Happy New Year

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!

I will be back tomorrow with a brand new giveaway for the brand New Year!

Book Review: The Heir by Grace Burrowes

Click to purchase at Sourcebooks

About the Book:

An earl who can’t be bribed...

Gayle Windham, earl of Westhaven, is the first legitimate son and heir to the duke of Moreland. To escape his father’s inexorable pressure to marry, he decides to spend the summer at his townhouse in London, where he finds himself intrigued by the secretive ways of his beautiful housekeeper...

A lady who can’t be protected...

Anna Seaton is a beautiful, talented, educated woman, which is why it is so puzzling to Gayle Windham that she works as his housekeeper.

As the two draw closer and begin to lose their hearts to each other, Anna’s secrets threaten to bring the earl’s orderly life crashing down—and he doesn’t know how he’s going to protect her from the fallout...

About the Author:

Grace Burrowes is the award winning author of the "The Duke's Obsession," a Regency trilogy detailing the loves of the three sons of the meddling old Duke of Moreland. She lives in Maryland with dogs, cats, and horses, and absolutely loves to hear from her readers.

My Opinon:

This was an enjoyable romance. Typical in some ways and atypical in others. The Heir in question, the earl of Westhaven, is being pressured by his father, The Duke to marry and have children so the succession will be secured.  He wants nothing to do with his father's meddling and will find his own duchess and wife in his own time. He does not expect to find her in his housekeeper.  

Mrs. Anna Seaton is running away from a scoundrel of a brother and a forced betrothal. She takes the position in the earl's household to earn some money and keep herself and her sister safe. Little does she expect to fall in love with the earl.


The two go back and forth in romance fashion but this is a more intelligent story than most. I did start to feel it was going on just a bit too long though before the requisite happy ending. I enjoyed the writing and the characters and hope to learn more about the meddling Duke in the next book in the series. He is a bit of fun even if he is a pain in his sons' collective tails. A fun light read with a strong love story at its center.


The Heir is available at Sourcebooks
The Heir is available at Amazon.com


Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of The Heir. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Winners!

 have some winners to announce!

First up the three winners of the audiobook of C Street from Hachette Books
The lucky comments are:

2
24
6

and the winners are:
nan
Dina
rhapsodyinbooks

Next up the Progresso Prize Pack.
The lucky comment is:

34

and the winner is:
Trung Ngyen

Hooray for winners! I will send emails and the winners will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose new winners.

I would like to thank everyone who entered and send a great bit THANK YOU to the sponsors.
Remember, if you did not win you can still purchase these great products:
Progresso Soups are available at your grocery Store

C Street:  The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy (audiobook) is available at Amazon.com

Review and Giveaway: All Terrain Skin Care WinterSport SPF 30

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

I will start this post by saying that the hubby tested this product.
I don't DO winter sports unless you count winter goatherding.
But the hubby - oh yeah! He is into all manner of winter sporting; running, snowshoeing, cross country skiing.
He's da sportin' man.

That's how I knew this was an ideal product for him to try.
The hubby has very fair skin.
The hubby has had some skin cancers removed.
We take care that he always uses sunscreen.

 I was sent All Terrain Skin Care WinterSport SPF 30 and a tube of WinterSport SPF 25 Lip Balm. These are lovely skin care products. I can say that - I tried the lip balm and I used the WinterSport SPF 30 even though I was not wintersporting. It has a nice weight and was not all gloopy. I wear lip balm all year round and I really liked this product - I am always on the lookout for nice lip balms with a high SPF.

Now for the REAL review:  hubby used the WinterSport while cross country skiing one day and also on one of his running days. He said he was very pleased. It did not run into his eyes when he started sweating as some other products had done. It just melted into his skin. He ran on a bright, sunny day and came back as pale as he left (heh heh). He was happy with me for finding this product for him.

Now here is some information from the company:

Perfect for anyone who enjoys spending time outdoors during the harsh winter weather. What makes WinterSport a step above ordinary sunscreen? Not only does it offer the same benefits as all other All Terrain sunscreens – the broadest UVA/UVB protection, Z-Cote for sensitive skin, and resistance to sweat and water – but it works against more than just winter sunlight. It helps prevent chapped and chaffed skin that often results from cold temperatures, fights the effects of wind damage on skin, and contains essential oils and botanical extracts that are essential to keeping skin healthy all winter long.


One lucky reader will receive a tube of All Terrain Skin Care WinterSport SPF 30!
How do you win? It's easy!
But first some rules:


US only
No PO Boxes
One per household


MANDATORY ENTRY:


Like All Terrain on Facebook. The company will be confirming before awarding the prize. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.


EXTRA ENTRIES:


1. Follow @AllTerrain on Twitter - good for two entries so leave two comments
2. Subscribe by RSS to the All Terrain blog
3. Go to All Terrain and tell me another product you might like to try
4. Follow my blog publicly - if you do, thank you.
5. Follow @BrokenTeepee on Twitter and tweet the following (once per day) - #Win @AllTerrain WinterSport SPF30 @BrokenTeepee 
6. Become a Fan of Broken Teepee on facebook 


SEE THE EXTRA ENTRIES PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO ENTER.


All entries need to be in by 9PM MST on January 12th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner. He/she will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose a new winner.


Good luck everyone.






I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and sponsored by Favorite Wigs Shop Name Brand Wigs at Low Prices! Large Wig Selection of Estetica Wigs, Quality Wigs. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Wordless Wednesday - I Know I Can Fit in There!

I DON'T need your help, Harry!

Blog Tour and Book Review: The Scent of Jasmine by Jude Deveraux

About the Book:

Would you risk your life—on the love of a lifetime?

Charleston, 1799: A daughter of Southern gentility and a gifted painter, Catherine Edilean Harcourt has no lack of suitors at home in Virginia, waiting to fulfill her dream of marriage and family. But Cay's adventurous spirit, fostered by growing up with her three brothers, is piqued while visiting her godfather in South Carolina. Bedridden with a broken leg, he asks Cay to fill in for him on an urgent task: on her way to a fancy dress ball, she must deliver a packed horse to an old friend's son—who also happens to be an escaped convict charged with murdering his wife! Cay agrees to the plan, which doesn't go at all as planned . . . whereupon she finds herself fleeing Alexander McDowell's captors, riding blind into the night with the fugitive Scotsman. Though she should fear him, Cay finds herself overwhelmingly attracted to Alex, and drawn into his tale of misguided justice and his innocence as they seek refuge in the steamy Florida everglades. Will trusting him be the worst mistake of her life? Or will falling in love be the salvation both of them have been looking for? 


About the Author:

Jude Deveraux is the author of thirty-nine New York Times bestsellers, including Scarlet Nights, Days of Gold, Lavender Morning, Return to Summerhouse, and Secrets. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide. She lives in North Carolina. To learn more, visit www.judedeveraux.com.
















My Opinion:


I will admit up front that I was a big fan of Ms. Deveraux's work before I was offered the opportunity to review this book. I hadn't read one of her books in a number of years. Sadly, I was mildly disappointed in this novel. It started out fine in typical historical romance fashion; boy and girl meet, don't like each other, find themselves in impossible situation, and fall in love. It was the ending that I found unsatisfying and implausible. I mean we all suspend a huge amount of reality to submerge ourselves in these books. That's a given. But we don't want our brains to get twisted up so much we wonder what the devil the author was thinking.


Granted this is my opinion and I am sure others will love this book. I was actually more enticed by the snippet of the next book in the Edilean series - Scarlet Nights - that appeared at the back of this book. 


The Scent of Jasmine is available at Amazon.com



























Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of The Scent of Jasmine. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Book Review: Allon Book II: Insurrection by Shawn Lamb

About the Book:

The Dark Way doesn't die easily. Dagar's talisman went missing after Ellis defeated Marcellus to restore the House of Tristan to the Throne of Allon. When sinister tensions turn into rebellion, Ellis must lead his army to quell the insurrection before civil war erupts. However, his departure places the lives of Shannan and their newborn son, Nigel, in jeopardy. If he returns to help them, he could lose his kingdom. If he continues against the enemy, he could lose his wife and son. He must trust their fate to the Guardian warrior, Avatar, and two teenage brothers, Wess and Bosley. What will these nephews of King Marcellus do? Will they aid Ellis, the man who deposed their uncle, or join the rebellion and claim their birthright?


About the Author:

Shawn lives in Antioch, Tennessee, just outside Nashville with her husband of nearly 25 years and their college age daughter, Briana. Shawn pursued her love of writing and took it to a professional level, writing for the 1980s Filmation animated series "BRAVESTARR". Along the way, she won several screenwriting awards, including a Certificate of Merit from the American Screenwriters Association. 

Taking the skills of writing for television along with experience of working with kids and teens, she began work on the series ALLON. The results are stories of faith to believe and overcome obstacles, commitment to a cause, and the endurance to see it through to the end. 

Begin the journey with Ellis and Shannon as they struggle to restore hope to the mortals of ALLON and pave the way for the return of the immortal Guardians. 


My Opinion:


This is the second book in the Allon series. I reviewed the first one HERE.  This tale takes place 4 years later just as Queen Shannan is about to give birth to the Prince of Allon.   Nigel is born but unfortunately peace is not to be.  Young King Ellis is to be tested - was he wise to give mercy to those who were loyal to the old regime?


This is basically a story about how people cope with change, forgiveness and their actions. How making a decision to do what is right can move a person forward and how wallowing in bitterness can cause a person to make poor decisions and be led down a path to evil.


The story is compelling and well drawn. I like the characters and the mythology and find myself looking forward to the next chapter. This is a Young Adult series and the themes are not so buried as to be impossible to uncover yet not completely in the open either. It's good when a book makes a young person think.


This book sets up Allon III.
Will good triumph? I hope so!

Allon II: Insurrection is available at Amazon.com
Allon is available at Amazon.com



Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of Allon II from the author. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinons and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Christmas Gifts are Fun

I was not the only family member to receive Christmas gifts this year.
The cats received some from their Aunt Lin at Duck and Wheel with String.
To a cat there is nothing better than a sparkle ball.
To two cats there is nothing better than a game of sparkle ball soccer.








The cats thank their Aunt Lin.
The hubby, while happy the cats have toys is not so happy when he gets a sparkle ball dropped on him at 2AM - the favored playing time of cats.
heh

Giveaway: Peace and Plenty (audiobook) by Sarah Ban Breathnach

About the Audiobook:


In the vein of the megabestelling SIMPLE ABUNDANCE, Ban Breathnach returns with a fresh start for women who are discouraged by the global financial depression and have lost their financial and spiritual way in the world. 

About the Author:

In addition to SIMPLE ABUNDANCE, Sarah Ban Breathnach is the author of THE SIMPLE ABUNDANCE JOURNAL OF GRATITUDE, SOMETHING MORE, and MRS. SHARP'S TRADITIONS. She currently resides in California. Please visit her website at www.simpleabundance.com.


Peace and Plenty (audiobook) is available at Amazon.com


Thanks to Anna at Hachette Books I have one copy of this audiobook to give away.
How do you win? It's easy!
But first some rules:


US and Canada only
No PO Boxes
One copy per household


MANDATORY ENTRY:


Leave a money saving tip so we all can learn. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.


EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Follow my blog publicly. If you already follow, just say so. And thank you.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway(one per day) - @BrokenTeepee and Hachette Books are giving away Peace and Plenty (audiobook) @http://tinyurl.com/2eeugml #giveaway

3. Become a fan of Broken Teepee on Facebook

4. Share the giveaway using the share buttons at the end of the post - 1 entry for each share. Leave a separate comment for each

SEE THE EXTRA ENTRIES PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO ENTER.

All entries need to be in by 9PM MST on January 10th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner. He/she will have 48 hrs to respond or I will choose a new winner.

Good luck everyone.

Disclosure:  I have received no compensation for this post in product or money.

9781607886594

Back to Normal and a Question - Nook or Kindle?

That is what I refer to as our family portrait.
heh
We round up the cats, set the timer on the camera and dash in front - hopefully before the shutter snaps or a cat escapes.
Hence the little bit of blur.

Poor Stinky - she does look a bit squished between Sherpa and Harry.

The hubby and I had a lovely Christmas. Quiet; just the two of us. We went to a friend's house for a bit in the afternoon but then came back to just spend some nice time together.

I was making danish for Sunday's breakfast - I'll have a post on them later in the week - and then I cooked our special Christmas dinner. I made scallops, saffron risotto and roasted green beans. It was a lovely treat. For dessert we had blueberries with lemon curd.

He was very sweet to me, as usual. I can now watch my Netflix movies and such on the TV thanks to a spiffy new wireless system and DVD player. Very cool. My feet are delightfully warm thanks to some wool socks and I have enough chocolate treats to last for a bit.

And now for my question - he is also giving me my choice of e-reader. It's narrowed down to a Nook or a Kindle. Any advice? Those of you that have either why do you like your reader? I'll be using mine for reviews and for other reading obviously so I need it to be versatile. I am sure the hubby will be using it too.

So, Nook or Kindle - what would you choose?

I hope you all had a lovely weekend as well.
I'll have several reviews and some giveaways up this week so be sure to keep checking back!

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
I hope you all have a day full of joy and peace.
I am going to take the weekend off from blogging and just enjoy some computer free time.
I am going to bake, cook a delicious Christmas meal for my husband and just enjoy the weekend.

I leave you with a photo of my new kid Kringle in his Christmas red goat coat.

He came out for just a little bit yesterday to check out the snow.
He was happy to go back to his heat lamp in the barn.

If you would like to see the Happy Goats' wishes for the holiday you can check out Pricilla's blog.
I'll be back with new giveaways and reviews on Monday, December 27th.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Review: Fibers.com T-Shirt

The hubby wears a lot of t-shirts.
In fact he wears one every day.
Since he retired t-shirts with maybe a flannel shirt on top are about ALL he wears.

He is very happy about this.
VERY happy.

So I try and make sure that the t-shirts he wears are durable and comfortable.
He might as well have quality t-shirts, right?
I found just that at Fibers.com

Fibers.com offers a huge array of t-shirts, fleece pants, sweatshirts and hoodies with adorable designs.
They also offer you the ability to design your own custom product.
How cool is that?

I will admit that when offered the opportunity to do a review I was this close to ordering this design for myself

isn't it adorable?
You know I LOVE goats.

But I was good.
It was close to Christmas so I decided to get the hubby a present.
I ordered this Still Plays with Fire Trucks long sleeved t-shirt

heh heh
I think he will get a good chuckle out of it.
So will his firemen.

The t-shirt came very quickly - in less than a week. It is a nice heavyweight cotton and the red printing is very bold, bright and vibrant.

I was very pleased with the quality of the shirt and the service I received from Fibers.com
I would definitely shop there again.

You can sign up for the Fibers.com newsletter to stay up to date with new designs and to receive exclusive offers. Just look for the sign up box at the bottom left of the home page.

Disclosure:  I received a t-shirt gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free product. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Book Review: I Dream of Genies by Judi Fennell

Click to purchase at Sourcebooks

About the Book:

He needs to change his luck, and fast!

Matt Ewing would gladly hunt down a fortune in lucky pennies if he thought it would help save his business. But for all his hoping, Matt’s clueless when his long-awaited lucky charm falls in his lap in the form of a beguiling genie. He just can’t believe that this beautiful woman could be the answer to his prayers...

She’s been bottled up for far too long!

Spending 2,000 years in a bottle would make any woman a little stir-crazy. So when Matt releases Eden from her luxurious captivity, she’s thrilled to repay him by giving him the magical boost he needs...

But for all her good intentions, Eden’s magical prowess is a little rusty and her magical mistakes become more than embarrassing. And though Eden knows falling in love will end her magic and immortality, she can’t help but be drawn to the one man who wants her just for herself...

About the Author:

Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did--right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books. These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she’s still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends’ books. A three-time finalist in online contests, Judi has enjoyed the reader feedback she’s received and would love to hear what you think about her Mer series. Check out her website at www.JudiFennell.com for excerpts, reviews and fun pictures from reader and writer conferences, and the chance to “dive in” to her stories.

My Opinion:

This was a fun twist on a Genie book. The Genie in question, Eden, is a rather independent sort and does not want to be "In Service." She wants to be in love. Problem is she has a very bad vizier who wants to keep her captive in more ways than just in her bottle. She is fortunate to have help from a mortal who finds himself falling in love with her and from some other pretty high places.  

This was a light and frothy read. A nice change from some of the heavier books I have been reading lately. It was fast paced and I enjoyed the characters. The romance was fun and I was a sucker for the talking cat. Yes, you read that correctly. Doesn't every cat lover wish they knew exactly WHAT their cat was thinking?

I Dream of Genies has a standard romance plot but with fun, supernatural aspects that made the book a delight to read.

I Dream of Genies is available at Sourcebooks

I Dream of Genies is available at Amazon.com

Disclosure:  I received a copy of I Dream of Genies from Sourcebooks gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Winner! Tropical Traditions Surface and Glass Cleaner

I have one winner to announce today.
The lucky reader who get to receive the Tropical Traditions Glass and Surface Cleaner
The lucky comment is:
66
and the winner is:
llinda29

Yay for winners.

I would like to thank everyone who entered and send a great big THANK YOU to Tropical Traditions for sponsoring this giveaway. I will send an email to the winner and she will have 48hrs to respond. If she does not I will choose a new winner.

Remember, if you did not win you can still purchase this great product at TROPICAL TRADITIONS.

Review and Information on Katz Gluten Free "Box of Katz" Giveaway

If you remember the 12 Days of Chocolate - mmmmm, I sure do! - you will remember the review I did for the delicious products from Katz Gluten Free.  You can read it again HERE if you would like. 

Katz is back with some delicious new products for me to tell you about and a wonderful giveaway they are hosting on their site. First I will tell you about the delicious treats I was able to sample starting with the Gluten Free Vanilla Rugelach.

Mmm, it was indeed delicious; light and flaky with a true vanilla favor. I enjoyed it with my morning coffee and it was a perfect accompaniment. I could eat the whole box but I did share with the hubby.

I was also send the Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. I had been sent these before and while they are OK they are not fantastic.

The next package included Gluten Free Challah Rolls. The day the package arrived we were having soup for dinner so the timing was perfect. I thawed the rolls and served them with the soup.

They were light and went well with the soup. They didn't have the "bounce" of my homemade challah but they were pretty tasty. A nice crust with a moist interior.

The last item included were beautiful Gluten Free Iced Chocolate Cupcakes - with sprinkles! Gotta love sprinkles!

These were just plain cute - and tasty! They had a rich, chocolate flavor and they had sprinkles! I love sprinkles. In that I am a kid at heart.

Katz Gluten Free offers many other delicious products at reasonable prices including cakes, strips and pizza crusts so check them out. You won't be disappointed.

I enjoyed all of my treats from Katz Gluten Free and I thank them for giving me the opportunity to try them.

Now I want to tell you how you can win a big box O'Katz! What better way to let you know than in Katz's own words?

Katz Gluten Free's 'Box of Katz' Giveaway

Enter to win a box filled with all 30 Katz Products!!

Katz Gluten Free invites you to join them in their yummy winter giveaway. We have partnered with blogs across the gluten free spectrum! Each blog has their own giveaway, so visit all your favorite blogs to enter! If you know a blog that should be participating, please let us know in the comments!

The GRAND RAFFLE will be for a huge delicious box with every product that Katz Gluten Free has! BUT WAIT!! THERE IS MORE :) The winner will choose 10 items from the large box to have a second taste of!! Sure to be a scrumptious experience! The Drawing will take place on the 3rd of January, 2011.

Giveaway Rules:

No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. The giveaway is open to all residents of the United States and Canada. Limit one entry per email address. Winner will be announced on Jan 3rd, 2011, on the KGF website, social media pages, and in an email to the winner. Winner has one week to claim prize.

To enter just go HERE

When it asks where you learned of the giveaway be sure to put Broken Teepee!

You can also head over to Just Another New Blog to enter to win a sample pack from Katz Gluten Free!

You can find Katz Gluten Free on Facebook

You can find Katz Gluten Free on Twitter

Disclosure:  I received samples to try gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free product. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

A New Kid for the Farm

We had some excitement around the farm last night!
Mallory had her kid.
Now I would not choose December for kidding.
MALLORY chose December for kidding when she jumped the fence to erm, dance the rhumba with Luke back in July.

Hormones.

Anyway last night at around 7PM she presented us with little Kringle. Yes, ANOTHER buckling.

Luke has now provided us with 6 bucks and 1 doe.
This is not good.
Not good at all.

Kringle is a cute little thing though, as all kids are.
His markings are very striking. It's the first of Mallory's kids to have her markings! The white face stripes and boots. Her other two have been all one color; one black, one brown.

So we welcome little Kringle to a very cold barn.
The hubby being the sweet man that he is came home with a heat lamp so the kid is warm and toasty.
It's no wonder I love that man.

And yes, the goat is wearing a coat.
It's cold.
Leave me alone.

Book Review: The Emperor's Tomb by Steve Berry

About the Book:


Cotton Malone teams with old heartthrob Cassiopeia Vitt on a dangerous mission to retrieve a priceless Chinese lamp from the third century B.C.E. in Berry's rousing fifth thriller to feature the ex-federal agent (after The Paris Vendetta). Two high-ranking Chinese government ministers, hard-liner Karl Tang and more liberal Ni Yong, both of whom are vying to be China's next premier, covet the lamp. Tang, in particular, has left a trail of bodies in his own quest for the lamp, which, unbeknownst to Malone and Vitt, contains the secret to how the country will surmount its biggest obstacle to future economic growth, its dependence on foreign oil. Berry layers his narrative with well-chosen, if sometimes overly detailed, doses of Chinese history. His action sequences, particularly a shootout inside the vast network of an underground tomb, often take too long to resolve, though the payoff in the end--a goose-pimple–raising showdown in a remote monastery--is worth the wait.


About the Author:


Steve Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of The Balkan Escape, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, and The Amber Room. His books have been translated into 37 languages and sold in 50 countries. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida and is at work on his next novel. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage.


My Opinion:


I'll just come out and say it; I loved this book! It was my first time reading anything by Mr. Berry and I am now hooked. He intelligently combines history and suspense to take the reader on a trip through time and place. From Holland to China you are drawn into the machinations of spies and power hungry leaders.


It is a singular book that can educate you without making you feel like a student and this book does that in a way that makes me want to learn much more about China and her history. I knew that there was much of that history that had been submerged but not how much. I love a book that leaves you yearning for further knowledge.


The main characters were very enjoyable and since this was not their first book together they had a history. I felt no lack, though from not having read any past books. The ending leaves you with a sense of the future but with the desire to read the next chapter in their fictional lives.


The Emperor's Tomb is available on Amazon.com































Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of The Emperor's Tomb. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

After the Snow - Mud Season!

It snowed again.
Nothing overwhelming, just another 4 inches or so but enough to make everything pretty and white again.
Enough to annoy the goats.
Enough to make the upcoming mud season all the more muddy.
Enough to make me go looking at rain boots. But not just any rain boots - oh no! I went looking at some stylin' boots! I want to slosh around in the mud in style! No boring old black boots for me. I am sure that does not shock you at all. Not with all of the color I show on this blog. heh

It was hard shopping; little did I know that when I started that I would find so many beautiful boots! Just look at these:

are they not stunning? That red is amazing and I am sure the goats would see me coming. Although they might thing the boots were apples and start to nibble. THAT might not be a good thing. NOT AT ALL. Perhaps I should look for a pair less reminiscent of a favorite goat snack. Now these are classics:

I think if anyone saw me in these the would know immediately that they were Burberry rain boots. Don't you agree? It's the plaid - recognized around the world - and now found on beautiful rain boots. I am particularly fond of the bright red soles. Of course!

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post.

Giveaway: Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff (audiobook)

About the Audiobook:

Her palace shimmered with gold but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Cleopatra, the wealthiest ruler of her time and one of the most powerful women in history, was a canny political strategist, a brilliant manager, a tough negotiator, and the most manipulative of lovers. Although her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. 

At only 18 years old, Cleopatra was already one of history's most remarkable figures: the Queen of Egypt. A lethal political struggle with her brother marked her early adulthood and set the tone for the rest of her life; a relationship with Julius Caesar, forged while under siege in her palace, launched her into a deadly mix of romance and strategy; a pleasure cruise down the Nile followed, a child, and a trip to Rome, which ended in Cleopatra's flight. After Caesar's brutal murder, she began a nine-year affair with Mark Antony, with whom she had three more children. Antony and Cleopatra's alliance and attempt to forge a new empire spelled both their ends. 

The subject of gossip and legend, veneration and speculation in her lifetime, Cleopatra fascinated the world right up to her death. In the 2000 years since, myths about the last Queen of Egypt have been fueled by Shakespeare, Dryden, and Shaw, who put words in her mouth, and by Michelangelo, Delacroix, and Elizabeth Taylor, who put a face to her name. In Cleopatra, Pulitzer prize-winning biographer Stacy Schiff accomplishes a feat that has eluded artists and writers for centuries: capturing fully the operatic life of an exceptionally seductive and powerful woman, whose death ushered in a new world order.


About the Author:

Stacy Schiff is the author of Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Saint-Exupéry, a Pulitzer Prize finalist; and A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, winner of the George Washington Book Prize, the Ambassador Award in American Studies, and the Gilbert Chinard Prize of the Institut Français d'Amérique. All three were New York Times Notable Books; the Los Angeles Times Book Review, the Chicago Tribune, and The Economist also namedA Great Improvisation a Best Book of the Year. The biographies have been published in a host of foreign editions.

Schiff has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities and was a Director’s Fellow at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She was awarded a 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Schiff has written for The New Yorker, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe, among other publications. She lives in New York City.

Thanks to Anna from Hachette Books I have one copy of this amazing audiobook to give away. I have the hardback on my bookshelf and I CANNOT wait to read it! Cleopatra just fascinates me.

Cleopatra (audiobook) is available on Amazon.com






















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But first some rules:


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One prize per household no matter how many blogs you enter on


MANDATORY ENTRY:


Tell me if you have read about Cleopatra before. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.


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SEE THE EXTRA ENTRIES PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO ENTER.

All entries need to be in by 9PM MST on January 4th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner. He/she will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose a new winner.

Good luck everyone.

Disclosure:  I received no compensation for this post in product or money.

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