Showing posts with label giveaway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giveaway. Show all posts

Monday, December 10, 2012

Christmas with Catherine & Dawson, Part 3. Come join us! #contest #give@way!



Welcome back for the FINAL Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaway!

In Castaway Hearts, Christmas continues to play big role in bringing Catherine and Dawson together. Her heartache over the tragic death of Dawson's brother at sea submerges Catherine in grief and nearly costs her life. I'll share with you now, the scene after she awakens and the gift that Dawson gives her, which is quite intimate and personal.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Catherine glanced down at the blue paper around the box that sat across her legs. It wasn’t heavy and she felt very shy all of a sudden about a gift from him. She had never received a gift from any man.

This was a momentous occasion and she held her breath.

Slipping the ribbon away, she lifted the lid to discover soft pink fabric, decorated with magnificent floral embroidery across the front. Catherine lifted the clothing out so it revealed itself as a new nightgown. She felt heat rush her cheeks.

“Oh, Dawson.” She exhaled in a whisper. “This is too much. You shouldn’t have. What would people think if I told them you got me a nightgown?”

“You don’t have to tell them, you know.” Dawson scooted the tray of food and her other gift to the other side of the bed so he could sit down across from her. Catherine looked up at him and saw the glimmer in his eyes, the sparkle of humor and sincerity.

“I figured you might like a nightgown that was new and fresh.” Dawson admitted in a low voice.

Catherine tried to swallow the lump in her throat, uncertain what to say. She glanced down at the gown she wore. Now she was certain it was not hers.

The idea that she wore a dead woman’s nightgown bothered her, but not as much as gown that lay before her. No matter how practical, this was not the gift of a friend.

A man would give this to his wife in the privacy of their bedroom, without the inquisitive eyes of others. She wondered if he had done the same with Lucinda. Though she sat in the middle of his bed, dressed in naught but a flimsy nightgown anyway, Catherine was not his wife.

“You can’t expect me to accept this. It’s much too personal.” Catherine held the soft fabric in her hands. Silky, smooth, and near transparent, it was much more intimate than a simple nightgown and she wanted to wear it. Her heart thumped in her ears loud as a drum as she shook her head. “This is a gift you give a spouse.”

The last sentence slipped out in a hushed breath before Catherine could stop her erratic thoughts. They trailed off, in wicked daydream of what it would be like to wear the luxurious garment, to have Dawson lay her down on this bed and make love to her.

How remarkable his mouth would feel if it touched her all over, even in her most private of places. She felt the flash of heat across her skin when she looked away from him, embarrassed by her own wayward thoughts.

His hand came into her line of sight and caressed hers. “And what if I wanted that?”

Catherine shot him a look, finding tenderness filled the deep cobalt of his eyes.

“What?”

“What if I wanted you for my wife, Catherine?” Dawson put his hand into his pocket. He withdrew a small object, shiny and golden.

A ring.
 ~*~*~*~*~*~
This the final of 3 Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaways. Each contest begins on Monday and end on Sunday between now and the holidays. I will contact the winner for address information, especially in regard to the gift card choices in this giveaway and I will ship the prize as soon as I'm able once the contest has ended.

Dawson's concern over Catherine having a gown of her own, inspired this giveaway to gift the winner with some "intimate apparel" of their own this holiday season. I hope you'll enjoy it and thanks for joining us!
Pictured above are the items included in this giveaway- 1 SIGNED print copy of Castaway Hearts, a bookmark and each of my 4 business cards (for you to keep or give away to others you think might be interested) and a pair of Blue Shell Tea Candle Holders (included are 6 Vanilla Caramel scented tea candles). I don't have a picture of it, but also included in this is your choice of a $25 Gift Card from either Frederick's of Hollywood or Victoria's Secret.

Please follow the instructions below on the Rafflecopter widget for your chances to win! There are several ways to play. We've enjoyed having you join us!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

#Writerly Wednesday- I'm Gone A-Visiting @MKEthridge on her Blog!

Come visit me at Margaret Ethridge's blog today!

I'm sharing today how I feel when someone says

"You Write WHAT?"

I'll be giving away 2 FREE ebook copies of CASTAWAY HEARTS! Margaret will let it run through Sunday and then she will pick two winners, plus she is giving away a $5 Reader Appreciation Gift Card, too!

Monday, December 3, 2012

The Party Continues- Christmas with Catherine & Dawson, Part 2. Come join us!

Good morning and welcome back to Christmas with Catherine and Dawson. I'm glad you've joined us! The winner of Part 1 has already been randomly selected and notified, as well as announced on the Rafflecopter widget on that giveaway post.

There's a common thread between the holidays and Catherine and Dawson and it's that spirit of belief, in believing that LOVE is the greatest thing of all. It's having faith to see things through and hope that all is not lost. It takes a while for Catherine and Dawson to believe in their love for each other and even then, obstacles being what they are, there are times when it does seem all hope is lost.

It's moments like those in life, that we should really grasp hold of and believe even harder in love and each other. Christmas shouldn't be the only time we believe in the goodness of others or show kindness and gratitude and appreciation. We must think with our heads, but I think we should BELIEVE and love with all our hearts.

Enjoy this time of year and believe in the greatness of others because you might just be the light in the darkness for someone else. Happy Holidays! Now for the best part!

This the 2nd of 3 Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaways. Each contest begins on Monday and end on Sunday between now and the holidays. I will contact the winner for address information and I will ship the prize as soon as I'm able once the contest has ended. 
Pictured above, a Candle holder with candles to "light the way" and a Golden "Believe" tabletop decoration, and 1 SIGNED print copy of Castaway Hearts, bookmark and each of my 4 business cards (for you to keep or give away to others you think might be interested.) I am also including a few "secret Santa" type holiday items as well, but Shhhh.....those are secret, after all!

Please follow the instructions below on the Rafflecopter widget for your chances to win! There are several ways to play. We've enjoyed having you join us!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Christmas with Catherine & Dawson, Part 1. Come join us! #contest #give@way

Welcome to our Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaway! 

Make yourself at home, snuggle in front of the fire or sip some cocoa. Please feel free to leave comments as well! We'd love to hear from you! Rather than idle chit-chat I say it's time to get this party started, so away we go!

As Catherine awakes on Christmas, discovering herself in Dawson's bed after she nearly drown in the ocean, she also discovers that her grandparents have been there, and have left her a gift.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dawson hummed as he filled two plates with food. Rose baked a roast with potatoes, corn, crushed cranberries and buttery rolls. He poured Catherine a bowl of broth, still warming on the stovetop, though he knew he should stir the fire and keep all of it warm until he could put it away.

With a tray filled to the edge with good food, which included two tall glasses of water and some warm tea in a small kettle, he headed back up the dark staircase to the bedroom.

When he reentered the room, he set the silver tray full of food on the bed in front of her. She still sat with the covers up around her, chest high, her expression so innocent and wide-eyed, and her fiery hair mussed and full around her shoulders.

“Have my grandparents been by?” The first words out of her mouth, she reached over to take one of the glasses of water.

“Go slow on that. You haven’t had much to drink and too much at once could make you sick.” Dawson nodded to the glass, and then continued. “Yes, they were here earlier in the day. In fact, they’ve been here off and on throughout the week.”

He walked across the room, picked up the fabric wrapped gift, and brought it to her.

“This is for you. They left it here in case you woke up soon.”

Catherine smiled and touched the delicate green ribbon wrapped around it. She glanced up with shimmering eyes.

“Are they very upset with me?” A fat teardrop trickled down her cheek.

“No, Catherine. They were glad I watched over you, though your grandmother wasn’t all too happy about the horseback rides. Overall, they’re all right with it. In fact, the Captain insists I keep you here until you recover. He thinks it’d be better not to move you for fear it might hinder your condition.”

Catherine sighed and took a deep sip of water. Dawson watched how she eyed the present.

“You may go on and open it. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

She undid the ribbon with slow ease and let the fabric slide away. When the wrappings fell aside, a wooden jewelry box with an intricate rose carved into the lid appeared. She lifted the lid and pulled a slip of paper from it. She read it, then placed the note back inside and closed the lid, her hand lifted to cover the quiver of her lips.

Her tears flowed free now and caught him off guard.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. This box belonged to my great Grandmother Barrett, to be passed down to the oldest granddaughter.”
 “Ahh, that is very special.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This the 1st of 3 Christmas with Catherine and Dawson Giveaways. Each contest begins on Monday and end on Sunday between now and the holidays. I will contact the winner for address information and I will ship the prizes as soon as I'm able once the contest has ended.

Pictured above, a beautiful wooden jewelry box, with twist clasp closure, 1 SIGNED print copy of Castaway Hearts, bookmark and each of my 4 business cards (for you to keep or give away to others you think might be interested.) There will also be a few other Christmas Gifts included.

Please follow the instructions below on the Rafflecopter widget for your chances to win! There are several ways to play.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, November 19, 2012

Upcoming Holiday Plans-Come spend Christmas with Catherine & Dawson (from CASTAWAY HEARTS)

Okay, I've been remiss in offering very many contests since CASTAWAY HEARTS came out in April of this year, but I figure now is a wonderful time to invite you all to join in the celebration with Catherine and Dawson.

A couple of the key events in CASTAWAY HEARTS happens right around Christmastime and I'll be sharing about them over the next couple of Mondays. I thought, what better way than to spend the holidays than with two of my favorite characters.

So.....

Starting November 26th and running over the following 3 weeks- I will be doing a giveaway each week, starting on those Mondays. Each contest/giveaway will run for a week. I'm running these contests through Rafflecopter and there are several ways to enter to win the prizes, from liking my FB Page or following on Twitter, to answering a question in the comments. I will pick the winner each Monday and contact them as the next contest gets underway for the following week.

One prize in each giveaway will be an autographed PRINT copy of CASTAWAY HEARTS, along with a bookmark and some of my business cards for you to either keep or share with others you think might be interested. There are also other items and special treats as well that are book and holiday related, so come by and hang out and fill in those Rafflecopter requirements in order to get your name in the pot for the chance to win some of these wonderful prizes.

Remember, the contest will run from midnight (Eastern) the Monday it starts until midnight (Eastern) the Sunday it ends. This is to give me time to set up the next one. I will be posting my blogs on those Mondays at my regular time of 5AM Central, but for anyone who wants to get their votes in early when the giveaway begins, if they happen to be up, you can go to my HOME PAGE of my website and enter there.

Be sure to share this info with your friends and fellow readers alike who might be interested in joining us for the holidays! Looking forward to seeing you here!

~Taryn

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Thursdays with Taryn~ Halfway There #NaNoWriMo

Are we about ready for Thanksgiving next week, peeps?

Already, today marks the 1/2 mark of NaNoWriMo- Day 15- on which, if you go by the minimum amount of words required to write 50K words by Day 30, you should be sitting somewhere around 25,000 words. Simple and it makes sense, eh? I have just a little under 27,000.

Yesterday was not a very productive writing day. I awoke feeling like my throat was doing this "allergic reaction" thing I've had happen in the past- where my uvula (punchy bag) elongates and hangs lower, nearly sitting on the back of my tongue. It's probably not life threatening, but it can be scary when it happens. I have trouble breathing past it because it wants to swing forward and causes me to gag, but when I swallow, it feels like a lump, like I'm going to swallow my uvula and choke to death on it because it falls back and covers the windpipe.

I never quite figured out exactly what caused it to happen the first time when I was in my early twenties, but after seeing a doctor about it, I was given corticosteroids for it and advised me to keep Benedryl on hand as well. It took about 2-3 days to clear up. He said it appeared to be some sort of "allergic reaction" to something I'd come in contact around that time and perhaps it was something I never had used/eaten/etc. I avoided certain things- such as Herbal Essence shampoos, Baby Ruth Candy bars, Rally's burgers and fries. I was a smoker at the time though, too, and I often wondered if I might have smoked one too many cigarettes the night before in the cool night air, but who knows. I'm not a smoker anymore though, so that would not explain it away now. I've also since given Baby Ruth the benefit of the doubt and didn't have trouble with it, but as for the other things- I typically avoid them.

That's not to say it's never happened again, as yesterday morning proved. From time to time I have had a flare up and I simply attribute it to allergies of some sort and pop a Benedryl capsule. That usually does the trick, but therein lay my problems with writing yesterday- between the intense grogginess and my eyes being itchy and blurry, I also had the urge to curl up in a ball and go to sleep beside the cat. I'm sure she wouldn't have minded at all, but I fought to stay awake so I could write and then still couldn't fight my way through the haze that fogged my thoughts. It sucks so bad when I can't seem to compose a coherent thought or put down more than a few mediocre sentences.

I definitely need to get more writing done. This weekend and into the following week I have cookies and treats to prepare for family and friends I will see around Thanksgiving. I have travel and hopefully the weekend after Turkey Day, I will have the energy to decorate my Christmas tree and hopefully get the outdoor decorations up as well.

I also have some really exciting plans in the coming weeks- some really cool holiday surprises that might include something like autographed print copies of Castaway Hearts and a few special gifts as we get further into the festive spirit of the holidays. You'll want to stick around to find out more about my upcoming

Christmas with Catherine & Dawson Giveaways

So definitely stay tuned for news about that!
Here's to getting some writing done today.
Happy Writing fellow NaNovelists!
Happy Reading fellow Bookworms!

Monday, June 25, 2012

@RobynLeatherman visits, answers #Author Q&A & has an #Autographed Copy of Summer Rain for 1 Lucky Person!





 Author Q&A and Autographed Print Copy Giveaway
with
Robyn Leatherman
What book(s) most influenced you as a writer?
My mother came home with a college textbook when I was young - Cultural Anthropology. That book made me interested in groups of people and what made them tick. In my teens, my cousin lent me a copy of Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge. It's the historical novel that pushed me over the edge and made me want to write about things that had happened and shouldn't be forgotten.

What book do you read over and over again?
The Grapes of Wrath

Tuesday Trio-
1)      Movie- The Man in the Iron Mask
2)      Music- School Boy Humor
3)      Decadent Dessert- Pecan Pie with vanilla ice cream

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel?
This is going to sound odd, but when I researched to origin of barbed wire, I discovered it had been in use even before 1863, but because nobody had patented the concept, it didn't catch on at that time. In 1873, a type of "barbed" fencing caught the eye of a man by the name of Glidden; I wonder if his family developed the line of paint? (Maybe an idea for a future historical story there …) I have no idea why this has stuck in my mind, but here is the website for anyone else who wants to learn about it!

Barbed Wire Museum

Novel on your Nightstand:
Who/what are you currently reading?
I'm almost finished with Jenny Wingfield's advance reader's copy of The Homecoming of Samuel Lake; it's one of the best books I've read in a long time!

Whom would you cast as your Hero & Heroine if your book became a movie?
Tijer Lily Company is a Native American arts and entertainment film company that deals with not only the cast calls and media, but with props as well. She has access to a list of Native actors and actresses who would be perfect for the movie version of my book.


 Click Image to purchase on Amazon
Also available from

About the Book
Welcome to the life of a young Cherokee girl named Rain, as she grows into maturity just as the Trail of Tears begins. Summer Rain: Getsikahvda Anitsalagi (The Removal of the People) is an unforgettable story that taps into a sad part of American history.

This journey begins in Georgia in a typical Cherokee village in the early 1800s, where a young girl and her best friend realize there are strangers poised to take their land and home away from the Cherokee and from neighboring tribes.

The girls witness the birth of the new written language of Tsalagi in the year 1821 and the printing press in the year 1827. The Cherokee Nation’s growth is also financial, and would mark the first newspaper to ever be printed and circulated by a Native American tribe.

Rain falls in love with a white boy and is forced to follow her heart and save her own life, or to remain loyal to her family, knowing that in doing so, she could lose not only her true love, but her very life as well.

The first 2 chapters of Summer Rain may be read on my website: Preface and First Two Chapters

To find out more about Robyn, her book and Cherokee Life

And don't forget to leave a comment (and you (at) email (dot) com) to say hi or ask a question so you can be entered to win a 
AUTOGRAPHED PRINT COPY
of
Summer Rain!
Comments must be posted before MIDNIGHT
Eastern Daylight Savings Time, Winner will be announced here
 and notified via email and then Robyn will be in touch as well
to get your contact info to send your book.