Happy Independence Day Giveaway!

Happy Fourth of July to my American friends!  I hope everyone is having a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Today I was able to attend the official opening of a new section of a local park (it now totals 250 acres) in my area!  It was so much fun - there was so much to do and see.  A spiral staircase leading to an observation deck was just installed on a old smokestack - it was an exhausting 250 steps to the top but it was worth it for the view.

Here we have a view of looking toward downtown :

Here's a view of looking further back into the new section of the park:

While there I also saw the most geese I've ever seen at once.  

This is just a fraction of them all going into one of the lakes:

That dark spot, that's them (and a few of the rebels going the wrong direction):

Anyway, I had a great time!  Heard some fantastic music, took in the excellent scenery, gazed upon baby llamas (one of the most majestic animals), and tasted some of the most delicious frozen custard around.

In order to really celebrate this holiday, I'm hosting a giveaway!  Yay!  You can never go wrong with free books!  I'm giving an ARC copy of Zero World by Jason M. Hough and a preview of the first three chapters of Uprooted by Naomi Novik to one lucky winner.  

Zero World really blew me away (you can read my review here).  It's everything I never knew I wanted - think Christopher Nolan's Inception starring James Bond thrown into a pulse-pounding mission on a parallel yet very alien planet.  Basically, others need to see just how awesome it is!  And, just look how cool that cover looks (this goes for both of them)!  A local library was giving away free samplers of Uprooted and I had really been wanting to see what the hype was all about.  Let's just say that the forty-one pages included are well worth it.  I can't wait to pick up the final copies of both of these novels!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

The giveaway begins now and runs through 12 A.M. on July 12th.  May the odds be ever in your favor!