though, so I'd definitely recommend starting it! :D

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Bought:

Wallbanger by Alice Clatyon (Kindle)
My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron (Kindle)
Unmaking Hunter Kennedy by Anne Eliot (Kindle)
Rock the Heart (Black Falcon #1) by Michelle A. Valentine (Kindle)
Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse (Book Depository)
All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin (Book Depository)
Hemlock (Hemlock #1) by Kathleen Peacock (The Book Cellar)
A Midsummer Tight's Dream (Misadventures of Tallulah Casey #2) by Louise Rennison (The Book Cellar)
Until I Die (Revenants #2) by Amy Plum (The Book Cellar)
Partials (Partials Sequence #1) by Dan Wells (The Book Cellar)
Struck (Struck #1) by Jennifer Bosworth (The Book Cellar)
Bewitching (Kendra Chronicles #2) by Alex Flinn (The Book Cellar)

I kind of went a little book crazy in the last little while, but I couldn't resist! :D I picked up a few of the books on my Kindle wishlist, and found Wallbanger, which I had already read as Fanfiction...and have now read again! And I still loved it! :D I also had a few of my books come from the Book Depo, like Rockoholic! Yes!!! :D And I stopped at The Book Cellar earlier this week and couldn't resist picking up some awesome titles...I only spent about $14 on those six! Pretty awesome deal. ;D Thanks for telling me they got some new ones in, Megan from Megan Likes Books! :D

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Thanks to Zoe, Thomas Allen and Sons, Simon and Schuster Canada, Coliloquy, J. Taylor Publishing, Giselle from Xpresso Book Tours, and Miranda Kenneally for providing the review copies for the tour. :D

So, those are the books I got over the past two weeks...what did you get? :)