Aliens and Terrifying Games: A Review of RUSH by Eve Silver

 
RUSH
Eve Silver
352 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: June 11th, 2013
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: REALLY LIKED

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

    With terrifyingly real games and aliens bent on taking over Earth, RUSH is an action-packed novel that will have you awed in no time.

   Miki Jones has been keeping her carefully built world in control for awhile, but when she's pulled into a real life game, she loses control. Miki and four others are sent on multiple missions to terminate the Drau, frightening and ruthless alien beings. But is it really a game if you can actually lose your life fighting these aliens? Filled with breathless action, RUSH is sure to leave readers stunned.

    Let's just say that my expectations for RUSH weren't exactly sky-high, namely because of the countless negative reviews on Goodreads. But Eve Silver knows how to write a captivating story, and I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. The characters had their own back stories, and by the end I knew quite a lot of stuff about secretive and arrogant Jackson Tate, the 'leader' of her team. And when characters have their own back stories, I am bound to be hooked in a story, because suddenly, these characters are real - they have lives, and their deaths could shatter my heart.

    The beginning was kind of confusing and slow, but things pick up pretty quickly once I learned how the game works. I loved how Eve Silver created the game world. It's different than any other book I've read, and reminds of real video games, complete with the health bar. But unlike video games, if you die in the game, you don't come back.

    My only problem with this book was the info dump in some parts. But even then, it wasn't that bad. The parts where the characters were pulled into the game, had me the most excited - mainly because of the high risks and the lives at stake.

   All was well until Eve Silver ended the story with a cliff-hanger. *Gollum voice* "No! Nos! We's hates you!"  Yeah. So that sums up my review of RUSH. It was brilliant and you should definitely read it.

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What's Next? (56) -- A Crewel Season of Darkness

Hi everyone! Welcome to the another week of What's Next?! Click here to read more about the meme and be sure to link up your posts below.

Here are a few I have to (or want to!) read soon. Which first?

Following an all-out battle with the walking Dead, the Spirit Hunters have fled Philadelphia, leaving Eleanor alone to cope with the devastating aftermath. But there’s more trouble ahead—the evil necromancer Marcus has returned, and his diabolical advances have Eleanor escaping to Paris to seek the help of Joseph, Jie, and the infuriatingly handsome Daniel once again. When she arrives, however, she finds a whole new darkness lurking in this City of Light. As harrowing events unfold, Eleanor is forced to make a deadly decision that will mean life or death for everyone

Enter a tangled world of secrets and intrigue where a girl is in charge of other’s destinies, but not her own.

Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift—the ability to weave the very fabric of reality—they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don’t want her to become a Spinster — one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls. Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power. Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it — or destroy it.

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine—a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut

What's Next??
Link up your What's Next posts below. Please use a direct link. And be sure to return next week!

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THE PROMISE OF AMAZING by Robin Constantine Cover Reveal and Giveaway

I have another cover reveal for you today! This time, for Robin Constantine's debut, THE PROMISE OF AMAZING, hitting shelves from HarperTeen and Balzer + Bray next year. I'm excited to have her cover here for a signal boost and an awesome giveaway for the gorgeous book!

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love

Robin Constantine is a born and bred Jersey girl who moved down South so she could wear flip-flops year round. She spends her days dreaming up stories where love conquers all, well, eventually but not without a lot of peril, angst and the occasional kissing scene.

Her YA debut, THE PROMISE OF AMAZING, will be released on December 31, 2013 by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

And now for the cover! What do you think?

Here's what Robin has to say about the masterpiece:
Thank you Hafsah for taking part in the cover reveal for The Promise of Amazing! I’m so thrilled to finally be able to share it. Seeing my cover for the first time was a definite ‘pinch me’ moment. Erin Fitzsimmons is the cover designer and I think she did an awesome job. What I love most about it (and I know I’m biased) is the body language of the couple on the cover. This completely embodies the dynamic of Wren and Grayson’s budding relationship in the story. Wren is a bit wary of Grayson at first, but at the same time he fascinates her and Grayson is sometimes quite literally in Wren’s face, but gives her space when she needs it. I also love the look of anticipation on both of their faces – perfect for the title. I just can’t help but smile when I see it and I hope readers feel the same way!!

Find Robin on Facebook | Her Website | Twitter
Add THE PROMISE OF AMAZING to Goodreads

And now for the giveaway! Just fill out the Rafflecopter to win these amazing prizes! Good luck!

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FAKE ID by Lamar Giles Cover Reveal and Giveaway

Lamar Giles's debut YA thriller, FAKE ID, hits shelves from HarperTeen, January 2014. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited for it. And I'm even more excited to reveal the color-popping cover for it! First, here's what the book's all about. And be sure to enter to win a copy of FAKE ID below!

Nick Pearson is pretending to be someone he isn’t. Not high school pretending. Witness Protection pretending. And the #1 rule is “stay low-key”. But, when his sole friend Eli dies in the school’s journalism room under mysterious circumstances, and Nick stumbles upon the conspiracy Eli planned on exposing, staying low-key takes a backseat to staying alive.

Newspaper Nerd Eli had a secret, an in-the-works story codenamed “Whispertown”. And it’s got a lot of folks interested. Like corrupt cops, the town’s shady mayor, and certain high-ranking government officials. Teaming with Eli’s estranged (and gorgeous) sister, Nick sets out to unravel the mystery and still maintain his cover. He’ll have to use all the deviant skills he’s gained from his racketeering dad, assassin godfather, and their Serbian gangster boss to find the truth. However, each clue brings him closer to answers he may not want. Whispertown is bigger than he could have ever imagined, and in its shadow stands a killer…a killer Nick fears may be his own father.

Lamar Giles writes for teens and adults. Penning everything from epic fantasy to noir thrillers, he's never met a genre he didn't like. His debut YA mystery FAKE ID is about a teen in witness protection who investigates his best friend's murder and stumbles on a dark conspiracy. It will be published in 2014 by HarperCollins Children's Books/Amistad. He resides in Virginia with his wife and is represented by Jamie Weiss Chilton of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

And now for the cover! What do you think?

Find Lamar on Facebook | His Website | Twitter
Add FAKE ID to Goodreads
And now for the giveaway! Lamar and HarperTeen have generously donated a copy of FAKE ID to one lucky US winner. Prize will be shipped when available. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below! Good luck!

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What's Next? (55) - Viruses, Secrets, and Impostors

Hi everyone! Welcome to the another week of What's Next?! Click here to read more about the meme and be sure to link up your posts below.

Here are a few I have to (or want to!) read soon. Which first?

After a virus claimed nearly the entire global population, the world changed. The United States splintered into fifty walled cities where the surviving citizens clustered to start over. The Company, which ended the plague by bringing a life-saving vaccine back from the future, controls everything. They ration the scant food and supplies through a lottery system, mandate daily doses of virus suppressant, and even monitor future timelines to stop crimes before they can be committed.

Brilliant but autistic, sixteen-year-old Clover Donovan has always dreamed of studying at the Waverly-Stead Academy. Her brother and caretaker, West, has done everything in his power to make her dream a reality. But Clover’s refusal to part with her beloved service dog denies her entry into the school. Instead, she is drafted into the Time Mariners, a team of Company operatives who travel through time to gather news about the future.

When one of Clover’s missions reveals that West’s life is in danger, the Donovans are shattered. To change West’s fate, they’ll have to take on the mysterious Company. But as its secrets are revealed, they realize that the Company’s rule may not be as benevolent as it seems. In saving her brother, Clover will face a more powerful force than she ever imagined… and will team up with a band of fellow misfits and outsiders to incite a revolution that will change their destinies forever.

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.

Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late?

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

What's Next??
Link up your What's Next posts below. Please use a direct link. And be sure to return next week!

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Weekly Roundup (IMM #137) -- ENGINES OF ELEGY

Welcome back! Here's what happened this week - in books and posts:

ELEGY by Amanda Hocking
ENGINES OF THE BROKEN WORLD by Jason Vanhee Thank you Macmillan and St. Martin's Press!Here's what you missed last week:

Monday:
Asma reviewed RUSH by Eve Silver

Tuesday:
Asma posted the releases of June 18th
ASK AGAIN LATER by Liz Czukas - Cover Reveal and Giveaway

Wednesday:
Waiting on Wednesday - THE NETHERGRIM

Thursday:
What's Next? - CREWEL  won
THE PROMISE OF AMAZING by Robin Constantine - Cover Reveal and Giveaway

Friday:
FAKE ID by Lamar Giles - Cover Reveal and ARC Giveaway

Saturday:
Asma posted the next installment in her story

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Giveaway: QUARANTINE: THE LONERS and THE SAINTS by Lex Thomas

Since posting the Quarantine novels in my book haul, I've gotten comments raving on how much everyone NEEDS the second book. I haven't read QUARANTINE: The Loners, but thanks to Egmont USA and MM Publicity, I'll be reading books one and two sooner than I thought.

And YOU can read them too. That's right, Egmont USA and MM Publicity are offering up a hardcover of QUARANTINE: The Saints and a paperback of Quarantine: The Loners to one lucky US/Canada resident.

But first, here's a little bit about the books.

It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.

A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.

In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive.

A cross between the Gone series and Lord of the Flies, Quarantine #2: The Saints contunues this frenetically paced and scary young adult series that illustrates just how deadly high school can be.

Nothing was worse than being locked in—until they opened the door... McKinley High has been a battle ground for eighteen months since a virus outbreak led to a military quarantine of the school. When the doors finally open, Will and Lucy will think their nightmare is finished. But they are gravely mistaken.

As a new group of teens enters the school and gains popularity, Will and Lucy join new gangs. An epic party on the quad full of real food and drinks, where kids hookup and actually interact with members of other gangs seemed to signal a new, easier existence. Soom after though, the world inside McKinley takes a startling turn for the worse, and Will and Lucy will have to fight harder than ever to survive.

The Saints brings readers back to the dark and deadly halls of McKinley High and the QUARANTINE series

Lex Thomas is the pen name for the writing team of Lex Hrabe and Thomas Voorhies. Their first novel, QUARANTINE: THE LONERS, earned a starred review from Booklist, and Huffington Post Books called it "one of the best books that I have ever read."

Lex received a BA in Drama and English from the University of Virginia and has worked as an actor, director and writer. Thomas graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design, and now writes, and exhibits his realist oil paintings in Los Angeles.

Lex and Thomas met in a writers' group in Los Angeles. Their friendship developed as they tried to blow each other's minds with clips from bizarre movies. In 2005, they became a screenwriting team, and found that writing with a friend is much more fun than doing it alone.

Purchase THE LONERS and THE SAINTS
Add THE LONERS and THE SAINTS to Goodreads
Follow Lex Thomas on Twitter | Website | Facebook

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5 Photography Workshop Giveaways for our Community!

We are so excited about our annual Photography Conference for Women that we are hosting near Columbus, Ohio this year! Not only are we in full swing planning mode for this event, but we have also been coordinating some additional photography workshops that five of our conference speakers will be teaching in Ohio as well.

And today we get to help spread the word that each instructor is giving away one FREE seat to their photography workshop! {Total Value $2,500 – five winners will each receive a seat at one photography workshop valued at $500 each.}

Our workshops are filling up quickly (several are almost sold out!) If you’d like to ensure that you will have a seat, please be sure to purchase your seat now. Even if you have purchased a seat, your are still welcome to enter the giveaway. Your seat will be refunded by the instructor if your name is chosen as the winner!  Conference attendees do receive a $100 discount per workshop (snag your conference ticket today!)

Enter to win a free seat at each of the add-on photography workshops  being hosted by I Heart Faces in Columbus, Ohio (five total winners).Everyone is welcome to enter to win (conference attendees or anyone else).  Conference attendees receive a $100 discount per workshop.Visit the blog of each instructor to enter their giveaway (find links below).Location: Cherry Valley Lodge near Columbus, OhioDate:  Friday, October 4th or Sunday, October 6thGiveaway includes a seat at the photography workshop only. Winner is responsible for all additional expenses that are incurred (ie. travel, lodging, food, etc.)

Enter Giveaway: How To Build a Strong Business with Hilary Camilleri from One for the Wall Photography

Enter Giveaway: From Click to Canvas: A Session From Start to Finish with Rachel Durik from Savor Photography

Enter Giveaway: Business of Beautiful Lifestyle Photography with Susan Keller Photography

Enter Giveaway:Newborn Lifestyle Photography with Jean Smith Photography

Enter Giveaway: Capturing Awesome | A Photography Workshop for Beginners with Jennifer Tonetti-Spellman from JellyBean Pictures

Be sure to visit each instructor’s blog to learn more details about each photography workshop. We’ll also be featuring each workshop here on I Heart Faces throughout the week. Check back to learn more!

Did you know that Google Reader is officially gone on July 1st? Please be sure to follow us on Bloglovin or you are welcome to sign up for emails in our sidebar. We don’t want you to miss any I Heart Faces news!

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$500 Photography Workshop Giveaway with Rachel Durik!

On October 4th, Rachel Durik from Savor Photography will be bringing her “From Click to Canvas: A Session from Start to Finish” photography workshop to Columbus, Ohio. This workshop will be taught on Friday morning before our Photography Conference for Women begins that evening.  Rachel is a valued member of our I Heart Faces Creative Team and will be a featured speaker throughout our conference.  We are so thrilled that she is also bringing this workshop to Columbus for our community to learn and grow from!

This workshop is now OPEN for anyone in our community to attend (even if you aren’t planning to attend the I Heart Faces Conference!)  Rachel  is also hosting a giveaway for one workshop seat (valued at $500) that one lucky photographer will be receiving as a gift from her.  Workshop space is very limited (this will be a small group, highly intensive workshop) so be sure to contact Rachel to reserve your seat as soon as possible.

When: Friday, October 4th – 1pm – 5pm
Where: Cherry Valley Lodge near Columbus, Ohio
Instructor: Rachel Durik from Savor Photography
Investment: $500 (conference attendees receive a $100 discount off of this price)
Reservation: Visit Rachel’s blog for more information on how to reserve your seat for this workshop.

Workshop Description:  From meeting your clients for the first time to the final export of your images into Lightroom, learn the secrets of a family session from start to finish. In this workshop, Rachel will walk you though an entire family session and the processing of those images. We’ll cover interacting with clients, posing, lighting on-location, and then take it indoors to show you the Photoshop and Lightroom workflow to process the images. If you’ve ever wanted to experience what it’s like behind the images of a professional photographer and see the images before processing, this is the session for you!

Enter to win a free seat at Rachel Durik’s photography workshop being hosted by I Heart Faces in Columbus, Ohio  {valued at $500}.Everyone is welcome to enter to win (conference attendees or anyone from the I Heart Faces community).  Conference attendees will receive a $100 discount.Visit Rachel’s blog to register to attend this giveaway and/or to enter the giveaway.Location: Cherry Valley Lodge near Columbus, OhioDate:  Friday, October 4th – 1pm-5pmGiveaway includes a seat at the photography workshop only. Winner is responsible for all additional expenses that are incurred (ie. travel, lodging, food, etc.)Visit Rachel’s blog daily from now until July 8th to enter to win!

Enter Giveaway: From Click to Canvas: A Session From Start to Finish with Rachel Durik from Savor Photography

Tagged as: Columbus, Columbus Ohio Photography Workshop, Free Ohio Photography Workshop Giveaway, FREE Photography Workshop Seat, I Heart Faces Photography Conference, Ohio, Ohio Photography Workshop, Photography Workshop Giveaway, Rachel Durik Photography Workshop, Savor Photography Workshop

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Win a FREE seat to One For The Wall Photography’s Workshop! {value $500}

Hilary Camilleri from One For The Wall Photography has built a strong photography business in the Kitchener-Waterloo region of Canada. Within a few short years, she went from starting her photography business to shooting nearly 200 sessions a year while focusing on portrait and commercial sessions. We are excited that she will be sharing her business knowledge during her “How to Build a Strong Business Within Your Community” photography workshop that she is bringing to Ohio when she attends our Photography Conference for Women as a featured speaker!

This workshop is now OPEN for anyone in our community to attend (even if you aren’t planning to attend the I Heart Faces Conference!) You can sign up by contacting Hilary through the information she has provided on her blog. Even more exciting…Hilary is hosting a giveaway for one workshop seat (valued at $500) that one awesome photographer will be receiving as a gift from her. Workshop space is very limited (this will be a small group, highly intensive workshop) so be sure to contact Hilary to reserve your seat as soon as possible. If you have already purchased a seat and end up winning the giveaway, your workshop fee will be refunded by the instructor.

When: Friday, October 4th – 8am – 12pm
Where: Cherry Valley Lodge near Columbus, Ohio
Instructor: Hilary Camilleri of One for the Wall Photography
Investment: $500 (conference attendees receive a $100 discount off of this price)

Workshop Description:  Get ready to roll up your sleeves and get excited about strengthening your business while learning from Hilary who photographs nearly 200 sessions a year with her business, One for the Wall Photography! In this hands-on workshop we will work through and understand your community better with the whole group. You will leave with the beginnings of a community plan to take home, develop and implement to grow and strengthen your photography business. Be ready to think, write, envision and be inspired!

Together we will explore you as a business person, what you are best at in your business and what makes you stand out to the clients in your market. This course is designed for people looking to grow their business or further develop an already established photography business.

During the workshop, you will also have the opportunity to watch Hilary photograph a mother and daughter photography session and observe the interaction she achieves with her clients.  Workshop attendees will have time to portfolio build during this session as well.

Enter to win a free seat at Hilary Camilleri’s photography workshop being hosted by I Heart Faces in Columbus, Ohio  {valued at $500}.Everyone is welcome to enter to win (conference attendees or anyone from the I Heart Faces community).  Conference attendees will receive a $100 discount.Visit Hilary’s blog to register to attend this giveaway and/or to enter the giveaway.Location: Cherry Valley Lodge near Columbus, OhioDate:  Friday, October 4th – 8am-12pmGiveaway includes a seat at the photography workshop only. Winner is responsible for all additional expenses that are incurred (ie. travel, lodging, food, etc.Visit Hilary’s blog daily from now until July 8th to enter to win!

Enter Giveaway: How To Build a Strong Business with Hilary Camilleri from One for the Wall Photography

Remember that conference attendees receive a $100 discount for each add-on photography workshop that they would like to attend. Register to attend our conference today!  Three days of fun, making connections with other photographers, learning tips that will help you no matter what level of photographer you are, daily inspiration, and tons of photo taking possibilities.  You do not want to miss this amazing event!

Tagged as: Business of Photography Workshop, Columbus, Free Ohio Photography Workshop Giveaway, Free Photography Workshop, Hilary Camilleri, I Heart Faces Photography Conference, Ohio, Ohio Photography Workshop, one for the wall photography, Photography Business Workshop, Photography Workshop Giveaway

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Fourth of July Photography Inspiration

To celebrate the Fourth of July this week, we’d like to wish our fellow Americans a very happy Independence Day with a little red, white and blue photography inspiration. We hope you enjoy these beautiful photos from all around the web.

Melissa Gysen of Novel Photographie shared this All-American photo in our free Photography Community.

This photos makes us want to grow poppies and collect antique blue bottles–so pretty!

Red goggles as the perfect accessory for a red, white & blue outfit?  You bet–absolutely perfect for the fun fashion style of  Mandy Blake’s daughter!

Leo Dj Photography took advantage of a flag display in this Times Square engagement session.  Love the energy here!

Be sure to view the rest of Amandalynn’s Fourth of July fireworks photos over on her blog.

Hailey teamed up with Delish Styling to create this stylized red, white and blue session.

This beautifully styled Americana bridal shoot was captured by Shannon Mathis of Mi Amore Foto.  Visit her blog to view more of the gorgeous Southern brides and details.

The light in this photo session by Carrie Anne Miranda is divine.

For a fun and easy Fourth of July treat, check out Living Locurto’s marshmallow flag pops tutorial.

This creative silhouette was captured by Danielle Capito Photography during a stylized Fourth of July beach wedding session.

As much as we love to see beautiful wedding gowns, we heart the red dress and blue seersucker suit in this styled Fourth of July elopement photo session by Jill Johnson Photography.

When planning a session using an American Flag, please remember to treat it with respect. Rather than using it as a blanket for a picnic (the flag should never touch the ground, much less be sat upon), use a flag-inspired quilt instead as Jinky Art did in this fun photo session.

Would you like to share your American spirit? Post your Fourth of July photos to Instagram using the hashtag #iHeartFaces.

Tagged as: Americana. American Flag, Fourth of July, Independence Day, July 4th, patriotic, photo inspiration, red white & blue

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Top 10 Indian Bloggers of 2013 (Infographic)

Since the exposure and growth my BloggingTips.com and my personal following continues to grow strong in India, I thought it would be a cool idea to have an infographic created of the top 10 Indian bloggers for 2013.

Many of these bloggers and sites you probably already know. If not, be sure to check out the many different sites and owners listed on the infographic below and visit their sites to see how they are building their success online.

If you like the infographic below, please feel free to share it with your friends and audience by linking back to this post.

Special thanks to probloggertricks.com, geeks9.com, techappnews.com, digitalhubinc.com for their content and data in building this list.

Be sure to link back to this post and share it around for everyone to see!

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Google Analytics: Some tips every webmaster should know

Google analytics is not a new topic to you if by any means you are related to SEO or say web analytics. So this article is mainly dedicated to beginners in SEO and web analytics. I have met many SEOs in conferences worldwide who want tips as they want to shift themselves to web analytics. The answer is very obvious: If you are a SEO, you are already doing web analytics. The only problem is that you do not know this! So hopefully, by the end of this article you will get so insight of what is Google Analytics? I choose Google Analytics because it is the most widely used web analytics tool available. One major reason you all know is that it’s free. Another reason which I want to explain in this article is that, unless and until you have a very big business spread worldwide which gets millions of visits every day, you can easily make up your work by this tool. This is every expert’s recommendation as Google analytics is very easy to implement, easy to use and easy to understand. So a beginner can read the help files and start working on it.

Google Analytics history: Well you may think that why I am including this topic as you can easily go and Google this topic. The reason why I included this topic is because I want to tell how it evolved. Actually this is not very old software and was started in April 2005. Google bought Urchin Software Corp. in April and launched the free software Google analytics in November 2005. There was a huge rush among webmasters to create an account and as a result, Google had to stop creating new accounts. There was a help page where you can submit your email id and depending upon the rush, Google will send you a mail when there is a scope for creating an account. So this was the start of probably one of the most popular web analytics software.

How to setup a Google Analytics account: Creating a Google analytics account is as simple as creating a Gmail account. The only requirement is that you should have a website or at least access to the HTML (or PHP) code section of the website for which you are creating an account. The only precaution which I think should be considered while creating the account is the proper selection of time zone. If your analytics account is linked to your AdWords account, you can never change your time zone. Hence take precaution as I made this blunder and am paying till now. Other option here is to cancel the existing account completely and then make a fresh account with the time zone you want. But in this case you will miss all the data prior to the date of creating the new account. Now when you create the account, Google generates a small snippet of Java script (known as Google analytics tracking code) which you have to place on your website. Please make sure to place it on all the pages of your website you want Google to track. The code will remain similar for all the pages of the same website.

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5 Unique Ways to Instantly Boost Your Blog Traffic

Traffic is the life-blood for any online business model and any monetization strategy requires a consistent inflow of relevant visitors.

That is why generating regular streams of highly relevant traffic is what every webmaster and blogger aims for.

A simple search like “website traffic generation” on Google would give you literally millions of articles and blog posts that offer different ways of building up your visitor count.

However, most of the times you come across very similar, and sometimes even outdated, methods and strategies of creating traffic channels.

Other times, the methods on offer are just too time consuming and cannot be implemented immediately.

Keeping this in mind, I’ve gathered a list of 5 traffic generation techniques that will not only start sending you traffic immediately but will also help you in developing long term traffic generation channels that will keep sending you highly relevant visitors.

Having personally benefited from this content curation platform, I can safely say that Scoop.it can not only send you very high numbers of traffic but also help make your content viral (if it has value, of course)

As soon as you publish a new blog post, head over to Scoop.it and share your post with 25-30 top Scoop.it pages. Your posts won’t be accepted immediately, but if they eventually do get the nod you can expect a huge surge of visitors to your blog.

Facebook recently enabled hashtags of its own. Just like Twitter, Facebook hashtags will make it much easier for users to search for content of their interest using the relevant search terms with hashtags, for example #blogging.

That offers a huge opportunity for bloggers and webmasters to attract more traffic from Facebook. Use high traffic hashtags that are relevant to your content to give yourself a good chance of attracting traffic. The tendency of users to “Like” and Share content on Facebook is higher than the probability of your Tweets getting RTs. So it’s much easier to get referral traffic through a few Shares and Likes.

Since this feature is still evolving, you can expect a few more opportunities to pop up in the coming days.

Google Authorship is a simple way to attract instant traffic to your blog.

I know that Google has denied any direct relationship between search rankings and rich snippets. But research clearly shows that the probability of users to click search results with author pictures is much higher than simple search listings.

And it also makes sense doesn’t it. A picture alongside your search results adds a lot more credibility.

And the best part is the ease with which you can set up Google Authorship in a few minutes.

Another instant way of attracting qualified traffic along with some quality backlinks to your blog is by using the audio versions of your articles to promote your blog.

The process is simple but there are not many bloggers who are using this method.

Simply record your audio content using a free service like Audacity or any other sound recorder.

Once done, submit your audio file to sound sharing websites like Soundcloud.com and a few others.

Make sure you provide a solid description of your audio content while uploading it. Also include links to the text version in your description.

The best thing about this strategy is the impact it has on your brand image. It instantly shoots it up and takes your credibility to a higher level.

If you haven’t heard of this before, it’s a pretty funny way of attracting new traffic. The idea is simple.

A lot of top blogs regularly hold link parties where they invite their readers to post links of their most valuable blog posts. The party is usually open for 24-48 hours and gives the readers a chance to promote their content.

You can find these link parties through simple Google searches like “blog link party”, “blog hops” and a few variations of these terms.

Make sure you post your link early, since most of the times the submissions are listed in chronological order.

Here you go. Try these 5 methods and let me know in the comments if it worked for you or not. I’m sure it will!

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