Guest Post & Giveaway with Nikki Jefford

I'm so excited to have Nikki Jefford here at The Book Shop Assistant with me today! She is currently on an international blog tour with her Spellbound Series and when she asked me to host a guest post about stationery and paper I couldn't say no! Because like her I have many pen pals and a mountain of pretty/unusual journals...

Paper Fetish

I have a paper obsession. It started early on. I didn’t want toys or dolls when I was growing up – I wanted notebooks and pens.

Whether it’s stationary, books or journals, I get a thrill by the sound, smell, and touch of the page or sheet. I’m one of those fanatics who flips the pages of a new book under her nose and inhales the scent.

I’ve had the same pen pal for over two decades. Trust me, that’s a lot of paper and ink! I’ve been sending weekly letters and cards to my mom since leaving Alaska three and a half years ago. Nothing makes my day like snail mail. I happened upon The Book Shop Assistant in the nick of time this past February and exchanged letters with Nickey at the tail end of The Month of Letters.

For every book or series I write, I keep notes in a journal. I will share some of them with you here.

For the Spellbound series I found this quirky dual sided design by Jordan Crane. The spine says: “now apart, but together soon.” I thought that was fitting since Gray and Raj are separated by her death in Entangled, but brought back together when she’s resurrected. I prefer lined paper and this one is, plus the pages have pretty flowers (upper left hand corner).

For my vampire slayer series (which I’m keeping hush, hush on at the moment), I used the “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” journal. The inside pages have blood splatters on them. Love! Chronicle Books comes out with some really fun journals.

From my local bookshop I scored the red and black typewriter journal that says: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Fun find! I use this notebook to keep track of every blog I contact for a review or guest post request. (So, yes, Nickey at The Book Shop Assistant is entered in the book.) Whenever a blogger agrees to a guest post or review, I highlight beside their in orange then come back and highlight in yellow when the post actually appears. My husband doesn’t get why I don’t use excel. ‘Cause I’m a paper addict!

Danke to Nickey for hosting me and for the letter from Germany. I spent a wonderful weekend in Baden-Baden visiting distant relatives back in ’99. The area surrounding the Black Forest was breathtaking and I’d love to see more of the country one day.

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Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands where she is, once more, neighbors with Canada. She has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Alaska Anchorage and was a reporter before returning to her first love: fiction.

After a whirlwind romance in France, Nikki married Sébastien in March 2000. They reside with Cosmo the wonder Westie.

Find her at:

http://nikkijefford.com

http://twitter.com/NikkiJefford

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Dear Reader, you can download a FREE copy of Entangled Sunday, May 27 at amazon. Book two, Duplicity, released this week. And don’t miss the Cover Reveal of book three, Enchantment, at designer Najla Qamber’s review site: Unputdownable Books on June 7th.

http://unputdownablebookies.blogspot.com/

Enter to win SPELLBOUND SWAG PACK:

1.) Evil Eye Amulet and Bracelet: In Duplicity, Gray wears an evil eye pendant, also known as a nazar, to protect herself from a spell that’s causing havoc over the witches and warlocks in her coven. The evil eye (a Turkish amulet) is used for both luck and protection against envy.

 2.) Two Headed Quarter: Two Grays are better than none and two heads are better than one, especially when flipping over who gets to choose which movie to watch with a trick coin. Adrian returns in Duplicity and opens a magic shop.

 3.) Entangled bookmark

It's INTERNATIONAL and ends on June 8th 2012!

THANK YOU NIKKI JEFFORD

for stopping by today. You are more than welcome to return any time you like!