• To sign up you MUST make a post on your blog about participating in the challenge – you then use the URL of the post to sign up to the challenge by adding it to Mr Linky below. DO NOT just add your blog URL – this will be deleted. Also please be aware that unless you show you are joining the challenge with a participation post your ARC will not be sent.

• Courtesy of publisher SIMON & SCHUSTER UK, all participants of this challenge will receive a free ARC of The Survivor by Sean Slater to start you off on your challenge! Once you have made your participation post and signed up for the challenge, email me with your full name, address, post URL and your entry number from the participants list below (so I can verify) and I will pass on your details. This is INTERNATIONAL!

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 – 31 Dec 2011

• Rules: To read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2011 (12 is the minimum but you can read more if you wish!)

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

• At the beginning of Jan 2011, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews. There will be a monthly prize too courtesy of the lovely Simon & Schuster – you must be signed up to the challenge and add the link to your review to be entered into the monthly prize draw.

This Challenge starts January 1, 2011 – December 31st 2011.  The Challenge consists of reading at least one book that covers each of the 50 states of America and you can add as many other countries as you like.

1.  In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in.  (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)

2.  Non fiction reads categorize  in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.

Set up a map under Google Maps.  It is easy to do!  Every time you read a book in 2011, upload a cover picture to Picasa Web Albums (there may be other sites to use, feel free to use what works best for you).

Once you are ready and have your map set up please create a blog post (those who have blogs) using the Challenge picture of the map I provided above as well as link to this post so others may join in.  Then come back and link that post here to Mr Linky so I as well as other participants know that you are participating and we can pop in throughout the year to check out your map and how we are all doing.

This is actually a fun and easy challenge as all books you read qualify and it will be fun to see where you generally read books from as well as searching out books to fill in areas that you need.

For those who have covered the 50 states by the end of 2011, they will go into a drawing for a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble or to Amazon.  **  All other areas beyond the 50 states are bonus points and we will have a drawing using random.org for those who read 10 or more books throughout 2011 in that category.

You can see my map I worked on in 2010 here to see what the map looks like and how the pictures link to the reviews.  (If you zoom in you will see the individual areas I read in and clicking on the blue pins will show you what book it was and clicking on the picture will take you to the post!

This challenge was previously hosted by Alaine at Queen of Happy Endings. When she started looking for new homes for the 2011 challenges, I jumped at the chance to host this one. Since getting a Kobo eReader this past year, I’ve started reading more e-books. Since e-readers are now available internationally, a lot more people are going to be reading books in digital format. So why not challenge yourself and read even more?

Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don’t need a blog to participate.
–Non-bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.
2. There are four levels:
— Curious – Read 3 e-books.
— Fascinated – Read 6 e-books.  (Have chosen this level)
— Addicted – Read 12 e-books.
— Obsessed – Read 20 e-books.
3. Any genre counts.
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. Challenge begins January 1, 2011 and lasts until December 31, 2011.
6. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to your post about the E-Book Reading Challenge. Include the URL so that other participants can find join in and read your reviews and post.

• To sign up you MUST make a post on your blog about participating in the challenge – you then use the URL of the post to sign up to the challenge by adding it to Mr Linky below. DO NOT just add your blog URL – this will be deleted. Also please be aware that unless you show you are joining the challenge with a participation post your ARC will not be sent.

• Courtesy of publisher SIMON & SCHUSTER UK, all participants of this challenge will receive a free ARC of The Survivor by Sean Slater to start you off on your challenge! Once you have made your participation post and signed up for the challenge, email me with your full name, address, post URL and your entry number from the participants list below (so I can verify) and I will pass on your details. This is INTERNATIONAL!

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 – 31 Dec 2011

• Rules: To read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2011 (12 is the minimum but you can read more if you wish!)

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

• At the beginning of Jan 2011, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews. There will be a monthly prize too courtesy of the lovely Simon & Schuster – you must be signed up to the challenge and add the link to your review to be entered into the monthly prize draw.

This Challenge starts January 1, 2011 – December 31st 2011.  The Challenge consists of reading at least one book that covers each of the 50 states of America and you can add as many other countries as you like.

1.  In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in.  (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)

2.  Non fiction reads categorize  in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.

Set up a map under Google Maps.  It is easy to do!  Every time you read a book in 2011, upload a cover picture to Picasa Web Albums (there may be other sites to use, feel free to use what works best for you).

Once you are ready and have your map set up please create a blog post (those who have blogs) using the Challenge picture of the map I provided above as well as link to this post so others may join in.  Then come back and link that post here to Mr Linky so I as well as other participants know that you are participating and we can pop in throughout the year to check out your map and how we are all doing.

This is actually a fun and easy challenge as all books you read qualify and it will be fun to see where you generally read books from as well as searching out books to fill in areas that you need.

For those who have covered the 50 states by the end of 2011, they will go into a drawing for a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble or to Amazon.  **  All other areas beyond the 50 states are bonus points and we will have a drawing using random.org for those who read 10 or more books throughout 2011 in that category.

You can see my map I worked on in 2010 here to see what the map looks like and how the pictures link to the reviews.  (If you zoom in you will see the individual areas I read in and clicking on the blue pins will show you what book it was and clicking on the picture will take you to the post!

This challenge was previously hosted by Alaine at Queen of Happy Endings. When she started looking for new homes for the 2011 challenges, I jumped at the chance to host this one. Since getting a Kobo eReader this past year, I’ve started reading more e-books. Since e-readers are now available internationally, a lot more people are going to be reading books in digital format. So why not challenge yourself and read even more?

Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don’t need a blog to participate.
–Non-bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.
2. There are four levels:
— Curious – Read 3 e-books.
— Fascinated – Read 6 e-books.  (Have chosen this level)
— Addicted – Read 12 e-books.
— Obsessed – Read 20 e-books.
3. Any genre counts.
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. Challenge begins January 1, 2011 and lasts until December 31, 2011.
6. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to your post about the E-Book Reading Challenge. Include the URL so that other participants can find join in and read your reviews and post.

Kelsey said… 5  Would love to read this! Enter me please! Thanks! I don’t really follow politics closely.

Hott Books – Gina said… 4  Your button is SO on my blog…oh, I guess I need to leave my email…oops!

Bev Hankins said… 7  This looks really good! Sign me up!

Kelsey said… 5  Would love to read this! Enter me please! Thanks! I don’t really follow politics closely.

Hott Books – Gina said… 4  Your button is SO on my blog…oh, I guess I need to leave my email…oops!

Bev Hankins said… 7  This looks really good! Sign me up!

   My first novel, At the Crossroads of Terror, came from a lifetime of personal experiences and interests. The original inspiration came from the touching true story a survivor of sexual assault shared with me. Before writing this novel, I was a songwriter and musician. I always tried to write songs with lyrics that would touch the listener’s heart, and this woman’s ordeal deeply touched mine. Included in my novel almost

verbatim, her unbelievable story is one I will never forget.

   Her personal experience stirred my memory and brought me back to a night in the 1970s when I witnessed a horrific sexual assault. Leaving a NYC disco in the early morning hours with a band mate, we came across a young lady being violently assaulted by a gang of thugs. We managed tostop the attack by frightening them off and getting her help. I will never forget her mental and physical appearance after that attack—the look on her face was dreadful.

   These emotional stories inspired me to research true crimes of gang violence and capture them in the details of my novel. I decided to donate a portion of the profits to an organization helping such victims, which led me to RAINN (www.rainn.org).

   My book is fiction, a story I made up somewhere between a childhood fear and a winter’s nightmare. However, the violence described is real and occurs somewhere in the United States every two minutes. I hope At the Crossroads of Terror brings to the forefront some of the real life violence that takes place in every American city today and reminds us that we, as a civilized nation, have the means to put an end to it.

A suspense thriller that tackles the gritty reality of sexual assault, At The Crossroads of Terror follows an average Joe wrongly accused of murder and a street reporter, who team up to prove his innocence and

become immersed in the dangerous underworld of organized crime. The back of the book includes helpful prevention tips and a list of help hotlines for sexual assault victims. Visit http://lennyemanuelli.net for more information.