Happy Thursday All, Is it really Thursday already? Gosh, time flies when you're sick. Or slows down, depending on who you are. That's right. I've been sick. Allergies laid me up in bed with my computer and Christmas gifts in the form of DVDs of Seasons 5, 6, and 7 (final) of Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Good news--I got through all the episodes (I just have to watch the TV movie special feature on the last disc of the final season). The bad news? Didn't get a lot done in the way of writing, reading, or pretty much anything else. For the most part I've finally quit imitating Sneezy the Dwarf (from Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs ) and I found that turning off the heat during the day has kept some of the problems from flaring. Namely, my eye finally stopped tearing and my nose quit running and I started feeling a little better. I've got some medicine and a nasal spray and I'm doing better than I was, but I'll tell you what...I hate allergies. Fortunately...

Happy Monday Everyone, I hope you all had a great holiday. I certainly did. Right now I'm sitting in my living room, enjoying the tree and lights and one of my Christmas gifts on DVD. In my family, me and my siblings and spouses get one name (either a sibling or a spouse of a sibling and the spouses get a name too) and we buy for that person.  One of my sisters got my name this year, and as part of the Christmas presents she got me a lion ornament to represent the hero of my novel, whose name is Monroe. I opened it up, laughed and delightedly exclaimed, "It's Monroe!"  The lion ornament is now hanging near the top of my tree by a white ribbon (don't know where my hooks are). He's awesome--sparkly and very regal.  I could just picture Monroe saying, "Your sister has most excellent taste." He also would say, "She has superior taste." Since he can turn into a lion, Monroe is of the opinion no other animal can hold a candle to lions. Anywa...

Happy Friday All, This weekend is Christmas! I hope all of you and your near and dear ones have a very Merry, safe, blessed, and wonderful Christmas! I'll be spending Christmas with my family and some of my family-of-origin. Dad is going to be cooking away (he's a great cook) and we'll be attending Church and having gift exchange. I'm very much looking forward to it all. Relatives of mine I haven't seen in awhile are in town, so I'm looking forward to seeing them, and, of course, the friends I'll be seeing as well. Everyone be safe and I'll see y'all next week :-) What's your plans for Christmas?  Have A Festive Friday!

Happy Thursday Everyone, We're finally on the mend, for which I'm saying thank you prayers. With Christmas right around the corner, it's a dear wish of mine for us to be well enough to enjoy the festivities, and it looks more of a possibility than earlier this week. I don't know if I'll get to posting on Friday or not, but if I don't, I want to leave you with some new release news: Christie Craig has released a brand new e-book called Murder, Mayhem & Mama . It'll be exclusively available on Barnes & Noble Nook , then sometime in February 2012 will be available on Amazon Kindle. Nina Cordoba has taken her writing in a new direction with her brand new release, Mia Like Crazy .  It's available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook . If you're looking for in-prints to read: Syrie James' Nocturne is one of my favorite vampire novels. This poigant, emotional novel will keep you going long after you finish the last page. ...

Happy Wednesday All, Congratulations to Sarah for winning the signed copy of Christie Craig's Shut Up & Kiss Me . Thank you to everyone who participated. Thank you especially to Christie for supplying the prize. Also, I want to thank all those who sent us their prayers and well wishes for my family. We're doing much better. It appears to be seasonal health issues. But we're mending, which I'm really glad about. Christmas is a mere days away, which is hard to believe! There's some anticipation mounting in my household. How about you? Are you excited about Christmas? Have A Wonderful Wednesday!

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Before I get to today's post, please answer the poll question located in the right hand margin of my blog (at the top). This is to get an idea of where my traffic is coming from and who knows...it might impact future posts and giveaways. But curiosity abounds, so please answer, thank you! ********GIVEAWAY PORTION OF THIS POST IS NOW CLOSED.*********** Today is the last day of my December Days Blog Giveaway... This particular author is one of the sweetest and funniest authors I've ever met. She's been an inspiration to me, a guide, a support, and a friend. In my writer's group she's very well respected and well liked. In fact, it's hard not to like Christie Craig because she's got a lively spirit, and her books are just as lively. Case in point: Today (Tuesday, December 20, 2011) she is releasing her e-book, Murder Mayhem & Mama . This ebook is available 12/20/2011 on Barnes & Noble Nook and will be available on Am...

Happy Monday All, First of all, congratulations to Kimberly L (edited last initial, because originally I had it wrong). for winning the signed copy of Melissa Ohnoutka's Faithful Deceptions . Melissa will get that to you, soon. Now...tomorrow is special for several reasons: 1.  Release day of Christie Craig's e-book, Murder, Mayhem & Mama. 2.  It's the last day of the December Days Blog Giveaway. 3.  The giveaway author? Christie Craig! She'll be giving away a signed copy of one of her in-print novels. (I'll announce which one tomorrow when I put up the giveaway post). We finally got our tree decorated and it looks very pretty. I need to get some more red bead garland for the bottom half, but the store didn't have anymore, so right now it's just the top half has red bed garland. The tree is decorated in white lights, ornaments, and tinsel. I have an artificial tree, so I don't have to worry about watering or anything like that. Are y...

Happy Friday Everybody, *****THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED. A very special thank you to Melissa Ohnoutka for supplying the prize*** We're drawing near the end of my December Days Blog Giveaway, but we're not at the end, YET. Today's prize is from the very talented Melissa Ohnoutka . Melissa is giving away to ONE lucky winner a signed in-print copy of her Romantic Suspense, Faithful Deceptions: Will Hailey survive her quest for revenge, or will she just be another victim? *****THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED!****  To enter this giveaway, please read the following rules carefully: ***I will ask Melissa if this is for USA Citizens only or if it's international. Once I know, I will edit this blog post with the information.***  *****EDITS 10:55 a.m. Central Time:  I heard from Melissa. If someone outside of the USA wins the giveaway, they will get the E-book version of FAITHFUL DECEPTIONS. The in-print will o...

Happy Thursday All, Congratulations to Carolyn W. (she emailed her entry to me, which is why you don't see her entry in the comment section of the giveaway post), winner of the Kerrelyn Sparks' ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A VAMPIRE . Carolyn, please confirm receipt of my email I sent you so that you can claim your prize. Thank you to everyone who participated and thank you to Kerrelyn for supplying the prize. Friday is the next December Days Blog Giveaway (for those of you marking your calendars). I hope everyone is doing well. I'm making this a short post due to the fact I have a ton of stuff going on (preparing for Christmas and other things happening). So, is everyone ready for Christmas/Celebrations? All the decorations and wrapping all done? Have A Tinsel-Filled Thursday!

Happy Wednesday All, Congratulations to Sarah K. who won the Tess St. John giveaway. Please confirm receipt of the email I sent you to claim your prize! ****KERRELYN SPARKS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED . Thank you to all who particpated. A special thank you to Kerrelyn Sparks for providing the prize.**** Merrily the December Days Blog Giveaway keeps going! ***THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED. It was closed on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 10:30 p.m. Central Time per the giveaway details. I am no longer accepting entries to this giveaway*** If you haven't had the fun of reading a Kerrelyn Sparks paranormal romance, then you're in for a treat. Kerrelyn is offering to one lucky winner a signed copy of her fun and fangtastic novel, All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire: Toni's friend is in the hospital going on about vampires. Toni will prove her right. But can she resist Ian's charm, in spite of his fangs? As always, the book is full of Kerrelyn's wit, ro...

Happy Monday All, ***Giveaway is now CLOSED. Thank you to all those who participated. Look for more giveaways THIS week. Thank you especially to Tess St. John for donating the prize for today!*** Yep--it's the December Days Blog Giveaway icon! Today my dear friend and illustrious Critique Partner, Tess St. John , is graciously providing the prize:  her Romantic Suspense, Eyes Of Jade :  E-book cover  Can Jake Dane protect a beloved starlet before the threats on her life mean a permanent retirement? *UPDATE as of 12:30 P.M. Central Time:  As Tess pointed out in the comments what I posted is the E-Book cover. Unfortunately I'm not able to post the paperback version. Everytime I try to, it comes up really, really small and when I try to enlarge it the cover looks extremely blurry. The only difference between the two covers is that on the paperback version Jake is the only one on the front of the book and the starlet is on the back. Yours tru...

Happy Weekend Everybody, The winner of yesterday's December Days Blog Giveaway is Angela! Congratulations, Angela! Josephine will send you your signed copy of Starcrossed soon. Everybody else, I'll be back on Monday! Have A Great Weekend!

Happy Friday Everyone, ****GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED. A very special thank you to Josephine Angelini for supplying the prize!**** Yay! It's another giveaway day! This is a special treat, not just for you, but for me, too. This novel I have read twice and would read again and again, no problem. Today's giveaway novel is Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed: Can Helen and Lucas break the pattern of bloodshed the Fates and the Furies have repeated throughout the centuries? Or will they suffer the same fate as the original Helen and Paris and other scions before them? This is a story based off the Helen Of Troy/Trojan War mythology. I own this book and believe me, you don't want to miss out. Here's how you can win this awesome novel (please read the following rules carefully): One entry per person. I will close giveaway at 10:30 p.m. Central time.  **Edit 12/09/2011 10:23 a.m. Central Time:  Confirmed with Josephine, the cont...

Happy Thursday All, I'm posting this kinda late in the day, but I couldn't be on the computer very long earlier because I had another obligation in my personal life (a good one, I promise, nothing bad) so I decided to wait until I had talked to the winner of yesterday's drawing and was done with my other obligation to post. The winner of yesterday's December Days Blog Giveaway was Sarah! Congratulations, Sarah! Lauren Oliver will mail you your copy of DELIRIUM soon. Tomorrow is yet another giveaway...you're gonna have to come back and see who the author is and what book it is. Next week I have THREE, count 'em, THREE giveaway days. Three different authors, three different books. So, keep coming back, because tomorrow is a giveaway day and next week is THREE (and I'm not saying which days!) Have A Thrilling Thursday!

Happy Wednesday Everybody, ****THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR THE NEXT DECEMBER DAYS BLOG GIVEAWAY HAPPENING LATER THIS WEEK. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!**** No, you're not seeing things! That is, in fact, the December Days Blog Giveaway day! You're in for a treat. YA author, Lauren Oliver is going to give to one lucky winner a signed copy of her thought-provoking and fascinating dystopian novel, Delirium : Lena is looking forward to being cured and safe from the deliria. Days before receiving the cure, she contracts it...she falls in love. It's a fascinating read, everybody! And here's how you can try to win a signed copy of this incredible novel (please read the instructions carefully): One entry per person. I'll be closing the contest at 10:30 p.m. Central Time: 1.  You can comment on this post. Please leave your first name and an email address. If you do not leave an email address you will be disqualified. (I need an email...

Happy St. Nicholas Day / Tuesday Everybody! In my background, I have Flemish (Lowland Dutch) and German, and from what I understand, both backgrounds celebrate St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas is who Santa Claus is based on. He was a real person. Unfortunately, not a lot is known about him, other than the fact that he would often provide for the poor and needy. There's a story that there was a girl whose father was too poor to provide a dowry (which was extremely important back then, not as much now). So at night, St. Nicholas dropped off money so that the girl could get married. He was a bishop and tried very hard to help all those in need. I heard that the Dutch put out wooden shoes. They place hay in the shoes for St. Nicholas' horse. Growing up, we'd put out a shoe downstairs the night before St. Nicholas Day. In the morning we'd have  presents in and under our shoes, and sweet treats in our shoes. It was great fun, and not many people I know celebrated...

Happy Monday Everybody, I hope y'all had a great weekend! My weekend was packed! I had shopping to do, church, and we went to the library--but it was a good weekend. This morning after coming home from an errand, I pulled up to find that there were Grackles (big black birds, but not crows) and a Turkey Vulture picking at the garbage along the curb that was waiting for the garbage truck. I had never seen a Turkey Vulture that close before (and I was glad I was in the car). Those things are huge and ugly. You want to feel sorry for them for being so ugly, but they're so huge that you start wondering if you'd win if they tried to attack you. Fortunately, said vulture flew away and landed on the opposite side of the street on some one's rooftop, so I was able to get to the door unmolested by an ugly (and possibly vicious) bird. Although, I doubt they attack humans, but you can't be too careful! LOL. (yes, I'm being funny--it's okay to laugh). Okay...I have...

Happy Weekend Everyone, I'm a little late posting this--my day was pretty full--but the winner from Friday's giveaway of Will Graham novel is... Valerie! Congratulations, Valerie! I've forwarded your information to Will, so you should be getting that from him soon. Thank you to everyone who participated, and keep your eye out for the next giveaway day--there's several more to come! Have a GREAT Weekend!

Happy Friday All, ***CONTEST/GIVEAWAY portion of this post is now CLOSED***  December Days Blog Giveaway Icon means this post is a December Days Blog Giveaway post  You've heard the phrase, "Tis better to give than to receive", right? Well, that's what you're gonna get 6 or 7 days this month on Write By Bethany. Each day--which are sprinkled throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas, but ending BEFORE Christmas--will feature a different author with a chance to win a copy of his or her novel. Haven't finished your Christmas shopping? What's more awesome than a book that's signed by the author? To kick it off, Will Graham has agreed to something very special. The winner will get his or her choice of one of his in-prints. Yep, you read that right. Whomever wins this giveaway will get to choose one novel of his in-prints to have personalized with whatever name the winner wants. So here's the deal. These are the 3 novels Will ...

Happy Thursday Everyone, It's December! It's December! Guess what that means? It means that it's the month for my giveaway days. Friday is the kick-off day! That means on Friday, I'll be hosting a giveaway of an author's in-print book that will be signed by the author for that day and mailed to the winner. Other than that, been busy prepping for Christmas and taking care of some things on my end. Hope all is well and don't forget to come back on Friday...it's the first of the December Days Write By Bethany Blog Giveaway Also, BIG NEWS and Congratulations to my fellow writer and friend, Susan C. Muller. She just had her novel published through Soul Mate Publishing! I've had the pleasure of reading and critiquing part of this novel--a Romantic Suspense with paranormal elements and, I'd say a bit of mystery, too. The Secrets On Forest Bend is now available through the publisher.  Have A Thrilling Thursday!

Happy Monday Everyone, As we approach the end of November, I'm already enjoying Christmas specials on TV. This is my favorite time of year. I love Fall and Winter--I love sweaters, comfy blankets, and warm drinks. Those of you who haven't heard, I'm doing a big giveaway in December! So far, I have at least 6 authors signed up. I've got thrillers, suspense, romance, and YA lined up. You don't want to miss this. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I was at my parents' house and had a nice time. So what do you like about the winter season?