12 Days of Christmas Kick Off with Susan Case

12 Days of Christmas Extravaganza is being brought to you by Peggy at Pawing Through Books, Jennifer at Books and Barks, and myself. 
Each day for the next 12 days each of our blogs will feature a different author. There will be guest posts, interviews and giveaways! So be sure to stop at each blog to join in the fun!


A special thank you to all the authors who are participating and those who have donated prizes!


Merry Christmas!




CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN WITH BOOKS
Susan Case

I stole this idea and I don’t even know who to thank. Yes, being naughty at Christmas time is not a good idea. But someone, somewhere out there in cyberspace – perhaps living closer to the North Pole, found this idea on Pinterest, wrote about it, and I stole borrowed it. I confess: My name is Susan and I am a blogaholic. I have no idea where to look for it because I like to blog hop. Could be worse, right?

Going in my favor (Santa, are you reading this?) is that I love to read! So here is the “original” idea: Wrap up 25 children’s Christmas books and unwrap one a night and read it together as a family. Here’s my spin:  If you can’t find 25 Christmas books at the used books store or garage sales, especially with snow already blanketing some areas, then wrap up any children’s books – used, new, different genre; it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you are reading books with your children every night.

If you are really pressed for time, and can’t even fathom wrapping 25 more things, just put a Countdown Till Christmas stash of books in a basket and pat yourself on the back for teaching math: 25, 24, 23… Counting backwards helps children learn subtraction. If you’re out of bows, perhaps you could put Post-it-Notes with numbers on the books. I opted for not wrapping the books, but wrote numbers on the backs of the bows going 1 through 25. Children can put the bows in numerical order—backwards or forwards. Whatever works, as long as you’re reading.

You may be able to find children’s Christmas books greatly discounted just before and right after Christmas. Buy them and wrap them with the scraps of wrapping paper you’ve saved after opening your gifts and you’ll be ready for next year.

This looks so enticing! - Cristi

SNUGGLING, CUDDLING, AND READING PROMOTE:

• Bonding, security, consistency, stability, routine, self-esteem
• Literacy - a love of reading
• Helping children learn about their world through nature and science books
• The 3 Rs: Rhyming, Rhythm, and Repetition to enhance reading skills  

MY NEW YEAR’S CHALLENGE TO YOU

I have a simple challenge and it does not involve weighing yourself. Make a New Year’s Resolution to read at least one book a month—just for yourself. It is fun to blog hop, surf, tweet, text, stumble around upon, connect with Facebook, and join in the increasing number of cyberspace adventures (myself included), but please let your children see you enjoying good books. Something about anything can be learned from reading. But, of course, you wouldn’t be on this wonderful blog if you didn’t already love books. I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS as you COUNTDOWN TILL CHRISTMAS WITH BOOKS!

Susan is the author of Kindergarten: Tattle-Tales, Tools, Tactics, Triumphs and Tasty Treats for Teachers and Parents. You can visit her blog at Kindergarten for Teachers and Parents.

Kindergarten: Tattle-Tales, Tools, Tactics, Triumphs and Tasty Treats for Teachers and Parents is an awesome gift for Preschool, Kindergarten teachers and parents. I have purchased it to give as a thank you for one of Junior's DSP's. The woman who was working with us on his community living skills is also going to school to become a teacher. This book was a warmly received gift. I have a few others who work with us I plan to give this book to. 

When your thinking about something different to give to the teacher from your child please do consider this book. I have always given books to the teachers of my children and it was always appreciated. 

You can even win a copy of the book, if not for you, then to give as a gift to the teacher, parent or student  in your life! All you need to do is leave a comment telling us about a teacher you remember, (can be yours or one of your children's), and why. For me I remember all my teachers but a few teachers stand out. Ms Driscoll who taught me the hated subject of math for 6-8 grades. Oh what a time she had! Mrs Smith who taught me 4-5 grade and encouraged me in art, (even though I have ZERO talent). Mr Forrest who taught history 7-8 grades and brought the horror of the holocaust vividly to me. Mr McCormick who taught my honors history class in high school and never stopped believing in me and encouraging me. Finally Mrs Mohair who taught me 2nd grade and let me write out a play based on Little Red Riding Hood, then let me choose actors, encouraged me in directing the play and then let me not only entertain my classroom but also talked other teachers into letting me bring the play to their classrooms. It was an awesome experience! I thank all of these wonderful men and women who really did make a difference. 


Please be sure to leave a comment and include your email address so we can contact you if you win!


When you finished here please stop by and see Jenn at http://www.booksandbarks.com/and Peggy at http://www.pawingthroughbooks.com


And be sure to enter the Rafflecopter Form to be in the big Giveaway! ENTER HERE

Guest Post with Deborah McCarragher

Faith As A Mustard Seed

There will be times in your spiritually mismatched marriage when you’ll be challenged to look full face at your faith level.  Do you really think your husband will embrace Christianity and become a new creature in Christ?  Below is a wonderful example of “faith in action” in the Bible.

In New Testament biblical times, a centurion was the commander of one-hundred soldiers in the Roman army.  This particular centurion lived in Capernaum, a thriving town on the Sea of Galilee, and had been instrumental in building a synagogue for the Jews there.  Though he was a gentile, he had a great affinity for the people of Capernaum, and was a godly man, well respected by all.

Luke 7:2-10 tells us the story of the Roman centurion.  This centurion was endeared to his servant, who was sick with the palsy (paralysis).  The local physicians were unable to help him.  This particular servant was very valuable, which is perhaps why he was compelled to seek out the infamous “Great Physician” to heal him.  He even had the elders of the Jews intercede for his servant – recognizing that he was unworthy to approach Jesus with his request in person.

As Jesus neared the centurion’s household, his friends relayed his message to Him, saying, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

He showed the Lord great respect, recognizing His authority was from God. He assumed a position of humility as he voiced his concerns and request.  Haughtiness never earned favor with anyone.  He trusted the Lord to perform all that was necessary for his servant’s healing.  He recognized that Jesus, in His physical form, wasn’t needed to heal his beloved servant.

Verse 9 is the key verse in this story.  Jesus marveled at the centurion’s great faith!  He admonished the crowd as He said, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”  Lastly, we see the centurion’s servant healed, by the Word of the Lord, at the very hour it was proclaimed.

Below is an excerpt from MISSION POSSIBLE – Chapter 3 – Faith as a Mustard Seed.  

Jesus said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth; but  when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade” (Mark  4:30-32).    When we have faith so small it seems insignificant, God can grow it into something sturdy and supportive that even others can “nest in”.   In  Matthew 17:20  Jesus again said, “… for assuredly, I say to you, if you have  faith  as a  mustard seed , you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move;  andnothing will be impossible for you.”  All things are possible with God!

One of my daily devotionals, “Streams in the Desert” by L.B. Cowman, has an entry by an unknown author named   C.H.P.   He talks about a passage written by Paul in the book of Galatians: “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners … locked up until faith should be revealed”  (Gal. 3:23  NIV).   We are set aside  for a time to learn a more excellent way of faith. 

Moses, Joseph, Paul, Silas, and even John all learned about being “put aside” for a season to be locked-up to faith.   Commit your circumstances to God.  praise Him, and claim  Romans 8:28 that “He will  work all things to good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose.”  Isaiah  64:4  promises that God  “acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.”    Others will receive insight and blessings because you were “locked-up” to learn  the way of faith.

Deborah's book is: 

It can be purchased at http://www.alabasterboxpublishing.com/

Deborah's Links:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3116220.Deborah_L_McCarragher

http://www.facebook.com/GodMissionPossible 

http://twitter.com/#!/debitsdeb

Guest Post - Aaron L.

CAN THE WORST OF TIMES MAKE FOR THE BEST OF LINES?

I think I heard somewhere that "life is pain". I beg to differ. Life is the
ability to survive the pain.

When I began my journey into creating my novel, "Light Under the House" I
only had a germ of a plot and not much else. I was a college drop out at the
time and didn't have much going for me. I had also sown a lot of seeds into
endeavors that turned out to be useless. I had a mountain of wasted
opportunity and regrets piled up. I wasn't trained expert in any field. What
did I know? Then again, I did know a few things.  I knew about rejection. I
knew about the loss friendship. I knew about living with frustration, anger,
and fear. I knew those things. I knew I had a story to tell.

So I asked myself, what does it look like to overcome the wounds I've been
dealt? What does it look like to fail and come back again? What does faith
in action look like? As I started to ask myself these questions, the novel
grew and so did I.  In the process I learned some key things:

If you want to challenge the reader you have to challenge yourself. "Light
Under the House" is a novel about character. I knew I wanted to be better. A
better brother. Son. Friend. A better man. If I didn't find it challenging I
was certain no one else would.

Don't be afraid to be open and generous. I've learned not be afraid to talk
about issues through my story and its characters that are personal to me
and my struggles. Our scars are just proof that we're still alive, we can
show them.

Everyone has a strength, let yours shine. Don't get me wrong, it's not all
pain. I've lived a very blessed life. While it was true that I didn't have
any technical expertise, I did have life experience. By the time fifteen I
had lived in numerous places in the U.S. and abroad. I had been around the
world. I had diverse experiences to draw upon in dealing with people and
life. It also helped to hone a unique perspective. What are your strengths?

So can the worst of times make for the best of lines? I think it can. If
not, I'm sure I'll survive it.


Aaron is the author of:

Light Under The House by Aaron L.

Paperback, 362 pages

Kindle and EBook

Ravensbrook Press

Good Reads Summary:

"Sarai Ravensbrook has never known power. She has never been in control of anything in her world. She has lived in the shadow of her step father and uncle's abuses to both her mind and body. All she has ever wanted was to have what was hers, to control her own destiny. But when a beautiful and mysterious woman comes into her life, Sarai is guided down a strange path....a path that will lead her to a queen from the ancient past and to a destiny that is finally her own....or is it?" 

Sarai Ravensbrook, the sly John Quince, the wise Dr. Levi and Tanis. All are characters involved with the Levi family and the secret lying just beneath their house that could potentially ruin them. A secret that an ancient evil will stop at nothing to uncover. Light Under the House by Aaron L. and Donna Dawson, chronicles the lives of the Levi family for a generation, taking readers on an exciting and thought-provoking journey. 

This page-turning story is set in the late 1960s during a period of cultural rebellion, with a flashback to Biblical times, as well as a flash-forward to the 1980s and the present (2005). The events of this allegoric novel are interwoven within several themes that create cohesion for the story. Messages of courage, forgiveness, faith, the power of consequence, and the hope of redemption are all found within the pages of Light Under the House.

Light Under The House is currently a Good Reads Giveaway! To enter please go to http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/17519-light-under-the-house

Giveaway ends March 2,2012

Aaron is a Good Reads author: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4967287.Aaron_L_

Comments Always Welcome!

Waiting on Wednesday - Melanie Milburn

I am selecting a book that is already out but we are waiting for our review copy. We are very excited about it. It looks like it will be a fun book for us. I think it would be a great gift so I decided to show it to you now with gift giving holidays upon us.

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN CHOCOLATE by Melanie Milburn

ISBN: 978-1604587203

I Love You More Than Chocolate by Melanie Milburn uses the theme of chocolate to acquaint children with the meaning of love.

Milburn, a self-avowed chocoholic, has whipped up a book about a mom's love for her daughter and her love for chocolate that will melt readers' hearts. It's a rhyming book with beautiful illustrations on scrapbooking paper by Cindy Coleman.

A CD of Melanie singing I Love You More Than Chocolate is included in the book. This easy-to-memorize song is sweet and allows children to follow along with the text, giving them the impression that they are reading the book themselves. 

A nightly rhyming game after bedtime reading with her young daughter led Melanie to first produce the song. A year later she had the idea to make it into a fully illustrated children's book. Their "I Love You More" game had only two rules. It had to be something that rhymed and it had to be about something they both loved. One verse included in the book goes like this: 

I love you more than the color blue.

I love you more than a day at the zoo.

I love you more no matter what you do.

I love you more than chocolate!

Melanie has learned much about life and love from her many years working with preschoolers, where she is truly in her element. Kids gravitate toward her big heart, sense of fun, and her music. Many of her songs are inspired by her real life experiences with children in the classroom. No wonder her husband calls her a "kid magnet!"  She has been writing songs for over 20 years and has produced two CDs for children.

  

For more on Melanie Milburn, her book and music, please visit www.melaniemilburn.com.

Comments Always Welcome!            

Guest Post with Katharine A. Russell

Guest Post with Katharine A. Russell

a part of Pump Up Your Books Virtual Tours

Now I Get Why My Parents Seem, Well, So Weird...

When I started writing DEED SO, I didn't think of my book as historical fiction. I wanted to write a coming-of-age novel that touched on all the themes that were important to Boomers as they entered their teens. In psychological terms, we are who we were at about age fifteen, so my plan was to write a book that foreshadowed what the Boomers would become as they journeyed toward adulthood and were shaped by the tumultuous events of the Sixties. I set the story in what I call the last year of innocence, the year before President Kennedy was assassinated. In DEED SO, all the seeds are in place for the conflicts that blossomed in the later part of the decade. The readers knows this, but the characters in the book, of course, are clueless about the changes that are just over the horizon. And yet they sense the tremors.

In a few weeks 2012 will be upon us and the setting of DEED SO will be exactly fifty years in the past, the earliest threshold for a novel to be considered historical fiction under most circumstances. Although I did not start out with this as a goal, I believe I have created an authentic snapshot of the early Sixties -- the feel and the pace of the times, what was important to people, the language, occupations and hobbies, the constraints and the freedoms. At one point in the book, the main character, Haddie Bashford, has to wait through the night to learn the fate of a loved one. She had to wait until the news cycle caught up with events. Since she lived in a very small town, her problem was compounded. In those days, only big city news made the front page in a day. Now cell phones and the internet have destroyed the news cycle for the most part. People in remote rural areas can stream the image of a tornado to a news outlet in seconds. Technological change over the past fifty years has been an eye popper. So has social change. In the early Sixties, women chose among a limited number of career opportunities -- nursing, teaching and secretarial work. Now girls can aspire to be astronauts. African Americans had very limited opportunities not only in terms of careers, but schools, neighborhoods, restaurants and even seats on the bus. We have come a long, long way.

I was very pleased when one reviewer said I had helped her understand her mother. She felt she had a better feel for why her mom reacts in certain ways and why her priorities are the way they are. I hope DEED SO does this for lots of readers. To know what makes a Boomer tick, you need to see what happened to them in their teen years.

DEED SO actually unpacks two generations, the idealistic and materially favored Boomers and their parents, the Greatest Generation, who came of age during the Depression and were victorious in World War II. This generation wanted to build and preserve a safe and predictable world, so they could get back to the business of raising a family and enjoying a close knit community. They wanted to warm their hands around the hearth. The Boomers were bored with the hearth; they want to see the world, the bright lights and the big city. The GGs had seen the big city at 30,000 feet or in house-to-house firefights. They didn't think the city was all that alluring. When you think about it, these two generations were destined for conflict. If Vietnam hadn't come along to set the whole suspicion and mistrust thing in motion, somebody would have had to invent it.

In 1970, my father threatened to disown me for listening to an antiwar speaker at Northwestern University. I threatened back that he would never see his grandchildren. We made our peace long ago, but during the emotional days after Kent State, parents and their college age kids often found themselves on the opposing sides of issues. A quiet family dinner could go ballistic.

DEED SO is a complete story, with a beginning, middle and end, but it also is a stepping stone. Reading it is like watching a generation put a communal foot on the road to maturity. We know that road passed through some pretty treacherous territory, but a lot of good came out of the journey. For me, it is a bit like watching Harry Potter get his wand.

Katharine is the author of DEED SO - Smashwords Link.

It is 1962, and Agnes Hayden Bashford, Haddie, a brainy Southern teen from a tradition-bound family, dreams of breaking free from suffocating expectations placed on girls and from Wicomico Corners. She vows to escape to the exhilarating world beyond its narrow borders, like her handsome, older friend Gideon Albright who is going to Vietnam. A series of shocking incidents brings the outside world crashing down on her peaceful village, exposing long-buried family secrets and setting Haddie on a collision course with an unstable firebrand who will have to silence her to protect his identity. Haddie witnesses the fatal shooting of a black teen by a white down-on-his-luck farmer trying to protect his retarded son. The resulting murder trial attracts outside agitators and political aspirants, and pits townspeople against each other. Excited about being a witness in the trial, Haddie sees her moment of notoriety dissolve into frustration and discomfort and tragedy claim the people around her. The racially-charged case exposes civic fault lines and secrets within Haddie's own family, shattering her comfortable home life, and unleashes an arsonist who terrorizes the community by night. In Deed So, a young girl and an entire town lose their innocence in the last year of innocence, the year before the Kennedy assassination, the civil rights struggle, feminist activism and the Vietnam War changed America forever.

She is also the author of Buddy's Tail. I do not have a cover to share but I do have a book trailer. Very cute for children. It is sold through Smashwords - Buddy's Tail. 

Comments Always Welcome!

The Taste by Alan Orloff as Zak Allen

The Taste by Alan Orloff as Zak Allen

From Good Reads:

After his mother dies, Jake Wheeler returns to his birthplace of Dark Springs, West Virginia, seeking solace among his kin. But his family’s unique comfort food includes some ingredients Jake's not sure he can stomach.
They eat dead people.
Discovering that skeleton in the pantry and adjusting to a new diet turn out to be the least of Jake’s worries. Storm clouds have gathered over Dark Springs, threatening the family’s peaceful existence. Ax-wielding clan patriarch Dallas Pike and his band of renegade followers have decided upon a violent plan to increase the dwindling food supply. Why wait for your next meal to die naturally if you can hunt it down instead?
With the survival of the entire clan at stake, Jake wages war against madman Pike.
He also battles an even more terrifying opponent.
Himself.
After all, Jake has THE TASTE.

My Turn:

I must admit I was fascinated by this book, ( and a little sick). The characters were well written and despite my turning stomach I found myself caring about several of them. The story line absolutely held my interest. I would say this is an Indie book that lets you know just how good Indie Authors can be. It is a horror story that has family loyalty, family feud, love and suspense mixed in. It was a different read for me - most of the books I read lately where someone is eating someone deal with zombies - which made it refreshing. I really enjoyed this authors style of writing. I think you will too, if you are into horror stories. 

  

Currently there is a giveaway on Good Reads for Deadly Campaign. This giveaway ends January 8, 2012 and you can enter it here: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/15656-deadly-campaign

Alan has a website here: http://www.alanorloff.com

He is a Good Reads Author: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3314049.Alan_Orloff

He is on FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/alanorloff

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/alanorloff

Comments Always Welcome!

She Had No Choice by Debra Burroughs

She Had No Choice by Debra Burroughs

Lake House Books

*I was given a copy of this book for review. The opinions expressed are my true feelings. No compensation for this review was received. This review is part of Virtual Tours*

She Had No Choice was inspired by a true story. It starts out with the Ramirez family in Mexico during the time of the Spanish Influenza of 1918. When the flu takes the lives of half of the children, Emilio and Juanita Ramirez make the hard decision to leave everything behind and take their remaining children north to the United States. They hope to make a life there for their family. After 4 years of working in migrant fields, Juanita dies and Emilio makes the decision to send 12 year old Sofia to his sister to raise. It is his hope that she will be taken care of and given an education that will give her a future. Unfortunately, Emilio's sister is angry over not being given a choice in accepting Sofia and takes it out on her. She is given work in her aunt's hotel and home. There is no education and the only love she receives comes from her cousins. After her aunt dies things improve a bit for Sofia since her cousins are free to treat her as family. 

Sofia, still aching to be loved, meets and falls for a young man. He pressures her to have sex with him and when she finds herself pregnant, he dumps her. Her cousins help her as much as they can but an unmarried woman in a well to do family was an embarrassment. Sofia makes friends with Rosa and from her meets Carlos. He takes her and baby Eva to California for migrant work.He does not marry her but they live as man and wife. Carlos does not really love Eva and reminds Sofia that Eva is a bastard. When Sofia tells Carlos she is pregnant, he tells her it better be a boy. It is and Sofia stays with Carlos. Soon after they have twin boys and then a daughter. Carlos drinks and has a temper while he is drunk.  At one point Carlos gives away one of the twin boys. When Sofia finds he is being abused she brings him back home. Other times he is physically abusive. Eva spends her first years wondering why her dad does not love her until Sofia tells her that Carlos is not her father.  Then Eva tries to stay out of his way. Eventually after one of the beating s to Sofia, Carlos "makes up to her" by marrying her. Not the best decision Sofia could have made but then you have to remember this was back in the 1930's when choices for women were limited. We move on to the 1940's and read of the family's hardships with the war and being poor. It was heartening to read that the children were permitted to stay in school. Being a migrant family often meant that children were needed in the fields as they grew up. When Carlos decides that it is time for Eva to join the work she devises a way to stay in school. During the 1950's Eva had left home and Sofia was still with Carlos and their nine children. Eva is living with a nurse and is being given the opportunity to change the course of not only her life but also her mother's. Will she take it? Will she succeed where her mother failed? Or will she, as so many children from DV homes do, follow in the footsteps of her mother?

 For me this book was slow going because of the narrative style. It is  third-person style which I find, at times, to be difficult for me. I find it hard to form a relationship with the characters when a story is told in this style. However it is a compelling look at everyday life in a alcohol related domestic violence home. It is a poignant reminder of how sad and painful that life is for all. Sofia and Eva's hopes for the future and their tenacity at reaching that brighter future brings to mind the resilience of families caught in this nightmare. I found this to be a very interesting story and would like to read what happened after this book ends. 

  

Debra Burroughs is a Good Reads Author: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4586634.Debra_Burroughs

Comments Always Welcome!