Sunday, December 16, 2012

Happy Holidays

Good morning,

Before I can forget I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you celebrate.  In my family, we celebrate the  birth of Jesus, the christ child.  Yes, I know the date may be wrong, but everyone needs a set day to celebrate, so for us it's December 25th.

Next, I want to announce the lucky commenter who won the prize for commenting on my last blog.  This is totally unbelievable since the winner is a neighbor.  In all the years I've blogged and had contests I have never had anyone in my neighborhood win a prize.  Congratulations, Diana LM.  I'll be dropping by sometime during the week to drop it off.  Smile!  For those who don't know Diana, she writes a blog at MoJo Travel, and all you have to do is click on her name and it will take you to her blog.  Diana and her husband work together, she writes travel articles and he's a photographer.

Now, I want to address the evil in Newtown, CT., and what a sad event occurred.  We will be hearing about these killings for a long time in the news, so I won't say a lot.  Hugs and blessings go out to all the people involved.  It will be a long time before we are able to get over this event and for the families the tragedy will always be with them.  We ask why these things like these happen, but there is no clear cut answer.  We aren't the judges here, and we can only pray for all involved.  Hug your children and hold them closer to you.  We can only do so much to protect them in our present world.

I need a short break from my blog because I'm behind in all things.  Smile!  In order to catch up, I won't be blogging again until Sunday, January 6, 2013!

May all you have a better year ahead. I won't say Happy New Year because it would sound like a travesty to those who have lost so much at this holiday season. 

See you in the new year.

Sincerely,
Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Kids Are Young Wonders

Hi Everyone,

If you have lost faith in our young people, here are some kids who renew that faith. I watched CNN Heroes, and along with the actual heroes there were young wonders mentioned.

One young boy couldn't bear the sight of seeing people go hungry, so he started a fundraiser for a food bank to help feed the poor and hungry.  He raised $20,000, a tremendous amount for a young kid.

A young girl of eleven with a brain tumor saw other kids with cancer having to stay in the hospital while she went home, and she wanted to do something to cheer them up.  She filled jars with all kinds of little toys that could help entertain these kids.  The name for the jars became Joy Jars.  This young girl died a year later at twelve.

Another young girl in Vermont was concerned about people in her town who were going without heat in the cold.  She combined her concern for the environment, recycling and helping others to come up with a plan for heating homes.  She used old cooking oil to help heat homes.  I don't remember exactly how she did this, but she was able to heat over 200 homes with her idea.
 
We have great kids in this country and around the world.  They play a viable part in our lives and others.  Sometimes young people put others above themselves as these have done.  I think these kids give us great hope for our future.

For those who leave a comment your name will be thrown in a bag and a name will be drawn to win a small bag with Hallmark ornaments and other goodies.  This drawing will be only for the U.S. and Canada. 

Have a great week, and I will see you next Sunday. 

Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com

Sunday, December 2, 2012

CONTEST WINNERS and "JINGLE MY BELLS" CONTEST!


Winners:

1. Kathryn - a bag full of goodies
2. Joder - small basket full of goodies
3. Rhonda D. - You win three digital books: The Catalyst, Addiction and The Deceived in any of the formats Eirelander Publishing offers
4. Sarah J. McNeal - You win a digital copy of A Fool's Fool in the format of your choice at Eirelander Publishing.

Congratulations to all of you.  I hope you'll be happy with your prizes.  Kathryn and Joder, I will need your snail mail addresses. Rhonda and Sarah the formats you can choose from are: PDF, HTML and Mobi Pocket. 

Jennifer, I'm so sorry you didn't win because you were the first person to comment.  The setting was the same for all three books. 

All of you have a chance to enter the Jingle My Bells contest at Romance Books 4 Us, http://www.romancebooks4us.com.  You will love the prizes.  How to enter is below:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, HAPPY KWANZA, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HAPPY WINTER...or, whatever! RB4U is trying to be politically correct!

Our contest starts 1 Dec. and ends midnight EST 23 Dec. Lots of prizes for different winners. NOTE: Snail mail items only shipped to USA and Canada.

How to enter:  Find the 20 pages that have a RINGING BELL. Collect the 20 page names
(don't need the URLs) and send them in one list to our contest email: contests.RB4U@gmail.com

PRIZES:

GRAND PRIZE: $100 gift card for Amazon or Barnes & Noble - one winner.
Same winner receives dog tags from romance author, Sharon Hamilton.

Other prizes for other winners:

1. Romance Books '4' Us Tee and Tote.

2. Choice of ebook from romance author, Jean Hart Stewart.

3. Signed copy of "The Vampire Shrink" by romance author, Linda Hilburn.

4. Signed hardcover copy of "The Mercenary"  by romance author, Johanna Rae.

5. Print copy of new release "The Sin Factor" by romance author, Sandy Loyd.

6. Two print copies (two winners) of new holiday-themed book, "DEADLY HOLIDAY", by romance author, Alexa Grace.

7. T-shirt and mug with the cover art from "One Night of Need" from romance author, Ella Jade.

8. Dog tags for 5 winners and one copy of "Fallen SEAL Legacy (Kindle version) for one winner from romance author, Sharon Hamilton.  AND, visit Sharon's website for free Kindle link of short story,  "SEAL Endeavor" after 10 December.

9. Ebook copies of "The Runaway" and "Upstaged" (two winners, one book each) by romance author, Nephylim.
 
Have a great week, and I'll see you next Sunday.
 
Sandra K. Marshall