Love Stories: November 2011

The utterly fabulous Shannon Mayer has put together a promotion so simple and full of awesome that I am bursting at the seams to share it with you! *squee*

With this contest, there is something for everyone and it’s SO simple to be in on the winning!

On November 28 and/or 29, purchase 1 or all 4 of the debut authors' books listed here. Then forward proof of purchase (the receipt Amazon sends you will do just fine) to motionsrider@yahoo.ca and get up to 4 entries into a draw for a $100 Amazon gift card!

It’s that easy: no reviews, no hoops to jump through. Just a great .99 book or two. Or three or four. AND, if the person who wins the $100 Amazon Gift Card has purchased all 4 books, an additional $25 Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to the winner!

On top of that, 2 random commenters picked from 2 of our participating blogs will receive $5 gift Amazon gift cards. So be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the promo, the books, or the authors. Don't forget a contact email in your comment in case you win!

Winners will be chosen randomly. One entry per person, per book.

All winners will be announced on December 7^th on Shannon's site Wringing Out Words.

So without further ado (what is ado, really? LOL), here are the four books in the order Shannon gave them to me (just in case you thought I was vain for putting mine first):

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile, and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.

Available from Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks. Prefer a paperback? Order your personalized copy using the widget in the upper right corner of this blog.

When darkness falls, whose side will you be on?

For the past six years, Zoë has been anything but “normal.” Struggling to accept her immortality and thrown into a war that’s been waging in the shadows for over a thousand years, Zoë must now become who she was meant to be, joining the other Chosen to save what’s left of humanity. When the endless night falls over the Earth, will she be able to save the one man who reminds her of what it is to be human, or will it be too late?

Until Dawn: Last Light is a story of death and despair, love and longing, hope and hopelessness, and the ability to survive and keep going even when it seems impossible – when you want nothing more than to give up.

Grab your copy of Until Dawn: Last Light on Amazon for only 99 cents to be entered in the drawing!

A stranger enters a dying town and makes a desperate plea…

The Kayson Cycle introduces the Kayson Brothers, a pair of faith healers who once wowed crowds in a traveling show but went their separate ways after a night in which a healing took a dark turn. Jeffrey Kayson disappeared into the wilderness and William Kayson, wracked by guilt, moved to the failing mining town of Calico Hills to build a nice, quiet life – one that has lasted for over ten years.

His quiet, predictable life crumbles when a mysterious stranger walks into his tavern bearing a proposal to find his long-lost brother and do the one thing that William has sworn to never do again - have his brother heal a woman. William soon learns that he can’t escape his family – or his destiny.

Includes an exclusive sample chapter of The Corridors of the Dead. Please note that this is a Kindle Single, and around 6,000 words in length.

The Kayson Cycle is available from Smashwords, Amazon or Barnes & Noble for less than a buck!

A miracle drug, Nevermore, spreads like wildfire throughout the world allowing people to eat what they want, and still lose weight. It is everything the human population has ever dreamed of and Mara is no different. Only a simple twist of fate stops her from taking Nevermore.

As the weeks roll by, it becomes apparent that Nevermore is not the miracle it claimed. A true to life nightmare, the drug steals the very essence that makes up humanity and unleashes a new and deadly species on the world that is bent on filling its belly. Locked down within their small farm home, Mara and her husband Sebastian struggle against increasingly bad odds, fighting off marauders and monsters alike.

But Sebastian carries a dark secret, one that more than threatens to tear them apart, it threatens to destroy them both and the love they have for each other.

Now Mara must make the ultimate choice. Will she live for love, or will she live to survive?

Pick up a copy of Sundered from Smashwords, Amazon or Barnes & Noble for a chance to win!

HUGE thanks to all the bloggers who are participating in the event. Love love love you guys! *mwah*

The Immortal words of Doctor Fab www.shayfabbro.com
The Beauty Brat http://www.thebeautybrat.com/
A Novel’s Journey http://anovelsjourney.blogspot.com/
Haley Whitehall http://haleywhitehall.com/blog/
Call Sign: Wrecking Crew on the Run http://callsignwreckingcrew.blogspot.com
Romance by Catherine http://catherinebybee.blogspot.com/
Believe http://mimibarbour.blogspot.com/
Carmen Desousa http://carmendesousa.blogspot.com/
AE Marling http://aemarling.com/
RS Guthrie http://www.rsguthrie.com/
Ev Bishop http://evbishop.wordpress.com/
Labotomy of a Writer http://labotomyofawriter.com/
Must Inkshttp://museinks.blogspot.com/
The Romanceaholic http://romanceaholic.com/
Care Caffrey www.carycaffrey.com/
Chicklets Lit http://chickletslit.wordpress.com/
Nathan Everett http://www.gutenbergrubric.com/
Rants of a Wolf http://aetas-lupus.livejournal.com/
Letters inside Out http://www.lettersinsideout.net
Can’t Put it Down book Reviews http://readitreviewit.wordpress.com/category/home/
Unabridged Bookshelf http://unabridgedbookshelf.blogspot.com
Indiscriminate Writes http://indiscriminatewrites.blogspot.com/
Illusions http://lorhainneeckhart.blogspot.com
Angie West http://angiewest.wordpress.com/tag/angie-west/
Micheal Young: The Canticle http://www.writermike.com.
Brianna Soloski http://www.girlseeksplace.com/
Wendy Carmell http://www.wendycartmell.webs.com
Heather McCorkle http://heathermccorkle.blogspot.com/
Sheri Larsen: YA Lit Chat http://yalitchat.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=05fr2885uha86
Vanessa Barger Writes http://vanessabargerwrites.wordpress.com/
J Keller Ford: Dreamweaver’s Cottage http://jennykellerford.wordpress.com/
Doc Dave’s Voice http://www.docdavesvoice.com
Kim Cormack http://www.kimcormack.com
Twin Dragon’s Knowledge http://twindragonsknowledge.blogspot.com/
What’s Beyond Forks? http://whatsbeyondforks.blogspot.com/
Scott Bury: Jambalian http://jambalian.blogspot.com/
Raven Corinn Carluk http://raven.youareannoying.us/
Madeline Rex http://madeleinerex.com
What the Cat Read Http://whatthecatread.wordpress.com
Chazz Writes www.chazzwrites.wordpress.com
Venture Galleries http://venturegalleries.com
Far Manor http://farmanor.blogspot.com/
Blame it on the Full Moon www.blameitonthefullmoon.blogspot.com
Kelly Hitchcock http://kellyhitchcock.com/blog/
My Imaginary Beings http://my-imaginary-beings.blogspot.com/
Louise Wise http://louisewise.blogspot.com
My Eclectic Bookshelf http://myeclecticbookshelf.blogspot.com/
Benjamin Jones Writes http://benjaminjoneswrites.weebly.com/index.html
Alchemy of Scrawl alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com
Reena Jacobs www.reenajacobs.com/blog
Sleepless in Samoa http://sleeplessinsamoa.blogspot.com
Bluebells Trilogy http://bluebellstrilogy.blogspot.com
Nyx Book Reviews http://nyxbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Wicked Readings by Tawania http://www.wickedreadingsbytawania.blogspot.com
Live to Read http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com/
Cici’s Theories www.cicistheories.com
Hannah Downing www.hannahdowning.com
My Inner Muse http://www.kishazworld.com/innermuse/
Book Flame http://www.bookflame.blogspot.com/
Dreaming Dreams no Mortal ever Dared http://Dreamingdreamsnomortaleverdared.blogspot.com
Cold Fire Writer http://coldfirewriter.wordpress.com/
Passing the Open Windows http://www.passingtheopenwindows.co.za/
Books 4 Juliet http://books4juliet.blogspot.com/
Ren’s Blogging About http://renthewriter.com/
Tibby Armstrong http://tibbyarmstrong.com/
A Diary of a Book Addict http://adiaryofabookaddict.blogspot.com/
SS Book Fanatics http://ssbookfanatics.blogspot.com
Lady Techies Book Musings Http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com
Jillian Brookes-Ward www.writers-unlimited.blogspot.com
Horror. Punk. Buddhism. http://mepurfield.livejournal.com
Writers Alley http://writersally.blogspot.com
Lost in Believing http://lostinbelieving.wordpress.com/
Melissa Bunnell http://psptutstagsbyq.blogspot.com
Palm Coast Twilight Book Club Reviews http://palmcoasttwilightbookclubreviews.wordpress.com/
Between the Pages Reviews http://www.betweenthepagesreviews.com/
Word Spelunking http://www.wordspelunking.blogspot.com/
The Violet Hour Book Reviews http://www.violethourbr.com
Moonlight Book Reviews http://www.moonlightbookreviews.com
Snowdrop Dreams of Books http://www.snowdropdreams.ca
Creative Reads http://www.creativereads.blogspot.com
New England Muse http://Newenglandmuse.wordpress.com
Live by the Pen, Die by the Pen http://blog.daphnejriordan.com/
Glowy Mushrooms www.glowymushrooms.tumblr.com
Fictional Distraction Book Reviews www.fictional-distraction.com
Breila McValan http://taiyouryu.insanejournal.com/375.html
Lakisha Spletzer http://indieauthor-howto.blogspot.com

I've been battling a nasty cold this week, which means I haven't been sleeping well. After church, I crawled into bed, clicked on the electric blanket and took a nap. It was wonderful.

But I couldn't get up.

I heard my family moving around the house: the clicking of the dog's toenails on the hallway floor as he searched the house for me, the muffled talk of my husband and children in the living room.

I knew I needed to get up.

If I stayed in bed, I wouldn't be able to sleep later and I'd be up all night. I kicked myself around inside my head, yelled "Get up!", called myself names to try and combat the sinuous lure of sleep and the warmth curled around me. It didn't work. I slipped back into oblivion. Again and again and again.

I needed someone to come wake me.

It wasn't that I didn't know I needed to get up. I did. I just couldn't do it on my own. The pull of the bed was too strong, it felt too good. Even though I knew it would only hurt me, I wasn't able to extract myself from the jaws of slumber.

This week, we learned that a close friend has been leading a double life of sexual sin for several years. It rips my heart out to think of what he and his family are going through right now. I love them all deeply and wish that I had known--that anyone had known--and that he'd been able to reach out and ask for help.

Sometimes life is too much for us to handle on our own and we need to have someone come and wake us, pull us from the lure of what ensnares us. I implore you to be the kind of person who not only asks for help, but who also willingly gives it.

Love one another.