Category: Blog Hops

New Year’s Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> New Year's Blog Hop

This year we’re celebrating New Year’s by giving away a little bit of extra cheer. A bunch of blogs are getting together to give away books, gift cards and other prizes.

It sounds like a terrific New Year’s tradition to me. Way better than a hangover!

We’ll probably have toasted the New Year with something other than champagne at our house, too. More likely hard cider. Champagne may be the traditional beverage, but I just plain like cider better. And isn’t this supposed to be a celebration?

And, I’ll admit, we’ll probably stay home. Not just because we’re new here and don’t know people yet, but because it’s wonderful to have found the right person to share celebrations with. We’re celebrating starting a new year in a new city, and a fresh start.

How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve? Is it a time for wild partying? Or do you prefer a quieter celebration?

And speaking of celebrating…

This New Year’s Blog Hop has THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times! As for MY prize, I’m giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card, just in case there’s anything left on your wish list. Follow the Rafflecopter to enter.

Now what are those prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $300 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

To find the othe 200+ Authors & Bloggers Click HERE!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gifting Books Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Book Giveaway> Gifting Books Christmas Hop> Giveaways

gifting books giveaway hop

Gifting Books Christmas hop was organized by Reading Romances!

The absolutely most special book that I ever received, hands down, was J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I was in the third grade, so I was either 8 or 9 years old at the time. While The Hobbit isn’t exactly a romance, I will say that the boy who loaned it to me was the older brother of one of my best friends, and I did have kind of a crush on him at the time.

Back to The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins’ unexpected journey changed my life. I fell in love with fantasy because of that story. I didn’t read Narnia until after I finished the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.  And although I think I read Lloyd Alexander’s awesome Prydain Chronicles at about the same time as LOTR, and that does have a romance in it. But I know I checked those out of the library.

The Hobbit was a gift. It was the gift that has kept on giving throughout my life, because fantasy led me to science fiction, and from there to sf fandom, and to a lot of wonderful friends and adventures.

But the Gifting Books Christmas Hop was supposed to be about giving a romance book for Christmas. On the other hand, my husband and I have a holiday tradition. We tell each other what we want, and then, that’s what we get.

So the winner at Reading Reality will get their choice of prizes. I do want to share my love of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So if you want a paperback copy of The Hobbit or any one of the parts of The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, or The Return of the King), I will be happy to send the winner their choice, US or internationally, to anywhere the Book Depository ships. Or in ebook if you prefer.

If the winner would prefer a $10 Amazon gift card, it’s the winner’s choice of present.

What you can win here:

Winner’s choice of paperback or ebook copy of The Hobbit or The Fellowship of the Ring or The Two Towers or The Return of the King

OR

$10 Amazon Gift Card

Number of winners: 1

Open to (INT, US or US/CAN): INT 

How to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are LOTS of blogs participating in this hop. So hop on over to the other participants and see what gift books everyone is gifting this Holiday season!


The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? 12-15-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

There’s a Mellie-cat sleeping right beside my chair. I think my presence is not required from her perspective–she just likes to sleep on top of the pile of boxes.

Galen says that my office is the preferred kitty sleeping place during the day. LaZorra, of course, sleeps in my office chair since she always believes she’s in charge. Who knows, she might just be right!

But I’m using my office right now to talk about the week behind, and the week ahead.

About that week behind…there’s still time to enter the Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop! The prize here at Reading Reality is a $10 Amazon Gift Card, but there are over 200 Authors and Bloggers participating. Think of all the holiday shopping you might get out of the way. Or maybe gift yourself with a few prezzies?

What else happened last week?

B Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack
A Review: Taste Me (Underbelly Chronicles #1) by Tamara Hogan
A Review: Chase Me (Underbelly Chronicles #2) by Tamara Hogan
Romancing the Holiday: A- Review: The Best Thing by Jaci Burton, B+ Review: We’ll Be Home for Christmas by HelenKay Dimon, B- Review: Ask Her at Christmas by Christi Barth
Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop
Stacking the Shelves (26)

What’s happening this week? It’s the last week before the holiday weekend. Is anyone else wondering where the year went?

The big event this week will be the Gifting Books Blog Hop starting December 20. This hop, organized by Reading Romances, asks an absolutely fascinating question, “What was the most special book you’ve gifted or received?” Then we give a copy to our lucky winner. I wonder if I can stretch the definition of “romance” to include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings? Because they are it for me.

In addition to the Gifting Books Hop, this week is going to have more than a few Christmas book reviews. Someday this Jewish girl is going to have to find some good Hanukah romances for the holidays. A little bit of equal time would be nice!

But there are plenty of Christmas romances in the meantime. And a little bit of futuristic winter holiday romance to liven up the season!

A note about The Sunday Post. The Sunday Post is organized by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. A couple of weeks ago I asked for some advice about how to maintain a book blog and a full-time job. Kimba not only answered, but her answer was tremendously helpful. Thank you, Kimba for a terrific Sunday meme and your fantastic words of wisdom!

 

Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop

One of my favorite things about December is that all the versions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol magically reappear.

Yes, I know I can watch them whenever I want, but the story isn’t quite the same in the middle of July!

Dickens’ story about the redemptive power of the spirit of Christmas, embodied by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, nearly always moves me, no matter which way the characters are re-interpreted.

I say this because my two favorite versions are A Muppet Christmas Carol, which finally answered the question of what Kermit and Miss Piggy’s children would look like (the boys take after Dad and the girls take after Mom) and the very first one I ever saw, Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol. The Ghost of Christmas Past scared me half to death at the age of 5. But I loved it. And I’m astonished to learn from Wikipedia that it was the first animated Christmas special ever broadcast. Wow.

What’s your favorite Holiday story? Did you find a new one this year? Or is there one of the classics that you think of as a Holiday treat every year?

And speaking of treats…

This Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop has THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times! As for MY prize, I’m giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card, to help you with any last minute Holiday shopping you have left. Follow the Rafflecopter to enter.

Now what are those prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $200 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

To find the othe 200+ Authors & Bloggers Click HERE!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hot Holiday Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Book Giveaway> ebook giveaway> Giveaways> Hot Holiday Hop> Uncategorized

The Hot Holiday Hop is organized by Romance at Random, sponsored by Random House

The prizes are

  • Grand Prize $25 Gift Certificate to a retailer of your choice!
  • 10 print copy winners of RELEASE ME, must be 18 or older!
  • 15 Net Galley Preview copies of RELEASE ME, must be 18 or older!

Here’s how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Black Friday Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Black Friday Blog Hop> Blog Hops

What does Black Friday mean to you? Traditionally, it’s the first day of the Christmas Holiday season. It also used to represent the day that a lot of retailers finally turned a profit for the year, meaning that their account books turned from “red ink” to “black”.

As a public librarian, for me it’s usually meant one of the busiest days of the year. Sounds funny, doesn’t it. People don’t shop at the library. But for students, it’s the last big weekend before end of semester, and a lot of students have big papers or projects to finish. College students are home for the weekend, and turn up at their local library to study.

Even with the internet, people still come in for help. And folks who are off work for the long weekend come in looking for good books to read. Libraries have lots of those. Patrons who want ebooks want recommendations.

The more things change, the more things remain the same.

So this is my last year with the holiday weekend off. I start my new job in early December. Next Black Friday, I’ll be working. It’s all good.

What does Black Friday mean to you? Work? Shopping? Bargain-hunting? Or just a long relaxing weekend in a turkey-induced coma? Participating in the Black Friday Blog Hop?

Speaking of the Black Friday Blog Hop…

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times! As for MY prize, I’m giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card, to help with all that Holiday shopping you still have to do. Follow the Rafflecopter to enter.

Now what are those prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $75 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!


To Find the other 200+ Authors & Bloggers Click HERE!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fall in Love Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Book Giveaway> Fall In Love Blog Hop

fall in love giveaway hop

The Fall In Love Giveaway hop was organized by Reading Romances!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Fall in Love (all over again) Giveaway Hop is a chance for me to introduce you to a book that I love, in the hopes that you will love it too. It’s supposed to be a romance book, but I’m going to cheat a little bit.

Because I want you to fall in love with one of my favorite characters. Harry Dresden is the only wizard listed in the Chicago phone directory (one of my favorite cities, too). Harry doesn’t have much of a love life, although he does keep trying. Every time he’s about to get lucky. something goes terribly, horribly wrong. And then he has to get out his wizard’s staff and fuego somebody’s ass. Usually some black court vampire, or evil wizard wannabe. Or both.

The next book in the Dresden Files, Cold Days, will be out on November 27. Because I love Harry so much I’m going to give a copy of any book in the Dresden Files series to one lucky winner, either ebook or print, that costs the equivalent of $10US or less. But this contest is open internationally, anywhere that the Book Depository will ship.

What you can win here: Winner’s choice of one book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, under $10US ebook or print

Number of winners: 1

Open to (INT, US or US/CAN): INT (must be someplace the Book Depository can ship to)

How to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hop and find more prizes!


Autumn’s Harvest Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Autumn's Harvest Blog Hop> Blog Hops> Giveaways

Welcome to the Autumn’s Harvest Blog Hop, hosted by Carrie Ann’s Blog Hops.

What do you love about Autumn and Fall? What does it remind you of? What about reading? Do you think it’s a good subject to read? Tell us your favorite Autumn stories!  Starting on Friday and ending on November 12th, over 200 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite Autumn stories and why we love snuggling in the cold. *wink*

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that’s not all….

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains 10+ paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

Reading Reality is hosting a prize as our part of the blog hop. To enter the giveaway, just answer the question in the Rafflecopter form. The question, of course, is: What’s your favorite thing about Fall?

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And don’t forget to hop over to the other blogs participating in the hop! The more places you enter, the more chances you have at the Grand Prizes!

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Naughty & Nice Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Book Giveaway> ebook giveaway> Giveaways> Naughty & Nice Blog Hop

On Friday I asked if you wanted to be “wicked”. Today, the question is whether you want to be Naughty & Nice!

It’s not really my question. Romance at Random is hosting this Naughty & Nice Blog Hop to celebrate their new release, Naughty & Nice, which features holiday stories (hence the title) by Ruthie Knox, Molly O’Keefe and Stefanie Sloane.

Here’s a list of the very, very nice prizes that Romance @ Random is giving away for this hop!

Prizes – R@R is giving away (must be 18 or older to participate):
· 15 Net Galley Preview copy winners of Naughty & Nice +
· 5 About Last Night by Ruthie Knox paper giveaways (US only) +
· Grand Prize of $15 Gift Certificate to eRetailer of choice!!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

And here’s the complete list of hop sites. Hop around to increase your chances to win!

Wicked Romances Blog Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Wicked Romances Blog Hop

sign up wicked romances giveaway hop

Wicked Romances Giveaway Hop was organized by Reading Romances!

When it comes to romance, what’s the difference between wicked and naughty?

When I say the words “wicked romance”, what vision does that conjure up? Does wicked automatically mean paranormal, or does it just define romances with bad boys doing, let’s say, “wicked things” to girls who are about to be “formerly” good? Or oh so very definitely vice absolutely versa?

But if there’s not something special to make them “wicked”, then what’s the difference between “wicked” and “naughty”? Is it the type of hero or heroine (vampire, demon, werewolf, etc.) or what the twosome, threesome, or moresome do together that makes things wicked?

Or is it something else?

What you can win here: US $15 Amazon Gift Card

Number of winners: One (1)

How to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hop and enter the other giveaways!