Monday, December 22, 2014

Don't let the holidays suck the lifeblood out of you!

Merry Christmas, et al. I have two gifts & a giveaway for you all!

First, I wanted to write you all a Christmas poem. It's not really about Christmas, but it's in there... so here you go!

Meet the Jones

To Mulberry Lane,
In Sycamore Square,
Moved a handsome new family
With skin oh, so fair.

Respected, adored,
Admired by many,
They had wealth to spare
And flaunted it plenty.

In the spring they threw parties,
They lit up the night,
A few lucky chosen
To stay until light.

In summer they vanished,
They left the harsh sun,
Facebooked from down under
To show off ski fun.

When weather turned cooler,
Guess who reappears,
In time for fall fests
And Halloween's spooky fears.

But as winter approached,
The neighborhood thinned.
Where's everyone gone?
Asked the lone, chilling wind.

The family laughed
So full and so jolly.
Christmas wishes were granted
By vain human folly.

When New Year arrives,
The Jones will be gone
To another quaint village,
Fresh blood to feed on.


The Second gift I have, is the lovely and talented, Sharon Bayliss! She has a fun, "You might be..." post to celebrate the coming of her next December People book, WATCH ME BURN!


Dark wizards living in the Mundane world have a lot of challenges. Here are some signs that you might be one of The December People...
  1. Your favorite football team really did lose because you forgot to wear your lucky socks.
  2. You have to move every year because your house keeps getting destroyed.
  3. You're on a first name basis with all of the nurses in your local ER.
  4. If all your kids are alive and safely inside your home, you think you're the greatest parent ever.
  5. You care way too much about the seasons.
  6. You're angry at J.K. Rowling for her unfair treatment of Slytherins.
  7. You celebrate Christmas either way too much or way too little.
  8. If you and your family members stand in a circle, the house might burn down.
  9. You have way too many children and they keep stealing your car.
  10. It's your fault that it's raining.
Begin the series with Destruction for only 99 cents (12/1-12/21 only)!
Semi-finalist in the Kindle Book Review Awards and #1 category bestseller in coming of age fantasy.

DESTRUCTION
David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything.

Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn't a choice.

Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without.

Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.


WATCH ME BURN
David Vandergraff lost his home, his job, and contact with his oldest son, but remains determined to be a good husband and father despite being a dark winter wizard.

His resolve is tested when a flyer for a missing girl--who happens to be a summer witch--begins to haunt him. David believes a spell needs to use him to save her, so he follows the magic's command and looks into her disappearance. His teenage daughter Emmy resents him for caring so much about a random stranger. But when she uncovers some disturbing evidence close to home, she begins an investigation of her own.

David and Emmy quickly learn that the mystery is not only about a missing girl they barely know, but a deeply personal story that impacts everyone they care about. As their world crumbles, they fear the warning may be true—never mess with summer wizards, because the good guys always win.





And lastly, the GINORMOUS GIVEAWAY!

My good buddy, Andrew Buckley from Curiosity Quills put together a colossal Christmas giveaway. It's a chance to win one of 24 awesome books!

I'm helper elf, Twinkle Fluffenguff, offering POP TRAVEL and BROKEN BRANCH FALLS. Sharon, aka Giggles McJinglebell, has DESTRUCTION in it as well! Check it out!


MERRY CHRISTMAS
TO ALL!

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

21 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Someone by the name of Jones moves next door to me, I'll check for fangs.
Congratulations, Sharon!
And have a great Christmas, Twinkle Elf.

dolorah said...

Congrats Sharon.

Tara, that was a fun poem :) I'm sure you make a good Twinkle Elf. So cool.

Merry Christmas to you both.

The Silver Fox said...

That was a great poem. Merry Christmas to you!

Yolanda Renée said...

My goodness you've covered all the important points!

Love the poem, and Sharon is a wonder, but that book give-a-way so very, very awesome!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Kelly Steel said...

Congratulations to Sharon! Fun poem!

Christine Rains said...

Hehehe! Love that poem! Great guest post. I definitely thought the Slytherins were treated unfairly.

Have a very merry Christmas! :)

Leandra Wallace said...

Haha, love the poem! And Sharon's books sound great!

Rena said...

I love that poem. And Sharon's book looks great. Her list of dark wizard problems made me chuckle.

Rachna Chhabria said...

Loved the poem. Sharon's books sound super. Will add them to my TBR list.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year to you and Sharon.

Suzi said...

Merry Christmas!!

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi, Tara,

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Congrats, Sharon.... All the best!

cleemckenzie said...

You all look lovely in those fangs. I'm sure you were a hit at the holiday parties. I'm watching for you because I live just outside a quaint village.

Stephanie Faris said...

What a great poem. I hope you had a great Christmas!

Rhonda Albom said...

Terrific poem. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

Trisha said...

Teehee - love the vamp teeth picture. ;) Great poem!

And I love the sound of Sharon Bayliss's books. Fun times :)

Vanessa Morgan said...

Happy New Year's Eve. Wishing you all the best.

Michelle Wallace said...

Happy New Year to you and your family, Tara!!

New Release Books said...

That was a fun poem!

DMS said...

Fun poem! Plus, the picture is awesome too!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and that 2015 is very good to you. :)
~Jess

Jennifer Hawes said...

Super fun poem and that family photo is priceless!

Anonymous said...

Happy*New*Year . . . hadn't checked in on you in a while. I LOVED your poem sooo much, too funny :-)

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