I’m always delighted to participate in a WOW-Women On Writing Blog Tour as I get to meet new authors and discover intriguing new books.
One such author is Lawna Mackie who is touring blogdom with her fantasy romance, PERFECT MISFITS.
This is a fun book to lose yourself in and forget all the stress of the holiday season. PERFECT MISFITS is a story about two people who find themselves falling in love. It’s a typical love story with a bit of a twist - the boy is a gargoyle, the girl is a misfit fairy and they have to overcome the evil overseer of the mountain were misfit creatures are banished to. Here’s a brief synopsis to explain more:
Ryder, commander of the Levarian legion of gargoyles, has a problem. He keeps dreaming on duty…and falling…neither of which gargoyles ever do. Every dream is of the same woman, and every time it brings on red-hot, searing pain in the crescent-shaped scar on his palm. Driven to find the woman and the reason for his bizarre dreams, he lets himself fall…
He lands in a place he never knew existed and face to face with the woman of his dreams.
Labeled a misfit, Tempest was snatched away as a child and imprisoned in the hidden realm of Misfit Mountain. Locked up by Fedor, the ruler of the kingdom who intends to take her as his bride, Tempest has no choice but to brave the dangerous snow and ice of the mountain to escape. Faced with the impossible choice of Fedor or death, love is the last thing on her mind until Ryder snatches her from the air and into a whole new realm of feeling.
Can Ryder find the key to freeing her and save them both?
Lawna joins us today to talk about the ‘appeal of fantasy books.’ In addition, thanks to Lawna and the great folks at WOW, I have a copy of PERFECT MISFITS to giveaway. Please see the end of the post for the giveaway guidelines. Now here’s Lawna.
I was a teenager when I started to read romance novels. I was hooked after the first one. One after another I devoured any romance I could get my hands on. Years flew by and I continued to be an avid reader then one day I stumbled upon a novel that was a bit different. It was about a spaceship that crashed on earth and an alien actually falls in love with a woman. I really wish I could remember the name of the novel. I then realized there were other types of romances out there…ones that were a bit different than the normal everyday romances.
It was a struggle to find romances like them they weren’t readily available back then. I’m probably giving my age away now!
Well, soon enough paranormal romances hit the shelves and I was in heaven. Vampires, werewolves, and things that go bump in the night were the characters that became the heroes and heroines that I loved. Just like the regular romances I didn’t seem to be able to read them fast enough.
But in the back of my head was the alien story I’d read. The ending of this book was that the heroine went with the spaceman back to his world. I so wanted to read this. I kept wondering what the world would be like and how their journeys would evolve. Basically I wanted to read about a world other than earth!
Time went on and I began looking into fantasy novels, but for me there was one problem–they weren’t necessarily romance related. I wanted fantasy with romance as the key element of the story. That was hard to find.
One night about eight years I had a fantastic dream. It took place in another world filled with brilliant colors, odd rivers and streams, and unusual looking mountains. Somehow in my sleep I created a creature called a Hippo-Dog-Burrowing Owl. No, I don’t do drugs! I called him Threeo. Any way, after that dream I started writing my first novel ENCHANTMENT. My world created my way, with an undying love, evil villains, conflict, passion and a happy-ever-after.
My latest creation is called PERFECT MISFITS! I love this story, but I guess I’m prejudice. If anyone has a liking for gargoyles and pixies like I do, you’ll love this story. It takes place in a world call Levare.
I do have a secret…okay maybe it’s not a big secret, but I love Christmas. My favorite Christmas show is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so if anyone out there is familiar with this Christmas Favorite, there is a connection between a piece of my story in PERFECT MISFITS and the show. It’s not a big piece but see if you can figure it out. For those of you that do have an answer please pop by my website and contact me. In your subject line put Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Let me know what you think the connection is and I’ll send you a gift or a free eBook.
Thanks very much for joining me today and I really hope you’ll enjoy some of my romantic fantasies! I’d love to hear from you.
Lawna, thanks so much for joining us today. While I enjoy mysteries, I’m also drawn to the appeal of fantasy books from time to time. They make for a wonderful escape and a chance to let your imagination run free.
Lawna lives in Didsbury, Alberta with her husband and her animal companions Dozer, Daisy and Mandarin. She loves mountains and water…almost as much as she loves fairy tales.
Although she read her first romance as a teenager it was years later, when she stumbled across a paranormal romance, that she knew she had found her passion. Lawna spent years telling friends the wild dreams she had and occasionally would try to craft them into stories but more often than not, they would end up in the recycling bin. Then one summer she challenged herself to just sit down and WRITE. So she did. Four books later, Lawna is still writing.
BTW, Lawna also has a Christmas theme novella out entitled, QUINN’S CHRISTMAS WISH (and she’s busy working on a sequel to it). Here’s a brief synopsis:
As far as twelve-year old Quinn is concerned Christmas has lost
its magic. Since his father’s death life has lost its sparkle. His mom is now a widow struggling to put food on the table. Quinn is no help, and the mysterious illness afflicting him only makes things worse. Even Christmas, complete with decorated trees, ribbons and bows have no meaning…then along comes Jazira.
Jazira doesn’t know what happened to her former self, the eleven-year old little girl. She drowned, didn’t she, along with half the other folk of Bandit Creek in 1911? Somehow, she’s grown four furry legs complimented with a large wolf head and body. Scared and alone, she reaches out to Quinn and a strong bond is formed. Jazira learns Quinn, and his mother, are threatened by a wealthy powerful citizen of Bandit Creek. She is determined to protect her new family, no matter what. Christmas Eve finds Quinn staring up at the adorned tree and muttering a quiet prayer. Will the Spirits of Christmas grant his wish, or will the evil surrounding Bandit Creek prevail once again?
For more information on Lawna and her writing, visit her website and find her on Facebook and Twitter. The hashtag for Twitter is #LawnaMackie.
Now for the giveaway guidelines. A print copy or an eBook of PERFECT MISFITS is available to the winner if they live in the U.S. or Canada. If the winner is international, an eBook is available.
To enter, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with the subject line, “Win PERFECT MISFITS.” Your message should include your name and mailing address if you reside in the U.S. or Canada. And, just so you know, I don’t share this information with anyone other than the publisher nor use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for a chance at a copy of PERFECT MISFITS will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Dec. 29.
Thanks so much everyone for stopping by today. Do you enjoy a fantasy book now and then to help escape from the stress of everyday?
I’m delighted to be a part of the Lit Connect Promo Tour for author Hailey Edwards’ second installment in her Araneae Nation series, A FEAST OF SOULS.
Born in the Deep South, Hailey is a lifelong resident of Alabama. Her husband works for the local sheriff’s department and her daughter is counting down the days until she’s old enough to audition for American Idol. Her doxie, Black Ilex, helps Hailey write by snoozing in his recliner in her office.
Hailey’s desire to explore without leaving the comforts of home fueled her love of reading and writing. Whenever the itch for adventure strikes, Hailey can be found with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen or squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after.
Here’s a brief blurb of A FEAST OF SOULS, a fantasy romance with a heat level of mainstream:
The only way to save her is to bind their souls as one.
Araneae Nation, Book 2
Born with the ability to communicate with the dead, few things take Mana by surprise. But when a canis lopes into her life, announcing himself as the long-dead father of a childhood friend, she’s shocked. To make matters worse, he has a dire message that she alone can deliver.
Now Mana must face Vaughn, the male who inspired one too many girlish fantasies, and impart the spirit’s message—without acknowledging her source—so the soul can be laid to rest.
With rumors of a burgeoning clan war setting his nerves on edge, the last thing Vaughn needs is for an innocent to get caught in the crosshairs. But th
e woman he remembers as an awkward girl refuses to leave his side until he’s heard her out. That’s not the only change in her that calls to him. Her kindness soothes his battle-scarred soul—and he craves her in ways a warrior shouldn’t.
When they are both captured, they learn of an even greater threat. The plague devastating the southlands has come to his clan home. And his best—and only—chance to keep his people alive is the female who walks among the dead.
Product Warnings: This book contains one fierce hero with a nose for danger, one stubborn heroine who smells like trouble, and one wolfish spirit who makes most relationships with the in-laws seem downright tame. Fur, fangs and some biting should be expected. But never fear, the hero has a sword, and he knows how to use it.
A FEAST OF SOULS is available from Samhain Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
To entice your reading buds, here’s an excerpt from A FEAST OF SOULS:
“Admit it.” The familiar sounds of a fire starting drifted to me. “You find me charming.”
“I find you…” I struggled for words less insulting than the truth, “…kinder than I recalled.”
“Hmm.” Had he moved closer? “And how did you recall me?”
“You were Rhys’s older, more intimidating brother.” And you terrified me.
With a hearty sigh that weighed on my conscience, he cupped my elbows and got me on my feet. Wood scraped as he kicked the stool closer to where warmth ebbed from the crackling fire.
“Sit. I’ll melt some snow and find a rag.” Hinges groaned. Frigid air nipped at my cheeks. A door shut. Fabric tore. More metal grated. I removed my gloves and touched my eyes before he lowered my hands. We sat like that for a bit, until, “Let’s get those eyes of your open, shall we?”
I let him tilt my head back. Water dripped to my right. Then a hot cloth was draped over the upper portion of my face. I sighed with bliss as Vaughn dipped and dabbed at me. “Thank you.”
His hands stilled, and his reply took so long I gave up on it coming. “You’re welcome.”
I leaned into his touch and relished playing the role of patient for once.
Several hot cloths later, light seeped beneath a crack in my lids. For some reason I held my tongue and used the opportunity to steal a glimpse of Vaughn. His face filled my vision. His eyes were warm and held sparks from the fire. His brow crinkled, and his large, warrior’s hands were so adept as they wrung water from the cloth—which I now saw was a scrap from his shirt—and cleared the melting ice from my face. Seeing him like this snapped some tight thing in my chest.
Water splashed as he tossed the rag. Big hands cupped my cheeks. “Try to open your eyes.”
Blinking came easy. Though my lids were raw, pain was a distant hurdle while Vaughn kept his hands on me. His expression was too gentle, too soft. Surely it was a trick borne of firelight.
When he leaned down, his lips a whisper from mine, I held my breath.
Giveaway Details
Hailey is gifting one lucky commenter from each tour stop, a digital copy of a title from her backlist. (A FEAST OF SOULS isn’t included in the options.) The contest is open internationally and will run the duration of the tour (ending 12:01am EST Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012). The winner(s) will be randomly selected and notified via email. To enter, sign up with the Rafflecopter below.
Additional Tour Stops
For additional chances to win, be sure to check out the other stops in Hailey’s tour. The more stops you comment on, the greater your chances of winning.
For more information on Hailey and her writing, visit her website and find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. Do you enjoy escaping to other locations and worlds through reading?
One of the many things I enjoy about author Carolyn Brown’s writing is the way she shares families with you.
Brown gives family members zany and fun personalities you can’t help but love and want to know better. Then she branches the families out giving individual members their own story and ties many of the families together through friendships and marriage making for one big, happy family.
JUST A COWBOY AND HIS BABY is a fun example of bring two of these families together.
Gemma O’Donnell has a good life in Ringgold, Texas, where her family is, as well as her beauty shop. But she has a dream to be the second woman to win the national bronc riding championship. With the prize money she plans to buy her own little ranch and one day have a family of her own.
Trace Coleman isn’t interested in the bronc riding title, he just wants the prize money. His dream is to buy his uncle’s ranch.
When Gemma and Trace square off in the arena, the attraction between them becomes more ardent than any bronc they attempt to ride. Both are determined to win the title, but the winner could also be the loser.
As Trace’s past is revealed, Gemma has to decide whether to focus on winning or fight for her new dream.
Brown gives her characters depth, along with flaws and quirks making them realistic. She adds problems, hopes and dreams readers can relate to. She spices it up with sexy cowboys, feisty cowgirls, and enough steamy romance to warm you on the coldest of days. Brown’s writing holds you spellbound as you slip into the world of tantalizing cowboys, spirited cowboys, and love of family with a lot of fun added in for good measure.
While JUST A COWBOY AND HIS BABY is a stand alone read, by following the Spikes and Spurs series as it unfolds you get a better understanding of all the family structures. In addition, the characters become friends you watch grow and evolve from book to book.
For a spicy hot read, be sure JUST A COWBOY AND HIS BABY is at the top of your list.
Author Carolyn Brown’s website is http://www.carolynlbrown.com/
Just A Cowboy And His Baby by Carolyn Brown, Spikes and Spurs Series, Sourcebooks Casablanca, @2012, ISBN: 978-1402270185, Paperback, 352 Pages
FTC Full Disclosure - I requested this book and it was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. Hope your holiday plans are going well. Are you a cowboy fan? If so, who was the first cowboy of your dreams? Was he anything like Trace?
It’s my pleasure to welcome author Katie Lane here today to discuss Book #4 in her bestselling Deep in the Heart of Texas series, TROUBLE IN TEXAS, that hits bookstores today.
TROUBLE IN TEXAS is a fun and spirited read. Here’s a brief synopsis:
HERE'S A FOX IN THE HENHOUSE…
Inheriting the most notorious house of ill repute in Texas can spell trouble for a girl's reputation . . . especially when she's Elizabeth Murphy, Bramble's prim and proper librarian. Yet when she discovers a buck-naked cowboy handcuffed to a four-poster bed, she forgets all about the town gossips. Elizabeth has sworn off men, but the stranger's kisses melt her resolve faster than ice cream on a hot summer day.
Waking up in Miss Hattie's Henhouse isn't how Brant Cates reckoned on getting to the bottom of his great-granddaddy's murder. The plan was to solve the centuries-old crime, then get the heck out of Dodge. But after meeting Elizabeth and discovering that the buttoned-up beauty is a sexy siren in disguise, he just can't pull himself away. Now Brant needs Elizabeth to finally put his past to rest, but is she willing to risk her future on Bramble's newest bad boy?
Katie joins us and has graciously answered some questions about her latest release and her writing.
Mason - The age-old question, what inspired this book?
Katie - The musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. One morning, I woke up with the title song in my head and I couldn’t get it out. I got to wondering what would’ve happened if the Chicken Ranch hadn’t closed down. The next thing I knew, I had a story.
Mason - What made it so compelling that you had to tell it?
Katie - I just found the entire premise of a dilapidated mansion that had once been a house of ill repute fascinating. Or maybe it’s just fascinating to a romance writer. Ha!
Mason - How did you go about doing research for this book?
Katie - Well, I went to this place in Vegas . . . just kidding! I did research on the Internet and read books about bordellos and madams of the old west. It was great fun!
Mason - With the book’s release, as you look back what was the biggest surprise that occurred while writing this story?
Katie - That I ended up loving Minnie, the madam and head hen, so much. She’s a cantankerous old woman who chain-smokes and carries a gun. Who knew that beneath the bad wig and negligee was a savior.
Mason - What would you like readers to know about your writing that you’ve never been asked before?
Katie - Only that I feel truly blessed to get to do what I do and I work hard to give readers the best story that I possibly can.
Mason - What can readers look forward to next from you?
Katie - FLIRTING WITH TEXAS comes out July 2013. The story is about Beau, Brant’s little brother, and Jenna Jay, a character from my first book, GOING COWBOY CRAZY. I had great fun putting these two together.
Katie, thanks for joining us and giving us a look at how this 
book came about. Now I have that title song in my head. 
For more on Katie and her writing, visit her website.
In addition to TROUBLE IN TEXAS, Katie also has HUNK FOR HOLIDAYS out in time for the season’s enjoyment. Here’s a brief synopsis of it:
Always putting business before pleasure, Cassie McPherson works hard for her family's construction business. That might explain why she doesn't have a date for the company Christmas party. But it doesn't quite explain why she's crazy enough to hire an escort for the event or - crazier still - why she's dying to unwrap him like a present . . .
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. Do you enjoy reading books where the main character may seem one way on the surface, but is more sensitive and caring when their true nature is revealed?
I’m delighted to be a part of author Nadège Richards’ Juniper Grove Book Solutions virtual book tour for the first installment in her Bleeding
Heart Trilogy, BURNING BRIDGES.
Listed in the YA Dystopia genre, BURNING BRIDGES is recommended for ages 16 and up. Here’s a brief synopsis of it:
Do or Die...
In a world that has been divided amongst the Hunter race and the Warrior, prisoners who have fallen prey to King Cyrus' decrees are forced into the arena to fight until death. Winner is granted mercy and privilege to see another sunrise. Death unto the weak. In an attempt to get back at everyone who has ever shut her out, seventeen year-old Princess Echo becomes another victim, dragging Ayden, her forbidden love, along in a race to freedom, to find out who she really is, and to put a world that has been swallowed by lies back together again.
In the first installment of The Bleeding Heart Trilogy, life becomes a dangerous game of kill or be killed, love or let go. When death threatens the forbidden love of an unlikely couple and they are forced to do the unthinkable, to what extent will they go to be together?
Born in New York City and raised in Pennsylvania, Nadège has traveled to five other states and two countries, but aspires to travel the world some day. Her name is of French origin, though she’s never been to France. Forever a lover of art and all things pertaining to Literature, she hopes to obtain knowledge from her writing career, rather than popularity or fame.
She wrote her first story about aliens and goats in the 8th grade and has had a passion for story-telling ever since. Her friends and family are her biggest inspiration, and the occasional cup of coffee. She enjoys being part of the Indie community and sharing her stories with the world.
Nadège joins us today and has graciously answered some questions for me about her writing.
Mason - How did you go about doing research for your book? Is research a process you enjoy or just find it necessary?
Nadège - I research for anything and everything. I didn’t have to
do too much when writing BURNING BRIDGES, though. The most I had to do was read a lot of historical romance novels in order to learn how they talked back then and what was/ wasn’t expected from people in high standing. Researching is a love of mine. I like the fact that I seek one answer and find many.
Mason - How would you encourage someone who has never read your genre to give it a try?
Nadège - Tough question. I’d tell them that the genre is not only insightful but it is where true imagination comes alive in a writer’s soul. It’s one thing to take a world you’re used to—the one you live in—and build on it, but it’s another when you create a world from the bottom up only to destroy it again. That alone takes courage.
Mason - In what order does your characters come to life - name, physical description, personality?
Nadège - Name first. That’s an always for me. Personally I think someone’s name says everything, despite whatever meaning it may or may not have. Of course we are not our name, but it is what embodies us, what stays long after we are gone. A character is introduced in a book by name first, and eventually the rest will follow.
Mason - Of these three elements (name, physical description, personality), which is the easiest to develop and which is the hardest?
Nadège - Physical description. Before I put pen to paper a story must first play out like a movie for me. Usually envisioning your character and what they look like comes naturally. With personality I have to have a name set. So it’s really like an equation: Name + Personality + Physical description = Main character.
Mason - Do you just jump right into a story or do you plan and outline?
Nadège - I outline everything down to what happens in every chapter. Of course I usually end up adlibbing, but it’s something I can work with and it helps prevent writer’s block a lot.
Mason - What can readers look forward to next from you?
Nadège - My second novel, DECEIVING DESTINY, comes out soon (yay!) and in April 2013 the last volume in the trilogy, FLEETING FIRES, will be out. From there I will still be working in the dystopia genre as I start The Bionics Saga, my take on a robot/zombie apocalypse! A novella is also in the works as a prologue to The Ryn Chronicles, my break away from fantasy and into something much more real, yet very sexy and badass.
Nadège, thanks so much for joining us today and answering these questions. I like your take on encouraging others to read in your genre. For more on Nadège and her writing, check out her website and her Amazon Author Page, and find her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. For additional stops on her virtual book tour, visit her Author Tour Page at Juniper Grove Book Solutions.
Now here’s a brief excerpt from BURNING BRIDGES:
I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, I was going to die tonight. There was no escaping it or any way around it. I couldn’t run from my destiny this time; I couldn’t hide. No, tonight I faced my fate in the chambers of death. The screams of the crowd in the arena filled my ears, the shouts of excitement and laughter boiling my heart down to nothing but untainted sorrow. I refused to open my eyes, but I could sense where I was by that rusty smell of metal and dried blood Father brought home with him every day. The shackles that bound my ankles and wrists to the wall confirmed it. I was a prisoner in my own home, my own Haven. I couldn’t fathom how in forty-eight hours my life had taken a complete three-sixty spin, but here I was, locked in the dungeon of my father’s kingdom, hidden from the world until it was my time to surface.
Nadège mentioned the second installment in her series, DECEIVING DESTINY, that is slated to be released this week. Here’s a brief synopsis of it:
When your destiny lies in the hands of your enemy, there’s only one thing you won’t do to save the ones you love...
Now free from the walls that confine New Haven, the place she had once believed to be her home, Echo must find a way to put an end to a war only she has the power to stop. She has yet to discover her true abilities as a hybrid leader, but what happens when the dreams that plague her become something more? Someone more? In the midst of exploring her love for Ayden and venturing through forbidden lands for a key that will explain everything, Echo finds Kahl -- the boy that haunts her in her sleep, yet has the hidden answers she seeks. And Echo will do just about anything to get them.
In the second installment of The Bleeding Heart Trilogy, relationships are put to the test, dreams become desires, and ultimately one girl will discover her purpose in a promised legend written in stone.
With the first installment in her series out and the second about to be released, Nadège is offering a tour wide giveaway, open worldwide, with the following prizes up for grabs:
5 signed print copies of BURNING BRIDGES
2 eBook copies of BURNING BRIDGES
1 signed ARC of DEVEIVING DESTINY
1 BURNING BRIDGES T-Shirt
2 BURNING BRIDGES Book Charms
Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter the awesome giveaway.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. Hope you’re ready for the fast approaching holidays. Have you read any books from the YA Dystopia genre? Do you read only by genres or more by how the book interests you?
Here’s a book trailer featuring BURNING BRIDGES for your enjoyment:
When you discover a new author and are intrigued by their work, you eagerly await their next release. 
I discovered author David Bell last October when his debut book, CEMERTY GIRL, was released. I’m delighted to say David - a Pushcart Prize nominee - has a new release, THE HIDING PLACE, that has been out just a short time.
THE HIDING PLACE tells the story of Justin Manning, a boy who was murdered twenty-five years earlier. The disappearance of the four-year-old rocked the small town of Dove Point, Ohio. After his body was found in a shallow grave in the woods two months later, the repercussions were felt for years.
Janet Manning has been haunted by the murder since the day she lost sight of her brother in the park. Now, with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Justin’s death looming, a detective and a newspaper reporter have started to ask questions, opening old wounds and raising new suspicions.
Could the man convicted of the murder—who spent more than two decades in prison—really be innocent? Janet’s childhood friend and high school crush, who was in the park with her that day, has returned to Dove Point, where he is wrestling with his own conflicted memories of the events. And a strange man appears at Janet’s door in the middle of the night, claiming to know the truth.
Dante Rogers, Justin Manning’s killer, has just been released from prison in the small southwestern Ohio town of Dove Point. With fresh media attention on the anniversary of Justin’s disappearance and subsequent death coinciding with Dante’s release, local detective Frank Stynes can’t put to rest some unsettling thoughts about putting the wrong man in prison. But if the wrong man was convicted, who killed Justin Manning?
Soon, years of deceit will be swept away, and the truth about what happened to Janet’s brother will be revealed. And the answers that Janet has sought may be found much closer to home than she ever could have imagined. When the past collides with the present in an explosive confession, it changes everything the Mannings thought they knew happened on the day that he disappeared.
In THE HIDING PLACE, David paints a vivid portrait of a family and their community coping with pain and loss, and the uncertainty that can bubble to the surface when questions are raised - a chilling story of the worst that can happen to a family.
David is currently an assistant professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He received an MA in creative writing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a PhD in American literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize twice.
For more on David and his writing, visit his website at www.davidbellnovels.com
For a tantalizing glimpse at THE HIDING PLACE, check out the book trailer here.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. Hope you have a great weekend. Do you enjoy reading stories that make you wonder ‘what if’ the killer is really innocent?
As our thoughts turn to Christmas within a few days and our
lives become even more hectic with last minute details, it’s a treat to find specials on the books we love to read and have a chance to win a fun holiday DVD.
Today’s post is a hodgepodge of sorts as I want to share some interesting holiday specials and giveaways that are currently going on and others that will begin soon.
HOLIDAY BLOG
First, let me tell you about a new holiday blog that authors Karen Wojcik Berner and Karen Cantwell have set up. The blog, Books and Baubles, features 10 new short Christmas releases.
The Christmas releases include: A Bibliophile Christmas by Karen Wojcik Berner, A Spirited Season and It’s A Dunder-Bull Wife by Karen Cantwell, Mistletoe in Manhattan by Talli Roland, Murder Trims the Tree by Deb Baker, One Snowy Night Before Christmas by Pamela Fryer, The Billionaires’ Christmas Club by Theresa Ragan and D.D. Scott, The Christmas Grandma Ran Away From Home by Nancy Warren, Buffalo Nickel Christmas by Larry Enright, and Hope for the Holidays by Dana Taylor.
The authors are also holding a giveaway for the chance to win an Amazon gift certificate, as well as all of the books listed on the site. In addition, there are articles on holiday gift ideas, favorite seasonal movies, and great classics for December.
Be sure to stop by Books and Baubles and check out these Christmas specials.
SWEEPS WEEK
The great folks at Simon and Schuster have been featuring a Holiday Sweeps Week since Monday and today is the last day to enter.
You can enter through their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SimonAudio/app_161683100556760 Today participants have the chance to win a Pimsleur course in the language of their choice!
SEASON PRICE PROMO 
Author Gwyn Cready’s TIMELESS DESIRE: AN OUTLANDER LOVE STORY eBook was recently put on a special Holiday Season Price Promo for just 99 cents. The special price will be available from now until Christmas.
Here’s a brief synopsis of TIMELESS DESIRE:
Two years after losing her husband, overworked librarian Panna Kennedy battles to distract herself from crushing grief, while she wrestles with yet another library budget cut. During a routine search within the library’s lower levels, Panna opens an obscure, pad-locked door and finds herself transported to the magnificent, book-filled quarters of a handsome, eighteenth-century Englishman. She soon recognizes the man as Colonel John Bridgewater, the historic English war hero whose larger-than-life statue loomed over her desk.
However, the life of the dashing Bridgewater is not at all what she imagined. He’s under house arrest for betraying England, and now looks upon her—a beautiful and unexpected half-dressed visitor—as a possible spy. Despite bad first impressions (on both sides), Bridgewater nonetheless warms to Panna, and pulls her into his escape—while both their hearts pull the other headlong into their soul-stirring secrets.
Very quickly Panna is thrown into a whirlwind of high-stakes intrigue that sweeps her from Hadrian's Wall to a forbidding stone castle in Scotland. And somewhere in the outland, Panna must decide if her loyalties lie with her dead husband, or with the man whose life now depends on her.
FREE BOOK DEC. 26
Author Ann Summerville will be offering A GRACEFUL DEATH, the
first book in her Lowenna series, free for five days on Amazon (Kindle) beginning December 26.
Here’s a brief description of A GRACEFUL DEATH:
Giovanna Matthews has an acceptable life in London with her own flat, a good job, and recent engagement to the son of a Scottish landowner. But not long after her engagement to Alan, news of Aunt Grace’s death hits her like a red double decker bus. Ignoring his pleas to stay, she bundles her dog and suitcase into a rusty Volkswagen and drives to her aunt’s cottage on the Cornish coast.
Although her intent is to take care of Aunt Grace’s affairs and leave the village quickly, she is persuaded to join the local knitting circle and rekindles old friendships. Further complicating her decision to leave Lowenna is her attraction to David, a childhood friend. Although the villagers are closed mouthed about her aunt’s demise it soon becomes clear to Giovanna that not only is her aunt’s death no accident but there is a family secret involving her missing cousin.
I’ll have a link on the sidebar reminding you of this closer to the time of the giveaway. Today I just wanted to give you a bit of advance notice so you could mark your calendars.
DVD GIVEAWAY
With the holiday season comes shopping. But finding presents for your loved ones can be no easy task. That’s why Warner Bros. has come up with their awesome Happy Holidays Blog App featuring some classic and new movies out on Blu-ray sure to please everyone on your Christmas list from your teeny nephew to grandma.
You can take the WB Holiday Movie Challenge to see if you are a true compile. Keep your movie skills sharp with this awesome quiz. Try the Decode-A-Scene Game before time runs out. Can you figure out what movie scene is slowly being decoded in front of your eyes? The sooner you figure it out, the more points you earn. Looking to throw an epic holiday party this season? Give the Holiday Survival Guide a try. It has some awesome tips to make you look like a total holiday master.
Warner Bros. wants to wish you a happy holiday season and to celebrate they are offering a last minute giveaway opportunity geared toward the holidays. Thanks to Warner Bros. and the great folks at PartnersHub Family I have a special holiday collection on Blue-ray to give one lucky visitor.
The prize includes either a copy of Peanuts Deluxe Holiday Collection, Classic Christmas Favorites or Dr. Seuss’s Deluxe Holiday Collection on Blu-ray. The DVD will be chosen randomly by PartnersHub from the above Blue-ray titles.
To enter the giveaway for this special holiday DVD, please send me an email (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with the subject line “Win Holiday Collection.” 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. And, just so you know, I don’t share this information with anyone other than the promoter nor use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for a chance at a special holiday DVD will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Monday, Dec. 17.
These are only a few of the wonderful specials going on now through Christmas. If you know of others, please be sure to tell us about them. Thanks so much for stopping by today. Remember to share the specials you know about.
WOW (Women on Writing) has organized a blog tour f
or the anthology DANCING AT THE SHAME PROM, co-edited by Hollye Dexter and Amy Ferris, unlike any other tour they have done before.
Because it's an anthology, the tour features guest posts and interviews with either (and both) of the co-editors, as well as many of the contributors. This is a unique tour as readers have the opportunity to not only talk about different topics each day, but also talk with different people associated with the book. More can also be found by tweeting. The hash tag for this tour is #theshameprom
DANCING AT THE SHAME PROM is a collection of 26 essays about the shame individual women have been carrying around...sometimes for decades. These brave writers, journalists, musicians, artists, directors and activists have offered up their most funny, sad, poignant, miraculous, life-changing and jaw-dropping secrets as they tell the world: I'm done with the shame! Letting go feels so good!
The co-editors, Hollye and Amy, join us today and have graciously answered some questions about their writing.
Where did the idea for an anthology on the shame we keep bottled up inside us come from?
AMY - It came from Hollye & I talking incessantly (we speak all the time!) about our lives, our issues, our fears, our regrets and OUR SHAME. We also, for the record, talk about our joys and happiness and great marriages, great husbands and good friends. We didn't set out to do an anthology. We set out to inspire & encourage women to share their stories with us. We wrote blogs, individually & one together, and through that... through daily life... we realized and recognized that so many of us kept shame tucked in our souls. The anthology literally came out of that very organic experience.
How does creating an anthology work? Do you collect essays from contributors and then find a publisher or vice-versa?
HOLLYE - First we had to get a commitment from writers, along with a general idea of what their essay would be about. Amy and I were fortunate to know some pretty extraordinary women-- writers, actors, singers, feminists, artists, activists...even an Episcopalian priest. Once we got the commitments, we put a proposal together, including the list of writers who had committed and the topics they would be covering. Seal Press bought it! After the proposal sold, the writers began their essays.
Speaking of contributors, how do you find them? Do you personally approach writers you know or put out a “writers’ call”? If you put out a call to all writers, how do you get the word around the writing community?
AMY - Just as Hollye mentioned, we both know pretty amazing women - some are great friends. We sent emails to them asking if they would like to contribute to the book and I believe within 24 hours we heard back from each woman, and they all said yes.
DANCING AT THE SHAME PROM has the work of 27 writers. How many essays did you have to consider for the book? Is it difficult to narrow down your choices? Did the two of you ever disagree on whether to include and essay of not?
HOLLYE - We originally had about 33 writers commit. Then we sold it to Seal, which is a feminist press, so we couldn't include our male writers. The writers had about 10 months to get the essay to us. During that time, a few dropped out due to other commitments, which allowed us to grab a few other writers we really wanted at the last minute. We didn't really disagree about the writers. I think we were each really pleased with the authors we brought in. It felt like the perfect mix.
There are so many stages of this progress: idea, finding writers, choosing essays, editing, finding a publisher … how long did it take you to get from that first glimmer of an idea to publication?
AMY - I think it took about a year. Pretty astonishing if you think about it - from conception to fruition. An amazing experience.
What did you enjoy/not enjoy about editing an anthology?
HOLLYE - I loved receiving the essays. Every time one would pop
up in my inbox, it felt like Christmas. I loved working with the writers on shaping the essays. I loved diving deep with them and pulling all the best out of them (Amy and I have a knack for that.) I didn't love all the technical, tedious stuff- converting files to send to the publisher, uploading software, reading the publisher manuals, blah, blah, blah. Those were the most irritating, stressful days.
What are you both working on now? Will you be partnering up in the future?
HOLLYE -My #1 priority is promoting DANCING AT THE SHAME PROM, and doing the Shame Prom workshops with Amy (See our website for links to our workshops in Aspen, San Miguel De Allende, Costa Rica: www.theshameprom.com) I am also shopping my second memoir.
AMY - For the past two years - along with DANCING AT THE SHAME PROM - I've been (co)writing a play based on my memoir, MARRYING GEORGE CLOONEY, which opened Off-Broadway this past March (It's opening at another Off-Broadway theater within the next few months). So I've been sort of regrouping & rethinking - toying with - what I want to write next. Possibly write another memoir. I love writing my blog weekly. That gives me great joy! And yes, yes, yes God yes, I will be partnering again with Hollye.
Hollye and Amy, thank you both for joining us today and answering these questions. It’s interesting learning how this anthology came about and then came together.
Here’s a little more insight into Hollye and Amy.
Hollye recently completed a second memoir, WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU. Her essays have been published in anthologies (Chicken Soup For the Soul, Answered Prayers, and Character Consciousness) and in many online publications. She writes regularly for iPinion Syndicate and AOL Patch News. A singer/songwriter with four albums out, she also founded the award-winning nonprofit Art and Soul, running workshops for teenagers in the foster care system. In 2007 she received the Agape Spirit award from Dr. Michael Beckwith (from The Secret) for her work with at-risk youth.
Together, with Amy (Ferris) she teaches writing workshops, helping others to find their authentic voices. She is on staff for the San Miguel Writer’s Conference and a visiting author at UCLA extension. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three children, where she hikes, plays music and blogs about living an authentic life at www.hollyedexter.blogspot.com
Amy is an author, editor, screenwriter and playwright. Her memoir, MARRYING GEORGE CLOONEY, CONFESSIONS FROM A MIDLIFE CRISIS (Seal Press) opened off-Broadway bound, CAP21 Theater Company, in March. She has contributed to numerous anthologies, and has written everything from Young Adult novels to movies and films. She co-wrote Funny Valentines (Julie Dash, Director), and Mr. Wonderful (Anthony Minghella, Director). Funny Valentines was nominated for a Best Screenplay award, and numerous BET awards. She co-created and co-edited the first ever "all women's issue" of Living Buddhism magazine. She serves on the Executive Board of Directors at The Pages & Places Literary Festival, Peters Valley Arts, Education and Craft Center, and is on the Advisory Board of The Women's Media Center.
She is on faculty at The San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference. She is a visiting teacher at the UCLA Writers Workshop (extension). She contributes regularly to iPinion Syndicate. Her number one goal, desire, dream: Is that all women awaken to their greatness. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ken. You can find her blogging in the middle of the night at www.marryinggeorgeclooney.com
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. Ladies do you feel we tend to carry shame (no matter what kind) with us much more than men do?
I’m sure readers are familiar with Sheriff Walt Longmire from author Craig Johnson’s series featuring the intriguing protagonist, while others may have found him through the A&E highly-rated Longmire on television.
Just in time for Christmas, Penguin released CHRISTMAS IN ABSAROKA COUNTY (ISBN: 978-1-10163471-8) an original eSpecial
story collection by New York Times bestselling author Johnson featuring Sheriff Longmire. It’s the holiday season in Absaroka County and Sheriff Walt Longmire gets personal in this delightful eSpecial collection of four original short stories.
In CHRISTMAS IN ABSAROKA COUNTY, readers glimpse a softer side of Walt Longmire, the longtime sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, as he grapples with the death of his wife Martha and his sometimes turbulent, but ever-loving relationship with his daughter Cady.
In these four stories: Ministerial Aid, Slick-Tongued Devil, Toys for Tots, and Unbalanced, Walt is alternately at his best and his worst. He helps a possibly delusional elderly victim of domestic abuse while sporting a bath robe and a mean hangover on New Year’s Day. He’s sidelined by grief when his wife’s obituary appears in the paper and there’s an unexpected knock on his door, two-days before Christmas.
He strives to help even those who don’t want it when he picks up a young female hitchhiker and he’s forced into some last-minute Christmas shopping by the Greatest Legal Mind of Our Times, during which he might just end up saving a young Marine chaplain’s Christmas.
Full of Longmire’s dry wit and good heart, Christmas in Absaroka County is a holiday must-have for every Craig Johnson fan.
Also in time for the holidays Penguin has released a boxed set trade paperback collection of Johnson’s first four Longmire mysteries: The Cold Dish, Death Without Company, Kindness Goes Unpunished and Another Man’s Moccasins.
Johnson’s last Walt Longmire mystery, AS THE CROW FLIES (Viking), was a New York Times bestseller. His ninth Longmire mystery, A SERPENT’S TOOTH (Viking) goes on sale May 7, 2013.
A&E-TV’s highly-rated Longmire, will be back for a second season in Summer 2013. It stars Robert Taylor (Matrix, Vertical Limit) as Sheriff Walt Longmire, Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba, Young Guns) as Henry Standing Bear and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24) as Vic Moretti.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Johnson is the author of eight novels in the Walt Longmire mystery series, which has garnered popular and critical acclaim. The Cold Dish was a Dilys Award finalist and the French edition won Le Prix du Polar Nouvel Observateur/BibliObs. Death Without Company, the Wyoming State Historical Association’s Book of the Year, won France’s Le Prix 813. Another Man’s Moccasins was the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award winner and the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers’ Book of the Year, and The Dark Horse, the fifth in the series, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Junkyard Dogs won the Watson Award for a mystery novel with the best sidekick, and Hell Is Empty, selected by Library Journal as the Best Mystery of the Year, was a New York Times best seller, as was As the Crow Flies.
Johnson lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.
CHRISTMAS IN ABSAROKA COUNTY is available online at all e-book retailers, including Kobo, Baker & Taylor, Amazon Kindle books, Apple’s iBookstore, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook books.
(* NOTE - This post is just my way of passing along information about an author and new releases I thought you might be interested in learning about.)
Thanks ever so much for stopping by today. How is your Christmas shopping going? Have you purchased any books for gifts yet?
