Contests and giveaways (updated 11/20/18)

This photo is from Pixabay. Isn't it striking?

Night Owl Reviews is having its Winter Wonderland Giveaway!
Note: Using this link will give me extra entries!

Don't forget to visit the contest page for other giveaways!




The Romance Reviews is having its Year-end Splash Party. New entry opportunities every day!


Caris Roane has the most interesting articles accompanied by beautiful pictures and a chance for one of her beautiful charm bracelets at this link


Romance Books "4" Us has a November Scavenger Hunt taking place at this link

Author Karen Docter frequently has guest authors who offer giveaways at this link

Boy Meets Boy Reviews has an anniversary celebration going on at this link

 Book Sweeps has a Military and Hero Romance giveaway at this link

Bookwrapt has a couple of contests at this link and this link


 Good luck!




Feel free to mention others in the comments section!

Interesting links plus a few contests

I grow many of my plants in large containers. Being disorganized (and somewhat lazy) I tend to stick things in the pot and not pay attention to marking the plants. Of course the end result is something like this...there is basil in the foreground,  a tomato plant in the background, and a mystery plant with long green leaves in the middle. Hopefuly, one of these days I'll discover what it is, lol.


I came across this yesterday, and it's a perfect time since my life has been REALLY stressful the past few months...

http://www.marcandangel.com/2018/04/08/31-five-second-reminders-that-will-make-calmness-your-superpower/


 http://www.marcandangel.com/2010/11/15/12-dozen-places-to-self-educate-yourself-online/





Mindfulness for Beginners




There's always something that provides me with a quick laugh or a brief break (hence the name, lol) on this site...Dailybreak


The Bing homepage has a beautiful picture every day (and one can accrue points by searching and taking quizzes!)


Contests:

Romance Books '4' Us has the May Flowers contest

VERY busy author Caris Roane has informative articles several times a week plus giveaways of the beautiful bracelets she makes! Her blog is at this link (but be warned, the pages are sometimes very busy and take a while to load)

Night Owl Reviews has a contest page at this link

Follow the Goddess Fish tours, there are plenty of giveaways!

Feel free to leave other ones you have found in the comments...

Contests and giveaways and an invite...

I invite you to scroll through some of the past posts on my blog, there are still several giveaways open!

There are also fun contests at the following sites (just click on the contest name or site name to be taken to the contest page):


Romance Books 4 Us has a February Valentine contest

Night Owl Reviews has A Tea Party & Books Scavenger Hunt
and other contests at this link


For those of you who like reading excerpts, there is a fun contest at Alicia Dean's blog. Make sure you go to Amazon and read the free previews, that makes it much easier to figure out which snippet goes with the book!

Reviews by Crystal always has plenty of giveaways along with lovely reviews

Coffee Time Romance has revamped the site (beautiful!) and has plenty of contests



Feel free to share more in the comments!


Also, if you like interacting with authors and sometimes winning prizes, please feel free to join us at the Writerspace.com chat or every other Monday at Night Owl Reviews!

Contests, giveaways, and musings...

Night Owl Reviews has a Reader Hallowpalooza Scavenger Hunt at this link

Romance Books 4 Us has an October Halloween Ghost contest (ending very soon) at this link

There's a Spooktacular Giveaway Hop at this link

Writerspace.com has tons of contests at this link, and Sunday, Oct. 30, is hosting the Halloween Mash. Register ahead of time at this link.


Don't forget to check my blogposts for the past week, there are several great contests hosted by individual authors still open


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


I'm very behind on a myriad of things (including responding to all of you wonderful people who take the time to visit this blog and leave comments and enter the contests) but it's partly because I haven't figured out a way to increase the number of hours in a day, lol.

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the fascinating folks who put on the InD'Scribe conference that was held locally recently, and when I get my act together (hopefully) I will post about my experiences there, getting to know some of the remarkable authors who have gone the Indie route or who are juggling both worlds. I will share with you a picture of one of my favorite sights...

Dragon courtesy of the effervescent TJ McKay!

My hubby and I are both challenged and blessed to have both his mother (who is 88) and her very good friend (who is 87) in our lives. Together they have a myriad of medical challenges and life has become a whirlwind of doctors' appointments and caregiving tasks which take up much of our time.

There is also a lot of compromise involved, as each lady has very determined opinions of what is and is not acceptable or desirable in life. We have learned to go with the flow and do our best but realize that each of these very remarkable women has her own way of approaching life and it is not up to us to force our dictates, no matter how clearly we see that something should be done otherwise. That doesn't mean that a little judicious tweaking doesn't happen sometimes, it just means that we have learned the phrase, "It is what it is."

Which brings me to my own challenges. I wear several hats...editor, reviewer, proofreader, blogger, tour host...in addition to the personal ones, including gardener and all-around house elf. So, my apologies when things get delayed a bit, I'm juggling as fast as I can, but I do take time to do some things for fun...and that includes chatting with other readers, some of whom are authors or reviewers or have other roles in the publishing industry.

Recently, the gracious folks at Writerspace.com have allowed their chat moderator to start a Friday evening chat. It's at 6 p.m. Pacific and we would love it if more folks start popping in to share what they're reading or what they want to read, and to visit with the authors we are coaxing to join us. Mark your calendars and come by, we'll be happy to show you the ropes!  Link
Once you get to know us, perhaps you'll join us throughout the week as we chat with various featured authors!

Contests and giveaways for Valentine's and beyond...

There are so many wonderful contests going on...and I don't want to even know how many FB parties I am missing out on, lol.


Night Owl Reviews has a "Love is in the Air" Booklover Contest at this link and other contests at this link.

The Romance Reviews has the Mega Anniversary and Valentine's Party at this link

Romance Books 4 Us has a February Hearts contest at this link

TRS has a Valentine's Party at this link

The Smitten Word Valentine's Day Giveaway is at this link

Coffee Time Romance has contests at this link
 and at this link

Harlequin Junkie has tons of giveaways throughout the week, start at this link

The page loads oddly for me, but there is a 4th Anniversary Celebration (congrats to them!) for The Reading Cafe at this link

Multi-Author Valentine #Giveaway $150 Cash GP 40+ #Authors 90+ Prizes & Chances to win Books, Jewelry, Gift Cards & More! FREE entry #ASMSG #IARTG at this link



There are so many blog hops around, please feel free to add those you find in the comments...

and I hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's Day, whether your sweetie is two-footed or four-footed (shifter or not, lol)!

Bloodbound by Erin Lindsey (review)

I've had the pleasure of reading some wonderful fantasy novels over the past few weeks, one of which is:


                                           




The Bloodbound by Erin Lindsey is a stirring fantasy tale that features Alix Black, a scout who becomes pivotal in her king’s struggle to survive. Her unexpected duties force her to stretch her wings and learn to adapt, just as her king is forced to, but she faces challenges that her hard-won skills and privileged background have not prepared her for. Unfortunately, she may not survive long enough to learn how to cope with the decisions she must make, especially when her heart and her loyalty lead her in different directions.
       

This exciting and enthralling tale provides a delicious adventure that centers around a strong, opinionated female, and a war-torn land that features both mystical and pragmatic elements. I loved that the action started immediately and continued escalating, even as I learned more about the various characters. I was a little taken aback by the heroine’s actions in a couple of situations, since I thought they were out of character...tiptoeing around outside the castle in one’s nightgown...(somehow, I don’t think so!) but overall, I really enjoyed the story and definitely hope that this world gets revisited. Some of the conflicts are a bit too readily resolved and this is definitely not a tale for the squeamish but those who enjoy tales of bravery and loyalty mixed with a little chaos and magic will be delighted to find a fun and exciting adventure to read and undoubtedly will be intrigued to realize that the author also writes under the name of E.L. Tettensor. Fair warning, once I started reading, I was hooked, so schedule your time accordingly, especially if you plan to get any sleep! I look forward to reading more tales by this talented author!

© Night Owl Reviews 

I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review.
 




Have you read any good fantasy books lately?  Feel free to share in the comments!

Web scavenger hunt and another giveaway to remember

If you have some time on your hands and a desire to learn about new authors and their works, visit the Night Owl Reviews site and enter their Spring Fling hunt.  Don't be dismayed, there are a lot of questions to fill out...you might want to copy and paste a list of all of the questions so that you can work on them over several days.  It's a great way to learn about new books to read and when you get tired you can wander around the rest of the wonderful site and read about lots and lots of new titles!  Please click on this link and happy hunting!

A big thank you to author Stacey Juba who has organized a giveaway on Amazon on April 13...13 books for Friday the 13th!  That should help you superstitious people think more positively about the date (-:

Please click on this link to see the list and remember to visit it on Friday the 13th!

Stacey has also notified her readers that there is also a promotion to 'Give Your Child a Free Kindle Book (or 15 of them)' being held on April 19.  Please click on this link for more information.  (revised link April 16)

Happy reading!