WINNERS: What it Takes to Become One

You love winning, right? I love winning. We all love winning.

But how can you ALWAYS be a winner?

You must have a winner's attitude. A true winner looks at the worst day in history and sees one blooming flower beneath the crush of awfulness. That's their focus. There's a win.

So whether you win a prize today or not, you're a winner in my book.

Speaking of winners... Let's begin.

First, I'd like to introduce a total winner. Some of you may have met Theresa Milstein on the blogosphere or through Facebook, but I've been blessed to associate closely with her for many years and read her phenomenal poetry while we've both grown as writers. This woman has SERIOUS skills. Beautiful turning of the word in prose that leaves you feeling smarter and inspired. And guess what?!

HER POETRY IS GETTING PUBLISHED!!! How epic is that?

Time and Circumstance
by Theresa Milstein

Publication date: March, 2017

“The trunk of this family is lost to history / Photo fragments remain as shadows”

With subtle wit, and poignant imagery, the unrelenting passage of time connects the  vignettes in Theresa Milstein’s Time and Circumstance. This reflective collection of real and imagined poetry and prose, speculates on an erratic childhood, the uncertainty of adolescence, and the reality of parenthood, through flashbacks of love lost and found.

“This everyday, why again, sometimes / ignored tune has measured time in notes, / seconds, minutes, days, years, and so it goes. / It’s a measure of the man he will become.”

And now for the winner of the TIMELESS Cover Reveal Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yay for the winners! But they're not the only ones. I could not believe the outpouring of love with my cover reveal. Seriously. Over 60 people shared my cover throughout the week. Thank you all! But I promised one winner an Amazon gift card. I wish I could give everyone a gift card for helping.

And so the winner is:

Meradeth Houston!

AND LEST YOU SHOULD THINK YOU'VE BEEN SHAFTED BY THE WINNER CIRCLE, YOU HAVE ONE MORE CHANCE TO WIN:

Want to win a PRINT copy of the book?

ENTER NOW

Goodreads Book Giveaway

     

Timeless

by Crystal Collier

Giveaway ends October 11, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

BTW, sign ups are still open for

(but not for long)

Participate HERE.

Three weeks ago, Elizabeth Seckman shared two lies and one truth with us. Anyone who guessed one of her lie correctly was entered to win an eBook of SWEPT AWAY.

The game:

1. My first week of college, I got the flu and threw up in the elevator. Fortunately, everyone on the elevator just thought I'd been drinking and didn't make a big deal of it.
2. When I was a little girl, my sisters tried to turn me into a beauty pageant queen, but I'd never walk on a stage.
3. The first time I took my driver's test, I backed into a police officer (barely bumped her...no harm done!) and failed the test.

The truth: #2. They bought Elizabeth all the cute outfits and did weeks of "rehearsals". The day of the pageant, her sister's car broke down, so they walked miles to get to the local fair grounds where the pageant was held. She did fine in all the practice runs on stage. The day of the pageant, she could see people in the audience over the blinding stage lights. She took a step, maybe two, and froze. That was the end of her beauty queen career.

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

THE CYNICAL SAILOR!

Congrats!

There will be full month of Truth or Lie games and giveaways coming in October. Are you ready for this awesomeness?

Have you ever won anything cool? What do you think makes a winner? Do you like poetry?

VALENTINES WINNERS

You're a winner. It's true. Know how I know? Because you're here, smiling at this post. (And if you're not smiling, fix that right now, buddy--and here's some cheese to help.) 

Today I'm going to introduce you to a few other (TONZ of) winners--including our Valentines Day raffle winners...below, but first, I'm over at 

Tara Tyler's place today talking about Newsletters. Check it out!

AND I'm super stoked today to introduce my buddy, Jessie Anderson and her STUNNING short story, Lemons.

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping by to check out the cover. I’d like to thank Crystal for having me.  I’m really excited to share my new cover with you, but first, let me tell you a bit about Lemons, which released yesterday, FEBRUARY 13, 2014. Be sure to check it out on Amazon.

LEMONS BLURB:

They say when life throws you lemons to make lemonade, but when Ally finds herself in the biggest pickle of her life—stranded on an island in the middle of a lake—fruit and veggies are the least of her worries. Now she’ll have to face the harsh realities of her selfish choices, which means dealing with what happened between her parents a few years ago.

Wanna see the cover now? Well, here it is:

If you’d like to know a little more about me and my writing, read on.

My first book, At What Cost was published in 2012. I’ve been writing and writing since then and have nearly completed a dystopian series, which is being sent to publishers. In the meantime, I wrote a short story. Not sure exactly where it came from. I don’t consider myself a short story writer, but hey, when it comes to you, you have to get it out.

Find out more about my writing here:

www.readbetweenthelinesbookclub.blogspot.com (Author blog)

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BOOK REVIEW

I was given the wonderful opportunity to review an advanced copy My Bloody Valentine, a story collection by Tiffinie Helmer, Alex Bledsoe, V.R. Barkowski, Erica Hayes, Lizbeth Lipperman, Charlie N. Holmberg, Coreene Callahan, and S.G. Redling. So are you ready for this?

First of all, this is not a young adult collection. So okay, I occasionally read outside my genre (all the time), but typically I stay away from the adult romance stuff...because I'm sensitive and like my innocent perspective on the world. This book was filled with hard decisions, bitter-sweet outcomes, and I would have liked a language filter. Alas... If you're like me, you'll skip quite a few pages in this anthology, but you can read all of Charlie's SALT AND WATER without worry.

Her story in one word: Awesome.

The premise: A slave to a war-torn society for eighteen months, Chellis has been tortured for one purpose: to make her cry, for the healing properties of her tears can mend any soldier’s wound. 

I SO loved Chellis and her keeper, Ahad. The world they occupy is brutal. They should be enemies, but having grown up somewhat sheltered, Ahad is not your typical slaver. The themes of compassion and love stretch well beyond romance, and I wanted the story to keep going. I wanted a whole novel. (Please?) Yes, the story was that great.

Many of the others were well written, but again, read with your adult filter on.

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VALENTINES WINNERS

And now for the winners... 

Sun & Moon = Holly Letson

Maguire's Corner = Sarah Chafin

Model Position = Diana Steele Nelson

Three Daves = Trisha Farnan

Masked Love = Samantha Geary Jones

Colors like Memories = Julia Cosgrove

Chasing Anya = Sheri Larsen

Fate Intended = Shelly Hammond

Beyond the Binding and Composers for Relief CD = Mary K. Hill

MOONLESS signed = Elizabeth Seckman

Congrats, winners!

Lastly, because it's Valentines Day, here's a sweet little something for your reading pleasure:

The Kiss of Death

What are you doing with this weekend? Anything romantic? Anti-romantic? Read anything thematically appropriate recently you'd like to recommend? 

The Mystery Sentence Game & Truth or Lie

It's crazy inside my head. Have you ever felt that way?

Everyone keeps telling me I should take a break after this amazing blog tour, and yet things keep coming: new feature possibilities, wrapping up giveaways, writing deadlines, an imminent visit from my mother in law--which means an immaculate cleaning of the house--Christmas...oh let's not forget the importance of Christmas. (Have you built a list yet? I just barely finished, and am giving away to the indecisive monster who occasionally dominates my head. Yes, I know that's what I want to buy him, but which one? And if I hit the buy button am I going to find a better one tomorrow and kick myself? *chewing nails*)



*ahem* Back on topic. So I'm going away. Far, far away on a big ship with tropical sunshine and NO INTERNET. In fact, I'm already gone on a CRUISE.

(No, no, silly. Not that kind of cruise.)

Are you jealous?

Obviously that means I can't check in with all my favorite bloggies, or shout about the amazing Dani Chapman featuring my book TODAY or Rachel Schieffelbein hosting me on her site Monday. (Love you ladies!)

But, that doesn't stop me from announcing the Truth or Lie winners from my virtual tour. There were 6 Truth or Lie segments, and if you want to know how tricky these were, not even my relatives could guess correctly--so if you did, you're a super sleuth. Or really lucky.

Either way, if you want to review the game, check out the hosts:

Gwen Gardner with Kid Stuff

Carried Butler with Adventurez

C. Lee McKenzie with Random Factz

Elizabeth Seckman with Music 

Nicole Zoltack with Family Factz

Clare Dugmore with Theater Thingz

And the lucky winners are:

Kimberly Afe

Angela Brown

Suzanne Furness

Congrats! I'll be in touch after I get back in town, provided my head is still attached. (You never know.) Today is the final call for The Mystery Sentence Game. Get your sentence submitted today! Winners will be notified by email. 

So, what have you got going that's head-explody?