Giveaway: Your Planet or Mine? by Susan Grant

Your Planet or Mine? is the first of Susan Grant's Otherworldly Men series. As a child, Jana Jasper had trouble talking, she just couldn't seem to get the words out, try as she might. Despite that she believed that life was magical, no matter what her teachers might have said. One night that magic is proven to her when she rescues a "magical" boy from the tree outside of her window. There is an immediate connection between the two, and somehow she is cured of her inability to speak from that night forward. She dubs him Peter, after another famous, magical boy.

Jana doesn't see him again, and as she grows begins to believe that he was just an imaginary friend. Her grandfather has high hopes for her, and she appears to be well on her way to achieving his dreams, taking her position as a senator very seriously, and aiming for the White House someday. Things start going downhill when some damaging accusations are made against her family concerning campaign funds, but she could never have imagined what happened next. A late night trip to the grocery store to get some ice cream ends up with Jana running for her life with a stranger who wants her to believe that he's her imaginary friend, all grown up! There is an assassin after him, and as if the fact that her "Peter" being a real life, well, um... alien, yeah that, isn't crazy enough, he's also come bearing a warning: His people have marked her planet for invasion, and they're already on the way.

Jana feels her life spinning wildly out of control, but one thing she's sure of, and that's that her feelings for "Peter" haven't changed, which is another major complication in the tangled web she's caught in!

This was a fun read. Even though Cavin (Peter's real name) is a pretty darn human alien with some really convenient technology, he's a very likeable character and the story had a good pace. I'm definitely interested in reading the rest of the series, which I believe follows Jana's brother Jared in My Favorite Earthling, and her sister Evie in How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days.

Check out Susan Grant's Website for more information on the author and her work!

If you'd like to get cozy with a hunky alien, now is your chance! I'm ready to pass my copy of Your Planet or Mine? on to make a new friend! As always, this is a gently used, Bookcrossing labeled copy. While I would love a journal entry from the winner (which can be done anonymously if you decide that being a member of Bookcrossing is not for you) the book is yours to do with as you please, whether that be keep it forever, or share it with friends, or whatever! To enter, please comment on this post and tell me if you believe that aliens have already visited us here on Earth. No answer, no entry! I will choose a winner on November 14th.

More Geocaching Sights

We took a fun trip to my college town this past weekend, Lawrence KS, home of the Jayhawks, for a little geocaching and shopping with friends Susan and Del.




This is my husband, modeling some fantastic starry sunglasses that we found in an early cache, while Susan and Del work on releasing a travel bug into the cache. As fabulous as he looked, we decided to leave the glasses there! ;)




We came across this awesome statue at a train depot that has been turned into the Lawrence visitor center. Also the painted Jayhawk below. There are many of these jaunty birds around town, modeled after the famous (infamous?) cow parade idea.



Fall colors abounded too, this is a tree in South Park, I love it when they are turning but still have some green, I thought this one was beautiful!



Right next to that tree is a bandstand and a garden that are quite nice.





Geocaching is fun, it's exciting to discover trackables, and there is satisfaction in solving a puzzle or locating a particularly well hidden container. I think the best thing though is that it has pointed out some things I wouldn't otherwise have seen, often near a place I've been many times. And I'm really glad that most cell phones have pretty good cameras now so I can share them!

Teen Vampires - They're Everywhere!

I just do not recall that we had so many fun books to read when I was into the young adult/teen reading levels. I remember things like the Black Stallion and Trixie Belden. They have been out there, but I missed them. So now that I'm in my thirties, I'm revisiting the teen years by checking out some of these fun reads! Thank goodness the angst is all fictional for me now!

Just as the Paranormal Genre has exploded in the adult world, touching Romance, Urban Fantasy and Mystery (it's pretty much always been in Horror), there are many, many teen paranormal novels as well. Some are funny, some are a little more dark. Here are the ones I've enjoyed so far this year:



Fendi, Ferragamo, and Fangs by Julie Kenner, Johanna Edwards and Serena Robar

Olivia, Veronika and Sydney are the winners of a modeling contest held by the Vamps, Inc. Agency. Excited to become professional models, the new life that awaits them isn't quite what they expected. But then the girls aren't quite what Vamps, Inc. expected either!



Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1) by Rachel Caine

Claire is a new freshman in college where it seems that terrorizing her is the favorite past time of some of the more popular girls at the school. Their hazing is brutal, to the point where Claire fears for her life and decides to look for somewhere else in the town to live. She finds an ad for an old house off-campus and goes for an interview. There she meets Eve and Shane, two of the roommates, but is told that Michael, the owner of the house will have final say in if she gets to stay. Reluctantly the mysterious Michael finally agrees. He is worried not only because of how young she is, but also that she'll draw attention to them. The town of Morganville is hiding a very dark secret and Claire is one of the unprotected...

This one was the darkest of my teen reads, but I also have to the say my favorite of the bunch so far, this first book ends with a truely heart stopping cliff-hanger! I'm actually supposed to be getting #2 of the series from another friend, but I may not be able to wait!


The Good Ghouls Guide to Getting Even by Julie Kenner

Beth Frasier had her school year all planned out, even what extra curricular activities she needed to look good when applying for college. She had just the right mix, as long as she made the drill team. She didn't, but only because she was singled out for an even bigger honor, the cheerleading squad. She meets up with the squad after school, still not quite believing her luck, and comes away forever changed. Being a vampire really did not fit in with her plan and now she's determined to get back at the ones who did this to her and maybe, hope against hope, find a way to become human again!


Braced 2 Bite by Serena Robar

Colby Blanchard is another teen who has her life all figured out and planned to a T. She knows who she wants to take her Homecoming, she just has to get him to ask, but she's working on it. When the plan to meet up with Aiden after the game falls through, embarassingly after she'd told EVERYONE that he was taking her home, Colby must take the quick walk back through the woods to her house. Not quick enough, she is accosted by the attacker that's been in the news lately, and yes, you guessed it, she gets turned into a vampire. Turning up after two days of being missing, her family is relieved if confused, and soon turns to helping Colby recover. As if trying to get a date for Homecoming wasn't hard enough, especially now in her daylight challenged form, Colby gets a visit from the vampire Tribunal and learns that she's in violation of their laws because she isn't licensed. Not only that, but she's only a half-blood, not even a real vampire! Colby refuses to give in gracefully however and decides to fight back against the out dated vampire laws, even though it seems to be a no-win situation.


These were all fast and fun reads that I highly recommend if you're looking for some teen vamp fun. There are a ton more out there that I'll be sampling for sure!

To learn more about any of these authors, please check out their websites:

Julie Kenner
Serena Robar
Rachel Caine
Johanna Edwards