Welcome to Saturday's Sharing Beyond Books #1 Comment Giveaway!

Well- that is the name for now but it might change!

There was actually a tie in votes for SBB - Sharing Beyond Books and OLWB, Our Lives With Books. So If you want a run off then name your choice between those in your comment to this post. I had actually intended that OLWB to be an OWL choice but I must have been tired to not notice it didn't spell OWL. *G* If anyone can come up with good words for that I like it myself. Of course it is clear that some of you (J - you know who you are!) will NOT vote for that. LOL

Picture choice C. easily won with 8 votes. It's a nice picture for us to think we are sharing a bit of magical tea while chatting!

It seems many of us read 2-3 hours a day although some as little as 1/2 hour (Mariska - my daughter can relate to no time when you are watching little ones!) and a couple of you (Krystal, Maria) read 4-6 hours a day! I guess a 4 hour commute would be a great time for reading... Is that a train ride or bus? And Carol L averages a paperback a day. Whew - my eyes tire just thinking of that.Even listening usually takes at least two days.

The Winner from last week's comments is: #11 Krystal.  I just sent out a group of emails to past winners who had not selected from the book lists from Valentine or December so I'm not sure what's going to be left. BUT, I planned ahead and provided that last week's winner would get to choose from The Arc Giveaway List too.  So Krystal - please choose a book from the ARCs or the remaining Love Books List for Giveaway or remaining Christmas Giveaway Books and let me know your choice, your address and a choice of bookmarks by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #1 Questions

Q1.  Do you read more than one book at a time?

I'm not sure if we have talked about this before but I image if you read the It's Monday, What Are You Reading posts you know that I actually read about four books at a time in different media: Print, Kindle, Audio CDs in the car and Audible on my Zen.

Q2. Share a favorite spot you like in your own country.

I've lived in Florida for years. Maybe because I was raised near the beach I don't really like the beach that much.

One place we really enjoyed camping in our MotorCoach is  

Desoto Caverns Campground in Alabama. They have play areas for children as well as the cavern tours. A very relaxing and fun place at fair prices.

Your turn to share: 

1.  Vote for SBB or OLWB and/or suggest a title for OWL.

2.  Share if you read more than one book at a time.

3.  Tell us a a favorite place you like in your own Country.

Enquire Comment Winners can choose a selection from the remaining  Valentine and "Love" books or the remaining Christmas Giveaway Books - there are still about 19 books available to choose from. I'll start pulling some summer books to add soon.

Rules: a) Must be a follower; b) Share a comment on any (or all) of the three questions above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made by Friday, June 24 at 10PM central. 

Winners of Mary of Carisbrooke and The Devil Who Tamed Her

Thank you everyone who entered. The comments on these entries were fun to read! Some of you never look up the historical figures and others rush to resource books and almost forget to come back to finish reading the book. LOL

I was surprised how many entrants had never read Johanna Lindsey, who I view as one of the popular romance authors. Then again... I have a feeling that those of us who have read her are on the 'mature' side while some of you younger readers have so many authors now to choose from you may miss some 'classic' romance authors.  Don't worry - I'm bound to introduce you to some more. *BG*
NOW to the important stuff:

CONGRATULATIONS

to the Winner of my copy of

Mary of Carisbrooke: The Girl Who Would Not Betray Her King

by Margaret Campbell Barnes

and

to the Winner of my copy of

The Devil Who Tamed Her

by Johanna Lindsey

 

Kris and Emma please send your info by completing the WINNER FORM.
Thank you!

MBS Blogoversary SPOTLIGHT #3: Author Jacquie Rogers

SPOTLIGHT: AUTHOR JACQUIE ROGERS

I met Jacquie online through the SweetandSensual Romance yahoo group which is now the SweettoSensual Romance group (sadly due to spammers hacking the first group.)





Jacquie is an author of Fantasy Romance and Historical Romance.
In addition to writing fun books, Jacquie is a co-founder of the wonderful author's Resource site: 1st Turning Point

I have not yet read Jacquie's books but I have been eying this fun looking book for some time!
Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues

Jacquie has a new novel (eBook release due in August)
Much Ado About Marshals

I asked each author to answer two questions for their spotlight.
The first I asked and the second they provided!

Question #1:  Why do you write/what do you hope your readers get from your books?

A:  My deepest desire is to create a story that is so fun and magical, no matter what the sub-genre, that it removes all the reader's cares and worries for a few hours.  It's all about the characters and the world--maybe what intrigues me will light other peoples' imaginations as well, and might even linger on for a week or two.  I hope so!

Question 2: Why do you write in so many sub-genres of Romance?

A:  Writing a book is a long process and living in a certain world for six months or so is long enough, then I want to go on.  My first western historical romance will be published this summer and actually I've written more westerns than anything else.  I'm also writing a dragon book and another faery book.  The worlds and the rules are so different.  The speech patterns are different.  It all works together to keep me on my toes and make each story fresh, each character unique, and each world that much richer.

Please visit Jacquie here or at her links below.
For extra credit you can comment at one of her blog links or email her to say "Hi" and "Thank you" for the support and giveaway.
Website: http://www.jacquierogers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacquie-Rogers/18676302690
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacquierogers
1st Turning Point: http://1stTurningPoint.com

Giveaway donated by Jacquie:
Winner's choice of signed trade paperback copy of either of the two books noted above, the existing or the new release.

OPEN US ONLY.
PLEASE ENTER WITH THIS FORM: 
If you have trouble viewing or submitting this form, you can fill it out online:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dERnQ2NHcWh0RkZIaVQ4dU9QZkJVcVE6MA

This giveaway will close at 10PM Central on July 1, 2011.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.

Luminous Summer Grand Giveaway

While visiting a blog friend I spotted this Giveaway that might interest some of you!
 Looks grand to me!

Two weeks until the launch of Luminous and just in time for a truly epic giveaway! Now that Mother Nature has graced us with sunshine, fluffy clouds, and pleasant temperatures, it’s time to grab that beach blanket, bathing suit, cool sunglasses and your favorite summer read! If your TBR pile isn’t big enough already, Dawn Metcalf has some suggestions of her favorite paranormal picks and is giving them away in honor of her debut launch. Do you like the weird? The twisted? The elegant? The romance? How about the quirky? The lyric? The poetic? The inspired? Well, has she got something for YOU!

Look good? Well, that is not the only prize to be won. There is much more. How much more? Check out the Luminous Contest Page to find out. In the meantime...
HERE’S HOW TO ENTER:

1) Pre-order LUMINOUS for yourself or your library. (We’re going on the honor system here.) If you already pre-ordered it, that is valid. This counts as 3 ENTRIES.

2) If you change your LJ icon, your Twitter icon, your Facebook icon and/or your Blogspot icon to a LUMINOUS cover for the duration of the contest (now through midnight, June 30th). Each of those counts as 1 ENTRY EACH, so if you decided to change your icon in all those spots, you would have a total of 4 ENTRIES. Active accounts only, please!

3) Link this contest from the Luminous post on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog. This counts as 1 ENTRY EACH, for a possible 3 ENTRIES.

Sample format: It’s the Luminous Summer Grand Prize Giveaway! ARCs, bookmarks, buttons, candy, chocolate! http://t.co/Jw0CWyd Now thru June 30th. [Plz RT]

Simple, no? Well, last but not least:

4) Link everything in the comments section with your grand total and you’re entered to win! YOU MUST COMMENT ON THE LUMINOUS POST WITH LINKS FOR YOUR ENTRY TO BE ENTERED INTO THE CONTEST!

5) This contest is open to US residents only.

This contest runs from right now until launch time, midnight, Thursday, June 30th. Winners will be announced shortly thereafter on Dawn Metcalf's blog, probably Monday, with much applause. Good Luck!!

MBS Blogoversary SPOTLIGHT #2: Author Sandy James

SPOTLIGHT: Author Sandy James

Sandy writes contemporary romance and has five backlist books and another romance coming soon from Carina Press. I won one of Sandy's books and really enjoyed the smooth execution and warm romance.

Turning Thirty-Twelve

Murphy's Law [Damaged Heroes, Book 1] (BookStrand Publishing)

Free Falling [Damaged Heroes Book 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

All The Right Reasons [Damaged Heroes 3] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

Faith of the Heart [Damaged Heroes Book 4] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)


I reviewed Murphy's Law last year. It was a wonderful romance! You can learn a little more about Sandy from our Interview chat last August.

Question #1:  Why do you write/what do you hope your readers get from you books?

A:  I write to please my readers and to hopefully make them laugh and cry.

Question #2: What's coming up in the future?

A: I recently sold a book called Rules of the Game to Carina Press.

Please visit Sandy here. For extra credit you can email Sandy from her blog to say "Hi" and "Thank you" for the support and giveaway.
www.sandy-james.com
www.bookstrand.com/sandy-james

Giveaway donated by Sandy:
Winner's choice of an eBook from the five backlist books set forth above.

OPEN WORLDWIDE.
ENTER WITH THIS FORM: 
If you have trouble viewing or submitting this form, you can fill it out online:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhzb1ZHT2t6ZWpGbVgxWnBidGxOZ0E6MA

This giveaway will close at 10PM Central on July 1, 2011.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.