Tag: giveaway

Hello Summer Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Hello Summer Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Hello Summer Giveaway Hop, hosted by Review Wire Media and Chatty Patty’s Place!

Spring is Sprung
Fall is Fell
Here comes Summer
And it’s hotter than…
Last Year!

There are plenty of other poems about Summer, but that one is still my favorite.

There are also lots of songs about Summer, songs that when you hear them, you instantly think of hot days, warm nights, staying up late and school vacations, no matter how far in the past your schooldays might be.

I know that if I name a song, I’ll give you an earworm. Or I’ll date myself. Or both. (Every single song in a Yacht Rock mix screams 1970s summers to me.) What about you? What song or what activity makes you think SUMMER! Answer in the rafflecopter for your chance at a $10 Amazon Gift Card or a $10 Book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more fabulous – and Summery – prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Berry Good Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Berry Good Giveaway Hop> Blog Hops> Giveaways

Welcome to the Berry Good Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

It’s always terrific to have a blog hop on the first day of the month (Thank You MAMA!) and this one is especially good because it’s named for all the delicious fresh fruit – including berries – that is just perfectly ripe and juicy over the summer. With school being out, it’s enough to make anyone think that “WOW, Summer is HERE!”

What makes you feel the summery-est?  Answer below for your chance at the winner’s choice of a $10 Amazon Gift Card or $10 in Books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more “berry good” prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Moms Rock Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Moms Rock Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

I looked back at my post for this hop last year and it’s all still true! I really can’t imagine my mom even in the vicinity of that guitar. My mom was a teenager, and in high school, during World War II, so rock and roll wasn’t yet here to stay. She was amazing in a whole lot of ways, but anything that would have involved that ax just wasn’t among those ways.

But I know plenty of moms who would definitely be able to rock that guitar. But even moms that don’t rock absolutely do rule!

Whether or moms are still with us or not, or whether the people who occupy that place in our lives are our moms by birth or adoption or by love alone, they still have mom things that they do that no one else does ‘right’. I still miss my mom’s vegetable beef barley soup, and my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies. I have the recipes for both, and I’ve even made them a time or two. IT’S JUST NOT THE SAME!

What about you? If you’re a mom, what’s your best ‘mom thing’? Or if you didn’t go that route or haven’t yet, what’s the thing you remember that your mom just did THE best?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more mom-worthy prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Life's a Beach Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop, hosted by  The Mommy Island & The Kids Did It!

And May the 4th Be With You, as today is also Star Wars Day.

So there’s plenty to celebrate, not just today throughout the “Lusty Month of May” as the song from Camelot called it. Even if it is not yet beach weather where you are, there’s a lot to celebrate this month, from Cinco de Mayo tomorrow to Mothers’ Day next Sunday through Memorial Day at the end of the month.

It might even be beach weather by Memorial Day. Definitely something to look forward to!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more fabulous beachy prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

Come What May Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Come What May Giveaway Hop> Giveaways

Welcome to the Come What May Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

It’s a bit wide-open, isn’t it? Come what may potentially encompasses a whole lot of mayhem, after all. It’s also the month of “May the 4th Be With You” if you’re a Star Wars fan of any stripe whatsoever. Then there’s Cinco de Mayo and Mothers’ Day. All of the above are just in the first half of the month! And then there’s “The Lusty Month of May”, a song from the play – and the movie – Camelot.

I still think of the song first. My parents had a copy of the Broadway Original Cast LP, and I listened to it fairly often – if only because I also loved the material the play was based on, particularly T.H. White’s epic The Once and Future King.

May is also the month when flowers really get to blooming. One of the highlights of May in Chicago was all the peonies that seemed to pop out of nowhere to blossom in profusion.

What do you first think of when May pops into your head? Answer in the rafflecopter for your chance at Reading Reality’s usual hop prize, the winner’s choice of a $10 Amazon Gift Card or $10 in Books!

It’s May, it’s May, the lusty month of May!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more May prizes to come your way, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Just Because Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Just Because Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Just Because Giveaway Hop, hosted by Review Wire Media and Chatty Patty’s Place!

“Just Because” today is part of my annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration Week, I’m participating in not just one but two giveaway hops today! So be sure to check out today’s other hop, Dancing in the Rain along with all of the rest of this week’s giveaways (Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday)

There are many variations of this particular quote, but the one I’ve always liked best is “We like someone because. We love someone although.” In this house, that’s often applicable to the cats, particularly after they’ve done something reprehensible, like throwing up on the rug. One of us will say to the other, “We love them. Why was that again?” The answer is just because, we love them in spite of some of their less stellar attributes. LaZorra and both of her daughters upchucked at the drop of a hat. They weren’t sick, they just regularly tossed their little kitty cookies, usually on the bed. And we loved them anyway. Just Because.

But what does “Just Because” mean to you. Is it loving someone in spite of their faults? Or is it something you do “Just Because” it’s a habit or a tradition or invokes a memory? Answer in the Rafflecopter for your chance at Reading Reality’s usual prize, the winner’s choice of a $10 Amazon Gift Card or $10 in Books.

Just Because.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just Because this is a giveaway hop, check out all the other prizes being given away. Just Because!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Dancing in the Rain Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Dancing in the Rain Giveaway Hop> Giveaways

Welcome to the Dancing in the Rain Giveaway Hop, hosted by  The Mommy Island & The Kids Did It!

The start of April tends to mean that Spring has really and truly sprung, no matter how far behind – or ahead – the official climatological event might have been.

Growing up, that generally meant my birthday, which was yesterday, and Passover, which my birthday usually managed to fall somewhere in the middle of. Which meant no cake and no party until after the holiday. For many, I imagine that Easter marks the true start of Spring.

And then there’s the Major League Baseball season opening day, which this year was March 30, just a tad early. In Cincinnati, my hometown, the Reds had the honor of opening at home every year on Opening Day, in honor of their history as the first Major League Baseball team. Or so the story goes.

While Opening Day was never an OFFICIAL city holiday, let’s just say that attendance at school on that day was always a bit sparse – and the line to submit absence excuses the next morning was always a bit long. You do the math.

Speaking of math, there’s a bit of math in picking blog hop winners, something I’m really glad that Rafflecopter takes care of for me.

As part of my Blogo-Birthday Celebration, I’m giving away one of Reading Reality’s usual prizes, the winner’s choice of a $10 Amazon Gift Card or $10 in Books to one lucky winner on this hop. There’s also a second hop today, Just Because so be sure to enter there as well, along with all of the rest of this week’s giveaways (Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday) – and there’s one more for tomorrow!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring over for more prizes by visiting the other stops on this hop!

Blogo-Birthday Birthday Book Celebration and Giveaway!

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blogo-Birthday> Blogoversary

It tends to sneak up on me, but today is my 66th birthday. Today is also “First Contact Day” in the Star Trek Universe, which is fitting as I’ve been a fan since I first watched the show with my dad as it was originally broadcast. To paraphrase another ‘verse, that’s a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The past is another country, and they do things differently there.

Referring to another fandom I fell into at about the same time, I’m having a Hobbit birthday, meaning that I’m giving away presents instead of getting them. (Galen has already given me my birthday present and any day without one of the cats bringing me what they think of as a present is a good one. Recently it was a dead wasp, which was just a horror on more than one level as our cats are NOT allowed outside.)

Spring has officially sprung, and 2023 is already one quarter over. Meaning that enough reading has happened here at Chez Reading Reality to make a giveaway of my favorite books of the year so far a VERY reasonable possibility.

So I’ll be giving the winner’s choice of one of my favorite books this year so far to one lucky commenter on this post. This giveaway is open internationally, but not through The Book Depository as Amazon has announced the closure of that arm of their book business octopus, effective April 30. Instead, if the winner is outside the U.S. or one of the other countries where there’s a ‘zon outpost, books will be sent from Wordery, which also ships worldwide for free.

The list to choose from is (drumroll, please):

Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Don’t Open the Door by Allison Brennan
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi
The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
Never Too Old to Save the World edited by Addie J. King and Alana Joli Abbott
The New Guys by Meredith Bagby
Nightwatch by M.L. Buchman
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
The Weight of Command by Michael Mammay
Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris

I’ve done my best to make sure there’s something on this list for everyone, but if I’ve missed your favorite genre and there’s a book you’re dying to read, I’d be happy to share that with you (up to $25 US) instead.

Just let me know in the rafflecopter what book you’d most like to have your very own copy of, from my list or yours, in whatever format suits you best. Someone is going to get very lucky, at least reading-wise!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for not one but two giveaway hops, and be sure to check out this week’s previous giveaways from Monday and Tuesday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TWELFTH Annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration and Giveaway!

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blogo-Birthday> Blogoversary> Giveaways

Today is the 12th anniversary of the very first post on Reading Reality, then called “Escape Reality, Read Fiction”. Which explains why all the review ratings are “Escape Ratings” unless the book is nonfiction and then they are “Reality Ratings”.

Two years ago was the big milestone blogoversary at ten years, and last year represented a milestone birthday. So the numbers aren’t so much of a big deal – although the idea that I’m still doing this every day twelve years later is a bit of a shock.

Twelve years for us means three different cities – and one of those cities twice – eight different residences, and an entirely different clowder of cats as the members of the original bunch went to the Rainbow Bridge over the intervening decade plus. Although the spirit of Erasmus still seems to be stealing my pens. As he did.

This annual Blogo-Birthday Celebration Week, like the ones before it, will be a “Hobbit Birthday” as I give away presents instead of getting them. Mostly. Galen has already given me my birthday present, a lovely Coach bag to replace the purse that George recently chewed through the strap of. As he does.

I give away presents this week because I want to thank each and every one of you who take the time to read my reviews and features, post comments and enter the giveaways. Creating Reading Reality was my salvation when I was laid off during the “Great Recession” and has continued to be so in all the years since.

TWELVE years and still counting.

So, in thanks and appreciation to all of you, on this second day of the Blogo-Birthday Celebration Week I have a giveaway, just as I did yesterday and will every day this week. Today’s giveaway is for a $25 Amazon Gift Card or a Gift Card to a bookstore of your choice if you have a local that sells gift cards over the interwebs. (I’ll be giving away books again tomorrow for my actual birthday.)

From the bottom of my bookish and cat-loving heart, my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who has been part of this journey. There’s still more to come!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop> Giveaways

Welcome to the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

It’s still March – even if seemingly the strangest March weatherwise on record – so this hop is all about being lucky. Lucky enough, that is, to find the pot of gold that is supposed to be at the end of every rainbow.

Come to think of it, I wonder if there are supposed to be pots of gold at the ends of snowbows, too. Considering the way the weather has been this month, I’m sure there are some areas that need to know!

Whether you’re looking for rainbows or snowbows, what would you like to find at the end of the next one you see? Answer in the rafflecopter for your chance at Reading Reality’s usual prize, the winner’s choice of a $10 Amazon Gift Card or $10 in Books. It’s not a whole pot of gold, but it’s a lucky piece or two!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more lucky prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.