A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon - Wrap Up #wintersrespite

Well, it has come to an end and I missed it all. I started getting sick last Sunday and progressively became worse as the days went by. I finally went to the doctor on Thursday and found out I have the flu. Unfortunately, my reading was scarce at best and I'm still not 100 percent. The doctor said it could last 10 days and then I'll still be weak. What a joy. I'd like to thank everyone who wished me well on Facebook and in our Facebook group. Much appreciated.

I hope you all had a relaxing read-a-thon and met the goals you set for yourselves. Even if you didn't meet your goals, if you had fun, that's all that matters. I'd like to thank you all for joining me. Be sure to add your wrap-up link below and please double check that you were signed up HERE so you will be eligible for the giveaway. You will also need to fill out the form on the prize page if you would like to win a prize. You have until Wednesday, Janunary 27 at 11:59pm CST to add your wrap-up link. I will draw giveaway winners as soon as I can. 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 author and publicist who so generously donated our prizes. Bravo! And thank you!

Hope to see you next time at the Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon, coming up in April  (April 18 - 24). 

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

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

This is the prize promotion page for all the prizes being given away for the read-a-thon. We have several amazing book prizes donated from an author and a publicist and, of course, prizes from me! At the end of this post, you will find details regarding how the prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the read-a-thon.

Note: This fine author/publicist who so generously donated books would greatly appreciate a review, if you win, on your blog and/or on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you!

From Stephanie Barko, Book Publicist - stephaniebarko.com

WINNERS - CAROL, RACHEL

The Secret Language of Women by Nina Romano (2 galley copies - US winners)

Set in China in the late 1800 s, "The Secret Language of Women" tells the story of star-crossed lovers, Zhou Bin Lian, a Eurasian healer, and Giacomo Scimenti, an Italian sailor, driven apart by the Boxer Rebellion.

When Lian is seventeen years old, she accompanies her Swiss father, Dr. Gianluca Brasolin, fluent in Italian, to tend the Italian ambassador, at the Summer Palace of the Empress Dowager, where she meets and falls in love with Giacomo.

Through voyage and adventure, their love intensifies, but soon is severed by Lian s dutiful promise as the wife to another. Forbidden from pursuing her chosen profession as a healer, and despised because she does not have bound feet, she is forced to work in a cloisonne factory while her in-laws raise her daughter, Ya Chen. It is in Nushu, the women s secret writing, that she chronicles her life life and her hopes for the future.

Rebelling against the life forced upon her, she empowers herself to act out against the injustice and becomes the master of her own destiny. But her quest freedom comes at a costly price: The life of someone close to her, lost in a raging typhoon, a grueling journey to the Yun-kang Caves, and a desperate search for beauty and love in the midst of brutality."

WINNER - AUTUMN

Live At Five by Larry Brill (one paperback copy - US winner)

Live At Five is a hilarious romp through the world of small town TV news. Hunter Riley is a washed up network news correspondent who finds himself running the news operation at KDOA-TV in Bakersfield, California. When the station owner threatens to fire the staff and replace the news with reruns of The Brady Bunch, Hunter hires a stripper from a topless club to be his co-anchor and manufactures a crisis at an old folks home. What follows is a comical clash of love, lust and questionable ethics in a desperate attempt to save KDOA news from the ratings scrap heap.

WINNERS - RACHEL, VICKI, JANE

The Virgin of the Wind Rose: A Christopher Columbus Mystery-Thriller by Glen Craney

(1  2  3 eBook copies - International)

While investigating the murder of an American missionary in Ethiopia, rookie State Department lawyer Jaqueline Quartermane stumbles upon an ancient Latin word square embedded with a cryptographic time bomb. Separated by half a millennium, two global conspiracies dovetail to expose the world's most explosive secret: The real identity of Christopher Columbus.

Quarterdeck magazine praises the novel as "an exciting journey across time, with more twists and turns than a strawberry Twizzler. Craney has produced a page-turning adventure, with crisp, clean and measured prose... The research behind the stories is massive, lending credence to the cast of characters and authenticity to the historic periods. This is a highly recommended historical thriller in the manner of Dan Brown."

READ-A-THON HOST PRIZE

TWO WINNERS WILL RECEIVE... 

A $5 AMAZON DIGITAL GIFT  (One winner) WINNER - Jane Harfeld

YOUR CHOICE OF 3 BOOKS FOR $10 FROM THE BARGAIN BIN AT BETTERWORLDBOOKS.COM  (One winner)  WINNER - TARA (Lady T)

Giveaway Details

This is a read-a-thon participant only giveaway. To be eligible, you must have signed up, participated and completed 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 Wednesday {1/27} at 11:59pm CST to complete their wrap-up posts) AND filled out this Google form below to show your interest in winning. We have a total of 9 prizes. This means there will be 9 winners. I will award prizes on a first come, first served basis. I will draw the 9 winners with random.org and email all 9 at the same time. The first person who emails me back with their choice gets that prize. I will mark off the prizes as they are taken. All eBook prizes will be sent to winner via email (or will be given a coupon code) so please specify what format you require in your email. Winners will be chosen after the wrap-up post deadline (see above). 

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

And off we go! I hope everyone is ready to get some relaxing Winter reading in this week. I know I am. This is the my first read-a-thon in over a year that I'm actually going to be able to participate in. So excited! 

I have a few prizes lined up and I'll have the prize page posted by late Tuesday or Wednesday.

If you have any questions about how things work, check out the guidelines tab above or the sign up post, or you can always leave me a comment (or send me a message via the contact form). The linky below is the same one as the sign up linky. If you do a starting line/goal post, just add your link again, but be sure to put "goal post" beside your name, i.e. Michelle/The True Book Addict (goal post).

I will post a mid-week check in post on Thursday. Our hashtag for the read-a-thon is #WintersRespite ...and don't forget about our Facebook group!

I think that about covers it. Enjoy the week and Happy Winter Reading!

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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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