Can you tell me? ANSWERS

Hey guys!
I asked my last question before BEA and then totally lost track of time - oops :)

My question was:

Can you tell me...in Blogger, is there an easy way to rename your labels once you make them? I currently don't have my labels visible but I have been thinking about it. I would love to clean up my labels and am hoping I don't have to go into each post to make changes.

I had 3 wonderful answers by 3 wonderful bloggers and they all said basically the same thing. It's not supper supper easy but I can be done with not too much effort.

Basically it involves marking posts with new labels and then deleting old labels if necessary.

In Blogger, go to "Posting" and then "Edit Post". Top left hand corner of your screen looks like this:

See that "Label Actions" drop down menu? To apply an already existing label to a post that doesn't have it, click the box next to "Edit" in front of the posts you want to add the label too, click the drop down button on the "Label Actions" box and choose the existing label you wish to apply.

To add a label you haven't yet used, after choosing your posts to add it to and clicking on "Label Actions" - scroll all the way down to the end of your existing labels. At the bottom is "New Label". Click this and a little window pops up - add your new label and it will be applied to the posts you chose.

To 'change' a label name you can click on the label that already exists from the links under "Labels" (mine are all blanked out in the pic above so you can't see my silliness). All the posts with that label will appear, click the "All" link to check off all the posts listed.  Click the drop down menu, scroll down and choose the label under "Remove label" you wish to remove.

So, yeah, not supper supper easy but pretty simple to do.

Please let me know if my instructions don't make sense of if you have any questions. I'll try to help more if I can :)

I'm off to change my labels around and get them actually posted on the blog!

A big thanks to Kate from The Neverendning Shelf, Ju Ju from Tales of Whimsy and Jill of The O.W.L for giving me the answers.

Have a bloggy, techie or social networking type question you would like me to ask in an upcoming "Can you tell me" post? Let me know!

Book Review: Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

CHALLENGE BOOK: 2010 Debut Authors

Title: Shadow Hills
Author: Anastasia Hopcus
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Genre: Young Adult
Tags: paranormal teens, romance, fantasy, ancient power, mystery
Age: 12+
Pages: approx 387
Series: ?
Book Acquisition: ARC from Other Shelf Tours

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

(from Publisher's website)

After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend an uptight East Coast preparatory school in Shadow Hills, MA -- a school which her sister mysteriously mentioned in her last diary entry before she died. 

Once there, Phe quickly realizes that something is deeply amiss in her new town. Not only does Shadow Hills' history boast an unexplained epidemic that decimated hundreds of its citizens in the 1700s, but its modern townies also seem eerily psychic, with the bizarre ability to bend metal. Even Zach -- the gorgeous stranger Phe meets and immediately begins to lust after -- seems as if he is hiding something serious. Phe is determined to get to the bottom of it. The longer she stays there, the more she suspects that her sister's untimely death and her own destiny are intricately linked to those who reside in Shadow Hills.

My Review:
So, I get the book in the mail from Other Shelf Tours, unwrap it and put it on the table. Before leaving the room I pick it up and flip to the first page - intending to read a sentence or two. About 15 minutes later I realize I'm still standing in the middle of my kitchen reading! From literally the first sentence I was hooked!

About half way through I became a little disappointed. A little too much sticky sweet romance for my taste. Zach and Phe have only known each other for about a week maybe and the thoughts running thought Phe's head run along the lines of - what if I can't stay in Shadow Hills and I never see Zach again rather then - what if I can't stay in Shadow Hills and I never figure out why my dead sister wanted to be here so badly.Their romance and relationship felt fake to me. It happened way to quickly and even though Phe is such a strong young woman, there was too much damsel in distress, knight in shinning armor thing going on.With that said, both Phe and Zach really are very sweet people so it was hard to dislike them.

I really liked the mystery aspect to the story - although I would have liked to see more of it (and less romance). The idea of paranormal abilities arising from a genetic source was very intriguing.

The supporting characters were cute, spunky, and fun. I really enjoyed reading about the times Phe spend with them. I just don't know what it is about Zach that I don't quite love. I think part of it was the fact that I felt he was acting way more mature and sensitive then any young teenage boys I ever knew. Maybe I just didn't know the right kinds of guys :)

All in all, I very much enjoyed Shadow Hills. Not sure if there will be a sequel but I would welcome one. I would recommend this book to fans of paranormal teen fiction who also enjoy love stories.

Linkage Love:
Egmont USA
Author's Website

Monthly Reads - May 2010

Hello my lovelies! It's June! Woo hoo! I really love this month. Almost Spring, almost Summer. Everything is growing. Ah!

May was a blast, happened so fast, wish it could last...

Ok, enough rhyming torture!

I know I read close to nothing this month! I could blame BEA if I want to but in truth, I think I was just a little lazy. June though - June will be different.

So, let's see!

1. Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev
2. General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn
3. Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus
4. The Krybosian Stairpath by S.R.R. Colvin
5. Angel Star by Jennifer Murgia
6. Beautiful Creatures (audio book) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
7. Green Witch by Alice Hoffman
8. iDrakula by Bekka Black

urg...not many at all...
You know what's worse? My review posts. I'm such a bad blogger! Bring it on June, I'm ready for you! Reviews and books up the wazzoo!

So, how was your May?

BEA Contest Winners!

A big thank you to everyone who entered my "Can't make it to BEA this year but still want some goodies" contest"

I have decided to pick 6 winners!

What have you won? The choices are:

A signed copy of The Dark Divine by Bree Despain ---- CLAIMED

A signed copy of Tangled by Carolyn Mackler ----CLAIMED

An ARC of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer ---- CLAIMED

Swag pack 1 ----CLAIMED

Swag pack 2

Swag pack 3

Rules for winners:
*Please be honest, this contest was for those that were unable to attend BEA this year.
*If you live in the US you have your choice of any of the 6 above.
*If you live outside the US you will receive a swag pack.
*I will be emailing all of you shortly and whoever I hear from first will have first pick.
*If you see this post before receiving my email - please email me at WilowRaven@yahoo.com with your address and choice (book or swag in US, swag only outside US)
*If I do not hear from you by this Friday the 4th I will pick new winners

I tried to figure out the best way to pick winners and this hopefully will work out - all six winners will get something so hopefully all will be happy!

And the winners are:

Okapi from The Smarty Owl

Edna  from My Favorite Things 

Leilani from Leilani Loves Books  

Becky from Stories & Sweeties 

Mariah from A Reader's Adventure

Donnas

Book Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

CHALLENGE BOOK: 2010 Debut Authors

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publication Date: March 2010
Tags: witches, faeries, shapeshifters, vampires, boarding school
Age: 11+
Pages: 336
Series: 1st in a series
Book Acquisition: bought new hardcover

My Rating: 5 / 5 Stars

(from Goodreads)

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

My Review:
To sum it up, this book was pretty freaken awesome. I read it in a few hours and as soon as I was done I was tempted to read it all over again - it was that good.
From page 1 I felt an immediate connection to Sophie - I knew I was going to like her. The writing really drew me into the story and Sophie's character always seemed very real to me. I could relate to her...you know...except for the 'I'm a witch who was sent away to boarding school because I'm a trouble maker' thing :)
The story itself was very interesting and I really liked the idea that all people with paranormal abilities have a type of relationship together. Although, the vampires are still shunned just a little. Being paired as roommates with the only vampire on campus doesn't help Sophie fit in at Hex Hall but the friendship they develop was really very sweet.
There were some twists I didn't see coming and it was refreshing to be surprised. I really liked the ending - although, it only made me want book 2 like now! Very much looking forward to the rest of this series.
I highly recommend this book to fans of paranormal teen fantasy stories.

Books in the Series:
Hex Hall #1 (March 2010)
Hex Hall #2 (March 2011)
Hex Hall #3 (2012)

Linkage Love:
Hyperion Books
Author's Blog