A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon--Sign Up Here! #WintersRespite

Well, Christmas is officially over and I'm looking forward to the new year and some Winter's respite and recovery. I also quit my overly demanding job and I'm starting a new work-at-home job that I'm hoping will be less consuming of my valuable family and reading time. We shall see. I'm thinking it will be. Staying positive. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas and wishing you much health and prosperity in the New Year!

This is the official sign up for A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon! Dates are January 18 - 24, starting at 12:00am Monday and ending at 11:59pm on Sunday. Times are central standard time so adjust your times accordingly. Of course, like most read-a-thons, the books read must be novels or novellas, adult or young adult are fine, and you can read children's books too (as long as you do read some novels too). Note: Non-Fiction is also okay! You DO NOT have to participate the entire week. Join in when you can, start in the middle, end early...whatever works best for your schedule. As with all of my read-a-thons, it will be a week of relaxed reading during which we can personally challenge ourselves and whittle away those ever looming TBR piles/shelves/libraries. 

Guidelines for the read-a-thon can be found HERE or you can access in the tab at the top of the blog. Any information you need about the read-a-thon can be found there. Please do be sure to check the guidelines to make sure you're following along correctly. There are specific rules regarding signing up and wrapping up, especially in regards to the giveaway. Also, regarding the giveaway, I'll be again adding a Google form to capture names and email addresses so if you're interested in winning a prize (and you've met the sign up and wrap up criteria), I will ask you to fill in that form which will be located on the prize page.

I will not be hosting any mini-challenges. However, if anyone else would like to host a mini-challenge or giveaway, you are more than welcome. I am also looking for prize donations so if anyone would like to contribute, let me know. Authors, this is a great way to promote your book! (Contact me using the contact form above). 

Our hashtag is #WintersRespite Also, don't forget about our Facebook group. You can access via the tab at the top of the blog.

Sign up in the linky below. You do not have to do a post now, unless you want to help spread the word (much appreciated). If you don't have a blog, use Facebook, Twitter or Goodreads. Having a blog is not required. Be sure to grab the button at the top of this post (there's also a grab code below the button in the sidebar).

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Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon - Wrap Up #CSReadathon

Finally...a wrap up post. I'm so sorry for being MIA for the read-a-thon this year. As some of you have seen in the Facebook group, I haven't been having a good go of it lately. Work and real life problems have been especially nasty and while I'm still trying to stay positive and carry on, as I always do, I'm utterly exhausted in the process. Hoping that I can pick myself up, dust myself off, and really start enjoying this holiday season.

I hope you all enjoyed the read-a-thon and that it got you into the spirit. If you want to continue on with your Christmas reading this season and you're up for a challenge, why not sign up for my Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge at my Christmas blog (if you haven't already)? Would love to have you! It lasts through January 6.

Add your wrap-up post to the linky by Friday, December 4 at 11:59pm CST to be eligible for the prizes. Be sure that you entered via the form on the Midweek Check-In post.

Thanks for participating! I hope you will join me for the Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon, coming January 18 - 24. Button is coming soon.

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Happy Holidays!

Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon - Mid-Week Check-in (a bit late!) #CSReadathon

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! I'm a day late with this check-in because of the illustrious holiday, but it was such a wonderful holiday this year and I didn't work (Yay!) so it was extra special for me. I haven't had any time to read, as work has been a mess so I may have to be content to just host this time (which I love doing and wouldn't change) and hope to get some Christmas reading in for the reading challenge.

How is your reading going? I hope you're enjoying it. Feel free to update me in the comments or leave a link to an update post.

Giveaways
I was very generously offered two eBook copies of the Christmas horror novella, Twelfth Night Krampus from Erin at Oh, For the Hook of a Book. Although this is horror, it is based on an East European legend (see below).

Author Cat Cavendish praises...
"An adult fairytale well told in the best Grimm tradition. As with the Dark Servant, the author draws on the old German/Austrian/East European traditions of the Santa Claus’s demon helper. In the folk tales, Krampus punishes naughty children. Manochio keeps faith with the tradition but develops it and presents us with a new classic tale for Christmas. Here the equally bloody and demonic Frau Perchta – also hellbent on punishing those who have transgressed in her eyes – finds herself directly competing against Krampus. This is a macabre, dark tale with a timeless quality about it. An atmospheric landscape, complete with Bavarian castle; characters that could have stepped out from your worst nightmares. Loved this. It kept me thoroughly and enjoyably entertained in a dark, scary way. "

Twelfth Krampus Night, Summary
Dark servants clash!

Medieval maiden Beate, who’s grieving over the mysterious evisceration of her best friend, Gisela, must escape a Bavarian castle under siege by sadistic creatures.

Standing in her way—beyond towering walls and crossbow-toting guards—are Saint Nicholas’s demonic helper, Krampus, and Frau Perchta, a belly-slitting hag who prowls the countryside during First Night festivities to punish naughty teens. Beate wants out. Krampus and Frau Perchta want in, determined to breach the castle to snag their prey. Beate has no idea why these monsters want her, but she must use her wits to save herself from horrors both human and inhuman—lest she wind up like Gisela.

For more, here is the Amazon link...

http://www.amazon.com/Twelfth-Krampus-Night-Matt-Manochio-ebook/dp/B01448GASE

My Read-a-Thon Giveaway

YOUR CHOICE OF 3 BOOKS FOR $10 FROM THE BARGAIN BIN AT BETTERWORLDBOOKS.COM  

Please enter for the above giveaways in the form below. You will be able to mark your choice of which you want to enter for. This giveaway is only open to read-a-thon participants.

Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon - Here We Go! #CSReadathon

I'm late...again. Had to help my son finish a school project. One of those 11th hour kind of things. I'm sure many of you can relate. Kids! Anyhoo...let's get this holiday reading season going!!!

If you're joining us, remember these things:

• Try to read at least one Christmas book...it is a Christmas read-a-thon, after all. But I won't arrest you if you don't. *wink*
• You do not have to have a blog. Join us from Twitter, Facebook or Goodreads...or in our Facebook group.
• The linky below is the same as the sign-up linky so if you've already signed up and now want to link up your reading plans, just add your link and put reading plans in parentheses (ex. Michelle (reading plans)
• If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via the contact form, or visit the read-a-thon guidelines page for answers (you will also find out how we do the read-a-thon giveaway) here: http://seasonsreading.blogspot.com/p/guidelines.html
• Have fun!

If you're on Twitter, stop by and chat with the hashtag #CSReadathon No official chats are scheduled, but I'm sure people will be hanging out or stopping by. Maybe we can share a cup of cocoa or spiced cider. Yum!

If you haven't already, why not join us for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge, which runs all season long, you can do so at my Christmas blog, The Christmas Spirit. Would love to have you! Also, my season long Christmas event kicks off over there on November 25. I'm looking for guests so if you love Christmas and want to be my guest to tell us why (anything goes...favorite movies, books, family memories, traditions), please stop by over there and leave me a message in the contact form. Can you tell Christmas is my favorite time of year? Yup, I love it!!!

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Sign Up for the Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon! #CSReadathon

Yes, I know I'm late. Better late than never I guess....but please do accept my apologies. My life literally blew up this week. And I thought it was bad the weeks before. lol So, we are once again kicking off the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge (this is the 6th year!) over at The Christmas Spirit, with the annual Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon!

Details:

• Read-a-Thon dates: Monday, November 23 at 12:00am CST until Sunday, November 29 at 11:59pm CST (adjust your time zone accordingly)
• You do not have to be signed up for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge to participate (but I sure would love for you to join us!)
• I am not requiring that you read only Christmas/holiday books during the read-a-thon, but I hope you will pick up at least one holiday tale, even if it's just to read some children's books with your kids or some holiday short stories
• to check in on Twitter, we'll use hashtag #CSreadathon
• as usual, you do not have to have a blog to participate...feel free to link up and check in from Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, etc. AND we now have a Facebook group, in case you didn't know.

If you're interested in joining us for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge, which runs all season long, you can do so at my Christmas blog, The Christmas Spirit. Would love to have you! 

Since it's so late in the game, I won't be so pretentious to ask for prize donations BUT I will offer a small prize from Christmas-y me! There has to be at least one gift when Christmas is involved, right?

Hope I haven't forgotten anything. If you have any questions or notice something I've left out, please feel free to contact me via the contact tab.

SIGN UP!

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#FrightFall Read-a-Thon - It has all come to an end...

FrightFall is at an end. It went by fast, but was great fun, as always, and our new Facebook group is a success! I hope you enjoyed your time reading this week. 

I'd like to thank you all for joining me. Be sure to add your wrap-up link below (I want to stop by and see how you did with your reading) and please double check that you were signed up HERE so you will be eligible for the giveaway. You have until Wednesday, October 14 at 11:59pm CST to add your wrap-up link. I will draw giveaway winners as soon as I can (my birthday is Thursday and I'm going out of town for a long weekend so may not be able to pick winners until Monday...please bear with me). Please be sure to note the system of drawing winners in the giveaway details on the prize page). And now for a big round of applause for the authors and bloggers who so generously donated our prizes and hosted giveaways. Bravo! And thank you!

NOTE: You can still enter Erin's FrightFall giveaway through Wednesday at 11:59pm CST. Click Here.

Hope to see you next time at the Christmas Spirit Read-a-Thon, coming up Thanksgiving week (November 23-29). The button is already in the sidebar. You like? (I'll be adding a grab code soon).

Good luck in the giveaway to all!!! And thanks again for joining me!

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#FrightFall Read-a-Thon: Mid-Week Check-In

Hi everyone! I am sadly behind on visiting blogs and I apologize. My week has been a mess. My reading is also suffering, of course. 

So, we are at mid-week. Where did the time go!? Our Facebook group has really been a success and I've been checking in there often, but I need to also check-in on Twitter. I hope everyone is getting some good (scary) reading in. 

If you are doing daily updates on your blog, or have done a mid-week update post, feel free to leave your link in the comments...or just let me know how things are going. I promise I plan to make the rounds today/tonight. 

Also, Erin at Oh, For the Hook of a Book will be adding a giveaway to her blog on Friday so be sure to stop by. I'll share the official link on Twitter and in the Facebook group (and on the prize page) when it goes live officially. 

Happy reading!