Thursday, January 16, 2020

Winter's Respite #Readathon - Mid-Event Check-In #WintersRespite


We're halfway through the first month of a new decade. Wow! I've been reading, but haven't shared too much about which books...stay tuned. I'm also behind on visiting blogs, though I think most everyone updates on social media these days. Anyone who is not aware, we do have Facebook and Goodreads groups, and an Instagram. Links are in the menu in the sidebar.

Share your progress in the comments, or post a link to an update post.

The prize page is live here. Thank you to everyone who donated.

I hope you are all enjoying your winter reading! I just wish we would actually get some winter weather here in Tennessee. 


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Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Winter's Respite #Readathon - #Prizes #WintersRespite

ALL PRIZES HAVE BEEN AWARDED 


This is the giveaway/prize promotion page for all the prizes being given away for readathon participants. At the end of this post, you will find details regarding how the prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the readathon. (Some of the prizes below were rolled over from the Christmas Spirit Readathon because we didn't have enough people saying yes to winning a prize.)

Note: The authors of the books donated would greatly appreciate a review, if you win, on your blog and/or social media and/or on Goodreads, Amazon. Thank you! (This is not required to win.)



WINNER - MICHELLE H. (NAILA)
Carousel of Nightmares by Kerry E.B. Black
One winner - choice of print (U.S.), eBook or Audible (International)

This collection of 29 short stories will thrill younger (and unaging) readers, without preventing sleep - much. Kerry E.B. Black corralled these untameable beasts for your pleasure. Find the beauty in their skeletal coats, the sparkle in their malignant eyes. May the ride they offer lead to the adventure you seek! 118 pages, published through Tree Shadow Press 


About the author
Kerry E.B. Black is an American writer sometimes described as "chicken noodle soup for the Gothic soul." Lifelong resident of the land where George Romero's Dead dawned, Kerry writes an eclectic, and sometimes award winning, mix of stories available through Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and https://kerrylizblack.wordpress.com/ 

Books by Wally Runnels


WINNER - DONNISHA
Twisted Love PLUS $10 Amazon card  One Print Copy (One Winner)

Roiling in political corruption and the raging violence of drug cartels in the California/Mexico borderlands, Twisted Love explores the redemptive power of love even amidst the most brutal and privileged echelons of contemporary society. Julietta Aguilar, a young archaeologist with a dark past shrouded with sordid family secrets, discovers a hidden chamber under the ruins of the Templo Mejor, in the heart of Mexico City. She soon finds herself enmeshed in an ancient mystery even as she tries to solve her father's senseless murder.Now followed by cartel killers, deadly supernatural spirits and thwarted by her own family, her quest for peace seems almost insurmountable – until she meets a man in black with a nefarious background who goes only by one name. Rocky. A fast-paced, gripping read reminiscent of fifties pulp, the characters in Twisted Love offer a dark study in human nature, with all the gory details of unbridled power, soul-searching hatred, strange fetishes, and macabre personalities etched on the reader's mind in searing black and white.


WINNER - DONNISHA
The In-Ko-Pah Spirit
  One Kindle Copy

This robust novella, another in Wally Runnels' ongoing Rocky series, brings us to the eerie In-Ko-Pah Mountains, an isolated region on the Mexican/American Border where mysterious forces confound even the best laid plans of the Mexicali drug cartel. Rocky, a paid mercenary and expert hitman must confront his darkest memories and desires if he is to survive the supernatural challenges that arise as he hunts down his latest target, a hunter much like himself.




About the author
Wally was born in San Diego, traveled through Mexico, and Latin America. He was
raised on the border at his family's ranch, whose original deed was recorded in 1870.
Hanging out between two countries, he met a lot of unusual people: Hollywood types,
Border Patrol Officers, professional trackers, smugglers, and people he won't mention
by name. He'll remind you no matter how weird a story can get, it'll contain some
grain of truth.

For more information visit: www.wallyrunnels.com





Winners - Lara, Donnisha, Michelle, Victoria, Mallory
Toto's Tale (Book One, The Wizard Was Odd Trilogy) by Peeky
Five (5) eBook copies (International)

The story begins shortly after Dorothy awakens (MGM - 1939 - The Wizard of Oz).
A commemorative series from a unique perspective, Toto's! A multidimensional plot-twister with updated cast of wondrous, quirky misfits. A "Wizard of Oz" Epic Adventure for the 21st Century Reader.

A couple of days in Oz equals a year in Kansas where Uncle Henry is dying; If the Wizard will provide the cure, Will Dorothy find her way home…and in time, to make a difference?

Detailed Synopsis
Alongside Toto, you will ride in the front seat of a thrilling and emotional roller coaster throughout the magical Land of Oz…and beyond. This Wizard of Oz takeoff is a multidimensional plot-twister as told from Toto’s perspective that includes an updated original cast and a host of other wondrous quirky social misfits. With many surprises along the way, this complex and intriguing parody has as much tongue-in-cheek humor as it does original content, adventure, mystery, fantasy, and romance.

AVAILABLE AT

Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble
Baker & Taylor
Goodreads
Kobo
Smashwords



About the author
Bob Moyer (pseudonym - Peeky) has been writing fiction for children, young adults, and adults young at heart for nearly ten years. The following stories will be posted to his website,Oziian.com or WizardWasOdd.com in the near future. "The Calamitous Attitude of Kat Katitude" is about teenage and young adult cats living together as roommates. Another is a bedtime ditty - "No Such Thing", "Fast Food" is a picture book without words about a slow spider trying to catch fast insects, and the list goes on.

Professionally, Bob Moyer has been a trainer, a guest speaker, and featured writer for over thirty years in the community association industry. In addition to having a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Accounting, he has been a Florida Real Estate Broker, a Licensed Community Association Manager (LCAM), the President of, and one of the principals in The Vanguard Management Group, Inc.

Bob is also a past President of CEOMC, an organization comprised of Chief Executive Officers of Management Companies. Its members are committed to promoting and protecting homeowner associations throughout Florida, engaging in advocacy and setting the standard for community management.

Bob began writing for children in 2010 and belonged to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for many years. In 2012, he and his wife Janet concluded a busy week with a night on the town. His opening question to her was, "So Dorothy, how is Toto?"

From that nugget, he created a version of the Wizard of Oz featuring Toto as the main character. With the input of the readers first two books, he intends to create the third book of the trilogy by 2020. This series will be a celebration of the 120th year of the first printing in 1900 of the original "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum.

Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/wizardwasodd
https://twitter.com/WizardWasOdd
https://www.pinterest.com/wizardwasodd/
https://www.instagram.com/oziian/

*****************

Prizes from Stephanie Barko, Literary Publicist.

WINNER - VICTORIA
Singing Out Loud by Marilee Eaves
One (1) galley copy (U.S. Only)

Born during World War II, Marilee Eaves long struggled to fit into the New Orleans’ elite she was born to—secret Mardi Gras societies that ruled the city. While Marilee is a student at Wellesley, she’s hospitalized at McLean psychiatric hospital, where she begins to realize how much of herself she’s sacrificed to be fully accepted by the exclusive and exclusionary white Uptown New Orleans culture.

In Singing Out Loud, Eaves shares her journey to stand on her own two feet―to find a way to be grounded and evolve in the midst of NOLA culture. Along the way, she wrestles with bipolar disorder, alcoholism, and the effects of her poor, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious choices.

Raw and funny, this book offers hope and encouragement for those willing to be vulnerable, address their issues, and laugh at themselves in order to embrace who they truly are.

About the author
Marilee Eaves spent nearly five decades of her life struggling to break free of the Uptown New Orleans world she’d been born into—a long line of royalty, kings and queens of the secret elitist Mardi Gras societies that ruled the city.

She moved to Seattle three months before Katrina hit in 2005, and then returned to NOLA in 2018, where she writes looking out on the St. Charles streetcars and seasonal parades. Today Marilee spends time with daughters, grandchildren, and old friends, delighting in the shifts she observes in the city.

Eaves has published articles in New Orleans Museum of Art’s Arts Quarterly, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana’s Churchwork, Madrona News, Touch Magazine and The Awakenings Review. Singing Out Loud is her first book.

Visit Marilee's website 


WINNER - MALLORY
Occupied by Kurt Blorstad
One (1) galley copy (U.S. only)

A world at war, a family kept apart and a young boy in the midst of it all. Will they all survive? As WW II breaks out, a father finds himself in the U.S. while his wife and sons are home in occupied Norway. Based on the son’s true-life journals from 1935-1945, this is the story of a family separated by war and uncertainty.

About the authorKurt Blorstad spends most of his time on airplanes for business travel, where he finds the tight environment conducive to writing. His first book, Plane Excitement, was born and raised on many of his early flights.

When his first grandchild was born with hemophilia, Kurt was inspired to use his writing to generate support and increase awareness of the condition. A portion of the proceeds from Occupied go directly to the National Hemophilia Foundation.

When he is not writing, Kurt enjoys relaxing on the beach, playing tennis and working in his garden. These are also his wife’s favorite things to do, and the two of them plan to collaborate on a murder mystery series in the future.

www.kurtblorstad.com


WINNER - MICHELLE H. (NAILA)
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Victim’s Guide to Understanding, Treating, & Coping with this Debilitating Illness
by Gregg Fisher, Stephen Straus, MD, Paul Cheney, MD & James Oleske, MD
One (1) print copy (U.S. only)

Exhaustion, headaches, inability to concentrate. Depression, nagging joint pain, weight loss, low grade fever. General malaise. For those who are healthy, these common symptoms hardly sound serious. Yet, for the many sufferers burdened with the pain and debilitation of chronic fatigue syndrome, these devastating effects can seem interminable, lasting for months or even years. In this intimate and enlightening guide, Gregg Charles Fisher-himself a daily survivor of CFS-reaches through the shadow of this mysterious and misunderstood disease to reveal how life is lived on the frontlines of the battle against this disease and how it can be made more liveable for CFS victims everywhere. Drawn from the challenges and triumphs posed by Gregg Fisher's own 7 year struggle with CFS, and culled from findings of the most respected medical authorities in the field, this timely and compassionate guide empowers CFS sufferers and those who love them.

PRIZE FROM YOUR HOST

WINNER - LARA ONE WINNER
I will make a $15 donation to the winner's choice of a human rights organization, such as the ACLU, Boys and Girls Club, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, Amnesty International, It Gets Better, Planned Parenthood, or another human rights organization of your choice (food banks, homeless shelters would also apply), perhaps your local chapter or a local organization. This giveaway is open internationally. Note: I will not donate to any organization that does not believe all are equal, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.

Giveaway Details
This is a readathon participant only giveaway. To be eligible, you must have signed up, participated and added a link to the official readathon wrap-up post (I will give everyone until Wednesday, February 5th at 11:59 pm CST to complete their wrap-ups). We no longer use a linky for wrap-ups. There will be a Google form on the readathon wrap-up post where you will enter your info, your wrap-up link, and answer yes/no on whether you want to win a prize or not. We have a total of 12 prizes. This means there will be 12 winners. I will award prizes on a first come, first served basis. I will draw the 12 winners with random.org and email all 12 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. Winners will be chosen after the wrap-up post deadline (see above).

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Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Winter's Respite #Readathon - Time to "read" in the new year! #WintersRespite


Happy New Year! Sorry I forgot to post this kick off post on time. Starting the new year off right. lol Let's ring in the new year...with a bunch of reading. If one of your new year goals/resolutions is to read more, well this is the place to start. We started at midnight central time and we're marathoning it all the way through January 31, 2020. A fresh decade of reading. I, for one, am super excited!

If you have any questions about how things work, check out the guidelines in the sidebar menu 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 @ True Book Addict (goal post).

A note on prizes. Only two people opted in for the prize giveaway during the Christmas Spirit Readathon so some of the prizes are being carried over to this one, plus a few additions. Stay tuned for the prize page which I should have posted this weekend.

I will post a mid-event check in post at the halfway point. Our hashtag for the readathon across social media is #WintersRespite. Stop by our Facebook group, Goodreads group and check out our Instagram. You can also access via the links in the sidebar menu.

That's it! Happy Reading!

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