{Month in Review / Monthly Preview} November is all about Wonderland Goodies and NaNoWriMo!!!


  
ANNOUNCING...A WEEK OF WONDERLAND!

For the last few years, I've sponsored a fairy tale-themed week in tandem with the release of Marissa Meyer's books in her Lunar Chronicles Series. Even though HEARTLESS is a stand-alone and not part of her previous series, I'm not ready to say goodbye to fairy tales, so....

You knew it was coming....

A Week of Wonderland begins tomorrow!!! 

Spread the word...and don't be late to the party (At least not if you'd like to keep your head atop your neck! ^.~)




If you missed the previous events and want to catch up--or just, you know, get introduced to new fairy tales!!--check out these links:

A Week of Cinder(ella)
A Week of Little Red 
A Week of Rapunzel 
A Week of Snow White

MORE BOOK SIGNINGS!!!

I was lucky to attend two signings this past month!

Mandy and I were ECSTATIC that Garth Nix was coming to our area all the way from Australia to promote his new book GOLDENHAND. He was SO nice in person, and his accent!!! We had such an amazing time! (And Mandy was pretty much rendered speechless because the author is an all-time favorite of hers!)




Right after Garth Nix's signing, there were TWO signings at THE SAME TIME a bit of a ways apart. 

Mandy went to the one, which was a book launch party for Claire Legrand's FOXHEART. She was joined by Victoria Scott! I was pretty bummed I couldn't make the launch and had planned on it up until the day before the signing........



Instead, I traveled to a big panel featuring Lauren Oliver, Melissa de la Cruz, Kendare Blake, and Danielle Paige (Who I'd ironically seen a couple of weeks earlier in September!). Margaret Stohl was supposed to come as well, but there was a transportation issue getting her from ComicCon to here, so...


(L to R: Kendare Blake, Melissa de la Cruz, Lauren Oliver, Danielle Paige)

Man, the panel was so funny and great; I loved seeing everyone interact with one another! I'd met two of the four authors before and had read all four of them, so I was super happy to be in attendance!

NaNoWriMo!

Mandy is AMAZING. She's going to take care of a lot of the blogging this month so that I can focus on National Novel Writing Month. Even though we're running an event--one I've been looking forward to for over a year! I've got stuff scheduled, so you can't get rid of me THAT easily, but Mandy is truly amazing!

Now to just have TIME. We're a week into November and I'm already behind because I just haven't had TIME. But I'm swearing off TV, books, etc, so hopefully I can catch up!!

Plus, my supplies are calling to me... (My #OTSP Secret Sister has me all prepared, see????)



#OTSPSecretSister

I decided to participate in OTSPSecret Sister for the first time, which is kind of like Secret Santa + Pen Pal all mixed up into one...for six months! The next round will start in 2017, and the entry process is really extensive, so I know a lot about the Sister I'm sending gifts for, and the Sister who has me knows a lot about me, too! So now I have two Sisters! 

Here's what my Sister sent me this month:



My Sister knew that there was a Hunter's Moon in October--& that I wanted Snow White retelling HUNTER'S MOON by Sophie Masson! SOOOO she turned it into a theme!

She also shared one of her all-time fave series by O.R. Melling that begins w/THE HUNTER'S MOON w/me!! I've never heard of this series before., so it makes me feel special that she's sharing something so special with me.

I've already started using the notebook for NaNoWriMo!!!! I'd been trying to figure out which to use, and it came just in time!

NAIL POLISH!

Nothing special, honestly. A lot of broken nails again! I always feel weird making my nails pretty when they're short. So many colors/designs look weird. And it's like a punishment, right!?

The only photography I have is from the "nail art" I did for the GOLDENHAND signing with Garth Nix. I didn't have a lot of time, so it was really color matching. I didn't have the book yet when I did my nails, either, so I was amazed at how closely I matched the colors when I saw the two together in person!!!




PHOTOS OF THE MONTH

Here are some of the photos I've taken and shared this month!

....Errr, not too many, sorry! I'm lame! (You also have had a lot sprinkled through this post, though, so...! ^.~)


Using some cardboard "trash" to teach my little niece how to make beds for 
her Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol friends!
Her doggies are already enjoying their new digs!!!

An AWESOME box I just got in the mail from Swoon Reads....
...which means a giveaway is coming!!!
Can't wait to give you more details!

Technically a November picture, but here are some of the "Limited Edition"
items I just purchased this week!!! I was so happy to snag an exclusive Ariel
at Hot Topic AND get the new
Entertainment Weekly with Beauty and the Beast
on the cover a few days early! PLUS I had Kohl's Cash, so I got some holiday Butter London
nail polish lacquers I'd been eyeing for FREE...and before the, it had just been too expensive
to consider! (Butter London is just so pricy...even for sampler bottles!!!)

Holiday cups at WaWa!!!!!!!!!
It's officially THAT season....


MUSIC 🎶


I haven't listened to a lot lately, though I did finally get to listen to Dogfight, which made me happy, because the musical's creators are launching a new show, Dear Evan Hansen, this month on Broadway, and it's probably the 2016-2017 show I'm most intrigued by!!!



And for the last couple of days, I've dug out Hamilton. It's been stuck in my head again ever since listening to Kelly Clarkson's version of "It's Quiet Uptown." I need the Mixtape in my life SO BADLY, but it doesn't come out until December 2nd! I'm actually listening to Hamilton right now as I type this..."Burn" just came on!

MOVIES AND TV

Behind on everything, of course! There's some new stuff I want to watch on Netflix, but you know, MEDIA BAN FOR NANO. I'll only keep up with the stuff I watch with my dad on Sunday nights, because I'll still visit with him. Which means Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Once Upon a Time. E're caught up on Once and a few episodes behind on Shield....

That was my October.

How was yours???

Here's a look at everything that happened this past month!
 

ONGOING GIVEAWAYS:

*Halloween Giveaway (You could win a dozen books!) (11/11)
*EVERYDAY MAGIC by Emily Albright (11/11)
*A DARKLY BEATING HEART by Lindsay Smith (11/13)
*WOLF BY WOLF by Ryan Graudin (11/15)

Check out the October Blog Tour Schedule for more upcoming giveaways!
NOVEMBER BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE
(Most blog tour stops feature giveaways as well!)

*Our A Week in Wonderland Event Begins October TOMORROW at A Backwards Story!

*EVERYDAY MAGIC by Emily Albright (11/1 Review)
*A DARKLY BEATING HEART by Lindsay Smith (1/1 Feature)
*WOLF BY WOLF by Ryan Graudin (11/5 Blitz)
*OF FIRE AND STARS byAudrey Coulthurst  {11/15 Feature}

 
READING NOW:
{All links to Goodreads!}

*HAHAHA You're funny! READING BAN, remember!? 
....er, but Mandy is reading some Wonderland goodness for this week's event!

PLANNING TO READ IN NOVEMBER:

Hopefully just my own words!
 
[link to my GoodReads account so you can see my blurb feed as I read]
READ IN OCTOBER:
{All links to Goodreads!}

TOTAL: 6 Books

*BOUND BY BLOOD AND SAND by Becky Allen {YA}
*THE WISH GRANTER by C.J. Redwine {YA}
*THE MIDNIGHT STAR by Marie Lu {YA}
*EMPIRE OF STORMS by Sarah J. Maas {Upper YA}
*EVERYDAY MAGIC by Emily Albright {YA}
*HEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer {YA}

REVIEWED IN OCTOBER:
{All link to our reviews!}

*SABRIEL by Garth Nix {YA now; previously published as Adult}
*FISH OUT OF WATER by Alethea Kontis {YA}
*EYES LIKE STARS by Lisa Mantchev
*THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Garth Nix {MG novel and 2 upper MG graphic novels}
*JUNIPER BERRY by M.P. Kozlowski {MG}
*ESCAPE FROM ASYLUM by Madeleine Roux {YA} 
*HARMONY HOUSE by Nix Sheff {YA}
*TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM by Gris Grimly {MG}[Vlog Spotlight]
*OF MONSTERS AND MADNESS by Jessica Verday {YA}
*SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY by Susan Dennard {YA}
*THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER by Megan Shephard {YA}
*THE CALL by Peadar O'Guilin {YA}
*HAVEN, KANSAS by Alethea Kontis {YA}
*SIGNS OF YOU by Emily France{YA}
*FOXHEART by Claire Legrand {YA}
*THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN WITCHES by Lauren Magaziner {MG}
FEATURES IN OCTOBER:

*{Month in Review/Monthly Preview} September was for Broadway and book signings; October is for crisp air, MORE signings, and everything spooky!!!
*Top Ten Favorite Villains in Books or Film
*{Cover Reveal} THE WISH GRANTER by C.J. Redline
*CONFESSIONS OF A NEW BLOGGER
*{Cover Reveal} NOW I RISE by Kiersten White...one of my favorite covers EVER!!!
*The Books Hiding Under Your Bed: Schedule of Events 
*The Scary Movies You Don't Forget
Top Twenty Spooky Middle-Grade Novels!
*{WoW} RED WOLF ROAD by Luke Taylor

*{Vlog} Discussing the beautiful design of Gris Grimly's TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM
{Interview} Megan Shephard, Author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER
*{Guest Post} How Alethea Kontis [Technically!] Got Her Start in Horror!

*{Excerpt} RED WINTER by Annette Marie

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