Giveaway Highlight - The Hollow Cupboards

Hey quirks! Chey over at The Hollow Cupboards is giving away a box full of YA books (and one non-YA book) to celebrate reaching 1000 followers!

Go celebrate with her and enter to win HERE!

End Of The World As We Know It GIVEAWAY!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED***

***WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED 12/25/12***

<a href="http://writerquirk.blogspot.com/2012/11/end-of-world-as-we-know-it-giveaway.html"target="_blank"><img src="http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y363/writerquirk/Blog%20Images/Contest%20Images/gvwybutton1.jpg" /></a>

Hey quirks! I have been saving up books for quite a while now and FINALLY the time has come to give them away!

To celebrate the end of a wonderful bookish year as well as the (alleged) forthcoming apocalypse, I welcome you to the

END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT GIVEAWAY!

Do I really believe the world will end on December 21, 2012? No. But for seven lucky quirks, their lives (at least, their bookshelves) will be changed after that day because they will have won five new books!

There are seven prize packs. Each pack contains five books, and one of those five is a signed copy.

Entering is easy through the Rafflecopter widget, and you have plenty of opportunities for extra entries. Refresh yourself on my giveaway rules HERE.

Read the details for each prize pack below and then get to entering!

Prize Pack #1

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (paperback)
Annexed by Sharon Dogar (paperback)
*signed* The Revenant by Sonia Gensler (hardcover) -WQ Review-
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (paperback)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (paperback) 

Prize Pack #2

 Need by Carrie Jones (paperback)
The After Life by Daniel Ehrenhaft (paperback)
*signed* Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton (hardcover)
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga (paperback)
Captivate by Carrie Jones (paperback)

Prize Pack #3

  Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan (hardcover)
Heist Society by Ally Carter (paperback)
*signed* Hourglass by Myra McEntire (paperback) -WQ Review-
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (paperback) -WQ Review-
  The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld (paperback) -WQ Review-

Prize Pack #4

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (paperback)

The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black (paperback)

*signed* The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (paperback) -WQ Review-

You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay (paperback)

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan (ARC)

Prize Pack #5

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (paperback)

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon (paperback)

*signed* Die for Me by Amy Plum (paperback)

Fallen by Lauren Kate (paperback)

Torment by Lauren Kate (paperback)

Prize Pack #6

 The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott (paperback)

Delirium by Lauren Oliver (paperback) -WQ Review-

*signed* Defiance by C.J. Redwine (hardcover) -WQ Review-

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (ARC) -WQ Review-

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti (paperback)

Prize Pack #7

   Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon (paperback)

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (paperback)

*signed* What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang (hardcover)

The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova (ARC)

The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard (paperback)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why I Love YA (+ giveaway from Beth Revis)

My high school library was tiny and outdated. It was one room, about the size of a standard classroom, and held all the different kinds of books you were supposed to find in a full size library, complete with card catalog cabinet and giant dictionary open on a pedestal, which only took up valuable space.

I read everything I could get my hands on, from Catch-22 to Dick Francis's horse related English mysteries, to thrillers by David Baldacci, and to the stuff that was YA before YA was a thing, like Lois Duncan's books.

I love Lois Duncan. Those were the ones I wanted more of and could hardly find. I could read all the adult mysteries and literary fiction I wanted, and I enjoyed them, but they did not speak to me.

Even now, they do not speak to me. They are good books, to be sure, and can be nice escapes for me. But I will never be a CIA agent tracking down a serial killer. I will never be a man in a war. More than likely, I won't even be a woman embroiled in a life or death mystery, à la Mary Higgins Clark.

But I have been a teenager.

I think it is safe to say that the feelings associated with adolescence -- discovering things about yourself, trying things for the first time, finding your place in the world, longing for something more, wanting freedom -- those are not things you grow out of. They start in those important teenage years, but we never stop dealing with those issues. They may shift and change over time, but they never really go away.

When I dropped out of college at 21, I moved back home, full of anxiety and severely depressed. I got a good full time job that I was horrible at and eventually I felt miserable every single day. One of the perks of that job was that we could listen to audio books or music while working, and one of the ladies had a binder or two full of books on CD. I listened to a lot of adult books and they entertained me enough to keep my mind focused while at work.

But then I bought a YA audio book at the bookstore because it was on sale. The premise sounded cute so I thought I would try it. It was like a breath of fresh air after being trapped under ground for years on end.

Then someone gave me Twilight and Harry Potter. Not only was I entertained but I was enthralled. These books gave me something to be excited about because I could see myself in these stories in a way I could not with the adult books.

That is why I love YA. I can relate. I can relate because I have been through those feelings, those life-altering events that sometimes take place only within, and I may still be going through them now though in a slightly different way.

I will never be a teenage spy like in Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series, that YA audio book I picked up at the store, or a teenage art thief like in her Heist Society series, but I know what it is like to be good at something and not sure you want that for your life.

I will never be a teenage cancer patient, but I do know what it is like to not understand the things happening to you, to be sick in a way no one else seems to understand, and what it is like to lose someone you love dearly, like in The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

I was not a girl who had to deal with physical abuse from a boyfriend, but I did know what it was like to lose my way, which is why Sarah Dessen's Dreamland hit home for me so much when I read it in high school. I have not read one of those thrillers or mysteries that I used to read in high school in years, but I have and will read any of Dessen's books I can get my hands on.

This is why I love YA. No matter the story, the setting, even the genre label, YA is what I love to read because it speaks to me, to the me that was a teenager, to the me that is still growing as a person and has a human being.

And now that I have been all sentimental, time for the fun stuff!

Because Beth Revis loves YA, she is going to give one lucky winner an entire library of signed YA books!

Just click the graphic below to enter!

Giveaway Highlight - Sparkles and Lightning

Help Annabelle from Sparkles and Lightning celebrate her first blogoversary with a couple of giveaways!

The first, from Blogoversary Day 7, ends today and you can win one of five B&N gift cards.

The second, from Blogoversary Day 8, which ends on 11/25, has some seriously amazing prizes, one of which is an e-reader!

Both are ending SOON so get over there now and enter!

  

Enter BLOGOVERSARY DAY 7 Giveaway

Enter BLOGOVERSARY DAY 8 Giveaway

Giveaway Highlight - Bookish

Evie from Bookish is having another fabulous and international giveaway!

You get your pick of 10 books from the list on the giveaway post, and that list may get longer so be sure to check back to see what all is being offered! Giveaway ends December 31st.

Click HERE to enter!

Giveaway Highlight - Victoria Schwab

If you haven't heard already, Victoria Schwab, author of The Near Witch and The Archived, is having a ridiculously awesome giveaway! And I'm not talking just some normal, run of the mill giveaway, but a giveaway that gets you lots of goodies and gives back. That's why it is called the 
 Give Thanks. Give Back. Give Away!

Intrigued? You should be. Not only can you win a signed copy of each of Victoria Schwab's books for the next three years, but you can also help raise money for charity because with each contest entry (up to 500) a dollar will go to one of three deserving organizations.

Find out all the yummy details and enter by clicking the photo below!

NaNoWriMo 2012 - Excerpt #4

   

- Josie, Chapter 4

NaNoWriMo 2012 - Excerpt #3

  - Colten, Chapter 3

Write Stuff [22]

Write Stuff  is based on the Wannabe Writers meme hosted by Sarah at Confessions of the Un-Published. This meme is what prompted me to start Writer Quirk, so I am thankful to Sarah for creating it.

I use this meme to talk about the ups and downs of writing, what I'm working on, and, in November, to chronicle my NaNoWriMo journey.


Oh quirks, what can I say? You see that green NaNoWriMo status bar over on the right? I'm BEHIND.

I've been feeling quite icky this past week (fighting an infection) and I don't know if it is the infection or something else (my depression tends to worsen as the cold weather hits and I am noticing an increased lack of caring about things I usually enjoy), but it is currently about 8:30pm and I feel like it is 2am. I went to bed at 7pm yesterday and slept until 6am, so...yeah. I don't know what's wrong with me.

Also, pizza=heartburn. *reaches for mint Tums*

BUT...I've got a local write-in tomorrow so I'm hoping getting out of the house for some dedicated writing time will help.

If you are doing NaNoWriMo, how's it going? Are you, NaNo participant or not, having any issues writing? Let me know in the comments!

NaNoWriMo 2012 - Excerpt #2

   

- Josie, Chapter 2

NaNoWriMo 2012 - Excerpt #1

  

- Colten, Chapter 1

What's Up in November!

Hey Quirks!

I wanted to give you guys and gals a heads up as to what I'll be posting in November.

There will be a few reviews, a From Where I'm Standing post, and any giveaway highlights I come across.

But because November is National Novel Writing Month, most posts will be focused on NaNoWriMo. Some will be progress updates and some will be excerpts of the fabulous (*cough*sarcasm*cough*) novel I'm writing.

If you are participating in NaNoWriMo, add me as a buddy (writerquirk)!

Have a happy November! ^_^

Giveaway Highlight - Book Nerd Reviews

It's that time again!

This month Melissa over at Book Nerd Reviews is picking three winners to receive one book each from the choices in the image below!

The giveaway is international and ends November 30th!

Enter HERE!