Win-It Wednesday: Book Soundtracks + an iPod

So, in case you haven't heard, Figment and I Heart Daily are hosting a contest where you could win an iPod shuffle loaded with playlists from your favorite authors. Each playlist is inspired by their latest novel, and the list is grand. Check it out: Madeleine George, The Difference Between You and Me

Nina LaCour, The Disenchantments

Lisa McMann, Dead to You

Sarah Ockler, Bittersweet

Matthew Quick, Boy21

Robin Wasserman, The Book of Blood and Shadow

Alecia Whitaker, The Queen of Kentucky

Michelle Zink, A Temptation of Angels

Figment has set up all of these playlists on Spotify (follow each link to find those), so if you're reading these books, it's time to crank up the stereo too.

Read the official rules and get full details here (you have to create a playlist for your favorite book). I mean, this is a fun contest. Wouldn't it be the most amazing thing ever to be the Music Coordinator for a great show? Choosing the songs that go with each moment? Thrills. And yes, I did create a playlist for Unbreak My Heart (and there's no Toni Braxton on it!). :)

Get cracking on your novel-inspired playlist!

Happy, uh, Thursday.

Win-It Wednesday: Dream School by Blake Nelson (Signed!)

Last week's randomly chosen winner of The Space Between is Leann. Send me your address, L. This week, I have a *signed* copy of Blake Nelson's awesome Dream School. It's the sequel to his fantastic 90s novel, Girl, and it delivers. Read about my love for it here (and read the interview that shows Blake's personality here) if you want to learn more.

To enter to win, tell me one of your dreams. It can be your dream school, your dream career, your dream holiday gift, your dream date... anything! Fill the comments with dreams and I'll pick a winner at random next week.

Happy Wednesday!

PS-Want another shot at this book? Enter Figment's Dream School contest.

PPS-While you're at it, enter the Figment-I Heart Daily contest too! Review your favorite book of 2011 on Figment for a shot at a loaded Kindle! (I'm judging!)

Win-It Wednesday: Apples, Apples, Apples!

The apple-bite contest is still going... I'll post the winning 5 entries at the end of the month! (And yes, that heart bite was officially photoshopped, as you can tell from the raw photo in the Cover Story and below.) In the meantime, there are posts popping up all over about Small Town Sinners (thank you!). I really hope you guys like it.

I did a Cover Story interview with designer Danielle Delaney yesterday on bn.com (that's another pic from photographer Joe Horne's shoot, left). Here's an excerpt:

"Really strong jackets tend to have a simple concept from the beginning that just clicks into place. What was interesting, was that this book had so many angles of how it could be advertised (such as, romance, coming of age, teen girl, religion, and small town themes) that it was at first difficult to figure out which should be the 'focus.'" --Cover Designer Danielle Delaney

I love hearing the story from the other side of the fence (the art department)! Read the full interview.

Also this week, I chose five stories from Figment to be featured reads! Log into the home page to check them out--there is such great writing on that site!

PS-f you see Small Town Sinners out in the wild (the "wild" being your bookstore or library), snap a shelf shot for me? It's still thrilling!