Monday, January 28, 2013

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon: Post your wrap-ups!


Well, another read-a-thon comes to an end.  I hope everyone enjoyed it! I'd like to thank everyone who participated.  I'd also like to thank everyone who donated prizes and Melissa for hosting the mini-challenge.  We had a couple of great Twitter chats this time.  We had a lively discussion about the tons of books we own and how they are best moved (when we move house) by movers, even though they might think we're insane for owning so many books.  I always say that people who don't understand those of us who own a lot of books are, as my son would say, "They're just non-readers, Mom" (I wonder where he got that from?).  LOL! Looking forward to Spring into Horror on April 22 - 28! How about you?

If anyone is interested in me hosting another Sit Down and Write writing challenge over at Stories Inside, let me know what month (February, March or early April) would be good for you in the comments.  It will last for two weeks again.

My wrap-up post will be over at The True Book Addict in my update post.  I didn't really do that great, but I did finish one book, well the first half of Les Mis.  My copy is two volumes!

Add the link to your wrap-up post in the linky below by 10am CST (U.S. time) on Tuesday.  I will start drawing giveaway winners Tuesday afternoon.

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon: Prize Promotion Page

More prizes added! See below...


This is the prize promotion page for all the prizes being given away for the read-a-thon.  At the end of this post, you will find details regarding how the prizes will be awarded at the end of the read-a-thon (be sure to check out the free story on offer just below).


Ybor Noir - A Frank Geddy Detective Short (Noir De Jure, #1) by John David

John is giving away a free ePub or mobi (for Kindle) to all read-a-thon participants.  Please leave me a comment below with  your email address and what format you prefer, if you would like this free story.

About the story:
Finalist for the 2012 Creative Loafing Short Fiction Contest, “Editor’s Choice” and “Reader’s Choice” awards.

"As I read this story the voices in my head were interchanging between Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca), Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry), Elliot Ness (The Untouchables) & Dick Tracy (As Himself).

This is a great little read, PI Frank Geddy has a new fan."

Read an excerpt here:

http://www.johndavidauthor.com/upload...

Detective Frank “Giddy” Geddy usually gets his man, and sometimes the girl, too. This isn’t one of those times.

Ybor City is where the cool people of Tampa go to cut loose and have fun. Getting in to the party is never the problem. Getting out of it sometimes is. In Ybor, you never know what or who you will run into. Between the seedy clubs and bars, in shady back alleys, and at the cigar and tattoo shops–something is for sale on every corner, and there is always trouble within stumbling distance.

Where you end up is never where you started . . .

Ybor Noir is John David’s first release from his new line of short detective fiction, brought to you by Noir De Jure. Find out more about the Noir series at the author’s website, http://www.johndavidauthor.com/. Be sure to read the next Frank Geddy story, Bayshore Noir.

Ybor Noir is about 3000 words, approximately 14 ebook pages at font size 2. It is the perfect lunch or breaktime read.

John David is also giving one winner their choice of a paperback copy of the three titles listed below (U.S. only) and an ePub or mobi copy of any one of his titles (check out all titles on his website, http://www.johndavidauthor.com/)

Winner's choice out of these three copies (U.S. only)


Ten Questions - The Insider's Guide to Saving Money on Auto Insurance: Hidden Discounts Revealed

Read all about it on Goodreads


Pwning N00bs - The PC Gamer's Guide to Hardware, Strategy, and Tactics

Read all about it on Goodreads


Essays for the 99%: The Collection - Class Warfare (Essays for the 99% #4)

Read all about it on Goodreads


About the author:
My writing style is direct and honest. I don't pull punches or write as if I am getting paid by the word. My goals as a writer are to educate, amuse, engage, and entertain the reader. I also offer writing, editing, and narration services.
Read more about John David on Goodreads or at his website, http://www.johndavidauthor.com/

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Two winners get choice of two books from below (U.S. only).  Big thanks to Melissa, at Must Read Faster, for donating!


The Turning--Francine Prose (hardback--new condition)
A dark house.
An isolated island.
Strange dreams
and even stranger
visions . . .

Jack is spending the summer on a private island far from modern conveniences. No Wi-Fi, no cell service, no one else on the island but a housekeeper and the two very peculiar children in his care. The first time Jack sees the huge black mansion atop a windswept hill, he senses something cold, something more sinister than even the dark house itself.

Soon, he feels terribly isolated and alone. Yet he is not alone. The house has visitors—peering in the windows, staring from across the shore. But why doesn't anyone else see them . . . and what do they want? As secrets are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn't crazy. . . . Or is he?

From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes a mind-bending story that will leave you realizing how subtle the lines that separate reality, imagination, and insanity really are.


Incarnation
--Emma Cornwall  (paperback--gently used)  Winner--Tif
In the steampunk world of Victorian London, a beautiful vampire seeks out the author of Dracula–to set the record straight . . . If one is to believe Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale, Lucy Weston is Dracula’s most wanton creation, a sexual creature of the night who preys on innocent boys. But the real-life Lucy is nothing like her fictional counterpart—and she demands to know why the Victorian author deliberately lied. With Stoker’s reluctant help, she’s determined to track down the very fiend who transformed her—from the sensual underworld where humans vie to become vampires, to a hidden cell beneath a temple to madness, and finally into the glittering Crystal Palace where death reigns supreme.

Haunted by fragmentary memories of her lost life and love, Lucy must battle her thirst for blood as she struggles to stop a catastrophic war that will doom vampires and humans alike. Ultimately, she must make a choice that illuminates for her—and for us—what it means to be human.


Arctic Fire--Stephen Frey  (paperback--new condition)  Winner--Tif
Troy Jensen could do it all: he conquered the Seven Summits, sailed solo around the world twice, and even fought a bull in a Mexican slum on a dare. So when word comes that a rogue wave has swept Troy off a crab fishing boat in the Bering Sea and into a watery grave, his brother, Jack, doesn’t buy it. 

Against his better judgment, Jack decides to quit his job as a Wall Street trader and head to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to investigate. Minutes after revealing his plan in his father’s New York City office, Jack is nearly run down in the street. He doesn’t think much of it at the time, but as he digs deeper into Troy’s disappearance, Jack unearths information about RED-CELL-SEVEN (RCS), a super-secret American intelligence group that has operated for forty years in almost total secrecy and with complete impunity—and its leaders intend to keep it that way at any cost. 

Dodging bullets as he makes his way to Dutch Harbor, Jack connects the dots that link Troy with RCS. And when he realizes that it’s impossible to return to his old life, Jack charges headlong into the deepest recesses of America’s most secret and feared intel group in order to uncover the truth about Troy’s disappearance. Along the way, Jack learns that the civilian world’s rules of fair play don’t apply to this brutal new world that has swallowed him whole—especially when he crosses paths with the leader of RCS, a man firmly committed to destroying America in order to protect it.


Feedback--Robison Wells  (hardback--new condition)
Benson Fisher escaped from Maxfield Academy’s deadly rules and brutal gangs.

Or so he thought.

But now Benson is trapped in a different kind of prison: a town filled with hauntingly familiar faces. People from Maxfield he saw die. Friends he was afraid he had killed.

They are all pawns in the school’s twisted experiment, held captive and controlled by an unseen force. As he searches for answers, Benson discovers that Maxfield Academy’s plans are more sinister than anything he imagined—and they may be impossible to stop.

Variant blew readers away with its breakneck pacing, flawless plotting, and impossibly high stakes. It earned starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and VOYA, which described it as “an exciting, edge-of-your-seat read that combines psychological themes from works like Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Ender’s Game in a truly unique way.”

In Feedback, Robison Wells delivers all the answers you’ve been craving—with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing until the very last page.

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The most generous Laurie at Laurie Here is donating a two book and swag prize pack to one U.S. winner and an eBook copy of Hopeless by Colleen Hoover to an International winner (purchased for you by Laurie, if you are able to receive eBooks).  Thank you, Laurie!

U.S. only prize pack includes:



Defending Jacob by William Landay
Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.


There Goes the Bride by Holly McQueen
"Happily ever after isn't always what you expect..."Polly Atkins, a Londoner living in New York City, is headed back across the pond for her wedding, a grand affair that has her older sister, Bella, in a whirlwind of excitement. Bella can't wait to take over the wedding plans--and neither can Polly's best friend, Grace, whose life as a wife, housekeeper, and mother is making her feel older than her twenty-eight years. She's desperate to see Polly settle down in the same city--and the same life.

The only one who isn't bursting with enthusiasm is Polly. Which is why, before things can get any more chaotic, she calls the whole thing off and lets go of the most perfect man on the planet. There's no way that Polly is going to tell anyone why she's changed her mind. Some secrets are best kept hidden. But Grace and Bella are determined to get Polly and her fiance back together if it's the last thing they do. After all, solving someone else's problems has got to be better than dealing with your own. . . .

One bookmark and one Postcard of Suzanne Woods Fisher's "Stoney Ridge Seasons Series" 

International prize--eBook of Hopeless by Colleen Hoover


Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Read Laurie's review of Hopeless HERE.

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Winner--Jane Harfeld

One International winner will receive the book(s) of their choice under $10 from BetterWorldBooks.com  They have a great selection of used books and they have free worldwide shipping so you might even be able to snag more than one book!

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Giveaway Details:  This is a read-a-thon participant only giveaway.  To be eligible, you must sign in at the starting line post when you start to read and complete a wrap-up post at the end and link it here at Seasons of Reading at the official read-a-thon wrap-up post (I will give everyone until Tuesday morning, 1/29, at 10am CST to complete their wrap-up posts).  We have a total of 6 prizes.  This means there will be 6 winners (with the exception of the free short story eBook for all participants).  Four (4) U.S. winners and two (2) International winners.  The first U.S. winner chosen will get first choice of all U.S. prizes listed and I will continue in this manner until all 4 U.S. winners are drawn.  I will choose the International winners last and they will get their choice of  the prizes listed, second winner will get the remaining prize.  All eBook prizes will be sent to winner via email (or gifted) and print books will be shipped by the author or the donor of the prize.  Winners will be chosen after the wrap-up post deadline (see above).  I will ask that all participants list their country of residence when they enter their wrap up link in the linky.

Any questions?  Please leave me a comment with your email address.

A big thanks to all who donated prizes! It is greatly appreciated!

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Monday, January 21, 2013

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon: Starting Line #WintersRespite


Welcome to the starting line! Be sure to sign in here, at the beginning or when you start reading.  Remember, you do not have to have a blog to join us.  You can sign in linking to Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads...wherever you will be updating from.  And you don't have to start at the beginning.  Start on any day this week, or if you're working all week, join us for the weekend.  People can sign-in up until Friday night at 11:59pm CST.  I'll be stopping by and visiting you so I hope you will have your book piles/reading lists posted. *hint hint*  Also, a reminder that I'm allowing children's books as long as you read some (or from) novels as well.  And for those who asked me.  Yes, of course, non-fiction is okay too.

Join us on Twitter using the hashtag #WintersRespite.  We are going to have four Twitter chats this week.  I tried to have a good variance of time.  Hope one of the slots will work for everyone.  Here's the Twitter chat schedule:

Wednesday at 6:00pm CST
Friday at 8:00pm CST
Saturday at 10:00am CST
Sunday at 1:00pm CST

I will be popping in on Twitter from time to time in case you have any questions and also to check updates.  I try to visit as many blogs as I can, but I'm one person so please bear with me.  At other odd times on Twitter, we might even have some reading sprints throughout the week.  There won't be any prizes if/when we do, but you will get bragging rights.  Just remember to have fun this week.  Again, my read-a-thon credo is "a week of relaxed reading during which we can personally challenge ourselves and whittle away those ever looming TBR piles/shelves/libraries."  I have done away with mini-challenges so we can focus more on the reading, but please do stop by and visit your fellow read-a-thon-ers if you get a chance...and again, we will also be on Twitter for social interaction.  =O)

PRIZES/GIVEAWAYS
I will have the prize and giveaway page posted during the day on Monday so come back here to find it (sad to say, not as many prizes this time).  I will also have easy access links at the top of the blog.  Melissa at 4 a Happier Me is hosting a mini-challenge with prizes (Thank you, Melissa!).  Visit the link below to participate.

2013 YA Book Cover Challenge

Okay, I think that's about it.  I hope you all have fun this week.  If you have any questions, please leave me a comment below, but be sure to leave your email address so I can respond.  I will be posting my updates at my main blog, The True Book Addict, so stop by and visit me.  Happy Reading!

SIGN IN HERE:

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