BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts

Friday, December 5, 2014

SPOTLIGHT & EXCERPT: A Bluestocking's Christmas & Other Historical Romances by Lindsay Downs


Historical romances aren't my usual read but I know some of you are fans and the author of the books I'm spotlighting today is using some of his book proceeds to help a couple of authors who are battling cancer. Since fighting cancer is something I'm always help to with, I offered to host him and his books on the Nook. I met Lindsay through Astraea Press when I was an editor there and worked on one of his contemporary novels, "Emily Dahill CID Part Two".

Two AP authors are dealing with cancer currently. To assist them and their families during this difficult time Lindsay will give one of them the royalties for November from the sale of his Christmas regency, "A Bluestocking’s Christmas". The other will be given the royalties from his three self-published books; "The Masked Lady and The Murder", "The Guilty Countess" and "The Earl’s Spitfire".  He will be giving them the money, not donating it to a fund they might have set up.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Interview with Author Kelley Armstrong & A Giveaway

I'm ecstatic to have one of my fave authors here today, Kelley Armstrong. I love Kelley's urban fantasy and her mysteries. Last year she started a new young adult epic fantasy series, Age of Legends. The second book, "Empire of Night" is due to release this April. In the meantime, she has a new short story from that world, "The Kitsune's Nine Tails", as part of an anthology, "Fantasy For Good: A Charitable Anthology" releasing next week on the 9th.

All of the proceeds from the sale of "Fantasy For Good: A Charitable Anthology" go directly to The Colon Cancer Alliance, a charity dedicated to the prevention of this deadly disease, as well as funding research and supporting patients who suffer from it. As someone who has cancer running in her family and only a few of them survivors, I like to support projects benefittng cancer research and patient support whenever i can.

Kelley graciously agreed to do an interview and she's giving away a copy of the first book in the Age of Legends series, "Sea of Shadows" (I love the US cover of this book, gorgeous!)

Monday, September 29, 2014

Read Pink 2014 with Penguin Random House


As some of you know, my mother died of breast cancer, and a maternal cousin and my stepmother are breast cancer survivors. So while I avoid, when I can, books with cancer as part of the story, I am all for sharing and promoting both awareness and research. Therefore I'm sharing this news release with you today, with some tweaks by me.

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by Penguin Random House called Read Pink® in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October)!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

SPOTLIGHT: Seduced by the Game, a charity hockey romance anthology


 
As you know, I'm always happy to participate in tours and blitzes for charities. Today's book is in support of Hockey Fights Cancer; cancer runs in my family so fighting it matters to me.  

Hockey Fights Cancer is an official initiative of the US National Hockey League. Established in 1988, they have formed partnerships with different charities and you can also purchase merchandise from the NHL whose proceeds benefit the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Click here for details and more information on Hockey Fights Cancer. Read below for more information about the book.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Excerpt from Unbridled by Lauren Grimley & A Giveaway


Today's excerpt is one that is important to me. The proceeds for the the book it's from, "Unbridled" by Lauren Grimley, will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and V-Day. The author, Lauren, will be splitting the proceeds from her new paranormal romance short story collection from the Alex Crocker series, "Unbridled", between these two terrific women’s charities and hopefully inspiring readers to make individual donations, as well.

My mother died, after a two -year battle, of breast cancer when I was eighteen, and one maternal cousin and my stepmother are breast cancer survivors. So breast cancer is very personal to me. I knew, as soon as I received Lauren's email back in August, that I had to participate in this event.

A little info about Lauren ~


Lauren Grimley lives in central Massachusetts (*waves* Hi neighbor! ~ Bea) where she grew up, but her heart is on the beaches of Cape Cod where she spends as much of her time as possible. After graduating from Boston University she became a middle school English teacher. She now balances writing, reading, and correcting, all with a cat on her lap and a glass of red wine close by.

Unforeseen, the first novel in the Alex Crocker Seer series, was Lauren’s debut novel. She was thrilled this spring to continue the series with Unveiled and now Unbridled. To learn more about her or her writing or to connect with her online visit her website at www.laurengrimley.com

Twitter @legrimley: https://twitter.com/legrimley

Monday, October 1, 2012

Read Pink this October

Penguin Group USA is once again supporting research about breast cancer. For the third year in a row, they are running a program called Read Pink. Penguin will make a donation of $25,000 (US $) to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF).

Additionally, Penguin will offer an assortment of 8 bestselling mass market titles and 6 trade titles by some of their most beloved female authors in a special Read Pink edition. The participating authors are: Jayne Ann Krentz, Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Jodi Thomas, Carly Phillips, Madeline Hunter, JoAnn Ross, Jillian Hunter, Karen White, Natasha Solomons, Eleanor Brown, Wendy Wax, and Kathryn Stockett. These special editions feature Read Pink seals on the cover and additional information in the back of the book underlining Penguin's support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation's mission and urging readers to become actively involved in supporting the organization.
For more information about the program, go here. The money is donated regardless of book sales. The books are a tool to help bring attention to breast cancer and to spread some information. These are the books that are part of the campaign:

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Giveaway of "Accidentally Married to...a Vampire" by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff


Mimi Jean Pamfiloff's ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO...A VAMPIRE, Book 2 in her popular "Accidentally Yours Series", recently hit #34 on the NYTimes Best Seller List (Fiction eBooks)!! "VAMPIRE" has also earned a well-deserved spot on both the Amazon and USA Today Top/Best Seller lists! To celebrate, Mimi Jean is giving away an eBook copy of not only ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO...A VAMPIRE, but ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE WITH...A GOD, Book 1 in the "Accidentally Yours Series", as well, to 20--yes, you read that right, 20--lucky winners!



Accidentally in Love With...a God?

(Book 1, Accidentally Yours)

Contemporary Paranormal Romance by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff



"4.5 out of 5 Stars for Accidentally in Love With...a God? (Amazon)!"



Blurb:

Twenty-two-year-old Emma Keane has a secret friend. He’s powerful, mysterious, and devastatingly handsome. In her dreams, anyway.



In real life, he’s an enigma. Maybe just a teensie jealous. Definitely overbearing. He’s also a voice only she can hear.



So who or what is he? He won’t say. But if she wants to be free, to be normal, Emma will have to trek to the jungles once ruled by the Mayans and find the forgotten ruin holding the answers.



However, the ruthless deity she’s about to unknowingly unleash on the modern world might not be so easily extracted from her life. Bottom line, he’s got enemies, and now, so does she.



Excerpt:

With his golden face beaming, the man smiled as he stroked my sopping wet hair and cradled me against his warm, smooth chest. “I love this dream,” I said with a breathy voice, then stretched my arms above my head, gazing happily into the most striking set of luminescent, turquoise green eyes I’d ever seen.



To boot, they belonged to a breathtaking, masculine face, a face one would expect to see on the cover of a magazine named something like, I’m Way Too Hot to Be Your Man, or In Your Dreams, Honey.



Oh, yeah. Without a doubt, I’d topped myself this time. Sculpted cheekbones, thick dark lashes, chiseled jaw, and lips so full they simply had to be meant for kissing or eating something really juicy. He was way hotter than the specimen of perfection from my last dream, and bonus, he didn’t have that scary vibe. I reached up and ran my fingertip along the ridge of his hard-lined warrior nose.



“Emma, what in the name of the gods’ creation are you doing?” he scorned. “We really don’t have time for your immature little fantasies. We’re in the middle of a crisis. Do you not remember?”



I blinked and slowly moved my eyes from side to side.



Jungle? I was in the jungle. And my clothes were wet. Come to think of it, for a dream, I didn’t feel so hot. My lungs burned, my body felt like it’d been chewed up, and my head was throbbing. So, aside from the perfect man with long, damp, wavy black hair holding me in his arms, none of this felt like a dream. It felt…



“Holy Mother!” I pushed myself away and rolled into the dirt, pointing in disbelief. “Wha—you—you—?”



“Aaah. So eloquent as always, my sweet. It is astounding; you actually have a college degree, yet cannot find better words.” He pushed himself up off the ground.



As he rose, my heart stopped, started, then went into overdrive. His legs and spine straightened into a towering mass of unforgiving muscles. With shoulders like a lumberjack and thick, powerful thighs, I didn’t know if I wanted to run away or climb him like a tree. He was utterly enormous. Jolly Green Giant enormous. Except, obviously, not green. More golden brown. He was a gorgeous, towering mass of golden brown perfection.



No. Definitely not a cave-dwelling, wart-infested troll. Great. Just great. Now I knew I wasn’t crazy—Guy was definitely real—but now I also knew I was way over my head. He was gorgeous.



I stood in awe, my mouth gaping as my eyes attempted to register every rope of muscle, every capacious curve packed with power. Christ, he had to be at least seven feet tall.



“Six nine, actually,” he said, guessing my thoughts.



“This can’t be possible,” I whispered, my eyes continuing to dart up and down the length of his body, stopping right on dark trail of hair that started just below his navel and continued down, down, down to his enormous beast of a—“Oh! You’re naked.” I turned sharply, but only to stop myself from reaching out to touch it; no man could be that…that…endowed. Wow. “This can’t be happening.” I covered my face.



“Emma,” he moved behind me, placing his powerful hands on my shoulders. A jolt shivered its way through my body.



I was wrong about the vibe. Way wrong. This man, or whatever he was, radiated hazard. He should come equipped with a set of blinking lights or flares. He was…“Bad. Very, very, bad,” I mumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose.



And pathetically, after everything that had happened, all I could think about was this naked, hard-bodied, glorious “man” who’d just permanently seared his image inside the storage compartments of my female DNA. All men from this day forward would have to survive a mental side-by-side comparison against him. They’d all lose.



Available for ONLY $0.99 at:

Amazon | B&N | Smashwords





Accidentally Married to...a Vampire?

(Book 2, Accidentally Yours)

Contemporary Paranormal Romance by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff



"4.5 out of 5 Stars for Accidentally Married to...a Vampire? (Amazon)!"



Blurb:

“If you love her, set her free. If she comes back, she’s yours. If she doesn’t...Christ! Stubborn woman! Hunt her down, and bring her the hell back; she’s still yours according to vampire law.”--Niccolo DiConti, General of the Vampire Queen’s Army.



The Determined Vampire:

Niccolo DiConti has faithfully served as leader of Her Majesty’s army for over a millennium, but he’d rather sunbathe in the Sahara than spend another grueling day under his demented queen’s command. However, no one has ever left her side and lived to tell. So when a powerful goddess prophesizes he will meet his salvation—a human woman he must turn into a vampire with her consent—he eagerly rises to the challenge. After all, how hard could it be to seduce a human female into taking the immortal plunge? Harder than he thinks. Because his mate won’t be born for another three centuries, and when he wakes up in the goddess’ tomb, not only is his life a mess, but his destined female isn’t about to settle for a coldhearted vampire. Can he win her over before it’s too late? Not if his enemies have anything to do with it.



An Unwilling Bride:

On the night Helena Strauss meets the fierce, devastatingly handsome vampire who saves her life in the jungles of Mexico, she knows her world will be forever changed. Because an attraction this mind blowing only comes along once in a lifetime—or existence. And when he claims she is his one true mate, destined to be his for all eternity, it’s a fairytale come true. So what if her knight in shining armor is a vampire? Nobody’s perfect. But discovering the powerful, overbearing immortal doesn’t “do love”? Deal breaker. Helena will flee and set out to accomplish the impossible…sever the otherworldly bond between them. And it turns out, Helena is just the leverage Niccolo’s enemies need to break the mighty warrior and wipe out his people.



Excerpt:

What the hell is this place?



Then Helena’s eyes focused on something else she couldn’t quite grasp. In the middle of the room, lying across a stone altar, was a naked man with dark symbols tattooed down the length of one arm. But he was not just any man. He was a male so perfect that words would catfight each other just for the honor of describing him. He was a god. A bona fide deity. He had to be. Because a normal man wouldn’t give her the urge to fall to her knees and worship at his feet. Or drool.



The torchlight licked his sculpted cheekbones, angular jaw, and full, sensual lips. Every capacious curve and ripple of hard muscle looked to be packed with raw power, and his size left no doubt that he’d been built in another time. A time when giant warriors roamed the earth, looking to rescue lame tourists wandering the Mexican jungle at night.



In my dreams. Wait...this is a dream! It has to be.



“Move closer my sweet, delicious woman.” The deep voice radiated from every direction, filling the room.



Helena’s blood pressure crashed to the floor. She gasped as the weight of her body slammed back against the cold chamber wall to keep from falling.



“Hel-hello? Can you hear me?” Fists clenched, Helena waited for a response, her eyes continuing to soak him in. Every inch of him.



Was he real? No, he must be a statue. Too perfect. His full lips were built to nuzzle a woman’s neck. Specifically, her neck. And that hair—thick, long waves of black satin—was the kind a woman could grab fistfuls of while being driven insane by those lips.



Then there were the diamond-cut grooves of his abs, his perfectly shaped navel, the fine dark hair adorning his lower belly that trailed down to his awe-inspiring man-gear. The size and thickness, even in its slumbering state, was something women dreamed of and scores of artists throughout history attempted to immortalize in marble. He was every woman’s fantasy, she thought. And by every woman, she meant hers…’Cause I’m not gonna share.



“Kiss me, Helena,” the seductive voice rumbled.



Had the man said her name? No. Clearly, his lips hadn’t moved. The margarita amoebas were attacking her brain and she was losing her mind.



“Kiss me, woman. I command you,” the voice echoed, this time compelling her to obey.



Helena’s survival instincts gave her a hard kick, jarring her back into the horrific reality of the situation. But as she tried to regain control of her body, her tongue slipped from her mouth and wet her lips.



Traitorous tongue. Backstabbing lips. What the hell are you doing? Her body inched closer.



“Sì, that is it, my love. I can smell your blood.”



Blood? What the...? Every nerve in her body fired on all cylinders, but she couldn’t run even if her hair had been on fire. It seemed the harder she fought, the stronger the force controlling her became.



“Brush it against my lips, my love. I want to taste you when you kiss me.”



Without realizing it, her hand stretched down to coat her fingertips with the thick, nearly dried blood from her knee. Trembling, she smeared it over his lips.



“Now, kiss me, my love. Awaken me, my bride.”



“No! No! Let me go!” Helena struggled, but her body’s betrayal persisted. Her head dipped, and her lips rested on his sensuous mouth. In that instant, the compelling force dissipated and her entire body lit up into one glorious pyre of life.



Had she been asleep the last twenty-four years? Because she could swear she’d just taken her first breath. Ever.



Holy hell, what was that?



The torches flickered, and the wind kicked up around her.



The altar was empty.



She crumbled to the cold, dusty floor. A pair of strong hands gripped her shoulders from behind.



“Oh, Christ. You...you’re behind me, aren’t you?” she whispered.



The deep dark voice replied, “Sì, my love. Stand, and let me see my mate.”



Helena slowly rose to face the naked god behind her.



Available for ONLY $0.99 at:

Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

One hundred percent (100%) of all royalties received from the sale of Accidentally Married to a...Vampire from both B&N and Amazon THIS SUNDAY will be donated to The Breast Cancer Foundation.







COMING IN SEPT 2012!

Sun God Seeks... Surrogate?

(Book 3, Accidentally Yours)

Contemporary Paranormal Romance by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff



Blurb:

Twenty-four-year-old Penelope finds herself in all sorts of hot water, vaporous and otherwise, after agreeing to become a surrogate mother for an eccentric, wealthy, and devastatingly handsome man who isn’t exactly a man.






About the Author:

Before taking up a permanent residence in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mimi spent time living near NYC (became a shopaholic), in Mexico City (developed a taste for very spicy food), and Arizona (now hates jumping chollas, but pines for sherbet sunsets). Her love of pre-Hispanic culture, big cities, and romance inspires her to write when she’s not busy with kids, work, and life…or getting sucked into a juicy novel.



She hopes that someday, leather pants for men will make a big comeback and that her writing might make you laugh when you need it most.



Website: http://www.mimijean.net

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mimi-jean-pamfiloff/id498303364?mt=11

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/MimiJeanRomance

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mimi-Jean/218935048190356

Email: mimi@mimijean.net



Tuesday, October 11, 2011

READ PINK Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign

As I said in my "Red's Wolf" giveaway post back in September, my mother died of breast cancer. Cancer runs in her side of the family, it's prevalent; additionally, one of my current co-workers is battling cancer and someone I worked with several years ago is a cancer survivor, so I'm familiar with it. These days, I think most people know someone who has cancer or died from it. It's a complicated disease, it won't be easily eradicated.

Last month Avon Books ran a month long promotion called KISS and Teal! to raise awareness of and funds for ovarian cancer. This month it's Penguin Books turn, but for Breast Cancer.


PENGUIN GROUP (USA) IS IN THE PINK FOR
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
It’s time to think pink to shrink cancer

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by the Penguin Group (USA) called Read Pink™ in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This literary embrace of a life-saving cause last year resulted in nearly 400,000 best-selling romances shipped with Read Pink seals and information about the charity it supports – the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. In 2010 and 2011, some 12,000 floor displays also carried the Read Pink message. The result raised awareness for BCRF, the only cancer organization to receive A+ from the Institute for Philanthropy.

“We are delighted to be able to continue this initiative in support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation for a second time.  We hope that awareness for the Foundation’s work will only grow by bringing more attention to this important cause,” said Leslie Gelbman, President of Mass Market Publishing, Penguin Group (USA). To mark the occasion, Penguin Group (USA) is again making a $25,000 donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

“The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is very grateful to be part of Penguin’s Read Pink program again this year,” said Myra J. Biblowit, President, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  “This visible initiative will certainly raise awareness about BCRF.” 

The donation provides vital funds to support the mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.   As Dr. Laura J. Esserman, director of the Carole Franc Buck Breast Cancer Center at the University of California at San Francisco said,. “[BCRF] awards support leaders in translational science and assume that they will be able to best dispense the funds. This is invaluable. Most grants require a year’s lead time before ideas can be funded. The BCRF funds allow you to plan ideas a few months ahead, and are flexible in support. The awards also come with the promise of continuity to explore new ideas as they arise. I also really appreciate the annual awards ceremony and the expression of thanks to the scientists. We don’t often get that and it really is rewarding and inspiring to see that people appreciate us, even if we don’t come up with all of the answers. It is an expression of thanks for the efforts we put forward to try to find answers.”

The novels chosen for Read Pink 2011 are eight bestselling mass market titles by some of Penguin Group (USA)’s most beloved female authors. Included this year are Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, Jillian Hunter, Lynn Kurland, Amanda Quick, Bertrice Small and Lauren Willig.  More than 300,000 copies of the special editions will be printed featuring Read Pink seals on the covers.  In addition, Penguin Group (USA) is including information in the back of each book in an effort to make readers aware of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and encourage them to become actively involved in supporting the organization.

These are the books chosen for this year's initiative:








 

For more details about the Read Pink initiative and to view a complete list of the participating retail outlets, please visit www.penguin.com/readpink.

 
About The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder as an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical and translational research. In October 2011, BCRF will award $36.5 million to 186 scientists across the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and China. Currently, more than 90 cents of every dollar donated is directed to breast cancer research and awareness programs. With exceptionally low administrative costs, BCRF continues to be one of the most efficient organizations in the country. BCRF has received an“A+” from The American Institute of Philanthropy.  For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

About Penguin Group (USA)
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group.  Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, Plume, Tarcher, Philomel, Grosset & Dunlap, Puffin, and Frederick Warne, among others. The Penguin Group (www.penguin.com) is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Birthday Giveaway! Red's Wolf by PJ Schnyder






September 25th would have been my mother's 86th birthday. She died when she was 58, after a 2 year battle with breast cancer. I was a senior in high school. My oldest sibling had died six months earlier in a car accident and her doctor warned us at the time that we would probably see a deterioration in her condition in response to his death. We did. Parents aren't supposed to outlive their children. Still, she didn't give up fighting entirely and she even continued to smoke cigarettes until she was put on oxygen. When she was first diagnosed with cancer, they checked her lungs since she was a heavy smoker for 30+ years. Her lungs were clear, surprisingly so, and so she kept smoking until she absolutely couldn't.

So what does all of that have to do with the giveaway? Well, the publisher of "Red's Wolf", Decadent Publishing, has a program called "Read for a Cure". Each month, they choose one book and donate all of the the publisher profits to the Relay for Life, a series of annual events (marathons, etc.) that benefit the American Cancer Society.  This month's book is "Red's Wolf".


The author of "Red's Wolf" also had her birthday this month and is an acquaintance of mine. My mother, before she had to retire due to her cancer, was an English teacher and loved books and reading. She introduced me to my first romance book (I'm pretty sure it was a Rosemary Rogers title; I have no clue what my mother was thinking, lol.)

Soooo, in honor of my mother, to celebrate her birthday, and as an easy way to donate to the American Cancer Society, I am giving away a Kindle version of this book. It's open internationally. The winner will have the book Kindle gifted to them from me via Amazon. You don't have to actually have a Kindle, you can have the app on your computer or smart phone. Go here to see the options and download the app, if you want it. Using the app, you  can purchase (or receive) Kindle books and read them without ever buying a Kindle.

ETA: I just looked at Barnes & Noble and it's available there too, so the winner can choose the Kindle book or the Nook book. They also have free apps for reading their digital books so you don't actually need a Nook.

There's more! PJ has offered to donate some signed cover flats. I'll mail those out to the lucky winner of the book. And, if the winner is interested, I'll also throw in a bar of hand made glycerin soap with the breast cancer ribbon on it. The winner can choose from unscented, rose, lavender or lavender vanilla.




What do you have to do to win all this? Well, I'd love it if you made a donation to whatever organization in your state/province/country works to fight cancer, but that's not a requirement. Leave a comment about something you might do, or have done, in honor of your parents. Simple as that. Oh, don't forget to read the giveaway policy.

The giveaway will run from now through 11:59 PM EST of September 25th. If in doubt about the time, see the clock widget in the right hand column.