Blog Tour: Happy Birthday to Me - Brian Rowe - Teenage Garage Sale

Brian Rowe is here today with a Teenage Garage Sale post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for his Happy Birthday to Me book trilogy. Thank you for being here today, Brian! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy! 

“Halloween” VHS Tape: DVDs were all the rage in my teenage years, but I was still hoarding a few special VHS tapes from my childhood. The original Halloween is my favorite horror movie of all time, and in the early 2000’s, I still owned the old VHS tape, even though I didn’t even have a VHS player anymore! $20.

Clearasil: Because my acne was out of control from the age of 14 to 17. It finally calmed down after high school. And that was a very, very good thing. $0.25.

Goosebumps Box Set: Up until about age 14, I loved loved loved R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. But I don’t remember ever cracking one open once high school started for me, back in 1999. I probably owned at least 50 of the books at the time. $50.

Half-Opened Hair Gel: I had a tube of gel from eighth grade that reminded me of a former girlfriend everytime I smelled it. I eventually threw it in the trash, because I couldn’t take the pain anymore. But I probably should’ve tried to make a nickel off it by selling it at a garage sale. $0.50.

My Car: $1,000,000.

Last Action Hero DVD: the first DVD of a movie I ever owned. I still have it all these years later. The DVD menu is so archaic it’s tragic. But it’s a piece of history! $10.

Spice Girls – Spice & Spice World: I’m not afraid to admit I enjoyed Spice Girls music when I was 13 and 14. But come freshman year of high school, I probably would’ve tried to get rid of the CDs in any way possible. $5.

Floss: $0.01.

Box of Pumpkin Puree Cans: ever since I tried pumpkin ice cream at the Nut Tree outside of Sacramento,California, when I was six, I’ve been obsessed with pumpkin foods, and I always buy way more cans of pumpkin puree in October to December than I should. $8.

Michael Myers Mask: Going back to my love for Halloween, I bought the Michael Myers mask when I was 13. By the time I was 15, the mask had been pretty worn out and torn. I probably should have sold it around then. But here we are, fourteen years later, and I still have it in my closet! Long live Halloween, Michael Myers, and Dr. SamLoomis. $15.

Thank you for sharing these items from your 'garage sale' days and for being here today, Brian! 

Brian Rowe can be found on his blog, and on twitter.

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Seventeen-year-old Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day!

High school is hard enough; imagine rapidly aging from seventeen to seventy in a matter of weeks, with no logical explanation, and with prom, graduation, and the state championship basketball game all on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a popular pretty boy who's never had to face a day looking anything but perfect.

All Cameron wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition. When he finds love with a mysterious young woman, however, he realizes his only hope for survival might be with the one person who started his condition in the first place...

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: The Secret War - Matt Myklusch - Teenage Garage Sale

Matt Myklusch is here today with a Teenage Garage Sale courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for his newest release, The Secret War. Thank you for being here today, Matt! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!

Thanks for having me on the blog! This is a great post topic and a great way to get to know someone. I think that there is part of us all that is “just us,” and that part is there from day one, but the rest… the rest comes from where we’ve been and what we’ve done. For the most part, I think we are the sum total of our experiences. High school, growing up… these are experiences that really shape us, so my Teenage Garage Sale is great way to get an inside look at my early environment, who I am, and what I am all about. Here goes:

Yankees Ticket Stubs

My friends and I used to drive into the city or take the train up to Yankee Stadium and buy bleachers seats for six dollars apiece. Six dollars! It boggles my mind how cheap it used to be to go to a game. I’m a huge Yankee fan, but the Yanks weren’t very good in those days. In fact, they stunk my whole childhood. But, those past hardships just make it all the sweeter now. In sports, like in life, you have to be there for all the ups and downs for the big moments to really matter.

Sketch Pad

Growing up, I was always drawing. Always. In class, at home, in front of the TV… everywhere. I’d read comic books or watch TV shows and movies, and I’d want to create my own versions of what I had just read or saw on the screen. For the most part, I spent my time creating my own super heroes and super villains. I filled up sketch pad after sketch pad. I thought you could get a job selling characters to Marvel or DC Comics. Unfortunately that job doesn’t exist. The “character creator” job is actually a little job called “writer.”

Luckily, I found out that artwork was just the first step in my creative process, and a lot of the characters I came up with back in those days found their way into THE ACCIDENTAL HERO. You can see some of them by clicking here.

Comics (specifically Uncanny X-Men # 275)

I’m a big comic book fan. I doubt that comes as a surprise to anyone who has read my books, but it often surprises people to learn that there was a time in my life when I gave up comics and drawing for almost a whole year. It was my freshman year in high school. I felt like it was time to grow up, so I stuffed all my comics in the attic and I stopped drawing. It took a long time for me to wise up, but I remember the moment when I finally did. It was when I saw this comic book on the shelf:

This was drawn by an artist named Jim Lee, who was one of the hottest artists in comic books at the time. Today, he is the co-publisher of DC Comics and maybe the hottest artist in the business. When I saw this picture it hit me right in the gut. I got inspired. I wanted to do what this guy was doing. One look, I knew I had to get back in the game and start flexing my creative muscles. This image reopened the floodgates of my imagination, so if you’re reading this Jim Lee… thank you.

CDs

Music is a huge part of my life. Some of the albums I listened to over and over and over in high school are listed below:

- Pearl Jam, Ten, Versus, Vitology

- A Tribe Called Quest, Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders

- Beastie Boys, Ill Communication

- The Rolling Stones, Hot Rocks 1964-1971

- The Beatles, Best of 1962-1966 and 1967-1970

- Bob Dylan, Best of

- Bob Marley, Legend

- The Doors, Best of

- Dave Matthews Band, Under the Table and Dreaming

- Green Day, Dookie

- Nirvana, Nevermind

Deli Apron:

I worked at a deli all the way through high school. My hours were from 3pm - 9pm two days a week after school, and from 6am – 2pm on Sundays. That was the minimum. A lot of times, I ended up working one more weekday or weekend day. That made getting my schoolwork done a challenge, but I did get it done. The upside was, I had money to pay for my own car (a must). The downside was some very early mornings on the weekends. Also, sometimes I can still smell the oil and vinegar from the Italian subs on my hands…

Movie Stubs:

I was a huge movie buff back then. I still am, but I have a lot less time to watch movies these days. When I was in high school I not only saw everything, but I also prided myself on knowing what was coming next. This was before the internet, mind you. It wasn’t so easy back in those days. I was especially proud of knowing what the hot independent movies were. I knew about Pulp Fiction before all of my friends. Same with Reservoir Dogs, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Trainspotting, and Swingers. My first date with my wife (while we were in college) was a screening of The Usual Suspects.

Football Helmet:

I played football my freshman year. It was a great experience, even if I decided not to keep up with it the following year. Football is a total team sport. The greatest things we get out of team sports are lessons about commitment, dedication, and teamwork. Pride, confidence, and a feeling of accomplishment can be part of the bargain too. I got all of that out of my freshman football experience. People who know me always find it funny when I tell them I played right tackle and defensive end. (I’m not nearly big enough to play either position).

Books:

I read my fair share of books growing up too. (Shocker, right?) I remember reading a lot of Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Michael Crichton, and Stephen King on my own, but the book that sticks with me the most from my high school days was Orwell’s 1984. The thought of that book still gives me chills. It’s funny how a book can stay with you that way. I hope I’ve created some moments in the Jack Blank Adventures that will stick with my readers too.

Thanks so much for reading!

Awesome garage sale, Matt! What a great selection of items! =) Thank you so much for being here today! 

Matt Myklusch can be found on his website, his blog, and on twitter.

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Picking up a year after the events of Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation, Jack and his fellow students are now well into their School of Thought training and are "sidekicking" for official, card-carrying super heroes. But, even though Jack feels more at home in the Imagine Nation, he’s still hiding secrets from his friends Skerren and Allegra, both about his shocking connection to their enemy Revile and about his “Top Secret” school assignment, which involves investigating the Rüstov computer virus that affects the Mechas. Jack is busy trying to find out how far the Rüstov sleeper virus has spread, working to find a cure, and striving to avoid the dire future that Revile warned him about. Meanwhile, Jonas Smart is working just as hard to discover what Jack is hiding from everyone. When a rogue Secreteer—the protectors of secrets of inhabitants of the Imagine Nation—starts selling secrets to the highest bidder, Smart is ready and waiting. Jack knows that if Smart finds out the truth about him and Revile, he’s as good as dead. When Jack discovers that the Secreteer causing all this trouble also has information about his father, the distractions really start piling up. If Jack is going to help prevent a second Rüstov invasion, keep Smart from discovering his secrets, and find out what a shadowy, half-mad Secreteer knows about his long-lost father, he'll need to learn to trust his friends, and to find the true path toward becoming a hero himself.

Synopsis taken from goodreads. 

Blog Tour: Frost - Marianna Baer - Teenage Garage Sale

Marianna Baer is here today with a Teenage Garage Sale post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her book, Frost. Thank you for being here today, Marianna! You can follow along with the tour here. Enjoy! 

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Thanks for having me on your blog, Corrine! I’ll be setting up a Pay Pal account shortly to deal with the stampede of readers rushing to buy these late ‘80s items! :)

1. Two mix tapes. $10 each.

~The Frost House "nap mix,” which my roommates and I listened to when we’d sprawl around one of our rooms during breaks from classes and catch up on sleep we weren’t getting at night. The song I remember best is a melodramatic Italian love song called Te Amo.

~A mix tape that my best friend and I would listen to on our many road trips. Songs include Rocky Raccoon by the Beatles, Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin, and Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones.

2. “The Outfit.” $100 – You know how there’s that one outfit that you wish you could wear everyday, because it makes you feel so good? Well, here’s mine from senior year: black silky rayon top, with a perfect v-neck and slight flutter cap sleeves; faded Levis with patches in various floral patterns; dark brown nubuck clogs; thick silver cuff Navajo bracelet. Sexy yet earthy.

3. Oil paintings by me. $5 each – Choose among a large, scary self-portrait; landscapes from the coast of Maine; an expressionistic nude; and several still-lifes.

4. A used but good condition girls’ field hockey stick. $10 – You too can experience the great feeling of the thwack when wooden stick hits rubber ball, the satisfaction of a cross-field wallop, the fresh smell of the grass, the pain in your thighs from running that is so bad you won’t be able to walk up the stairs to your third-floor dorm room…

5. Copy of Ichabod. $200 – My first published book. Well, okay, not really published published. But my first book! As a senior project, my friend and I wrote and illustrated a children’s book, then made hand-bound and hand-colored copies. It’s a bit derivative of William Steig, I have to admit, but it has its charms.

6. Laura Ashley prom dress. $125 – Scoop neck, fitted bodice, elbow-length fitted sleeves, knee-length, three-tiered skirt. In a cotton print, black with large-scale flowers and leaves, mostly in deep pinks and greens. Perfect for going swimming at a pond when you ditch the dance early. (Remove dress before entering the water.)

7. Big box of letters. $10,000 – As good as a box full of amazing books! I promise – my friends and family were/are so funny, it won’t matter that you don’t know the people who wrote them. Memorable letters include an episode about a surprisingly jolly flasher in the hills of England, and an entertaining (if tragic at the time) explanation of why Boy X couldn’t bring himself to go out with me.

Lots of exciting finds at your garage sale! That box of letters sounds like a blast! Thank you for being here today, Marianna! 

Marianna Baer can be found on her website, and on twitter. 

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Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school begins with a shock: Frost House, her cozy dorm of close friends, has been assigned an unexpected roommate: confrontational, eccentric Celeste Lazar. But while Leena’s anxiety about a threat to her sanctuary proves valid, it becomes less and less clear whether the threat lies with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind, or within the very nature of Frost House itself. Mysterious happenings in the dorm, an intense triangle between Leena, Celeste, and Celeste’s brother, and the reawakening of childhood fears, all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. Frost is the story of a haunting. As to whether the demons are supernatural or psychological . . . well, which answer would let you sleep at night?

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: Boy vs. Girl - Na'ima B. Robert - Teenage Garage Sale

Na'ima B. Roberts is here today with a Teenage Garage Sale post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her book, Boy vs. Girl. Thank you for being here today Na'ima! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!

My father’s vintage 70s green pinstriped suit with the flared trousers and wide lapels - I wore the hey out of that baby!

My baggy green jeans and Doc Marten copies - unique in all Harare!

Head Girl badge - I went to a school that was modelled on a British private school and was appointed Head Girl in my final year, a position I relished and tried to use to truly improve my school and leave a legacy - it didn’t quite end that way though! I attempted a coup d’etat and was struck off the yearbook instead!

My school copy of Macbeth - complete with pencil-written notes dating back to the 1970s.

My trusty Dark’n’Lovely hair relaxer kit - I went through a phase of relaxing my hair to within an inch of its life - so glad those days are over now!

A copy of Nigerian playwrite, Ola Rotimi’s play ‘Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again’ - I was curiously drawn to this play and read it over and over again.

My library copy of Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ - a much-treasured introduction to African literature.

What a great list of item's, Na'ima! Thank you for being here today! 

Na'ima B. Roberts can be found on her website, her blog, and on twitter. 

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Farhana and her brother Faraz may be twins but they are on different paths. Their grandparents came to Bradford 40 years ago but their family remains devoutly Muslim. While Farhana risks being ostracised by her classmates for taking Ramzan seriously and adopting the hijab, Faraz is getting involved in a local gang led by 'Da General' Imran. This powerful second novel by the author of From Somalia With Love explores the idea of honour (Izzat in Arabic and Urdu) and what it means to different generations. A powerful idea that has been used to justify dreadful abuses such as forced marriages and 'honour' killings, new generations of ex-patriate Pakistanis have to re-evaluate its importance as they seek to straddle traditional and modern ways of life.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: Blood Ties - Mari Mancusi - Teenage Garage Sale

Mari Mancusi is here today with a Teenage Garage Sale Post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her newest release, Blood Ties. Thank you for being here today, Mari! You can follow along with the tour here. Enjoy! 

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Doc Martens steel toe shoes, cherry red

I absolutely loved these shoes and felt so cool wearing them out. Even though they weren't exactly practical; my toes would always bang against the steel tips and bruise. But hey--sometimes you had to suffer for punk rock fashion. (Even though there was no practical reason on Earth I needed steel toes--not like I was going to get into a fight on the way home from school...) Today I prefer a pair of eight hole, non-steel toe, black Doc Martens boots. Simple, but effective.

CD player with 3 disc changer

I thought this was so cool--you could change CDs without ever opening the player. Unfortunately, I could never remember which CDs I'd put in which slot, so it was kind of a crapshoot. Also, now that I'm used to having thousands of songs at my fingertips, thanks to my iPod, I think I can safely get rid of this player.

Cure T-Shirt - Disintegration Album

My pride and joy concert t-shirt, even though I bought it at a used record store, not a concert. Sadly I didn't get to see the Cure live until I was in college. I did, however, go see a number of other awesome new wave and alternative bands in college. My favorite had to be Peter Murphy, former lead singer of Bauhaus, my favorite goth band. My friends' parents got us front row tickets to the show and he leaned down and sang lines from his son "Deep Ocean, Vast Sea" to me. Swoon!

Pair of skis

No good to me now because I gave up skiing in college to start snowboarding and never looked back. Mostly because all of my boyfriends were snowboarders (and skaters) and, at the time, I had it in my head that it was cooler than skiing. Now I just think it's more fun. Snowboarding also helps me avoid my two biggest problems on the slopes--crossing my skis over one another and losing them in a snowy crash, halfway up the mountain.

David Bowie Poster

This particular poster came free with an advertisement for Sassy, my absolute favorite teen magazine back in the day. I thought they were so cool to make David Bowie their pin-up, instead of, say, New Kids on the Block. Totally earned my respect. If only there could be a magazine like Sassy out there for today's teens. Something smart and cool that encouraged girls to be creative and independent, instead of always following the crowd and worrying about their hair and makeup.

Labyrinth VHS tape (very worn)

Speaking of Bowie, Labyrinth was definitely a coming of age movie for me and David Bowie became one of my first teenage crushes. (After pre-teen crushes on Michael Jackson (!?!) and Luke Skywalker.) I probably watched this film fifty times. Especially the end scene where David Bowie promises to be Jennifer Connelly's slave if she gives him her brother. Um, what an easy choice that would have been for me. Sayonara, kid!

Classic Mickey Mouse watch

Even back then, I was a huge Disney fan. Though it wasn't until I was in college and started working at the Disney Store that I became extremely obsessed with all things Mouse. I even moved to Orlando after graduation and got annual passes so my friends and I could hang out at the parks nearly every weekend. Young twenty-somethings at Disney--oh the stories I could tell! (Would probably get me banned from the parks for life!) Even to this day, I make it a point to go to Disney at least once a year. And I cannot wait until my daughter is old enough to appreciate the most magical place on Earth.

Love these garage sale items, Mari! ;) Thank you so much for being here today! 

Mari Mancusi can be found on her website, her blog, and on twitter. 

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The final battle is brewing between Vampires and Slayers. But for Sunny McDonald, the true war is being fought over her heart.

Though now officially back in the arms of her vampire boyfriend Magnus, Sunny finds she still can't forget the gentle mortal Jayden who once saved her life. And when the darkness threatens to steal his humanity, Sunny finds herself with a choice. Stay true to Magnus and the Blood Coven or defy them in a desperate attempt to save Jayden’s soul.

Meanwhile, the Blood Coven is gearing up for its toughest fight yet--going head to head with a splinter group of Slayer Inc who's regrouping in Tokyo, Japan, still determined to take over the world. In dark blood bars and hidden temples, it'll be Vampires vs. Slayers in a showdown that could cost Sunny not only her heart...but also her very life.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: Crush Control - Jennifer Jabaley - Teenage Garage Sale

Jennifer Jabaley is here today with a Teenage Garage Sale post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her new release, Crush Control. Thank you for being here today, Jennifer! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!

1. My tennis racket. Spent all four years of high school playing jv then varsity tennis. Lots of good times, good friends and good memories.

2. My silver, rectangular 'boom box'. Ahh, the years of bad eighties beepop and nineties hair bands. Good times, bad music.

3. Cans and cans and cans of Aquanet hairspray that I bought in bulk because I irrationally feared that I might run out. That hole in the ozone? Yeah, probably my fault.

4. Giant poster of John Stamos. He's still cute, imo.

5. The wrinkled up, highlighted map of the Jersey shore. Yes, that Jersey shore. Only we spent our summers and post prom days walking the boardwalk of Seaside and Wildwood and LBI waaaaay before Snooki did.

6. Stacks and stacks of jeans. My bff said I spent the better part of my teen years on the quest for the perfect pair of jeans. I used to buy guy's Levi's because I preferred the low slung waist to the awful high waisted variety that was popular for us girls, then I'd have a tailor adjust the legs. See? I invented low-rise jeans way before the fashion designers.

7. My artwork. Really? Sell my artwork at a garage sale? Not hang on to it for sentimental value? Well, I'd keep some pieces - like the oil portrait I painted of my sister and me. Or the landscape I painted while watching the famous TV painter Bob Ross. But the other stuff? Yeah, I'd sell it. Trust me, my experiments in pastels were not pretty. And after my visit to France and I suddenly had the urge to paint impressionistic? Those can go.

Finally, 8. My bike. I spent many a day riding that bike. I didn't get my first car until after I graduated college - I know! Deprived! But I rode my bike all over the place - to jobs, to friend's houses, to the pool, to my boyfriend's. Man, I must have been in really good shape....

Thanks so much for having me! This was such a unique and thought provoking guest post! I really enjoyed recalling items that defined me and my teen years!

You are more than welcome, Jennifer! Thank you for being here and letting us peek at the items that would have graced your garage sale! ;) 

Jennifer Jabaley can be found on her website, her blog, and on twitter. 

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Willow has spent most of her life as her mother's sidekick in a popular Las Vegas hypnotism show. So when she and her mom move back to their sleepy southern hometown to start over, she thinks she's in for a life of quiet normalcy. Except that her new life turns out to be anything but, when she kinda sorta hypnotizes Quinton, the hottest guy on the football team, to fall madly, deeply, head over heels in love with her. But what started out as an innocent way to make her best friend, Max, jealous soon gets way out of hand, and Willow begins to wonder if the mind - and more importantly, the heart - is something you can really control.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: The Gailean Quartet - Christine Schulze - Teenage Garage Sale

Christine Schulze stops by today with a teenage garage sale post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her books from The Gailean Quartet. Thank you for being here Christine! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy! 

Lol, well, I sort of see myself as just entering my teen years, although I am 23. ^_^ I attended Christian schools and seemed to bypass the whole rebellious, boy-crazy stage of life. However, I do recently find myself becoming more assertive, stubborn even, and self-confident, not to mention more free-spirited, so perhaps I am just starting late? Enough rambling though. Welcome to my yard sale; allow me to showcase my wares!

1. Three colorful, striped paperclips. Nope, not joking. In middle school, I got to sit next to the boy and best friend I would crush on for seven years plus (sadly, he never reciprocated these feelings, but gladly, I have found my love in another ^_^). I found them on my desk one day, and since he had the exact same kind, I believe to this day in his bestowing them upon me. You’ll hear more about this guy later on. ($.25 each or all three for just $.50!)

2. The Neverending Story III; I seriously just got this movie, and someone, please take it away. I now know why I hated this as a kid. They took a great fantasy series and turned the last in the trilogy into an eighties nightmare with cheap humor and ill-placed Jim Henson creatures. Buy, if you dare. ($2.00)

3. A lovely bracelet, silver with stones all colors of the rainbow. Given to me by my first boyfriend. He was a great guy, but not true love. May this bracelet bring luck to the lucky girl who buys it, and may it grant luck to him so he finds the right sweetheart for himself! ($7.00)

4. My Chopin piano book. Loved taking piano, but DESPISED Chopin. He’s a crazy dude when it comes to composing. (Take this one for free, get it outta my sight!)

5. May as well throw in my theory books as well. People say I play the piano very well, but I think part of the reason I never excelled is because I really hated piano theory. I just wanted to play. ($.50 each, free if you TAKE THE CHOPIN BOOK!)

6. A blue sweater, reminiscent of a blue sweater of the boy whom I crushed on for seven plus years. If you like vampires, you should consider reading about the character he inspired in Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress. Likewise, if you like fairies and elves, check out his character in The Hero Chronicles. Then, go buy the sweater. ($5.00)

7. Miracle Cat; lol, here’s another free item. It’s this completely awful book a best friend of mine and I wrote in middle school. (I’ll sell to your for $.25; then, when I am famous, you can sell it for millions ^_^)

8. A red gift bag. Lame, yes, I know it sounds lame. But it’s from that first boyfriend I mentioned, where I used to keep all the stuff he gave me, and guess what? Still looks good as new. ($.15)

9. The Heart of the Ocean; this is another seven-year-crush-dude-related item. It’s a lovely little necklace, a heart of “diamonds” on a silver chain. My mom originally won it for free at a Hallmark store. In The Legends of Surprisers series, one of the characters my crush inspired gives me this necklace. You have no clue how long I wore that thing. Another great item to make you rich and famous when I am as well. Though, I wouldn’t sell this one. I’d set this one on display and charge people to see it. ^_^ ($12.00)

10. A snow globe; also from my first boyfriend. It appears in The Hero Chronicles, and who knows? Maybe if you buy it, then, just as in the book, you’ll be whisked away to your own kingdom, crown, and shining silver knight in armor. ($7.00)

Thank you for being here today, Christine! You have some interesting items up for grabs, but I'm with you on piano theory. Forget it! ;)

Christine can be found on her website, and on her blog.

You can enter HERE to win a copy of The Gailean Quartet on Christine's blog. 

Blog Tour: A Scary Scene in A Scary Movie - Matt Blackstone - Teenage Garage Sale

Today, Matt Blackstone is here with a Teenage Garage Sale post courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for his upcoming release, A Scary Scene in A Scary Movie. Thank you for being here, Matt! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy!

$10 Tuxedo. I’d like to say that I bought one because of how frequently I was asked to esquire ladies to local dances. I can’t say that.

$8.50 Graphing Calculator. Not sure how to work the math buttons, but I know how to play Tetris.

$5.75 Saved by the Bell DVD. “I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it. I just . . . can’t.”

$5 Purple Easton Baseball Bat: My mom still refers to it as “the magic bat” because my baseball team miraculously hit balls out of the infield when using it. The nickname is rather mean when you really think about it.

$3.50 Blue Tuxedo Vest: I rocked it in style, though it wasn’t remotely close to being in style.

$2 Yellow visor. Seems liked a good idea at the time.

$1 Speedo. Yup, I was on the swim team for a year. I came last in every race. Even with the Speedo.

$.95 V8 Splash: This was the drink of choice in the Blackstone house. Sounds gross. And, wouldn’t you know, it tastes gross too.

$.50 Mariah Carey CD: Music Box. I liked the song Hero but hid the CD in my sock drawer so none of my friends would see it. There’s a hero . . . if you look inside your sock drawer . . . you don’t to be afraid . . .

$0 Hemp necklace. Take it. I’m ashamed.

Nice group of items at your garage sale, Matt! Thank you for being here!

Matt can be found on his website, and on twitter.

There is also an ongoing giveaway for 10 copies of his book now through July 31st. You can find that giveaway located here.

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Rene, an obsessive-compulsive fourteen year old, smells his hands and wears a Batman cape when he’s nervous. If he picks up a face-down coin, moves a muscle when the time adds up to thirteen (7:42 is bad luck because 7 + 4 + 2 = 13), or washes his body parts in the wrong order, Rene or someone close to him will break a bone, contract a deadly virus, and/or die a slow and painful death like someone in a scary scene in scary movie. Rene’s new and only friend tutors him in the art of playing it cool, but that’s not as easy as Gio makes it sound.

Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Blog Tour: The Mumbo Jumbo Circus - Jane George - Teenage Garage Sale & Giveaway

Today, Jane George is here with a teenage garage sale post as part of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for her book, The Mumbo Jumbo Circus. Thank you for being here, Jane! You can follow along with the tour here, or by clicking through the banner. Enjoy! 

A garage sale from my teenage years? Ruh-roh, as Scooby-Doo would say.

In this box over here: an extensive collection of Breyer model horses, many with broken legs and chipped ears. All of them have names. Would you like to hear them? There’s only fifty or so.

Eek! Is that my best friend’s Tiger Beat with the Bay City Rollers pin-up? Dig those tartan crop pants. My friend, totally bonkers for them, kept trying to get me to say which Roller I thought was the cutest. She even tried the, “If they were the last four guys on earth…” approach. I remained mute.

My vinyl albums. Sniff. These should never be in the garage sale, but alas, I let go of all my Damned singles, PiL metal box, IN the metal box, along with such gems as The Merton Parkas.

Oh hells no, those are NOT my leg warmers. Uh-uh, I’m denying it.

That IS my radio-controlled R2-D2, and my Obi Wan Kenobi action figure. Once a geek, always a geek. I wrote letters in Lord of the Rings elvish runes too. Oh yes.

Who wants those old manky track cleats? Pew. Throw them out.

Where did that Cat Stevens poster come from? Seriously here, that’s embarassing. *unrolls poster* Wait a minute, he was kinda cute. And I love the soundtrack to Harold & Maude…

What the heck IS this thing? A hand-held waffle iron? Oh, it’s a hair crimper. Too bad back then I cut my hair all off and dyed it purple.

Toilet paper left over from a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Still useful.

A cigar box filled with band buttons. There’s Johnny Rotten, Elvis Costello & Siouxie Sioux. Hold on, I don’t think I want to sell that. If I ever have grandkids, this box is for them.

Awesome list, Jane! Love those band buttons! 

Jane can be found on her website, her blog and on twitter.

Giveaway

Jane is graciously providing  Lost For Words with a copy of The Mumbo Jumbo Circus for giveaway.

Thanks, Jane! 

Giveaway is US only.

Giveaway will end June 23, 2011.

Please fill out this FORM to enter. Comments, while appreciated, will not be counted as entries. 

Thank you!

Blog Tour: Future Imperfect - K. Ryer Breese - Teenage Garage Sale

Today, I'd like to welcome K. Ryer Breese to Lost For Words. He's here today courtesy of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for his book Future Imperfect. Thank you for being here today! You can follow along with the tour here.

Definitely one of the first things you'd find at my Teenage Garage Sale is a black, felt bowler hat. I wore it maybe once and looked like an idiot. At the time -- early 90s -- there was a bit of a fad with the bowler hats. People wore them on the back of their heads and had their hair sticking out the front. I think there was a Depeche Mode connection with the look. I never rocked it and the hat's been in my basement pretty much ever since. Lesson: Don't pursue fashions you don't have the hair for.

Next up would be a Variflex skateboard. The cheap kind. Type that only posers try and Ollie on. Embarrassing.

How about the Mr. Zog's Sex Wax surfing t-shirt that I got busted for wearing to school? My shop teacher saw it and sent me to the principal. I had to wear it inside out the rest of the day. Ridiculous. Still makes me mad. It was a cool shirt too, had a frog on it.

Definitely the skeleton necklace. (This is long before Hot Topic existed.) Oh, and the blue temporary hair coloring. A few bottles of Aquanet. Let's also chuck the vests while we're at it.

Last but not least would be my first dating experience. Here's a hint: don't throw popcorn and run up and down the aisles at a movie theatre with a toy lobster. Just not cool.

Love those garage sale items! Thank you again for being here today!