Personal Blog: What Have I Been Doing?

It has been awhile since I have talked with you my readers. Some things have changed and some have stayed the same. Recently I went back to a story idea I had for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I didn’t get very far back then with all the pressure on but looking at it now it just seemed to be easier to let the words flow so that is pretty cool. Oh the word count is at around 4500 so just a start but a decent one.

Something that just happened this week though is a job interview. Yeah a single one but that one is so much more than what I have been getting over the last few months of futility. I am making notes about the job and the University at which it is based but we will have to see, also there is a test probably something Excel based.

Unfortunately for me lately I have had no end of net problems but hopefully that is behind me now I mention it because it means that I am behind on my various blogs which is a shame but I am sure people will bear with me now especially as I have to make time for interview prep.

Book wise I am falling behind in my book challenge target but catching up slowly. I recently read The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and that stands out as the best new property I have read this year easily. I am looking forward to the latest Bloodlines by Richelle Mead book though that should be excellent.

TV wise I am all caught up on True Blood and 24 and now trying the new episodes of both series though I am a bit behind on 24. I am so far liking this new Chloe seriously toned not so sure about the goth gear though. I think this new 12 hour episode could really help revitalise the show.

April Update Time

So I have some strangely positive news, you know that whole ongoing back and forth with my Work Programme Provider which you can get an idea of here and here. Well the upshot of all this is that last week they finally caved and gave me back the travel expenses which was lucky because I just had an interview this week which I certainly would not have been able to attend without that money, and if you were wondering the company did not offer any form of reimbursement to interviewees.

It only took the best part of three months, two formal complaints to their head office and a letter and response from my MP to sort this out.

Moving on though as they have taken up enough of my time I had one interview this week and have another one set up for next week. The interview just past went well and I think I answered the questions fully and didn't feel that they showed up any aspects of the job that I wasn't capable of doing but we will have to wait and see.

In somewhat related news I have been getting through a few books recently and I am continuing to keep up with 2013 reading challenge. I recently finished the Mistborn Trilogy which I can highly recommend and as action packed and intricate fantasy story more than worth reading. I also read the second Deadly Cool novel which is great fun and reminded me of a female version of The Hardy Boys (teenage detectives not the wrestling tag team) so I can recommend both of those. You can check out my goodreads list on the right there it has its own widget.

GIVEAWAY – 30 DAYS OF BOOKERY

No that is not me doing a Giveaway but someone else so read on for the details.

So I was checking out my friend’s Book Blog and she alerted me to this crazy giveaway to celebrate the release of City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster. Here are some details about the book which is released on the 5 February 2013.

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but her own life. 

You can either check this post by Miriam Forster at her Blog or read on for details.

Or read on for the details.

Starting on Sunday, January 6th, Miriam Foster is going to give away a book a day. Some will be adult, some will be young adult, some will be middle-grade. Some will be books that came out in the past year, some will be books that aren't out yet. Some will be hardbacks, some will be ARCs. But she will give away at least one book a day for 30 days.

Here's how it works.

--Every day Miriam Foster will post a new book giveaway.

--Each individual giveaway will last one week.

--All single book giveaways will be international. Multi-book ones will be US only.

--ON THAT DAY'S POST you'll enter by leaving a comment. You get:

+1 entry for commenting (commenting is mandatory to enter)

+1 entry for sharing on Twitter or Facebook

+1 entry for following the blog

+1 entry if you've never won a contest here before

+1 entry for adding up your own points

(Winners will be chosen randomly Maximum five entries on each contest.)

But wait, there's more!

If you blog about the 30 Days of Bookery, you get an automatic +1 to every giveaway on the blog that runs during that 30 days. Your post must:

-have a link back to this post.

-state the reason for the contest (to celebrate the City of a Thousand Dolls release!)

-include a picture of the City of a Thousand Dolls cover.

Leave the link to your blog post in the comments section of this post and you'll get an automatic entry to every giveaway for 30 days.

And yes, there is still more!!

Author Miriam Foster will also be wandering Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook for those thirty days and giving away random books over there. Those giveaways will be unannounced and quick, so if you're interested in them, you might want to head over to her official blog and follow her in any way you can.

So there you have it. 30 days of book giveaways.