Friday, February 12, 2010

A Valentine Book Giveaway!

Hello, All:

Sorry I've been absent for a while here in cyberspace. Planning for possible renovations is taking far more energy and concentration than I ever expected. Good for the winter blues for sure, but costly on the writing and blogging. Now that a professional designer is on it, I hope to get life back into some semblance of normalcy around here.

But, hey, Valentine's Day is upon us. I've bought the munchkins and hubby a little something to celebrate, and I also bought an extra copy of Betsy St. Amant's A Valentine's Wish for a giveaway to one lucky blogging buddy. So leave a comment with your snail mail addy if you'd like to be entered in the drawing. I'll have one of the munchkins draw the lucky winner sometime on the big day and let you all know the winner on Monday, February 15th's post, which happens to be Family Day here in Ontario so I'll have the whole family home for three days straight this Valentine's weekend. Yippy!!! Love it when that happens.


Here's a peak at the first page:
Unemployed. Single. And out of brownie mix.
Lori Perkins tapped her nails against the open pantry door. Canned vegetables and peanut butter crackers were nowhere near sufficient for this kind of low. She rested her forehead against the frame and blew a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. It really wasn't her fault—well, maybe two of the three problems were. She probably shouldn't have quit her job at the aquarium gift shop before the administrative position across town was a done deal, and she definitely should have gone to the grocery store before her chocolate stash ran out. But her single status was most certainly not of her own choosing. Add the fact that Valentine's Day was mere weeks away, and it became official. She was broke, hungry and destined to be alone.

The cordless phone on the counter jangled a shrill ring, and Lori snatched it up while peering one more time at the contents of her bottom shelf. "Hello?"

"Lori? I can barely hear you. Are you in a tunnel?" It was her friend Andy Stewart, the youth pastor at her church, L'Eglise de Grace.

She stretched one arm toward the back of the shelf. "No. The pantry."

"Searching for chocolate, I assume."

"Funny." So what if she'd become a little predictable over the years? Lori fumbled around a jar of peanut butter and felt a crinkly wrapper. Maybe a forgotten candy bar? No, just another package of crackers. She let out a huff. Was a little chocolate too much to ask for a girl having one of the worst days of her life?

"Are you all right? I can call back."

Lori shut the pantry door with a loud click and rested her back against the wooden panels. "I need chocolate."

"You're out? How is that possible?"

"Gracie helped me finish the last of my emergency stash."

"And she didn't refill?"

"There wasn't time before the wedding." She supposed Gracie had more important things on her mind at the time, like planning a honeymoon. Excited as she was for her friend's new life, Lori couldn't help the flicker of jealousy in her stomach. Happily-ever-after endings apparently weren't meant for everyone—her ex, Jason, had proven that point well enough.

She slammed the brakes on her runaway train of negative thoughts. "Look, is there a point to this conversation, or can I finish my desperate search for relief now?"

"Ouch. Bad day?"

"Did you not hear me say I'm out of chocolate?" Men. The cute ones cheated, and the funny ones were dense. Take Andy, for example. They'd been practically best friends for how long now—two years? Three? And he'd never once considered Lori as anything more.

Though it was probably for the best. If bitter thoughts of Jason still crept in her subconscious, she wasn't ready for more. The need for chocolate intensified, and Lori squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe if she pretended hard enough she could—

Andy cleared his throat. "How about I bring over some chocolate doughnuts? I have something I need to talk to you about."

Lori stopped the no from automatically rolling off her tongue. She preferred to indulge in her chocolate bad moods by herself, but without the chocolate, the bad-mood part sounded pretty lonely. "Fine. See you in twenty."



Leave a comment for your chance to read the rest of the story!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

27 comments:

Jeanette Levellie said...

OOoooh Oooohhh OOoooh, please pick me: my anniversary is Valentine's Day! 35 years to be exact.

I'd love this book. Thanks for your generosity.

jeanettelevellie(at)gmail(dot)com

jess said...

Eileen, this is soooo nice of you!
Love that first line.
I'll email you my snail mail, should it become necessary, but I bet your fishbowl will be pretty full.

Diane said...

With a first line like that, how can this book not be a winner! Have a great weekend :O)

www.dianeestrella.com

Joanne said...

Wow, sounds like you've got some major renovations going on at your place. Lots of work, but always worth it. It sounds like Lori's going to need a little life renovations, too, between her lack of chocolate, and lack of romance. Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Jody Hedlund said...

Have missed you! Sent you an email to check up on you! ;-) Glad you're just drowning in house renovations! But glad you came up for a breath of air!

Karen Lange said...

Sounds interesting:)Thanks for the giveaway!
Blessings,
Karen
klange61(at)hotmail(dot)com

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Oh yes, you've been missed, and I'm glad the renovation stress is easing up a bit for you.

This book sounds so good to me! I love the first line and I can see some fun coming along with the little chat the friend has planned with her! Oooooo! :)

sherrinda(at)gmail(dot)com

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

Glad to know you're okay! I was thinking about you this week! Have a great weekend!

Cindy R. Wilson said...

Oooh, I just read a little bit about this book on another blog and it sounds so good. I'd love to read the rest!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Eileen -

Thanks for that tantalizing excerpt. Since my TBR pile is in danger of tipping over, I'll pass.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan Anne Mason said...

Hi Eileen,

This book sounds like so much fun! How nice of you to give one away.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Valentines' Day and a restful Family Day.

I am SO thankful for this much needed day off!

You have my email!

Cheers,
Sue

Jaime Wright said...

Hey Eileen!! I can't believe I've missed your blog in the past!! I added you to my blog "faves" so I will visit more often :)
Sure! I'll love to enter into the drawing :)

jamida(at)charter(dot)net

Betsy St. Amant said...

Thanks Eileen! I'm so honored!! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks for the publicity.

Grace said...

Wow! A big wow to this book. I love good books, and this one is definitely great.
Please count me in to your roll. My email add is gratch2u(at)yahoo(dot)com. I hope to win it. Well, everybody do. :)
Thank you for your generosity, Eileen.

Lidiya Lastur said...

You have been misssed, hopefully everyhting turns out great. Make sure you post some pictures afterwords.
The book seems interesting.
My email is lidiyap(at)myway(dot) com.

Thank You. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Jessica Nelson said...

Oooh, I'm liking that Lori lady. LOL

I'm so glad you're okay. Been wondering how things were going.
:-) Have a wonderful weekend!

Lillian Robinson said...

I don't know how you turn it over to a professional. I'm a 'hands-on' kinda gal. Love doing it myself. As a matter of fact, I drew up the blueprints for our current home. OK, so maybe I'm a little control freak.

I love Valentine's Day! Even though it always means I'm a year older. Yes, it's my birthday. So maybe I'll get lucky... mzzlily(at)live(dot)com

windycindy said...

I would love to read the rest of this romantic story sitting in front of our fireplace while sipping hot tea! Happy Valentine's Day!
Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Joyce Shelton said...

I would love to win this book! Betsy St. Amant is one of my friends on Shoutlife and Facebook! She lives about an hour and a half from me! But I have never got to see her face to face! I can't wait to read her book! God Bless You and Happy Valentine's Day! <3 <3 <3cherokeetearose@yahoo.com

Anita Yancey said...

Sounds like a really good book. I would love to read it. Please enter me. Thanks!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Terri Tiffany said...

It sounds wonderful! A good fun read:)
terri dot tiffany at yahoo dot com

I know about trying to juggle everything. I'm so behind now that I started working! I have to find a good schedule to blog.

Linda Glaz said...

And out of brownie mix! The story of so many women's lives. You notice they never say and "he's gone" but the brownie mix, now THAT'S got our attention. Great opening line.

Kim said...

The book looks awesome. I can't but help hope that I win. Maybe i should bribe the kids with a cookie or two?

Anonymous said...

if it's not too late...please count me in...happy valentines' day

karenk
kmkuka(at)yahoo(Dot)Com

Mary Lou said...

If it's not too late. please count me in...sounds really good.
Mary Lou
dlowran1(at)comcast(dot)net

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT said...

it's probably too late to enter, but i wanted to comment on what a great first line betsy has. or, should i say first 3 lines? sentences? whichever...GREAT opening. :) would love a chance at this book.

how are you eileen? i see you're going through renovations. full-time work keeps me off blogs except my own, so i never get over to comment (save tonight, as i don't have work in the morning). anyway...i think about you often. just wanted to say hello!

kanishk said...

this is soooo nice of you!

Work from home India