Happy New Year 2012 Giveaway Hop

Happy New Year 2012 Giveaway Hop. Celebrate the coming of the New Year by participating in this giveaway hop.


December 30th to January 3rd

Hosted by I Am a Reader Not A Writer. Thanks to Babs from Babs Book Bistro for co-hosting.




It's very easy. All you have to do is follow my blog and leave a comment telling me you're following. I'll have two winners who can choose from the following books. Drawing by Random.org

A contemporary story for MG/Tween readers

Young Adult paranormal novel about a ghost that doesn't want to be a ghost, a girl who wants to forget her ex-boyfriend with the lying lips, a hundred year old neighbor that talks in riddles, and a handsome sax player who changes everything.

Check out the other blogs listed below that also are participating in the hop. There are a lot of great giveaways available. Good luck and have fun.

Myspace Graphics, Christmas Graphics at WishAFriend.com

For all my dear friends. MERRY CHRISTMAS OR WHATEVER HOLIDAY YOU CELEBRATE. May the New Year bring you joy, good health, and your dreams come true. A special note to my son.

I held you in my arms

Just one time.

My firstborn.

Your hair was red

Your fingers were tiny.

They grasped at my fingers

To hold mine.

Perhaps you knew.

The angels were near.

My firstborn.

Your toes were all there.

I counted them.

Five on each foot.

You frowned.

You puckered.

Sweet baby lips

So tiny

So tiny.

My firstborn.

You kicked sweet legs.

Your arms reached out

Little fists.

Perhaps you knew

The angels were near.

My firstborn.

I have no pictures

To remember you by.

Your face is a dim memory.

My firstborn.

I held you in my arms

Just one time.

But you live in my heart

Forever.

My firstborn.

David Lloyd McClure

September 10, 1957 - September 12, 1957

My firstborn.

　

The Winners

We have a tie for first place winners of my tour, so I've decided to give two Amazon Gift Certificates.

And they are:

ta da

Apple Blossom

Nancy S.

Second Place Angel Decoration

Susanne

The Gift Certificates will come by email. I think I have your emails. Will check to see if they're right.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone that made my tour so successful. Now if you're still looking for that perfect gift for the children you know, remember Tumbleweed Christmas and Frankie's Perfect Home. For your tweens and teens, I have books too.

Happy Reading.



The End

The tour is over. It's been a fun two weeks. Some wonderful reviews. Some great interviews. And meeting new friends. I'll post the winners of the contest later today. Now, I want to share some of the exciting parts of the tour.

This is a link to the video of Kaitlyn and Dakota, a teen and her younger sister, who reviewed Tumbleweed Christmas. It is so cute. Enjoy.

Also, Renee Hand interviewed me on her Blog Talk Radio show Friday. She asked some very interesting questions.

Listen to internet radio with storiesfromunknownauthors on Blog Talk Radio

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Myspace Graphics, Anniversary Graphics at WishAFriend.com

Virtual Book Tour

Today my Virtual Book Tour begins. Book reviews, guest posts, and prizes. Would love for you to stop by and leave a comment. The blog hosts are listed below. See you.

Monday, December 5^th

Book reviewed at 4 the Love of Books

Tuesday, December 6^th

Book reviewed at The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection

Wednesday, December 7^th

Guest blogging at Literal Exposure

Thursday, December 8^th

Book reviewed at Taking Time for Mommy

Book reviewed at One Day at a Time

Book reviewed at The True Book Addict

Guest blogging at The Christmas Spirit

Friday, December 9^th

Book reviewed at Booksnatchers

Monday, December 12^th

Interviewed at The Hot Author Report

Book spotlighted at The Plot

Tuesday, December 13^th

Character interviewed at The Plot

Wednesday, December 14^th

Guest blogging at Café of Dreams

Thursday, December 15^th

Book reviewed at Reading Frenzy

Friday, December 16^th

Podcast interview at Stories from Unknown Authors 2 PM EST

Book reviewed at The Crypto-Capers Review

Video book review at YOU TUBE with Kaitlyn and Dakota a cute video from a couple of kids.

My Guest Today

Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz is visiting my blog today to tell us about her latest releases from MuseItUp. Lady In Waiting, an historical romance, was released in November and Mirror, Mirror, a time-travel romance releases in December.  She wants to let my readers know that she's holding a contest. Everyone who leaves a comment and contact information will be entered into a drawing at the end of the tour. At that time, she will choose two names. One person will receive a copy of Lady In Waiting and the other a copy of Mirror, Mirror.

Both Lady In Waiting and Mirror, Mirror take place during the fifteenth century. Here’s a bit of information about the books.

TITLE: Lady-in-Waiting

Tag Line: Through a series of misunderstandings, Mabriona is forced to live a lie, but when the man she loves awakes from his coma, will she confess her deceit?

Blurb: Mabriona is cousin to the beautiful and spoiled Princess Alana. When Alana is forced to marry a man she despises, Mabriona is torn between her loyalty to her cousin and her attraction to the handsome Prince Blayne.

Tragedy befalls the cousins on the way to Prince Blayne’s castle. Servants, believing Mabriona to be Alana, refuse to listen when she tries to explain.

While she waits for Blayne to recover, Mabriona meets his equally handsome younger brother, Madoc, a bard.

When Blayne awakes, will Mabriona choose life with a future king, will she be sent home in disgrace because of her inadvertent lies, or will Madoc win her love with his poetry?

TITLE: Mirror, Mirror

Tag Line: Lindsay Baker’s purchase of an antique mirror sends her back in time to salvage a love torn apart by class restrictions.

Blurb: Lindsay Baker is intrigued by everything about the middle ages, but when she purchases an antique mirror and a costume to attend a Renaissance Faire, she suddenly finds herself transported back in time. There she finds she’s been called by a witch to right a terrible wrong.

Graham loves Prudence, but he can’t marry her because he’s landed gentry, and she is only the baker’s daughter. Before Lindsay can return to her own time, she must convince Graham to marry against his father’s wishes. Unfortunately, she also finds herself falling for the handsome gentleman.

Can she find her way back to her own time, or will she be stuck in a time when women had no rights?

Lady in Waiting released November 18th from MuseItUp. Direct buy link: http://tinyurl.com/6u4keh5
Mirror, Mirror will release in December. The MuseItUp Bookstore buy link: 
http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2

***
Penny also has some interesting information on scrying.

I wanted to talk today about the art of scrying. In Mirror, Mirror, a wise woman uses her special scrying mirror to local Lindsey Baker in the twenty-first century. Lindsey looks exactly like Prudence, a young girl who is in love with Master Graham. Unfortunately, Graham cannot marry Prudence because she is the baker’s daughter. Graham’s father insists he has to marry a young woman with more influence and money and thus has arranged a marriage for him with the burgher’s daughter.
Lindsey purchases a mirror which the shopkeeper jokingly tells her is a scrying mirror. Through this mirror, Lindsey is transported back to the fifteen century where she is given the task of convincing Graham that he must marry Prudence.
Scrying is the ancient art of divination achieved by a person of talent focusing on an object with a shiny surface until visions appear.

The term scrying comes from the English word “descry.” This is defined as “to see,” “to make out dimly” or “to reveal.” Scryers were sought by people who wanted to know about their future, or needed answers to questions, solutions to problems, or help in finding lost items or people. During the Middle Ages when scrying was popular, most scryers were wise women or wise men who were sometimes referred to as witches. These people were naturally gifted with second sight.

We usually think of scryers using crystal balls, but crystal balls were expensive, and not many scyers could afford them. Many of the early scryers used ponds or lakes on moonlit nights. They also used mirrors, polished stones or metal, or bowls of water.

Mirrors which are used are generally painted black on the concave side. Witches may make the magic mirrors themselves, painting and decorating them during the waxing moon and then consecrating them in traditional rituals used for other witches tools.

Traditionally, a witch uses a magic circle to work her scrying. The best results are obtained at night. The witch will concentrate upon her chosen tool and will be rewarded with visions either on the surface of the tool or by receiving mental images. To be able to scry, the witch needs to turn off all distractions and enter an altered state of consciousness. Some ancient grimoires indicate a great deal of preparation was necessary for the witch to perform a scrying. Some of the steps included fasting, prayers, and summoning various spirits. They would definitely have to do a psychic cleansing of both themselves and the area where they would be scrying.

First the person scrying will quiet her mind, relax and concentrate on the reflective surface. Keeping her mind blank, the witch will look within the glass, ignoring reflections or light on the surface. Sinking into the glass, the witch forms a question in her mind. The glass will appear to cloud over, become smoky, and a dark patch appears. At this point, pictures, signs or other symbols that the witch must interpret will appear in the glass.

Prudence approached the wise woman in Mirror, Mirror to learn what she could do to make Graham go against his father’s wishes. When Lindsey is brought through time, Prudence disappears. Mirror, Mirror doesn’t follow Prudence to see where she goes, but I’ll let you know that her spirit is inhabiting Lindsey’s body in the twenty-first century while Lindsey’s spirit is trapped in Prudence’s.

Please join me in these journeys through time to see what happens to Mabriona in Lady In Waiting and Lindsey in Mirror, Mirror.

***

SHORT EXCERPTS:

LADY-IN-WAITING

“Today’s the day, Mabriona,” Princess Alana said as Mabriona entered the chambers. She wiped tears from her eyes with an embroidered linen. “Prince Blayne will be here, and soon I’ll be his wife. I think the worst part of being father’s daughter is marrying someone I’ve never even met.”

“You’ve always known your marriage would be arranged for the benefit of the kingdom, Princess, but I’m sure he’ll be very nice,” Mabriona replied as she opened the heavy drapes covering the windows. She looked at her cousin and sighed. She wanted to feel sorry for Alana, but they’d had this discussion so many times. Mabriona was tired of it. Alana had known from the time she was a child that she would not wed for love. Why can’t Alana just accept her fate? Outside the day was as wet as the one before and the one before that.

“Nice? Who wants nice? I want someone handsome and dashing. A knight in shining armor who will love me forever. I certainly don’t want someone like my father who will make me do everything I don’t want to do.”

MIRROR, MIRROR

After Stefany left, Lindsey adjusted the water spigots on her tub. A few drops of bubble bath went into the water, and the soothing scent of lavender filled the moist, steamy air. While the tub filled, Lindsey tried on her Renaissance outfit for the upcoming Faire. She couldn’t believe her good luck at finding the perfect pieces. She tested the bath water to be sure it was the right temperature. Then she picked up her antique mirror to get a better view. Was this a scryer’s mirror at some point in time? It slipped from her wet hands into the bathtub.

“Nuts,” she mumbled as she leaned over the tub. She pulled one sleeve up on her blouse and fished around in the bubbles for the mirror. When she pulled the mirror from the water, spots appeared in front of her eyes, and she felt faint. While she watched her reflection in the old mirror, the background changed. She no longer saw the inside of her bathroom. She closed her eyes as the room around her went black.

***
If you'd like to follow Penny on her virtual tour, here are her stops. Remember, you can win a copy of her books.

VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR

LADY-IN-WAITING AND MIRROR, MIRROR

November 28 - Lisa Blackwood - http://blackwoodsforest.wordpress.com/

November 29 – Sandra Cox - http://sandracox.blogspot.com/

November 30 – C K Volnek - http://www.ckvolnek.com/blog.html

December 1 – Lin Holmes – http://linsownminingforgold.blogspot.com/

December 2 – Marva Dasef - http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/

December 3 – Rosalie Skinner - http://rosalieskinner.blogspot.com/

December 4 – Beverly Stowe McClure - http://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com/

December 5 – Lindsay Townsend - http://lindsaysromantics.blogspot.com/

December 6 – Karen Cote - http://www.karencote.tv/karens-chaise-lounge

December 6 – Chastity Bush - http://chastitybush.blogspot.com/

December 7 – Daryl Devore - http://www.myeroticnotions.blogspot.com/

December 8 – Victoria Adams - http://victoriaadams.blogspot.com/

December 9 – Julie Dobbins - http://juliedobbins.blogspot.com/

December 10 – Marsha Moore - http://marshaamoore.blogspot.com/ -

December 11 – Joylene Butler - http://cluculzwriter.blogspot.com/ -

Do You Like Contests?

If you answered "yes", let me tell you about a good one going on right now. I reviewed this book awhile back. From the author, Lee Chambers, himself:

"I wanted to tell you that I am running a contest. Here's the info:

"Aaron Stevens got away with $5 million and went on the run in The Pineville Heist. Now you have a chance to get away with $100 by taking in this cracking new thriller that's on the way to becoming a movie!

"Check out THE PINEVILLE HEIST and you can win a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com and a $50 VISA gift card courtesy of author Lee Chambers and www.thesimpledude.com.
"Entering the contest is simple. All you need to do is:

1. Purchase the thriller The Pineville Heist in e-book format for JUST 99 cents, yes, it's LESS than one dollar!


2. Review the book on Amazon.

3. And LIKE The Pineville Heist on Facebook.

Five lucky people will be chosen at random to receive an autographed copy of The Pineville Heist. And one grand prize winner will get a $50 VISA gift card AND a $50 Amazon gift card.The prize drawings won't take place until New Years Eve, so you have time to read it. But don't wait too long!"http://www.pinevilleheist.com/

I'm in. How about you?