Wednesday 2 September 2015

100 FOLLOWERS APPRECIATION GIVEAWAY(S) // Q&A VLOG

*EDITED: If you came here before and it said the videos were private, I'm sorry! ~hangs head in shame~ Basically I am a fail and a half when it comes to the internet. They work now, though! At least I hope so ... Tell me if you have a problem! (Or, if you don't. That'd make me very happy.)*

Hi everybody! I am, at last, here with my 100 followers Q&A Vlog and Giveaway. Now I'll let, uh, myself do the talking ...

(It is over two videos because the camera cut out partway through the first time and I don't know how to edit them together. For this I am sorry. Please bear with.)






Now, those questions I said I'd return to .... Describe your personality in three words? I'm going to say creative, dreamer and enthusiastic.*
*I'm actually very unenthusiastic. But I can't think of anything. Suggestions?
And book covers? I don't want to clutter this post with extra graphics, but I'm going to say The Handmaid's Tale (I love that cover) and The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy (which I bought on Saturday, AND GOT SIGNED, AND I CHATTED TO HER, NOT A BIG DEAL ... more on that another time ... ). (Follow the links to Goodreads.)

PS Chocolate is not my favourite food. But pressure of time with a camera in front of you, you know?


GIVEAWAYS

Oh yes. Yes, I am running two giveaways.

This first is International, as long as the International Book Depository ships to you.
And this one -- UK only -- is to give away one of my favourite books, Come to the Edge by Joanna Kavenna. 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway



When our narrator leaves comfortable suburban life for a so-called farm retreat she doesn't know what she's getting into. As she embarks on life in the country with Cassandra White, a hardened widow of questionable sanity in a house with no heating and some psychotic goats, it is far more difficult than she imagined. But  an unlikely friendship forms, and before she knows it, she is involved in a mad (and legally dubious) Utopian scheme to reclaim the valley for the locals ...

Come to the Edge is a glorious riot of a book. Satire, character and narrative are perfectly balanced, and I could not recommend it highly enough.

Winners will be notified after the closing date (16/9/15). Good luck!

28 comments:

  1. Congrats on 100 followers! Love the vlogs :)

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  2. YouTube won't let me watch! Says they're private . . .

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    1. Fixed! I am so so sorry, though. I am the least professional blogger ever!

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    2. Yay! So fun to see your face and hear your voice.

      Also: I think that somehow I lost your blog in my feed and therefore haven't been reading or commenting much, for which I apologize.

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    3. Haha, thank you!

      No problem. I know all too well the pain of trying to keep on top of a lot of blogs, whilst running your own. I'm glad you've found it again :)

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  3. Hm, it says the videos are private and it won't let me watch them. . .

    Congrats again on 100 followers! *throws confetti* That's really exciting! (Seriously though, fifty followers sounds like a lot to me.)

    As for what book I would pick from the giveaway, probably Plenilune or Winter. But of course Winter doesn't come out until November. . . so never mind there. *huffs* Oh! Or The Return of the King by Tolkien (so I'm too lazy to write his initials. Okay that's really lazy *coughs*).

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    1. Now rectified! Ugh, but how embarrassing!

      Thank you! ~dances in confetti~

      Ooh, I've heard about Plenilune ... intriguing! (Good luck!) And obviously Return is the best book ever. As for Winter, I empathise with the pain of waiting ... ~rocks back and forth chanting "Raven King, Raven King" under her breath~ But did I tell you, I borrowed Cinder from a friend?

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    2. Don't be silly. Night time isn't for sleeping. Who ever thought of. . . Er, never mind.

      You mean to tell me, there are no popsicles in Scotland?! That's, that's sad. I mean, popsicles aren't life, but childhood memories, yes. But you really do drink tea? I thought that presumption was true, but I was very unsure at the same time.

      You must listen to Switchfoot! Try The Blues or Yet or The Loser. (By of way, I youtubed Passenger, I love his voice. Also, THE GUITAR! I love good acoustic strings. ;) )

      All of the best ideas DO come in the shower. I'm sorry. I knew this. But still, I feel like this is some kind of epiphany. The cure for writer's block: go take a shower. XD

      That's really cool though how you got the idea for Corrie's book! The way one thing leads to another. I love writing! It's so fascinating!

      The Handmaiden's Tale sounds scary but beautiful and just- I don't know. Would tragic work? It's tragic. I might see if I can find.

      That cereal question was strange. . .

      Yes, I remember you telling me that! I hope you like it! I did borrow the Raven Boys from the library again. I have to finish another book and then I will definitely finish it. I'll probably send you an email after I finish it.

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    3. You're a madwoman.

      Um. No.
      But yes, yes, yes, very much tea! XD

      OK, I'll do it now! And Passenger is amazing. ACOUSTIC STRINGS FOREVER! (Reasons why Ed Sheeran is my future husband.)

      Right?? It's a great place! I swear that's where I get all my plot twists XD

      I know! It's so much fun tracing back through your thought process and seeing how ideas piled on each other :)

      Tragic. Yes. But ugh. Scary. Beautiful. I can't-- ~rolls over like dead fly~

      Very ...

      I will! But I need to clear some of my massive series bulk before I start the Lunar Chronicles. I'm sure you'll love The Raven Cycle. The second two books are better than the first. Just give them chance!

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  4. Congrats on 100 followers!! I couldn't watch the vlog though because it's set to private? You might need to make your youtube account public. :)

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    1. Have done! I'm so sorry. I'm an embarrassment to myself XD

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  5. It's working!!! YAY!
    XD HAHAHAHAHEHEHEHAHAHAH I laughed ridiculously hard at your attempt at an Irish accent. Maybe people do talk like that somewhere XD hehehehehehe
    Thank you for answering my questions. And yeah you could recommend what ever you want.
    Oh my God I am so sorry about the typo!!!! AGH!!! *stupid stupid stupid*
    but then again a dessert Island would be seriously cool!!!! ^_^

    Also I love your accent. It's so posh! Somehow I envisioned a Scottish accent like Groundkeepers Willie in the Simpsons.... :L but you're very English

    And CONGRATULATIONS on 100 followers!

    Um... books I would like... The Handmaid's Tail (that's been on my TBR for ages) , or Atonement, or Shadow and Bone, or the 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear, or Taipei by Tao Lin, or --- okay I better stop :(

    Oh and before I forget I nominated you for a few awards ^_^

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed my efforts XD
      You're welcome, I so enjoyed doing it!
      The typo made me laugh so much, yes, please, a dessert island!!

      Hahaha I'm not actually Scottish! I'm English but I've lived in Scotland for the past ten years ... #logic. Hence why I sound English! Lol, rewatching the video I do kinda imply I'm from Scotland ... oops!

      THANK YOU! :D

      The Handmaid's Tale is SUCH a good book. HORRIBLE. But really really good. And I realllly want to read Shadow and Bone!

      Thanks, I'll check them out! :)

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  6. Congrats on the 100 followers and thanks very much for hosting such a nice giveaway!

    Very cool to see and hear you for the first time. I like the accent by the way - in comparison, I sound so flat. ;D
    And you live on a farm? So do I - I love being able to just go outside the open space and read in the shade. When it's not 90F that is... Good answer to the dessert island - a spoon would be perfect!

    Congrats again!

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    1. Thank you! You're very welcome :)

      Haha, I'm glad! I'm sure you don't sound flat. I don't know what the opposite of flat is, though? Sharp?? XD

      Yes, I do! :) Reading outside is the best. I had to Google that temperature to convert it, but, OUCH, 32C?? I don't think I've ever seen that in Britain in my life :')

      Glad you enjoyed the dessert island ;)

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    2. Either way - my accent is kind of boring in comparison. :)

      We get some weather extremes in this area - last winter it got down to -24F (-31C) and I've seen it get up to 98F (36.7C) in the summer (luckily not this summer)!

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    3. I'm sure it isn't! :)

      -31??? Wow!! That is insane! It's Ohio, right? I thought that was hot all the time .... oops. When I was in Portugal this summer it got to about 38C but it was OK because I was the I'm-on-holiday-in-Portugal mindset and there was the beach and the pool and nothing to do except lounge around and read ... oh, and the villa was really cool inside because it was built for the heat .... But I would NOT want it to be that hot at home. Not if I actually had things to do!

      PS we are online at the same time, this is very rad and exciting! XD

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    4. Usually in the summer it's hot, and not a dry heat either - humid and soupy heat. We did have a cooler and wetter summer this time though so I guess we're making it up now in heat. Generally though Ohio's very much a just-wait-10-minutes-if-you-don't-like-the-weather kind of place.

      Portugal? Sounds like it'd be a great place to visit regardless of the weather! Whenever I go on a trip it doesn't matter what the weather's like. :) 100F (38C) that's getting really hot ... The hottest I've ever seen was a few years ago on a trip to Oklahoma it got up to 111F (43.9C) - that was record breaking at the time! It was so different though because it was so dry, like sticking your head in an oven. Even a breeze didn't help...If that were here with a humid heat I probably would have immediately collapsed in a pool of my own sweat.

      Very cool while it lasted - thousands of miles apart and we were online at the same time!

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    5. Ughhh humidity! But changeable weather I am well acquainted with! Especially in the summer :L

      It's a beautiful country :) And yeah, holiday is holiday regardless! Books are great whatever the weather ;)
      I don't think I've ever seen above 40C ..... oven-heat sounds horrible. ~shudders~

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  7. Lovely vlog! I'm always happy to listen to British people speak, as I've said before. XD You sound so sophisticated. And I was so happy you answered my question (and that it made you laugh)! Oh goodness, I don't think I've ever had that much tea in one day before. o.o I probably have tea two or three times a month... Speaking of the food questions, I hadn't realized that popsicles aren't found in the UK. Huh.

    (And ah, I was going to ask about the Scottish/British thing, but previous comments cleared that up.)

    WHOA. I'm an INFJ as well! *high five*

    Loved that Daniel was part of your inspiration. :D Sounds like a great plot element to use!

    Oh boy--what book would I pick? There are so many on my list... Maybe Omega Dragon by Bryan Davis; Five Enchanted Roses; any of the Tales of Goldstone Wood books I don't yet own; or books 2 and 3 in The Solitary Tales series by Travis Thrasher.

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    1. Thank you! "Sophisticated" isn't the word most often used to describe so thanks XD
      Two or three times a MONTH?? ~faints~ That's madness! How do you go on day by day?? ;)
      No. No popsicles. (We have ice lollies which are presumably the same thing, though?)

      Yes! Haha I didn't make it very clear in the video :L

      ~high five!~

      Yeah, it was! I guess my story, and the story of Daniel, follow a pretty common structure of characters making a journey and having to adapt to a new situation :)

      Hmm, I have not heard of any of those books -- but good luck!

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  8. Oh my God you're adorable xD Congratulations on 100 followers! And I don't know what book I would choose! :D Depends on what I can find under £10

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    1. Haha thank you! XD The Int Book Depository is pretty good when it comes to prices, you can find a lot of stuff firsthand for about £8 or so!

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  9. *is VERY late to the party* YES, EM! SLAY! QUEEN! Seriously though, you're pretty much the most adorable human ever. I just think it's funny how much tea you drink. I tend to avoid tea like the plague since it kind of makes me feel a bit weird after drinking it. Coffee is my homie whenever I need a hot drink. (: Congrats on the big 100!

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    1. You're still VERY welcome to the party! (And, uh, DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!)
      OK, but I'm confused! What am I slaying! Who's the queen?? Is that an expression??
      Not feeling the love for my tea-drinking habits ... gosh you Americans!
      Thanks! :)

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    2. Oops! Forgot you Brits might not use the same expressions. Both are compliments. You're not literally slaying something, nor are you literally the queen. Basically they mean that you're great and pretty much on the same level of coolness as a queen. Does that make any sense? (:

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    3. OK, that makes sense! So thank you! Slay! Queen! (I'll start saying that and people will not know what's going on.)

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Thanks for commenting! :)