Wednesday, May 5, 2010

On My Nightstand - Golden Days by Mary Connealy & Giveaway

Be sure to watch for the giveaway at the end of the post.

Amy Simons' Alaskan heritage beckons her home from Seattle. Worried about her father and recovering from an accident, she books passage on a ship. While appearing physically weak, she's got the strength and knowledge to survive Alaska's harsh climate.

Onboard ship, she meets Braden Rafferty, a widower still in mourning. He's reluctant to take on the role of protector, but cannot ignore her plight.

The author dazzled me with her descriptions of Alaska, the native terminology, and the romantic/dangerous elements of the story. I found myself fully engaged from the get-go. "Golden Days" is my first Mary Connealy book, and won't be my last. Two thumbs-up for a fast-paced, romantic mystery.

To win a copy of Mary Connealy's book, "Golden Days," please leave a comment with your email address in the SPAM-busting format: susanjreinhardt (at) gmail (dot) com. If you're a Follower or become a Follower, I'll give you an extra entry. Announce the contest on your blog, email me a link to the post at the above address, and you'll get another entry. No email address = no entry.

NOTE: The drawing is open to residents of the U.S. due to various laws. The winner is responsible for eligibility and meeting the rules of their state. No fees were required to enter this drawing, and the blog owner did not receive any compensation for the above recommendation. The book was won in another blog contest.

Deadline: Saturday, 5/8/10, at midnight EST. The winner will be drawn on Sunday, 5/9/10, and notified via email. An announcement will be made on the blog.

53 comments:

Jan Cline said...

It's nice to see books written about my part of the country. Sounds great. Enter me!
jancline (at) ymail (dot) com

T said...

tiffany.marcotte (at) gmail (dot) com

Karen Lange said...

Good review, Susan. Makes me want to read it:)
Blessings,
Karen
klange61(at)hotmail(dot)com

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jan -

I loved the setting and the story. Thanks for entering the drawing. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Tiffany -

Thanks for stopping by and entering the drawing.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Karen -

Maybe you'll win this time. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Jeanette Levellie said...

Any author who can pull off descriptions well is a keeper! Generally I am bored with descriptions, so Mary has my vote. I'd love to read this book.

jeanettelevellie(at)gmail(dot)com

I'm a happy follower!

Love you and thanks,
Jen

Jessica Nelson said...

I love her books! Don't enter me though because I think I have this one in my TBR stack. :-)

Unknown said...

Sounds like a good read! Have a beautiful week, Susan!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jen -

The setting was a natural part of the story, but did not overshadow it. I think you'd enjoy this book.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jess -

If you have this in your TBR pile, I'd move it up a notch or two. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Maria -

If you'd like to enter the drawing, you'll need to comment and give me your email.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Unknown said...

I would love to read this! I lived in Alaska for a few years. It is beautiful! Great review!

sanctifiedtogether(at)gmail(dot)com

Kathleen said...

I absolutely love dropping by, except that I want to buy EVERYTHING you feature.

Did I tell you I purchased every work by Tamera Alexander? Well, I did. Now I'm wading through them one-by-one. They make for great pool side enjoyment!

Blessings,
Kathleen

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Alisa -

I'll have to remember that tidbit in the event I interview you some day. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Kathleen -

LOL! You made my day. I'm sure Tamera Alexander would be thrilled.

Blessings,
Susan :)

patti said...

LOVE descriptive books, especially places I want to go!

Plan to buy the book, so don't put me in the drawing.

Patti

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Patti -

Thanks for commenting. I know Mary will be happy to know you're buying her book. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Jaime Wright said...

Glad you enjoyed the book ;)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jaime -

Thanks. Yes, I enjoyed it very much. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Kristen said...

Hi Susan!

Sounds like a great plot.

Please enter me, and I'm a follower.

thanks

kristengjohnson [at] gmail [dot] com

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Kristen -

I've put you down for two entries. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Jean Fischer said...

This looks like a great read! Thanks for sharing it. I have a stack of books to get through, but I'll put this one on my reading list.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jean -

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I think you'd find this a welcome addition to your reading pile.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Tammy S. said...

Please enter me. :) bluerose_shelnut(at)yahoo(dot)com

Tammy S. said...

Please enter me. :) bluerose_shelnut(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thanks!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Tammy -

Welcome to my blog! Thank you for entering the giveaway.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Mary Ann said...

Hi Susan, I'd love to enter the drawing.
smdiloreto(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Thanks! :)

Mary Connealy said...

Hi, Jan. You're from Alaska? I'd love to know if you think I got it right. I researched hard for it. And found out it was a diverse state and I needed to really understand my little section of it.

I hope I achieved that.

Mary Connealy said...

Susan, thanks for letting me know you were doing a giveaway.

Golden Days is the book that started it all. My first contracted book, although I sold a second book that actually managed to get on the shelves ahead of Golden Days.

That was Petticoat Ranch. I just had my 14th book release and they still want more. I write romantic comedy with cowboys.

Linda Henderson said...

This sounds like a really good book. I would love to read it.

I am a new follower on Google.

seriousreader at live dot com

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Mary Ann -

Thanks for commenting and entering the drawing. I received your email with the link.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Linda -

Welcome to my blog, and thank you for becoming a Follower. I post here Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

You have two entries in the drawing. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Mary -

Thanks for stopping by to say, "hello," to everyone. I loved your book, and I'm sure others will too.

Blessings,
Susan :)

otrustme said...

I LOVE Mary Connealy! Please enter me in the contest.
otrustme(at)gmail(dot)com

thanks,
Ina

otrustme said...

I LOVE Mary Connealy books. Please enter me in the giveaway. otrustme(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks so much,
Ina

Mary Connealy said...

When Golden Days came out, in a fit of enthusiasm, I bought about one zillion authors copies.

So, even since then, because I think Golden Days is a pretty good example of what I do, historical suspenseful inspirational romantic comedy, I pack two or three books in my carry-on bag when I'm traveling and I give them away.

I mean I don't FORCE them on anyone, rather, I sort of try and figure out if they even want their seat-mate on the plane to speak to them. If they don't, I'm totally okay with that.
If they do and they're friendly and the conversation progresses to any point at all...I give them a book.
Since I'm almost always traveling strictly for writing (because I stay home if I POSSIBLY CAN) I can always say, "I'm in Denver for a writer's conference. Would you like a copy of one of my books? I have a couple of extra ones with me."

I figure it's one way to market, plus it's a good conversation starter. I usually include a bookmark which advertises my most recent books. Plus, being on an airplane, they might actually WANT a book to read.

I tell you this for absolutely no reason. I'm just a writer and I tend to write long comments. It's an occupational hazard. :)

Anonymous said...

would LOVE to read this novel...thanks for the chance :)

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Mary -

LOL! We are a wordy bunch, aren't we? No doubt you have many interesting stories to share from these encounters.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Nancy said...

The book sounds good, Susan. Thanks for your help and encouragement. gracieprior3(at)gmail(dot)com.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Ina -

Welcome to my blog, and thanks for entering the drawing. If you're a Follower, please let me know, and you'll get a second entry. (If you're not, you can always become one.)

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Karen K. -

Thanks for stopping by and entering the giveaway.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Nancy -

Thanks for entering the giveaway. Don't forget, I'll have one next Wednesday as well. :)

Blessings,
Susan

otrustme said...

I am now a follower Susan. How nice that you respond to every comment! Have a wonderful day!
Ina

Anonymous said...

This sounds like a wonderful book and I would love to read it! Everyone have a happy mothers day!

lead[at]hotsheet[dot]com

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Ina -

Thanks for becoming a Follower. I gave you another entry. :)

At this point, the number of comments are low enough for me to respond personally. I'm all about building relationships. It's makes blogging a joy for me and hopefully for all of you.

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Virginia -

Welcome, and thanks for entering the drawing. I hope you'll stop by often. We'll have more giveaways to celebrate my 2nd Blogoversary.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Steve -

Welcome to my blog, and thank you for becoming a Follower.

In order for you to be entered in the drawing, I need you to leave an email address in the comments. Thanks!

Blessings,
Susan :)

Kidzaplenty said...

I love Mary Connealy's writings. I have two by my beside that I am planning on reading in the next week or so.

Add me to the drawing, please!

kidzaplenty (at) bellsouth (dot) net

And I am a follower!

I also blogged about this at
kidzaplenty (dot)xanga(dot)com/726760404/mary-connealy-book-giveaway/

Such an opportunity, it just had to be shared!

Kidzaplenty said...

I love Mary Connealy's writings. I have two by my beside that I am planning on reading in the next week or so.

Add me to the drawing, please!

kidzaplenty (at) bellsouth (dot) net

And I am a follower!

I also blogged about this at
kidzaplenty (dot)xanga(dot)com/726760404/mary-connealy-book-giveaway/

Such an opportunity, it just had to be shared!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Kidzaplenty -

Welcome to my blog, and thanks for entering the drawing. You have three entries for this giveaway.

Watch for more drawings this month as I celebrate my Happy 2nd Blogoversary.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Mary Connealy said...

HI! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE.

I had a quiet lunch with my mom today. It was really nice. She's got eight kids. I've got four. Honestly, you'd have thought we'd both be busy. Although, she had at least ONE child (Me, the good one!) with her.

But we had a party yesterday for my baby graduating from college, so we were many, many of us together yesterday. So it was a really nice lunch, we got to really visit one on one and talk over the fun from yesterday.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Mary -

I'm glad you had a nice day with your Mom. My Mom and I went out to lunch together after church.

I announced the winner of the giveaway on my blog today. Kidzaplenty won. :)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you visit often.

Blessings,
Susan :)