So I got to hang with Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton. No big deal. Plus, a giveaway!

Three sentences that begin with the word "me" that describe things I have done this week:

1. Me, playing about 27 hours of Zoo Tycoon on my laptop because it was/is the only thing that didn't/doesn't give me a headache and/or make me dizzy.
2. Me, complaining of having a headache and/or being dizzy.
3. Me, at a Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton book signing.
4. Me, breaking my book budget to get extra signed hardcover copies of Forever and Blood Magic to give away to you, my crazy, lovely readers.

Two of those sentences are awesome. Especially, for you the reader, #4. Details at the end of the post. The suspense, it kills me.

After begging my mum for weeks and weeks and convincing her that yes, I was 100% better (the lies I tell for this blog), we undertook a four-hour-each-way road trip to the Twin Cities to see Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton on tour at the Wild Rumpus Bookstore. And, unsurprisingly, it was epic.

You can tell by the crazed look in my eye that I'm about to go Annie Wilkes on the both of them. Or that I'm just concussed and sleep-deprived. Whatever.

As if merely being in the presence of two of my writing heroes wasn't enough, one of Wild Rumpus's gimmicks is having real live animals everywhere, including chickens, cats, chinchillas, and some very loud birds that kept interrupting Maggie Stiefvater during her Q&A session, which made everything 100x more fun.

The place was pretty full, so I hung around toward the back of the line, which turned out to be a smart decision because I got to stand right behind fellow bloggers Liz of Consumed by Books and Alison of Alison Can Read. Yay! (Foreshadowing: we got to take a picture with Loki.) Turns out the place was jam packed with other book bloggers, and it was great to meet so many online acquaintances out in the real world.

Things you can tell from this picture: that 95% of my body mass is hair, and also that my camera sucks at action shots.

When I finally reached the front of the line, I was totally tongue-tied. Thank goodness both Maggie (the other one, obviously!) and Tessa are as wonderful in real life as they seem out on the internetz. To my delight and surprise, Maggie (still the other one) even remembered me from the blog post on negative reviews I wrote a couple of months ago. Cue Maggie (this one!) squeeing like the total fangrrl she is. And, best of all, check out what they doodled in my books!

Almost everybody had gone by that point, so I got to just stand there and hang out at the book store. With, you know, Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, their significant others, other book bloggers, and the bookstore people. No biggie. Happens every day.

Actually, if you couldn't see through the blatant sarcasm in that last paragraph, it was one of the most exciting things to happen to me in my life, because I am a nerd. FTW. Further proof of this: I asked to take a picture with Blue Loki.

Left to right: Blue Loki, Liz, me, my hair, Alison. But who am I kidding? All you care about is Blue Loki.

Finally, after saying goodbye way too many times and buying way too many books (as is our modus operandi), Mum and I rounded up the little monsters brothers to start back home. We did not arrive home until about one in the morning, and I spent the next two days in bed horribly sick and dizzy because, according to my physical therapist, I "overdid it." 

You know what I said? Totally. Worth. It.

And now, for those of you who so very ungraciously scrolled all the way to the bottom of this post for the giveaway without reading any of my incoherent ramblings and also, of course, for those of you who did read them: here's the giveaway part!

Things you can tell from this picture: no matter how many classes I take, I will never be a photographer. Also, you really should enter this giveaway.

Here's what the first person whose name I draw gets:

• First choice of either a signed copy of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater or a signed copy Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton.
• A promo postcard for This Is Teen signed by Maggie Stiefvater.
• A promo postcard for The Scorpio Races signed by Maggie Stiefvater.

 The second:

• Either a signed copy of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater or a signed copy of Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton, depending on the choice of the first place winner. If it's not the book you want, you can opt out of the contest when I email you and I'll (randomly) pick another name.
• A promo postcard for This Is Teen signed by Maggie Stiefvater.
• A promo postcard for The Scorpio Races signed by Maggie Stiefvater.

The runner-up:

• A promo postcard for This Is Teen signed by Maggie Stiefvater.
• A promo postcard for The Scorpio Races signed by Maggie Stiefvater.

In case it wasn't obvious, the blue organizing bin visible in the photo isn't included. That's just my sucky photography skills. And if you're wondering how you can enter this giveaway of awesomeness (both Forever and Blood Magic are sweet, incredible reads), it's simple:

• Be 13 years or older.
• Live in the United States or Canada. (Sorry, international readers! I love you, too, but the shipping is problematic.)

And that's it. Name, email, a couple of checkboxes, and SHAZAM. You're entered to win! If I (randomly) pick your name, you'll have to respond to my email with your mailing address within 48 hours or I'll pick another one. You get one extra entry for following me (whether you're old or new), one extra entry for being a book blogger or reviewer in a public forum such as Goodreads (because I want to spread the review love around), and one extra entry for spreading the word in a public forum I can see (because I want to spread the giveaway love). Like I said, it's simple.

Last but not least, you have until 11:59 pm on August 29th - one month from today - to enter. (Those of you who know me know it's not until really 11:59 pm. It's any time between 11:59 on August 29th and the next time I check the Google spreadsheet the next day. So just go ahead and enter till this post is officially edited as closed, mmkay?)

You can find the form here.

Good luck, and I hope you all get the chance to go to an event with either or both Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton, because they are superheroes! (As if I need to tell you.)

Some news and a giveaway extension!

Hey, everybody! I'M ALIVE. Amazing, I know. It's been a week since this concussion madness began, and I feel like my brain's still stuck in the middle of a hellish dizzy reboot. Blurgh. I'm finally starting to feel normal again, though, and I'm pretty psyched to report that yesterday I made a four-hour-each-way road trip to the Twin Cities for a book signing by Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton. It was awesome. I took pictures. There may or may not be a recap post + signed book giveaway to come. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO STAY TUNED, WON'T YOU.

There is also much fury on this end of the internetz, because I just found out that both Slaughterhouse Five and Twenty Boy Summer were, in the end, pulled from the Republic school library. Speak was allowed to stay. I am honestly too disgusted to post about this again, and I'm sure somebody will do it more eloquently than me. Stay tuned to the #SpeakLoudly hashtag. In the meantime, if you don't remember who Wesley Scroggins is, you can read my post about the original #SpeakLoudly debacle here.

/fury. Anyway. I'm also posting to let you all know that the deadline for James Vachowski's writing prompt contest came and went four days ago, but that because I am a generous and good blogger (and also maybe because I was in the hospital at the time and lost track of the days n' stuff) I am extending the deadline another three days from today, to July 30th. You can enter up to three prompts for James to use, so get cracking!

Happy reading, everybody!