Winner Winner! (and oh yeah, help me name my kid.) ;)

The winner of THE NEXT DOOR BOYS by Jolene Perry is.... Kate Larkindale!
Thanks so much for stopping by and entering! Look for an email from me in your inbox! :)

Also, I've never had any trouble naming characters in my books, but for some reason, the hubs and I CANNOT decide on a name for this baby on the way! We've never struggled like this before, all of the other kids we just *knew* it was the right name. We *thought* we felt like that about one name, but now it seems the hubs may be back tracking. Sigh.

Siblings are: Hailey Julia (Julia after my husbands mom), Liam Christopher (Christopher after the hubs) and Finnian Rhys (no significance...sad, huh?) So, honestly, I'd prefer not to use a family name this time just because I don't want Finn to be the only one without a family name! :)


Since most of the readers of this blog are writers, I figured you all spend a decent amount of time thinking about names, who better to ask!? PLUS, I like you guys WAY better than my friends in real life! ;)


Here's the few that we can agree on so far: (Opinions, and please feel free to throw suggestions out there!)

1. Isla (Eye-luh) (this is the name we were set on, but hubs might be backing out)
2. Delia
3. Lily (we both love this name, but know someone w/this name we can't stand so it sort of leaves a bad taste...plus it's super popular)

Friday 5 - Lots-o-Links Edition

1) I have a guest post over on Ladies Who Critique. The topic is writing a main character who isn't so nice. I'm giving away a copy of Grounding Quinn as well! Stop by and say hello and enter! :)

2) Friday is the last official day to enter my giveaway for a copy of Jolene Perry's THE NEXT DOOR BOYS! 

3) Reading, Eating & Dreaming I was Blair Waldorf has got to be one of my favorite book review blogs out there. I pretty much agree with every review she posts, and always stalk it out to find out about new books and things to keep an eye out for.

4) Donna at Bite My Books (Also one of my fav. blogs evah) has an amazing post up on sacrificing quality for quantity in YA.

5) As always, good things are to be found over at YAtopia, and I love this spot on post by Sarah Nichols on Author's as Reviewers.

Any awesome things you stumbled upon this week?
Have a great weekend! :)

Friday Five - THE NEXT DOOR BOYS Edition

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a copy of THE NEXT DOOR BOYS, you totally should.


This Friday 5 is devoted to my 5 favorite passages from the novel!


1) "We only see what's close to us, but if we allow ourselves to simply feel, and not see, we can understand so much more."


2) "I'll never be the same girl." I paused, thinking. "I hope I'm never the same girl. I learned too much. It would seem like such a wasted experience if I lost it." << I think that this is my absolute fav!


3) "I love you so much that I'll hang with you in the backyard while you're wearing your grungiest sweatpants and haven't showered in two days. I'll call you beautiful and mean it. I'll be with you forever because I want to be, not because we have to be." It was the little things that mattered, not the big ones.


4) "Have you prayed about it?" I asked.
    "Is that always the answer?" He didn't move.
    "Not always, but it is always the start of the answer. Or the start of feeling better."


5)  I did know I'd be okay, once I got past that initial fear. But my definition of okay was probably a little different than yours. The doctors were all positive, but I still didn't know if I'd survive it or not. Either way, I knew I'd be okay.  I didn't know how to tell everyone that I didn't care if I lived or died, because it would be a scary thing to hear.  But I could tell people I'd be okay, and it was the honest answer."

THE NEXT DOOR BOYS Giveaway!

My friend Jolene's debut novel, THE NEXT DOOR BOYS was released this week and it.is.AWESOME.
A little about my fabulous pal:
Jolene lives in Wasilla, Alaska with her husband and two kiddos. When she isn't writing, she likes to go wolverine hunting with Sarah Palin. You betcha! Okay, that last one was a lie. Crap, I started this post with a lie and it's a post for an LDS NOVEL. 
Also, I said crap. 
Twice.


So yeah, for those that don't know, it's an LDS novel. 
Full disclosure? I'm not religious. I have struggled with my faith for a long time, never quite confident in what I do or don't believe. I hate that uncertainty in my life. 
Reading this book made ME feel good. It made me yearn for that deep faith that the main character, Leigh has. That total devotion, trust and commitment to her God. 
The writing is stellar and you will fall in love with the characters. Promise. :)

Here's the blurb: (from Goodreads)
With her body still recovering from last year's cancer treatments, Leigh Tressman is determined to be independent. Despite the interference from her overprotective brother, the ever-expanding line of young men ready to fall in love with her--not to mention the physical frustrations and spiritual dilemmas Leigh discovers what it actually means to stand on her own and learns that love can be found in unexpected but comfortable places.


SO! In celebration of Jolene's debut (it won't be her only work out for much longer, she has several other projects in the works and they are AMAZING!) I'm giving away a copy of THE NEXT DOOR BOYS. Winners choice of ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or a hard copy if you'd prefer! :)


Enter with a comment and how I can get in touch with you (twitter, blog addy, email addy- SOMETHING!) and I'll choice a random winner on October 14th! 


In the meantime, you can stalk Jolene out on Goodreads, Twitter, or her blog!