Hi everybody!

There are LOTS of great events happening this month at Bitten by Books! Each event has some kind of giveaway/contest as well as lots of interesting conversation. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of the website to keep up to date with current reviews and events. There is also a new Events Calendar on the website on the left side, you can click the highlighted date and see what is happening and when.

In other news, be sure to check out our new Vampire Wire News Feed on the right hand side of the website, Bitten by Books has teamed up with author Marta Acosta to bring you the latest news about paranormal books, movies and TV from her Vampire Wire blog.

Join Bitten by Books on Myspace and Facebook! We would love to have your friendship on these two great groups!.

http://www.myspace.com/bittenbybooks

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=614064436

We look forward to seeing you at all of the events this month!!

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Guest Blogging TODAY July 2nd is author Davida McLea!
Here’s the direct link to her event.
http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=367

Monday July 7th author Linda Wisdom will be in our Author Spotlight for an interview and Q&A session all day! Info for this event is here:
http://bittenbybooks.com/?page_id=4

Wednesday July 9th author Earl Staggs is Guest Blogging
Here’s a chance to discuss your psychic experiences with Earl Staggs, award winning author of MEMORY OF A MURDER, a mystery novel featuring psychic investigator Adam Kingston. If your experience is the most interesting, you’ll receive a free copy of Earl’s book.

Wednesday July 16th author Ann Cory will be Guest Blogging about Werewolves
You can read reviews of Ann Cory’s work here:
http://bittenbybooks.com/?page_id=58&book_author_id=Ann%20Cory

Monday July 21st author Nancy Haddock will be in the Author Spotlight for an interview and Q&A session all day!
You can read the 5 Tombstone review we did of her book La Vida Vampire here:
http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=28

Wednesday July 23rd author Yasmine Galenorn will be Guest Blogging
Join national best selling author Yasmine Galenorn as she talks about why she loves writing the sisters so much–what she likes about their characters, why they have the flaws they do, and how she sees them evolving. She will be giving away a set of the first three books in the Sisters of the Moon/Otherworld series: Witchling, Changeling, and Darkling.

Wednesday July 30th author Faith Bicknell-Brown will be Guest Blogging
Ebooks vs. Print - The economy is frightening everyone, but what about writers? Will it have a bearing on publishing? Perhaps ebooks will see a spike in sales. Faith Bicknell-Brown discusses the economy vs publishing, ebooks, a fabulous new e-reader hitting the market, and her recent releases of her fiction–including all her pen names–plus, her Avoid Writers’ Hell series for writers!

–
Blessings,
Rachel
http://bittenbybooks.com - Book Reviews
http://weirdstuffinmydesk.com - Honest E-tailer Reviews!

Hello friends,

I’m sure most of you have heard about the devastating flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As of June 16, damage estimates have exceeded ONE BILLION ($1,000,000,000) dollars. In a town of only 120,000 people, this is beyond catastrophic.

Thousands of animals have been left homeless by the flood. The Cedar Rapids animal shelter has been completely destroyed. Many people had to abandon their pets when they evacuated their homes, and it is unclear when–if ever–they will be reunited.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The independent artisan community is coming together with an exciting auction to benefit the “Friends of the Animal Shelter” fund via the Kirkwood Foundation (tax ID 23-7076632), which is the fundraising division of the college currently serving as the evacuation center for abandoned animals. There are several hundred dogs, even more cats, and other companion animals being housed there, and many, many more animals are still stranded in the thousands of abandoned homes in Cedar Rapids. This auction will take place from June 25-July 2, and further details are available at http://www.iowafloodreliefauction.com.

In the meantime, you can support the Friends of the Animal Foundation for the Iowa City animal shelter (also affected by the flood) by donating at:

http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=111927

Please forward this message to your friends and join me in supporting the needs of the displaced animals in Iowa. Together, we can raise awareness and much-needed resources for a community currently in a state of despair.

Bitten by books is very excited to host Mark Henry, author of Happy Hour of the Damned in our author spotlight next Monday, June 16th! You can read more about the event on our Author Spotlight page.

You WILL want to attend this event. The Mark will be giving away a Mark-ed up copy of his book during the course of the event! AND Bitten by Books will be giving away a $30.00 Amazon.com Gift Card to one lucky participant.

Would you like to earn some extra entries into the drawings for these great prizes BEFORE the event even starts? All you need to do between NOW and next Monday is post this event on as many of your blogs, facebook, myspace, ning, yahoo groups and websites as you can (where it is acceptable to do so). Then come back to THIS post and respond with the links to where you promoted the event. For every link you provide you will get another chance to win. Example: You post 5 links, you get 5 entries. Easy as pie and prizes don’t you think? Don’t worry, there will be a way to get extra entries on Monday as well.

Spread the word! This is going to be a another GREAT event!!

Bobbie Faye’s (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels Contest! Introducing, Bobbie Faye–LOL funny, with a streak of bad luck a mile wide. Toni McGee Causey’s second in her uproariously funny Bobbie Faye series is available NOW! Get it at Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/4b8qlu or you can find it in the general fiction section of your local bookstore! But hey, you don’t have to wait to read the book to enter the contest! And you might win some seriously cool stuff if you’re willing to trip the blogtastic! In an effort to make up for trashing half of Louisiana, Bobbie Faye’s been offered a chance to right her wrongs by writing an advice column for her local paper. Michele Bardsley and I decided who could use advice more than our heroines, Nina from ACCIDENTALLY DEAD, and Patsy from BECAUSE YOUR VAMPIRE SAID SO? With that in mind, we thought a contest would be fun, fun, fun and so we sent off a letter to the very, er, helpful Bobbie Faye… So here’s what ya gotta do to enter– Read Nina’s cry from the lovelorn here: http://www.dakotacassidy.net/ Read Patsy’s plea here: http://www.michelebardsley.com/ Then hit Toni McGee Causey’s blog: http://www.tonimcgeecausey.com/blog.html We’re all giving away prizes, and you could be entered to win ‘em all! Just leave comments at each blog. Each author will choose a winner. And here’s what you could win if you come play with us! Author Dakota Cassidy is giving away a signed ARC of ACCIDENTALLY DEAD and an Amazon gift certificate for 15 smackers Author Michele Bardsley’s offered up an ARC of her November release WAIT TILL YOUR VAMPIRE GETS HOME and some Broken Heart goodies. Author Toni McGee is giving away a 15$ Barnes and Noble gift certificate and the most AWESOME T-shirt to ever hit RT: http://www.cafepress.com/bobbiefaye.245732603 And now those damned contest rules– Contest begins Sunday June 1, 2008 and ends Monday June 2, 2008 at midnight CST. One winner will be chosen from each blog–so go enter them all! All winners are chosen at random and must check back at each blog on Tuesday June 2, 2008 to see if they’ve won in order to claim their prize. Read Bobbie Faye’s answers to our poor heroine’s dilemmas, and get to know one of the freshest, funniest voices in humor today! And if you haven’t already, check BOBBIE FAYE’S (KINDA, SORTA, NOT EXACTLY) FAMILY JEWELS: Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/4b8qlu And don’t forget to pick up Bobbie Faye’s first adventure, BOBBIE FAYE’S VERY (VERY, VERY, VERY) BAD DAY! Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/4t5lw9

Bitten by Books is very excited to host Marilu Mann, author of the amazing new release Changing Times in our author spotlight next Monday, June 2nd! You can read more about the event on our Author Spotlight page.

You WILL want to attend this event. The author will be giving away several AWESOME prizes during the course of the evening! AND Bitten by Books will be giving away a $20.00 Amazon.com Gift Card to one lucky participant.

Would you like to earn some extra entries into the drawings for these great prizes? (I knew you would say YES!). All you need to do between NOW and next Monday is post this event on as many of your blogs, facebook, myspace and websites as you can (where it is acceptable to do so). Then come back to THIS post on our review site and respond with the links to where you promoted the event. For every link you provide you will get another chance to win. Example: You post 5 links, you get 5 entries. Easy as pie and prizes don’t you think? Don’t worry, there will be a way to get extra entries on Monday as well.

Spread the word! This is going to be a GREAT event.

Helping Spread the word!

Those Raven Nights!

Raven Radio, as mentioned in Romantic Times Magazine, is moving to nights! Tune in every Wed at 11-12 PM EST and join Authors Michelle Pillow and Mandy Roth as they talk about everything, nothing and the paranormal. Guests include NY Times and USA Today Bestselling authors as well as those wonderfully talented authors soon to be there, editors, paranormal tour guides, psychics, ghost hunters, specialists and more!

www.ravenhappyhour.com or http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ravenradio

Listeners are welcome to join the live chat or call in to the show to talk to us and our guests. The show will move to its new evening schedule, May 28th where listeners can catch us every Wednesday at 11PM to 12AM EST. We have a lot of authors on the upcoming line up and you can see a full schedule of guests here: http://ravenhappyhour.com/raven_podcast_schedule_of_guests.htm

WANT TO JOIN THE VIRAL CONTEST AND HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT RAVEN NIGHTS? Go to Raven’s blog to learn how you could win free advertising packages! Contest open to authors, readers and other groups! http://ravenhappyhour.com/ravenblog/?p=463

Website: http://www.barefootbling.com

Country: USA

Blog: http://barefeetbling.net/

Newsletter: Yes, easy sign up on the bottom of each page

US Shipping: Yes

International Shipping: Yes, outside of US please inquire about shipping costs

Discounts: Right now, they are offering a FREE Tank/Tee with a purchase of $75.00 or more through 5/31/08. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter as they do a lot of give aways w/purchase and other cool stuff.

Now that you have your feet pampered and ready to come out and play after doing your Five Steps to Softer Feet ritual, it is time to dress them up and shine! What better way to capture attention than some hip bling for your feet!

Barefoot Bling is a fabulous foot boutique out of Texas that provides anything your heart could desire for your ankles, toes and feet! They offer a variety of precious metals and world famed Swarovski crystal designs to thrill and delight you. My goodies arrived promptly in the promised time frame and were well packaged with the most adorable hand written miniature card. Very professional with a great personal touch.

Both the skull toe ring (pictured at the top of the page) and ankle bracelet were made of good quality and have beautiful Swarovski crystals embedded in them. They are pretty darn neat! Normally I don’t do foot or ankle jewelry because I am so short and figure nobody would be down there checking it out. LOL But then I figured hey! I can just wear them for the fun of it just for me! In the past toe rings became very uncomfortable for me after just a half hour of putting them on. Not so with this little gem. This particular style of toe ring has a thin clear elastic band that fits comfortably around your toe, and you can barely feel it. WAY better for me than a solid band.

The ankle bracelet fit comfortably as well. The latch was a bit tricky for me at first but I think I have the hang of it. It is a good design that will help keep it on my leg.

My other favorite item from Barefoot Bling are their Luxury Slippers.

These decadent feet treats are trimmed in satin and rhinestones. Of course, I chose the pink and brown, it was a toss up though, the black ones are pretty chic looking. Now, before you laugh, you have to try these babies out. They are incredibly soft and warm and tres chic! (did I really just say tres chic?) My sister (bless her heart) keeps her house so FREAKING cold, that I took my lovely slippers there to have on hand when I get cold. They have their own special place of honor. I am really thinking about getting another pair for home, but I have a little bit of a slipper fetish going on, so have been holding back. These are top notch slippers too. They come in their own embroidered silken bag. I was able to use the bag for something else, so props for environmentally sound packaging.

Bottom line, get Bling, you will be very glad you did. Their products are excellent quality, service is top notch, and your feet will be looking fine in no time!

This was a sample sponsored thread, meaning that the company outlined sent products for review, and I have received no monetary gain from this post.

Website: http://www.villainess.net

Country: USA

Blog: Click here to read their blog

Newsletter: Yes, easy sign up on the site

US Shipping: Yes, Free shipping on orders of $75.00 or more

International Shipping: Yes, Free shipping on orders of $75.00 or more

Discounts: 5% off a single order use coupon code: W31RD. Offer expires 6/30/08

Today I am reviewing a great product from a very hip company called Villainess based out of Tennessee. Brooke has recently re-vamped her website and product line. Let me tell you this site is slick. It is probably one of the coolest, most creative easy to navigate bath and body sites out there. Great job!

I picked up a jar of their Jai Mahal Whipped body cream a few weeks ago. WOW this stuff smells and feels great. It has a fairly thick texture and sinks right in the minute you rub it in. A little bit goes a long way. You can get a large 6 oz jar for only $10.00! For the product, packaging and quantity, I think this is a great value.

The Jai Mahal scent is stunningly gorgeous. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read this description from the site; “4 rich vanillas and tonka, Mysore sandalwood, bourbon and coconut. Expensive woods, incense and imported spices - cedar, amber, myrrh, cardamom and nutmeg.” It is all this and a bag of chips. Seriously, my next order will contain every product they carry in this scent. It is almost like a chai tea but with lots of cream and vanilla. I don’t know how I lived this long without it.

My next order is looking like it will definitely contain more whipped, soaps, smooch which is their version of a decadent sugar scrub, and at least one of these amazing soap dishes.

Bottom line? Run don’t walk to get your Villainess goodies, you will be so glad you did. And be sure to sign up for our newsletter to read follow up product reviews of this great company.

This was a non sponsored post, meaning that I used my own money to buy this product for review.

Website: http://www.burtsbees.com

Country: USA

Blog: Click here to read their blog

Newsletter: Yes, register on their site to sign up

US Shipping: Yes, FedEx

International Shipping: No

Discounts: Get a FREE product sample when you spend $25.00 or more. Also, this month they are giving away a FREE Replenishing Lip Balm when you spend $25.00 on their website.

Well spring has sprung and summer is just around the corner! Time to get your feet in shape with one of my favorite foot products, Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme. I have been using this stuff for years and love it. It is a staple in my sisters house as well as mine.

My sister gets what she calls Portuguese feet and uses this product constantly. A lot of the men and women in Madeira Portugal ( a small tropical island roughly 500 miles off of the coast of Spain) go barefoot almost year round. Needless to say their feet can get pretty darn cracked and dry and she was amongst kindred spirits when she lived there. If you have dry cracked feet, this stuff is a miracle! Summer is here, so get to cracking. You can get a great Foot Care Kit that has everything you need to get your feet in shape for summer. It has the Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme, a pair of cute yellow Burt’s Bees socks to use when you put your cream on your feet overnight, and a pumice stone all in a little re-usable tote!

Here’s are the five steps to softer feet using Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme.

1. Soak feet for 20-30 minutes in hot water
2. Use the Burt’s Bees Pumice Stone to scrub off as much soft dead skin on your feet
3. Slather on Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme
4. Put on your cute yellow Burt’s Bees foot care socks
5. Got to bed and sleep peacefully!

In the morning your feet will be super soft and looking good. You may have to do this several times in a row to get all of the dead skin off. It just depends on how bad your feet are. Then repeat once every week to week and a half as needed to maintain. The whole kit is less than $11.00 on amazon!

Just for grins and giggles, I am including a short review for one of my other favorite Burt’s Bees products.

I picked up this great new product about a month ago at the grocery store, Burt’s Bees Hair Repair, Shea and Grapefruit Deep Conditioner. I paid out the wazoo for it, as in almost 10 bucks! Next time I order ANY Burt’s Bees It will be on Amazon. Way better prices even with shipping. Sheez, no more midnight impulse buys at the grocery store. LOL

It has a very different smell that I immediately liked. You can definitely smell the grapefruit. It is a two minute leave in conditioner. I ended up leaving it in five minutes with no problems. It is actually pretty light weight as far as a deep conditioner goes. It rinsed out easily and I was able to style my hair normally. There was no residue or left over heavy feeling that some deep conditioners give. I use it one to two times per week with good results. Now that I have found a better price on it, it will be a staple conditioner in our house.

This was a non sponsored post, meaning that I used my own money to buy these products for review.

Website: http://www.wyldeivy.com/

Country: USA

Blog: http://wyldeivy.blogspot.com/

Newsletter: Yes, go here to sign up

US Shipping: Yes, USPS flat rate

International Shipping: Yes, you will want to read this page and understand the policies before ordering.

Discounts: N/A

I have been ordering products from Wylde Ivy for a few years now and have really grown to love a few select products and scents. This is a small family owned business in the wilds of Pennsylvania. Ashlee is a total gem, and has recently given birth to a set of amazing twin girls. While her pregnancy took her away from her business for a little bit, she is back in full swing. She had a nice little sale going on, of course I had to place an order! So I am not sure if all of the items I purchased will be in stock now or not. Be sure to comment here and tell us what your favorite Wylde Ivy products are, we love to hear from you!

A note on packaging and presentation. All the labels are professional grade and well presented. The soaps come in re-usable muslin bags which scores Wylde Ivy big points for trying to be eco friendly. They use minimal packaging which I really like.

I picked up a lovely scent that is new to me called Amber Chai. I purchased a bottle of silken body oil, soap and an all olive hand lotion. Both of these products are currently on clearance, so rush over and get yours. I HOPE that these products will be coming back. The Silken Body Oil is one of my favorite dry oil type formulations. It has calendula, rosemary and raspberry seed oils for an extra anti-oxidant boost. It is not oily at all and really helps the scent go further. You can use it in your hair and skin. I haven’t used my soap yet, but it smelled yummy out of the re-usable bag it came in. The scent is pretty strong, I really don’t smell any chai type spice, but the amber is divine. It isn’t over powering like some amber scents can be. This is a real winner.

I also picked up Lemon Cream Danish in the same combo of products as above. WOW, I am a big lemon curd fragrance fan, but this is a new favorite for me. I only see the perfume oil for sale on the site right now. I pray she brings this back. It really smells like the lemon filling they put in danish and lemon filled donuts. Fresh and sweet, it really doesn’t have any of the bready pastry scent, which is fine with me. This would make awesome hair products!

My absolute favorite new scent is the Black Tea Jasmine. I only got it in the all olive lotion. I don’t know what I was thinking, I really should have nabbed some perfume too. This smells exactly like jasmine tea. And you know I know my teas. *smiles* You can currently get this scent in several products including silken body oil, soap, spritzer and perfume oil. This is on my wish list now. Oh yeah, they have a convenient wish list feature that you can send to your friends. *hint hint*

Next up is the White Cashmere Silken Body Oil. This is an interesting scent of vanilla pods, orchid and sandalwood with a few other notes. It is really pretty and exotic. Not an overpowering floral, just unique and sexy. I am going to pick it up next time in perfume and all olive lotion.

Wylde Ivy almost always includes samples with each order which I really appreciate. This time was no exception. Included in my box were a sample of Ice Princess Perfume and Chocolate Mint Truffle Lotion. Admittedly, I am not a big mint fan. The perfume is a mint blend that has a great vanilla dry down. Creamy and good. The lotion smells just like an Ande’s dinner mint. Neither are scents for me, but if you like vanilla mint or mint scents both of these products would be right up your alley.

A note on Wylde Ivy Soaps. There is one scent that my husband and I really like and it is actually his favorite, Tuscan Garden. It is currently out of stock and should be coming back this spring / summer season. So far of the 15 or more scents I have tried over the years, this is the only scented one I like. We also use a bar of Sweet Oat Soap from the Classics Line on our face that is really nice and gentle. Now, that being said, and in all fairness, the soaps lather really nicely and don’t dry my skin out. My challenge is that they don’t have enough scent. I am a fragrance ho (as you may know), and like them strong. Their soaps get rave reviews from others, so don’t just take my word for it, try some out ourself, then come back and let us know what you think!

Over all the value of the products versus the price is excellent. Quality is top notch as far as ingredients. It is my opinion that their lotions and perfumes are their strongest products. If the soaps were stronger, I would shop here more often. Ashlee is extremely creative and provides excellent service and fast shipping times. Right at the moment she is gearing up for some new summer scents and is re-formulating some products. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Shopping Tips: Be sure to sign up for the Wylde Ivy Newsletter, this is where you will hear about some of the great specials and new products before anybody else. Also, they have a bonus points program, so for every dollar you spend, you accrue points that you can redeem towards your future purchases. Also, if you don’t see a product or scent that I have mentioned be sure to contact Wylde Ivy to see if they have some or when it will be back in stock.

This was a non sponsored post, meaning that I used my own money to buy these products for review, and I have received no monetary gain from this post.