Fun Warner Bros. Valentine’s Day Giveaway

Note: The winner of this giveaway is Erin E. Congratulations to Erin and thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.
 
Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to enjoy the spirit of love and romance throughout the year.

February is the one month of the year where everyone has love on their minds! It can be romantic, it can be love for your children or parents or you could just be a movie lover. Whatever you love, Warner Bros. has you covered with some amazing DVDs perfect for the whole family! Thanks to Warner Bros. and the good folks at PartnersHub, I have a fun giveaway to share with you.

Warner Bros. can help if you’re a love lorn poet, there’s the Peanuts Collection. If you want to smother your significant other with kisses there’s the Looney Tunes Pepe Le Pew Collection to inspire, and if you want to solve some madcap mystery, then look no further than Scooby-Doo.

One lucky visitor to Thoughts will win one of the following titles. (The DVD awarded will be chosen at random by Warner Bros. and PartnersHub.):

* Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown Deluxe Edition
* A Charlie Brown Valentine
* Bugs Bunny’s Cupid Capers
* Happiness is... Peanuts: Friends Forever
* Elmo Loves You
* Looney Tunes Pepe Le Pew Collection
* Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: For The Love Of Snack

Who is Your Cartoon Crush?

Everyone has had a crush at some point in their lives, but do you know who your cartoon crush is? Is it Scooby-Doo? Charlie Brown? Or maybe Bugs Bunny?
Find out who you would be romantically perfect with!

Valentine’s Day Recipes:

When we think of movie night, the first thing we want to know is... What are the snacks? Here are three easy and fun recipe’s perfect for you and your Valentine throughout the year.


Poems to show your love:

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only. To enter for a chance to win one of these fun DVDs, just take the ‘Who Is Your Cartoon Crush Quiz?’ and post your favorite cartoon crush in the comment section. It’s fun to be a kid again, so go ahead give it a try. Be sure to include your email address, if it’s not included in your profile.

The deadline to enter this giveaway will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Feb. 22. The winner will be selected by Random.Org and I will notify the winner by email with the subject line ‘Thoughts in Progress Warner Bros DVD.’ The winner will have 72 hours to respond to the email with their mailing information. If there isn’t a response in 72 hours, a new winner will be selected.

At the request of the promoters, I’m including the following notice: Each household is only eligible to win One (1) Valentine’s Day DVD chosen at random via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

FTC Full Disclosure - I am working with Warner Bros in making this announcement. Warner Bros,, through PartnersHub Family, is supplying the DVD as a promotional giveaway. I am hosting the giveaway without compensation solely for the purpose of providing visitors to my blog the opportunity to win a Valentine’s Day-themed DVD. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and continue to enjoy the spirit of love and romance throughout the year. I’m sharing some more photos below from the additional 4 inches of snow we got Wednesday night for a total of 8 inches from this ‘wonderful little storm.’

Awesome Valentine’s Day Giveaway with Author Carolyn Brown

It’s Valentine’s Day, can’t you just feel the love in the air? On this day of love and romance I’m delighted to welcome an authority on the subject, author Carolyn Brown.

Carolyn joins us today to talk about her latest release, THE COWBOY’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE and answer some questions for me. To celebrate this day of love, Carolyn and the charming Danielle at Sourcebooks have an awesome giveaway for one lucky visitor to Thoughts in Progress. The giveaway includes a set of the 3 books in the Cowboys & Brides Series (Billion Dollar Cowboy, The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby and The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride), along with a cute cowboy charm gift from Carolyn herself! Please see the end of the post for the giveaway details. 

THE COWBOY’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE is a fun read that will have you smiling from beginning to end. You can read my thoughts on the book from my review earlier. Here’s a brief synopsis of the story:

She's Got Sass...
      Emily Cooper promised her dying grandfather that she'd deliver a long-lost letter to a woman he once planned to wed. Little does adventurous Emily know that this simple task will propel her to places she never could have imagined...with a cowboy who's straight out of her dreams...
He's Got Mail...
      When sexy rancher Greg Adams discovers his grandmother Clarice has installed Emily on their ranch as her assistant, he decides to humor the two ladies. He figures Emily will move on soon enough. In the meantime, he intends to keep a close eye on her—he doesn't quite buy her story of his grandmother as a mail-order bride.
      A lost letter meant a lost love for Clarice, but two generations later, maybe it's not too late for that letter to work its magic.

I think I hear Carolyn coming through the door now. Welcome, Carolyn. Grab you some chocolate covered strawberries and a festive drink before I bombard you with questions.

Mason - Is there one resource tool you've used that you'd recommend to writers just beginning?

Carolyn:
Well, first, I just want to say Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Have you picked out a pretty new outfit for the evening with your sweetheart? Emily wears a special pale blue dress to the Valentine party in The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride and it did have an effect on poor old Greg. He looked across the room and thought he was looking at an angel.

After the book is written and the beginning writer wants to know where to send it for consideration I would highly recommend “Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents.” Before the book is written, the Internet is an invaluable took for research. One thing that I always suggest, which I have learned from experience, is to go to the very spot you are writing about. Nothing beats seeing the area and getting a feel for it. The people in Ravenna, Texas probably thought I was casing their small town when I went there to get a good feel for the area before I wrote The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride.

Mason - What TV shows would your characters watch?
 
Carolyn:
My characters would like Justified or any good western movie but in The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride they watch CMT videos. However, I’m sure that Emily watches Justified on a regular basis.

Mason - Today is Valentine's Day, how would your cowboys impress their cowgirls on this special day?

Carolyn:
My cowboys aren’t conventional guys. They might take a woman to the river’s edge, sit under a shade tree on a blanket and bring along a basket of fried chicken. But they’d be sure to not only tell their cowgirl that she was special but to make her feel like she was a queen. He might even weave a crown of wild flowers and put them on her head for a crown to prove it. But in The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride, Greg and Natalie spend the evening flirting and bantering at a formal North Texas Angus Association Party at a country club. Believe me, by the evening’s end, Emily does feel like a queen!

Mason - What would you consider to be a perfect meal for a date night?

Carolyn:
The meal itself wouldn’t be as important as the location of the meal. It could be a bologna sandwich, potato chips straight from the bag and bought chocolate cookies—but a perfect date night would be a blanket on the sand bar of a river, the stars glittering as the waves slap the sand bar and the sexy feller’s eyes saying that he’s thinking of nothing or no one but his date.

Mason - What can readers look forward to next from you?
 
Carolyn:
The line up for the rest of 2014 looks like this: The Red Hot Chili Cook-Off, April (the second women’s fiction book set in Cadillac, Texas); How to Marry a Cowboy, July (the final book in the Cowboy’s and Brides series); Long Hot Texas Summer, August (first book in the Red Dirt Road series); and Cowboy Boots for Christmas (Cowboy Not Included), October (first book in the Burnt Boot series).

Carolyn, thanks for joining us today and Happy Valentine’s Day to you. I have to agree with you about it’s not so much the food that makes the perfect meal, but the location.

For those not familiar with Carolyn, here’s a bit of background on her.

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than sixty books published. She writes bestselling single title cowboy and country music mass market romances as well as women’s fiction. 

Born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma, Carolyn and her husband now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma. 

For more information on Carolyn and her writing, please visit www.CarolynLBrown.com. 

THE COWBOY’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE is available at the following sites: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, iBookstore, IndieBound, Sourcebooks, and Discover a New Love. 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This giveaway is for a set of the 3 books in the Cowboys & Brides Series (Billion Dollar Cowboy, The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby and The Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride), along with a cute cowboy charm gift from Carolyn herself. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.

Once again to enter this giveaway, just answer the question below in the comments. Be sure to include a valid email address with your comment, if one is not available in your profile. If you want extra entries in the giveaway, share the giveaway information on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, then leave a new comment for each shout out you gave.

If you wish not to be entered in the contest, just say ‘Not entering’ and then comment all you’d like. I don’t want to discourage someone from commenting just because they don’t want to enter the contest.

The deadline for entering the contest will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Feb. 23. The winner will be selected by Random.Org and I will notify the winner by email with the subject line ‘Thoughts in Progress Cowboy’s Mail Order Bride.’ The winner will have 72 hours to respond to the email with their mailing information. If there isn’t a response in 72 hours, a new winner will be selected.

Thanks so much for dropping by and spending a bit of Valentine’s Day with us. Remember, answer the following question for a chance to win the awesome giveaway prize package including THE COWBOY’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE. “What gift would you like to receive on Valentine’s Day or what would you consider to be the perfect Valentine’s Day date?”

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day to all celebrating what is labeled the most romantic day of the year.

Photo by leonexis

I give to you a yellow rose of friendship and wish you much happiness on this day and throughout the coming year. May you also receive your share of delicious, yummy chocolate. :)

 

What Do I Get?

Have you already got your loved one a Valentine’s gift? Do you have your gift picked out for your loved one to give you?

Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. It may be a time for lovers to exchange gifts, but I think it’s also a good time to remember those who are special in our lives.

Books always make great gifts for any occasion. With that in mind I’d like to share some pre-Valentine’s Day specials a couple of publishers are offering. In addition, another publisher is offering a special just for authors. While this first special is aimed at authors, we as readers benefit in the long run. The more authors and places to find them, the more books there are for us to read.

CeleryTree has a special going on right now where authors can join for free, which is a $35 value. Each author sets their own price for books on CeleryTree, so there are always some pretty good deals available. 

CeleryTree is a place readers can purchase books and support authors, many of which they have meet through blogging. 

Istoria Books announces that author Jerri Corgiat’s award-winning romance, SING ME HOME, is FREE today, Feb. 9, and tomorrow, Feb. 10, at Amazon’s Kindle store.

Originally published by Penguin’s Signet imprint, SING ME HOME is the touching story of a “bad boy” country music singer who turns his life around to win custody of his children but ends up losing his heart to a small-town widow unimpressed with his riches and stardom. 

SING ME HOME has been awarded the Best Contemporary Novel With Romantic Elements award by RT Bookclub Magazine, Award of Excellence in the debut novel category from Reviewers International Organization (RIO), finalist in the Holt Medallion's mainstream/ single title category, and one of Pat Rouse’s Romance Top Picks List for 2004.

Sourcebooks is offering 12 titles, both romance fiction and romance non-fiction, at special discounts. The books can be viewed on their special page. Please pay special attention to the prices as they vary from FREE up to $2.99 and the promotion last until Feb. 15. Readers can always receive the latest information about Sourcebooks’ eBooks deals by checking their eBook deals page. 

LUCKY IN LOVE by Carolyn Brown
Promotional Price: FREE 
Category: Contemporary Cowboy Romance
When hunky rancher "Lucky Beau" Luckadeau accuses spitfire Milli Torres of stealing his prize bull, she promptly shoots at him, triggering a feud that only gets resolved when they discover they share a steamy hot memory from a night long ago... 

 
It was a night of passion that has always haunted Lucky. The mysterious beauty he seduced at a cousin's wedding disappeared. He's always been lucky at cards, lucky with cattle, and lucky with land, but he's never been lucky in love. 

 
Now Milli Torres has come to southern Oklahoma to help out on her grandfather's ranch. A cut fence and a big, mean Angus bull in the pasture are bad enough, but then she looks up and sees Beau Luckadeau. Great God Almighty, how did he get from Louisiana to Ardmore, Oklahoma, and what in the hell is she going to do if he recognizes her? 

 
50 WAYS TO HEX YOUR LOVER by Linda Wisdom
Promotional Price: FREE
Category: Paranormal Romance
Jazz can’t decide whether to scorch him with a fireball or jump into bed with him.
Jasmine Tremaine, a witch who can’t stay out of trouble. 

 
Nikolai Gregorivich, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire cop on the trail of a serial killer. 

 
The sizzling love affair between Jazz and Nick has been off-again, on-again—for about 300 years. Mostly off, lately. But now Nick needs Jazz’s help, and while Jazz and Nick try to figure out their own hearts and resist their ever-increasing attraction, they must steer clear of a maniacal killer with super-supernatural powers. They are surrounded by a hilarious cast of oddball paranormal characters, including Irma, the chain-smoking ghost who haunts Jazz’s sports car, Dweezil, her ghoul of a boss, and Fluff and Puff, a pair of bunny slippers with sharp teeth and short tempers (watch your ankles)! 

THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH by Mary Ellen Dennis
Promotional Price: $1.99 
Category: Historical Romance  
He’s fearless, except when it comes to Calliope Kelley…
Nothing could shake the courage of lion tamer Brian O’Connor, until the circus is threatened and the love of his life deserts him… 

 
Danger, drama, dazzling excitement are her world…
Bold, beautiful Calliope Kelley would jump through flaming hoops to protect her father’s circus. But when disaster strikes and Calliope loses everything, she knows she must build brand new dreams… 

 
Torn apart and betrothed to others, a twist of fate brings Brian and Calliope back under the bigtop, where together they’ll walk the high-wire to see if great loves turn to ashes or rekindle to burn brightly forever… 

 
THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER by Kathryne Kennedy
Promotional Price: $1.99 
Category: Fantasy Romance 
If his powers are discovered, his father will destroy him…
In a magical land ruled by ruthless Elven lords, the Fire Lord’s son Dominic Raikes plays a deadly game to conceal his growing might from his malevolent father—until his arranged bride awakens in him passions he thought he had buried forever… 

 
Unless his fiancée kills him first…
Lady Cassandra has been raised in outward purity and innocence, while secretly being trained as an assassin. Her mission is to bring down the Elven Lord and his champion son. But when she gets to court she discovers that nothing is what it seems, least of all the man she married… 

 
Then Dominic and Cassandra together uncover an unspeakable evil, one that threatens the destruction of the magical realm they would give their souls to save… 

 
THE MAN WHO LOVED PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Abigail Reynolds
Promotional Price: $1.99
Category: Contemporary Romance 
A modern love story with a Jane Austen twist…
Marine biologist Cassie Boulton has no patience when a modern-day Mr. Darcy appears in her lab on Cape Cod. Proud, aloof Calder Westing III is the scion of a famous political family, while Cassie’s success is hard-won in spite of a shameful family history. 

 
When their budding romance is brutally thwarted, both by his family and by hers, Calder tries to set things right by rewriting the two of them in the roles of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice…but will Cassie be willing to supply the happy ending? 

 
EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE I LEARNED FROM ROMANCE NOVELS by Sarah Wendell
Promotional Price: $2.99 
Category: Relationships (Non-Fiction)
Take a dashing hero with a heart of gold and a mullet of awesome. Add a heroine with a bustle and the will to kick major butt. Then include enough contrivances to keep them fighting while getting them alone and possibly without key pieces of clothing, and what do you have? A romance novel. What else? Enough lessons about life, love, and everything in between to help you with your own happily-ever-after. 

 
Lessons like...

* Romance means believing you are worthy of a happy ending.

* Learning to tell the prince from the frog.

* Real-life romance is still alive and kicking.

* No matter how bad it is, at least you haven’t been kidnapped by a Scottish duke (probably). 

 
1001 WAYS TO BE ROMANTIC by Gregory J.P. Godek
Promotional Price: $2.99 
Category: Relationships (Non-Fiction)  
More Romantic than Ever! 

 
Sure, you could buy some roses.
Yes, you could cook an elegant romantic dinner.
Of course, you could give a heart-shaped box of chocolates. 

 
But sometimes you want to do more than that. Sometimes you want to show just how much you really care, how much passion you really feel, and how much more your partner means to you than absolutely anything else. 

 
Packed with unique suggestions, easy gestures, and thoughtful gift ideas, 1001 WAYS TO BE ROMANTIC is “worth memorizing” (Boston Herald). More than one and a half million people have used this book to kick up the fun and romance, making it a modern classic and #1 national bestseller. It’s a must-have for anyone, in any relationship, who wants to spark some more love in their lives.
 
IT WAS LOVE WHEN… by Robert K. Elder
Promotional Price: $2.99 
Category: Relationships (Non-Fiction)  
He told me I was a penguin: "tiny, adorable, and loved by everyone."
 
TALES FROM THE BEGINNING OF LOVE
 
It may be after three days together, or after three months-it's that moment when it all falls together. From heartfelt declarations to all-knowing smiles, IT WAS LOVE WHEN.. captures that moment when love is just beginning.
 
I thought to myself, "I love him more than Spider-Man loves Mary Jane."
I was looking through his iTunes when I realized that our playlists were nearly identical.
Suddenly he turned off the lights and told me to look up at the ceiling. Glow-in-the-dark stars covered the entire ceiling, spelling out "I love you."
 
Both addictive and heartwarming, IT WAS LOVE WHEN .. is a freeze frame of that moment when you realize that you're truly, completely in love.
 
LOVE BY THE NUMBERS by Glynis McCants
Promotional Price: $2.99 
Category: Relationships (Non-Fiction) 
The love you have always desired is in the Numbers…
 
International bestselling author and media sensation Glynis McCants created this exciting guide to love through the power of Numerology because she believes that the greatest gift one can receive is that of true and lasting love. The secret is in understanding you and your partner by the Numbers, and gaining the insights you need to keep your love thriving!
 
Glynis' celebrated system is a contemporary spin on the ancient Science of Numerology that is easy to use and amazingly accurate. She'll teach you the simple way to create a Numerology Blueprint that reveals what kind of mate would fulfill your—or a potential mate's—innermost needs and desires.
 
If you're single, you'll learn how to pick the right partner from the start! If you're in a relationship that's lost its spark, you'll have the information you need to reignite the passionate love you once had. With LOVE BY THE NUMBERS as your guide, you can ensure that your love relationship stays healthy, satisfying, and on track for a lifetime.
 
PLEASE NOTE: The last three titles listed are adult in nature.

269 AMAZING SEX TIPS AND TRICKS FOR HIM by Anne Hooper and Phillip Hodson
Promotional Price: $2.99
Category: Sex (Non-Fiction)
A saucy new edition of the perennial seller, with fresh photography and updated content, from sex guru Anne Hooper (more than 1.75 million sex books sold). Everything is covered (or should we say "uncovered") from head to toe and beyond, for the most mind-blowing sex you've ever had! 269 AMAZING SEX TIPS AND TRICKS FOR HIM gives men everything they need to be an amazing lover and to turn on and satisfy their woman.
 
269 AMAZING SEX TIPS AND TRICKS FOR HER by Anne Hooper and Phillip Hodson
Promotional Price: $2.99
Category: Sex (Non-Fiction)
A saucy new edition of the perennial seller, with fresh photography and updated content, from sex guru Anne Hooper (more than 1.75 million sex books sold). Everything is covered (or should we say "uncovered") from head to toe and beyond, for the most mind-blowing sex you've ever had! 269 AMAZING SEX TIPS AND TRICKS FOR HER gives women all the details on how to please their man and make their sex life amazingly satisfying.
 
PORN STAR SECRETS OF SEX 
Promotional Price: $2.99 
Category: Sex (Non-Fiction)
You don't have to have aspirations to stardom or want any more audience than your own special guy. This guide will show women how to get rid of inhibitions and find new ways to be beautiful and sexy with over 100 mind-blowing tips, tricks and games. Tips and advice cover every aspect of sexual behavior to build a woman's confidence and make her feel like a true sex goddess.

I hope I’ve sparked an interest for at least one book. Who says we can’t give ourselves a gift for Valentine’s Day? Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Valentine's Day And Twitter Parties

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day for lovers.

According to Wikipedia, “Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD.”

WOW, I have a feeling when Valentine’s Day was celebrated in 496 AD it was nothing like we celebrate now. Each year it seems it gets a little more out of hand - the flowers, the candy and the gifts. When I was in high school, students exchanged cards and boxes of candy. If you got a flower at school, it was usually a single rose but mainly the flowers were given after school at home. Nowdays, high schools look like a florists with so many bouquets of flowers being sent by the students to other students.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with exchanging flowers, candy and cards. But it’s the simple things - everyday things - that have so much more meaning to me. The flowers that I prefer are the ones that come from the nursery so I can plant them, rather than from a florist where their beauty only lasts a week or so. I love roses, but I also love unusual varieties of herbs. Spending a lot of money on a gift doesn’t always make the gift special. How you give the gift and who’s giving it, now that’s special.

I’ve said all of that to lead up to a book giveaway and some interesting events going on Twitter today to celebrate the ‘day of love.’

What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a #SciKiss Twitter Party with THE SCIENCE OF KISSING author Sheril Kirshenbaum (@Sheril_).

@GrandCentralPub is hosting an all-day #SciKiss Twitter party today (Monday, Feb. 14) with all tweets related to THE SCIENCE OF KISSING and everyone is invited to attend! The day will be filled with all sorts of fun – trivia, giveaways, discussions, and much more.

In addition, Brianne from Hachette Book Group will be hosting a very special Valentine’s Day BlogTalkRadio show at 3:30 p.m. with Sheril and SEALING THE DEAL author, Diana Kirschner: http://ht.ly/3U85r. You won’t want to miss this fascinating and exciting discussion, so mark your calendars!

Also, in honor of Valentine’s Day and thanks to Brianne and the folks at Hachette Book Group, I can offer 3 more copies of THE SCIENCE OF KISSING as a giveaway. So if you missed your chance earlier at a copy, try again. Be sure to check out the giveaway guidelines at the end of the post and remember, books will be given away throughout the day on Twitter as well.

There’s also another Twitter party going on today to celebrate the day of love.

Forever Romance and Grand Central Publishing invite everyone to attend their “Valentine’s Day Twitter Party.” Be on @ForeverRomance and hashtag your tweets #4evrloveday to join the fun.

The party will get underway at 9 a.m. and run till 5 p.m. today, Feb. 14. Various authors will be at the party and they can’t wait to meet everyone.

Now to the giveaway here for a chance at 1 of the 3 copies of THE SCIENCE OF KISSING, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com). Your subject line should read, “Win Valentine‘s Giveaway.” Your message should include your name and mailing address. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. In addition, Hachette is advising winners that they will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail. (Winners here have always be great about letting me know if they have already won the book somewhere else so another winner can be selected. However, this announcement is something that has to be passed along from Hachette). And, just so you know, I don’t share the mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for a chance at one of the 3 copies of THE SCIENCE OF KISSING will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Here’s another look at the book trailer for THE SCIENCE OF KISSING, enjoy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY filled with all the things you love and wish for. Keeping in the spirit of the day, I’m sending you virtual flutes of champagne, bouquets of roses, and boxes of chocolate.