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This past spring I attend the Online Book Bloggers and Publishers Conference and you can read about it here. Let me just repeat that it was an amazing experience that has helped me so much as a blogger! In addition, I met some amazing bloggers and authors who I continue to follow, read and learn from. It was worth every penny I paid (which was not a whole lot) and I learned more than I can measure from the conference. That being said, I am SOOOOO excited for the two day conference that will be online on August 6th and 7th. Now for the really exciting part, I am going to be participating as a moderator. **sqquuueee** Yep, little ‘ol me will be talking and moderating some great panels and get to talk with some of the wonderful people I have gotten to know online over the past several months. So mark your calendars, pay your dues, and plan on being edified (not by me but by the other amazing individuals who will be speaking at the conference).
Goals of the Conference
Authors and Bloggers are both working together online to reach out to readers and spread the word about the books we read and love. We all face challenges with online promotion that can be alleviated by working together. By streamlining the process of co-operative work between Authors and Bloggers we can move forward using social media and online outlets to expose more readers to more books.
How it Works -
Never been to an online conference? – Well here is how ours works. It is hosted through a private Ning. The panels are audio using Blog Talk Radio and each has a corresponding chat room so listeners can discuss the topic together. Panels can be heard live and will accept callers and questions. After they can all be listened to in archive on the Ning till the end of the month. There is a $15 registration fee and spaces are limited. This 2 day event is a great resource to network and meet fellow book lovers.
We have the tentative schedule for the BBA Online Conference with the announcement of panelists to be added soon. Friday Night and all day Saturday August 6&7 radio panels and live discussions. A complete listing of the panels scheduled can be found at Book Bloggers and Authors Website here.
And the winner is……..Martha who said “I loved anything by Edgar Allan Poe! He was so creepy. High school was a long time ago!:
Jocee said “My least favorite book was Lord of The Flies. I did not like this book, it just creeped me out!”
Melati said “I think that my favorite book is probably Goose Girl. I loved the description, and the plot. It is a GREAT book.”
Kira said “My favorite: Wuthering Heights – the was just something appealing about the young, stormy, angsty Heathcliff that appealed to my high school girl heart – the bad boy appeal. He didn’t turn out so great though. But I just loved that everything worked out in the end, and while Katherine and Heathcliff had a tragic love story, their children came together in the end and old rifts were healed. Silly, yes, but I was in high school!”
Thanks to everyone who entered and shared their favorite and least favorite YA novels, the winner was chosen using Random.org.
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George is a very eventful twist to the 12 Dancing Princesses Fairytale. The King’s wife makes some very unusual deals with the King Under Stone. She promises to dance for him every night and in return he promises her some children and an heir to the throne. When the King of Westfallin starts offering rewards to anyone who can figure out why the princesses dancing slippers have been worn through every night, strange things start happening. Any prince that tries to solve the mystery goes away empty handed and ends up having a fatal accident soon after he leaves. Then Galen, a mere orphaned soldier returning from war, asks if he can try to solve the quizzical case. Rose, the oldest daughter falls ill, soon passing it to the rest of the sisters. Unfortunately, they can’t miss a single night of dancing, or the Lord Under Stone will send his half human sons up to capture the princesses. Not long after the princesses finally recover, the church of the land decides that there is definitely witchcraft involved and the princesses and the king must go on trial to prove their innocence. Amidst the different characters trials and the twists in the plot, Galen comes to love Rose and decides he must find a way to break the spell they are under.
I really like how fast paced this book was, and how smoothly the plot was furthered through the different twists. I loved how easy it was to relate to the very dynamic characters. The fact that the princesses were put on trial for witchcraft made me not want to stop reading. I just had to keep going to find out if they would get convicted. It definitely added to the depth of the story because of how the result would affect each character. It is mentioned in the book how each of the princes that comes to solve the mystery is snobby, or is really just trying to get their kingdom. I think that makes it easier to connect with Galen because he is choosing to do it for love, not for the reward offered. I really enjoyed reading this book and soon went to see what other books by Jessica Day George I could read! She is a fantastic writer and I really just loved reading this book!
Rating: 
Title: Princess of the Midnight Ball
Author: Jessica Day George
Format: hardbound, paperback
Page Nos.: 304
ISBN: 1599904551
Publisher: Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 2010
Reviewer: Jillian
