Friday, July 17, 2009

Friday Fabulous! (13)

Friday Fabulous is back - and I have a lot to talk about today, so let's jump right in!

1. Book Blogger Appreciation Week is back for its' second year. Last year, Presenting Lenore was a finalist for Best YA Blog! Want to make sure your favorite book blogs make the list? Just head over to the official BBAW site and submit your nominations in dozens of fun categories.


2. I'm kind of surprised by this since I don't post that many reviews there anymore, but amazon invited me to be a part of their Vine program! I haven't gotten offered any free video cameras yet, but I should be getting LABOR DAY by Joyce Maynard and SWIMMING by Nicola Keegan (hey if Judy Blume said it was good...) soon.


3. You know, these days, most airline travel news is BAD - free baggage allowances are being cut, you increasingly have to pay for on-board food, and Ryanair even talked about charging to use the toilets - so I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that Delta had given me 10,000 free miles (that qualify for medallion status) as part of a campaign to increase loyalty among their elite status customers. With all the traveling I'm doing this year, I might even earn Gold status this year. Thanks Delta!


4. Speaking of Delta, I was able to upgrade the Atlanta-Frankfurt leg of my August/Sept trip to the states to business class using miles. That's always the worst leg for me, so I'm thrilled!


5. And speaking of my trip to the states, I'll be having a bunch of book contests in August since I'll be able to send them out cheaply once I arrive. Which is a perfect opportunity for all you authors out there! I can send your bookmarks and promotional swag out with my prize books, and if you take advantage of this window, you'll be able to send to my stateside address - YAY! (I'll be back to the states again at Christmas if you need more time). Just contact me at lenoreva at hotmail dot com to get my address.


6. And finally, one of Daniel's good friends, Rafael Esquer, who I finally got to meet while we were in NYC this May, has designed a line of awesome graphic t-shirts depicting the seven deadly sins in hand-drawn dragon form. There is Lujuria (lust), Gula (gluttony), Avaricia (greed), Pereza (sloth - which is what Daniel says I should get), Ira (wrath - which is what Daniel got...hehe), Envidia (envy - perfect for everyone with book envy) and Soberbia (pride). You can see the different designs and colors at the online store (http://www.alfalfa-seeds.com/) and if you want to order one, you can use the special discount code Rafael gave me for 20% off. The coupon code is: Lenore. (I've always hoped my name would one day be used as a coupon code, woohoo!)


So tell me, what are YOU excited about this week?

18 comments:

Alea said...

Love the shirt, and love that your name is a coupon code hehe! I got upgraded on a flight once, so much more space in the more $$ section!

Lenore Appelhans said...

Yeah, and the food is actually pretty tasty. Now that they have the personal seatback movie system in coach though, I really don't mind it so much, especially for US bound flights. $$ class is WAY better for sleeping of course! AND you get to check 3 70 lb bags for free which my book addiction LOVES!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on making it into the Amazon vine program - that is an ambition of mine. Can I ask what reviewer ranking you were when they invited you?

bermudaonion said...

I've never been upgraded, but have wished for it lots of times. Is Atlanta a destination for you or a layover?

kalea_kane said...

Wow! Very cool. I am totally having a love/hate relationship with the airlines. I don't really mind paying for my luggage. What I mind is some people are using this as an excuse to bring on GIGANTIC carry on luggage. This made things so tight on our flight I was worried about fitting my backpack in the overhead storage.

Love the shirts!

And VERY cool news about the Amazon Vine program! Way to go!

Anonymous said...

Definitely lots of fabulousness going on here!

I'm super excited that my birthday is tomorrow -- and I'll finally get to see "Harry Potter"! I know it's only been out a few days, but I'm a supremely impatient person. And then I get to have pink cupcakes and open presents :) Can't go wrong there!

PJ Hoover said...

A coupon code is a cool thing to be excited about!
So you'll be one of those people I walk past when I board the plane. Have fun :)

Steve said...

Very cool! I'm actually about to do a t-shirt centric post and will add this to it as well!

Lenore Appelhans said...

Farmlanebooks - Under the new ranking I am in the top 10,000. As Alea told me, always look in the top right hand corner of the start page when you are signed in. Maybe you've been invited and you don't even know it. They don't send e-mails!

Kalea - That's the cool thing about being an elite member too - you can board the aircraft before everyone else so you are sure to get a place for your carry-ons.

writemeg - Oh happy birthday!

Beth F said...

Great list. I was upgraded to first class once. I still remember the free champagne (this was in the 1980s)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the Vine program. It sounds exciting. I'm green with envy.

the story siren said...

what a fabulous week! and yay for amazon vine! i still haven't gotten and electronics or things, but the books are always nice! and I LOVE your tee! I will definitely be checking those out. i'm such a t-shirt person.

Christina Farley said...

Delta gave you 10,000 miles! I'm so jealous. How did you pull that off?

Have safe travels.

Ana S. said...

That's exciting about the free air miles! And I love that t-shirt.

Staci said...

The coupon code cracked me up!! Too cool and I love the looks of the shirts!!

Heather Zundel said...

That now my new goal in life. I want my name to be the code for an online discount. So cool. ^_^

And I'm so happy you are coming across the pond again! Makes me really wish I had a publishing contract so I could give you something cool to give away. I'll be crossing my fingers for December.

Joanne ♦ The Book Zombie said...

Those shirts are so awesome! And perfect that there's seven deadly sins - one for every day of the week. Cause I'm sure my moods change just that quick, at least my guys think so! - why oh why didn't I have a daughter :P

Charging for the bathroom on a airplane!? That's crazy.

MySharonAnne said...

Yay for Vine. Alea almost had a fit when they invited her. I've been posting over then now ever since.

Oh I never have anything to post on Fridays. This should be a meme. :D