A Darkness Strange and Lovely giveaway!
I wish I could say, “Hey! I’m back to blogging, guys!”
But I can’t. Though my internet-via-phone-only pet-sitting stint was VERY productive for book 3, it was not quite as productive as I’d hoped. Primarily because I ALWAYS overestimate how quickly I can work. Sigh.
Anyway, I am super, SUPER close to finishing up book 3. I wrote the The End yesterday…after four days of nonstop sobbing.
I have seriously never cried so much in my entire life.
Ever.
My eyes have also never been this puffy. Nor my wrists so sore.
My goal is to now revise these final chapters into a Real Coherent Ending and then turn this sucker in to my editor. So, perhaps I’ll be back to blogging in 2 weeks?
ANYWAY, the point of this post was not to bemoan how deeply I am grieving or how close I am to finishing book 3, but rather to say
It’s my birthday!
Toss the confetti!
I turn 29-years-old today. Frightening. Next year is that dauntingly huge 30. This is my last year as a cool twenty-something! WAAAAAH.
But on the bright side of aging, I am doing a super epic giveaway!
A signed ARC of A Darkness Strange and Lovely!
There are very few of these in the world yet, since the book doesn’t release for 5 more months. But I am just dying to send this little baby into the world, so…I will! It has become something of a birthday tradition of mine to giveaway ARCs much too early.
Now, if you want to enter the giveaway, you can do it either HERE or over on Pub(lishing) Crawl. The only “advantage” to doing it on Pub Crawl is that there’s a fun quiz to go along with the giveaway. 😉
If you opt to enter the giveaway here, then please leave a comment telling me one of YOUR birthday traditions and then fill out the Rafflecopter form below! Huzzah! Oh, and the giveaway is open internationally! ♥
February 25, 2013 @ 3:13 pm
First off, Happy Birthday!! I turn the big 3-0 this year and I agree with you. It’s pretty daunting. I don’t have any birthday traditions, but this year I’m going to do every fun kid-entertainment there is out there before I’m officially an Adult. We’re going to go to the arcade, laser tag, bowling, and hopefully, they’ll let me in at Chuck E. Cheese…
I hope you have a wonderfull birthday filled with great food, family and fun!
February 25, 2013 @ 3:38 pm
Baaahhh ARCs YES FINALLY!!!! I’m so excited 😀
Happy Birthday, Sooz!! <3 eat lots of cake! Lots… (I turned 22 a few days ago and that's definitely what I did lol). The only birthday tradition I kinda have is that I read this story I wrote to myself when I came to the US to not feel too bad on my birthday, since I'm always kinda down for not being home 🙂
And cake.
Have a wonderful birthday!!
February 25, 2013 @ 3:43 pm
Happy Birthday!
Not really. Just a dinner with fam and/or friends. That’s it 😉
February 25, 2013 @ 4:01 pm
Happy birthday!
I stopped doing exciting things for my birthday after I turned 21. I think this year the plan is for my roommate and me to go to a bar and eat grilled cheese and beer.
February 25, 2013 @ 4:07 pm
For the past few years me and my friends have taken a summer trip to Chicago, and it always falls right by my birthday 🙂 Yay!
Happy Birthday!!!
February 25, 2013 @ 5:33 pm
Happy Birthday Sooz!!! But wait– what?! Didn’t anyone tell you that your thirties are waaay better than your twenties? It’s not just a bunch of hooey– it’s true!! You’re more grounded in who you are and there’s a centeredness that comes with a little more life experience. And that’s what it really is– forget the number..numbers mean nothing– it’s about life experience. 🙂 I am SO excited for you that you are so close to the end of book 3. Wow– I’m sorry that it’s ripping your heart out. Understandable though. Well- on my birthday I love to take a weekend jaunt somewhere if it’s at all possible, since I love to travel. I hope I win! I hope I win! I want book 2!! Sending birthday love to you <3
February 25, 2013 @ 10:09 pm
Happy birthday! My family isn’t into big celebrations for birthdays. But my friends are different. This year my friends got together and played a roleplaying game that takes place in the Victorian era. They also got some amazing cheeses and cake.
I hope your edits wont’ take too long. I can only imagine how rough that can be in a crunch. Good luck to you and I personally can’t wait to read the next book!
February 25, 2013 @ 10:22 pm
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! <3 I hope you have a lovely little celebration and that tons of writing gets done. Hmm, birthday traditions? Well, I always have a dinner with close friends on mine, which is fun 😉
February 25, 2013 @ 10:29 pm
Happy Birthday!!! *<|:-)
I don't have any birthday traditions, besides going out for dinner with my parents and husband. 🙂
February 25, 2013 @ 11:30 pm
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :)I don’t really have any tradition for my birthday……. But my family and I all go out to dinner, that counts right? 🙂
February 25, 2013 @ 11:40 pm
Happy Birthday! I hope you spent an absolutely lovely day with the people who mean most to you 🙂 Thank you so much for the giveaway! Personally, I tend to kind of ignore my birthday at the moment and just spend it with family and a few very close friends doing normal stuff.
February 25, 2013 @ 11:49 pm
Happy Birthday!!!
The only tradition my family really has is the birthday girl/boy gets to pick dinner, whether a favorite restaurant or a favorite dish at home.
February 26, 2013 @ 12:06 am
Happy Birthday! I hope you have an amazing day!
I don’t have any birthday traditions. I don’t think we’ve done anything for my birthday for the past 4 years. :/
Thank you for the amazing giveaway and making it international! 😀
February 26, 2013 @ 5:50 am
oooh fun! Happy birthday! *throws confetti*
As for my birthday traditions, my husband and I always order sushi and Italian pastries to bring home and eat while we watch the SyFy channel’s Twilight Zone Marathon (they hold it every year over New Year’s Eve, my birthday, and New Year’s Day, which I usually pretend is still my birthday).
Thank you for the giveaway! I can’t wait to find out what happens next to Eleanor and how she adapts to everything, especially with what happened at the end of the first book! My jaw is still on the floor (in the very best way)
February 26, 2013 @ 6:11 am
My family slways buys a cake and we end up playing games together for the rest of the day
February 26, 2013 @ 6:56 am
Yes! My mom always makes my favorite dish for dinner – her homemade chicken pot pie! And cake. Of course. 🙂
Thank you so much for the opportunity to win, Susan!
<3,
– Ava
February 26, 2013 @ 8:29 am
My biggest birthday tradition … hmmm! I leave my birthday cards up for as long as I can get away with, and usually go out for a big, delicious meal with my family. I did that on the weekend just gone, in fact – my birthday is in just under two weeks but we celebrated it early because my sister was down for the weekend. On the date itself I’m breaking tradition and visiting her in Brighton for a weekend of FUN and DANCING. 😉
I’m really cheering you on with the Book 3 progress! I CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on book 2 and whether that means winning one of your ARCs (Eeek!!) or buying it when it releases, I don’t mind. 🙂 IT’LL BE WORTH THE WAIT!
Happy, Happy Birthday Sooz, I hope you have a really great, productive couple of weeks on your book, and I look forward to reading your tales of victory on here when you return!
February 26, 2013 @ 2:43 pm
Happy Birthday Sooz!!! I think 30 is still cool – I don’t feel any different anyway so there’s nothing for you to dread next year. My boyfriend proposed on my 30th last year so it kind of softened the blow… 😉 I hope you’d a great day yesterday!!!
My mum always makes me birthday cake (an absolutely mouth-watering coffee cake with walnuts on top). It’s a great tradition that I’d hate to break.
Best of luck with book 3. I can’t wait to read 2 and 3. I also look forward to hopefully reading your mystery book. 🙂
February 26, 2013 @ 3:04 pm
I’m a little late, but Happy Birthday!!! For my birthday, my family always goes out to eat and I get to choose where we go. Every year I choose a different restaurant, luckily we live near a large city so there are plenty to choose from!
February 26, 2013 @ 6:23 pm
No real traditions besides a party and Mom making the cake herself, so I guess that is my kids tradition.
February 26, 2013 @ 6:24 pm
My grandparents call me every year to sing happy birthday. Also! The week leading up to your birthday is your Princess Week and on the day of, you’re a Queen. Naturally. 🙂
February 26, 2013 @ 9:24 pm
It’s a new-ish tradition, but we do girls’ weekend for my bday because my good friend’s bday is a week after and we’re getting too old to celebrate two weekends in a row. 🙂
February 26, 2013 @ 11:12 pm
Happy belated birthday! Mine are very far away, thankfully so as my tradition is to create a “who/where I will be on my next birthday”… I still need to work on few points on my list! I do it instead of creating a new year to-do lists- I feel it’s more personal 🙂
February 27, 2013 @ 12:47 am
Happy Belated Birthday! We celebrate both Mother’s Day and my Birthday because I was born on Mother’s Day.
February 27, 2013 @ 2:17 am
Happy Belated Birthday
February 27, 2013 @ 3:29 pm
Late but Happy Birthday! Ooh, thirty next year! Don’t worry about it– I think people usually have their life sorted out waaaaay better at 30 than their twenties so it’s smooth sailing for the next ten years, haha! Hmm, we don’t really have any birthday traditions (although my birthday used to fall on exam week back in high school like what someone else said in PubCrawl), but I love celebrating it by just doing whatever I want for the day– sleeping in, reading in bed, and being an unproductive hermit.
February 27, 2013 @ 6:50 pm
Happy birthday! I only have a few months left to enjoy 29, so I feel your pain! BUT, my favorite birthday tradition is something I started a few years ago when I realized my real birthday numbers were getting a little high for my taste. I decided that each year I would pick an age to celebrate instead of using the real one. The first year I chose 5. The day included a trip to the zoo, mini golf with friends, and ice cream afterwards. It makes birthdays so much more fun and you realize that age really IS just a number. 🙂 Whatever you do, I hope it’s a great day!
February 28, 2013 @ 12:14 am
My family doesn’t have much of a tradition besides going out for dinner and lots of presens of course! 🙂
February 28, 2013 @ 7:09 pm
I almost always get an ice cream cake from dairy queen…. love the chocolate mud filling! Happy birthday!!!
March 1, 2013 @ 4:49 am
Just spending the birthday with the whole family 🙂
And singing some song at the karaoke 🙂
March 1, 2013 @ 8:07 pm
My birthday traditions are basically doing all of my favorite things all day with my favorite people then having a big birthday party with tacos and oreo icecream cake.
March 2, 2013 @ 7:07 am
Let’s see…I have a lot of birthday traditions, but I guess the one that I love the most is that, even though I’m in my 20s, I still round up all of my family and friends, my mom makes an amazing birthday cake and we sing happy birthday in the garage 🙂 It’s been a tradition that has been ongoing for 23 years, and I hope that it’ll last for many more years to come
March 3, 2013 @ 3:50 am
Happy belated birthday, Susan!! And congrats on finishing up book 3! I wouldn’t say I have any birthday traditions (I’m very boring, I know). Unless staying home all day eating cookies and whatnot while watching movies and TV shows counts as a tradition. Then again I’m not sure if that would be considering a *birthday* tradition, considering, you know… that’s pretty much every day…
Anyway, thanks for the giveaway, and again, happy belated birthday! Yayayayayayayayay! (Also, I know this is suuuuuper belated, but I plan on starting Firefly. Soon. I know I promised you I’d start it months upon months ago, but don’t blame me. Blame my memory–he’s an ass.)
March 3, 2013 @ 4:40 am
For my birthday, I always sit up till midnight to cut my cake since my grandmother’s birthday is the very next day, so we kind of cut the cake together, even though she lives across the sea in another continent. It’s a lovely little tradition, though! 🙂 Happy Belated Birthday, Susan, and I am SO EXCITED to read A Darkness Strange and Lovely! 😀 Also, I can’t wait for the novella coming soon!(:
March 3, 2013 @ 6:23 am
My family tradition for birthdays is a month long celebration. We go out for little treats, movies, meals, etc. It really feels special. On the person’s day, the dining room table is decorated and we put bows and confetti on the person’s chair/area. Happy birthday!!!
March 3, 2013 @ 10:36 am
My special someone and I always go to the zoo… even though I’m already 25 *blush* If the weather is bad, we go eating Mexican food. And I always get a fresh peony from my mother’s garden – for 22 years in a row now 🙂
March 3, 2013 @ 6:08 pm
We all make a traditional rice dish “Biryani” 🙂 It’s so common here to cook it on birthdays! Happy Belated birthday!
March 4, 2013 @ 2:27 am
For my birthday we usually get a mean cake from a place that specialises in chocolate mousse. They use it all their cakes and they have the best cakes I ever tasted! I also spend the day with family and my sweet boyfriend flies down to visit.
March 4, 2013 @ 3:31 am
Not really just a bunch of calls/texts from friends and family to wish me. And family gives presents and sometimes there’s cake 😛
March 5, 2013 @ 11:35 am
Happy Birthday!!! (A little belated, but it totally still counts haha) My only birthday tradition is dinner with my family and the staunch refusal of being the age I’m turning 🙂 In the past few years it’s been a thing for me and a few friends to get a hotel room somewhere in downtown San Diego, which has been awesome – though this year I may break the tradition to save money for ALA Annual.
March 5, 2013 @ 12:29 pm
I eat cake. HAHA.
No, seriously.
Happy 29th, Sooz! Have a great one. ;D
March 6, 2013 @ 3:09 am
My family and I usually go out to do fun things. Zoos, restaurants, music stores, or just walking around downtown. One time we even went bowling at midnight. It was snowing by the time we left.
And we usually eat cake. Lots and lots of yummy cake.
March 7, 2013 @ 9:30 pm
Happy birthday!!! and thank you for this giveaway 🙂
March 10, 2013 @ 2:10 pm
I always buy myself a book 😉 It makes me feel very happy to do that for myself. Happy birthday!
March 10, 2013 @ 11:41 pm
I don’t really have any tradition, other than whatever my best friend plans for my birthday. One year, we got tattoos. Another year, we drove to Cleveland to a Billy Idol concert. Last year, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. So, I believe the tradition now will be many years of pink birthday cakes and, when she’s old enough, asking her “Auntie” for pony rides on the farm.
March 11, 2013 @ 12:52 am
Happy belated birthday! 😀
Man, this is going to sound super corny, but one of my birthday traditions is to always buy a lottery ticket. My rational is that if there’s probably not going to be a time that I’m going to be more lucky, than the anniversary of my birth. 🙂
Thank you for the giveaway! Look forward to both the novella coming out in June, and A Darkness Strange and Lovely!
March 11, 2013 @ 1:27 am
I don’t have a Tumblr page but I did add the cover to my Pinterest page.
http://pinterest.com/neednewspace/to-be-read-for-50-book-pledge/
March 11, 2013 @ 1:31 am
Happy belated birthday! Hope you had a great time!
For the last few years on my birthday, I always go out to dinner, and always for Mexican food. It’s my favorite, and I can make the excuse that it’s my birthday so I get have lots of margaritas.
Thanks so much for the chance to win ADSaL! I seriously can’t wait to read this!
March 11, 2013 @ 2:54 am
Happy Birthday! I don’t really have any traditions. Usually just spending time with my family. Last year my sister took me to visit this miniature horse that lives on a farm that I pass on my way to work every day though.