CONTEST reminder!!!

Remember everyone, my contest for a $40 giftcard to CSN ends TONIGHT (Saturday 12/11) at 11:59pm. No late entries accepted, and the winner will be announced Monday morning! Go HERE to enter, and make sure to read the rules.

Also! My contest for a book by the awesome author HP Mallory ends TOMORROW (Sunday 12/12) night at 11:59pm. Go enter! Winner has their choice between "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble," book one in her Jolie Wilkins series, or "Toil and Trouble" book two in the series, just released! Winner will be announced Monday. Go HERE to enter!

Thanks so much, and good luck on the contests!
Have a great weekend!
~!~ Amanda, aka Morning Glow ~!~

18+ Tag Along, and Follow Friday!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!! I, Amanda (aka Morning Glow), enjoy reading a mix of things, but the most featured genres on here are Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy, and Young Adult fiction (of the paranormal romance or just plain romance-y variety). I'm also a reviewer for Romance Reviews Today, and while I can't post those reviews here, I do occasionally like to talk about the books if I love them enough. So please feel free to stick around, and make sure to enter my current contests! I'm giving away a $40 CSN Gift Card, and author HP Mallory stopped by for an interview and a giveaway! Make sure to read the rules before entering =)







I have to work today, so I will be late checking out all the great blogs participating - but at least it's something to look forward to! So once more, welcome everyone, and feel free to stick around! I love to chat about books I read, and of course, I love recommendations for more!

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda, aka Morning Glow ~!~

Interview with author HP Mallory - And Giveaway!

Good morning everyone! Today I have a special treat - an interview with author HP Mallory! And because she's such an awesome person, she has included a giveaway of one of her books as well, so look for the rules and details after the interview. So without further ado, please help me in welcoming HP Mallory!
Tell us a little about yourself: I'm 33 and I live in California. I'm married with a 19 month old that keeps me on my toes! I wake up every morning at 5am to get my writing time in!

Favorite part about being a writer?: My readers. There is nothing like getting emails from people who just love my books. It's a wonderful feeling.

Do you have any quirks or things you MUST do while writing (example: play music, sit in a certain place, etc)?: No, not really. I write at my desk in my office from 5 - 6:30am every day. It's really the only time I have to myself. Sometimes I will listen to music if I want to be in a certain mood for a scene.

Do you get writer's block or have trouble starting? How do you deal with that?: No, not really. I'm a big planner. I outline everything and I plan everything out in my head prior to writing it so I always know what to write and what will happen.

Out of everything you've ever read - what's your favorite book? Or maybe a favorite author?: Well, I was an English major so that's a tough question. One of my favorite authors is Jane Austen. And favorite book? I don't know if I can answer that, LOL. I recently read "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and that book was amazing. So I'll say that is a current favorite.

Which book was your favorite to write? Were any of them particularly difficult?: Um, my favorite to write so far was Toil and Trouble. A big part of that is due to the fact that I had two people, Mercedes and Christine, who were actually real and I was writing them into characters in my book (they had won contest to become characters in my book). That was so much fun! And the Jolie series is definitely more difficult to write than the Dulcie books because there seems to be more I have to remember, LOL.

You chose to independantly publish your books, has it been a good experience?: It has been an amazing adventure so far. I've absolutely exceeded my own hopes and goals and then some. It was the best decision I've made and I thank my lucky stars every day!

How do you feel about self promotion? Just part of the job, or something you enjoy?: I do enjoy it and really now I don't do much marketing at all. When I started, I spent a lot of time on the forums for Kindle. Then I started emailing book bloggers and reviewers and asked if they'd like to read my books and little by little, my books started taking off. I enjoyed every second of it.

Do you plan to continue your Jolie Wilkins series? How about spin-off books for certain characters?: Yes, there will be 1-2 more books in the Jolie series. And I think everyone wants me to write a Sinjin spin-off, LOL.

If you had to pick between Rand and Sinjin, which one?: Ooooh, this is a tough one. I love Rand. I love his sense of honor, and his stubborness and how good he is. But I do have to admit that I love Sinjin - for exactly the opposite reasons. I adore his sense of humor and his sexiness. Can I say both? Lol.

Do you like to hear from readers? If so, how can they contact you?: I love love love hearing from readers. It's one of the highlights of my day. People can reach me at hpmalloryauthor@yahoo.com

And finally, tell us about your newest release!: My newest release is the next book in the Jolie Wilkins series, Toil and Trouble. It picks up where Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble left off and really gets into the characters of Rand and Sinjin. I have to admit, it's my favorite so far!
~~~~~~~~
Again- thank you for dropping by HP! It was fun learning more about you, and I know I can't wait to read "Toil and Trouble" and see what Jolie gets up to next.
Visit HP's website at http://www.hpmallory.com/
Read her blog: http://www.urbanfantasyauthor.blogspot.com/
And contact her: hpmalloryauthor@yahoo.com

And now for the GIVEAWAY! HP has offered up one copy of either "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" OR "Toil and Trouble." That way, if you haven't read the first book, you can catch up on the series!
RULES:
~ Leave a comment to enter stating which book you'd choose, "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" OR "Toil and Trouble."
~ Please leave your email in the comments so I can notify you if you win. No email, no entry!
~ Contest closes at 11:59 PM EST on Sunday 12/12/10. Winner will be announced Monday 12/13
~ No late entries will be accepted.
~ Good luck!

~!~ Amanda, aka Morning Glow ~!~

Whatcha Got Wednesday?

Aha! Another installment of Whatcha Got Wednesday. This week wasn't a big one, but I'm very excited about everything I got, and can't wait to read them... as soon as I work through my pile of other review books/library books. =)

First up is "Hungry For You" by Lynsay Sands. I'm a big fan of this author, in fact, I think I've loved everything I'd read by her. Her historicals are witty and romantic, and her Immortal series is equally so, with a little action and suspense thrown in. I already added it to my Lynsay Sands bookshelf (which is full, eek!) and I'm eyeing it with NEED. You could say I'm quite "hungry" to read this one. Hahaha, what a terrible pun...

Next up!! "Toil and Trouble" by HP Mallory. I was lucky enough to read and review the first book in her Jolie Wilkins series "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" and I can't wait to read this one too! I'm willing to risk keeping some library books overdue if it means I get to read "Toil and Trouble" sooner. Want to get a copy of your own? Here's a link to HP's Smashwords page, where you can purchase all of her books.

Stay tuned, another contest coming your way in the next day or so. ;)
Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda, aka Morning Glow ~!~

GIVEAWAY! CSN giftcard!

************* THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! *****************************

Good morning everyone!! I hope you're all excited to enter my newest giveaway - I'm giving away a $40 giftcard to CSN stores!

Not familiar with CSN? I'm in LOVE with this company - in fact, I have two CSN products sitting nearby, two gorgeous bookcases housing some of my all-time favorite authors and series. But CSN doesn't just sell bookcases, ohhh no! They also sell lamps, luggage sets, laptop cases/covers, desks, kitchen appliances, and so much more! There are plenty of stores to choose from, and plenty of items you didn't know you needed until you start browsing. ;)  Maybe you have something in mind to get, maybe you'll make up your mind at the last minute, maybe you just want to use the giftcard for some last minute holiday gift shopping - whatever it is, CSN has a store for it, and you'll be pleased with the excellent service!

Now that that's out of the way, on to the contest itself!

HOW TO ENTER and the RULES:
~ Leave a comment telling me if you would use the gift card on yourself, or to purchase a gift for someone else - Don't worry, I won't judge ;)
~ You MUST leave your email, so I can notify you if you win (No email, no entry)
~ Extra point for being/becoming a follower (please state that in your comment, example: +1 Follower)
~ Contest ends at 11:59 PM Saturday 12/11/10, any late entries will not be counted!
~ Winner will be announced Monday morning, 12/13/10
~ US only (sorry!)
~ $40 Gift card is one-time use only, and does not include shipping (don't worry, plenty of items have free shipping!)
~ One gift card, one winner.
~ I am not being compensated for this giveaway.

That's it! Good luck! I wish I could give you all something, but alas, there can only be one winner. However, stay tuned for another contest coming within the next few days! ;) Two possible prizes!
~!~ Amanda, aka Morning Glow ~!~

Monday Yayness - Ebook reader edition!

 What is that you may be asking? Why it's the fancy shmancy cover I bought for my brand new SONY TOUCH EBOOK READER!! Yay!! I mentioned last week that I purchased it, and I promised pictures and details as soon as I received it. The cover was shipped via a different company, so of course that came first, arriving on Friday. And then Saturday was the big day - the day the ebook reader itself arrived! I would have spent all Saturday playing with it, but I spent some time with my mother making cookies for the Holidays - a total of seven different kinds (two kinds of chocolate chip, peanut butter, Andies Candies mint chocolate chip, slice and bake Christmas cookies, 7 Cup Cookies, and No Bake cookies). But Saturday night I spent some time installing software, uploading books, and just playing around. But it's so different from my old ebook reader (an eBookwise), I think it'll take some time to get used to... But without further ado - more pictures!

 Here it is with the case opened, and the reading light (part of the case) on and shining bright. The camera made it seem a little more glare-y than it actually is, my apologies. But doesn't it look so pretty?! And delicate! Much smaller than my old one, it'll take some getting used to!

And here we are with the reader on and a book cover pulled up. First off - yummy cover. Second, yay! Look how clear! That's with the book at the smallest setting, to read the text, I actually had to change the font to medium. That book was formatted the best out of all of them, unfortunately it looks like I'll have to go through and mess with most of my others. They were all set to the formats supported by my old reader, so I should have figured things would need to be different, lol.

So far, I have only played around with it - getting things started, making sure text looks okay. I plan to give an update and maybe even a review when I finally start reading books on here! And my library (also my work) has ebooks you can borrow, I'm excited to finally be able to try that out on an ebook reader instead of just my computer - I'll make sure to tell you all about that as well!

Have a great week! And stay tuned - I have some great content (and CONTESTS) coming soon! Plenty chances to win some great prizes.

Review of "Eden's Hell, I: The First" by Dawné Dominique

I was actually given this book and its sequal "Dark Diary, II: The First," so make sure to keep an eye for that review! Want to learn more about this author? Click here to visit her webpage!

Disclaimer: This book and its sequel were given to me by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Type: Romance, Erotic Romance, Series, Vampires, First vampires, Religion, age-long disputes

Why this book?: As mentioned, I was given this book and its sequel in exchange for a review. But I agreed to it because I did like the ideas behind the books, and I was eager to read them. I just wish I could have gotten to it sooner, but with vacation, and the holidays, everything got pushed back some. But now that I'm done with the first one, I'm not sure how long I can wait to read the second. =)

About the book: While strolling on his private beach, vampire Addison finds a young girl running towards him, puncture wounds in her neck. Addison knows this girl, Eva, has been contracted as his neighbor Satrina's, also a vampire, new pet. But he knows there is something different about Eva, and he finds himself drawn to her, beginning to feel emotions he hasn't felt in centuries. But Satrina isn't about to let Eva go without a fight. Eva is shocked to find that vampires truly exist, and that she is now the target of one of the oldest vampires in creation. And speaking of creation, Addison has quite the past, one that Eva isn't sure she's ready for.

While reading this book, I originally thought it was the characters that kept sucking me back in, but after finishing it, I've realized it's truly a package deal. The characters were great, and the religion/creation story part of it was another big draw. The story starts with Addison on his private beach, and I was instantly struck by how flowing and beautiful the descriptions were. Battle scenes were done well, and the sexual scenes were incredibly sensuous and, well, let's just say I got a little flushed from time to time. But this book is so much more than battle and sex scenes, in fact, that comprises only a few bits of the book. So if graphic tales turn you off, no fear, this is still a good book for any vampire-lover.

As I mentioned, the characters and their backstories were fascinating - Satrina and Addison especially. Satrina is deliciously evil, and I definitely respect a strong woman, even as a villain. Her interactions with her "pets" were what really did it for me, everything fit her character to a tee. Addison was equally interesting, emotionless and cold when compared with Satrina's burning evil. I will say it felt like Addison fell for Eva a bit too quickly, but when you live for centuries (or longer!) without much emotion and brightness in your life, I'm sure you'd know what love was, and pretty quickly. Eva did feel slightly wimpy and weepy to me (except at the very end - yay Girl Power!), but again - this can be explained. The way she finds out about vampires is by waking up with one attached to her neck, and in reality, she's not given long to come to terms with these ancient beings before everything goes to hell (literally?!), so it's no wonder she's not kicking butt.

The laws Satrina and Addison live by, or at least Addison does, are fascinating. I always love the idea of a sort of council ruling over vampires, and the way this one is set up and was created is interesting in and of itself. And the religious aspect! I wish I could go into more detail, but I'm afraid of spoilers, so I will just go so far as to say Lilith is the original vampire, and she actually seduces Adam into becoming one as well, after Eve leaves him after the fall of Eden. The backstory only grows from there, and the details are so interesting, I wish I could talk about more of it, but as I said, no spoilers. So instead you will all have to read it and come talk with me about it.

So finally, I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the book before we get to the rating. "He was her Lancelot and Dracula all rolled into one" (pg 157). And now, the rating- I'm giving "Eden's Hell, I: The First" by Dawné Dominique a FOUR POINT FIVE out of FIVE (4.5/5) stars. Satrina's evilness alone makes this a great book, but as I said, the descriptions and the great backstory really make his whole book wonderful in my opinion. It's a good read, and trust me, you'll be sucked into the world in no time. Make sure to keep an eye out for my review of the sequel "Dark Diary, II: The First."

You can find and buy this book and more by the author via her page at Purple Sword Productions LLC - Dawne Dominique !

And again, the link to her author page!

I hope you all have a good weekend, and of course - Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda, aka Morning Glow ~!~