Cozy Christmas Giveaway!

With Christmas just around the corner, we want to send some holiday cheer to you and yours! Wintry nights like this are perfect for curling up with a blanket, something hot and sweet, (preferably in a Christmas mug!) and a good story.  

So we'll be giving away just that -- a pound of Dunkin Donuts coffee, a cute vintage typewriter mug, and a novel -- to four winners who enter the Cozy Christmas Giveaway!

We know you're busy decking the halls and roasting chestnuts, so we're keeping it simple. The giveaway will be open for one week, from today until January 1st, and to enter just comment below and tell us how you and/or your family celebrate Christ for Christmas, and don't forget to include your email address.  And for a bonus entry, just click the "follow" button on the left sidebar to follow our blog! We will randomly choose four winners and post the results on Jan. 2, 2011.

Have a Merry Christmas, and may you experience the rich love of Emmanuel -- God With Us -- this season!

Enter to win one of these novels:

Gun Lake is a thriller by Travis Thrasher, in which the lives of five escaped convicts become interwoven in this suspenseful tale

Pearl in the Sand is a narrative retelling of the biblical story of Rahab by Tessa Afshar

The Last Woman Standing is Tia McCollors' story of two women and one man who learn about reconciliation, second chances, and God's hand in our relationships

Raising Rain by Debbie Fuller Thomas tells the story of '70s child, Rain Rasmussen,who realizes her own self-sufficiency has severed her relationships and hope for a family

Coming in February!

Tia McCollors introduces her new novel in February, the long-awaited sequel to The Last Woman Standing, in which Shelia Rushmore plays a role. But Steppin' Into the Good Life shifts the spotlight to Sheila as the main character, as she deals with the loss of everything she once thought she wanted.

Shelia Rushmore thought she'd be the last woman standing when it was time to fight for her man. Instead Ace, her boyfriend of two years, chose to reunite with his ex-wife, leaving Shelia emotionally devastated. It's a year later when Sheila is convinced that sneaking into their wedding ceremony will put closure on the gaping hole in her heart. But it's on the back pew of the church where a new relationship begins for Shelia. She can't explain the touch she received from God on that day, but she's determined to be a better woman-a woman of faith. Since high school, Shelia has been chasing her definition of the good life - it's left her with no home, no man, and no money. But now that's she's living life for God, things should get better, right? Shelia learns that living a faith-filled life isn't always easy.

With faith, tough love, and some tough decisions, Shelia realizes that the life she'd been praying for she could have for herself is actually attainable. Being wrapped in God's arms, she decided, was by far the safest place she'd ever been.

Sneak Peek: "Even from the back pew I could sense Ace's love washing over Lynette.  He had never looked at me that way.  The tears fell faster when I wondered if anyone would ever love me that unconditionally..."

TIA MCCOLLORS is a national bestselling author who secured her spot in the publishing industry with the release of her debut novel, Zora’s Cry. She received her B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina. After ten years as a public relations professional, Tia emerged as an inspirational speaker and author of faith-based novels. Her other titles include The Truth About Love and A Heart of Devotion. Tia lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area with her husband and two children. For more information, visit her online at http://www.tiamccollors.com/.

Happy Friday!

Congratulations to Jessica, who won our Christmas giveaway contest this week and will be receiving her free copy of Putting God Back in the Holidays by Bill and Penny Thrasher. And thank you all for sharing your Christmas reading traditions!

If you're feeling brave, try your hand at Penguin Books' Christmas Classics quiz here, and maybe get inspired to cozy up with a holiday read and some peppermint tea!

We'll be hosting more giveaways as we approach Christmas, so keep checking back! In the meantime, The Blog Guidebook is giving away a beautiful free calendar just in time for the New Year. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Christmas Giveaway!

Christmas, in my family, has always been the time of year we read aloud the most.  "Twas the Night Before Christmas..." was (and still is!) traditionally read by my grandfather on Christmas Eve, and we even have a few family favorites that I can recite entire passages from memory!

This week we are giving away a copy of Putting God Back in the Holidays by Bill and Penny Thrasher to one winner who knows their Christmas literature! 

So here's the deal.  Below I have listed 5 opening lines of Christmas stories, and the first person to match the most correct titles with the opening line wins! To enter the contest, comment below with 1) your email address 2) your answers and 3) any Christmas reading traditions your family might have or had growing up.  The contest will close on Friday morning, and I will email the winner directly and post the results here.  Good luck!!
 
1) "The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world."

2) “'Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,' [she] grumbled, lying on the rug."

3) "One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all."

4) "The gate was packed with weary travelers, most of them standing and huddled along the walls because the meager allotment of plastic chairs had long since been taken." 

5) "Marley was dead, to begin with."

ABOUT THE BOOK 
Instead of the joy-filled celebrations that we build up in our minds, the holidays (pick one, any one) can often become stress-filled, money-draining, joy-less days of the year that we just "want to get through." And it is by our own volition that we have refused too many times to allow our holiday celebrations to be the spiritual experience they are meant to be.

This book has been conceived and designed over 30 years as Dr. Bill Thrasher has spoken to thousands of people, helping them realize the spiritual battle that surrounds their celebration of the holidays. Littered with practical thoughts, ideas, experiences, and stories, Putting God Back in the Holidays will help you and your family celebrate holidays and birthdays with biblical truth in mind.

140 Character Narratives

I am one of those people that has begrudgingly accepted new forms of literature in technology, despite the fact that I belong to digitally literate "Generation Y".  I've resisted and gradually come to peace with the e-book, online newspapers, and Twitter. 

Twitter originally bothered me as a "short-cut" to both creativity and communication, I thought it used words in a utilitarian way more than a literary way.  But since I've learned that Twitter is what you make it: it can either be idle noise, or it can be an exercise of condensed creativity.  It can be either frivolous or meaningful, and you as the writer decide.

One of my favorite projects on Twitter is Creative Nonfiction's "Tiny Truths" contest; a daily competition that challengers tweeters to tell a story in 140 characters of less. Like a Haiku, it displays the twin talent of being both succint and significant. Read the best of Tiny Truths here and tell me what you think!

Here's a teaser!