Read-Along and Giveaway!

Did you know that Anne Elisabeth is hosting a Christmas Read-along on her book, Veiled Rose? If you have read or are just reading this book, bounce on over to discover a wealth of insight into the story and sneak peaks into the future tales.

I found today's post particularly interesting, since I'm a big fan of The Legend of the Brothers Ashiun. :)

Also, I thought you might like to know that Gillian Adams is hosting yet another book giveaway over at her blog. This time, she's giving away a copy of both The Orphan King and Fortress of Mist by Sigmund Brouwer. Check it out!

Christmas Short Story Contest!

The Christmas season is almost upon us. To be fair, it actually is upon my house. My family and I rather love celebrating Christmas, as you might come to know in possible upcoming posts. :)

But I thought I'd like to spread Christmas cheer onto my blog as well. So I've decided to host a giveaway! But you're going to have to work for it a little.

Observe the wintery scene I painted below.

Who is this young girl? Is she human or perhaps an elf? Was she searching for her kitten or did she just find it wandering in the snow? Is she kneeling in soft snow...or is that perhaps ice beneath her feet? Who is coming across the bridge? Is it a man or a woman? Are they looking for the girl? Why? What are those lights hovering in the trees beyond? Lamps...or perhaps fairies?

But these questions are not for me to answer. YOU get to answer them.

1) Write a short story about the scene above in 500--2000 words. UPDATE: If you would like to write more then the word limit, than be my guest. I just didn't want to overwhelm you this season. :)

2) Send me the story to my email: williamshsj@gmail.com

3) Enter the Rafflecopter below after you have entered a story.

4) For those of you who might not know, I require stories to be completely clean. I will not accept  the entries otherwise. The above scene is innocent and sweet. While I don't mind if you put drama and danger into the story, it should still attain to the mood expressed above.

So what is the prize if you enter a story and win in the Rafflecopter? You win the above painting, matted and personalized with a special line from your special story written across the snow in the center of the left-hand side!

The DEADLINE for your story is December 20th, midnight. The winner will be announced on the first day of winter!

The contest is open to the US and Canada. 

And I'd love to post your short story on my blog so that everyone can read your genius. If you'd like to share about the contest, feel free to use this button and link back to this post! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

By the way, this idea was inspired by Molly who is hosting her own picture-inspired contest that gives you a far longer time to write than me. You should go check out her story-writing challenge and the awesome prizes she's giving away! And thank you, Molly, for allowing me to use the idea!

I hope you all have time to write a short story for the picture, but if not, I totally understand. Christmas is a very busy season. I hope you all have a joyous one!

Giveaway Galore!

Tis the season for giving! And as it turns out, I've noticed some fantastic giveaways on blogs I follow that I think you all might be interested in.

Wayne Thomas Batson, author of the wonderful Door Within Trilogy, is hosting a vote on a very special gift--a short story written by him that will be free on Kindle or a .pdf download around Christmas. But this isn't even the best part. He is giving us eight options for the subject of the story, and you can vote on which one you'd like him to write! Vote on this fantastic giveaway HERE! You'll have to scroll down to Blog Item #2 to find it. :)

Also, Laura Pol over at her charming blog, Crafty Booksheeps, is hosting an interview with Meliane Dickerson who is generously giving away one of her novels by winner's choice. Have you wanted to read one of Meliane Dickerson's novels? Now's a great opportunity. Find it HERE.

Also, Bookish Queen is giving her followers a chance to win a copy of Goddess Tithe by Anne Elisabeth Stengl and a romance, Winter in Full Bloom by Anita Higman. If you haven't followed Backing Books yet, you should consider it to find interesting reviews! Find it HERE.

And I mentioned this yesterday, but Gillian Adams is giving away a copy of both The Book of Names and Corus the Champion. Enter HERE.

So yep, there are a lot of giveaways going about the blogs. And I'll be hosting my own giveaway/contest coming up soon now, so keep your eyes open for that!

Book Giveaway

Guess what, readers of mine?

Gillian Adams is hosting a giveaway over at her lovely blog, Of Battles, Dragons, and Swords of Adament. She's giving away a copy of both The Book of Names and Corus the Champion by D. Barkley Briggs to a look winner! Go over and enter if you're interested in those books! Plus, check out her own blog and upcoming novels!