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A special announcement from author Jen Calonita:

SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE AND I WANT TO GIVE AWAY SOME BOOKS!

I cannot wait to get into the pool or head down to the beach and just enjoy the fine weather. When I was in junior high and high school we spent our summers on the east end of Long Island (the very East End that Reality Check is set in) and back then I hated the beach. No joke. Sand in my Walkman (yes, Walkman), in my turkey sandwich, sticking to me along with the sunscreen. I just hated going down to the shore. Oh, how times have changed. But back then the only way I could survive those days down at the beach with my sun-loving parents and younger sister was to read. I would pretty much read a book every few days. I'm not kidding--what else did I have to do really? I dare say we didn't even have cable back then (how did I ever survive?)! I would devour this series called Sweet Valley High. Thankfully there were over two hundred books in the series along with all these super special books that were double the length. Basically I had plenty to read and I read A LOT. I drove my parents nuts begging them to drive me to the local independent bookstore to get another book several times a week. My paperbacks worked hard for me -- they had watermarks from being read in the pool with wet fingers. They had sunscreen smears on the book jackets and sometimes even food fell on them, but that's the beauty of a paperback -- it takes a licking and keeps on ticking!

I hope you have as memorable of a summer as I had when I was growing up. To help you celebrate, I'm giving away one of my books in paperback a week, every week from July 3rd to August 29th. It could be a Secrets novel, or the new Reality Check paperback that just came out, or maybe it will be Sleepaway Girls, but it will always be a surprise! (No grumbling if you don't get your pick, okay?) Every week starting on July 3rd a new winner will be chosen at random and there are a bunch of ways you can enter to win. Here's how:

Each of the following will earn an entry:

• Follow Jen Calonita on Facebook and leave a comment saying, "I'm entering the Jen Calonita summer paperback-a-week giveaway!"

• Became a fan of the upcoming Belles series on Facebook, post on the wall, and leave a comment there saying, "I'm entering the Jen Calonita summer paperback-a-week giveaway!"

• Follow Jen Calonita on Twitter @jencalonita and leave a comment saying "I'm entering the Jen Calonita summer paperback-a-week giveaway!".

• Become an email subscriber of Jen Calonita's newsletter.

Winner will be chosen randomly each week and notified via email. Good luck and happy summer!

I'M GOING TO LET YOU IN ON A LITTLE SECRET...

From March 1st through March 26th, you can have your copy of There's No Place Like Home by Jen Calonita autographed and get an exclusive Secrets bookmark!

HOW?
Here's the scoop from Jen Calonita herself: If you purchase There's No Place Like Home during those dates, AND you live in the U.S., then you can send Jen an email with your name (which is the name she'll assume you want on the autograph dedication -- but tell her if it is otherwise!), and address, and Jen will send you a personalized bookplate, which is a sticker. The sticker goes right inside your book on the title page and the bookmark, well, you guys know how those work!

Email Jen: [email protected]

WHAT'S THE CATCH?
To prove you're reading the final book, you have to answer one question correctly: What role does Alexis Holden, Kaitlin and Sky's nemesis, get in this book?

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
Jen says: "There's No Place Like Home, the final Secrets novel, is in stores now (or if it's not, it will be any day!) and it's a bittersweet moment for me. I'm so thankful to all of you for sticking with Kaitlin (and me!) for six books and I wish I could tell you all that in person! Since I can't, I wanted to find a way to thank you and this seemed like a great way to do it. I hope you enjoy this giveaway as much as I do!"

Learn more about the author at her official website:
http://www.jencalonitaonline.com

Learn more about There's No Place Like Home.

Read an excerpt of the book. (PDF)

Read all of the books in the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series.

Over here at The Publishing Spot, we understand that you are way, way behind on your bloggy reading list and that you have no time to surf through all the "Welcome to 2008" lists.

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