Last Day to Enter The Make Your Mark With Some Sort of Mark Contest

Hello everyone,
Just a reminder that today is the last day you can enter The Make Your Mark With Some Sort of Mark Contest to win a signed copy of Claudia Osmond's Smudge's Mark!

All entries must be in before 12:00 am (est) time tonight!
Winner to be announced Saturday, April 3, 2010

Good luck to everyone!

The Make Your Mark With Some Sort of Mark Contest

I am very excited to announce The Novel Emporium's very first contest!
The Make Your Mark With Some Sort of Mark Contest, to be exact(or the ever more simple,The Smudge Giveaway,for short).

The prize for this first TNE contest is rather fitting as Claudia Osmond is the first author I met in person.
And what is the prize, you ask?
A signed copy of her debut novel Smudge's Mark!



Last December,Claudia Osmond was named my favourite 2009 Debut Author and her novel is an exceptional and original story that I believe both children and adults will enjoy. For more information on the novel,check out http://smudgesmark.com/.

 

Contest Rules & Details

Deadline: Friday, April 2nd, 2010
Open to: All residents (International)
How to enter:
In the comments section, name something that leaves a mark.(for example crayons or lipstick)Please include your name and email address in the comment,so that I can contact you if you win.

That will grant you one entry into the draw.

To better your chances,you can do one or all of the following and receive one extra entry for each:
1)Post your own photograph or drawing of the mark you name(+1)(If we are sticking with the crayon example, a photograph of your two year old sister's drawing on the wall would be fab. Perhaps not so much for the house but for the contest it would work wonders!)
2)Subscribe to The Novel Emporium (+1)
-Tell others about the Make Your Mark With Some Sort of Mark contest,
via 3)Twitter(+1)(please provide username)
4)Facebook Status(+1) (please provide link)
and/or 5)Blog Entry(+1) (please provide link)

So there you have it! Everyone who comments and names something that makes a mark, is guaranteed at least one entry.

Good luck to everyone!

Smudge's Mark Book Trailer

So I may have been stuck in a shuttle bus from University of Toronto to the Mississauga campus for an hour and forty minutes and then left my favourite pair of mittens in said bus but things are a bit brighter now that I happened by special treat.

A new Smudge's Mark book trailer!

Review: Smudge's Mark by Claudia Osmond

 Smudge's Mark by Claudia Osmond                                                                                                                                 Publisher: Simply Read Books                                                                                                                                                Hardcover, 384 pages  

Publisher's Blurb                                                                                                                                                                             Simon is an O.W.N.O. (Orphan with No Options). He lives with his deranged grandfather and a horrible housekeeper, Griselda, who punishes him by making him trim her toenails with his teeth.Unable to remember anything about his mother or father, Simon is haunted by a dream of an eagle, a serpent and an angel that smells like bubblegum. Then one night his dreams change. The angel gives him a special object--the broken half of an enchanted key--that is still with him when he wakes up. The key is desired by man, but destined only for him, and it will change his life forever.

My Thoughts                                                                                                                                                                                              In Smudge's Mark, debut novelist Claudia Osmond, skillfully weaves together several popular and well-loved elements of the fantasy genre with unique facets of her own, resulting in an altogether fascinating read.

The setting was brilliant and certainly one of the highlights of the story. The story shifts from the gloomy neighbourhoods of a dreary town, to the eerie Grimstown Academy for Orphans and finally to the enchanting otherworld of Emogen.  

I was completely enthralled by Claudia's genuine characters: from the self-conscious, stuttering Gil to the 'he's-so-bad-it's-good' villain, Mr. Ratsworth. The dialogue felt natural, the characters' personalities were distinct and their gradual transformation as the story progressed was both convincing and essential to the storyline.

In regards to the story itself, I was hooked from the beginning and I especially liked how the story's moments of humour and severeness were balanced in relatively equal parts. My only qualm with the plot in general is that I felt that there were still several questions left unanswered and although I don't expect or particularly care for every single plot detail to be tied up in the conclusion of a novel,I was still hoping to have a few more answers.

I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel as the ending of the novel seems to hint at because I'm eager to learn more about the fates of certain characters and discover the backgrounds of others.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading a story from a new and remarkable Canadian talent. I am eagerly awaiting Claudia's next work because it's stories like hers that remind me just why I can't get my head out of the children's section of a bookstore.

Fantastic story, I highly recommend it!

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