Saturday, November 24, 2012

BBB Thanks for Great Books Blog Hop


Welcome to the Beach Book Blast Thanks for Great Books blog hop happening November 25-26th. So glad you stopped by to chat about the thing that ties us all together—good books, fabulous authors, and amazing characters. Please feel free to share your favorites down in the comments section. To show you how much I appreciate you sharing your precious time with me, I’m giving away a signed copy of each of my first three books to random commentors. Yes, that’s a signed paperback copy of Heaven is for Heroes, On Thin Ice, and Savage Cinderella to three people who leave a comment with a valid e-mail address below. No worries, your e-mail address will not be used for any future promotions.

If you want to stay in touch and get all the updated info about upcoming releases, contests, and appearances, you can sign up for my newsletter here, or stop by the calendar page of my website. I also post my activities monthly, here at my blogspot. I’d love it if you followed me by clicking on the "join this site" button to the right. You can also find me on Facebook or Twitter.


When you’re all done here, be sure to hop on over to the other WG2E Street team member’s sites and check out their new releases and see what they have for prizes. For your convenience, I've listed them below. The grand prize is a $25 and a $10 gift certificate to Olive Garden. You can enter to win on our BBB main page by filling out the Rafflecopter in the right hand sidebar. The more you help us spread the word about our books, the more chances you have to win. So now, onto the reason we're all here. The theme for this blog hop is giving thanks for great books, authors, or characters who have inspired us to write.


I have tons of authors I love, but if I had to narrow it down to just one, I’d have to say that Diana Gabaldon is one of those authors whose work I find enthralling. Her Outlander series is amazing. The seven or eight brick-sized books about a time traveling nurse from 1945 England who gets thrown back to 1700’s Scotland and falls in love with a red-headed highlander named Jamie Fraser has to be the best series I’ve ever read. Gabaldon’s prose are poetic perfection and the dynamic love story between Claire and Jamie has captivated the hearts of millions of readers over the past twenty years. There is action, intrigue, a complexly woven cast of interesting and well developed characters, and an epic journey through time that leaves me breathless after each book.

My only complaint is that it takes Ms. Gabaldon three years to write her masterpieces. But then again, I’m willing to wait since she gets the research just right and I’m never disappointed in which direction the characters take me. I also have to say that as far as inspirational characters, Jamie Fraser is the BEST hero ever! He is as “stubborn as a rock” but willing to fight for what’s right at all cost. We love his sensitivity, his intelligence, his wisdom, and most of all his devotion to the equally stubborn and brilliant Claire. The dialogue in these books is real and heartwarming and the love scenes are the most organic and naturally steamy scenes I’ve ever read. I hope you’ll give this incredible series a try if you haven’t read it already.

Okay, readers, who/what is your favorite author, character or book?

After you leave a comment, stop by these other sites and see what great books have influenced these other wonderful authors. You'll find some fun prizes along the way!

Fabio Bueno @ http://www.fabiobueno.com
Debra Burroughs @ http://www.DebraBurroughsBooks.com
L.C. Giroux @ http://www.lcgiroux.com/thoughts
Stacy Green @ http://stacygreenauthor.com/
Stacey Joy Netzel @ http://staceyjoynetzel.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanks-for-great-books-blog-hopfall.html
Janice Lane Palko @ http://www.thewritinglane.blogspot.com
Lily Silver @ http://romancinghistorylove.blogspot.com/
Tamara Ward @ http://www.authortamaraward.blogspot.com/

18 comments:

  1. I like Pride and prejudice. Thanks for the giveaway.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  2. You can't go wrong with Jane Austen! Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. I'm a Gabaldon junkie. No hero will ever beat Jamie in my mind.
    Starz is turning the first book into a movie, but I fear what Hollywood will do with my icon. Jane Austen is second.

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  4. I hear you, Sandy! Some characters are better left to the imagination. Jamie Fraser transcends the Hollywood stereotype of a hero. I hope they do him justice:-)Thanks for dropping by!

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  5. I really don't know that I could pick just one:) I enjoy some many different authors and books, I DeeDee Scott's work, Alexa Grace, Stacey Joy Netzel, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Marx and that is just to name a few:) I have throughly enjoyed the characters for different reasons in numerous books I have read:) Happy Holidays!
    allysonbrann06 at yahoo dot com

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  6. I know, Allyson! so many great books, characters and authors. It's hard to imagine narrowing it down to just a few. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your top picks!

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  7. Michelle Sagara and her Chronicles of Elantra is one of my favorite series!

    Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
    elizabeth @ bookattict . com
    GFC: BookAttict

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  8. I've never read anything of hers. Thanks for the recommendation, Elizabeth!

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  9. Hi PJ! Diana is a great author - I can see why she'd be an inspiration to you. And what an awesome prize - 3 signed paperbacks.
    Stacy
    Stacygreenauthor@gmail.com

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  10. Thanks, Stacy! As great of an author as she is, she's also a lovely woman. I met her at last year's RWA National Convention and she was really sweet.

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  11. I have to admit, and I know I'm in the minority, but I read the first half of the first book of the Outlander series, and I had no desire to finish it, or continue the series.

    However, having read a number of your books now, I can honestly say that you're up at the top of my favorite authors. I am not brown-nosing when I say that I loved Savage Cinderella and Waning Moon. I can't wait for the next in the Lily Carmichael series!! Get writing, woman!

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    1. WOW, Stacey, thank you so much! I'm glad you liked my books and I'm diligently plowing my way through Book Two in the trilogy. As for the Outlander series, i love epic dramas with adventure and romance, but I remember how hard it was to get through the first hundred pages of the book. There was tons of back story and lead up, but once Claire fell through the standing stones, the story really took off.

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  12. I can't pick just one, since I enjoy so many different authors and their stories. I started to read the Outlander series, but never got a chance to finish the series. I've been thinking about starting it over, but my TBR list is already huge.
    beckyqward@gmail.com

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    1. I hear you on the ginormous TBR pile, Becky. So many great books, so little time:-) Thanks for stopping by and sharing.

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  13. I love Diana. My complaint about the series is that the books take so long to come out, I forget what has already happened.

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  14. I have that trouble too, Janice. It's good that I own the series, so I can go back and do a skim to give myself a refresher before I dive into the new one. I also listen to Outlander on audio in the car. I love Divina Porter's narration. She does an amazing job with all of the voices.

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  15. Thank you all so much for participating in the WG2E New Fall Releases and Thanks for Great Books Blog Hop! It's been nice sharing our inspiration with you and I hope you all had fun. Prize winners were randomly chosen this morning and the winners of the signed copies of my books are Allyson Brann, Book Attict, and Becky Ward! Congratulations! You'll be contacted privately for mailing information.

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