Monday, June 22, 2009

Countdown to THE DARK DIVINE ARC giveway, the YA Carnival, and who was your first crush?

So I had this realization yesterday. And that realization is that I don't know how to count. Actually, I've already had that realization several (no, thousands) of times in my life. So the real realization that I really had was that last month during the Countdown to THE DARK DIVINE Contest I claimed that the debut of my novel was a whole 8 months away, but once I figured out how to count, I realized it was actually only 7 months away. (How's that for a long sentence?) Which means now, a month later, the debut of THE DARK DIVINE (on December 22nd) is only 6 MONTHS away!!!! Holy crap, let's do the time warp again, Batman! Seriously, only 6 months away! It's like somebody knocked a whole month off of the time we have to wait until the book debuts. Isn't that cool?

Well, I think it is.

And since 6 months sounds way cooler than 7 months, I've decided to make the prize for this month's Countdown to THE DARK DIVINE Contest/Giveaway extra special: A signed ARC of THE DARK DIVINE!!

But wait! It gets better . . . I've also decided to participate in the YA Book Carnival started by Shooting Star Magazine. And in honor of this fun event, I'm going to give away a second signed ARC of THE DARK DIVINE to another winner.

That's right, you now have 2 chances to win one of the signed ARCs. Neat, huh?

Well, I at least think so.

So how do you enter to win? Well, I'll tell you. . .

In THE DARK DIVINE, the main character, Grace, has had a crush on her brother's best friend, Daniel, ever since she was nine years old. She's been tagging behind her brother and Daniel ever since she was old enough to walk, and even though Daniel loved to tease her, she couldn't help totally crushing on him. But then, one night when she was fourteen years old, something terrible happened between Daniel and Jude, and Daniel suddenly disappeared. Grace thinks she's moved on, she thinks she's buried her feelings for Daniel in the past . . .That is, until three years later when Daniel mysteriously returns to town, enrolls in Grace's small Christian high school, and Grace realizes that maybe what she'd always felt for Daniel wasn't just a crush after all.

So what does this have to do with the contest, you ask? Well, since Grace tells us all about her first crush in THE DARK DIVINE, she wants all of you to tell us about yours. All you have to do to enter the contest is leave a comment to this post, telling me (or Grace, I guess) about your first crush. And you know you've had a first crush, so don't go claiming you don't have a story to share!

(Secondary stipulation, this contest is only open to my blog or twitter followers, so if you're not a follower . . .well, become one! :-D)

To kick off the contest (and so you'll feel a little bit less shy about sharing) I'll tell you all about my first crush: So my brother had this best friend (we'll call him Drew). They did everything together--and I tagged along constantly. And even though Drew loved to tease me, I was totally smitten by him. His dad was my dentist, and he would always tease me about how Drew and I were going to get married. Well, then as Drew and my brother got older, they had some kind of weird falling out, and then awhile after that Drew ran away from home and totally disappeared off the face of the planet . . .oh wait, this is starting to sound familiar . . .

Okay, time to share away! The contest runs until midnight on June 27th. Winners will be announced on June 28th. So bring on those first crushes!

(And if you're new to the blog and you don't know anything about THE DARK DIVINE, you can read the first chapter by clicking here.)

107 comments:

Cindy said...

My first crush was on a older boy named Micah. I was a freshmen in high school, he was a junior. I would admire him for a distance. He had a girlfriend, well, he ended up married and divorcing her!!!

Enter me please!

I'm a follower!

cnhand84 at yahoo dot com

also linked on sidebar

The Mom said...

I'm not up on all this "follower" business. Educate me! :)
Okay, first crush, go:

His name was Tyson. It was the First Grade. He had blue eyes and blond hair and he was just, oh, so cute! He invited me to his birthday party where we played "Red Rover". It was the birthday boy's turn and he called out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send DONALEE over!" I was so excited that my crush had picked me I almost didn't go over... We ate blue popsicles and birthday cake and I thought it was the best day of my life.

Kim Reid said...

I had a crush on every boy, probably, but the first big one was a Daniel I met playing four-square on the playground in sixth grade.

Do sixth-graders even play four-square now? It was cool then. I swear. I'd write about that crush, but Sara Zarr already did in Sweethearts.

Bree, you know I'd follow you if I could but I cannot figure out the technology. I'm a Twitter follower, though.

If you rig it so I win, I will lend the signed ARC to every book publicist and YA blogger and teenager I know. ;)

Cami said...

I guess I always liked older men because (not considering the dead movie stars of the 40s) my first crush was my middle school science teacher, Mr. Robinson.

Wendy said...

My first crush was this boy in my neighborhood, I don't exactly remember how we meet, must have been at school, but we became friends and I crushed on him for the longest time, totally thinking we were going to end up marrying and stuff.

Then when I was 11, I moved away and haven't seen him since. Kind of a sad ending..

Faye( Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm) said...

My 1st crush was when i was in the 5th grade, my teacher assigned the class 2 sit boy girl boy girl...and i sat next to the cutey Jordan. i was always watching him from the corner of my eye, i noticed he can draw, i draw 2, anyways i finally said "i like ur drawing" which was of some kind of character from dragon ball z. he gave me the cutest smile, our friendship started there. He was so sweet and made me laugh. me and my friend use 2 go 2 the library and he would be there chasing us around. after 5th grade i never saw him again until one day i think i was about 13-14 i saw him and i was like what happened(he was still cute)but he turned all"gangsta"on me(girls all around him, big baggy t-shirt). He wasn't the cool, unique person i had a crush on. he changed, i looked back in my old yearbook and there was a heart around his pic, Jordan my 1st crush and his cute smile.

follower
redleocat at yahoo dot com

Mrs. O said...

I'm both a blog and twitter follower. My first real crush was in the 5th grade on Douglas Birch. His dad was the Superintendent of our Intl School and they lived across the street. He used to throw these really hard berries at me (so that means he totally crushed on me, too). We used to play Life, drink mango shakes, and talk to his uber-cool parrot.

Bree Biesinger Despain said...

Thanks for sharing so far, everybody!

Donalee, if you scroll along the right side of the blog, there's a button that says "follow." Click on that button and it will tell you how to follow the blog. Or you can follow me on twitter at @breedespain. But you are also my friend on facebook, so I've decided that counts too!

Sara said...

My first serious crush lasted for two whole years and I don't think I ever really had a chance. He was the son of some of my parents friends and worked at the same place I did. My mom called my feelings for him "infatuation" which doesn't really seem very complimentary, mostly just creepy. I was in 8th grade and he was a junior in high school. He probably thought I was a crazy little kid. I haven't seen him in a LOOONG time now, but I sometimes wonder about him.

Sara
grochowskis@hotmail.com

Michelle said...

When my friend Bree announced she thought my first crush/obsession Pete was cute, I was devastated. But thankfully she stepped aside so I could take him to a dance. She was able to do this because she had a crush on our mutual friend Bricky. I don't know what ever happened to those two...

Just give me the copy already...you know you WANT TO!

donnas said...

My first crush was this boy in my class. He was from out of town and super cute. He was one of those very popular kids that end up friends with everyone. Sadly he moved away after the first semester.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

donnas said...

Oh, I am a blog follower. I forgot to add that.

Sarah Steele said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lexie said...

I suppose it depends on who I met first but my first two crushes (both in the same year) was an older boy (he was 12, I was 7) named Joey. He was the best friend of my brother's best friend's older brother (yeah try saying THAT three times fast!) and he would come around on weekends from Ohio to visit with his friend and his grandma. I only ever saw him occasionally and he never seemed to want to hang around with a little girl in pigtails. (it wouldn't be until years later when I was 21 and he was 26 that he would admit to liking me, but being too scared of our age difference to ask me out).

My other crush, the same year, was on my best friend's older brother Brad. He was 2 years older and he had my heart from the moment he helped me up from a bad tumble. I nursed that crush for a decade before finally understanding that fate wouldn't suddenly make him go from barely noticing me at all to lustful attentions of love. (Oddly enough he would admit to a crush on ME two years after I graduated HS, but was too shy to say anything to me because I never spoke to him. It didn't occur to him at all that I was too SCARED to speak to him...)

I think fate is cruel to have them both proclaim affection AFTER I finally got my first boyfriend >.>

I'm also a follower! ::crosses fingers to win::

Lexie.Cenni@gmail.com

Sarah Steele said...

Phew. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about your promise of a give-away. I'm a follower through google and you mentioned something about facebook. Does that count as two? Well, here's my deal, embarrassing as it is.

I wish I could say it was a brother of one of my friends, or the boy next door, or someone in elementary school. It wasn't. I was 7. We had an ice cream delivery service back in NY (Schwan's Frozen Foods...I've seen trucks out west, too) and our delivery guy's name was Stan. He was probably in his late 50s. I loved him. My parents were good customers so he never felt guilty hooking me up with the occasional Popsicle or ice cream sandwich just for the heck of it. And on hot summer afternoons when he'd make his stops, he would let me and the other neighborhood kids make snowballs out of the ice shavings from the truck's freezer. One day he told us he was switching routes and cutting his hours in preparation for retirement. I was heartbroken. And I wrote a song for him: "Stan, Stan, the ice cream man. We will miss you. Don't leave, Stan!" It was creative in my seven-year-old mind.

Cranberryfries said...

I'm a follower.

My first crush (that I remember) was a boy in my 5th grade class. I remember he could play the Cheers theme song on the piano and he was a great artist. We'd write notes all the time in class and I had a box I saved them in at the back of my closet.

chocowafer said...

This is fun! Is it international?
I'm a blog and twitter follower.

My first crush was this boy who would always be asked to participate on math competitions in grade school (we both were math geeks, then. LOL.) It turns out, he had a crush on me too! I know! *squeals* Anyway, nothing ever came off of it, since we were both so young and that was just silly crushes. :p

Christy said...

Please enter me too! I just became a follower too.

Let's see, I would consider my first real crush on one of my brother friends back when I was a freshmen and he was a senior. His name was Trey and he was one of the golden boys in our school. All around athlete and honor student, plus he had the prettiest blue eyes :). Sadly, seniors never date freshmen but it did inspire a short story I wrote that year. I actually still see him whenever he's in town and he's still one of the sweetest guys I know.

Christy

D said...

I guess technically my first crush was on my cousin at age 3. We thought we were going to get married when we grew up. We grew out of that pretty quick but he stayed one of my favorite cousins. :) My first legal crush was a neighbor boy named Collin. We used to hold hands on the double swing on our swing set when we were 5.

I am totally a follower. :)

Bree Biesinger Despain said...

Okay, I am LOVING these!! So much fun to read. Stan the Ice Cream Man made me laugh so hard.

And Austenfan, I've already sent prizes as far a Singapore, so what the heck, yes the contest is open to international followers.

Kim Woodruff said...

My first crush was in kindergarten. I thought he was so cute, and he liked to show off for me, doing this cool trick where he would throw a bouncy ball into the monkey bars and make it bounce around like crazy. And then there was this other boy who liked to buy me cool pencils with his milk money. Those were the days:).

Reverie said...

My first crush was a guy who was a very close friend of mine. Thing was that he and i were born days apart and grew up together so I can't really remeber when I started to like him. But our families were close friends and so that meant I always had an excuse to go hang out. Sadly, that love died away when I moved to the states and well things were never the same again. :( He's still cute tho!

Bunny B said...

I follow you on twitter! (ID: bunnyb)

As for my first crush, I have to actually admit I was crushing on 3 boys at once! And it was in kindergarten!!! :P There were only the 4 of us at our bus stop and I was the only girl. They were all in my class too, and oh-so-cute. It never developed into anything though, as some changed classes/moved elsewhere/etc.

bunnybx at gmail . com

Bunny B said...

Oh, I'm also a blog follower.
bunnybx at gmail . com

the story siren said...

my first crush was on Jason C. in the first grade. he was the cutest thing, and he chased me around the playground every recess. we actually became an item. well, as big of an item you can become in the first grade. our first grade teachers had us a write a booklet that they give us when we graduate high school, i didn't get mine because i moved in the fourth grade, but it turns out Jason's big ambition was to marry me! how cute is that. we're actually still in contact thanks to facebook. but i ended up marring another Jason. Jason D! (who i crushed on for years, but thought he was out of my league... but that's another crush story for a different day!)

KR said...

My first crush..I was in 5th grade when my oldest sister got married. I had a huge crush on my new bil's best friend!!

mj.coward[at]gmail.com

Ginna said...

This is a hard one, I can think of so many! :)
But the first would have to be my neighbor Joel. He lived just down the street and our parents were good friends. We played together all the time from birth to jr high. We used to practice kissing when we were like 6. It was awesome.

leonore said...

My first crush was in third grade I think...it was on a cute boy (maybe a little older) that I saw at the salad bar at this buffet restaurant called Quincey's. Since I didn't actually know him, he's always been known as "Salad bar boy."

Zoraida Cordova said...

When I was in 1st grade in Ecuador, there was this boy whose name I can't remember.

For some odd reason we had a fashion show, followed by a Dalmatian costume show, followed by a swim wear show?

He and I were the only ones who didn't want to wear the hoods with the dog ears, and my friends thought that I kept doing that just becausse of the boy. Then during the swim wear show we both walked down together (run way style) and he made a fake muscle and I walked around in my tie-die bathing suit (so 80s) and pulled down my ray bans and kissed him on the cheek.

and then i NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN.

and i've repelled men ever since!

Zoraida Cordova said...

also, for some reason when i try to follow google/blogger people keep saying "sorry bad request," so i'll try again and just add this contest to my link list.

Kiirsi said...

My first crush was a boy who lived a couple of miles down the country road across from my house. My teenage aunt babysit him and his brother all summer every year and she invited me to go with her to play with the boys one day. The rest is history, so to speak...I had a (very-unrequited) crush on him for at least 7 years and one day woke up, free of it. :) It was a nice day when I realized I could look at him without feeling my heart beat faster.

I follow you on Twitter and also here.

Anisa said...

my first crush was a boy that lived in my grandma's hometown.... a hick cowboy!

I thought I was a follower, but I wasn't... weird. I am now.

Jess (The Cozy Reader) said...

Hi Bree! Great contest! :)

My first crush was in kindergarten. His name was Michael Wilhide and he was the shortest, cutest boy ever! He had blonde hair, not sure on the eye color, com'n I was 5! I remember the crush so well because later in maybe 1st or 2nd grade while in lunch a few friends of mine said we would get married the next day at recess. We even invited the principal, Mrs. Baker. And so we did just that. Michael and I got married at recess. :) I don't recall if there was any fancy clothes or even a ring but it happened. :)

Ah, to be young again.

Brodi Ashton said...

My first crush was Matt Nance in 5th grade, because he told me my ears were so tiny.

Ever since, my ears have been my favorite part of my body. Ah, Matt. Where are you?

RagDollVampGirl said...

My Story Isn't Much different Than Grace's Except I'm The one Who Moved...My First Crush Was A Boy Named Nicholas... He Sat Next To Me In The 2nd Grade And I Just Adored Him..He Used To Pull Pranks On Me But I Didn't Care.. I was Just His Friend Up Until The 7th Grade.. My Parents Got A Divorce And I Had To Move Away... When I Turned Fifteen (I Was In The 10th Grade) My Mom Moved Us Back To My Home Town And He Came To See Me!! When He Went To Leave He Gave Me My First Kiss!!! Sad To Say, We Just Stayed Friends... Really Good Friends...

I Am A Follower

KailaEscobales(at)aol(dot)com

xoxo
RagDollVampGirl

Chen Yan Chang said...

On the 1st day of 2nd grade, I sat down in a random seat. Then a boy named Henry sat in the desk next to me. Boy, did I get excited to know that my 1st crush was inches away from me! So cute. So adorable. Ooh, my heart couldn’t help but pitter patter.

Now the fallout:
So during recess later in the year, I saw Henry fighting with a friend of mine. They were tugging on each other’s hair. Of course, I was angry. He was hurting my friend! So I went over to help. She and I pulled on his short hair, while he pulled on ours.

Tug, tug. Pull, pull.

The teachers had to break us apart. And we were in trouble.

I stopped crushing on him that day. (Which was fine by me!)

Lizzy said...

I really had to think about who my first crush was (I apparently had too many throughout grade school). If I remember correctly, I was in kindergarten and it was a boy named Will. We actually had a marriage ceremony is second grade under the big tree on our playground (how romantic, right?). I haven't seen him since we graduated from high school though...which is fine with me. His way of showing affection was pinching me in the arm.

Marie said...

I am a follower.

My first crush was in high school on this guy Dan. We were both in Special Chorus and he had the most amazing voice and he was gorgeous as well. I made a complete fool out of myself over him but he never noticed me -- except maybe to cringe at how silly I was being -- sigh.

marielay@gmail.com

MySharonAnne said...

My first crush was a younger kid named James. He was my brother's friend. He was really cute! :D

The Book Girl said...

This book sounds FANTASTIC! Congrats on six months left :-)

My first crush was on a boy in my first grade class. I was a bit obsessed but WAY too shy to let him know. Until my mom told his friends mom, and that friend decided to announce my crush to the ENTIRE first grade during play rehearsal. That crush ended pretty quick :-p

blue_eyed_girl426@yahoo.com

Thanks for the contest!

Kristen said...

Just became a follower! :)How exciting two copies to giveaway! Been dying for this book to come out - it looks amazing!

My first crush surprisingly wasn't my best friend/next door neighbor - although I believe he was my first kiss (at 5 hehe). No, I must say my first crush was a boy who lived a block over, but often joined us in Ghost in the Graveyard and other kid games. He was cute even in his awkward stage - strangely enough we grew up all the way together - even into high school (he was a bit of a hottie in high school and still said hi to me in the halls). I really think it was the cuteness factor. He was always the cutest kid around. His parents still live a block over from mine and I think he's one of my facebook buddies. I'm pretty sure I crushed on him up until middle school.

Aimee said...

Twitter follower here! My first crush was a guy named Jon who I went to kindergarten with, also my first smooch!

Debbie's World of Books said...

Gah, have to think back too far. I think my first crush was in 6th grade. This new guy transferred from another school. I thought he was totally hot and he made these telephone company commercials which made him that much more cute to all the girls. Nothing ever came of it and now I can't believe I liked him, he was such a jerk! But that I think was my first crush.

dasuzuki at yahoo dot com

I'm following you on Twitter.

brickhouse79 said...

I know I don't qualify... seeing as I'm lucky enough to live with the author, but I thought I'd share anyway.

My first crush was a girl named Bridget. She was the hotest babe in Kindergarten (yeah it was the early eighties. We said stuff like "she's a babe" back then). All the boys had a huge crush on her (much to the chagrin of the other girls in the class) and we all teased each other about it--

"You liiike heeerrr!"

"I do nah-ut!"

(sorry had to spell out the inflection)

Yeah, I'd show off for her all the time. I even won the Kindergarten Olympic hurdle jump to show off (which is actually a pretty cute story I'll have to tell you guys sometime), but alas, my love went unrequited.

Ah the days when you liked a girl but were too embarrased to admit it *he says with nastalgic arogance, looking off to the mid distance* I think it probably took me another 13 years to grow out of that. Good thing I FINALLY did... for Bree that is :P.

Jackie Johnson said...

I don't remember as far back as most of y'all - but my first crush that I can still remember was a guy name Brandon in Jr High. He was so cute and shy, and he always walked home the same way as me. One day he asked to carry my books for me (since I was a nerd and apparently had a lot of books), and I was smitten ever since! Funny enough, I kept my crush til through HS and we actually dated a little bit in HS. I still remember him as my first 'love'!

californiameaghan said...

my first crush was in second grade. his name was doug. we moved and i havent seen him since.

meaghan_koci (at) yahoo (dot) com

Khy said...

Cole Sprouse. The Disney one.

DON'T JUDGE ME. ;-; I WAS 10.

*runs away in shame*

Brooke said...

How do I count them. . . Well the one that sticks out as the strongest in my mind was (lets call him crushJ). I met CrushJ the summer before I turned 16. We teased and flirted and I even shared my most embarresing moment with him (when I THOUGHT he was going to kiss me), I eventually went to my first dance with him. Well, we soon lost contact until I was a sophmore in college when I cold cantacted him on his mission. . . I guess you'll never hear the rest!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Thanks for spreading the word about the carnival. I'm kind of honored you're giving away two ARC's because of it. YAY. And I have to enter b/c your book just sounds too amazing.

I had one crush when I was about six or so...we actually "dated." I met him and his family in Florida so it was one of those sweet, summer romances. LOL But my main one was in grade school. I loved this kid named Kyle for a long time...still kind of do even though I haven't seen him in ages. You just don't forget those things. :)

-Lauren

following you on blogger!

a flight of minds said...

My first crush was in third grade. Three of my friends were also crushing on him. Luckily, being in third grade, this didn't cause a falling out. Instead we made a club. :P None of our crushes ever turned into anything more, but it was fun while it lasted.

Bree Biesinger Despain said...

Oh, this is SO fun! I even got to hear the story of my husband's first crush for the very first time. And I've seen the home video of him winning that hurdle contest!

Okay, I decided to share a couple more crush stories: My second crush was on a guy who I will call Vance. I actually liked him at the same time as Drew. He was one of my neighbors and we played on the same kindergarten soccer team. He was a total tease and was always getting me into trouble at school. (He'd tickle me during the pledge of allegiance so I'd get yelled at by the teacher for fidgeting.)His family moved away when we were in 2nd grade. I didn't see him again until he mysteriously showed up in my 9th grade history class one day . . .and then completely disappeared again the next day. NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN! (Except for when I saw his mug shot flashed on the news when I was 18--he'd been arrested for leading a ring of teenage burglars. CRAZY.)

My first SERIOUS crush was on a guy I met in an acting class when I was 15. He was HOT, and a writer! We went out a few times and he was my first kiss. . .but he was also very mysterious and I never knew where he lived or anything. Then one day he asked me to wait for him after class because he needed to tell me something, but I had to leave before we had a chance to talk . . .and I NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN!! He completely disappeared off the face of the planet.

Okay, seriously, I'm sensing a theme here! I apparently have issues with all of these guys disappearing on me . . .which I guess is why I rolled them all into one character and wrote a book about it. Ha ha. Issues are a good thing when you're a writer!

joelle said...

My first crush was on the janitor. Yeah...I was a weird kid. I think I might've been in third grade, but it could've been fifth. Anyway, there was this really cute janitor who came in after school to clean the chalkboards and empty the garbage cans. I think I probably saw him one day after choir or something. After that, I would invent excuses to hang around which meant I had to walk home (a long ways!) instead of taking the bus, but it was worth it to watch him spray that stinky cleaner on the desks, you know, the stuff that smells like disinfectant (probably because it is). Anyway, one day, he was gone. Poof! When I went to the office to as what had happened to Mark the janitor, they told me he'd gotten another job. Still...I could not let him go without telling him of my love and that I would wait for him, so I carefully sewed a bunny that I made out of scrap cloth. Yes...a bunny. And then, I stuffed it with pillow stuffing and put it in one of those L'egg's pantyhose eggs. Why? Who knows? And then I mailed it to him. Seriously. They gave me his address in the office (long before privacy and all that). Alas, I never did hear back from him...unrequited love.

Jessica Spotswood said...

I'm a follower here & on Twitter. Just read the first chapter & I'm totally hooked!

My first serious crush was on my friend Marc. Sandy-haired, blue-eyed, freckled. He played basketball & trumpet. He was totally gangly and goofy, but such a sweetheart, and I thought he was adorable. Alas, he always dated "popular" sporty girls, and I soon developed a thing for brooding artsy boys.

soundistheword3 said...

Oooo - great contest, please enter me! (I'm a new follower)

As for my first crush... the first crush that I remember was in second grade, a boy named Mike. He sat across from me in class and always copied off me and would mess up my hair, which upset me. Still, I really liked watching him during recess and thought he was cute even if he acted stupid (I assumed it was just a boy thing). Eventually he called me at home (I know! in just second grade!) and asked if I wanted to play with him during recess the next day :)

Kristin (email = dazdnconfusd@comcast.net)

Book Butterfly (Kim) said...

This is embarassing and shows my age, but my first crush was on Donnie Osmond when I was four. I used to hide my face giggle like crazy when he'd come on his show. Then my mom gave me the Donnie and Marie dolls and said she saw Donnie in the store and he wanted me to have them so I thought I was pretty special at the time. :)

I'm a follower and blogged about the contest at http://butterflybookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/06/book-contests.html


Kim
bookbutterfly9@gmail.com

Chelsea D said...

hey my name is chelsea

my first crush was when i was 10 i liked him alot and i only got to see him every summer :( because he lived in quebec and i live in ontario so we ended up breaking up and he ended up with someone else but now that im older ive learned theres lots of boys out there and im going on 5 months with my bf now and i love him so much and im really hopeing i have a future with him but lateley theres been a few bumps but we work it out and i love reading alot he knows and now i really really want this book chances are ill read it more than 5 times to books i like so please give me a chance if you can contact me

heres my info to email me please ive never won anything befor like this and im hopeing i have good luck

iamtrendcore@hotmail.com
Chelsea Dyment
ill email u the rest if i win hopefully
*crosses fingers*

Anonymous said...

My first crush was in 6th grade. He threw a note across the classroom asking me to be his girlfriend. I passed one back to him accepting the offer. Then we were too embarrassed to ever talk again until we passed back notes breaking up and then we could be friends again.

Khy said...

OH THANK GOODNESS I JUST REMEMBERED AN EARLIER CRUSH.

I can redeem myself! (Just a little bit.)

It was the guy named Benny in the Sandlot movie. That was in second grade.

Anonymous said...

My first REAL crush was the summer before I started High School. The best part of my summer fun was at the church dances. This particular Saturday night dance I had a new dress and shoes and I hoped this would get me noticed by a cute guy. Sure enough, i was noticed and "cute guy" asked me to dance. It was one of those immediate likes and we danced the rest of the evening together. I was 15 and could not date and he was 16 and could never get the keys to his parents car. He was a grade ahead of me at my rival high school and lived on the other side of town. So in order to see each other, he would ride his 10 speed bicycle quite a distance to see me and we would sit awkwardly on the couch in my living room and sip milk shakes that my mom would make for us. I felt bad he had to ride his bike so far and he was always a little sweaty by the time he got to my house. I was not very good at phone conversations ( I remember I would often tell him I had to go wash my hair as an excuse to get off the phone). I liked him, but I really did not know how to handle his attention. So as the summer was ending and the excitement of starting high school was approaching, I was kind of relieved when his phone calls dwindled away.

School started and the morning after the first high school friday night football games took place I got a call from my girlfriend saying "did you see the front page of the sports section?" There he was, "cute guy", running an 80 yard touchdown to win the game for his high school football team. The guy was a huge football star and I did not even know it. I let the guy slip through my fingers. you can imagine my girlfriend coaxing me to call him and so I did. The awkward conversation went something like this:
Me: "Why haven't you called me lately?"
Cute guy: "I didn't think you were interested."
Me: "Well I am."
Cute football star guy: "Well I have a girlfriend now"
Me: "Oh"

Come to find out, she was the head cheerleader of their high school. how do you compete with that?
That was not the end. The next couple of years we would occasionally see each other and I would think "I think he like me", only to find out he was just having a fight with his girlfriend.

Probably a year and a half went by where I did not see him. One day as I was walking out of my history class at the community college, out walked "cute guy" from the classroom next to mine. Every day I hoped that we would run into each other. Sometimes we did and we would sit on the grassy hill by our classrooms and talk after class. Then one day when we were sitting there he said "come for a ride with me". He had a blue VW bug and it was the first time I was in a car with him and we talked and laughed about old times as we drove for a while. Old crushes die hard. Then all of a sudden he pulled his car over to the side of the road and declared "I am getting married this weekend, so I guess this will be the last time we talk." I sat there totally taken off guard, I had no idea. Then just like out of the movies he grabbed me by my arms and gave me a goodbye kiss. In my NOW imagination I hear him say "Here's looking at you kid", but he didn't really say that. I just mumbled, "I think you better take me back to school."

A few years later, my husband and I ran into him in the hardware isle at the store where he worked. Guess what? I was now with the "right cute guy", that by the way, I met at a church dance.

SarahChristine said...

my first crush was on my neighbor when i was 4 which came up again 2 years ago and i still at times cant stop thinking about him,even though i hardly ever see him anymore(his little sisters and i were best friends up until a few years ago when i could really start to see the age differences.(i was the oldest of me and his sisters by 2 years and he is only a year older than me)so yup that was my first crush that has kinda of but never gone away.

allisonosity said...

Whee! following on twitter same username
Ok, I was in Pre-k, and the guy was really cute. Like, he looked like mini-Chase Crawford. Being 4 at the time, I just gawked from afar (afar being used as the spot across from him during Story Hour.) He also didn't poke fun at my last name, even though NO ONE could pronounce it and it has an unholy combo of consonants at the end.

I was so eternally jealous when my friend got to do the alphabet rock with him in graduation. With the air inflated guitars and everything.
But, seeing as I've never seen either of them in 10 years, I have no regrets posting this. [Forget regret, or life is yours to misssss...]

Summer said...

My first crush was in the 3rd grade. We kicked each other under the desk. My best friend hooked us up. That's why we were besties. Believe it or not, his name was Tony Hawk!

Llehn said...

My first crush was a boy who sat behind me in class. He was way cute and really tall and reminded me of a gentle giant. Of course, I found a way to make friends with him ... food. I started bringing little goodies to share with everyone in class and soon we were talking. Pity he has a girlfriend though!

Nancy said...

Hiya!!! I love the Tenners!!

Thanks for the contest, and I would go B A N A N A S if I had te chance to read it.

I am now following your blog and also follow you on twitter.

As for my first crush. I remember him so well, his name was *Mickey Mouse* I had to change his name for privacy purposes. HE HE! and I adored him. We came from different school groups, me being from the preppy group and he was a punk rocker. We started to hang out and chill on the last day of school and I give him my yearbook to sign and inside he wrote this

"Minnie, I think your a cool chick, but I dont think your parents would like me because I am a punk rocker. Sorry"

and that was that.....I still think of Mickey to this day and wonder WHAT IF???

curlyshoe(at)gmail(dot)com

Kate at Read This Book! said...

My first crush was the guy next door. LOL I know! I was six for goodness sake! Blah I don't quite remember what was so attractive about him now cause now he looks like a geek! =)) Of course he doesn't know about this crush. =P

I find it a really silly crush now. Haha.

kate.readthisbook (at) gmail.com

Lenore Appelhans said...

My parents claim that my first crush was on the baby boy next door when I was a baby. Apparently I was always licking him. Yum!

Valynne said...

First crush was Christian in the 3rd grade. We stayed together until the 6th grade, and then I dumped him. For no reason. But we are still friends today.

Kaylyn said...

Well to say the very least, my first crush happened when I was thirteen. It lasted till at least I was fifteen. That's two years! That is, until he moved and all feelings were cut off right at the source....

Please enter me: readdarlingreviews(at)yahoo(dot)com.

*I just subscribed :D

Jacqueline C. said...

Hi Bree!

When I think of my first crush, I tend to vacillate between two boys. One, who's name elludes me right now, was this adorable kid in my pre-school class. Not only did he have long curly-hair, but he also had this hot leather jacket. He reminded me of old-school Michael Jackson and, trust me, that was a huge deal for me at age 3-4.

The next guy's name is Darren Cunningham. Darren was a sort of psuedo-boyfriend that I had between the ages of 4 and 6. We used to spend what felt like hours to me on the phone, but was probably only about 15 minutes at a time. Of course we were usually on 3-way during those calls, so the serious relationship stuff was usually kept to a minimum. ;)

Jacqueline C. said...

Oh, I forgot to say that I'm a subscriber! And here's my email: jac8604@hotmail(dot)com

Mya said...

OMG WHY AM I SO LATE TO THIS CONTEST?!?! SHAME ON ME!

So when I was a kid, I was kind of a loner. I was the youngest in my class, and incredibly tiny, so it made me a great target for bullying. (Of course, I had the growth spurt to end all growth spurts in the fifth grade and ended up towering over all the guys and everything... so it turned out okay). But anyway, at the time, my only contact with the outside world was through the magical box called the television. And my parents screened what I watched really carefully... so my first crush was either the Pink Panther, or Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid. Sigh.

First real crush was my best friend since 1st grade. Fell for him around middle school, but he didn't ask me out until the day after our high school graduation. Better late than never!

(Already following you via Twitter, and subscribed to your blog via Bloglines!)

Megan said...

My first crush was a guyin 1st grade and I decided I didn't like him when he called himself fat (also in 1st grade)

Megan
bookworm8675309@yahoo.com

Liviania said...

My crushes are highly transient as I tend to be pretty real about the fact that they're only crushes. Therefore, my first crush is naught but a faded memory. But I do have a cute crush story! A friend and I got a crush on the same boy at the same time, as he had a good personality, which we discovered in the class we had with him. We decided to code him as "Turtle boy" because that's what his looks reminded us of and that way we could talk in public without our crushes being known.

Several months later we asked each other why we'd ever crushed on a guy we called "Turtle boy." Oh, junior high schoolers. ^_^

inbedwithbooks AT yahoo DOT com

Anonymous said...

Hi Bree!

My first crush was in Kindergarden. His name was Gunther, and one day while we were playing with building blocks, I pounced on him and pushed him to the floor and tried to kiss him! :P Sadly, nothing happened between us and I think all I really acheived by doing that was scaring the poor boy! Then he ended up moving away a few years later, but ever since that day I tried to kiss him, (and since Gunther was one), I've always had a thing for redheads! :)

-Breezy

P.S. I'm following you on Twitter :)

breezysea23@hotmail.com

Bree Biesinger Despain said...

Summer, I have to ask, was it THE Tony Hawk?

Livainia, my friend and I had crush on the same guy in high school. We used to call him "sweater boy" so we could talk about him in public. This was back in the late 90s when it was un-cool for guys to wear sweaters, but "sweater boy" could pull it off.

DeNiSe said...

my first crush was the guy that i hated always telling people about his optionion he and I are so diffrent that it a miracle that we havent yet killed each other !!!
we decided to just be frends becuse we were so diffrent and it was ovias that there was somthing going on between In the end we saw that we were so opposite that it was what we liked about each other
that was freshmen yr know juniors were still together for how long ? I dont know I guess i just have to waite and see :)

deniseguzman682@gmail.com

Jo said...

Now, would this be first crush, or first crush on a person you've seen in real life? Just to make sure, I'll tell you both.

First crush was when I was about 8 or 9. Is that not too young to be crushing on someone? Anyway, it was Joey from the TV show Blossom (Hello!). He wore a leather jacket, he drove a motorbike, he was stupid funny, he had long hair. What's not to like? Oh, how I LOVED that show!

First crush on someone I'd seen in real life: it was a boy in my class when I was ten. Gosh, still young! I don't actually think I actually fancied him... it was that my mate fancied his mate, so I decided I fancied him. I didn't even really talk to him or anything, just me and my friend would grab an advantageous place to sit in the playground to watch both guys playing football. No funny stories, unfortunately.

I now follow you on Twitter and on Google Follower :)

Email: joannestapley[at]googlemail[dot]com

D Q said...

My first crush was a boy from my neighborhood named Joe. I still remember his beautiful thick dark hair.

L said...

My first crush was on the popular guy who I thought liked me. He was really nice and funny, so it was really depressing when he told me he didn't like me. O well, I'm over it now.

lovinfitch(at)aol(dot)com

deltay said...

Hmm, first one eh? I think it was probably in grade 3, there was this guy in my class, kind of the class clown I guess. He was just really adorable and so funny with the most beautiful smile... Now that I think about it, I think I actually intensely disliked him the first week of school, but then he turned out to be really nice. :)

Follow on twitter as @lucidconspiracy

lucidconspiracy at gmail dot com

Tynga said...

I am a follower!
My first crush was at kidengarden when I was like 5 maybe? The boy name was Maxime, and indeed his crush was on my best friend =P
He was tiny little boy and I was already a tall kid. He was always the first in line and I was always the last one lol. I had my eyes on this kid all the way throught elementary school but that was all it was lol. Ah kids!

PLease count me in on the contest!
Tynga85 @ hotmail .com

minishoes1 said...

My first crush was a boy named, Brock. I thought he was so cute! I really wanted to pick him for my squaredance partner in school but I was too shy. I used to write his name over and over in my notebook and my brother found it and teased me. lol Thanks! jacquecurl1@gmail.com

Book Sp(l)ot said...

My first crush that I can remember was in maybe second or third grade...He was one of our group of friends (I was friends with mostly boys)...my girl friend and I were predictably horrible to all of them, though ;) I saw him in passing (I moved) like ten years later and he looked exactly the same, it was strange.

book.splotATgmailDOTcom

kaymf said...

The first crush I had(that I can remember) was in 5th grade. He was such a cute, quirky, outgoing boy. The crush only lasted for that year.
flayla14(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Oh man. My first crush started in 2nd grade and went all the way until 8th grade. This kid was cute and funny but he could be the biggest jerk. He teased me constantly but I still crushed on him. Siiigh. But yeah, we both just graduated High School and now I can't remember what I ever saw in him.

truexillusions@aol.com

Sylvia said...

His name was Burt, it was pretty unusual.. I think I started like him in prep 1 until grade 3, I did not stop liking him after that, but he sort of disappeared, or in other words, his family moved to Canada. I remember him being bad outside but really really sweet inside which is what I liked about him. It's kind of bittersweet actually:) Anyway! I would love to be entered in this contest and thanks for giving us the opportunity to have your book 6 months before!! I can't wait and I really, really hope I win:D

sylvia_uy4@yahoo.com

Diana Dang said...

First crush is in grade four I believe on this boy name Brian. I just thought he was cute. The crush didn't last more than a month I believe. Now that 8 years have passed, he is a pothead.

faked_sugartone at hotmail

Carry J. said...

My first crush was a kid named Sammy in the 3rd grade. He had dark olive skin and really curly hair. He was also the class clown and even had the teacher laughing most of the time. *sigh* He was sooooo cool.

Kristi said...

I follow your blog - my first crush was in first grade - boy named Steve - 6th grade he was my first kiss - 8th grade was trying to get him to like some one else - by high school I was kicking myself in the butt because he was HOT! Guess you should listen to those early crushes!

kherbrand at comcast dot net

Alyosha said...

I'm a longtime follower and fan of yours. :)

First crush was first grade. My teacher always took the whole class for a jog around the track in the morning and my crush was so fast that I could never keep up with him and "talk." Plus, he was my academic rival, which always attracted me to boys, until I finally married one.

Dani. said...

Hmmmm.... my first crush.
That would have to be in Kindergarten. His name was Trace. On the bus we had to have assigned seats and werent aloud to switch but i made my best friend Karly switch so i could sit next to him. He became my "boyfriend"(can you really have a boyfriend in Kindergarten), and we would hold hands. One day Trace said he didnt like me anymore, and i cried.


Anyway, i reallyreallyreally want to win your book, it looks SO good.
I'm a follower, and proud of it!


lightningstreak123@comcast.net

ainslee said...

i'm just in time!!

my first real crush was on a boy named jake in the sixth grade. jake was everything i wanted for my 12yo soulmate: he was cute (especially his adorable bowl-cut hair), he made me laugh, and he acknowledged my existence. we could've been a perfect four-square playing couple (it really was cool back then) if it weren't for the fact that he already had a "girlfriend." sadly, he got too cool for me in junior high. now, at 23, he is having a baby with a girl who also went to our elementary school, and already has two other kids with two other fathers. i can't decide if that makes my loss sadder or gladder!

i'm a follower! (and is it sucking up to note that i found this contest when visiting your website for links my my inaugural blog post here?)

good luck with your book!

ainsleesreviews at gmail dot com

Bree Biesinger Despain said...

All your stories make me smile. I'm going to have a hard time coming up with a contest next month that will be as much fun.

Steph Su said...

Oh, reliving the past... the first crush I was aware of having was in fourth grade. A new kid had just moved to our school from across town. Soon as he walked in the door of our fourth-grade classroom the first day, I was done for. Blond hair, baby blue eyes................... meaning he was a dead ringer for a heartbreaking, jock-y jerk to nerd girls (er, that would be me). So that was quite embarrassing and I'm always embarrassed to think about him being my first serious crush.

(You can tell I've spent a lot of time thinking about crushes. Definitely channeling some E. Lockhart, Ruby Oliver, "The Boyfriend List" vibes!)

And I am happily following you now, Bree. Am so excited to read The Dark Divine!

Shaunda said...

First crush...was my best friend's older brother. He eventually discovered he was gay, which answered all questions of, why not me?

Sarah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

This may be cheating, since I'm a fellow Tenner, but you know I really want to read THE DARK DIVINE. :)

My first crush? Gosh... the first one I can really remember involved a fictional character. My sister had a crush on him, too. Who? Edward Leeford in the 1993 Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of OLIVER TWIST. He was so attractive in a really creepy, weird way. I can understand why we had a crush on him, but still.... ;)

Karen Kincy

xdeex said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
xdeex said...

I had my first crush on a boy in my kindergarden class. I used to talk to him all the time, until I told him I liked him. He then started to act different, a little more conceited and bossy, so then I stopped liking him. [:


dsym_06(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

Anonymous said...

My first crush was Aaron. I met him in the first grade and I adored him. He moved away that year and I never saw him again. Then last year my highschool took field trip for the first week of school festivities. I sat next to a random person. And what do you know? It was Aaron :D

Thank you for this awesome contest!
Olivia
topazscorpio@hotmail.com

-.- said...

My first crush was Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...he could make pizza and I found that incredibly hot at age 4. His brother Raphael was hot too, since he wore a red bandanna.

~ Popin

proudbookworm[@]gmail[dot]com

Test said...

Oooh, I would love to enter!

My first crush happened sometime in elementary school on this boy I'll call him Adam. He was one of my buddies so I constantly hung out with him. For the next couple of months I tip toed around him hoping that he would like me, though that sadly never happened. Currently, we still are good friends and he's dating one of my BFFs which is totally fine with me because I‘ve had many crushes since then.

Oh, and I now follow your blog! :)

GreenBeanTeenQueen said...

I'm a new follower!

My first crush was on a guy named Danny in elementary school. He was always teasing me and pulling my hair and we hung out at school and stuff. I didn't want people to know I liked him though because I was shy. One day someone asked if I liked him and I said no, but looking back I wonder what would have happened if I had said yes, because we all know in sixth grade you get asked through friends. Ah well, where do you go on sixth grade dates anyway?

bookaholic13 said...

I am a new follower

My first crush was a guy named Ryan in elementary school. I liked him for a bit nad then moved on. Now his mom is my algebra teacher.

hope i win

4Sage@optonline.net

Paradox said...

My first crush was this boy I met in first grade. It didn't go well. I think he was scared of me, because he refused to talk to me and would run away if I came near him. He was friends with this other girl, so I got her to give him my simplistic "love" notes, but he always had her give them back. :(

paradoxrevealed (at) aim (dot) com

Nicole said...

I think my first ever crush was on a boy named Phillip. I was five and he was seven, his little sister was my friend. We played together all the time, but I didn't know I was in love until the day I was walking home from school and two other older boys started harassing me, by pulling my hair and pushing me. As a little kindergartner I was truly frightened, when Phillip showed up out of nowhere and with all the authority a seven year old has, told those boys they had to leave me alone. Ever after that he was my knight in shining armor.

Unknown said...

Oh how fun! Ok...

My first crush was on a guy named Kevin. I went to the same school and I thought he and his shaved head were super hawt. (which is kind of funny now that I think of it because I married a guy who shaves his head and whose first name is Devin...hmmm...) Kevin played basketball at the same camps that I did ('cause my coach made me be the only girl at all the guys camps). Funny story about this crush? He would never guard me at basketball camp. Even though we were the same position. I was friends with his sister, and when I told her I had a crush on him, we weren't friends anymore. I was like in 8th grade - never really had interest in boys before that. Anyway, ended up having him and another boy fight over me the next year, but I never went out with either of them. LOL