Meet Jessica!

January 3rd, 2014 | Posted by Jessica in Announcements - (15 Comments)

2013-11-02 15.01.41-2Okay, everyone! We promised that our new co-blogger would be introduced today, so without further ado… I’d like you to meet the lovely and amazing Jessica!!! We actually live about 20 minutes away from each other and spend a lot of our time eating waffles + being adorable. (Here’s a photo us at Vegas Valley Book Festival ’13 doing exactly that, except substitute the waffles for coffee and smoothies.)

Honestly, I feel like she’s the perfect combination of classy (Alix’s department) and shenanigans (my department ahaha) and I’m so thrilled about her joining us on the blog that I can’t even articulate it, so I’ll go ahead and let her tell you a little bit about herself. And, because the book blogging community tends to learn more about your personality through the books you love best, she’s chosen her five favorite reads to talk about today, too! Please help us give Jess a warm welcome! ~ Paola

pagebannerHey Y’all! In case you didn’t see my bio yet, I’m the new addition to the blog! My name is Jessica and I’m a very outgoing, sassy, southern lady, so I hope y’all can get used to me using “y’all” a lot because I haven’t quite figured out how to remove it from my vocabulary. Anyway… I am so excited to be joining Paola and Alix, and one of the best ways we figured y’all could get to know me would be if I shared a few of my favorite books and why I love them so much. So here goes…

#5. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

001_emberThe City of Ember was my very first post-apocalyptic novel and boy, did it get the ball rolling. The City of Ember was built to last but only for a certain number of years, and right now it is very quickly running out of supplies and electricity, which means “the only light in the dark world” will soon fade to black. It is up to two young people, Lina and Doon, to discover the cities secrets and figure out if there is a way out of Ember and a way to save everyone else.

I really loved this book when I first read it, mainly because it got my attention right at the start and kept it the entire time. I have crazy bad ADD (like medication bad) so reading was a nightmare when I was a kid, but this book really kept my interest the entire time, not to mention it sort of kicked off my reading for pleasure as opposed to reading because I had to.

(more…)

, ,

Monthly Forecast: January 2014

January 1st, 2014 | Posted by Paola in Announcements | Monthly Forecast - (23 Comments)

banner_forecastWondering what kind of shenanigans to expect from us this month? Of course you are. Here’s the January 2014 forecast for A Novel Idea!

Before I launch into the forecast for January, I just want to say that 2013 was an AMAZING year for us and for the blog — we met so many new friends and it’s been so awesome being part of the community. It was really the first year I was serious about blogging, and it was also the year that Alix and I went from being pen pals to co-bloggers. I’m grateful for all the bloggers we’re now friends with (Duchesses! A special slice of cake for you three! :D) and all the readers who have taken the time to follow A Novel Idea, comment on posts, & support us even when we’re too busy to provide you with regular shenanigans. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST EVER.

We’re looking forward to 2014!! From both of us here at A Novel Idea, Happy New Year and best of luck to all of you! We love you! And now for the rest of our forecast…

(more…)

, , , , ,

The Thirteenth Bride {Launch}

December 30th, 2013 | Posted by Paola in Announcements - (4 Comments)

13B_buttonHey everyone! Just writing a quick post to shamelessly plug notify the entire universe that our first ever Round Robin collab writing project, The Thirteenth Bride, is now LIVE! You can get all the latest chapters and updates at the official blog for the story over here, as well as more info and fun extras. Subscribe to the blog to be notified of ALL THE THINGS! Alternatively, you can watch for my crazy #TheThirteenthBride tweets. Whatever floats your boat.

If you missed it, my (amazing!) co-authors and I put together this chat introduction to the story in which we answer some questions on our characters, what it was like to share the writing process with three people in three very different time zones/countries, among other things.

The Thirteenth Bride will be updating several times this week with prequels for our three characters, and then we’ll be on a regular schedule of new chapters every Saturday. Thanks so much to Tory and Daire for joining me on this adventure, and to anyone/everyone who takes the time to read what we’ve come up with. Love you!!! *scatters sparkles and rainbows everywhere*

By the way, Alix is on an incredible adventure of her own in the wilds of Cambodia until mid-January, so I’ll be unveiling our blog’s very big, very awesome surprise on my own VERY VERY SOON… /diabolical laughter

, , , , ,

It’s Our 5th Birthday! Redesign + Giveaway

August 5th, 2013 | Posted by Paola in Announcements | Giveaway - (65 Comments)

bdaycupcakeFive years ago (in ye olde 2008), this blog was just a sleepy little corner of the Internet filled with stacks of books. The stacks of books are still here — in fact, they’ve grown taller than we are — but A Novel Idea is so much more now than it was then. Thanks for the best, most beautiful year the blog has ever had. We’re hoping for many more. Happy 5th birthday, A Novel Idea! We’re celebrating with a redesign, a giveaway, and cupcakes for all!

Alix: I’ve been blogging here for 4 months now. It seems like so much longer than that (in a good way!)! I’ve really loved my experience so far. It’s definitely been challenging and yes, even frustrating at times but an experience I’ve enjoyed nonetheless. I feel like I’ve helped the blog grow by bringing another perspective and style of reviewing here. The biggest asset of A Novel Idea and what I think makes us stand out is that you get two reviewers for the price of one! While Paola and I love a lot of the same books, we tend to read and review different genres so I think it makes our blog have really something for everyone and hopefully discover something new. Moving forward, my hopes for the blog is for our community presence to grow in a meaningful way. On a personal level, I hope continue to grow in my reviewing style, get better at expressing my thoughts and feelings in my reviews and most importantly, getting to know our readers and fellow bloggers more!

Paola: Guys, I don’t even know where to start. Seriously. I’ve mentioned it before, but I never intended for this blog to be more than just a private place for my crazy book habit. The decision to bring it out of hiding was actually really scary for me, despite all the years I’d been blogging, but I haven’t looked back since that moment and I don’t think I ever will. I’ve met so many new friends and made so many incredible memories because of that one choice. Having Alix join in was the missing piece I needed to find (she’s the reason why this place is now 80% classy and only 20% shenanigans), and I really can’t believe she’s only been around for 4 months. It feels like she’s always been here! I know that A Novel Idea will continue to grow and evolve, but one thing will never change: it’s always going to be a place to share our love of books and connect with others who love them as much as we do.

(more…)