Celebration giveaway! INT

Hey guys! This post is WAY overdue! I originally wanted to do a giveaway in mid-June because that was my blog's one year blogoversary. But due to a case of credit-card fraud mixed with being hacked and having to format my harddisc while also needing to meet a deadline for a paper... yeah, it didn't happen.

But this week a mix of things came together and it's about time! 1) I reached 45,000 pageviews! That might not seem like a lot to some of you but for me it's a pretty big deal. 2) I finally got a banner and I looove it! :D and 3) I also made a blog button based on the same design. You can grab the code in the right sidebar. In addition to that, I also got a new set of social media buttons. The Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr are more about other stuff I'm into than strictly about books, but a lot of it is bookish anyway because that's just who I am ;)

I also want to change things around a bit generally and find new types of posts I could do to generally make things a bit more interesting and fun. What would you like to see? I'm open for suggestions. Should I embarrass myself by doing a vlog? Should I try to do more author interviews? Do you have topics you'd like to have a discussion about? Let me know in the comments!

All of this together is reason enough for a giveaway! As always, it's open internationally and the winner's prize will be ordered from The Book Depository.

Below is a selection of books I've read in the past year and really really loved. I definitely recommend them! However, you can also pick another book up to 10$.






Rules

• One winner can choose one of the books listed above or another up to 10$ (as seen from my location)
• Open internationally provided The Book Depository ships to you
• Only one entry per person/household
• If you cheat, I will disqualify and delete all your entries. Make sure to read what to put in the rafflecopter box carefully! Writing 'done' or copying the message of the tweet does NOT count! If I say I want the link, then please copy-paste the link.
• I check all entries BEFORE I choose a winner
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email, after that time frame I will pick a new winner (seriously, use a rafflecopter email that you actually check!)
• You must be at least 13 years old
• I am not responsible for books lost in the mail. Once I've put in the order, I am no longer accountable for what happens to the book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How phishing made me miss my own blogoversary

Hey guys, you may or may not have been wondering why I dropped off the face of the earth for nearly a week. I already wrote a post on facebook about it but I know how those can slip by people, so I'll quickly explain it here.

On Thursday, in a moment of gullibility, I fell for an elaborate phishing/credit card fraud scam. I got suspicious after the fact and called the credit card company, and I just so managed to avoid losing 300 bucks to a bunch of hacker assholes. Unfortunately, my main computer is now full of spyware and I have to find a way to get rid of it without formatting my harddisc, because I have no system backups. Great isn't it? -__- Especially when you're writing a university paper just around that time and need to finish it on Friday before heading off to Italy. Instead you can spend your day doing damage control.

Anyhow. It sucks, the paper was written though not up to par with my usual work, and I hoped on a car to Italy. Where, on Saturday, I had my one year blogoversary... without a computer or any way/time to schedule posts or whatever. It was very relaxing though. Good for the soul. I could take a step back, enjoy a breathtaking view of the Lago di Lugano, read the second Mara Dyer book, and just... breathe.

Balcony breakfast

So that's why I didn't respond to comments or email and why there were no posts, not even a book haul. Again, I'm sorry and trying to fix things asap. I'm planning a giveaway to belatedly celebrate, as well as a couple posts on my first year of blogging. I don't think that I am in a position to give tips and act all pro-like and experienced, but I still feel like sharing what the past year was like for me and what I hope to do in the future. I hope you guys will stick with me despite my occasional social unresponsiveness because this blog and the people I met through it mean so much more to me than I ever anticipated!

My Six Month Blogoversary & Giveaway

Wow. I can't believe my half-year milestone of blogging crept up (and past) me like this! I seem to be forever unprepared for these things. I made my first post here on May 24th, though theoretically it might be better to count the days from when I posted my first review, which would set the six months mark at December 16. I wanted to post this a little in advance, but then end-of-semester-madness and near-disaster happened.

No matter which way you put it, time simply flew for me this past year! Half a year ago I never could have imaged the place I feel I'm at with this blog right now. I never thought I'd be reading ARCs (okay, they're digital so far but so what?!) or that my blog would have around 500 followers! That number seemed astronomical. And though I know not every one of you reads each of my posts, I want to thank you all for sticking around! I'm happy about every pageview and every single comment makes me smile before I even look at it! I feel like I've come to 'know' some of the more regular commenters and their blogs a bit. I know this sounds silly - it's just a few lines after all. But I feel that way anyway.

Not being social and part of the community enough is one thing I regret quite a bit at this point. I'm shy about approaching people, and I don't really know where or how. Are there forums or websites where bloggers 'talk shop', so to speak? Or is it all on Twitter? Another problem is that I'm so busy I often don't have the time to catch up on my twitter feed at all. This was especially bad for the last month or so. I overbooked my university schedule this semester, and along with my two jobs and occasionally meeting friends and reading and writing (not as much as I'd like) it's just all getting a bit much. That's also the reason why there have been more promo/meme posts lately and less reviews - something I want to balance out better in the future! I can't wait for the holidays and I hope I'll do better next semester!

There are still things I want to improve. Like a header, or a blog button. If you have any suggestions about what type of post you'd like to see, feel free to tell me in the comments! I've also been thinking about adding a weekly poetry-meme for a while now. What do you think of that?

Enough of my prattling and rambling. This is a celebration post after all, so let there be presents and a giveaway! Unfortunately, since it's so close to the holidays, I have to watch my money a bit so I can't give away two packages of three books each like last time, but I have selection of both old and new releases for you to choose from. Also, to help get the word out there about some indie authors I really enjoy, there's also a rafflecopter for a kindle eBook of your choice from the selection. So there are TWO rafflecopter forms for you to fill out and TWO chances to win. Both giveaways are INTERNATIONAL but please check the rules for details!


Rules:

• One entry per person / household. I check IP addresses.
• You must be at least 13 years old.
• Giveaway is international provided that The Book Depository ships to you. For the eBook giveaway you have to be able to accept kindle gifts.
• I will email the winner and they'll have 48 hours to respond. After that time has passed, I'll pick someone new.
• You may enter one or both rafflecopter forms.
• I will check all entries before picking a winner. Cheaters will be disqualified.
• Once the book has been shipped, I am no longer responsible for it.
• I will choose whichever edition is cheapest on The Book Depository.
• If a book is from a series and you already have it, you may choose a different installment of the same series.
• I reserve the right to change entry options or end the giveaway early.

If you have any questions, either email me or send me a tweet @Butterfly_Ghost. Good luck to everyone, and happy holidays! :)

Paperback choices:






a Rafflecopter giveaway

Indie eBook choices:


 a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOGOVESARY GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Sorry for not picking the giveaway winners earlier, guys! This week was insanely busy and it always takes about an hour to check all those entries... that's also the reason why my reviews for Ironskin and Scorch aren't up yet even though I finished the books a week ago >.<

But the winners for the blogoversary giveaway have been drawn now.

Samantha S. won the paperback bundle and Stephanie W. the eBook bundle. Both winners were emailed and have already responded.

Also, I decided to give away some swag to Cassidy C. because she was the only one who went the extra mile and wrote a pinfic for me :) Cassidy, if you read this check your email! Maybe my message was sorted into your junk folder...

Thanks to everyone who entered! I never expected such a response or that I'd reach 300 followers over the course of the giveaway! You guys and your comments make me happy :) I can't make promises yet but I will probably have a Halloween-themed giveaway up later in the month.

Congrats to all the winners, and I hope you'll enjoy your books!

GIVEAWAY (Int)! Blogoversary and 200 follower-celebration

I know I know, I've been talking about this forever. By now, you've probably been thinking I'd never actually follow it up... but here it is, my joint 200 follwers and 3 month blogoversary celebration giveaway! To be precise, the blogoversary of my first post was on August 24, but since I only started blogging somewhat seriously in mid-June, I guess I can be forgiven for being a bit late. Right? This giveaway is going to last for all of September!

I can't believe it's been three months already! For that amount of time, I don't think I've posted enough reviews *squirms* I'm not used to reading on a schedule or having to immediately write about what I've read yet, and while I probably won't review every book I read, I still hope to get the reviewing frequency up a bit. It's just that writing them up actually takes me ridiculously long because I want to do justice to the book without spoiling too much or being super vague.

Also, I never thought I'd have so many awesome followers by now! Seriously, I'm happy about every page-view and comment on one of my posts! Especially the reviews, since I love to exchange impressions and discuss :)

I'm also curious to hear you guys' opinion about this blog. What do you like? Dislike? What kind of post would you like to see more of? One of my regrets three months into blogging is that I don't really feel part of a community. Where do bloggers 'hang out'? I'm a bit shy when it comes to striking up a conversation first and I'm afraid that I'd just bother people... but I love it when people talk to me :)

But now, without further ado,


The Prizes

Paperback Bundle

Ebook Bundle

Each bundle will go to ONE winner, who will receive ALL the books in it! The paperbacks will be ordered from the Book Depository, the eBooks from amazon, so you'll need a kindle or kindle app to receive them. (I even switched from amazon.de to amazon.com for this, since the German store doesn't have a give-as-gift function). Anyone the Book Depository ships to and anyone able to receive kindle books can enter, no matter where you live! Note on ebooks: if you already have one of the books, you can also choose another installment of the same series.
Also, I won some Origin swag from author Jessica Khoury and have some (though sadly not much) swag (some of it signed) lying around and if I receive that Origin swag by the end of September, I will put together a swag bundle for one runner up and add it to the rafflecopter!

I also want to try something new and creative for you guys to get more entries. Jessica Khoury's contests for swag and ARCs brought the Pinfiction phenomenon to my attention, and I'd like to try this here as well! How does it work? Easy. Just go to my Pinboards (you don't need a Pinterest account), pick a pin that you like, and write a 500 character (including spaces) story/scene to it! When you've done that, email the story and a direct link to the pin you picked to shelfspaceneeded(at)hotmail(dot)com. Attention: 500 characters are the limit, not 500 words! Enter your email address into the provided space of the rafflecopter form so that I know which entry is yours. Sounds fun, right? Something other than just sharing on twitter/facebook/whatever :)

The Rules

• One entry per person / household
• International as long as Book Depository ships to you and you can receive kindle gifts from amazon
• You must be at least 13 years old
• This is a follower-appreciation giveaway, so you must follow me by GFC or email
• Cheaters will be disqualified and all their entries deleted. Believe me, I will check ALL entries before picking a winner, because cheaters falsify the odds for everyone and it's not fair.
• Contest ends midnight September 30th, but I reserve the right to end it early
• I also reserve the right to add/subtract/substitute prizes before the end of the giveaway
• As soon as the Book Depository ships your books, I'm no longer accountable for them
• Winners will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours, or I'll pick someone else.

If there are any questions, put them in the comments or tweet me (@Butterfly_Ghost) :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway