Counting One, Two... THREE

I am THREE! Well... this blog that is. But I mean wow I can't believe Fiction in Fiction in Fiction is entering its third year! It's sort of like the Little Engine That Could with the way it's been struggling along every year... and still managing to get by haha.

Each year I say I'll be more active and each year it becomes harder so I'm just going to keep on going as is and do what I can.

I want to thank you all for your support, for your comments (which it may seem I don't reply to but I swear I do read) which are always so lovely and sweet.

Thank you to the readers who give me purpose, the bloggers that make me want to be better, the authors for writing great books and the publishers for giving a gal a chance.

Special thanks to Sonia from Bloomsbury Sydney, Floss and Tina from Penguin Teen Australia, Ashleigh from Date a Book Hachette Australia, Between the Covers Harper Collins Australia (publicist Manda who has now left, sadness), Pan Macmillan Australia (publicist Alana), Miranda at Harlequin Teen Australia, Clare from Allen & Unwin for all the review copies, emails and being fabulous in general. I am so grateful for your support, you guys do an amazing job *hugs and kisses* I look forward to another year of working with you lovely ladies (and gentlemen?)

My Twitter fam/followers and the blogging community I am so grateful for the texts when I'm down, for the catch-ups/dates, for having you as a friend in general.
Kat for our meaningful chats and your kind words; Joy for being plain awesome and my movie buddy; Jess my personal enabler and dessert bestie; Mel what would I do without you; Ellis my fellow fangirl in everything; Gina my fellow SJM fangirl and Alexa, Judith and the Maas Thirteen; Siiri for everything Marchetta and Fizzle related; Lisa for making me weep with all her Marchetta edits; Emily for your hilarious posts and lovely comments; Jeann who gets me in all things gaming among other things.
There are so many more of you and I'm sorry if I've forgotten to mention you but if I listed all the awesome people I'd be here for years.

2015 was a great year and so many amazing things happened e.g. meeting Sarah J. Maas - you can read all about 2015 in my wrap-up here. Let's hope 2016 brings on many bookish events, meeting new bloggers and more blog posts!

To celebrate I'm giving away books (duh).

• The giveaways are open internationally. 
• Winners must be allowed to give me their postal address and reply within 48h of my contacting them. 
• Books will be shipped from The Book Depository so please ensure they ship to your country.
• Please only follow my social media because you WANT to. There's no point following for entries and then unfollowing as it really ruins the spirit of things.

Because I am now three (yay) and feeling generous (I got a full-time job last February after graduating woot) I am giving away THREE prizes. YAYAYAYAY.

Prize Pack 1: Penryn and the End of Days complete trilogy by Susan Ee

One of my favourite trilogies (because it's 3 get it?) finished in 2015 and I absolutely LOVED it so I want to share it with you.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack 2: Passenger by Alex Bracken + Passenger bookmark from Behind the Pages

It's one of my most anticipated releases of 2016. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC and I loved this book so much. I'll also be adding on a Passenger Thin Watercolour bookmark from my friend Gina's Etsy store.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack 3: First & Then by Emma Mills

PanMacmillan Australia sent me a review copy for this and I adored it so much I want you to read it. It was released in the US in 2015 but comes out in Australia in 2016 so I think it fits in as the perfect in between of 15-16 for this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogoversary: Fiction in Fiction in Fiction Turns 2

Fiction in Fiction in Fiction is officially 2 years old today! Wao I never expected to make it this far when I officially joined the book blogging community back in 2013. I have to celebrate and give a huge thank you to the publishers and readers (YOU) who have supported and put up with me these 2 years. I didn’t start blogging at the most ideal time lol.This is also celebrating my finishing uni and starting a new blogging chapter where I will hopefully have so much more time to read and review books.

2014 was a great bookish year for me –

• I SHOOK HANDS WITH ZOEY DEUTCH AND LUCY FRY when I won a competition to meet them and they signed my copy of Vampire Academy and...
• I went to the red carpet premiere of Vampire Academy (both thanks to PTA)
• Invited to the Australian premiere of Divergent by Harper Collins Australia
• Saw Jessica Shirvington again at her Disruption launch and she remembered me and gave me a hug AND asked for a photo *faints from fangirling*
• I was one of the first people in the world to see TFIOS in cinemas thanks to the Bookworld competition
• Finally met Eugenia at PTA Live (which was awesome and I saw so many awesome bookish pl)
• That random moment where I met Kristy at Kino :D
• I MET LAINI TAYLOR at the Hachette YA Bloggers night
• My review of These Broken Stars, one of my fav books ever, was blurbed in the sequel This Shattered World. 

Yup, suffice to say 2014 was wonderful!

Fiction in Fiction in Fiction for those of you that don’t know is the line from my favourite song FICTION, by my favourite band – a Korean boy band named B2ST (pronounced Beast). A part of the chorus roughly translates to:

“I will hold on to you (fiction in fiction)
I won’t let you go (fiction in fiction in fiction)
Even today, I’m in the story of you and I that hasn’t ended still, in fiction”

It’s my favourite line of the song and it’s sung by my favourite member *bites lip* and I think it perfectly encompasses all my YA ships/OTPs – Yes/Yes? Hence why I named my blog this! Pixelski is just something I came up with in gaming – pixel and added ski because it sounded cute LEL.

This post will therefore be a fusion of my love of books with my love of B2ST. Yes I am going to sic K-pop on you, links are to YouTube vids with English subs. The overall theme song for this post is THANKS TO.

"You, you, it's you, thank you, for you."

Without further ado, with THANKS TO:

Mariam my habibi for introducing me to the blogosphere. I wouldn’t have found out about this loving and supportive community without you and your encouragement. Thank you for convincing me to go on Twitter and meet Aussie bloggers, for pushing me to use my Goodreads and recommending me YA when I was out of books to read. Wallah can you hurry up and come back already?

Saz without you, my blog wouldn’t have any followers. Simple as that. You helped me get word out about my blog and I will be forever grateful for the tips and kind words you gave me.

Shirley you fabulous person! Where do I begin? From the beginning you had faith in me, gave me great advice when I had doubts about my blog, and you were the one who encouraged me to contact publishers and tell me about book events. You. Are. A. Star.

All 3 of these amazing ladies who helped me are not really blogging much these days and I miss them like heaps. I love you guys so much <3

The absolutely fabulous, lovely, hilarious and just plain awesome Aussie publishers who I’ve had the extreme privilege to work with over the years. Thank you for giving me a chance, for putting up with me, for the fangirling moments. Bloomsbury Australia, HarperCollins Australia (Between the Covers), Penguin Teen Australia, Hachette Books Australia (Date a Book), Allen & Unwin, Harlequin Teen Australia, Simon & Schuster Australia, Walker Books Australia, Pan Macmillan Australia, Hardie Grant Egmont and Random House Australia (Penguin Random House?). Special shout out to Sonia (Bloomsbury), Manda (HC) and Floss (PTA) for the fantastic Twitter convos and emails.

There are so many wonderful bloggers I would like to thank but alas I’d be going on forever, just know that you’re in my thoughts and I’m forever grateful to you, my readers. I do, however need to mention a few lovelies.

MEL. WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU AND OUR ICE CREAM DATES? I am so happy I got to meet you when I went to Melbourne this year. You are like one of the coolest and sweetest and bestest bloggers I know and I feel like I’ve known you forever we have so much in common. Thank you for being for there for me when I wasn’t feeling the best emotionally/mentally. Love you 5ever.

Joy you funny gal. I love your sense of humour and our book chats even though our tastes differ a lot lol. It’s so fun going on bookish outings with you, especially watching movie adaptions of books :D the feels are real.

Youdith (Judith) I don’t actually know how I met you only that suddenly you’re in my life (sort of) and I wanted to be Dutch (I still do to be honest). I am so jealous that you live in the Netherlands. You are just plain cool and I love our fangirling moments AND OMG CAN YOU NOT WITH MY CHAOLAENA SHIP? Our best conversations are the ones in caps.

Alexa I can’t believe I only met you late last year. Just in time for Heir of Fire thank god. I am so so so glad we bonded over our love of Throne of Glass. And my gosh do we have so much in common! Not only in our taste in books but music and KINGDOM HEARTS <3 I love all the book recommendations you give me and I trust your opinion very much :D

Ellis you are one of the sweetest people I know - you and Mel’s frenemy Twitter conversations are one of my favourite forms of entertainment. Armber (Amber) I love our talks but you can keep Dorian for yourself, I’ll take Chaol – love you! Vi my JLA buddy :D Aiden St Delphi forever <3 Christiney my k-pop buddy, love our boyband fangirl moments :D And so many other cool people who I’d love to mention but I’d never stop typing.

All the Aussie YA Bloggers – Kristy, Kelly, Laura, Nara, Emily, Eugenia, Shaheen, Jeann, Becca, Gina my Aus TOG buddy <3 The Maas Thirteen including Rachel and Katie. The cool authors I get the honour of talking to frequently. Kat and Amie you guys get a special separate mention because you’re just… Something else. Do not even.

Giveaway

So after all that THERE IS A GIVEAWAY. Because how could there NOT be? My blog turns 2 and I spread the love and give you guys books ;D

The bulk of these books were kindly donated to me by Aussie publishers for my blogoversary! Thank you Allen & Unwin, Bloomsbury, Harper Collins Australia and Penguin Teen Australia! The rest I’m adding in and will go out to buy (shown are my copies lol I haven’t been out since I just got back from 2 holidays). These are books I love and would to love share with you.

Each prize pack has a separate theme, please enter for the one you want, or ENTER THEM ALL.

Rules

Prize packs 1, 2 and 3 are AUSTRALIA ONLY. Any international entrants will be disqualified.

Prize pack 4 is INTERNATIONAL NON-AUSTRALIA ONLY. Any Australian entrants will be disqualified. Aussies you have 3 other chances, give the others a go okay? We’re all about a fair go anyway. Omg did I just make a lame Aussie joke? I ain’t even mad. I love you all enough to do this even though the shipping on this is going to make me go broke.

Aussies this applies to you: You can only win ONE of the prize packs. If Rafflecopter picks the same winner for more than one prize, I will redraw for the subsequent prize. But you can enter them all as many times as you like. Sorry I don’t think it’s fair that 1 person wins multiple packs.

NO GIVEAWAY/SPAM ACCOUNTS ALLOWED. I will be checking. Any entrants from non-main accounts WILL be disqualified. This rule applies to the entries that require a Follow. As so many lovely publishers have contributed prizes, it’s only respectful that when you follow for an entry, you follow from an actual account. I shit you not the shipping on this (especially that international one which is >0.5kg) is going to cost me a fortune so at least follow me from a real account?

HERE ARE THE PRIZES:

Prize Pack 1 – Across Time and Space featuring books dealing with time and space/physics, or set in a different time | Theme Song – 12:30

"Right now we are like the clock hands at 12:30
We have our backs turned to each other, looking at different places and trying to let go of everything"

• The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (from Bloomsbury Australia)
• A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
• All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
• Falling into Place by Amy Zhang (from HarperCollins Australia)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack 2 – Written in the Stars featuring books about 2 unlikely people coming together| Theme Song – Lights Go On Again

"When the lights shine on me and it wakes me up once again
It moves my heart again
Lights go on again"

• The Fault in Our Stars (Australian Limited Edition) by John Green (from Penguin Teen Australia)
• These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (from Penguin Teen Australia)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack 3 – Stand Tall featuring books with kick-ass female heroines | Theme Song – Unbreakable by BAP

"I won’t ever break
I won’t ever fall down
Even if the storm tries to swallow me
I’m unbreakable"

• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (from Bloomsbury Australia)
• Looking for Alibrandi (Australian Children’s Classics edition) by Melina Marchetta
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (from Bloomsbury Australia)
• Disruption by Jessica Shirvington

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack 4 – Why Are You So Far Away featuring great Aussie YA | Theme Song – VIU (Very Important You)

"I love you you you you you you you
Beautiful my you you you you you you"

• Every Breath by Ellie Marney (from Allen & Unwin)
• Every Word by Ellie Marney (from Allen & Unwin)
• Additional swag I will throw in

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GO FORTH MY MINIONS AND ENTER TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT. MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOUR.

Ohmygood look at all the bookish awesome...

Blogoversary Closing Up

Okies delayed post lol sorry guys I'm sure you were all enthusiastic to see the giveaway winners.

But firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who celebrated my first year of blogging with me! First and foremost I'd like to thank ALL the authors that participated - giving up their time and effort to write posts and offering items to giveaway to you, m'dear readers.
Cora Carmack, Lindsay Cummings, Kate Evangelista, Paula Stokes, Gabrielle Tozer, Amie Kaufman, Katie McGarry, Jessica Shirvington, Trish Doller, Leigh Bardugo, CJ Duggan - BIG HUGS TO YOU ALL and thank you SO MUCH for everything you've done. Forever in my heart <3 Let us continue the greatness!

My thanks then to all the lovely bloggers who have supported me through the year and all the new people I've met along the way.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway - I will now endeavour to reply to all your lovely comments c:

And now without further ado, the giveaway winners! I've emailed each of you so please reply within 48h or a new winner will be picked and this list updated.

Giveaways:
Day 1 - Signed FINDING IT by Cora Carmack (US) - Holly L.
Day 1 - Bookmarks from Lindsay Cummings (International) - Giedre S.
Day 2 - Kindle copy of TASTE by Kate Evangelista (International) - Sara G.
Day 3 - Signed paperback of VENOM or ARC of THE ART OF LAINEY by Fiona Paul/Paula Stokes (International) - Alicia M.
Day 6 - Bookmarks from Katie McGarry (International) - Holly B.
Day 8 - WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE by Trish Doller (Australia) - Sunny A.
Day 10 - All 3 ebooks in the SUMMER series by CJ Duggan (International) - Pernille M.

One more thing... I had a hidden giveaway that I didn't post about. So for everyone that posted a comment on my blogoversary posts, your name was entered into a spreadsheet and through a random number generator I picked a winner. Each comment counted as 1 entry c:

Congrats Michelle L. you've won a book of your choice from The Book Depository to the value of $15 (AUD) as long as TBD ships to your country.

Edit: new winner is Christiney for this last giveaway.

I actually had to redraw multiple times as I couldn't find contact details for anyone ;_;

Congratulations and thank you everyone!~

Now, back to reviewing! I have a lot to catch up on :c

Blogoversary Day 10: CJ Duggan

It's the last day of the blogoversary D: so it seems fitting that I would go out with a bang: one of my favourite authors who's Aussie and offering a pretty big giveaway!

CJ Duggan is one of my favourite Aussie contemporary YA authors and her debut The Boys of Summer encompasses everything I love about Aussie YA. Today on the blog, CJ has given us a teaser into her latest novella, Ringer, which is part of the world of the Summer series.

CJ Duggan - Ringer

Synopsis:

"They say it’s the quiet ones you have to worry about, and she was quiet, very quiet—when she wasn’t busy despising me with a burning passion.

Ringo ‘Ringer’ James has a no-strings-attached policy.

Love them, leave them, and remain the eternal bachelor.

After a summer in which every one of his mates has succumbed to settling down, or so it seemed, Ringer is on the lookout for a quick exit. Having had enough of the stomach-turning love fest witnessed over the past three months, Ringer jumps at the opportunity to help out his mate, Max, by heading to Max’s dad’s property for a working holiday.

It’s just what he’s looking for. A remote, dusty homestead in Ballan, with only hard work, a cold beer and a comfy bed to worry about – no women.

Until Miranda Henry.

The privately educated daughter of his boss has returned home from overseas and things are about to get very complicated, very fast. As summer draws to its end, Ringer is about to learn that sometimes attraction defies all logic, and that there really is such a thing as ‘enemies with benefits.’"

Chapter One

Ringer 

I was suffocating.

I could feel it restricting my brain, exhausting me in ways I could barely describe.

“Do I look fat in this?”

I rubbed my eyes, sighing in disbelief that my best mate beside me was about to actually answer the question.
Seriously?
I rested my elbows on the clothes rack, in the only women’s fashion outlet in Onslow. I raised my brows questioningly at Sean who stood on the opposite side of the rack. Ha! Sean. A six-foot-three grown man rubbing the back of his neck with guarded unease as he half laughed his answer.

“Of course not.”

He only visibly relaxed when his girlfriend, Amy, beamed a winning smile at him.

Ding-ding-ding – that’s the right answer!

Amy’s adoring eyes glimmered with approval until they shifted toward me.

Her shoulders slumped. “What’s wrong with you, Ringer?”

Without too much emotional investment, I lazily tore my eyes away from her accusing stare, casually running my hand down the sleeve of the silky shirt that hung in front of me.

“Who, me?” I asked, examining the overpriced tag before stepping aside with disgust. I returned my glance toward my awaiting audience.

Nope, nothing wrong with this scene. When a mate rings me up to say, “Do you want to catch up?”, what better way to do it than waiting outside a woman’s changing room while his girlfriend tries on the latest fashion to hit Onslow?

I gave her my best sickly sweet smile. “I’m just fine and dandy, but, hey, thanks for asking,” I offered sarcastically.

Amy shook her head. “You’re an idiot,” she said, before she stepped back into the alcove, parting the curtains with a diva-like flick.

My eye roll was short lived by an unexpected whack to the back of my head.

“Hey, what was that for?” I said, clasping the back of my skull, my outcry loud enough for the permed-hair shop lady to dip her head with a squint of disapproval through her bifocals.

I tore my eyes away, annoyed at the Judgy-McJudgment death stare; anyone would think we were in a fucking library.

Sean offered her his best dashing smile, as if nothing untoward was happening. His demeanour changed somewhat when he fixed his gaze on me and lowered his voice.

“Stop being such a snappy arsehole, Ringo.”

Here we go.

It would never be the words snappy or arsehole that made my blood boil; I had become quite accustomed to those. It was the fact he called me by my actual name – something he knew only my parents used when I was in the shit. If I had learnt one thing about Sean Murphy in all our years of friendship, he enjoyed deliberately winding me up. He knew I would never actually tell him what was pissing me off unless he wound me up so bad, I would explode.

Yeah, well, fuck that for a joke. I was out of there.

I pushed off from the clothes rack, refusing to stray from Sean’s challenging stare. It wasn’t entirely a pissing competition; I could see a glimmer of something in his eyes, concern or whatever. Not interested.

“Have fun shopping, I hear Beauty Bliss do great bikini waxes if you’re interested.”

I flipped on my Oakleys from the top of my head and offered my best ‘fuck-you grin’. 

Sean shook his head, but a smile creased the corner of his mouth.

“You need to get laid, Ringer, you’re turning into a grumpy old prick.”

Before I could retaliate, a cough from behind Sean sounded. The bifocal-devil granny’s lips were pursed in disgust. She obviously wasn’t used to a couple of Onslow boys hanging out in the aisles of the women’s department.

“Miss Henderson will take these.” She motioned with an armful of clothing.

“Thanks Mrs C, just put them on my account,” Sean said, before turning and pausing before me. “What?” He frowned.

I flicked my sunnies back on my head, propping my elbow back onto the rack.

“You have an account at Carters?” I asked, laughter threatening to rise in my chest.

Sean straightened. “Yeah, what of it?”

“No, nothing.” I shook my head. I had had enough. I moved past him and Mrs C who was still holding the pile of clothes.

I paused, turning toward Sean, and said, “But you really must look into getting your vagina waxed before the day’s out.”

I didn’t linger long, but it was long enough to hear the gasp from Mrs C, and almost ran into Amy as she came out of the changing room, still tucking her shirt in.
“Where are you going?” she called after me.

I waved without a backward glance. “To get a drink.” Because, God knew, I needed one.

*** 

I twisted the top off my VB stubby and turfed it into the tray at the base of the bar.

“Do you ever feel like you’re drowning in a sea of goddamn love?” I asked Max as I took a deep swig of my beer, a sip that still didn’t manage to lift the scowl from my face.

“Hmm? What’s that?” he asked half-heartedly, lifting his eyes from his Nokia screen as he read through a text. Max, the barman, and incidentally one of the last of the dying breeds amongst men – yep, he was single – was one of the rare few I could hang around comfortably. At least, so I thought.

Maybe he was texting some chick. Great.

You wouldn’t usually see Max hovering over a phone, but it was the graveyard, Sunday shift. ‘Hotel California’ playing in the background, and I, his sole company. That, and whatever had him frowning at his screen.

I sighed. Surely not him, too? Against my better judgment, I put down my beer, and asked the million-dollar question I wasn’t really interested in. Still, I reasoned, he was a mate.

“Trouble in paradise?” I pressed.

Max’s eyes slowly broke away from the screen. “Hmm? Oh shit, sorry, mate,” he said, shaking his head and pocketing his phone.

It was as if he were seeing me for the first time, instead of having agreed to every part of my insistent whining for the past half hour. Had he heard a single thing I had said? Probably just as well.

“What’s up?” I asked.

Max ran his hand through his matted blond locks. “It’s my dad.”

“Everything all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, no, he’s fine, it’s just that …” His phone beeped. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he growled, delving into his pocket and pulling his phone out.
By then he had my full attention as I rested my elbows on the bar top, watching intently as he read through another message with a stony expression.

Max shook his head. “He is such a cranky old bastard sometimes.”

I couldn’t help but smile, lifting my beer to my lips.

Ha! Cranky old bastard, hey? Sounds like my people.

“He wants me to drop what I’m doing and go man the farm, while he and Mum go to the Wahroo Cattle Auction. As if I can just up and leave like that. Yeah, right, no worries.”

My eyes drifted over the lean, gangly frame of the blond, baby-faced Max. He didn’t strike me as a farm boy and it was certainly news to me that he was.

“Where’s your family’s farm?” I asked with genuine interest.

“Ballan; it’s about five hours from here.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I know the place.” As in, you would blink and miss it. It had a pub, a corner shop-slash-post office-slash-petrol station, and a little school that probably had about twenty students from surrounding properties.

If Onslow was a one-horse town, Ballan was a no-horse town, and that was based on the horse who would probably die of starvation. If memory served me well, Ballan was not famous for its rolling grassy hills, either. It was as flat as a tack and drier than a biscuit. A stark contrast to the rolling green ranges and lake that surrounded Onslow.

Yeah, Onslow was beautiful; it was also bathed in romance. Sweet doe-eyed looks, hand-holding, giggles, freakin’ sunshine and rainbows. It was enough to make your beer go flat.

“So, I take it you’re not tempted to obey Dad’s orders?” I asked, motioning for another stubby.

Max scoffed. “No freakin’ way.”

Interesting.

I suppose I could understand; escaping the dusty plains of Ballan to Onslow would seem like a massive inland sea change. Hell, Onslow would seem like paradise. A great escape.

Escape.

It was only the dull thud of Max placing my stubby in front of me that shook me from my thoughts.

Max laughed. “What’s up with you, then? Woman troubles?” he asked, seriously misreading my troubled expression. I now had no doubt that he hadn’t listened to a bloody word I had said before.

I broke into a grin. “Not bloody likely,” I said, twisting the cap off my beer.

“Look out. I’ve seen that look before.” Max shifted uneasily, as he noted the devious glint of mischief in my eyes.

“Max, my old mate,” I said, toasting him with my beer in the air. “I think I have just thought of an offer you simply won’t be able to refuse.”

---

Did you guys enjoy that? CJ has explicitly said that you can pre-order RINGER now on iTunes and if you pre order you will be guaranteed your copy of Ringer 2 WEEKS before the official release date of April 2nd. It's $1.99 guys, cheaper than chips. I've already pre-ordered my copy :D

iTunes Pre-order: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/ringer/id797741096?mt=11

Giveaway

Now for the giveaway!

CJ is giving one lucky person all THREE e-books in the Summer series! That's THE BOYS OF SUMMER, AN ENDLESS SUMMER and THAT ONE SUMMER.

E-book format will be the winner's choice and this giveaway is INTERNATIONAL

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway T&C:

• Please check clearly that you are in the region specified before entering the giveaway
• Winners must reply with address within 48h of being contacted or a new winner will be picked
• I assume that if you're under a certain age you need permission to enter these giveaways. You agree that by entering you have such permission from a parent or guardian (I don't even know but yeah)

---

And that concludes my blogoversary celebrations! Check back soon as I'll put a post together with all the winners (I'll contact you guys too don't worry!) and maybe something special too (;

THANK YOU so much for being part of this, for the past year, for readers new and old I appreciate every one of you! Also a massive thanks to ALL the wonderful authors that have celebrated this special occasion with me, you don't know how much your participation has meant to me.

I hope you all continue to read my blog, and I look forward to another great year of blogging :3

Blogoversary Day 9: Leigh Bardugo

It's the 2nd last day of my blogoversary celebrations - how quickly time has flown by - and today I have the amazing Leigh Bardugo on the blog. Leigh's 2012 debut, Shadow & Bone (published as The Gathering Dark in Australia when I first got it) was actually what got me back into the reading scene. I'd just started full-time uni again and had a 3 day timetable so was traipsing the bookstore for a good read. The cover of The Gathering Dark instantly drew me in, I read the first page and was hooked. Bought the book and finished it that night! The Darkling stands as one of my favourite guys in a YA book! Can't waitfor R&R this year :3

Leigh's on the blog today doing a 'This or That' :D

Leigh Bardugo - This or That

Ebooks or the printed word?
Ebooks for travel, print for everything else. If I love something, I like to own both versions.

Romantic winter night with lightly falling snowflakes or gorgeous summer day at the beach?
Winter night, of course. *belts "The cold never bothered me anywaaaaay..."*

Killer heels or ratty sneakers? 

Badass boots.

Night owl or early riser? 

Night owl. It's rare that I'm asleep before 2 a.m., but I'm trying to stop that. I don't think it's good for me.

White wine or red wine? 

Champagne!

Windows or Mac OS? 

Been a Mac girl since college. There's no going back now.

Chocolate chip cookies or ice cream? 

Cookies. I love ice cream, but I rarely crave it. Gelato is another story.

Greyscale or sepia? 

Sepia for the old timey win.

Milk or dark chocolate? 

Whichever has almonds in it. But if I must choose, milk chocolate.

The city or suburbs? (I hope you have suburbs in the US... Neighbourhoods?) 

I've lived in cities all my life, but I don't think of myself as a city person. I can't stand crowds and I make sure that wherever I live there's quiet and plenty of green.

Bonus: Sturmhond or Darkling? 

(; Very tricky. But I MADE them, so I don't have to choose!

---

How fun were Leigh's answers? "Once you go Mac you can't go back" is the saying - it's true you know guys? I'm a night owl too... can't stand mornings! Thanks so much for that Leigh <3

And tomorrow, for the very last day of my blogoversary celebrations, I have CJ Duggan on the blog! That's it for today.

Blogoversary Day 8: Trish Doller

Trish Doller, the amazing author of SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL and WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE is here to do a guest post as her gift for my blogoversary :3

I've known Trish since Something Like Normal was in its ARC days - I know I'm so hipster right? And SLN is one of my favourite books of all time. We're always talking on Twitter (about what I wouldn't have a clue we just do) when she wakes up and she's always tweeting interesting things (don't ask me what off the top of my head, I just know she tweets awesome :D) and our chats can go on for ages before she has to go be an adult and do stuff LOL

Trish is giving all you lucky ducks an exclusive sneak peek into her 2015 release!!! I am so excited for this book guys, I've been waiting for it for agesssss...

Trish Doller Exclusive Sneak Peek into the-Book-Previously-Known-as-Arcadia-Falls

I'm absolutely thrilled to be part of Jaz's first blogoversary because she is one of my favorite bloggers. We have this little thing where I'll be waking up early and she'll still be up (or vice versa) and we'll compare notes on...whatever it is we're thinking about. Whenever it happens it always gets my day off to a great start!

So I have a new book coming out next year. I know. I'm sorry it's not this year, but I wanted The Book Formerly Known as Arcadia Falls to be the best it can be before it hits shelves. But time will fly––I promise––and soon will have a new title to talk about. And a cover. Until then here's an exclusive little sneak peek:

I shove Justin’s denim jacket––one he won’t ever be getting back––into my inherited-from-mom leather knapsack, along with my wallet, keys, and a bottle of bug lotion, and then call Duane Imler.

“You wouldn’t happen to be going past O’leno, would you?” I ask when he answers. “I could use a lift.”

Duane graduated a couple of years ago and drives a flatbed tow truck for a local company. He was my second boyfriend for about three weeks back when I was in seventh grade and he was in eighth. My first kiss was with Duane and I have never told him that it was like having a plunger stuck to my mouth. Clearly he’s refined his technique since he’s marrying Jessica Shiver this coming Christmas.

Anyway, our friendship survived the break-up and I still have the butterfly necklace that turned my neck green Duane gave me for my fourteenth birthday. He’s one of those guys who’s okay with spending the rest of his life in High Springs, and I’m not looking down my nose when I say that because some of us are meant to stay. He’s happy. Maybe more than I can say about myself.

“Where are you?” he asks.

“About to climb out my bedroom window.”

He laughs. “I’ll be right there.”

I wait until the tow truck comes around the corner, then slide up the screen and lower myself the short distance to the ground. I run through the too-tall grass and climb into the cab as Dad comes out the front door, wearing his Zeus-about-to-throw-lightning-bolts face. Our walls are like paper. There was no way this was ever going to be a clean getaway.


“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I call out, waving at him through the open passenger window as Duane accelerates away from the house. “And don’t forget that Daniel Boone won’t eat his eggs if they’re even a little bit runny.”

From the driver’s seat, Duane whistles, low and wolfish, eyeing my dress. It’s got a scoop neck edged with a little plaid ruffle. “Damn, Cadie. You’re going to break some hearts up there at the campground tonight.”

“Really? You think?” I’m secretly thrilled at the idea of being capable of breaking someone’s heart. Maybe that’s the new Arcadia Wells. Beautiful. Dangerous. Duane brings me back to reality with a well-placed flick to my temple.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” he says. “And don’t go thinking you’re going to win Justin back, either, because that ain’t happening.”

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Liar,” he says, as his walkie-talkie-type phone chirps and the dispatcher from the towing company tells him about a blown tire out on I-75. Duane acknowledges the job, then looks at me. “He’s headed for Gainesville in the fall and you’ll bust outta this town the first chance you get, so there’s no point to messing with his feelings.”

“He broke up with me, remember?”

“And you know why Cadie, so don’t play stupid.”

Between work, school, and Daniel Boone, I didn’t have time enough for my boyfriend. Truth be told, I still don’t, not even with school no longer a part of the equation. I’ve stepped into my mom’s shoes while my own grow dusty in the back of my closet.

“Besides,” Duane continues. “He’s happy with Gabrielle.”

That’s her name––the girl from Alachua––but I pretend like I don’t know it. Immature, I know, but it’s impossible to be graceful all the time over being dumped. Sometimes I’m a jerk.

“I don’t want him back anyway.” It’s a lie. Half-lie. I don’t even know anymore. Seeing Justin at the store today has me all twisted up but, honestly, most days I really don’t think about him all that much.

Duane still looks skeptical. “Good.”

Even though its already a twenty minute drive from my house to the park entrance, he pays the five bucks so I don’t have to walk all the way to the campsite, which is a really sweet thing to do. Parked beside the ranger station is a black convertible muscle car that swivels Duane’s neck. “Damn. That’s a ’69 Cougar.”

“It’s pretty.”

“Sweetheart, that car’s more than pretty,” he says. “And that one right there’s gotta be worth about twenty-five grand. Probably still has the original 351.”

“Now you’re just talking gibberish.” I say. “What I’m wondering is why someone would use a testosterone machine like that to haul canoes.”

Hitched to the back bumper is a trailer loaded with a pair of red boats and standing beside the driver’s door is a guy who looks like he stepped right off page eleven of the L.L. Bean catalog. Dark brown outdoorsy hair, red plaid shirt with rolled-up sleeves, expensive hiking boots––and I stop thinking about how he doesn’t match the car when he aims a boy-next-door smile in my direction and my insides light up like a New Year’s Eve sparkler.

“Hey! There’s a party on the Magnolia campground loop.” I shout it out the window at him. “You should come.”

The guy gives me a thumbs up, which could mean he’s coming to the party or he’s humoring the crazy girl in the tow truck. Either way, I asked. That’s what the all-new Arcadia Wells would do. Although she might have been a little more sophisticated about it.

Duane laughs. “Subtle.”

“Shut up.” I turn away from the window with embarrassment creeping red up my neck, and punch him on the shoulder. The guy at the ranger station probably isn’t into girls who bum rides from tow truck drivers, but I sure do like his smile.

Happy one year of blogging, Jaz! Here's to many, many more!

xoxo,
~Trish

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GAH TRISH *squeezes in bear hug* thank you for that <3333 it was amazing and lovely and I can't wait to meet Cadie properly next year (why is it only the beginning of 2014 right now?!) I want this book now *sighs*

Giveaway

But don't despair guys! I'm giving away a hardcover copy (I think it only comes in hardcover but I wanted to sound fancy y'know? Shhh...) of her latest book, WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE to 1 lucky person. This giveaway is AUSTRALIA ONLY. The giveaway is thanks to Bloomsbury Sydney who sent me a copy (: 

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Giveaway T&C:

• Please check clearly that you are in the region specified before entering the giveaway
• Winners must reply with address within 48h of being contacted or a new winner will be picked
• I assume that if you're under a certain age you need permission to enter these giveaways. You agree that by entering you have such permission from a parent or guardian (I don't even know but yeah).

And reaching the penultimate day of blogoversary celebrations, I have Leigh Bardugo tomorrow!!!

Blogoversary Day 7: Jessica Shirvington

Happy Monday! I'm back with day 7 of my blogoversary celebrations and today I have Jessica Shirvington on the blog :D Jess is one of my favourite authors of all time - I fell in love with her debut Embrace back when it first came out and have been loving her books ever since! I finally got to meet Jess last year at an event and I can say it was one of the awesomest days of my life.

So without further ado, I present to you Jess' 2014 release, Disruption, which will be published by HarperCollins Australia (:

Jessica Shirvington - Dispruption

First of all, a huge happy blogoversary to Jaz!!! Hope everyone if having lots of fun with all the cool posts she has been putting up!!
For my part, I am thrilled to be able to give you all a sneak peek at the first few pages of my new book -DISRUPTION - which will be out in March this year. I am so excited about this new duology and in big part because of the main character, Maggie. She is unlike any character I have come across before and was born a little from the idea that I was getting tired with the girl who has no idea she is special getting dragged into a new world by a guy who is often manipulating her and keeping secrets. Well, I suppose you could say Maggie is the opposite and she is about to drag poor unsuspecting Quentin Mercer into a very surprising new world - and she is keeping all the secrets and calling all the shots!
Anyway, hope you all enjoy this little sneak peek!!!
Jess xxoo

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I made myself a promise.

I would do whatever it took. I’d see this through to the end.

Make it right.

THREE WEEKS AGO …

I’d been tracking him for most of the day. I had other things to do, but it had been over a month since I’d monitored his weekend activity. And sloppiness wasn’t an option. Not now.

We were in DC, waiting in Dupont Circle Metro. He’d opted for a rare driver-free day, making it easier than usual to tail him, and I wondered why. Perhaps because he’d spent the morning touring Georgetown University and wanted to appear normal – not that everyone didn’t recognise him and point. I suspected it had more to do with not wanting to explain to Daddy why he’d explored a university other than Princeton. His family hailed from a long line of Princeton graduates and I knew it was assumed he would attend, like his brothers, after graduation. He probably already had a wing named after him.

Hidden beneath my faded blue baseball cap, I fidgeted with the edge of my sweater as I studied his movements carefully, with calculated interest. Carrying out my plans wasn’t going to keep me up at night. Not after all the things I’d already done.

He never noticed me anyway. Not once. Not even when the large lady with the foghorn voice asked me if she was on the right platform for Chinatown. It wasn’t because I was particularly stealthy. It was just that, standing there in his waist-hugging suit pants and crisp white shirt, he had no need to see me.

A commotion erupted at the other end of the platform. All eyes turned to watch as five M-Corp security guards stormed down the escalators, closing in on a short, balding man wearing wire glasses. I had barely registered the man before he was blocked from my view.

My attention returned to him. He had only just turned eighteen, but the tailored pants and shirt made him look older. I heard one of the M-Corp guards demand the man with the glasses activate his Phera-tech. The command was followed by a number of feeble attempts at refusal. Of course, the balding man knew it was futile. You could already hear the whispers of the other commuters.

‘Is he?’

‘He must be.’

‘A neg.’

‘I hope they take him away.’

It wasn’t that I was immune to the situation. I’d just seen it a whole lot worse. A whole lot more personal.

He on the other hand …

My interest heightened as I watched his reaction. Oddly, he observed the situation with a kind of reluctant curiosity, even taking steps towards the scene others were quickly distancing themselves from. His eyes widened as the guards restrained the man, fixing plastic ties to his wrists. One guard plugged in a portable linkup system to the man’s M-Band so that they could hack into his personal data while another recited the Negative Removal Act.

My view to the man cleared briefly. He was visibly shaking. He attempted to drop to his knees, though the guards held him up. He begged them to let him go, crying out in broken sobs for a chance to make right whatever it was he’d done – or was going to do – wrong.

No one made a move to help him, even though I heard one or two heart-rate monitors sound an alert. People’s hearts weren’t racing for him; it was fear for themselves that caused the spikes.

The man’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

I knew my expression gave away nothing but detachment. He, on the other hand, watching everything with a look of revulsion, and I felt a sick sense of justification that he should see this now. Nothing could better prepare him.

The spotlights that lined the platform began to pulse red, indicating a train on approach. I glanced one more time at him and noticed he was moving towards the guards. I straightened, suddenly intrigued. Was he going to step in? Surely not.

I never found out.

The sounds of struggle intensified and I turned my attention back to the balding man in time to see him break free of the guards and leap straight off the platform.

The man – the neg – collided instantly with the oncoming train.

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O_O woah... WOAH WOAH WOAH. Need this in my life, March seems so far away :(

Thank you Jess for sharing this suspenseful start - I was immediately hooked! And thank you Manda @ HarperCollins Australia for organising this!

Tomorrow I will be joined by Trish Doller so don't be a stranger!

Blogoversary Day 6: Katie McGarry

On the 6th day of blogoversary, the blog gods gave to me: Katie McGarry. Herp derp *massive grin* Yes, the creator of my favourite sexy bad-boy, Isaiah Walker is on the blog today for... DRUM ROLL PLEASE... An interview with RACHEL and ISAIAH from CRASH INTO YOU *faints* You guys this is my FAVOURITE book in her Pushing the Limits series and Isaiah is just UGHHHH. I have so much love for that boy. 

Oh yeah, what's my awesome connection with Katie? Music. I spam her with music links as I've convinced myself she likes the same music I do (;

Interview with Rachel Young and Isaiah Walker

Jaz: Hi Rachel and Isaiah, it’s so great to have you here today. Don’t tell, but you guys are my favourite couple of Katie’s so I’m extremely happy to have this interview with you :)

So how are you? Have the panic attacks lessened Rachel? And Isaiah, how are things with Courtney?

Rachel: I’m doing really well. I’m figuring out that the panic attacks are something that are going to pop up when I’m stressed. It helps that I now have very supportive people like Isaiah surrounding me.

Isaiah: Courtney is Courtney. She’s too bubbly for my taste, but she has a good heart. Our past couple of meetings have gone well.

J: Have you two had the opportunity to fix a car together yet? If you have, what’s it like? Are you guys trading tips?

Rachel: We’ve been working on Isaiah’s car together. I’m still pretty limited in what I can do, but it’s fun talking about all the things we’d like to do to get more horse power.

J: Isaiah, what do you think of Rachel’s dad? He seems intimidating!

Isaiah: We’re slowly figuring each other out. I’m not the guy he would choose for his daughter and in his defence, I get why. But I love Rachel and she loves me so her dad and I will figure this out.

J: Following on from that, what is it like spending time with Rachel’s family?

Isaiah: I appreciate how much they love Rachel, but I’d like it if they would step out of the room for a few minutes. It’s difficult to play nice and be around her for so long and not kiss her.

J: Rachel I know you’ve always been closed off from friends, so what’s it like having Abby and now Noah and Echo around?

Rachel: I love it! Abby is always over for dinner and just pops in whenever she wants. Noah and Echo have been over for a dinner a few times and they have been awesome at just hanging out here and playing cards. But don’t play Noah in poker. He’s good and he likes to win.

J: Here’s a question for both of you: what’s your idea of the perfect date?

Isaiah: We both love driving around together. A perfect date would definitely be spending the evening behind the wheel and then ending up on the hill overlooking the city.

J: This is a hard one. Your absolute favourite food. You can only pick one. Who wants to go first?

Rachel: Chicken Alfredo

Isaiah: Steak Burger with fries

(J: well that was easy O_O)

J: Can you tell me what both your plans are for the near and distant future? *Hopeful expression*

Rachel: If I can convince my parents, I’m going to transfer to Isaiah’s old high school and focus on their automotive magnet program. Dad is thinking about letting me go if I agree to go to college after I graduate and study either business or engineering.

Isaiah: I’ve got a sweet job working on high end cars. I’m going to sock as much money as I can away and our goal is to open our own shop once Rachel graduates from college.

J: I see you making doe eyes at each other so I’ll leave you two alone now haha. Thank you so much for your time. *Hugs*

---

Aren't they the cutest? Rachel is just so sweet and Isaiah *fans self*...

Giveaway

The awesome doesn't stop there though. Katie, being the awesome person she is, is giving away bookmarks! This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll be taking a break for the weekend because phew *wipes brow* that was a lot of posts to schedule! It's been an amazing 6 days so for and I have 4 more next week so the celebrations aren't over yet!

But on Monday I will have Jessica Shirvington on my blog *jumps up and down* 

Blogoversary Day 5: Amie Kaufman

Woah day 5 of my blogoversary celebrations already and...  I have Amie Kaufman guest posting on my blog. Yes, you heard right. The co-author of my favourite 2013 debut, These Broken Stars (which was also my favourite book cover of 2013), is HERE, on my blog, doing a guest post!!! I've met Amie personally in real life (are you jealous?) and she's one of the funniest people I've ever met. She nearly talks as fast as I do (I talk REALLY fast guys, so fast I occasionally stumble over words and don't make sense because my mouth can't keep up with my brain) and everything that comes out of her mouth is either extremely hilarious or very thought provoking. I hear Amie's also co-authoring a book with Jay Kristoff, another Melbourne based author. This is unfair. Really unfair. Both authors have ripped my heart to shreds. If you've read TBS you know Amie (and Meg) can be CRUEL. Um yeah... SO! 

Amie will be sharing with us her 14 most anticipated releases of 2014.

Amie's Most Anticipated 2014 Releases

Wooo, thanks for having me! HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY! I hope the blog got you a nice present. The first anniversary is paper, you know. So… a book?

For my gift, I'm going to share some of the books I'm most excited for in 2014! I could easily have given you my top 100, but since we're heading into 2014, I've limited myself to just 14. Isn't 2014 going to be an amazing year? I could have picked out 14 books for every day of the week, and there are heaps I haven't mentioned, but I've tried to make up a list that features the start, end and middle of trilogies and duologies, as well as standalone options. In alphabetical order (because I couldn't POSSIBLY rank them), here they are! And readers, I love to hear YOUR suggestions!

1. Alienated - Melissa Landers
Intergalactic exchange students! I got my hands on an ARC of this early, and no kidding, I nearly missed my flight reading it! It's quick, funny and Melissa's alter ego as a romance author means the steamy bits are swoonworthy!

2. Clariel - Garth Nix
Garth Nix is one of my greatest influences, and I've read my copies of Sabriel, Lirael and Abshorsen until the covers are tattered. I'm so excited for CLARIEL, and if you haven't read the first three, get to work!

3. Echoes of Us - Kat Zhang
I'm so excited for the third book in this amazing trilogy. The writing is hauntingly beautiful, and the world is fascinating. Months ago I sat brainstorming with Kat, and now the story's ready to wrap up, I'm itching to get my hands on a copy and see what made it in!

4. Extraction - Stephanie Diaz
The heroine of extraction manages to score a spot in the safer core of her planet, leaving behind the boy she loves on the surface -- and she soon realises there's more at stake for both of them than she ever imagined. There's so much good SF coming in 2014, and I can't wait for this one!

5. For Real - Alison Cherry

I absolutely looooved RED by Alison Cherry--hysterically funny satire I couldn't put down. I can't wait for her take on reality TV, and I'm scheming to get my hands on a copy ASAP!

6. Frozen - Erin Bowman
Before TAKEN, I was dying to know what was outside the wall. Now, I have more questions than ever. Crossing off the days on my calendar!

7. Her Dark Curiosity - Megan Shepherd
The end of The Madman's Daughter left me screaming for more, and let me tell you, Her Dark Curiosity will NOT disappoint you! Not long to wait now!

8. Skylark #3 - Meagan Spooner
Aaaaah, this book! Anyone who's read Meg's work knows how lyrical her writing is, and the conclusion to her Skylark trilogy is a thing of beauty. Epic, heart-stopping, surprising and yet totally right -- you guys are going to LOVE this book.

9. Ruin and Rising - Leigh Bardugo
I must know how it all ends! I'm totally Team Mal, but I'm desperate to know how this trilogy turns out for every character!

10. Salvage - Alexandra Duncan
I've been looking forward to this story of a future Earth for a long time now, and in 2014 I'm finally going to get my chance to read! Compared to Beth Revis and Margaret Atwood, I know this one is going to be for me.

11. Strange and Ever After - Susan Dennard
I don't want to see the end of the Spirit Hunters, but I'm dyyyyying to know how the story concludes! I feel like I've been waiting foreeeeever and I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

12. The Elemental Trilogy #2 - Sherry Thomas
THE BURNING SKY was a standout read of 2013 for me, and I walked away with a week-long book hangover. I must have more. I MUST HAVE MORE.

13. The Winner's Curse - Marie Rutkoski
Everybody's talking about this book already, and I want! Star-crossed love, slaves and spies? BRING IT.

14. The Young Elites - Marie Lu
I don't want to give too much away… but think X-Men in Renaissance Italy, in a feud with many sides and no right answer. Commence flailing now, people. This book is amaaaazing.


And there's my list! As I said above, it could have been so, so much longer, so I'd love to hear your suggestions!

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Woah seems like there are some series I really need to start!

Amie, does getting a present for myself count? LOL

*Shoves Mal at Amie* HAVE HIM. Because the Darkling is MINE <3 I'm so excited for R&R too :3
And Marie Lu's new book omg I must have this! I have also heard a lot about The Winner's Curse and the absolutely amazing reviews so I want this.

Thank you so much Amie for stopping by, I know you must be heaps busy! *Hugs*

Guys. GUYS. Katie McGarry. Tomorrow. BE THERE.

Blogoversary Day 4: Gabrielle Tozer

Today I have 2014 Aussie debut author, Gabrielle Tozer on the blog (: I'm very excited for her book, The Intern, that comes out in February! Did I mention I've always wanted to work in a magazine? Because THE INTERN is about a magazine internship and I get all giddy because I also think of The Devil Wears Prada.

Gabby and I frequently chat on Twitter (well I disturb her when she's #amwriting) and I'll be meeting her towards the end of the month for her book launch *happy dance* We both really like food :DDD

Because Gabby loves me (or so I tell myself), she's doing an interview here on the blog :DDDD

As Gabby is a debut author, let's meet her first:

About Gabrielle Tozer

Gabrielle Tozer is an author, journalist and copywriter from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. Since moving to Sydney almost a decade ago, she has worked as a managing editor, deputy editor, chief subeditor, senior features writer and freelancer for publications including DOLLY, Girlfriend, Cosmopolitan, Bride to Be, DisneyGiRL, Disney Adventures, The Canberra Times and Mamamia. Gabrielle’s writing has also appeared in the creative anthologies Take It As Red and GOfish and she is a previous winner of the ABC’s Heywire competition. When she is not churning out the sequel to THE INTERN (yes, that’s why she hasn’t brushed her hair for a while), she loves tweeting, chocolate and watching too much television. Say hello at gabrielletozer.com, facebook.com/hellogabrielletozer and twitter.com/gabrielletozer – distractions welcome!

Synopsis:
"Josie Browning dreams of having it all.

A stellar academic record, an amazing career in journalism - and for her current crush to realise she actually exists. The only problem? Josie can’t get through twenty-four hours without embarrassing her sister Kat or her best friend Angel, let alone herself.

Josie’s luck changes though when she lands an internship at the glossy fashion magazine Sash. A coveted columnist job is up for grabs, but Josie’s got some tough competition in the form of two other interns. Battle lines are drawn and Josie quickly learns that the magazine industry is far from easy, especially under the reign of powerful editor, Rae Swanson.

From the lows of coffee-fetching and working 10-hour days, to the highs of mingling with celebrities, scoring endless free beauty products (plus falling for her cousin’s seriously gorgeous flatmate James) this is one year Josie will never forget.

Totally fresh and funny, this debut novel from industry insider Gabrielle Tozer reveals just what is behind the seeming glamour and sparkle of the magazine industry."

Interview

Q1: What does being an intern like Josie entail?
Oh, what doesn’t it entail? Poor Josie Browning doesn’t know what she’s in for when she’s accepted for an internship at Sash magazine! She was bracing herself for coffee runs and photocopying (tick, tick!) but – in addition to that standard, menial stuff – she actually gets to do some writing, play with all the goodies in the beauty and fashion cupboards – even meet a few celebrities. Throw in the competitive side of trying to impress the editor Rae Swanson more than the other two interns and things start to get very interesting. On a general note, internships are filled with lows and highs so you could be doing vox pops, sorting magazines or fashion/beauty goodies, researching, writing, fetching coffees and everything in between– when I worked at DOLLY one of our interns even starred in a photo shoot for us!

Q2: “Josie can’t get through twenty-four hours without embarrassing her sister Kat or her best friend Angel, let alone herself.” How are the bonds of family and friendship in The Intern tried and tested?
We first meet the family after quite a devastating event, so poor Josie has a whole lot more on her mind than which dress to wear when she is interning at Sash magazine every week. Throw in the fact that her best friend Angel is a bit lost when Josie – a loveable dork through and through – starts forming cool new friendships in the city and it’s a bit like a pressure cooker for everyone! Relationships are definitely tested in The Intern, as it’s a challenging time without a quick solution. (Looking back, I feel terrible for putting them all through it!)

Q3: What would you say is one of Josie’s toughest challenges when first starting out?
For Josie, everything about entering this new world is a challenge! Even the littlest things from choosing the right outfit or knowing how to talk with these ‘goddess-like’ magazine girls leaves her out of her comfort zone. It’s the ultimate duck-out-of-water situation so she has to learn how to fake her way through it pretty damn quickly! Things get even more complicated once she realises how tough Rae Swanson is – a lesson that ultimately gets learned the hard way…

Q4: Josie gets to mingle with celebrities, have you met any celebrities? It sounds like one of the definite perks of the business.
I’ve been lucky to meet quite a few celebrities over the years, especially during my years contributing to DOLLY, DisneyGiRL, BMA Magazine, Prevention and Urban Hitz. Between the ages of 18 and 20 I was a street-press contributor and did weekly phone interviews with national and international musicians, singers and comedians like Naughty by Nature, Charlie Pickering (from The Project), Tripod, Midnight Oil, Grinspoon and Regurgitator– from my uni dorm room. It was the best!
Once I moved to Sydney, I’ll never forget interviewing a 17-year-old Chris Brown before he was dating Rihanna (his Mum was even at the interview!), or a fresh-faced Amanda Bynes in her She’s The Man days – things sure have changed, haven’t they? I had a ball chatting with comedian Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster when they co-wrote Textbook Romance (this was before they got together too!). I couldn’t stop laughing at Hamish, so it wasn’t my most professional interview but I did have a blast.
One of the most vivid (and strange) phone interviews I ever did was with the criminal Chopper Read about his hip-hop album – I was only 21 years old and I don’t think I’d ever been so nervous before an interview. Other memorable stand-outs include meeting the beautiful journalist and TV presenter Jessica Rowe, who opened up to me about her battle with postnatal depression, and meeting the one-and-only Ita Buttrose, who was the original editor of CLEO all those years ago. I treasure these memories and am so thankful I’ve had them, plus many more.

Q5: Can you tell us about Josie’s crush on James?
Yes! This is one of my favourite sub-plots in the book. The crush was a delight to write because it’s so cringe-worthy, and real, and innocent, and sweet. Josie didn’t have much luck with guys during high school so I wanted to introduce someone kind, funny and comfortable in their own skin to catch her eye (without writing a cookie-cutter male lead). I love-love-LOVED writing every hormone-fuelled scene between those two, and at one point during the process even admitted to my husband that I was forming a bit of a crush on James – oops! Hopefully readers feel the same way.

Q6: I hope this isn’t too personal, but how much of The Intern would you say is a reflection of your experiences and memories? Were you ever the coffee-fetching girl?
It’s impossible to pinpoint an exact amount but there are crossovers with my experiences and Josie’s – the main one being we both moved from the country to the city to follow our dreams of becoming writers (all while nursing non-stop cravings for Hawaiian pizza and chocolate). I did plenty of work experience and an internship or two, which I know helped me land my first full-time job at DisneyGiRL magazine. Like Josie, I also have a sister who is way cooler than me (but my sis Jacqui is one of my best friends and nowhere near as feisty as Kat). Ultimately, THE INTERN is a work of fiction. My life is way more boring than Josie’s, which is why I love creative writing – I am allowed to exaggerate snippets from my life and imagination into brand-spanking-new scenarios to entertain you guys (and myself!).

Q7: How would you say your extensive background in editing and journalism has influenced your writing (The Intern in particular)? Are you very pedantic about spelling and phrasing first time around?
My career as a journalist, editor and sub-editor has influenced every step of writing THE INTERN! When I was writing the first few chapters, I was self-sabotaging myself by trying to edit as I went – as a former sub-editor, I couldn’t handle seeing all the mistakes, grammatical errors and plot holes riddled through the draft. This usually transformed into me feeling wracked with self-doubt and avoiding writing altogether! Not ideal.
I realised this approach was holding me back, so I decided to separate my skills into ‘writing’ and ‘editing’ and stop doing both at the same time. So, with my creativity unblocked with this lessened pressure to be ‘perfect’, I put on my ‘Gabby the writer hat’ and let the words flow free and just wrote, wrote, wrote, rarely stopping to fix mistakes (unless they were obvious typos). This worked – I ended up with 80,000 (very messy, very rough) words!
Next, I put on my ‘Gabby the editor’ hat to whip those messy, rough words into shape, usually doing this over many drafts before showing my publisher. This is the same process I have used for writing and editing the sequel and, while I’m sure some writers have a more efficient way of doing things, this seems to be working for now.

Q8: What are 3 tips you can give to someone doing an internship in the magazine industry (and maybe an internship in general?)

1. Reliability is essential when you’re completing an internship – and the best bit is, if you’re trustworthy, mature and responsible, then you’ll absolutely be trusted with bigger and better tasks over time. So if your manager/supervisor sets a deadline, meet it (even better, beat it!). Prove your worth and it will pay off. I’ve seen interns who float in and out of the office like they own the place, giving themselves early marks and long lunches… needless to say they won’t be the ones upgraded to a job.
2. Take initiative – if your manager/supervisor is flat-out and hasn’t assigned you something to do, then think outside the box and put yourself to work! Don’t sit on your phone checking Instagram or surfing YouTube clips of cats squeezing into small boxes (as awesome as they are) – continue with work from the previous day or week, write down ideas or research topics you know other staff members are working on, or approach other people to see if they need help with anything. A simple and polite ‘Is there anything I can do to help you today?’ is enough to prove to the team that you’re enthusiastic. Forgive me for the cliché, but the more you put into your internship, the more you’ll get out of it, too. 
3. A positive, friendly nature goes further than you think – I’m not saying try to be everyone’s best friend, but if you inject a little of your fab personality into your internship, then there’s a much higher chance you’ll be remembered! After all, when the time comes to hire someone, people will want to work with someone who kicks serious career butt and is awesome to be around. It’s totally possible to be both at the same time.

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Be right back applying for an internship at a magazine because omg celebrities. Jokes... Maybe...

*Some time later*

Wow guys, how great were Gabby's answers? Thanks so much for your time Gabby! I definitely got an insight into the magazine industry (which doesn't always seem easy) and I'm even more pumped for THE INTERN now

Tomorrow I will be joined by the amazing Amie Kaufman. Be prepared guys.

Blogoversary Day 3: Paula Stokes

Blogoversary day 3 whewwww and I have Paula Stokes aka Fiona Paul on my blog today with some awesome excerpts of her books. Paula/Fiona (I still don't know what to call her, I use the names interchangeably) was actually the first author I had on my blog for a blog tour. I adore her Secrets of the Eternal Rose series - Starling, the final book in the trilogy comes out this year and I'm super-duper excited because as love-triangles go, we're approaching the third book and I STILL haven't chosen which boy I like better. That's how awesome the love-triangle is. Paula's also releasing her contemporary YA, The Art of Lainey, this year which I'm very excited for!

Fiona... Paula... and I talk frequently on Twitter about Korean things. I sort of went a little crazy when I found out she'd lived in Korea for a while - I MEAN HOW COOL IS THAT. You guys know my blog name is derived from the chorus of a K-pop song right? Well you do now ;)

Fiona has very kindly put together the following post which features excerpts from all her books whew. THIS MEANS EXCERPTS FROM STARLING AND THE ART OF LAINEY GUYS. *Twirls*

Paula Stokes/Fiona Paul

Hi everyone! Paula Stokes AKA Fiona Paul here, thrilled to be part of the blogoversary celebration for Fiction in Fiction in Fiction. (Is anyone else’s brain about to explode from thinking about that? It’s like Inception or something). Anyway, I’ve known Jaz on twitter for almost a year and have enjoyed talking to her, especially about bookish things and Korean things! Did you Korean things are awesome? If not, you do now :)

Blogoversaries are some of my favorite celebrations (along with any holiday when Cadbury makes crème eggs) so I thought I would share some of my favorite non-spoilery lines from my books for this event. Here goes:

from THE ART OF LAINEY, (HarperTeen, 2014):

“This is called ‘Wake Up Dreaming,’” the lead singer says. Her voice is a mix of throaty and little girlish. “Someday we hope to perform it with a full symphony.” Around me, people are pulling out their cell phones, lighting up the screens and holding them above their heads. The girl counts out a beat and the whole band begins to play at once. It’s one of the songs Micah played on the way to Mizz Creant’s. The song that almost made me cry. 

The bright lights blink off and suddenly the stage is awash in overlapping blue circles. I can feel vibrations from the amps, from the floor. I swear I can even feel the individual notes moving through the air. My blood hums in my veins. I look over at Micah. He’s got his eyes closed. 

The music pitches and swells, violin and guitars, drumbeats and thudding bass. As I sway back and forth in front of the stage, it feels like being in the eye of a tornado, where it’s calm, but everything is going crazy whirling around me. I can’t stop looking at Micah, at the way the lights reflect off his mohawk, at the way he’s completely lost in the storm of overlapping chords.

Like Micah, I am very passionate about music, even though I don’t play instruments. The way people talk about #YASaves? Music saved me like that. Lainey has never really been moved by music prior to this scene. I worked hard to bring her “musical awakening” to life for others who have not yet had songs get inside of them like this.

from STARLING, (Philomel, 2014):

“I see.” Luca paused for a moment. “So let me ask you again, Cassandra. Do you love him?” 

Did she love Falco? Two months ago she would have said yes. Two weeks ago she would have said no. And then tonight when he showed up at the palazzo, everything had become muddled again. “I’m not sure,” Cass admitted. “But I know I love—” 

Luca cut her off. “You realize my sentence, as handed down by the Senate, nullified our engagement contract, right?” He looked down at the ground. 

“Well, I suppose, but I—” 

“Perhaps it was foolish of me not to clarify that earlier, to assume that you wanted things to stay as they were.” He looked up, eyes hard. Empty. “Consider yourself officially released of any obligation to me.” 

“But Luca, I don’t want—” 

“Clearly you don’t know what you want, Cassandra. And you won’t figure it out with me by your side.”

I actually had to lobby to keep this scene in the book, because some of my editors thought it made Luca unappealing. I could not disagree more. As the author, I know better than anyone how Cass treated Luca deplorably at times in this trilogy, and I felt that for readers to respect him he would have to eventually call her on it. He not only calls her on it, he walks away from her. (After making sure she has a safe place to go—I mean, he is still Luca after all).

from BELLADONNA (Philomel, 2013):

But Cass didn’t get well. Over the next few days, she grew sicker and sicker, despite Piero’s constant attentions. Her temperature fluctuated. Her muscles weakened until she could not get out of bed without assistance, and, although she did not tell anyone, she began to have all sorts of hallucinations, especially just as she was drifting off to sleep. One night, the walls of her room pulsed with faint reddish light, expanding and contracting as if she were trapped inside the villa’s beating heart. The next night, the ivy that ran wild over the back wall of the garden twisted its way through the tiny crack in her shutters. Vines writhed past the heavy curtains, growing toward the bed where Cass lay helpless, reaching out to her like grabbing hands.

I like this paragraph even though Cass isn’t being active, because of the way her hallucinations manifest. Belladonna is a seriously creepy lady, and it was fun to write her villa as having this malevolent life force.

from VENOM (Philomel, 2012):

“Long spikes of rain stabbed circular wounds into the surface of the murky canal beneath them. Falco paused on the bridge to consider the view. “Water on water. Beautiful,” he said.
Cass stopped just long enough to try to see things through Falco’s eyes, the artist’s perspective, but all she saw was rain. Rain that was seeping through her dress to soak her undergarments. She put her hands on Falco’s lower back and pushed. “Keep moving.”

I like this passage because I like the imagery of the rain stabbing holes in the surface of the canal and think it works with the dark tone of the book. I also like that these lines emphasize how different Cass and Falco are. He’s always thinking about art, whereas she’s a little more practical—at least in this scene.


I hope you enjoyed a peek at some of my favorite snippets of my books. For my giveaway, the winner can choose between a signed Venom paperback or an ARC of The Art of Lainey. Once again, HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY JAZ!

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Luca walked away from Cass. HE WALKED AWAY FROM HER OMG WHAT. I still love you Luca. And omg Falco appears too? *Dies*

Anyways, how awesome were those excerpts?

Thank you so much for that Paula!!!

Giveaway

And and Paula/Fiona is giving you all a chance to win either a signed paperback of VENOM or an ARC of THE ART OF LAINEY. Derp *runs away with them* ;D This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway T&C:

• Please check clearly that you are in the region specified before entering the giveaway
• Winners must reply with address within 48h of being contacted or a new winner will be picked
• I assume that if you're under a certain age you need permission to enter these giveaways. You agree that by entering you have such permission from a parent or guardian (I don't even know but yeah).

So what's next? Well, Gabrielle Tozer, 2014 Australian debut author, will be next (((: stay tuned!