It’s #BookLoversDay

Today is #BookLoversDay!

#BookLoversDay – there’s nothing better than relaxing with a good book – any day of the year.

Books, I love them all. Hard cover, paperback (trade or mass market) or ebook (kindle or epub format) I just love books! And then there are the genres – crime, romance, chicklit, memoirs, science fiction, fantasy. Perhaps I should preface the rest of this post with…

“My name is Melanie and I’m a bookaholic.”

#bookloversday

This great day is also celebrated in August but when November arrives, it’s place in the limelight returns. During this month, this special day always falls on the first Saturday.

There was a meme making the rounds on Facebook wanting to know the ten books that have stuck with you. Some of these were secondary school reading, others just because I wanted to, and some I’ve read more than once.

The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
1984 – George Orwell
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare
Halloween Party – Agatha Christie
The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbech
Farenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Dracula – Bram Stoker

Can a person ever have too many books? I think not. As I was creating the hyperlinks for the books on my list, I even scored three FREE ones!

Perhaps I’m in need of an intervention?

What 10 books have stuck with you over the years?

 

How do you #NaNoWriMo?

#NaNoWriMo

How do you? Does your writing process change just because it’s November and #NaNoWriMo?

My process definitely does. I usually write in fits and starts. And I use that term loosely. I write until I get bored with what I’m working on. Then I’ll go off and read for a while (like half a dozen books) before I even think of ‘putting pen to paper’ again. By which time, I’ll start something else.

So I’ve managed to write four days in a row and amass a whopping (tongue-in-cheek) 4,272 words.

I have two projects I can work on during NaNo. I’m pantsing the one that’s currently getting my attention.

The other I’ve plotted and outlined to death. But when I open that document up, knowing what comes next… I wonder at the wisdom of why is that in so-and-so’s POV? Wouldn’t it be better in someone else’s?

While I ponder those issues, I’ll continue with my pantsing. Or should I call it plantsing? Or plotsing? I know the ending – just don’t know how I’m getting there. But that’s the fun isn’t it? Knowing where you’re going and enjoying the ride and the surprises along the way?

 

 

 

 

Goodreads Giveaway ~ Tim’s Magic Christmas

Giveaway ~ November 6-30th

Enter for your chance to win one signed proof copy of Tim’s Magic Christmas! The giveaway starts November 6th and runs to November 30th.

It could be the perfect gift for the middle grade reader on your Christmas list.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Tim's Magic Christmas by Melanie Robertson-King

Tim’s Magic Christmas

by Melanie Robertson-King

Giveaway ends November 30, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

cover

Blurb:

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus, teaches Tim that the greatest gift you can receive is the gift of giving.

What readers are saying about Tim’s Magic Christmas:

Shawn Marie Simon ☆☆☆☆☆ – Tim’s Magic Christmas, by Melanie Robertson-King, is a heartfelt story about a young boy who feels he’s a burden to his struggling family. His parents are fighting, money is tight. Things are not good. Tim feels certain he is not going to get the Apple iPod he so desperately wanted for Christmas. He believes everybody would be better off if he ran away from home, so he takes the little money he has out of his piggy bank and catches a train to anywhere. What happens next is magical.

Lessons abound in this sweet book. The lessons are not only for children, they are for parents, too. Kids are more aware than parents often realize. They hear parents arguing, they feel the tension. Talk to them and let them know what’s going on in a way that is developmentally appropriate. They are part of the family and should not be left in the dark.

Of course there are lessons for kids as well in this magical story. Kids need to talk to their parents, too. Trust your parents to be there for you. Share your fears with them. Running away will not solve anything. Although, in this case, a miracle happened.

The last and most prevalent lesson is that giving is better than receiving. It’s not about how much you have, but about how much you give to others, and when you give to others, you get back so much more than you ever bargained for. Tim learned that the iPod he wanted was nothing compared to how good it felt to give to those who had so much less.

Beverly Stowe McClure ☆☆☆☆☆ – Christmas, that magical time of the year when children make their “wish” list for the gifts they hope to find under their trees. Sometimes, however, a child’s wishes may not be answered in the way he or she had hoped, but perhaps in an even better way.

In TIM’S MAGIC CHRISTMAS, Author Melanie Robertson-King’s new story for children, the holidays are fast approaching, and Tim Frost wants an iPod for Christmas. There’s one problem. His father has lost his job and money is scarce. His parents can barely pay the bills and buy groceries, much less buy expensive gifts for their children. So, Tim, thinking like a sixth-grader how he can help his family in these tough times, decides to take the $35 and change he’s saved and run away from home. Without him, his parents will have one less mouth to feed.

Little does Tim know the surprises that await him when he rides the bus away from his home town. The places he goes and the people he meets give Tim a new understanding of the true magic of Christmas. Melanie Robertson-King has written a beautiful story about giving and sharing and discovering what’s truly important in life. I recommend this story for school libraries, public libraries, and your own private library. It will renew your faith and hope in our world and the gentle people in it.

Joan Y Edwards ☆☆☆☆☆ – Sixth grader, Tim Frost doesn’t realize how much his family loves him. He wants an expensive gift for Christmas and runs away when his family has a money shortage at Christmas. He takes a bus to the big city of Toronto and almost gets run over. Willing to wash dishes for food, he learns from a trucker how worried his parents must be. When a trucker shows him how he can help the homeless and hungry in his hometown, Tim goes back home, content not to have an expensive iPod for Christmas. He learns that the real joy of Christmas is in giving.

The author keeps the readers wondering if Tim could survive in the city and if he would decide to go back home. I kept wondering what I would do if I was in Tim’s shoes.

Janet K Brown ☆☆☆☆☆ – Tim’s Magic Christmas is a heart-warming tale of a boy who uses his six-grade wisdom to solve his family’s financial problems. It is a Christmas he’ll never forget. This book is appropriate for any child old enough to read a chapter book. The author teaches a lesson without hitting the child over the head. I found it easy to follow and typical of what my thirteen-year-old grandson might come up with. King’s main character enchants the reader. A fresh perspective for a wonderful holiday.

 

Seized by Love by Melissa Foster ~ BOOK PROMO

Melissa Foster

SEIZED BY LOVE

BY MELISSA FOSTER

 

Melissa Foster

YOU FELL IN love with Blue Ryder and Lizzie Barber in Seaside Summers, now follow their journey to find true love in SEIZED BY LOVE, the first book in the Ryder series. Coming soon.

Lizzie Barber runs a successful flower shop by day and secretly hosts the Naked Baker webcast at night to help pay for her younger sister’s education. To keep friends and family from finding out about her sexy secret, she’s put her social life on hold until her sister’s education is paid off and she can stop filming the webcast.

Blue Ryder fell hard for Lizzie Barber when he met her a year ago, and he hasn’t been able to get her off his mind since. Everything about the feisty little brunette, from her tight bod to her seductive smile, cuts straight to his heart. Though Lizzie has turned down every invitation he’s extended—Blue is not about to give up trying.

Renovating Lizzie’s kitchen brings Blue further into Lizzie’s life, and the oven is not the only thing heating up. One night and one powerful kiss changes everything. But when Lizzie’s secret is revealed and the safe bubble she’s hidden in shatters, true love may not be enough to put the pieces back together.

 Buy Links

AUDIBLE

BARNES & NOBLE

AMAZON.COM

AMAZON UK

KOBO

GOOGLE PLAY

iTUNES

About Melissa Foster

Melissa Foster

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the  World Literary Café and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Authors Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Goodreads

Sign up for Melissa’s newsletter to stay up to date with releases and giveaways

http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter/

GIVEAWAY

2 ebooks – Seaside Dreams

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Delilah

Will YOU succeed at #NaNoWriMo?

succeedDo you have the desire, discipline, story to tell and most importantly, the motivation to succeed?

If you can check all those boxes, then you’ll have a successful month of NaNoWriMo-ing.

But how to you manage when you work full-time, be a domestic Goddess when you’re not holding down your day job?

It’s not easy but it can be done. I’ve not figured out a winning/working formula yet but in time I will.

The only thing I know is, after working on a computer for 8 hours a day, trying to spend a few hours writing at the end of the day, doesn’t work well.

So, since I have a laptop, I take it to work with me and grab a few minutes on my lunch hour. Today I managed about 45 minutes writing time and cranked out 552 words and before the end of the day, sketched out ‘what happens next’. That will make tomorrow’s work much easier.

I subscribe to the nownovel.com website and there are some excellent tips there to keep you motivated for the month of November.

Cheers and happy writing! Wishing my fellow #NaNoWriMo-ers success this month!

 

#NaNoWriMo – Day 1

Day 1 ~ November 1st

eureka moment

Day 1 of #NaNoWriMo went extremely well for this writer. As I said in yesterday’s post, I’m not aiming for the magic 1667 words per day. I just want to make myself write every day.

So how did I do, I hear you ask? Drum roll, please…

Day 1

How about 2350 words. Not a bad day’s work, if I don’t say so myself. And today also included three loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away and making a curry for supper.

Speaking of curry, it’s been simmering in the crock pot all day and it smells delicious.

Tomorrow will be the true test of my writing every day resolve. It’s back to work so will have to squeeze in words over my lunch hour and when supper is cooking. After that, my poor brain and eyes will be done for the day.

And this post is 163 words in length. Does that count towards my daily word count? I think so. #amwriting