Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween 2012 and the Hunger Games Pumpkin Carving 3.0

Every year I tell myself "Julia, you really don't need to carve a pumpkin this year" and every year I end up carving one anyway. This year I was bound and determined not to carve one because I kept telling myself I didn't have time and I needed to study, but then my community college posted on their Facebook page that they were doing a pumpkin carving contest and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to enter. Plus, if I carved a Hunger Games design (like I seem to do every year) I could also enter it in Mockingjay.net's annual pumpkin carving contest. DOUBLE WHAMMY!!!!

So one trip to Michaels, the discount grocery store (complete with an interaction with a creepy giggling old man), and many, MANY episodes of Jane by Design and Supernatural later, I had one super epic Hunger Games pumpkin. YAY!!!!


This is definitely my favorite Hunger Games carving I've done so far. I keep thinking I'm gonna run out of ideas, but inspiration always hits me. Because I was using this pumpkin to enter Mockingjay.net's contest as well as my college contest I decided to make sure to give it's Hunger Games theme some depth. Basically I wanted it to be a sort of decoration for when Katniss and Peeta go on the Victory Tour. That was supposed to be in the fall right? So what better decoration than a pumpkin carved with the images of the victors! Peeta turned out WAY better than Katniss, but I Katniss isn't so bad looking right? She could look worse. :P I don't know why Katniss is so hard to carve when Peeta is so easy. My mother insists it's because Peeta is Josh Hutcherson but of course she would say that. You know how she is about Josh Hutcherson. ;)

If you want to help me win my community college pumpkin carving contest just like my pumpkin on Facebook here. You don't have to of course, but I'd love it if you did! :D


In other news I'm actually dressing up for Halloween this year! If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen me tweeting about it. I've been prepared with my costume for over a month now. Unbelievable right? Especially since I'm notorious for coming up with a costume idea only to procrastinate until it's too late. I wasn't gonna let that happen this year so I went costume shopping extra early. What am I dressing up as you say? Well, this year I'm going as Velma from Scooby-Doo! YAY FOR SMART BOOKISH CHICKS!!!!


I used to always get told that I looked like Velma when I was little (because I actually had glasses back in the day) and then ironically they ended up casting a half Japanese gal to play Velma in the new Scooby-Doo movies and she kind of looks like me so now I look even more like Velma. CRAZINESS.

What are you guys dressing up as for Halloween? Any bookish characters like Katniss or Hermione? Are you doing anything exciting like going to a Halloween party? I'm volunteering at my church as a face painter with my sister. We are gonna be the dynamic duo. WHOOP WHOOP! :D

Have a happy, safe, candy-filled Halloween guys!!!

Julia :)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Giveaway: Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick



Sooooo in case you missed it yesterday I had a wonderful guest post from Ilsa J. Bick all about her childhood reading experience and today I have the chance to giveaway a copy of her newest book Shadows! WOOT!!!!

Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick
Publisher: Egmont USA

The Apocalypse does not end. The Changed will grow in numbers. The Spared may not survive.

Even before the EMPs brought down the world, Alex was on the run from the demons of her past and the monster living in her head. After the world was gone, she believed Rule could be a sanctuary for her and those she’d come to love.
But she was wrong.

Now Alex is in the fight of her life against the adults, who would use her, the survivors, who don’t trust her, and the Changed, who would eat her alive. 

Welcome to Shadows, the second book in the haunting apocalyptic Ashes Trilogy: where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters.

Sounds awesome right? Oh it is.

To win a copy all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below! Winner must be a resident of US or Canada. Sorry international peeps. :(

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A huge thanks to Egmont for sponsoring this giveaway!!!

Julia :)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Shadows Blog Tour: Ilsa J. Bick on her Favorite Childhood Book!



Hey guys!!!

Sooooo I've been on a sort of blogging hiatus for the past month or so... It was totally unplanned but I guess you could say it started because of school? Yeah, I don't know how other college bloggers like Nicole at WORD for Teens do it. I should probably go back and read her post on how she juggles college and blogging. :P

Anyway, though I'm not gonna be posting quite as regularly as I used to (But I'll be back soon, I promise!), I do have the awesome opportunity to share this great guest post with you today and in the process I get to promote Ilsa J. Bick's newest novel Shadows which is the sequel to Ashes! If you haven't read Ashes yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?! It's one of the best dystopians I've read in ages! It's fresh, gritty, and downright terrifying. You will love it, I assure you.

But this isn't about Ashes, this is about Ilsa, Shadows, and her favorite childhood reads, and well, I'll let her post speak for itself. Take it away Ilsa!



To be honest, I have no favorites.  I know: that’s terrible.  While my parents always made sure I had plenty of books, classics and otherwise, they didn’t read much to me, mainly because they both worked really long hours and didn’t have time.  But they never skimped on books, and so I read tons.  Their greatest gift was a subscription to some young readers’ book of the month club, and I tore through all those.  I also hung in the library after school while I waited for a parent to pick me up (we lived way in the sticks), and so got really friendly with the librarians, who were always putting books in my hands, too.

So, instead of a favorite book—because, honestly, anyone who was telling me a good story at the time was my favorite author—I guess the book that first made an impression, an episode I actually remember, very vividly, was reading Charlotte’s Web.  This was in first grade, I think, or maybe second.  Our teacher allowed us to read if we were done with whatever work we were doing at the time, and I remember sitting there, cross-legged, devouring that book, coming to the part where Charlotte dies—and bursting into tears.  I know this because we had to line up for lunch, and I recall the teacher coming over and asking what was the matter.  I was so choked up, crying so hard, I couldn’t even tell her.  That teacher, what a nice woman: she asked if I’d read something sad, and I think I managed to nod.  She gave me a hug and a tissue, and that was that.

But that book really got to me, and I think it’s because that was the first time I ever considered that parents could die.  You don’t think about that as a kid.  Your parents are always there.  Indeed, it’s important for you to believe that because life is scary and hard, and virtually no kid can function if the family’s in danger.  (In fact, think of some of the greatest children’s and middle grade books—things like A Wrinkle in Time—and you realize that having an intact family, rescuing a parent, making the family whole again is a key concern.  So, Charlotte’s dying is really about a parent’s death, and the sudden dissolution of family.  The genius of the book is that Wilbur gets a new mom every year or so.  For Wilbur, mom (or parental substitute) is and will always be there, for the rest of his life. 

So, does that make the book a favorite?  I guess . . . but it’s such a wide world: so many books, so little time, so many wonderful memories.



I loved the story of Charlotte's Web too, though I don't think I was quite as traumatized by it was Ilsa was. Haha. What are some of your guyses favorite childhood reads? I was obsessed with The Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, and then any stories involving mice. Random, but true. :)

So now that you've read about Ilsa's favorite childhood reads, I get a chance to talk to you about why we're really here! TO PROMOTE SHADOWS WOOT!!!! Don't know anything about Shadows? Read on!


The Apocalypse does not end. The Changed will grow in numbers. The Spared may not survive.

Even before the EMPs brought down the world, Alex was on the run from the demons of her past and the monster living in her head. After the world was gone, she believed Rule could be a sanctuary for her and those she’d come to love.
But she was wrong.

Now Alex is in the fight of her life against the adults, who would use her, the survivors, who don’t trust her, and the Changed, who would eat her alive. 

Welcome to Shadows, the second book in the haunting apocalyptic Ashes Trilogy: where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters.

I've already read Shadows and it is AWESOME! If you're a fan of dystopian novels, zombies, or maybe just a book that's super intense and isn't afraid to push boundaries then this book and series is for you!

In case your totally in the dark about this trilogy of awesome dystopian zombie survivalness you can find more info on the first book here.

Have you already read Ashes, but need a bit of a refresher before you dive into Shadows? Check out Ilsa's recap post of Ashes here. Personally, I wish I had known about this post before reading Shadows. Things would have been MUCH less confusing that way. >.<

Also, be sure to support Ilsa by checking out her official website/blog, and by following her on Twitter!

Julia :)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...