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………of the SUMMER GIVEAWAY HOP

1st PLACE WINNER

118 Alyce Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

2nd PLACE WINNER

104 Ellie Wright Easy entry for fans of this blog post

3rd PLACE WINNER

134 Kt Amanda Easy entry for fans of this blog post

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered!!!

….of Deception by Kris Kennedy

31 Becca Peters Easy entry for fans of this blog post

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered.

Ohhhhh…so many books!!!  Are you like me, that at times you wish you could read 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because of all the novels you want to read?  Our friend Lisa, from Sparkpoint Studio, is stopping by today and next Wednesday to introduce us to 2 authors and 2 more books to add to our lists.  Today she is here with author Maria Geraci.  So I ask, that you help me welcome them to the CMash blog.

MARIA GERACI

Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote). She writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with a happy ending. The Portland Book Review called her novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, “immensely sexy, immensely satisfying and humorous.” Her fourth novel, A Girl Like You,  is released today, August 7th, 2012 by Berkley, Penguin USA.
You can visit Maria at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

GUEST POST

Inspiration from the Unexpected
Like most writers, I’m always asked where I find the inspiration for my novels. I’d be answering honestly if I said that my ideas come from just about everywhere. But I’d be a little more than chagrined to admit that the idea for my latest novel, A Girl Like You, came from the Real Housewives show.

Now, I don’t watch the Real Housewives of Anywhere. Not that there is anything wrong with the show. I’m a total reality show junkie. Survivor, The Bachelor, So You Think You Can Dance. Bring ‘em on! But the Real Housewives isn’t a show I’m addicted to. Lucky for me, however, that while switching channels one afternoon, I came across an episode. Two of the housewives were talking and one mentioned that she had just dropped her daughter off at college, then went on to commiserate that all the girls at her daughter’s sorority were beautiful and how was her daughter to “shine” if there wasn’t an ugly girlfriend around? Talk about an epiphany! I immediately began to “see” my novel and my central story question was born: What if you found out you were the ugly girlfriend?

In case you’ve never heard of the expression before, let me give you the definition I found in the Urban Dictionary. Ugly Friend: A friend a person brings with him/her to a gathering /event in order to make him/herself appear more attractive in comparison.

When my main character, Emma, overhears herself referred to as the ugly friend, she’s devastated. But it begins a chain of events in her life that lead her to discovering more about her friends and ultimately, about herself, changing her life forever. Sometimes the unexpected turns out so much better than we first imagined.

Thanks, CMash, for inviting me to guest blog today!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Emma Frazier is smart, hardworking, and loves her job as a journalist for a Florida lifestyle magazine. Emma knows she’s no great beauty, but she’s pretty certain she has a shot with her handsome new boss, Ben Gallagher—until Emma overhears a mutual acquaintance refer to her as the “ugly friend.” In an effort to reclaim her battered self-esteem, Emma decides to impress Ben at work by promising an exclusive interview with NASCAR legend, Trip Monroe.

Emma and Trip went to high school together and although it’s been fourteen years since they’ve spoken, Emma is certain she can score an interview with the elusive super star. But connecting with Trip turns out to be harder than Emma imagined. Her quest for the interview leads her back to her tiny hometown of Catfish Cove, where old secrets and a new romantic interest shake up Emma’s views on life and teach her that maybe the key to finding true love is as simple as accepting yourself for the person you were always meant to be.
Purchase links:    Amazon    IndieBound

THANKS TO LISA, FROM SPARKPOINT STUDIO, I HAVE ONE (1)
COPY OF THE BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or
Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL

ADDRESS IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: FROM READING THE SYNOPSIS,
DO YOU THINK EMMA’S NEW LOVE INTEREST IS TRIP?*

*U.S.  RESIDENTS ONLY*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

**HONOR SYSTEM**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

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Hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading

This week’s question:
What attracts you to a book blog? What puts you off in a book blog? Do you share personal stuff on your book blog?
My answer:
For me, first and foremost, is if the blog has similar reading likes of genres that I enjoy and content.  At least once a week, I search the internet and visit many blogs, looking for hosts to invite to Partners In Crime Tours.  I am amazed at the number of book blogs that there are now, as compared to when I first started in this community.  Thousands.  A large majority being YA/MG.  The next is if the blog has a pleasant look and easy to navigate.  To me, that says that they put in a little extra for their readers since we are the ones who see the main page.   Things I don’t like are, and there seems to be less of it now than before, and that is music on the site, difficulty navigating, and word verification.  However, and it happened to me on blogspot, I understand why since there are those people/bots that fall under the category of spammers and one has to protect their site.

I do share some personal events in my life and also enjoy seeing the same on blogs that I visit.  I believe it gives one a little window into the blogger behind the screen.

August is being hosted by 5 Minutes for Books

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A girl and her books and is now on tour.
According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”
Click on text for more information/synopsis.

Monday:    The Last Innocent Hour by Barbara Taylor Sissel (gifted from Author)
Monday:    A Slice Of Death by Bill Walker (from author)
Tuesday:   Cabernet Sauvignon for Beginners by Sara Fasolino (WOW-Author)
Thursday: The Outlaw Among Us by Nathan Dodge (Simon & Schuster)

Hosted by Acting Balanced

I saw this meme on Vicki’s blog, I’d Rather Be Reading At The Beach, last week and thought it might be fun to participate.  So here goes….and btw…if you want to join me, just click on the link above to play along.

Rules:
Here are FOUR QUESTIONS that everyone can answer and then you have the option to add a fifth question of your own for those who are visiting your blog to answer in the comment section, along with commenting on the four standard questions you answered!

1. Finish this sentence – The thing I dislike most about shopping is….
is at the check out and seeing how much I spent lol.
2. What is your favorite flavor of jello?
Strawberry Banana
3. If you could trade places with anyone in the world for one day who would you be and why?
Oprah Winfrey.   She appears to be such a down to earth person with an unending amount of energy in everything she does.  Would love to see and participate in a day in her life.
4. Who changes the lightbulbs at your house?
Both my husband and myself.
Bonus question:
5.  What time do you start your day?
Usually 6am

….of The Violinist’s Thumb by Sam Kean

29 Stefanie McMullen Tweet About the Giveaway

14 Lilian Cheng Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

129 Gary Costanzo Leave a Blog Post Comment

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all those that entered.

……..of Serenya’s Song by Mysti Parker

35 Sandy Vandenberg Leave a Blog Post Comment

10 Stefanie McMullen Tweet About the Giveaway

2 Erica Haspiel Szlosek Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

14 Susan Varney Tweet About the Giveaway

29 Trisha Ridinger McKee Tweet About the Giveaway

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond with the version they need or another winner will be chosen.  Thank you to all that entered.