SueHarrison.com

This month our free books are for children.  You are eligible for the drawing on Monday, April 26, if you post and let us know one of your favorite children’s books.

Our first April Free Book is for children ages 3 – 5.  The title is BUSY FRIENDS by Constance Allen.  It is a large hardcover  “Discovery Book” full of all your favorite Sesame Street characters.   Here’s a publisher’s blurb .

“Inside, kids will find two stories featuring action-packed scenes and fun interactive elements like flaps, pull-tabs, and more!  Engaging activites on every page include early learning concepts like colors and counting.”

Our second April Free Book is actually two books from the “First Questions and Answers” series.  They are  paperback books (approx. 8″x12″), 32 pages each.  They are appropriate for ages 4 (advanced) to 8.  The book titles are WHY DID KNIGHTS FIGHT? and WHY DID PIRATES BURY TREASURE? both by Miles Kelly and illustrated by a variety of artists.  Each book is full of questions and very interesting and enlightening answers about the subject - in this case, knights and pirates.   Even adults will find the information included very educational.   (At least I did.)

All the April Free Books are brand new. 

Well, let me know your favorite children’s book or books.  My all-time favorite is Laura Ingalls Wilder’s LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS.  What’s yours?

Congratulations to Stephanie and to Debbie Colwell! You are the March free book winners. Stephanie’s name was drawn first, so she gets first pick. Both of you please email me at sue@sueharrison.com. Stephanie, let me know which book you prefer – WATER FOR ELEPHANTS or EXPOSURE. Congratulations!

For all our Blog readers, I will post the April free books during the first full week of April. Be sure to check in and see our April choices.

Blessings-
Sue

As I mentioned in my last Free Books post, our give-away books for March are WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen and EXPOSURE by Brandilyn Collins. To qualify for the drawing, let me know if you had to slog through, drive through or shovel snow this winter and if you love it or hate it, or somewhere in between. Meanwhile, in case you’re one of our 2 lucky winners, here’s a little info on our March books.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen is a #1 New York Times bestseller. This novel about a depresion-era circus from the point of view of its veterinarian is spectacular. You will not only fall in love with the main character, Jacob Jankowski, but I predict you’ll fall in love with the circus elephant,Rosie, and the lady who trains and rides the horses and a whole host of other folks so beautifully and brutally drawn that you will LIVE the whole experience. There are a couple of terrifically horrible villians to round out the cast.  The author’s research is great, AND you’ll absolutely love the ending!

EXPOSURE by Brandilyn Collins is an inspirational thriller-whodunit with a dash of romance thrown in for the joy of it. The main character, Kaycee Raye, is a syndiated newspaper columnist who makes a living poking fun at her own paranoia, but that paranoia has a very real basis in a childhood trauma that Kaycee must face when she begins receiving vicious threats from a stalker. This one had me guessing right up to the end. It’s a real page-turner.

Good luck in our March book give-away!

Blessings, Sue

How better to celebrate spring than with a new book!  And with spring in mind here’s how you qualify for the drawing March 21, 2010.

If you shoveled snow, drove in snow or slogged through snow this winter, you’re qualified. Just let post and let us know if you prefer life with or without snow!

(I’m a snow girl myself, honest, except for blizzards!)

The March free books are two novels – EXPOSURE by Brandilyn Collins and WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen. Both are new trade paperback editions. I’ll post blurbs about both books next week. Meanwhile if you battled snow this winter, post your snow preference (with or without) and you’ll be in the March 21 drawing. First name drawn wins his/her choice of EXPOSURE or WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. The second name gets the other book.

Blessings! Sue Harrison

Congratulations to Milly Balzarini! You won our February free book, JEFF HERMAN’S GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLISHERS, EDITORS and LITERARY AGENTS 2010.  Milly, please email me at sue@sueharrison.com. Thank you!

Next week I will post a blurb about our free books for March (2 bestselling novels).  See if you qualify for the drawing!

Blessings!  Sue

I remember when my dream was to become a PUBLISHED AUTHOR, with READERS and even maybe, perhaps, possibly earning money for what I wrote. I am fortunate. That dream came true for me, but not until I had learned as much as I could about how the book business worked. What agents do; what publishers do; what authors are supposed to do. (I’ve still got a lot to learn!)

If any of you are pursuing that dream, in the midst of that dream or have achieved that dream you may be interested in our February Give-Away Book. It is JEFF HERMAN’S GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLISHERS, EDITORS, AND LITERARY AGENTS 2010. To be eligible for the drawing, simply post a question or a comment about writing, publishing, editors or agents on this Blog, January 19 through February 19.  The book drawing will be February 20.  I will notify the winner who will receive the book via USPS book rate shipping.

The February Book Give-Away is in honor of my brother Bob.

Good Luck!  Sue

Our book winners for January, 2010, are Karyn Kiefer and Roberta Johnson! Karyn’s was the first name drawn, so she will have her choice of our two books, and the other book will go to Roberta. Karyn and Roberta, please email me at sue@sueharrison.com. Congratulations!

Here are the two book blurbs I promised you. Hope you have entered a post about any book you gave to others in December. If so, yours will be among the names in our drawing on Thursday for one of these two books. Good luck!

BETWEEN SUNDAYS by Karen Kingsbury

A jacket blurb: “Megan Gunn works two jobs and spends her spare time helping at a youth center. Much of what she does, she does for the one boy for whom she is everything — a foster child whose dying mother left in him Megan’s care. Mow Megan wants to adopt him, but one obstacle stands in the way. Her foster son, Cory, is convinced that the 49ers quarterback Aaron Hill is his father.”

DARK ASSASSIN by Anne Perry

This mystery set in Victorian England follows William Monk and his intrepid wife Hester as they attempt to solve the riddles behind three mysterious deaths. Their invetigations take them from the luxurious drawing rooms of London’s power brokers to the undergournd warrens of London’s poor and starving. “With gripping courtroom scenes, breathless horror beneath the earth, and a plot that twists and turns toward a stunning denouement, DARK ASSASSIN is absolutely one of Anne Perry’s best.”

(FYI: These books have already been given away.  If you would like to enter the monthly drawing for a free book(s), please read the most recent Free Books! Post.)

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE getting books. I have a whole corner of my office stacked with Books-I-Can’t-Wait-To-Read, which are, of course, the very best kind!

So just as I promised, I’m going to share the joy by giving away two hardcover novels by two great authors. If this book give-away is successful (In other words, if I receive replies to this Post…) We’ll try to do this every month. No contests, just a set of weird or silly or fun qualificaitons. This month’s qualifications? You are eligible if you gave someone a book in the month of December – any kind of book for any reason, in December, 2009. Just post a reply to me on my Blog and include the title of the book(s) you gave.

On Thursday evening, I will place the names of the “postees” in a bowl and draw out two. The first drawn will receive his or her choice of one of the two novels below. The second will receive the remaining book. I will mail you your book via USPS book rate mail. Yes, you’re eligible if you live somewhere else than the USA.

This month’s books are (drumroll….) BETWEEN SUNDAYS, a love story by Karen Kingsbury, and DARK ASSASSIN, a mystery by Anne Perry. I’ll post Blurbs about each of them tomorrow and publish your posts as they come in.

This month’s Book Give-Away is in honor of my brother John, whose birthday is in January.

Good luck!

Sue

When I was ten years old, my Grandma Kate began a Christmas tradition that would profoundly impact my life. She gave me Laura Ingalls Wilder’s LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS. Every year after, she gave me one or two books in the series until I had them all. What a treasure! Because of those books, I fell in love with words – a love affair that has continued to this day.

Our family tradition of book-gifting also continues. This year for Christmas, my son and daughter-in-law gave me THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. (I am halfway through and love it!) My husband gave me NEW YORK by Edward Rutherfurd. Rutherfurd is one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to immerse myself in his latest.

Did you receive any books this December? If so, let us know their titles.

Next week I’ll be giving away a couple of books – which I hope to do every month or two. No contests, just a set of weird or silly or fun qualifications. Drop in and see if you will be one of the lucky recipients.

Blessings! Sue