Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Really Random Tuesday #15: Amazon Winner, Author News, and AMVETS

Congratulations to Carrie from In the Hammock Blog, the winner of a $25 gift certificate to Amazon from my Reading Resolutions Giveaway. Carrie, I will be emailing you very soon with the news. If you didn't win this time, don't despair! While a gift certificate is a nice prize, I have several other giveaways posted on the right side of my blog, so you might just try to win a book or two.

****************

In 2010, author Daniel A. Rabuzzi offered my readers a free e-book version of his 2009 book, The Choir Boats, illustrated by his wife Deborah A. Mills, during the month of July. You can still preview the first few chapters on his website. The author recently contacted me to let me know that the sequel to The Choir Boats, tentatively titled The Indigo Pheasant, will be out in the spring or summer of 2012. If any of you have read or plan to read The Choir Boats, the author is interested in hearing your feedback and impressions, which may help him shape the sequel.






Friend and author Mary Millar Siller has just published her book, Out of the Ashes: A Story of Common People Transitioning Through Uncommon Events, which is a personal account about losing her house in the 2007 wildfires that destroyed at least 1500 homes across Southern California. The book is about how Mary and others rebuilt not only their houses but also their lives, and is complete with photographs and stories from many fire survivors. If you are interested in more information or in buying a copy of this book, please email me and I will put you in touch with Mary.

****************

After the holidays and the shower of new things, I often feel the need to get rid of old stuff. A good way to do this is to donate things my family no longer uses or wants. When a card arrived from AMVETS in the mail, I called them and arranged to have a truck come by to pick up some of our old things. This works on so many levels. Instead of just throwing items away, you're recycling them, and at the same time reducing household clutter. AMVETS gets donated items to sell to others at low cost, and their stores raise money to help many others and also provide jobs in the community. I frequently bring discarded items to our local thrift stores but can only bring so much in at once; having the truck come by is really nice. It feels good to get rid of things we no longer use (and make room for things we do want, such as books). If you also have a surplus of things, why not arrange for AMVETS to take them off your hands? It really is a win-win situation.


Thank you, AMVETS!

****************

Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of. If you're inspired by this idea, feel free to copy the button and use it on your own blog. Leave a link in the comments if you’re participating and I'll add it to this post.

For another Really Random Tuesday post, please visit Under My Apple Tree.

Thanks for reading!

18 comments:

  1. Congrats to Carrie! Looking forward to your other giveaways. Hope you have a wonderful week,
    Natalie :0)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Out of the Ashes sounds like a interesting book to read. And what a nice thing that the truck comes to your house and picks up used items. I don't think there is anything like that around in my area. We do have Goodwill stores, we take things to occasionally.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Choir Boats looks interesting. The title alone is enough to grab my attention, but the cover art is beautiful as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Out of the Ashes sounds like a very interesting read. Thanks for sharing about...you've piqued my interest. (Did I spell that right..lol???)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I have the smallest trash bin in town. Everything gets recycled, freecycled or donated. Yup, everyone wins.

    Congrats to your winner and thanks for the linkup.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations Carrie! I don't think we have Amvets here, but we do donate to the Rescue Mission thrift store on a regular basis.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Natalie, I often host or post giveaways, so please try your luck again!

    Gigi, I'm not sure if AMVETS makes house calls nationwide. It is also great to donate to Goodwill, of course.

    K.M., I hope you will take a look at the author's website when you have a spare moment for more information about The Choir Boats. As a writer, your input would be especially valuable to Daniel.

    Sam, lol, your spelling is perfect. Out of the Ashes has been an uplifting book so far.

    Leslie, how wonderful that you are an avid recycler. I enjoyed your RRT post today very much.

    Kathy, it is great that you donate. Everyone benefits.

    Thank you all for your comments.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Recycling is wonderful. It does feel great to donate to a worthy organization. When we moved in 2008, we donated lots of furniture and household items to the Salvation Army, and it made way for less clutter in our new home and a few new rooms of furniture as well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow!! I'm so excited to win!! Thank you SO much!!! I just replied to your email :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I do the same thing every new year - such a wonderful way of decluttering and a great way to raise funds for a good cause.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Congrats to the winner and Th Choir Boats sounds like a good read, I like the cover.
    I do remember hearing about those California wildfires. Best of luck to Mary with her new book.
    AMVETS sounds like a great way to declutter and help others!
    Enjoy your week Suko :)
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. I gave you the Stylish Blogger Award

    http://wulfluva-shellsstories.blogspot.com/2011/01/stylish-blogger-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  13. I did download The Choir Boats, but haven't gotten the chance to read it yet. I guess I need to read it soon so I can give the author the feedback that he needs! Also, the book about the wildfires sounds really interesting, and I am going to have to check it out. Thanks for letting us know about this!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think that book cover for The Choir Boats is beautiful! Stephanie http://stephanieswrittenword.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. It's great to know that so many of you recycle and donate goods.

    WulfLuva, thanks for the award!

    Zibilee, I am sure the author would greatly appreciate your feedback.

    Thanks for all the comments.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Congrats Carrie!
    AMVETS sounds like a great way to get rid of stuff! I wish we had something like that here.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make this site lively! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I value each one, and will respond to questions.

If you're entering a giveaway, please leave your e-mail address (or a link that leads to it).









Some of the books featured here were given to me free of charge by authors, publishers, and agents. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

BLOG ARCHIVE

Blog header by Held Design

Powered By Blogger