Archer in the Crush Tourney--recap and Hex Hall winner

So, you all know about the YA Sisterhood's Crush Tournament, and if you've been hanging around this blog lately you know I was lucky enough to be the advocate of Archer Cross from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. Unfortunately, Archer didn't win his match, but I'm so proud of all of Team Archer!!

Archer was the underdog from the beginning--he went up against Dimitri from the Vampire Academy series, and we all know how fantastic he is, and how big his fanbase is. But Team Archer didn't back down--we got plenty of votes!

Archer reaching 1000 votes--but we weren't done then!

I'm not sure exactly how  many votes Archer had in the end (if anyone knows or has a close guess, let me know!) but I know it was an impressive amount!! But the thing I found most impressive was how steady Team Archer held. Dimitri picked up the lead fast, but he didn't keep smashing us down. For the majority of the day Archer held steady at 28% of the votes, never dropping below that. And then, right in the last few hours, we bumped him up to 30%. And I think that's awesome.

So, I'd like to say thank you to each and every one of you who voted and spread the word about Archer. You all were awesome, tweeting and getting your family and friends to vote. I'd love to mention each and every one of you personally, but there's just so many of you!

That said, @tnmedicgirl, @heyitswinnie,_@jill_kaplan, @YA_Books4Girls, you guys were especially awesome with the tweeting!! You guys rock!! Thanks also to @jsmithready, @keeley_logan and @NonReluctant for the shoutouts :D

And of course, a thank-you has to go out to Rachel Hawkins, because without her, there wouldn't be an Archer, and to the YA Sisterhood, because without them there wouldn't be a Tourney! Also, congratulations to Dimitri, Stacey, his advocate, and Richelle Mead, his author :)

And now, as promised, it's time to pick the winner for a Kindle copy of Hex Hall! Thank you so much to everyone who entered. I'd love to give each of you a copy, but unfortunately, I cannot :)

And the winner is...

Jen K!

I've sent the winner an email, so please respond within 48 hours, or I'll have to pick another winner.

Thanks again, everyone, for helping Archer and making Week of Archer and our part of the Tournament so much fun!!

(:D)

~Mag

Vote For Archer-YA Crush Tourney

So, I'm SURE by now you guys know ALL ABOUT the fact that ARCHER CROSS is in the YA SISTERHOOD'S CRUSH TOURNEY and I am his ADVOCATE and I am SUPER EXCITED about this!

Anyway, Archer's match is now LIVE on the YA Sisterhood's blog, so I'm able to go ahead and post everything I said over there, here. So you can read it here or there, but you can only VOTE there!!

-----

Hey there! I'm Mag from Geek Chic, and I'm super duper excited to get to tell you all about the AMAZING Archer Cross! He lives inside an awesome series called Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins. What makes him so awesome, you ask?

Let's take a look!!

Personality:

Archer Cross is that guy you hate and love at the same time. He's arrogant, sarcastic, obnoxious...and irresistible. He always has a smart remark or witty comeback ready, which can be both hilarious and infuriating. He's the kind of guy that leaves you sputtering in his wake, struggling to come up with something clever to say back.

"You know," someone said off to my left, "I usually find a blocking spell to be a lot more effective than yelling 'Bad dog,' but maybe that's just me."

But Archer has a sweet side, as well, especially when it comes to Sophie, who seems to be one of the only things he cares about.

     "I've spent basically my whole life pretending to be someone I'm not, faking some feelings, hiding others." Reaching down, he clasped my hand and lifted it so that our joined hands were trapped between our chests. "This thing with us is the only real thing I've had in a long time. You're the only real thing. And I'm done pretending I don't want you."

--- 

     And when he'd pulled me closer and murmured, "Mercer, I love--" I had covered his mouth with my hand.
     "Don't say that. Not now. Say it sometime when there is absolutely no chance of death on the horizon, okay?"
     He mumbled something beneath my palm, and I rolled my eyes as I pulled it away from his mouth. He dropped a kiss on the tip of my nose. "All I was going to say was that I love this tent you made for me. But I guess I can tell you again later. When you get back."

Looks:

Archer is tall and lean, with curly dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He's the guy every girl's got a crush on, and it's easy to see why.

(picture created by Mimi)

Still not sure?

     "What, you don't do tall, dark, and handsome?" -Sophie Mercer

Talents:

Archer's a warlock, which means he has some pretty cool magical powers.

     Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of blue light on my left. Suddenly, the werewolf seemed to smack into an invisible wall just inches in front of me. Giving a pitiful bark, he slumped to the ground.

He can also kick butt in hand-to-hand combat, and he's got some skills with a sword! How awesome is that??

     Then viselike fingers clenched my throat, the stake was wrenched from my hand, and a sharp stabbing pain shot up my right thigh as I landed on the ground with a thump that knocked the breath out of me.
    And if that wasn't bad enough, once I landed, something hard and heavy--his knee, I thought--hit me right in the sternum. You know, just in case there was one last breath left in my lungs. The point of the stake scraped the sensitive skin just under my chin. I looked up, wheezing, into Archer's face.

--- 

     There was a burst of movement out of the corner of my eye, and suddenly, he wasn't beside me anymore, but in the thick of them, sword flashing. He caught one of the ghouls under the chin with the point of his blade, but there was no blood. The thing stopped moving, but it didn't fall. Instead, it swept a hand at Archer like he was an annoying mosquito. But Archer ducked and swung again, piercing the side of the second ghoul.

But I think the skill you're probably most interested in would be...kissing. And trust me, Archer has got some skills there!

     For a few charged seconds we froze, glaring at each other, breathing hard. I saw his eyes darken just a little, like Jenna's had the day she'd seen my blood. But this was a different kind of hunger; one I felt too.
     I didn't let myself think. I just leaned forward and pressed my lips to his.
     He took a split second to respond, but then he made a sound almost like a growl from low in his throat, and his arms were suddenly around me, holding me so tightly I could hardly breathe. Not like I cared. All I cared about was Archer, his mouth on mine, and his body pressed against me.

Special Attributes/Best Qualities:

As I said, he's a warlock, he's sarcastic, and he's super hot...But what are Archer's best qualities, really? Well, if you've read Hex Hall, you know that Archer was hiding a PRETTY BIG and PRETTY BAD secret. But I think something that shows what a truly good guy Archer is is how much he cares about Sophie, and how much he risks and sacrifices for her. His feelings for Sophie, and the ways he shows them-- I'd say that's one of Archer's best qualities.
Anything else?

Summing up Archer in minimal words: Snarky. Hot. Sweet-when you dig deep enough. Smart. Hilarious. Awesome.
CRUSH-WORTHY.


-----

So you guys should go vote for Archer! You know...if you want! (But I'll love ya forever if you do! And you can get entries to win Hex Hall.)

Week of Archer: Day 7 (and recap) *updated*

I've had so much fun with you guys this past week! Thank you all so much for your fantastic submissions and thoughts about Archer! I love seeing that so many people love him as much as I do :)

And now...the time has come! Archer's match goes up in just a few hours, at midnight 7/20/12! UPDATE: It's up! It's up! Go vote HERE! We're going up against a TOUGH opponent, so we will need EVERY VOTE we can get. That means you need to vote, and you need to get your friends to vote, and your family, and, if you want, random strangers on the street to vote.

But there's more to encourage you to vote than just Archer moving on to the next round--although, that would be absolutely AMAZING--you can also get lots of entries to win a Kindle copy of Hex Hall by spreading the word about Archer and his match. Once midnight hits, you can also get entries by voting for Archer. (This entry uses THE HONOR SYSTEM, folks. Please please please only click it if you've really voted for Archer at the YA Sisterhood's blog, okay?)

You can also get entries for tweeting about Archer/the giveaway, following Rachel Hawkins on Twitter, leaving a comment on the Day 1 post (link below), making a blog post about Archer, talking about him on Facebook, changing your avatar to a Team Archer button (found under the Buttons tab on the top of my blog), and more! You can earn up to 87 entries if you do all of that. The giveaway ends a little while after voting closes.

So, you can CLICK HERE to enter! (I just want to make this really, really clear: I WILL be checking entries. If you claim to do something but don't leave proof, I'll assume you didn't do it. If you didn't do it, your entries for that thing will be deleted. All entries submitted for voting for Archer before the poll opens will be deleted.)

Now, if you want to check out the other posts from Week of Archer, here they are!!

-Day 1
-Day 2
-Day 3
-Day 4
-Day 5
-Day 6

Thank you so much, you guys for an awesome week, and don't forget to VOTE ARCHER!!

(:D)
~Mag

Week of Archer: DAY 5

Hurray! Welcome to Day 5 of Week of Archer, celebrating the awesome Archer Cross from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. Our goal is to spread the word about Archer and his match in the Crush Tourney (July 20th!) and HAVE FUN!!

Are you enjoying all the awesome Archer stuff this week? It's not too late to add to it! Submit anything related to Archer or reminding you of Archer to mag.geekchic@yahoo.com! I'd love to see it!

(Submitted by Mimi)

"Another song that reminds me of Archer," submitted by Anon: I'm Just A Kid by Simple Plan.

(Submitted by Mimi)

(Submitted by Mimi)

A while back Rachel Hawkins did interviews with the Hex Hall characters. 

They're hilarious and a great way to get to knowthe characters--without 

spoilers, if you haven't read the books! Check out Archer's HERE.

(Submitted by Rachel G)

Some favorite Archer quotes (submitted by Rachel G):

He looked at me incredulously. "Uh, no. Thank God. I like my face where it is and not eaten off." 

-Hex Hall, Page  192

Happy week of Archer, and don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

(:D)

~Mag 

Week of Archer: DAY 4

Woohoo! Welcome to Day 4 of Week of Archer, celebrating the awesome Archer Cross from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. Our goal is to spread the word about Archer and his match in the Crush Tourney (July 20th!) and HAVE FUN!!

Are you enjoying all the awesome Archer stuff this week? It's not too late to add to it! Submit anything related to Archer or reminding you of Archer to mag.geekchic@yahoo.com! I'd love to see it!

"What I imagined Archer would look like." 

-Submitted by Rachel G.

Submitted by

Mimi

     "Mercer that day in the cellar..." He searched my face, and I could sense him struggling for what he wanted to say. Then finally, "I didn't kiss you back because I had to. I kissed you because I wanted to." His eyes dropped to my lips, and it was like the whole world had shrunk to just me and him and the shaft of light between us. "I still want to."

-Demonglass, Page 281

Submitted by Mimi

An awesome fanmade Hex Hall video! (submitted by Anon)

Thanks for all your submissions, guys, and keep them coming!!

Also, don't forget to enter a GIVEAWAY to win a Kindle copy of Hex Hall! It's open internationally and you can earn up to 82 entries by spreading the word about Archer and the Tourney, so check it out!!

Happy Week of Archer, guys!!

(:D)
~Mag

Week of Archer: DAY 3

Yay! It's Day 3 of Week of Archer, celebrating the awesome Archer Cross from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. Our goal is to spread the word about Archer and his match in the Crush Tourney (July 20th!) and HAVE FUN!!

What did you guys think of all the awesome Archer stuff from yesterday? Pretty cool, huh? Keep it coming, guys! Submit anything related to Archer or reminding you of Archer to mag.geekchic@yahoo.com! 

Archer fancast: Kevin Zegers

Submitted by Anon!

Submitted by Mimi

Submitted by Mimi

"But...look. I've spent basically my whole life pretending to be someone I'm not, faking some feelings, hiding others." Reaching down, he clasped my hand and lifted it so that our joined hands were trapped between our chests. "This thing with us is the only real thing I've had in a long time. You're the only real thing." He raised our hands and kissed my knuckles. "And I'm done pretending I don't want you."

-Demonglass, Page 283

Submitted by Mimi






I used to do this feature here on the blog called Novels 'n' Notes, where I'd take a song that reminded me of a book and post it here, with the reasons why.

I created one for Archer and Sophie with the song Enchanted by Taylor Swift. If you'd like to see what I wrote about it, check out the post HERE. Otherwise, just enjoy the song and think about Sophie and Archer :)

That's all for today, but don't forget to ENTER THE GIVEAWAY to win Hex Hall! I've added a new entry option, AND you can get entries every day for tweeting, so even if you've entered already, check it out!

HAPPY WEEK OF ARCHER!!

(:D)
~Mag

Week of Archer: DAY 2

Welcome to Day 2 of Week of Archer, celebrating the awesome Archer Cross from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. Our goal is to spread the word about Archer and his match in the Crush Tourney (July 20th!) and HAVE FUN!!

Today I'll start sharing some of the awesome Archer-related stuff you guys have been sending me! Keep it coming, you guys! Anything you've made involving Archer, OR just something that reminds you of Archer (a movie, a song, a poem, a picture)--ANYTHING ARCHER!!

Send 'em to mag.geekchic@yahoo.com!

an awesome Archer banner created by Mimi!

"Song that reminds me of Archer: Welcome To My Life by Simple Plan." Submitted by Anon!

Such an Archer feel to it! Especially around Demonglass/Spell Bound time. Plus an excellent song to begin with!!

Mimi created lots of awesome, fabulous Archer-quote graphics! Keep an eye out for them throughout the week ;)

Created by Mimi

(you guys should check out her tumblr, by the way. Click her name!)




Archer quote: Submitted by Rachel G:

     "She told me I should be glad because now I could spend the ball with the person I really wanted."
     He looked down at me. "I guess she meant you." 

-Hex Hall, Page 255

Some awesome stuff, you guys!

Keep sending it in (mag.geekchic@yahoo.com) and checking back this week to see more!

And don't forget to enter the giveaway for a Kindle copy of Hex Hall! Something to remember about the giveaway--to enter, you MUST do at least one thing to spread the word about Archer in the Crush Tourney, even if that's just posting a Facebook status or Tweeting. If I see you've entered but haven't done ANYTHING to spread the word, I'll have to delete your entries.

Another thing to remember: Archer's match doesn't go up until July 20th! Which means you shouldn't be using the "Vote for Archer" entry option yet. I believe you guys will vote when the time comes, but until the match is up, any entries using that option will be deleted. Also remember when spreading the word to tell people when the match is! July 20th!

So, GO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

HAPPY WEEK OF ARCHER!!

(:D)
~Mag

ARCHER CROSS AND WHY HE IS AWESOME

HEY YOU GUYS! I have some absolutely, completely AWESOME news!!


I'm sure you all know about the super awesome fun that is the YA Crush Tournament, hosted by  the awesome YA Sisterhood. (If you don't check out some info on it HERE and by poking around their blog.)


Well, this year, I was lucky enough to be selected to be an advocate for one of the crushes! And not just any crush--ARCHER. CROSS.

Who's Archer? Oh, just a super awesome, super hot, kick-butt warlock with a talent for sarcasm and being completely, utterly irritating. And very, very crush-worthy.

He hails from the awesome Hex Hall series by the fabulous Rachel Hawkins, and is easily one of my favorite crushes of ALL TIME.


UPDATED: My awesome brother CJ fixed the crush button so Archer's eyes are properly brown. If you've already grabbed the button, PLEASE replace it with this one!!

(If you want one or both of these buttons in the biggest size possible, shoot me an email at mag.geekchic@yahoo.com and I'll send you them directly :D)

(Those of you who've read Spell Bound will get the quote, but anyone can see that he is indeed a Rakishly Charming love interest ;D)

I promise you, he is worth voting for, so PLEASE DO! And if you haven't read Hex Hall, Demonglass, and/or Spell Bound, I HIGHLY recommend them, they are FANTASTIC!


Archer's first match is July 20th, and it's against Dimitri from Vampire Academy, who will NOT be easy to beat. So we'll have to work hard to get the word out and get Archer to the next round--and to victory!


If you'd like to help lead Archer to victory, spread the word by telling people about the tournament, about Archer, and to VOTE!! Go ahead and grab the crush button(s) up there (I know it has no grab code, which I've had issues with in the past. I've got no idea how to do that. How do you do that? Can someone tell me?), post it on your blog, post it on Facebook, tweet it, post it on Tumblr, and VOTE! If you have any other ideas about spreading the word about Archer or the Tourney, tweet me @geekchic_mag or send me an email at mag.geekchic@yahoo.com. 


But remember the most important thing--this Tournament is supposed to be about fun and celebrating some awesome (fictional) guys. So please, no bashing ANY of the guys, and let's keep it good-natured and a fun time!


And finally...

GO ARCHER!!!

(:D)
~Mag

Internet Out (and the sadness this has caused)

Okay, so, here's what's up:


I have no Internet at home. 


On Saturday (at least, I think it was Saturday, without my beloved Internet all the days seem to be blurring together), a bunch of storms and rain and such blew through the area and knocked out the power of like half the state. (I do not know if this is still true. Presumably it is somewhat fixed.) The power at my house went out for tiny little bits, but came back on pretty quick. My Internet did not fare so well.


So basically, I spent Saturday afternoon and the entirety of Sunday in a state of emotional distress. I wouldn't have been so worried if all of the data on my phone hadn't been mysteriously used up, leaving me without even EMAIL. But it had, so I didn't.


Anyway, Internet is STILL down at my house, so I'm writing this (and frantically trying to catch up on comments, Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads, Formspring and email stuff) from the library in town, which has free Internet and employs my brother, who was willing to drive me since he was coming in anyway. This is just a little note to explain WHY I have not answered your comments/Tweets/Tumblr things/etc, and to tell you that until Internet comes back (which had BETTER be soon ;D), I'll be online sporadically and my postings here on the blog will be sparse. 


ALSO: You all know about the YA Sisterhood's Crush Tourney, right? Where super awesome guys from super-awesome YA books battle it out to be crowned the most crush-worthy?


Well, I have some super-exciting news: I AM AN ADVOCATE THIS YEAR.


This is super exciting to me for more than one reason. 

1. If it were not for this tournament last year, I would probably not be a book blogger. This was how I found out book blogging EXISTED. (Long story short, I saw something about the tourney on Ally Carter's blog, saw the crushes, read the books, saw the advocates, saw their blogs, thought that was awesome, made my own.)
2. This tournament absolutely, positively ROCKS. It's sooo much fun!!
3. I get to advocate none other than ARCHER CROSS. Yes, that Archer Cross. From the Hex Hall series by the fabulous Rachel Hawkins. He is so super awesome and crushable, and so it's up to you guys to help me launch him to victory!! (more on that in a separate post I'll be getting up in a bit)

So yeah, I'd like Internet back up for that, among other things.

Anyway, I'm here for now, so feel free to send me a tweet or a comment or whatever, and I'll get back to you whenever I can find myself some Internet ;) 


*ETA* Oh, and now that the Winterhaven swag giveaway is over, I'll be picking a winner in a bit! Stay tuned!!

(:D)

~Mag

Some stuff you should know about

Hi everybody! So, this is just a huge round-up post of all kinds of stuff that I think you should know about!


FIRST OFF: The YA Sisterhood 2nd Annual Crush Tourney! Nominations are UP, peeps! And you should go nominate your favorite guys. It's getting down to it, and we've got the top 24 (at the moment) and some guys who have a chance to make it up there, but I wouldn't suggest nominating any guys who aren't on either list, because I'm not seeing a huge chance for them to make it in. (I'm still a bit depressed that Uriah from Divergent isn't on there. Am I the only one who nominated him??)


Obviously you should nominate the guys YOU want (remember you only have ten picks, and no repeats--failure to follow the rules=deleted nominations), but I do have a few suggestions!


The SHADEboys. Because they're awesome! Zachary's in the running so far, but things can change in a second so keep nominating him! Logan's a little low down on the list, and not in the top 24, so if you want him in you need to NOMINATE!!


Next up, I'd suggest Tod from Soul Screamers! TOD IS NOT IN THE TOP 24. I DO NOT KNOW HOW THIS INJUSTICE COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN. It's Tod, you guys. TOD. He must get in.


In my opinion, Archer from Hex Hall and Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door deserve a shot, too!

NEXT!!


Jeri Smith-Ready (author of the SHADE trilogy) has set up a little sign-up sheet on her blog for people who want to help launch the SHADEboys to victory! And it's gonna be pretty awesome and super fun. Plus, just for signing up, you get a signed bookplate. Which rocks. (And btw, if you tell her I sent you, I get bonus bookplate. Just sayin'.) Anyway, JOIN TEAM KILT!!

AND FINALLY!


I'd like you all to check out a new blog by an author who's just starting out! I was able to beta-read his first book, and I can tell you that it's REALLY GOOD! He's started blogging to chronicle his journey in author-ness, so check it out!


Okay! That's it for now!


NOTE: Just realized that today is the very LAST day for nominations for the YA Crush Tourney. Props to you people who are still up reading this, GO NOMINATE! (Or possibly you're in a different timezone. Whatever.) Anyway, hurry and nominate before it closes!!


(:D)
~Mag

Awesome Giveaways (That I am not hosting) *UPDATED*

Lately I've come across lots of GREAT giveaways for lots of GREAT books here in the blogging world. So I thought I'd share them with you!

-From The Once and Future Librarian, a giveaway of New Girl by Paige Harbison

-From The Review News, a prize with much potential!

-From O.W.L., a Young Adult Giveaway Hop giveaway!

-From the YA Sisterhood, a giveaway of Unbreakable Love by Angela Carling

-From Reading Teen, another YA Giveaway Hop

-From Stuck In Books, a giveaway from the Young Adult Giveaway Hop

So go enter! Hopefully you win something ;)!

Edited to add: And here's another awesome one from The Overstuffed Bookcase! Thanks, Andrea, for letting me know!

Edited AGAIN to add: Here's another giveaway, this one from Literary Exploration in celebration of 800 followers! Congrats!

(:D)

~Mag