September Author of the Month--David Estes

Welcome David Estes, the September author of the month!   

I've got a full month of things planned for this blog!  There will be lots of things going on at my other social sites--Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!  My links are all on the left sidebar, so make sure you follow me everywhere to keep up with everything!

Along with reading all of David's books (that I haven't already read) and posting reviews, I have an author interview, an author guest post, and David has some sneak peek readings from some of his books!  There will also be some fun surprises, and contributions from some of David's biggest fans!  And, of course, there has to be a GIVEAWAY!

So, let's get started for an amazing month!  

The Author:

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife and soul mate, Adele, who he’s now been happily married to for more than two years.
A reader all his life, David began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and has completed 14 novels, 12 of which have been published. In June of 2012, David became a fulltime writer and is now travelling the world with Adele while he writes books, and she writes and takes photographs.
David gleans inspiration from all sorts of crazy places, like watching random people do entertaining things, dreams (which he jots copious notes about immediately after waking up), and even from thin air sometimes!
David’s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, an obsessive Goodreads group member, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table. He loves responding to e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets, blog comments, and Goodreads comments from his readers, all of whom he considers to be his friends.
​
Learn more about the author at: ​http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com​

My Goodreads Fan Group: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/70863-david-estes-fans-and-ya-book-lovers-unite?clear_facebook_session=true

My Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Estes/130852990343920

My Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/davidestesbooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/davidestesbooks

September Index of Posts

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The Moon Dwellers--My Review
Pinterest--Author of the Month Board
Instagram--Fire Country on my Nook
The Star Dwellers---My Review
The Sun Dwellers--My Review
The Earth Dwellers Book Blast and GIVEAWAY
The Earth Dwellers--Facebook Page
Ice Country--My Review
The Moon Dwellers Reading by David Estes
Fire Country--My Review
Fire Country Reading by David Estes
My Fire Country Playlist

Now its time for the GIVEAWAY!  One winner will get a choice of one of David's ebooks!  Enter on the rafflecopter below, and GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

City of Bones---Movie Review!

I finally went and saw City of Bones!  Here are my thoughts!

City of Bones--Quotes I hope to see in the movie!

So, tomorrow I am going to go and see City of Bones!  I'm very excited!  I don't have my hopes set too high (I hope!) but one of the things I love about TMI is some of the great dialogue and quotes.  

So here are the quotes I am hoping made it into the movie!

“Don't touch any of my weapons without my permission."
"Well, there goes my plan for selling them all on eBay," Clary muttered.
"Selling them on what?"
Clary smiled blandly at him. "A mythical place of great magical power.” 

“Do you remember back at the hotel when you promised that if we lived, you’d get dressed up in a nurse’s outfit and give me a sponge bath?" asked Jace.
"It was Simon who promised you the sponge bath."
"As soon as I’m back on my feet, handsome," said Simon.
"I knew we should have left you a rat.” 

“The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.” 

“Don't order any of the faerie food," said Jace, looking at her over the top of his menu. "It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute you're munching a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head. Not," he added hastily, "that this has ever happened to me.” 

“Investigation?" Isabelle laughed. "Now we're detectives? Maybe we should all have code names."
"Good idea," said Jace. "I shall be Baron Hotschaft Von Hugenstein.”

“Don't stop there. I suppose there are also, what, vampires and werewolves and zombies?"
"Of course there are. Although you mostly find zombies farther south, where the voudun priests are."
"What about mummies? Do they only hang around Egypt?"
"Don't be ridiculous. No one believes in mummies.”

“What's this?" he demanded, looking from Clary to his companions, as if they might know what she was doing there.
"It's a girl," Jace said,recovering his composure. "Surely you've seen girls before, Alec. Your sister Isabelle is one.”

“Don't tell me," Jace said, "Simon's turned himself into an ocelot and you want me to do something about it before Isabelle makes him into a stole. Well, you'll have have to wait till tomorrow. I'm out of commission." He pointed at himself - he was wearing blue pajamas with a hole in the sleeve. "Look. Jammies."
"Jace," Clary said, "this is important."
"Don't tell me," he said. "You've got a drawing emergency. You need a nude model. Well, I'm not in the mood. You could always ask Hodge," he said as an afterthought. "I hear he'll do anything for a -"
"JACE!" she interrupted him, her voice rising to a scream. "JUST SHUT UP FOR A SECOND AND LISTEN, WILL YOU?”

Of course, I don't really except all of these to make the cut, but I am hoping to see a few!  Fingers crossed!

Bout of Book 8.0 Road Trip Challenge

Hey everyone and welcome to my stop for the Bout of Books Road Trip Challenge!! I hope you all are enjoying your read-a-thon week and are getting closer to your goals! I love going on road trips or any kind of trip for that matter and I always bring a TON of books with me. For this challenge, I'd like for you to come up with a list of the top 5-10 states/places you'd love to visit and find a book (you either read or want to read) that takes place in that state/place or a book by an author who lives or is from there. :]

To do this fun challenge, you must sign up for the read-a-thon.  You can do the challenge HERE

                                       Here is my road trip!

Washington--The Art of Racing in the Rain
Oregon--If I Stay
Wyoming--Unearthly
Colorado--A Beautiful Dark
Georgia--Hex Hall
South Carolina--Beautiful Creatures
North Carolina--The Truth About Forever
Virginia--The Raven Boys
New York--The City of Bones
Maine--Delirium

Sign Up for the Earth Dwellers Blog Blast!

Dear bloggers and social media addicts,

We are hosting a HUGE event to celebrate the release of The Earth Dwellers by David Estes, by giving away unlimited FREE eCopies of Fire Country, the first book in the Country Saga. Along with a tour wide giveaway, we are providing early access to Fire Country to all bloggers and reviewers, so that they may post their view along with the book blast.

The book blast will run from the 5th of September (The Earth Dwellers release date) until the 12th of September 2013, and we ask that you post and / or review within this time frame. 

A HTML post and blog buttons will be provided as part of the blast.

To participate, please email us at davidestesstreetteam@gmail.com

We thank you for your support.

The David Estes Street Team

Bout of Books 8.0 Read-a-thon TBR list

I'm all about Readathons lately, as they are giving me that extra push on my reading! Found another fun one to participate in!  This one has live Twitter chats and all kinds of other fun things, so I'm super excited!

Here are the Deets

Here's what you have to do:

1. Post on your site and declare your intentions to join us. It's EASY. Grab the official blurb (below) and our button (in the sidebar) and create a post.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

2. Add your link to the linky in this post.

3. There will be an OPTIONAL Social Hour sign up beginning on August 5th. Check back on that date for more details.

4. On August 19th, READ!

Sign up HERE

_______________________________________________________

My TBR list

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge--Day 15

Today is Day 15 in the 15 Day Blogger Challenge!

So I was scrolling around and I found an awesome new blogger challenge, created by Good Books, Good Wine.  Its a 15 day challenge, and I decided I'm going to try it!  It was created on her blog and Pinterest.  Here's the original post if you would like to join in!  Starter Post

And here's the challenge!

My blogging mentors

Jen Ryland @YA Romantics

Today is Day 14 in the 15 Day Blogger Challenge!

So I was scrolling around and I found an awesome new blogger challenge, created by Good Books, Good Wine.  Its a 15 day challenge, and I decided I'm going to try it!  It was created on her blog and Pinterest.  Here's the original post if you would like to join in!  Starter Post

And here's the challenge!

Deal Breakers in books

The Sun Dwellers by David Estes

Goodreads
370 pages, YA Dystopian
The Dwellers #3
My Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis

With those she's closest to dying around her, Adele embarks on a secret mission to the Sun Realm to assassinate the President. Along the way she'll uncover secrets about her relationship with Tristan that she might not be ready to face. 

Tristan has a secret, too, one that's been eating him up inside ever since he met Adele. Will he reveal all, and risk the loss of friendship and love at a time when he needs it the most?

At the same time, Adele's mother, General Rose, must lead her soldiers into battle to face the sun dweller army in the hopes of holding them off until Adele can complete her mission. Can she outlast the strength of President Nailin's elite fighting force?

There's only one truth in their world: someone must die.

My 2 cents

The Sun Dwellers is a major roller coaster ride of shivers, tears, and emotions!  I was so ready for this ride, even though I had no idea where it would take me!  It took me up, down, and even upside down sometimes, making my stomach drop.  And after it was all over, I wanted to ride it all over again!  Good news for me, there are more books!

This book is the final efforts of Adele, Tristan, and their friends to assassinate the President.  They know this won't be easy, and they may die in the attempt. But they also know it must be done for any chance of peace to exist in the Realms.  

Helping them on this final journey is Roc, Tristan's best friend; Tawni, Adele's best friend; and Trevor, who is part of the rebel army, and a good friend of Adele's mom.  They all have something to lose.  For Adele, its her only chance for freedom, for herself, her mother and her sister. The theme of family lives on in this book!  Tristan also wants to be free from his father's sadistic ways and help his fellow citizens.  Roc is mainly there for Tristan, but he also has something to prove--exacting revenge for his mother.  Tawni has lost just about everything dear to her, and also wants her freedom.  Trevor is all about equality, and maybe seeing the President's head on a stick.

So we go on another journey, this time into the lion's den.   Even though there is almost constant action going on, we still get lots of little moments between characters, which is what really makes the story for me.  Adele is very conflicted through the first half of the book, which brings us back to the beginning--why are Adele and Tristan so drawn to each other?  

In the previous books, we got a little comic relief from Roc and Tristan's friendship.  In this story, though, Roc and Adele bond a little bit, and Trevor kind of takes over on the comic front.  This one doesn't have as many laughs--these kids are in a dire situation, after all!  

The ending was the most gripping and nail-biting part of this ride.  There were some very scary moments, and of course, lots of dark moments.  But in the end, I was more than satisfied with the conclusion to this trilogy. 

To wrap it all up, this book is crazy good!  The characters, the setting, the plot, and all the details were excellent!  Everything made complete sense to me, and left me wanting more!  So, its on to the next book for this girl!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge--Day 13

Today is Day 13 in the 15 Day Blogger Challenge!

So I was scrolling around and I found an awesome new blogger challenge, created by Good Books, Good Wine.  Its a 15 day challenge, and I decided I'm going to try it!  It was created on her blog and Pinterest.  Here's the original post if you would like to join in!  Starter Post

And here's the challenge!

Underappreciated Books!

Frost Fire
Bound
Timebound
The Bane
There Comes A Prophet

Beat the Heat Read a Thon Wrap Up

I was so bummed that I missed the BookTube Readathon.  I didn't do it because it was the same week as my county fair, and being a 4H leader of 2 clubs, plus 4 kids involved in the fair and 4H, I knew I wouldn't have enough time!

So I was thrilled when I found this readathon!  So pumped!  Deets below!

• The Beat the Heat Readathon runs from July 29th through August 11th. What does this readathon entail, you ask? Well, read as much or as little as you want – the main point is to READ! You set your own goal, and for two weeks you read as many books as you can/want to reach your goal!
• There will be mini-challenges throughout the Readathon for participants, along with a grand prize giveaway at the end!
• Sign up at Auntie Spinelli Reads or Phantasmic Reads. You may join whenever you like, but to be eligible for our grand prize giveaway, you must sign up by August 5th.
• To join, all you have to do is make a sign-up post – even if it’s just a “Let’s do this!” thing – and add your post URL to the linky below! You can put your goals and progress (will be required for the final giveaway) in your sign-up post, or you can make it separate. Totally up to you! Feel free to copy and paste this handy little list for your post. We don’t mind. 
• In order to enter for the grand prize, you must have a post to keep track of your progress so we can see that you participated.

Sign up Here

Wrap Up Time!


Twitter hashtag: #BtHreadathon

Bout of Books 8.0 Readathon

I'm all about Readathons lately, as they are giving me that extra push on my reading! Found another fun one to participate in!  This one has live Twitter chats and all kinds of other fun things, so I'm super excited!

Here are the Deets

Here's what you have to do:

1. Post on your site and declare your intentions to join us. It's EASY. Grab the official blurb (below) and our button (in the sidebar) and create a post.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

2. Add your link to the linky in this post.

3. There will be an OPTIONAL Social Hour sign up beginning on August 5th. Check back on that date for more details.

4. On August 19th, READ!

Sign up HERE

_______________________________________________________


My Progress

Day 1
Uglies by Scott Westerfield--448 pages, 4 stars
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen--250 pages, 4 stars

Day 2
Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg--261 pages, 4 stars
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (reread)--471 pages, 5 stars

Day 3

Beat the Heat Read A Thon Update: Days 9-11

I was so bummed that I missed the BookTube Readathon.  I didn't do it because it was the same week as my county fair, and being a 4H leader of 2 clubs, plus 4 kids involved in the fair and 4H, I knew I wouldn't have enough time!

So I was thrilled when I found this readathon!  So pumped!  Deets below!

• The Beat the Heat Readathon runs from July 29th through August 11th. What does this readathon entail, you ask? Well, read as much or as little as you want – the main point is to READ! You set your own goal, and for two weeks you read as many books as you can/want to reach your goal!
• There will be mini-challenges throughout the Readathon for participants, along with a grand prize giveaway at the end!
• Sign up at Auntie Spinelli Reads or Phantasmic Reads. You may join whenever you like, but to be eligible for our grand prize giveaway, you must sign up by August 5th.
• To join, all you have to do is make a sign-up post – even if it’s just a “Let’s do this!” thing – and add your post URL to the linky below! You can put your goals and progress (will be required for the final giveaway) in your sign-up post, or you can make it separate. Totally up to you! Feel free to copy and paste this handy little list for your post. We don’t mind. 
• In order to enter for the grand prize, you must have a post to keep track of your progress so we can see that you participated.

Sign up Here

Update: Days 9-11


Twitter hashtag: #BtHreadathon

15 Day Book BLogger Challenge: Day 12

Today is Day 12 in the 15 Day Blogger Challenge!

So I was scrolling around and I found an awesome new blogger challenge, created by Good Books, Good Wine.  Its a 15 day challenge, and I decided I'm going to try it!  It was created on her blog and Pinterest.  Here's the original post if you would like to join in!  Starter Post

And here's the challenge!

How do I fight blogger fatigue?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge--Day 11

Today is Day 11 in the 15 Day Blogger Challenge!

So I was scrolling around and I found an awesome new blogger challenge, created by Good Books, Good Wine.  Its a 15 day challenge, and I decided I'm going to try it!  It was created on her blog and Pinterest.  Here's the original post if you would like to join in!  Starter Post

And here's the challenge!

My 5 best blog posts!

1. 15 Series to Read if You Enjoyed The Hunger Games

2. People's Choice Awards--Proving Just How Big Books Factor Into Movies

3. New Year's Bookish Resolutions

4. End of the Year 2012 Wrap Up

5. Books Being Made Into Movies & Moviepilot

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge--Day 10

Today is Day 10 in the 15 Day Blogger Challenge!

So I was scrolling around and I found an awesome new blogger challenge, created by Good Books, Good Wine.  Its a 15 day challenge, and I decided I'm going to try it!  It was created on her blog and Pinterest.  Here's the original post if you would like to join in!  Starter Post

And here's the challenge!

How do I decide what to read next?

Beat the Heat Read a Thon Update--Days 4-8

I was so bummed that I missed the BookTube Readathon.  I didn't do it because it was the same week as my county fair, and being a 4H leader of 2 clubs, plus 4 kids involved in the fair and 4H, I knew I wouldn't have enough time!

So I was thrilled when I found this readathon!  So pumped!  Deets below!

• The Beat the Heat Readathon runs from July 29th through August 11th. What does this readathon entail, you ask? Well, read as much or as little as you want – the main point is to READ! You set your own goal, and for two weeks you read as many books as you can/want to reach your goal!
• There will be mini-challenges throughout the Readathon for participants, along with a grand prize giveaway at the end!
• Sign up at Auntie Spinelli Reads or Phantasmic Reads. You may join whenever you like, but to be eligible for our grand prize giveaway, you must sign up by August 5th.
• To join, all you have to do is make a sign-up post – even if it’s just a “Let’s do this!” thing – and add your post URL to the linky below! You can put your goals and progress (will be required for the final giveaway) in your sign-up post, or you can make it separate. Totally up to you! Feel free to copy and paste this handy little list for your post. We don’t mind. 
• In order to enter for the grand prize, you must have a post to keep track of your progress so we can see that you participated.

Sign up Here

Update: Days 4-8


Twitter hashtag: #BtHreadathon

July Wrap Up

July was a pretty good reading month.  I read a total of 22 books!

Beat the Heat Read a Thon Update: Days 1-3

I was so bummed that I missed the BookTube Readathon.  I didn't do it because it was the same week as my county fair, and being a 4H leader of 2 clubs, plus 4 kids involved in the fair and 4H, I knew I wouldn't have enough time!

So I was thrilled when I found this readathon!  So pumped!  Deets below!

• The Beat the Heat Readathon runs from July 29th through August 11th. What does this readathon entail, you ask? Well, read as much or as little as you want – the main point is to READ! You set your own goal, and for two weeks you read as many books as you can/want to reach your goal!
• There will be mini-challenges throughout the Readathon for participants, along with a grand prize giveaway at the end!
• Sign up at Auntie Spinelli Reads or Phantasmic Reads. You may join whenever you like, but to be eligible for our grand prize giveaway, you must sign up by August 5th.
• To join, all you have to do is make a sign-up post – even if it’s just a “Let’s do this!” thing – and add your post URL to the linky below! You can put your goals and progress (will be required for the final giveaway) in your sign-up post, or you can make it separate. Totally up to you! Feel free to copy and paste this handy little list for your post. We don’t mind. 
• In order to enter for the grand prize, you must have a post to keep track of your progress so we can see that you participated.

Sign up Here

Here is my first update!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge--Day 9 + Book Haul

Today is Day 9 in the 15 Day Blogger Challenge!

So I was scrolling around and I found an awesome new blogger challenge, created by Good Books, Good Wine.  Its a 15 day challenge, and I decided I'm going to try it!  It was created on her blog and Pinterest.  Here's the original post if you would like to join in!  Starter Post

And here's the challenge!

Why do I blog?