Going Under

Pardon our dust.

Another New Year ... Do I Need A Resolution?

I can't believe another year has passed and it's time to start again!  I've finally been able to catch up on all of my favorite blogs, close friends and authors and I have to say that you all are INSPIRING!! Exhausing too..No, seriously after catching up with all all of your amazing blogs,   the only thing this Princess needed was a NAP!  Maybe a glass of wine, but that's it!  I couldn't even look at another resolution! Just take a glance, the book blogging/blogging community as a whole is not a lazy group.  Go ahead go to any one and look (I'll wait) ... There are already Numerous Challenges that you've set for yourselves and SO many books and pages you want to read, you have resolutions that promise weight loss and to be better parents.  You're swearing to post AT least three posts a day (I'm just swearing) and if that's not good enough... Some of you, and and I won't mention specfic names, have already written three-fourths of your novel and are hoping to get some of your favorites OFF the Banned Book List!  I'm so not kidding.   

Sorry, I was just hyperventilating thinking about the fact that I'll never post three times a day EVER! So, yes, inspiring! Thank you for letting me be a part of this amazing group of readers/writers for another year.  It's really what gets me through so many though days. I hope to bring you more this year and only the best!  I have been planning this out for a while. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it works out the way I want it too. I look forward to seeing you and all of your achievements!  Now go out there and make me proud! 

Happy New Year!!


KISSES & TOODLES

Win Pretty Little Liars : Complete First Season on DVD!!

I hope you're as excited as I am to be a part of this giveaway! One Lucky winner will win the Pretty Little Liars : Complete First Edition on DVD!! This is MY favorite show and I absolutely loved the books! So, you have one week!  The winner will be drawn at random on June 30th!!  Best of  Luck to everyone and pass the word around! I have SO many great things coming up, starting with this Pretty Little Liars DVD!

For those of you that are new to Rosewood, Don't forget to tune in to all-new episodes of Pretty Little Liars on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC Family!

Here's a Little Background on Pretty Little Liars that was sent to me, and if this doesn't entice you ... well, let's just say ... let the enticing begin!!

One year ago, Alison, the Queen Bee of their group, disappeared and the girls swore they'd never tell what really happened that night. They thought their secrets would bond them together, but just the opposite is true. Then again, who's to say what the truth is in Rosewood. It seems everyone in town is lying about something.

Now, as the mystery surrounding Alison's disappearance resurfaces, the girls begin getting messages from "A," saying – and threatening – things only Alison would know. But it couldn't be Alison. Could it? Whoever it is, they seem to know all the girls' secrets, and seem to be watching their every move. The girls are friends again, but will they be there for each other if their dark secrets come to light?

GIVEAWAY

• One Pretty Little Liars : Complete First Season

You ready to win? You MUST follow

Park Avenue Princess through Google Friend Connect

to participate! Don't know how? Go here!

You also MUST live in the US/Canada or have someone

in the US that can Mail it to you! I also ask that you

leave me your name and email address so that

I can get in touch with you if you are the winner of this wonderful prize!

EXTRA WAYS TO WIN

(not required)

+ 10 If you Tweet about this giveaway daily! (Leave Link)

+15 if you follow me on Twitter! (Leave Name)

+20 if they blog about this contest in a separate post! (Link Please)

+25 if you put my button on your blog!

As always Good Luck & Have Fun!!

Don't forget to watch Pretty Little Liars Followed by The Nine Lives of Chloe King! Two AMAZING shows!!

KISSES & TOODLES

Celebrating This The "- A" Way and The Nine Lives of Chloe King!

Hi Everyone!

Yes, it's me, and I'm finally back!  (for good, I hope)  I have SO much to catch you up on (and probably some explaining to do) but you have NO idea how much I've missed you all!  Besides that, there are books that I've read and contests that I want to have ... oh, and over the past holidays I got some major EXCITING news!  Well, you remember that I got to play the "Secret Keepers" game and I had a Blast with that ... but, over Earth Day, "A" sent me a box and inside was a pair of gloves, a shovel and a secret link.  How about I tell you that PRETTY LITTLE LIARS will be returning on June 14th!  I hope after you get your PRETTY LITTLE LIARS fix, you'll continue to watch, because there is going to be another amazing new show immediately following called THE NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING!  Now, not only do you have one show to look forward too, but you have two and it's the day before my birthday (THANK YOU ABC!!)

We'll catch up with a little bit of this and a little bit of that VERY soon!

Don't forget that you can become a fan of Pretty Little Liars on Facebook & Follow them on Twitter!

And The Winner Is...

Today's winner of the AUTOGRAPHED copy of "THE SPACE BETWEEN TREES" by KATIE WILLIAMS is ...

LAUREN of SHOOTING STARS MAG!

CONGRATULATIONS LAUREN!!

You ALL have about a WEEK left to enter the ever so ADORABLE J*FLOPS GIVEAWAY! Plus, if you join the J*FLOPS Facebook Page, not only do you get to keep up with all of the upcoming contests and information, you also get + 25  points added to your score for the giveaway! Seriously, these are THE MOST adorable Flip Flops I've ever owned and they're SUPER COMFORTABLE! I know that's hard to believe, but wait until see them! Three winners will each have their dream flops soon!  OH, and don't forget that you can get 15% off RIGHT NOW until August 31st just by typing in the code PRINCESS at checkout!  Your discount will automatically be taken off! How easy is that?  At J*Flops, they'll even do custom pairs of flops...that means anything at all that you want, Jennifer can do for you! Check out their page and see for yourself!

Good Luck & Have Fun!

Lauren, You have 48 hours to get back to me with your address so that I can get you your prize! Thank you everyone for participating!  Don't forget that I have a Nook coming up for you VERY SOON! What's going to kick it off? 1,000 GFC Followers!!

Kisses and Toodles!!

Quick Question - I Need Help Please!

So, I have a really quick question that I can't figure out on my own but I it can be done because I've seen it on some of the other fantastic blogs that I visit! I know how to put a link under a word so that you can click back or refer back to a page BUT (and here's my question) how do you put a link under a picture or photo so that you can click back to page other than my own?  Say I had a cover of a book up and I wanted to reference it back to either it's page on Goodreads, the Author's Site, or The Publisher's Page? How would I do that? 

If you've done this before, or if you simply know how to do it and feel comfortable leaving the answer in the comments, you can do that or just hit the "Contact Me" button up top and I'll get your message directly and forever be in your royal debt! *smile*  Thank You SO Much!

I've been up reading some really adorable books lately and have some reviews along with some fantastic contests coming up! Don't forget, it's almost time to give away the Brand New B&N NOOK! I'd like to get to 1,000 GFC Followers before giving it away, but the acutal post may be going up before that point! While you're here don't forget to enter to win you're J*FLOPS! and tonight is the last night to enter your Autographed copy of  "The Space Between Trees" by Katie Williams!



KISSES & TOODLES!!

Saturday Spotlight!

Well, here it is! My FIRST Saturday Spotlight since I've been back! I'm going to try to introduce you to as many new blogs and bloggers as I can! I've had a great response to The Saturday Spotlight but a slow response time in getting the questions back to me.  I will keep the feature every week that I can because I think it's important to find new blogs to read weekly and new friends to meet!  If you're interested in being spotlighted here, don't hesitate to hit the "contact me" button and I'll be sure to get right back to you!

I hope you enjoy this week's Spotlight Blog and Blogger! You certainly won't find this sweet little flower hanging around the garden...

What's Your Name? My name is top-secret classified information, but you can call me Orchid.

Alias? Orchid Forsythia

Your Blog Name? The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Why did You Choose that Specific Name? I chose The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia, because I thought it sounded really cool and original, plus it kind of gives my blog an air of mystery.

Where can we find you on the net? (A.K.A. Your Blog URL) - http://hauntedorchid.blogspot.com/

*Go Ahead and Look I'll Wait ...*

Can you give us a quick bio about yourself?   About me, hmm, I love to read and can practically always be found with my nose in a book. And if I'm not reading I am working on my blog.

Why did you start your blog? I wanted to share my personal thoughts on the books that I read. I’ve also found that it’s a great way to find neww books and authors that I might never have bothered looking into reading.

What is your favorite genre and/or genres? My favorite genres are YA, fantasy, mystery sci-fi, horror, and supernatural. I also have a soft spot for mangas.

Who is your favorite author? My all-time favorite author would have to be Agatha Christie, she
completely rocks. Her mysteries are some of the best I have ever read

What's your favorite book of all time? I guess I would have to say that "Death on the Nile" by Agatha Christie is my favorite book, but there’re a ton of books that are tied for second.

Has there ever been a book you've "faked" reading? No. If I didn’t like it enough to finish, I’m going to be truthful and say that I didn’t finish it.

What are you currently reading? Will there be a review/reviews in the works? I am currently reading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Yes, there will be a review sometime in the future for it. I am also currently
working on a review for Seeker by William Nicholson; hopefully I’ll have it up by the end of the week.

Please Name & Describe Your Blog Features:  I participate in quite a few memes,  like, Teaser Tuesday, where you post a short teaser from your current read; In My Mailbox, where you post about books and book swag that you have received, bought, or borrowed; Wish List Wednesday where you tell about a book that you are looking forward to buying. I have also begun accepting affiliates, and still have a few open slots. While I really enjoy doing memes, my favorite feature on my blog is reviews. I love reviewing books and introducing other people to new books and authors.

Describe your review system: My review system is probably one of the least complicated ones. 1 pineapple, means it was a complete waste of my time; 2 pineapples, means I just didn’t enjoy it; 3 pineapples, means it was good, but not necessarily something I’d re-read; 4 pineapples means that I really liked it; 5 pineapples means that I loved it and would recommend it to everyone.

How is your blog unique from other blogs? I think what makes my blog unique is that I review more obscure books and tend to read to the beat of my own drum.

How do you market your blog Orchid? By commenting on other blogs, and participating in challenges and guesting at other blogs.

Can you give us 3 tips about content? Tip number one: try not to include spoilers in your reviews, it tends to turn people off from reading a book where they already know the big twist. Tip number two: to keep in mind that authors are real people to, so try to keep the snarkiness to a minimum. Tip number three: Make sure you have the correct info about a book (i.e. author’s name, title, pub date…).

How about tips on Blog promotion? Two good ways to promote our blog would have to be, commenting on and following other blogs. Because you’ve got to get your blog out into the blogosphere if you want to get noticed.
Thank Youfor having me at Park-Avenue Princess. It has been a blast!

You're more than Welcome Orchid! I hope you'll continue to stop back and you know you're always welcome here! By the way, the J*Flops Giveaway and The Space Between Trees (autographed copy) Giveaway are both still open! Plus, I have some more to put up this week along with some great authors stopping by Park-Avenue Princess! Don't forget that it's almost time for me to list the Brand New Nook Giveaway, we're very close to the 1,000 Followers Celebration! 

Again, if  YOU Would Like to be a Part of The SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT just drop me a note or if you're comfortable with putting it in the comments section you can do that and I will get back to you immediately! There's a lot that we can do with the Saturday Spotlight! It's a great way to meet new people, find new blogs to read and help each other bring in new followers! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!


KISSES and TOODLES!






Thanks,

Orchid

http://hauntedorchid.blogspot.com