Contest Winners for WE 06-30-12

Nora Ephron passed away this week and it truly brought me to tears because I loved her movies, her amazing attitude about life, and never tired of hearing her speak so pragmatically about change.

In recent years, Ephron had grown increasingly aware of her mortality.

In her latest book, "I Remember Nothing: And other Reflections" (2010) she writes: "You do get to a certain point in life where you have to realistically,

I think, understand that the days are getting shorter, and you can't put things

off thinking you'll get to them someday. If you really want to do them, you better do them. There are simply too many people getting sick, and sooner or later you will. So I'm very much a believer in knowing what it is that you love doing so you can do a great deal of it."

Congrats to this week’s winners please send an email with your home address to marygramlich@yahoo.com so I can get these out to you.

Donna Grant (Midnight’s Master) and Christine Warren (The Prowl) Little Miss Molly

David Baldacci (The Innocent) Jeanne M

Francis Ray (When Morning Comes) GAPeach in MD

Pop Culture Saturday - That Magic Moment

Jesse, Michael, and Pierce from BURN NOTICE.

We have winners for my guest blogs!


The Avengers, Ka'ena Point, and Aeia Loop:
- Mary wins a book choice from my convention stash.

Bethanne Strasser's FOR LOVE OR DUTY
- Miss Kallie wins an ecopy.

Nancy Gideon's SEEKER OF SHADOWS
- Barbara wins a print copy.

Fans of BURN NOTICE were also winners with the most recent episode, LAST RITES.  In the closing scene, Michael visits Fiona at the prison.   He reminds her of when they met in Dublin.   Michael is teary eyed while Fiona realizes that he loves her.   Even if you don't follow the series, you would know from watching this scene that love can conquer all.   

Fiona in prison

Do you have a favorite scene from a book, movie, or TV show that had an emotional impact on you?   One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  Comments are open through Friday, July 5, 10 pm in Hawaii.


Mahalo,


Kim in Hawaii  


To learn more about BURN NOTICE, check out its webpage at this link.

Sam, Madelyn, and Nate round out the cast.

WHEN MORNING COMES by Francis Ray

I have read and reviewed WHEN MORNING COMES by Francis Ray that I received from St. Martin’s Press.  Now it is time to let someone else enjoy it and I am going to provide my copy to one lucky winner.  To be eligible to win please leave a comment on “are you a sunrise or sunset lover?”.  The winner for this book will be posted on Sunday – July 1^st and will have two-weeks to email me their address.  My contest rules stipulate that you must come back to see if you have won and then email me with your address.

Thank you for reading my blog, post, and review below.  Never forget to be thankful for something every day and celebrate that Little Victory.   Mary

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REVIEW from Mary Gramlich "The Reading Reviewer"

WHEN MORNING COMES by Francis Ray

Should we ever stop dreaming about the life we can have?

Sabrina Thomas and Kara Simmons are the best of friends pursing rewarding careers, seeking to find love with a HEA attached to it.  Sabrina set her sights on the ever-elusive Dr. Cade Mathis who may be a gift surgeon but he has no bedside manner.  Kara gets in the line of sight of Tristan Landers and once he meets her he is determined to show her she is worth being loved.

While Cade tries to run for cover, Sabrina keeps up her pace to follow up.  Sabrina is trying to prove that even though he did not have the best of life growing up he became something that everyone admires.  Cade has bitterness he needs to let go of and Sabrina is right there to guide him.  Both did grow up as adopted children but the difference of a loving home for Sabrina makes Cade even angrier toward his past.

Tristan introduces Kara and her stunning artwork to just the right people and begins the slow process of opening up doors for her.  Kara has to fight off the brutal emotional attacks from her mother and start to believe she is worth more than the price of a dress at Dillards.

The four lives are connected in more ways than could ever be expected, with some great surprises and an awful discovery.  While working through the highs and lows of any relationship you learn that you have to believe in the possible, fight the future, and embrace the gift of love when presented.

Francis Ray writes about all the complexities of a relationship and the wonderful road you take getting connecting with the love of your life.

Aloha to Nancy Gideon and SEEKER OF SHADOWS

On this date in 1841, the Paris Opera Ballet premieres GISELLE.  From Wikipedia,

The ballet tells the story of a peasant girl named Giselle whose ghost, after her premature death, protects her lover from the vengeance of a group of evil female spirits called Wilis.

GISELLE at the Met

Ah, a historical French paranormal!   So it comes as no surprise to find paranormal inspiration in New Orleans.   Enter Nancy Gideon and her new series "with a seductive tale of forbidden allegiance and rediscovered love" in SEEKER OF SHADOWS:

His town.

Susanna Duchamps came to New Orleans to settle a debt and to temporarily escape the controlled constraints of her life among the Chosen. What she finds is an opportunity to make miraculous strides with her research into Shifter genetics . . . and an unexpected, but never forgotten, man from her complicated past.

Her rules.

Shifter club owner Jacques LaRoche is fiercely protective of his freedom. Stripped of his memories of a former life, he longs for the mate he lost . . . until the enticingly familiar presence of a mysterious stranger from the north ignites a primal, nearly uncontrollable need to release the untamed beast inside him.

Their last chance.

Susanna dares not tell Jacques it was she who sacrificed his past and her future years ago, to protect him and the secret she carried. But her arrival in New Orleans comes with consequences. When a bloody confrontation erupts between their enemy clans, will she betray her lover once again—or throw her own life on the line so they can finish what they started?

Jackson Square in New Orleans

I am giving away a print copy of SEEKER OF SHADOWS to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about ballet - love it or loathe it?

I know little about ballet but have seen the classics such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Friday, June 29, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Saturday, June 30.  

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

To learn more about Nancy and her books, check out her website at nancygideon.com.

THE INNOCENT by David Baldacci

I have read and reviewed THE INNOCENT by David Baldacci that I received from Grand Central Publishing.  Now it is time to let someone else enjoy it and I am going to provide my copy to one lucky winner.  To be eligible to win please leave a comment on “do you believe in coincidence?”.  The winner for this book will be posted on Sunday – July 1^st and the winner will have two weeks time to email me their address.  My contest rules stipulate that you must come back to see if you have won and then email me with your address.

Thank you for reading my blog, post, and review below.  Never forget to be thankful for something every day and celebrate that Little Victory.   Mary

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW from Mary Gramlich "The Reading Reviewer"

THE INNOCENT by David Baldacci

Should we always follow our beliefs?

Will Robie was a sanctioned killer who was the best at what he did and walked away from each assignment with a clear conscious.  The unidentified alphabet soup who decides the fate of everyone else pushes him into one situation he refuses to act on and sends him into hiding where fate, coincidence, or bad time connects him with Julie a kid on the run from her own enemy.  It takes about 5 minutes to find that the same ghost is chasing them both from different directions with the same objective - to eliminate them. 

Will has no experience protecting anyone but himself and has no working knowledge of what to do with a kid.  When you are getting a crash course in survival, you do or die trying and Julie is going to force him to let her help.  She is smart enough to follow directions and eager to get back to a life she can control even knowing what has blown up her past.  Julie's parents tried to do their best but in the end left her alone with a man she does not trust as her only ally.

With shots fired that don’t hit their target, moles turning up everywhere, and will desperately trying to figure out who is the master manipulator with all the cash behind this game of chess.  The one key to stopping the violence is figuring out whom the target really is and if the revenge meter has been set to stun or kill.  The pace is fast, the details exacting, and the result of all their work scary.  What Will and Julie uncover cannot only change the course of their lives but everyone that walks the planet as well. 

David Baldacci knows how to take the facts, write them into a work of genius that will keep the reader unable to put the book down.  The twists and turns in THE INNOCENT are a masterful manipulation of fiction that comes so close to fact it if frightening.

Aloha to Bethanne Strasser and FOR LOVE OR DUTY

Over at SOS Aloha, I interviewed Army spouse and romance author Bethanne Strasser (at this link). I recently reviewed her new book, FOR LOVE OR DUTY:

Growing up the proverbial military brat, Valerie Standish has shed her old ways. Yet, she’s been around long enough to recognize that familiar arrogance when Kevin Morgan walks through the door. This time she is drawn to the persistent captain like she hasn’t been to any man before, making it harder to keep her promise—never get involved with an officer.

Kevin doesn’t have a problem with her unwillingness to commit long term. He isn’t quite ready to settle either. For years, he’s worked hard to earn a promotion to Major. He wants one last fling before tying himself to a wife for the rest of his life.

But time proves them both liars as they begin to fall for each other. Neither is prepared for the ache of betrayal as they come face to face with the truth about one another.

Will either of them be able to walk away unscathed or have the trenches of love already been dug? 

I posted my five star review on Amazon at this link and Goodreads at this link. I am giving away a Kindle copy of FOR LOVE OR DUTY to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,

1. Leave a comment about military in fiction - do you have a favorite book, movie, or TV series?

2. This giveaway is open to all readers.

3. Comments are open through Friday, June 29, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Saturday, June 30.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

To learn more about Bethanne and her books, check out her blog at bethannestrasser.blogspot.com. 

St. Martin Monday

I have a great special for everyone today – it is St. Martin Monday with two great books in this give away.  What I have today is MIDNIGHT’S MASTER by Donna Grant and ON THE PROWL by Christine Warren, such amazing authors who write about all those things that go bump in the night.

Both books will go to one winner and to be eligible to win please leave a comment on “what scares you in the dark?”.  The contest winner for these books will be posted on Sunday – June 24^th and you will have two weeks to claim your prize.  My contest rules stipulate that you must come back to see if you have won and then email me with your address.

  

MIDNIGHT’S MASTER by Donna Grant From the acclaimed author of the Dark Sword novels comes a thrilling spin off series in which ancient magic in the modern world ignites a timeless passion…  A MYSTERY OUT OF TIME Gwynn Austin has no idea why her father has disappeared on a mysterious trip to Scotland.  When she goes on a desperate mission to search for him she finds more than she bargains for in a ruggedly handsome, wickedly exciting Highlander who exudes danger and mystery. And when she discovers her own link to Scotland, she’ll have to trust her heart to help lead her…. A LEGEND IN THE FLESH Propelled through time by powerful Druid Magic, Logan Hamilton uses his immortality and powers of the god inside him to help prevent the awakening of an ancient evil in the modern world. He never expects to find help in the form of a beautiful, alluring, and all too tempting woman whose passion and strength matches his own. Together, Logan and Gywnn must fight for their love—before a demon from the past destroys them both…

ON THE PROWL by Christine Warren Most girls would throw a fit if their parents tried to set up an arranged marriage for them. It's so outrageously old-fashioned—even for a Tiguri family, members of a fierce race of shapeshifting weretigers. But Saskia isn't getting her claws out just yet. She'll go through with this marriage to help unite two powerful families—and because her husband-to-be Nicolas Preda is the sexiest, hunkiest, and only man she's ever wanted… Of course, marrying an alpha male like Nic comes with its share of danger. As leader of his Streak and head of a global corporation, Nic and his new fiancée must take their places in the jungles of Manhattan—and the local Others seem to have a strict "no pets" policy. In fact, the Council seems to think the Tiguri are at the root of all their problems, including an attempt on the life of its leader. If Nic hopes to protect his name and his mate, it's hunt or be hunted—and he can't do it alone. But if anyone can bring out the beast in him, it's the sexy, savage tigress he's sworn to love…