Giveaway Contest! Before I Fall

Giveaway is officially closed.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver is a great coming of age story.  It is about Samantha Kingston, who has a seemingly perfect life.  But something extraordinary happens when she dies:  she wakes up.  She lives the same day for seven days, each time getting a new chance to get it right.  It is kind of like Groundhog's Day, but with a teenager trying to figure out the tragic events that lead to her death.

She finds out who she is, who she wants to be, and even kisses someone that she would never dream about.  She races against the clock, in attempts to save her own life.

I received a copy of Before I Fall from when I was working at Barnes & Noble.  We got advanced reader's edition - which is the copy that you will be receiving.  It is paperback, but still in good condition.  I liked the novel.  I feel I would have loved it if I was still coming of age myself, but Lauren Oliver does put together an interesting plot line.  If you enjoy YA novels, you'll enjoy Before I Fall.

How to enter the giveaway: (Closes October 15th, 11:59PM Pacific Time)

Open to U.S. & Canada only.  Will extend the giveaway internationally if you pay shipping.

1. The only mandatory entry: You must be a follower of the blog.  Leave a comment saying that you are a follower and want to enter the giveaway. Include your e-mail if you don't plan on checking this blog on October 16th.  (1 entry)
2. (+1 additional entry) Tweet about this giveaway and link to your tweet in your comment.
3. (+1 additional entry) Follow me on twitter @Broken_Fallacy
4. (+3 additional entries) Blog about this giveaway and link to your blog in your comment
5. (+1 additional entry) Add up all of your entries in your comment (you can have a total of 7 entries!)

If the winner does not claim the prize by October 17th, 12:00PM Pacific Time, I will contact the next person in the list.  I will be using random.org to choose the winner.

If you do not win the give away, you can purchase Before I Fall from Amazon here.

Good luck everyone!

Additionally, my cohort on  Adorning Schemes is running a giveaway through Whimsical Poppysmic's blog for a free pair of her upcycled bottle cap earrings!  These are great holiday gifts!

First Line Prompt

I first met Dean not long after my wife and I split up. It was minutes after, actually. After the screaming match that ended with my trousers and boxers drifting down onto the apartment complex’s front lawn, I took off in my car. I had no idea where I was going or where I would end up, but decided to have my first drink as a newly single man.

It was in the bar that Dean slapped me on the back. “You look like you need a drinking buddy!” His teeth looked like they had been cut from a magazine and placed on his gruff man’s body. They didn’t fit him at all. In fact, Dean was probably one of the most awkwardly shaped people I had ever met, hands and feet huge for his lankly limbs, and a face that a burly man would have.

I was immediately intrigued. That and I couldn’t say no to a free drink. A few whiskey sours later, and I spilled my guts. “And she tells me to get out. I mean, she was the one cheating!”

Dean grabbed my shoulder, “You’re better off, forget her! So many more people out there.” He looked around, “I’ll tell you what, I left my wife. We didn’t even divorce! Met this gal out here, she’s great. I live my life with no baggage, you know? None of that hard stuff.” He took a long drink.

I grumbled into my drink. The ice had already melted, watering down the whole mess. “I thought I had done everything right, and now, all I have are some pants and underwear.”

Dean thought about this for a moment. “Okay! I know, let’s just go grab something! If you could have anything from your life with her, what would it be?”

Without a thought, “My laptop.” I had scrambled to get away from the whizzing plates that I had forgotten to grab it.

“Great, let’s get it!”

I drove to my old apartment complex and marched up the stairs. With Dean by my side, my new drinking buddy, I was ready to face my wife and get all my stuff back, not just my laptop.

The door opened. My wife looked at me, then Dean, her eyes widened. Her mouth held itself agape, nostrils flared in disbelief.

Dean’s face held the same expression. His lips formed the whisper, “Patricia?”

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Thanks again to Nina's Prompt & Share on G+. I'm having entirely too much fun with these.

YAtopia Pitch Contest

I have submitted my pitch for my story RUHE to the YAtopia Blog Pitch Contest with agent Mandy Hubbard!

It closes Wednesday at Midnight (I am unsure if this is technically 11:59pm or technically Midnight on Thursday, but technicalities aside!)  It is still open right now!  If you had a finished manuscript that is YA or MG and you are looking to pitch it to an agent, you might as well do it on the YAtopic blog!

Late, I'm late!

The wind ruffled the leaves in the trees. She felt herself slipping. Her eyes grew wide, sucking in the last bits of the gorgeous robin’s egg sky. The wheat melted around her skin, caving way to the bed sheets she was lying in. Her eyes shifted from seeing the blue, melding into white, then just shadows danced on the walls of her ceiling. A tear ran down her cheek as she knew she had to leave her place behind, leave what she loved.

What she loved, the thought pang in her head like an arrow. The clock, where was the clock? It was spilling out onto the floor, the contents from this morning’s not-so-great wake up. She cursed inside her head. She grabbed a jacket, didn’t even bother looking at her hair, and flew down the stairs. She glimpsed at the clock in the hallway.

Already ten minutes late, he was going to kill me. She ran to the car, jammed her key in the ignition and sped off. Every light seemed to turn red in front of her, she slapped the steering wheel and screamed at the light. Then she screamed above her head.

“This really isn’t cool, okay? Just stop it, stop messing with me today.” But she knew why the universe was. She was messing with it. She was playing inside her own head and leaving this world behind. A smile crept across her face. She realized she didn’t care if she was late. Who cares about this world, when I have my own?

She pulled her car up to the restaurant twenty five minutes late. She bounded into the dimly lit place and scanned the room. Before the hostess could say a word, Jess was off. She weaved in between tables, ducked under a waiter, and slumped down in the seat.

“I’m sorry.” Her words came out without meaning, without sympathy or worry, without concern. She couldn’t find a reason to fret over him anymore, though she really wanted to. Something was telling her it was time to let go.

“No worries.” Kevin flashed a brilliant smile that captivated the light of the candle that was almost burned out on their table. “I knew you’d make it.”

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Today's prompt is brought to you by the fabulous Nina Pelletier on G+.

"This week we are going to put your character (or yourself) in a specific situation. Your character is late, he/she's late for a very important date, no time to say "hello", "goodbye" they're late they're late they're late.
400 words or less - Show your character rushing against time."

Be sure to circle Nina to participate in any future prompts - they definitely are very fun.  

Five Sense Setting

Nina on G+ is running a writing prompt today, as she is most days.  So if you need inspiration for some exercise to do, hers tend to be fun, but also challenging (some more than others).

Today was on setting, using all five senses, less than 500 words, and no -ly words (and trying to keep adverbs to a minimum).

If you come up with one and post one yourself, please link me to it in a comment - I love reading other people's writing, and also love getting feedback :) 


Here is mine (which will eventually be apart of a longer piece): 

She stood in the meadow of wheat and stared out over the vast space before her.  A single tree stood to her right and she placed her fingertips on the bark.  The tree felt warm, as if bursting forth with life.  A small smile stretched across her face.  She felt the rough grooves of the tree, melding underneath her touch.  Her eyes reflected the yellow wheat in front of her, the sun hanging high in the sky.  For some reason, even though the whole world glowed, the sun wasn’t too bright here.

There was a single bird flying through the small breeze, chirping and carrying himself along with the patter of his wings.  The breeze ruffled the leaves in the tree before tussling through Jess’s hair.  It smelled of thick syrup and warm, fresh bread.  She could get used to this. 

Jess picked her way along the wheat.  As soon as she thought it would be perfect to have some place to sit, she walked into a clearing.  A single, fallen log was lying on the ground, untouched and perfect.  She let her feet slide her down onto the log.  It gave more than she expected, and felt like a cushion.  She placed her hands on either side of her body and felt the wood.  It was still solid underneath her fingers, but it was comfortable everywhere else. 

She looked upward, gazing at the few clouds that hung low in the sky.  They seemed to drift with the breeze.  She could almost taste them on her tongue, moist and light clouds.  She could eat one of them, balls of cotton candy just plucked from the sky.  She reached her fingers up and twisted them inside the cloud.  A piece of it broke off, coming back down to earth grasped in her hand.  She lifted it up to her mouth and smelled the sugar, the delightful mysteries that this place held.  Her lips curled around a corner.  The stickiness of melting sugar spread throughout her mouth, got caught in between her teeth, and she swallowed.  She was satisfied, she couldn’t ask for a better place than this.  It was peaceful, and she was alone… for once.