The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 11-16-14

Sunday Post

We’re moving in less than three weeks. The panic has not yet set in, but it will. This chapter of the travels (and perils) of Marlene is moving back to the Atlanta area, pretty close to where we lived two years ago. We went back to look for a place to live, and it felt like deja vu all over again – everything seemed awfully familiar. But in a good way. It was just weird that we returned to a hotel room instead of going back home. But we will soon. My mom is just thrilled that we’ll be somewhat closer again. Atlanta isn’t actually close to Cincinnati, but it is way closer than Seattle. Or Anchorage.

I got a LOT of books read on the plane to and from Atlanta in the last couple of weeks. Which helped considerably in figuring out what this week’s reviews would be.

But speaking of reviews, last Thursday Cass and I did a joint rant about a book. I don’t normally trash books (although Cass often does) but this particular book was such a disappointment. The upcoming week’s books were loads more fun!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card in the Gratitude Giveaways Hop
$25 Gift card plus a copy of The Garden Plot by Marty Wingate

Winner Announcements:

The winner of The French Executioner by CC Humphreys is Carol L.

gratitude-2013Blog Recap:

B+ Review: The Red Book of Primrose House by Marty Wingate + Giveaway
A Review: Soldier Girls by Helen Thorpe
A- Review: Dirty Laundry by Rhys Ford
C-/D Joint Rant: Til Dragons Do Us Part by Lorenda Christensen
B Review: In the Company of Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
Gratitude Giveaways Hop

phoenix rising by ballantine and morrisComing Next Week:

Temporal Shift (Blood Hunter/Dark Desires #4) by Nina Croft (review)
The Legend of the Highland Dragon (Highland Dragon #1) by Isabel Cooper (review)
Phoenix Rising (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #1) by Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris (review)
Slow Hand (Hot Cowboy Nights #1) by Victoria Vane (blog tour review)
The Mark of the Tala (Twelve Kingdoms #1) by Jeffe Kennedy (review)

Gratitude Giveaways Hop

gratitude-giveaway hop 2013

Welcome to the Fifth Annual Gratitude Giveaways Hop, hosted by I Am a Reader, Not A Writer!

To thank YOU, my readers, I’m giving away a $10 gift card to the winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.

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For more chances to win, visit the other stops on this hop!

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop 2013

Welcome to the 5th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop, hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer!

The spooks are back in town. Pumpkins are everywhere and Halloween candy is filling the store shelves.

We’re in a new apartment this year, so we wonder whether we will get trick-or-treaters. We also wonder whether or not our lack of knowledge in this area will affect our purchases of Halloween candy! (There are no calories in those little, teeny, tiny chocolate bars, are there?)

living dead dollsMy Halloween book this year is going to be Duck, Duck Ghost by Rhys Ford. At first, I was planning to review it earlier, but when the doll heads tried to smother one of the heroes, my creepy meter went off the scale.

Attack of the Killer Baby Dolls! Doesn’t that sound like a terrific title for a scary movie?

In honor (or memorial, or creep-festing) of Halloween, I will be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card (winner’s choice) to one lucky entrant.

May all your reads be haunting, whether in a spooky way or not!

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For more chances to win more great prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop:

Books That Need More Attention Giveaway Hop

Books-that-need-more-attention-Giveaway-HopWelcome to the Books That Need More Attention Giveaway Hop, hosted by Stuck in Books!

This hop is all about celebrating books that we loved, but that maybe didn’t (or don’t) get all the attention that we think they deserve.

banewrecker by jacqueline careyWhen this sort of thing comes up, the book, or rather books, that I think of first are The Sundering duology by Jacqueline Carey. Carey is famous for the Kushiel’s Dart series, but this pair of stories, Banewreaker and Godslayer, are awesome. It’s one of those stories not just about the ends justifying the means, but how very clear it is that history is written by the victors.

The Sundering is a reverse Lord of the Rings told from the perspective of what ends up being called evil. Except they aren’t evil. It’s not just that they are not evil by their own lights, it’s that they really aren’t evil at all. They just lose the war.

carpet makers by andreas eschbachI also asked Galen for an unsung title from his pile, and the first one on his mind was The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach.  Eschbach writes in German, but the book is available in an English translation.

It is constructed like a tapestry, drawing together multiple threads, starting first with the story of a planet entirely devoted to making hair carpets for a far-away galactic Emperor.  And like a tapestry, as you step back and view the interweaving of the threads, the end result is stunning.

Sounds like one to add to my TBR pile.

I’m giving away a $10 gift card to the winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble:

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Visit the other stops on the hop!

Read Pink Blog Tour

ReadPinkLogoRead Pink® in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Support the Next Chapter in Innovative Research

Penguin Random House Marks Five-Year Partnership Milestone and $125,000

in Donations to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by Penguin Random House called Read Pink® in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October)!

Today the scientific community has left behind the “one-size-fits-all” breast cancer treatment to emerge with targeted, more effective therapies. As a result, after remaining stagnant for more than 50 years, the death rate from breast cancer has decreased by 30 percent. The Read Pink® initiative by Penguin Random House is proud to be part of this exciting new chapter in the fight against breast cancer, supporting the bold research of The Breast Cancer Foundation® (BCRF), while leveraging its passionate readers to help increase awareness and education about the disease. This literary embrace of a life-saving cause has resulted in nearly 1.5 million best-selling novels shipped with Read Pink seals and information about BCRF across all five years of the promotion.

Penguin Random House is thrilled to partner once again this year with BCRF, as 91 cents of every dollar spent by BCRF is directed towards breast cancer research and awareness programs.

The $25,000 donation that Penguin Random House contributes, regardless of sales, provides vital funds to support the mission of BCRF.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Penguin Random House’s Read Pink® editions, we are featuring a few participating authors and what Read Pink® means to them…

Beatriz Williams (2014 Read Pink® Spokesperson), A Hundred Summers

hundred summers by beatriz williamsEvery life lost to breast cancer leaves behind a hole that can never be filled again: a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, an aunt, a grandmother. I’m so grateful for organizations like The Breast Cancer Research Foundation for their efforts to find a cure for this devastating disease, and honored to support breast cancer awareness, detection, and research through Penguin’s Read Pink®  program in 2014. With your help, we can move closer to the day when breast cancer leaves behind only survivors.”

Karen White, The Time Between

Since 1989, death rates from breast cancer have been decreasing due to earlier detection and improved treatment because of the efforts of organizations like The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Books have always been an important part of my life, and I am honored that my book will be part of Penguin’s Read Pink program that supports breast cancer awareness and research through reading. It is my greatest hope that through efforts like this we might find a cure within my lifetime.”

Nora Roberts, Sea Swept and The Witness

Read Pink The Witness Hi ResTo all the moms and daughters, wives and sisters, lovers and friends, Read Pink is here for you and yours. Help support breast cancer awareness and the strong, brave women who fight or will fight this disease and Read Pink in October.”

Catherine Anderson, Perfect Timing

anderson_layouts.inddI am so delighted to be included in the Read Pink campaign again this year with Perfect Timing being featured, along with so many other great books, to raise funds for breast cancer research. I can remember when a diagnosis of breast cancer was often equivalent to a death sentence. Nowadays, the survival rates have increased greatly, and I personally know women who have prevailed over this terrible disease. Sadly, I’ve also known a few women who lost the battle. So I call upon all of you to join ranks with me and countless other women in a war to defeat breast cancer. ‘Read Pink! Buy books bearing the Read Pink logo as gifts for the women you love.’ By standing together as sisters, we have it within our power to make a huge difference!”

Jayne Ann Krentz, Dream Eyes

Read Pink Dream Eyes Hi ResThis is the time of year when we celebrate the progress that has been made in the battle against breast cancer and acknowledge the work that lies ahead. No, we aren’t there yet. There’s a long way to go. The greatest weapon we have to fight this disease is research and research costs money. That is why this breast cancer awareness campaign is so important and why I am proud to participate.”

Marie Force, I Want to Hold Your Hand

Untitled-1I’m so thrilled to be part of the Read Pink effort to help raise awareness and funding for breast cancer research. I hear frequently from romance readers who tell me my books and those of other romance authors have helped them get through breast cancer treatment. I want to hear from fewer of them in the future. I want to hear they took our books on fabulous vacations rather than treatments. Please Read Pink in October to support all the courageous women fighting this disease and to fund critical research. Thank you for Reading Pink!”

Full List of 2014 Participating Authors:

  • Read Pink The Heart of a Hero Hi ResJojo Moyes, The Last Letter from your Lover
  • Karen White, The Time Between
  • Nora Roberts, Sea Swept and The Witness
  • Jennifer Chiaverini, Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker
  • Beatriz Williams, A Hundred Summers
  • Wendy Wax, While We Were Watching Downton Abbey
  • Catherine Anderson, Perfect Timing
  • Marie Force, I Want to Hold Your Hand
  • Janet Chapman, The Heart of a Hero
  • Lisa Gardner, MacNamara’s Woman
  • Jayne Ann Krentz, Dream Eyes

Mark your calendars and remember to join in the conversation with @BerkleyRomance and @PenguinGroupUSA on Twitter in October. Make sure to use the hashtag #ReadPink!

For more information about the Read Pink initiative and to view a complete list of the participating retail outlets, please visit penguin.com/readpink.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 9-21-14

Sunday Post

First, be sure to check out the Stuck in a Good Book Blog Hop. The hop ends on September 25, so you still have a few days to get in on all the terrific prizes. (I’m giving away a $10 Gift Card).

On Saturday I was part of a fabulous panel at the Gay Romance Northwest Conference about getting books into libraries. The whole program was terrific (as usual) and it’s great to have a chance to help authors get their books into libraries. Just because it’s arcane doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to make it happen!

Current Giveaways:

$10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card in the Stuck in a Good Book Blog Hop
$30 Amazon Gift Card from Jacquie Underdown

Winner Announcements:

The winner of Harbor Island by Carla Neggers is Vicki H.

liar temptress soldier spy by karen abbottBlog Recap:

B+ Review: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott
B Review: Palmetto Moon by Kim Boykin
B- Review: Truth or Dare by Mira Lyn Kelly
B Review: Beyond Coincidence by Jacquie Underdown + Giveaway
B- Review: Must Love Fangs by Jessica Sims
Stuck in a Good Book Giveaway Hop

 

 

ReadPinkLogoComing Next Week:

High Moon by Jennifer Harlow (excerpt and giveaway)
Read Pink Blog Tour
Soulminder by Timothy Zahn (review)
Wanted: Wild Thing by Jessica Sims (review)
Butternut Summer by Mary McNear (review)

Stuck in a Good Book Giveaway Hop

StuckinaGoodBook

Welcome to the Stuck in a Good Book Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Stuck In Books!

What book have you been stuck in recently?

written in my own hearts blood by diana gabaldonEarlier this summer, I read the latest doorstop in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood. (Of course there’s a review).

Like many readers, I love the series. As soon as I started the story, I was instantly swept away, and it felt like no time at all since the last book, five long years ago. (It probably helps that the action picked up just where the last one left off.)

But the Outlander saga is intense. Bad things happen to so many people that we have come to love, and it can be heart-wrenching to see the characters in pain or especially danger. This is a story that wraps around your heart.

As much as I was enthralled by every single page, I was also torn. There is so much trauma. I had to put the book aside for a day to let the events sink in before I could return and finish the story.

So I was stuck in the book in the middle, and then again at the end, not wanting to leave “my friends” behind. Book hangovers are marvelous (and frustrating)

I’m giving away a gift card to the winner’s choice of Amazon or B&N, so that the winner can help themselves to one or two more books that they can get “Stuck In”!

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For chances to win other prizes, visit the other stops on the Hop!



Summer Reads Blog Hop

summer reads blog hop 2014

Welcome to the Summer Reads Blog Hop, hosted by herding cats & burning soup!

Summer’s in full swing! Come in out of the heat and check out our favorite Summer Reads! Each blog will feature their favorites and a giveaway so visit them all! Plus there’s a Grand Prize giveaway happening too!

So what books are you diving into at the beach (or wherever you relax) this summer? I’m in the middle of the latest book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander saga, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood. It’s 800+ pages of awesomeness, and totally makes the world go away.

I’m giving away a $10 gift card to winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are TWO grand prizes for the hop, a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a second for a $30 Amazon Gift Card:

For more chances to win, visit the other stops on the hop!


Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop

Freedom-to-Read-Hop

Welcome to the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop hosted by Bookhounds and I Am a Reader, Not A Writer!

In the U.S., this Friday is the Fourth of July holiday. For a change, it is even a 3-day weekend for most people. As much fun as 3-day weekends usually are, I suspect that July 4 is one holiday that is not going to be magically switched to the nearest available Monday. The date is too important.

There will be parades, and lots of people will have picnics. Then there are the fireworks. We’re supposed to be able to see the Seattle fireworks from the roof of our building, but we’ll see.

The gentlemen who gathered in Philadelphia 238 years ago had absolutely no idea that we’d still be celebrating the document that they signed all these years later. They were more afraid they’d all be hung for signing it.

Ben Franklin would have loved all the fireworks.

For more terrific bookish fireworks, be sure to visit the other blogs participating in this Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

For other chances to win, visit the other stops on the hop!

Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop

Midsummers-Hop

Welcome to the 2014 Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

In the Northern hemisphere, this is the longest day of the year. If you check out the Google Doodles, you’ll see that they have different Doodles for today, depending on whether you are entering summer or entering winter (shiver). Unless they are still doing World Cup Doodles, of course.

When it is hot and steamy out, curling up with a good book someplace cool and air conditioned can be a real treat. (Or while laying out by the pool and baking out the chill of the previous winter!)

Meanwhile, one lucky winner can look forward to a $10 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter below. And for more marvelous midsummer celebrations, check out the other blogs participating in this Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop.

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