Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Day Books With Love Giveaway Hop!

Once Upon a Twilight
Welcome to my side of the net. This is my first Blog Hop where I’m hosting a give away and participating. I know that its Valentines Day and that it's full of love and warm fuzzies. But I believe that there are many different types of love. The love of a good book, food, that comfy sweater we all have, shoes and all that materialistic stuff we all have. I also think love sometimes gets sidelined with other feelings and emotions that make up how you feel but gets mistaken for something else. Today and threw out this Hop I want to talk or post about the love of a good character,  and one of my favorite new characters is Charley Davidson, from First Grave On the Right By Darynda Jones.
 
So give a warm welcome to Darynda and Charlie who were nice enough to stop in and leave a post.
 
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love and what better way to celebrate than to hear a love story? So I thought I’d tell you mine, just for fun. I’ve been with my husband for more than 25 years, a feat in itself by today’s standards, but I will never forget the moment I first saw him. And oddly enough, it was right around Valentine’s Day when I was ten years old. I’d just moved to the town I live in now and was running to the bus stop when I looked up and saw what I could only refer to as a god. He had long blonde hair, a slim, muscular build and a big black car that he’d been washing. When he noticed me watching him (I say watching because gawking sounds so bad), he gave me the most piercing glare I’d ever received from a boy. But he was nineteen. He hardly had time for 10-year-olds.
 
I think this is when my love of the dark, brooding hero emerged. Despite his light coloring, darkness enveloped him. He was a bad boy, the stuff of dreams and fantasies. And I fell so hard, I scraped my knees. Metaphorically.
Thankfully, I was too young to act on my raging hormones and he wasn’t a perv. But I never forgot him and eight years later, mere days after I turned eighteen in fact, I met him. He was still the bad boy, still the local rock star, and everything my mother had warned me about. But you know how in romance novels the heroine always tames the rake? Yeah, turns out I’m a lion tamer at heart. And here we are, twenty-seven years later, with two gorgeous sons who make girls’ hearts pitter-patter the same way their father did.
 
 
If you’re going to read my story, there’s something you should know. Despite what your mother told you, despite what your father promised, there are things that go bump in the night. And sometimes those things are dark and sultry and blisteringly hot. Doesn’t make them any less dangerous. And your best hope is just to stay as far away as possible.
But before I go any further, I should probably tell you how I know all of this. I’m the grim reaper. I mean, I’m not made of dust or skeletal remains or anything. I’m actually made of light and the departed can see me from anywhere in the world. They’re drawn to me like a moth to an inferno and can cross to the other side through my light. Of course, to the everyday person, I’m just your average surly girl with a PI license. I have to deal with ADD, the exorbitant cost of designer underwear, and the occasional mosquito bite just like the rest of humanity. But being the grim reaper has its perks. I can ask the departed who killed them, for one. Makes my job easy. Unfortunately, it has its drawbacks, too. For example, talking to the departed at the DMV is tricky. I’ve never really hated it, though. It’s not like I have a choice. I was born the collector of souls, the portal to the other side, and that’s okay. But in all the years that I’ve done what I do, I’ve never seen anything else like him. He who is made of shadows and fog and the most sensual mouth I’ve ever seen. You know those lopsided grins that make your chest tighten around your heart until you can hardly breathe? Yeah, that too. And everything was going great for a while. He’d materialize out of nowhere, give me a night of unmitigated bliss, then withdraw back into his own world. I never knew who he was, what he was. Until now. And now I’m just not sure what to do. To say that he was forged in the fires of sin would not be an overstatement. He is a being of such stunning beauty, he’s almost impossible to look at. Which would explain my attraction. But he is also powerful enough to bring about the apocalypse. I would probably be doing the world a favor if I killed him now. But there’s something about him. A vulnerability. A quiet desperation. He’s after something and he needs my help. So maybe I’ll help him. For now. But I swear, the minute he tries to destroy the world, he is so toast. Just sayin’.
 
Wish me luck,
Charley Davidson
Grim Reaper Extraordinaire ***
 
 
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper.  Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light."  But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice.  Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all.  In fact, he might be something else entirely.  But what does he want with Charley? And why can’t she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in? With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order. CONTACT INFO: www.darynda.com http://www.facebook.com/darynda.jones.official http://twitter.com/Darynda
 
GIVE AWAY INFO:
 
1 Winner a hand made book thong made by me
 signed hardcover  Of The First Grave On the Right By Darynda 
{please Note the winner will get two seprate mailings one from me one from Darynda}
 
 
RULES: Mandatory Entry: I want to hear about what Love really means to you  and if/if nnot you think valentines day is too comercialized .
 Answer Darynda's question of : About what inspired you as a  reader first love of books? or  love in general (no answers no entry)
You Must Be a Follower for your entry to count.( if you have a blog let me know I'll follow back)
 
 Leave a heart felt comment on one other post besides this post (saying Enter Me will not count as a heart felt comment)
 
Extra Entries
Follow Dyranda On Twitter : http://twitter.com/Darynda
 Follow Me On Twitter: www.twitter.com/Bainesgoddess
Check Out Tristan’s Blog Leave a comment on one of his Posts (leave a link to which post you commented about)
Tweet The contest and leave a link
Will Give 2 extra Entries for anyone who follows Tristan’s blog because they want to (don’t feel like you have to for the extra entries)
So that’s 6 possible extra Entries Please Leave a way to contact you Contest Ends 11:59 pm central time 2/16
 Please leave one seperate comment per entry ty
 Click here to find the list of participants for the books with love give away hop.

CONTEST NOW CLOSED

53 comments:

  1. Love means someone cares for me in all my light and dark aspects. VDay is too commercialized but folks have to make a buck.
    I was inspired as a reader by learning. Even in Fiction you can learn.
    Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust
    email: steph@fangswandsandfairydust.com
    Twitter: @fangswandsfairy

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  2. Love to me is having someone care for you for who you are and whats inside not just on the outside.
    Valentines day is far to commercialised but I love it all the same lol.
    I was inspired to read from a very young age when my dad use to read to me every night and I loved it! I also wanted to be taken to many fantastic worlds and meet amazing people.

    blog: http:/kelseyannesbookblog.blogspot.com
    email: kelseyanne90@hotmail.com

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  3. First off, this is way harder to put in words than it should be:) I've already written and started over quite a few times! ok so love defined by me- when i love someone i want to make them happy, want them to feel cherished, want them to know that no matter what i will always be there. i know someone loves me when they can accept me for who i am weird quirkiness and all. I definitely think that Valentine's Day has become way to commercialized. Love isn't about buying someone something on a designated day but by showing someone you love them everyday. I don't know exactly what inspired me to read I've just been reading(romance) for as long as I can remember. I use to get into trouble so I would be sent to my room so that I could read. My blog can be found at
    http://naughtyreads.blogspot.com

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  4. I follow you on twitter at @KelseysBookBlog

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  5. Ohh sorry I also follow dyranda on twitter at @KelseysBookBlog

    Kelsey x

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  6. It's me again haha can you tell I want to win this book =D

    I'm a follower of Tristans blog under Kelseyanne's book blog

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  7. Happy Valentines and Thanks for the Hop and the Giveaways. I am following you on GFC

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  8. To me love is so much more than just a word to say...it is how you show it to each other. Those that I truely love mean more to me than anything else in this world. They are my heart. They brighten my day when I am sad and cheer me up after a long stressful day! They are the ones I want to spend all my time with!

    My love of books developed as an adult when I stumbled upon paranormal romances...I have been hooked ever since!

    Thank you very much! mmafsmith@gmail.com

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  9. Follow Dyranda On Twitter - Maria_Smith_76

    Thanks! mmafsmith@gmail.com

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  10. Follow you On Twitter - Maria_Smith_76

    mmafsmith@gmail.com

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  11. Follow The Bite - Thank you!

    mmafsmith@gmail.com

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  12. Love is peace. It's going home after a long day and having a place to sink into. It's family.

    Valentine's Day is too commercialized, but it's fun.

    I began loving books as an oasis away from my family.

    Follower.

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  13. I'm happily married and a sucker for sappy love stories, but I do think that Valentine's Day is too commercialized. I could pick apart the practice of exchanging valentines in elementary school - because there is always a kid who doesn't get any, and it becomes some sort of social status thing as the kids go through school. Then there's the whole thing about how husbands are automatically the bad guy if they don't spend money on something extravagant and useless. Doesn't the rest of the year count for anything?
    Daynda's question: I'm not sure I understand the question, but I think it's asking me what made me first fall in love with books. That's easy. Books were always the quickest means of escape, as well as the best way to stimulate my imagination. Books are like the perfect best friend or lover, and they never fail to satisfy my cravings.

    GFC Follower

    hopester777 at gmail dot com

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  14. Love is being loyal and accepting each others faults and all.

    GFC follower

    jmesparza821@gmail.com

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  15. Love, for me, is about loving an imperfect person perfectly.
    I do believe that Valentine's Day is too commercialised, which is why I don't celebrate it.
    Answer to Darynda's questionm: It was my first reading of a Roald Dahl book that led to my love affair with books and reading.

    +1 Follow Darynda on Twitter: @SweetNSensible
    +1 Follow you on Twitter: @SweetNSensible
    +2 Follow Tristan's blog
    +1 Tweeted at: http://twitter.com/#!/SweetNSensible
    Total: 5

    sarah.setar@gmail.com

    (Sorry for not posting individually but my internet's incredibly slow and I can't be guaranteed to ever arrive back on this page after one post)

    Thanks:)

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  16. LOVE this blog!!! It's gorgeous!!! Thank you so much for having me!
    ~D~

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  17. To me love is being able to be yourself. You love eachother uncondtionally and you love everything about the other, even the imperfections.
    I do think Valentine's Day is too commercial but I still love it. Plus, it's the only time I can get my bf to buy me girly things like flowers and balloons.
    I have been reading books for as long as I can remember. If you ask my mom or grandmother I apparently made them read to me the same book everynight and eventually I would recite it with them. I was always with a book in hand. I love books.

    iqb99@yahoo.com
    blog follower

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  18. I follow Darynda on twitter- @iqb2001

    iqb99@yahoo.com

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  19. I think Valentine's is too commercial. Love to me is being commited and caring for someone else, sticking with it through the good and bad.

    GFC follower

    My love of reading comes from being read to as a child. Valentine's Day gifts at my house every year was a book from my mother and chocolate from my father.

    lillieblue613@gmail.com

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  20. Follow you on twitter.

    @lillieblue613

    lillieblue613@gmail.com

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  21. Follow Darynda on twitter.

    @lillieblue613

    lillieblue613@gmail.com

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  22. Follow Tristan's blog.

    lillieblue613@gmail.com

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  23. This is what love means to me:

    1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

    4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. —1 Cor. 13:1-7 NLT

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  24. I believe love is being there for someone no matter what. I believe love is falling in love with someone all over again every single day. I believe love is caring for someone more than you have ever cared about anything else. I believe love is when you look at that special someone and know that you couldn't live without them.
    I believe Valentine's Day is too commercialized. It shouldn't be about the cards, jewelry, flowers, chocolate, or stuffed animals. It should be about love and spending that day doing something special with your loved one.

    I was inspired to read when I was very young. When I was in Kindergarten, we started getting those book catalogs where you could order a bunch of books. I ordered SO many. Ever since then, I've loved reading.

    I'm a GFC follower, by the way.

    allieclark11@gmail.com

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  25. For me, love is always being there for each other. It's easy and wonderful during the good times, but when the times aren't so good...that's when you really have to work. The good times will be around again. I do feel Valentine's Day (and all the other holidays) are WAY to commercialized. We didn't spend any money on candy or gifts, and I had the most wonderful Valentine's day ever this year.
    For Darynda's question:
    My parents were both big readers - there were always books around. My mom and I shared books and always talked about them and new/favorite authors (just good memories now )
    I'm a GFC follower: Michele

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  26. I follow Darynda on Twitter
    @rlawrence110
    rlawrence110(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  27. I tweeted
    http://twitter.com/#!/rlawrence110/status/37733731485753344
    rlawrence110(at)yahoo.com

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  28. My Love of Reading Came From My Grandma and Was passed down to me Every once in a why there is a person in are family that lives for book and Right now thats me hoping to pass it one to my niece.
    sasluvbooks(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  29. I follow you Via GFC
    You no your Wrighting is hard to see.Maybe try for a briter red?
    Hay said I Was a Reader not a Spell.
    sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com

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  30. Love means never having to say you're sorry..lol j/k. It's hard to put into words. Love is something shown with actions. It makes you feel comforted and safe. Speaking in general, I think love is about being selfless. Putting the wellbeing of others you care for before yourself. In regards to a significant other, to me, when you love someone, you lose yourself completely in that person. It means you want to make yourself a better person, so that you're worthy of that love. It's about respect, and supporting each other; through your highs. Through your lows. And finding the beauty in a person's flaws.

    I'm not exactly sure what first inspired my love of reading. For as long as I can remember I have always loved to read. I don't have any specific memories of being read to as a child. I was read stories of course, by my parents, but not as a nightly routine or anything. I preferred to read on my own as soon as I learned to read. I can remember regularly saving my milk money for school. And then rushing over to the book mobile as soon as school let out. I couldn't wait to bring home a new book. It's always been a big, important part of my life. Maybe my overactive imagination has something to do with it.

    And, I do believe Valentine's Day has become too comercialized.

    couponcookie at gmail dot com

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  31. I follow Darynda on Twitter: Laylees

    couponcookie at gmail dot com

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  32. I follow you on Twitter: Laylees

    *I forgot to add above that I follow you on GFC: Dominique S

    couponcookie at gmail dot com

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  33. I'm following The Bite via GFC :) :Dominique S

    couponcookie at gmail dot com

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  34. I Tweeted, and I hope I did it right :\

    http://twitter.com/#!/laylees/status/37795302136225792

    couponcookie at gmail dot com

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  35. I have been married to my best friend for 18 years. At first there was the excitement and flutters, but now love is commitment, feeling comfortable and accepted in our relationship. Love is shared dreams, desires, and children.

    I don't remember why I love to read. I can't remember not reading. I prefer reading to watching tv.

    ke7yca at gmail dot com
    GFC follower

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  36. I follow Dyranda on twitter: @Bookworm_Lisa

    ke7yca at gmail dot com

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  37. I follow Baines goddess on twitter: @ Bookworm_Lisa

    Ke7yca at gmail dot com

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  38. Love to me is all the friends and family I have that have stuck through with me and never let go. The ones who always come back to you even though you haven't seen them or talked to them in a while. Also, love is the boyfriend who does anything and everything to make you happy! (:
    I fell in love with reading from a very young age. When I was probably about 3 or 4, my Mom introduced me to books and since then, I have never stopped reading!

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    I'm a GFC follower (tearyeyedstars)
    ejhtan at gmail dot com

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  39. Following @Darynda on twitter (@tearyeyedstars)
    ejhtan at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  40. Following @Bainesgoddess on twitter (@tearyeyedstars)
    ejhtan at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  41. tweeted:
    http://twitter.com/#!/tearyeyedstars/status/38080976001302528
    ejhtan at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  42. 1 Following Tristan’s blog via GFC (tearyeyedstars)
    ejhtan at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  43. 2 Following Tristan’s blog via GFC (tearyeyedstars)
    ejhtan at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  44. Love means taking care of each other, accepting the other person's flaws and sharing the good things and the bad things.

    My love of books started with Harry Potter and from there I began to read all types of books, especially ones that had fantasy elemnets on them.

    GFC follower
    Blog: http://fictionkingdom.blogspot.com/

    spav05(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  45. Follow Darynda on twitter: (@Sparima)

    spav05(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  46. Follow you on twitter: (@Sparima)

    spav05(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  47. Tweet: http://twitter.com/Sparima/status/38082283793682432

    spav05(at)gmail(dot)com

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  48. Love is about caring about someone else almost more than yourself. And being willing to do anything for another person.

    First it was love of books. Been reading forever.

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

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  49. Follow Darynda on twitter - @donnas1

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

    ReplyDelete
  50. Follow you on twitter - @donnas1

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

    ReplyDelete
  51. tweet - http://twitter.com/#!/DonnaS1/status/38086893539303424

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

    ReplyDelete