PART ONE-SECOND BLOGIVERSARY CELEBRATION: AN INTRODUCTION and A QUICKIE FIRST GIVEAWAY!

SECOND BLOGIVERSARY... AND JUST WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

For me, "Bingo", it means many things:

• It means it is a time of reflection about where my blog has been, what part it has played in my life, and where it is heading. I realized I have "virtual" friends who I have become very close to and some are closer to me than flesh and blood friends!
• I have learned so much about computers because I didn't even know what a "blog" was before I started including a teeny bit about coding and html "stuff"!
• I have made so many wonderful connections and friends with people in the literary world. 
• I have come to a point where I know will be blogging less but think enjoying it more. As I explained before, due to some personal health issues, I will still blog but not review as much or be tied into a certain deadline so that my time can be more flexible and also allow me time for more projects that I really want to pursue with books...including finally continuing my own book writing.
• I learned that the word blogiversary is spelled many ways...I thought it was blogOversary for the last year up until I began this post. Then I noticed the lovely picture above even has it spelled differently. According to WORDNICK the word " is not a valid Scrabble word" and has the following quote with the listing: No, I don't like the term 'blogiversary', but considering the lifespan of most blogs, anniversaries are worth celebrating.—Archive 2008-11-01
• It means that I looked back at my first post in 2009, "Welcome to Bookin' With Bingo", and realized how simple my posting was but how some of my very first comments came from people who are still with me today, and are, in fact, some of the good "virtual" friends I mentioned. 
• And for me, who just loves to give books away and make people so happy, my Second Blogiversary is going to be all about "giving back" because of all you all have given to me these past two years.  REMEMBER: 
  So here is how this BLOGIVERSARY is going to work. I decided to highlight my "themed" days that I have done this past year and will have a giveaway in honor of each of those "themes". I will also tell you that in the upcoming year, I will no longer be on a "themed" schedule even though I will still have themed giveaways, they won't be limited to only on certain days of the week.

  

  There will be FOUR posts following this one (by midnight Monday, January 10th) that will announce each of these giveaways that you can win...AND a separate post to announce, as promised, the TOP TEN COMMENTERS and their prizes....but let's just get things started with what I want to call a "QUICKIE Two for Two Years" Giveaway!

  

  GIVEAWAY ENDED
  TWO AUTOGRAPHED NOVELS FOR ONE WINNER FROM BEST SELLING FRIEND AND AUTHOR

  TERRI DULONG!

  

  SPINNING FORWARD

  ABOUT THE BOOK:

  In a debut novel brimming with warmth and wit, Terri DuLong spins a tale of new beginnings, old friends, and lives forever bound...
  
  A New Englander born and bred, the last place Sydney Webster expects to find herself starting over is on an island off the coast of Florida. Yet here she is in Cedar Key, trying to pull herself together after her husband's untimely death—and the even more untimely revelation of his gambling addiction. Bereft of her comfortable suburban life, Syd takes shelter at a college pal’s bed and breakfast, where amidst the bougainvillea blossoms and the island's gentle rhythms, a plan begins to form...
  
  Syd never considered the possibility of turning her passion for spinning and knitting into something more than a hobby, but when the unique composition of her wool draws attention, a door is opened—the first among many. Yet even as she ventures out of her comfort zone, Syd finds herself stepping into the embrace of a community rich with love, laughter, friendship...and secrets. And as long-hidden truths are revealed, Syd faces a choice: spin a safety net—or spin decidedly forward and never look back...

  To read my review of SPINNING FORWARD, go HERE. To read more about the book and about author Terri Dulong, go HERE.

   

  

  CASTING ABOUT

  ABOUT THE BOOK:
  

  In this beautifully crafted and uplifting novel, the author of the acclaimed Spinning Forward welcomes readers back to the lush Florida island of Cedar Key, where the vibrant shades of hibiscus and azaleas are the perfect backdrop to a colorful, quirky community. 

  
  

  In the four years since Monica Brooks moved to Cedar Key, she’s found a home, a husband, and now a business to love. Taking over her mother’s bustling knitting shop is a welcome challenge, but Monica’s exciting plans are waylaid by unexpected news. Her husband’s ex-wife has been deemed an unfit mother, and custody of their eight-year-old daughter, Clarissa, is to be transferred to Adam.
  
  Going straight from honeymoon to motherhood--especially when she's unsure she wants children--leaves the normally even-keeled Monica doubting herself at every turn. Yet in a place like Cedar Key, nobody goes it alone. With help from friends and relatives, Monica, Clarissa, and Adam begin to forge a close-knit family of their own--one that will need to be strong enough to withstand all the surprises set to unravel.

  To read my Review of this book, or more about Terri Dulong, go HERE.

  
  

   

  GIVEAWAY
   

  THANKS TO TERRI DULONG, I HAVE
  ONE COPY OF EACH OF THESE DELIGHTFUL
  BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE WINNER!

  THEY ARE AUTOGRAPHED AND THE GIVEAWAY

  IS A "QUICKIE" BECAUSE IT ONLY LASTS ONE

  WEEK! ENTER NOW BEFORE YOU FORGET!
  

  --U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
  --NO P. O. BOXES
  ---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
  IN CASE YOU WIN!
  --ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
  COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
  
  HOW TO ENTER:

  
  
  

  +1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHICH OF THESE TWO BOOKS YOU WANT TO READ THE MOST IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE (WHICH YOU DON'T)

  
  +1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK THAT I CAN FOLLOW

  +1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BLOGIVERSARY
  
  +1 MORE ENTRY: VISIT TERRI DULONG'S WEBSITE HERE AND SPEND SOME TIME LEARNING MORE ABOUT TERRI AND HER GREAT LIFE IN CEDAR KEY. COME BACK AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU LEARNED FROM TERRI'S BLOG.

  QUICKIE GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
  

  6 PM, EST, JANUARY 16!
   GOOD LUCK!