Weekly Wrap Up (01/22/11)

Books Reviewed:

Tenderly and Softly by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck
Cell by Stephen King

My Posts This Week:

Tenderly and Softly by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck
Cell by Stephen King 
Waiting On Wednesday

What Makes A Writer A Writer?

And The Winner Is...

 

My Week In Review:
I got together with a couple of my friends Michelle & Monica to watch the first season of True Blood. It seems like it's been a long time since we just hung out with no kids or husbands. It was just us girls, and it was great! Don't get me wrong, their kids are great and I love them dearly, but sometimes you just need a "free" day. I think we are going to the Vera Bradley outlet sale together this year. I can't wait! I just recently found VB and I LOVE IT!  I read alot this week. I finished Cell, Father Mine: Zsadist & Bella's Story(a novella), I finished Eternal Prey, I read Carpe Corpus & Fade Out! I was a very busy girl, books wise! And I went to the library to get my new library card (mine had expired) and so I've been downloading books to read! I love having a Kobo ereader! I've joined a ebook tour group, Book Lovin' Bitches Ebook Tours! Well that's it for the week. How was YOUR week?

And The Winner Is...

And the winner of the $45 gift card

to ANY of the 200+ CSN Stores is...

Mo'Betta!

You will receive an email from me today with your $45 promotion code! Congratulations!!

CSN Stores + Giftcard= GIVEAWAY!

In my email today was a little something from Cameron with CSN Stores! Did you know, CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish furniture, modern bedding, or great cookware! And that isn't all they have. Head over there and take a look at everything they do have! It's an awesome way shop! So here's the deal: I have a $45 gift card to give to one lucky winner! To win you must be a follower. Leave me a comment then  feel free to surf your way over to visit some of the CSN Stores.  If you want, come back here and leave me a comment with what you MIGHT like to use that $45 gift card on! Now don't worry, you don't have to buy that item, just think of it as a "wish" comment! And also leave your email address and I will send you the promotion code via email. The winner will be selected and announced on January 22!

CSN Stores Giveaway ending 01/22/11!

Reminder! 

The CSN Stores $45 Gift Card 

Giveaway ends tomorrow!

Go Here to enter!!

What Makes A Writer A Writer?

A few days ago, I joined a ning network, Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction and I received an invitation from author Lynda Coker (who created WRDF) for a free issue of BOLD, her new E-Zine. And it said that if I am a blogger, I could submit an article for the E-Zine. Immediately, I thought, oh no! I'm not a writer, why would I do that? Then I thought about it. I do write, short, to the point reviews for books and products that I choose to review. I write short posts about things that go on at various times throughout my day, if something is blog worthy. Does that make me a writer? My answer is, kinda. I can write. Do I think I write well? No. But I write honestly. I wish I could create worlds that people fall into when they read them. I think I can come up with some get ideas. But the actual story. Nope, the people are boring. The conversations are horrid! If they were real, I would fall asleep talking to myself! So will I submit an article? Who knows! But this makes me wonder. What do you think makes a writer a writer?

Waiting On Wednesday (2)...

 

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted each week by

Breaking the Spine

My pick this week:

River Marked by Patricia Briggs 

Mercy Thompson Novel #6

Publisher: Penguin Group

Date: March 01, 2011

ISBN13: 9780441019731

ISBN: 0441019730

BINC: 3224013 

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help... 

Cell by Stephen King

from stephenking.com

Artist Clayton Riddell had been in Boston negotiating a successful deal to sell his comic book project.  His joy at finally hitting it big is shattered by an event called The Pulse which causes all those who were using their cell phones at the time of The Pulse to become zombies attacking and killing anyone in their way.  Fortunately for Clay, he does not own a cell phone.  In the panic to get out of Boston and find his way home to his wife and son in Maine, he is joined by Tom McCourt, a man he meets in the meleé immediately following The Pulse and a young girl, Alice, who they rescue from being killed by one of the “crazies.”  The story follows their terrifying journey, avoiding capture—and worse—by the “crazies” who are beginning to “flock” and are led by one they call Raggedy Man as they attempt to reach Maine and a place called Kashwak which they hope will be their salvation. 


my thoughts:
Let me start out saying this book took me awhile to really get into. I think I was intimidated by how big the book was. BUT. Once I pushed my way past that, I really enjoyed it! This is the first Stephen King novel that I've read and I can tell you it won't be the last! And not just because I'm participating in the 2011 Stephen King Reading Challenge!

Tenderly & Softly by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck

Maybe out there in the country she could catch her breath, learn to breathe again…
Happily married, and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son - who he wants her to help raise - Jade's life is turned upside down.
She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There - while her mother's health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger - Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood.
In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn't rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God's tender mercies.

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595544909
• ISBN-13: 978-159554490

 My thoughts:
I loved this book! When I asked to read & review Softly & Tenderly, I didn't realize that it was the second in the Songbird series. But like any great book, it can stand alone. Jade's story touched me. She's happily married to Max, a lawyer who has (she thinks) overcome a drug addiction, together they have suffered through the loss of miscarriages, her mother living with them while fighting leukemia and refusing another round of chemo & radiation. She finds that her in-laws are keeping secrets, and those secrets have the potential to destroy Jade's world. But Jade's ability to forgive and her faith help her through some of the toughest times. I will definitely buy the first book, The Sweet By And By and read it soon!
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