Family Bonding & A Subway Sandwich FOR YOU!

 Nicole aka CANative, 

you must be hungry cuz you're getting a sandwich! Send me your mailing address and full name and I'm sending you to Subway! Thanks everyone, and look out for more entertaining info from Subway coming soon with your chance to win $50 and also YOU and your family can be featured on the site when you share your OWN family tradition videos and stories! More soon!

In between my book giveaways I like to share a bit about my life, and as you may know from reading me, I’ve been blogging since 2004, when my kids were just 3, 5 and 7 years old. I’ve never had ads on here and never push products on you guys. My passion is always books, sharing great authors with you, and writing about my life. I also LOVE hearing about what you guys are up to as well. I feel that lately with the book giveaways you guys have shared a bunch in the comment section and I really love getting to know you all!

I now have the opportunity to partner with Subway a couple of times a month, and I’m really excited to do so for a couple of reasons. One is because as a busy mom who tries to feed her kids healthy, Subway is a great quick alternative to the fast food options when we’re running to basketball and art and afterschool activities. And two, Subway is now focusing their efforts on family and tradition. And I’m big on that and happy to share some of this with you in between all of the fabulous books I’m still giving away.

One of the things I’m big on with my kids is bonding at bedtime, and my oldest son AJ is 13. He still loves to be tucked in. He’s six-foot, two-inches and still wants a tuck-in every night. One night, Mr. MaNiC and I went out on a date. We can FINALLY go out and leave the kids alone without worrying they will kill each other. AJ tucked in Luke and texted me. 

“When are you going to be home?” 

“In a little bit.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“Because, I can’t go to sleep without my tuck-in.”

We stayed out a while longer, and when I finally got home, I went upstairs to tuck him in, and he was still awake. It was like 11:30 p.m. I said, “Why are you still up?”

He said he couldn’t fall asleep without his tuck-in. And then he said, “Mom. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you when I go to college. How am I going to go to bed every night without my tuck-in from you?”

It broke my heart but it reminded me how very important our nightly traditions are. I need to hold them close and cherish them, because before too long, he’s going to be gone, and I’ll wish for those tuck-ins!

 * * *

Since you guys are so awesome about always coming here to read what I have to say, I’m NOT gonna leave you hanging – I wanna give you a SUB! How about if you please go over to read another great article about Bedtime Bonding and leave a quick comment there, I'll enter you to win Five Bucks for a Footlong! (I will check to see if you leave a comment, so please do!) There are some inspiring articles on family bonding and some really cute family videos as well, and you’re encouraged to leave your own suggestions too! THEN come back here and tell me YOUR favorite Subway sub! I will choose one winner randomly and send you Five Bucks so you can get a sub from Subway!

My sub: Italian bread, turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato, lotsa lotsa parmesan, black pepper, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Yum, I am craving one right now!

So, tell me your fave and you’re entered to win five bucks to go get one! But please, take the time to stop on over at Fresh Takes to leave a comment.

And if you feel like it, go ahead and friend Subway on FB. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with a new book and I’ll also draw the winners of the previous two books so if you haven't entered for The Winters in Bloom or It's Hard Not to Hate You, there's still time! Thanks guys! 

THE WINTERS IN BLOOM by LISA TUCKER

Winner of The Winters In Bloom is:
Lesley Davis, ESQ

Please email me your full name and address so I can get you your book! Thanks! Congrats!

The Winters In Bloom

By Lisa Tucker

I absolutely love it when I discover a new author by hosting these book promotions and I’m thrilled to have found Lisa Tucker! I’m sure many of you have already read one of her five books, which include Shout Down the Moon, The Song Reader and Once Upon a Day, which are now all on MY TBR list. I’m still shaking my head at how I have missed this talented author.

But no more! Now I’m excited to bring to you her sixth and latest novel, The Winters In Bloom, which I read in record time! I would describe it as part mystery, part family drama, and part love story.

The Winters in Bloom is about David & Kyra Winter, two very loving but extremely overprotective parents of a darling little boy who is kidnapped in his own backyard. Both parents blame themselves for his disappearance and suspect their pasts have finally caught up with them.

Tucker takes the reader through the now as we watch as David and Kyra wait to see if Michael will return home safely. We also see how David and Kyra’s lives unfolded before the two of them met – to discover the secrets they kept from one another, to make them think they deserve this new fate of unhappiness that has been bestowed upon them by the kidnapping of their child.

Lisa writes with passion and her characters are bold and real. This is one book that I tore through, and couldn't wait to get to the end. She kept up the mystery part - I had my guesses but Tucker wrote a surprising thriller which was also heartfelt and beautiful!

Back of the Book Blurb:

Together for over a decade, Kyra and David Winter are happier than they ever thought they could be.  They have a comfortable home, stable careers, and a young son, Michael, whom they adore.  Yet because of their complicated histories, Kyra and David have always feared that this domestic bliss couldn’t last - that the life they created was destined to be disrupted.  And on one perfectly ordinary summer day, it is: Michael disappears from his own backyard.  The only question is whose past has finally caught up with them. David feels sure that Michael was taken by his troubled ex-wife, while Kyra believes the kidnapper must be someone from her estranged family, someone she betrayed years ago.

As the Winters embark on a journey of time and memory to find Michael, they will be forced to admit these suspicions, revealing secrets about themselves they’ve always kept hidden.  But they will also have a chance to discover that it’s not too late to have the family they’ve dreamed of; that even if the world is full of risks, as long as they have hope, the future can bloom.

Read the First Chapter HERE: The Winters In Bloom

Lisa also wrote an amazing novella called Agoraphobics in Love which you can buy for your e-readers for just 99 cents!

To enter to win The Winters In Bloom, since the title has the word BlOOm in it and I can’t think of a clever question to ask, I’m going to ask you this: Tell me a word that comes to mind that has a double O in it.

I’m currently thinking of the word: mOOdy!

If you have not had a chance to enter this week's earlier book It’s Hard Not to HateYou there is still time! Click on the highlighted link and it'll take you to that post.

Good luck and happy Friday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For future posts, just so you all know, you can always go back to previous book features to check to see who the winner is -- that's how you'll find out if you've won or not, and you can still enter if there's not a winner's name posted on the top and highlighted! I usually choose a winner for each book anywhere from 3-7 days after I post a feature!

Thanks for checking out the Fall Fab Giveaway – we’ve got TONS more books coming your way through mid-October and then. I'll be featuring 2-3 each week. At the end of ALL the individual books featured and given away, one or two lucky winners will win the WHOLE batch of the books.

If you’ve got particular questions on how the Giveaway works, check the ORIGINAL POST HERE, or feel free to email me! Thanks!

Good luck everyone! And I really enjoy your comments too!

Thanks for reading and being a part of this promotion! To find out all the details on how to participate throughout the whole promotion click the previous link!


I also blog at Real Moms Guide if you'd like to read some of my other work.


If you're new here, check out the rules and all the books at in the promotion HERE.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer it in the thread, or email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com. It is always at my discretion to change things up, and because of some regulations, I guess I must say that the books I review are given to me by either the authors or publishers or publicists, and I am never paid for my reviews, and they are my own personal reviews, and you know what, because I'm here telling you this anyway, I will also tell you that I never review a book I don't like, because you know what, why waste my time, life is too short to read a crappy book! There.

IT'S HARD NOT TO HATE YOU by VALERIE FRANKEL

Winner of It's Hard Not to Hate You is:
Logan Collins

Please email me your full name and address so I can get you your book! Thanks! Congrats!

It’s Hard Not to Hate You

By Valerie Frankel



From the author of THIN IS THE NEW HAPPY comes a hilarious new memoir about embracing your Inner Hater. In the midst of a health and career crisis, Valerie uncorks years of pent up rage, and discovers you don't have to be happy to be happy. You don’t have to love everyone else to like yourself. And that your Bitchy Twin might just be your funniest, most valuable and honest ally.
I fell in love with the memoir, It’s Hard Not to Hate You, by description and cover alone. And then when I got into the very first few pages and I realized it begins with the trauma of bitchy friends in junior high, well, author Valerie Frankel won me over.

I give her a ton of credit for being so brave to write this book. It’s kind about letting go of the hate WE ALL HAVE INSIDE but in a different way. Expulsing yourself from all the hate from within. But with humor that will have you busting out laughing because you sooo know these types of people. You’ll be laughing like crazy and saying, “YES! That’s so true!”

In the book, Valerie was advised by a doctor to reduce stress. To do so, she discovered that the hate had to come out. She goes on a mission of “emotional honesty, vowing to let herself feel and express all the toxic emotions she’d long suppressed or denied: jealousy, rage, greed, envy, impatience, regret.”

In her personal History of Hate, Valerie covers everything from mean girls in junior high, selfish boyfriends in her twenties and old professional rivals. In her current life, she deals with things many of us combat daily: snobby neighbors, rude cell phone talkers, scary doctors and helicopter moms (ugh, my favorites). You’ll have to read It’s Hard Not to Hate You to see if you’re as brave as Valerie is when it comes to confronting these spiteful people in your own life!

She even counts the ways she hates her husband in the book, but fortunately, there are only three!

In the end, Frankel discovers that her trip down Hate Lane proved to be an authentic emotional experience for her and there are “no wrong emotions, only wrong ways of dealing with them.”

To enter to win Valerie Frankel’s It’s Hard Not To Hate You, share with me one or two things you really, really hate. Here are a couple of things I really hate:

When people write: NOM NOM when they are saying something tastes good instead of like yum yum or yummy.

When people in the grocery line are talking on the cell phone instead of being polite to the person checking them out. HOW RUDE IS THAT? Get off your effing cell phone and say hello to the person checking you out! Ask them how their day is! They are doing you a service for crying out loud!

Also, I haven’t gotten to the part of the book where Valerie reveals the three hates about her husband but I’ll tell you one of mine: I hate when my husband walks around the kitchen without his shirt on. GROSS!

Two more books up for grabs this week if my internet doesn't die on me again!:

Lisa Tucker’s The Winter’s In Bloom

Karyn Bosnak’s What’s Your Number

Check previous posts for winners - they have been announced!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For future posts, just so you all know, you can always go back to previous book features to check to see who the winner is -- that's how you'll find out if you've won or not, and you can still enter if there's not a winner's name posted on the top and highlighted! I usually choose a winner for each book anywhere from 3-7 days after I post a feature!

Thanks for checking out the Fall Fab Giveaway – we’ve got TONS more books coming your way through mid-October and then. I'll be featuring 2-3 each week. At the end of ALL the individual books featured and given away, one or two lucky winners will win the WHOLE batch of the books.

If you’ve got particular questions on how the Giveaway works, check the ORIGINAL POST HERE, or feel free to email me! Thanks!

Good luck everyone! And I really enjoy your comments too!

Thanks for reading and being a part of this promotion! To find out all the details on how to participate throughout the whole promotion click the previous link!


I also blog at Real Moms Guide if you'd like to read some of my other work.


If you're new here, check out the rules and all the books at in the promotion HERE.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer it in the thread, or email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com. It is always at my discretion to change things up, and because of some regulations, I guess I must say that the books I review are given to me by either the authors or publishers or publicists, and I am never paid for my reviews, and they are my own personal reviews, and you know what, because I'm here telling you this anyway, I will also tell you that I never review a book I don't like, because you know what, why waste my time, life is too short to read a crappy book! There.

Why We Remember, Not Of Sadness

September 11, 2001 my third child was just nine days old. I remember very clearly thinking, "Why on earth was I having babies, bringing children into a world like this? How could I have a baby around all this horrible danger and pain and hurt?"

Last night, that 10-year, nine-day-old child and I snuggled up on the couches outside and the two of us slept under the stars, together, cuddled up, just the two of us, and talked til midnight. We snuggled and cuddled and I never EVER sleep outdoors, I am not an outdoorsy person, and the idea struck us last night, "Hey, why don't you and I sleep out here tonight, just us!"

It was a gorgeous night, around 75 degrees, and it's a gorgeous day today, we woke to a beautiful blue sky with puffy white clouds, and we saw each other this morning and smiled. My son, who was nine days old, ten years ago on the anniversary of 9/11, when I thought the world was collapsing and wondered how on earth I could bring children into this horrible place.

I know now why. There is good. There is good.

Wishing you all peace and hope with your families.

Here's an excerpt of what I wrote on 9/11 in my hand-written journal, before there was such things as blogs: September 11, 2001

Another book giveaway on Tuesday and I'll have the names of the first two books chosen by then too! If you haven't yet entered to win the books, go back to the past two posts and enter to win while there is still time! You've got until TUESDAY! You can also find the original post on all the books being given away here. Good luck to you all!

THE VIOLETS OF MARCH by SARAH JIO

Winner of The Violets of March is:

Ncsuloges

Please email me your full name and address so I can get you your book! Thanks! Congrats!

The Violets of March


By Sarah Jio

Our next featured book in the Fall Fab Book Giveaway is Sarah Jio’s The Violets of March. I’ve not had a chance to finish this one (am close, but can you IMAGINE my TBR pile??), but there has been much buzz all over the 'net about Violets since its debut in April, and Sarah’s already got another book, The Bungalow, which is slated for publication in December! Talk about ‘gettin’ it done!

Sarah was a 2011 Debutante Ball participant, which is a major literary honor, and The Violets of March has just gone into its fourth printing. Congratulations to Sarah, who’s also a busy mom to three little boys. And I call MYSELF MaNiC MoMMy!??

Jodi Picoult says this about Violets: "Mix a love story, history, and a mystery and what takes root? The Violets of March, a novel that reminds us how the past comes back to haunt us, and packs great surprises along the way.”

Here is the back-of-the-book blurb:

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after. Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily’s good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.

You can view the BOOK TRAILER HERE


SNEAK PEEK!

And because I want to share Sarah’s next book with you too, here’s the blurb for The Bungalow, and perhaps later this year, I’ll have the opportunity to offer you guys a copy of that too? So, let’s just put a teaser in here, shall we?

Here’s what The Bungalow is about:

A sweeping saga of thwarted love, murder, and a long-lost painting… In the summer of 1942, twenty-one-year-old Anne Calloway, newly engaged, sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiance, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry, and their friendship soon blossoms into hues as deep as the hibiscus flowers native to the island. under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow, the two share a private world–until they witness a gruesome crime, Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war. A timeless story of enduring passion, The Bungalow chronicles Anne’s determination to discover the truth about the twin losses–of life and, and of love–that have haunted her for seventy years.

If you just can’t wait for The Bungalow, you can always just preorder it now, and wait to see if you win The Violets of March HERE!

I love how Sarah’s incorporating history in both of her books, and exotic, unique places that are just as much like a character in her book. Her covers are gorgeous, and her writing is exquisite. You’re not going to want to miss out on either of her books.

However, we’re only offering The Violets of March for the Fall Fab Giveaway so answer this very easy question to qualify:

Tell me your favorite flower and your favorite month and WHY. Also, the month CANNOT be your birthday month. Mine is gardenias because I love the smell although they turn brown very quickly, and I remember being a kid in Tampa running up and down the streets, picking gardenias from the neighbors bushes and sticking them in our hair while we ran barefoot through the neighborhood. But I also love carnations because they smell clean and fresh and last forever. And favorite month … hmmm… wow, I just asked myself a hard question … I now live in Scottsdale and late summer months suck, like August and September. I may have to say February or March are pretty nice months here weather-wise!

Your turn to answer the question. Favorite flower, favorite month. Hey Sarah, how about YOU? What's your favorite month and your favorite flower, and WHY?

Also, if you haven’t had the chance yet, you may still enter to win Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, the first book in the Giveaway (if there is not a winner’s name highlighted above the post)! For future posts, just so you all know, you can always go back to previous book features to check to see who the winner is -- that's how you'll find out if you've won or not, and you can still enter if there's not a winner's name posted on the top and highlighted! I usually choose a winner for each book anywhere from 3-7 days after I post a feature!

Thanks for checking out the Fall Fab Giveaway – we’ve got TONS more books coming your way through mid-October and then. I'll be featuring 2-3 each week. At the end of ALL the individual books featured and given away, one or two lucky winners will win the WHOLE batch of the books.

If you’ve got particular questions on how the Giveaway works, check the ORIGINAL POST HERE, or feel free to email me! Thanks!

Good luck everyone! And I really enjoy your comments too!

Thanks for reading and being a part of this promotion! To find out all the details on how to participate throughout the whole promotion click the previous link!


I also blog at Real Moms Guide if you'd like to read some of my other work.


If you're new here, check out the rules and all the books at in the promotion HERE.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer it in the thread, or email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com. It is always at my discretion to change things up, and because of some regulations, I guess I must say that the books I review are given to me by either the authors or publishers or publicists, and I am never paid for my reviews, and they are my own personal reviews, and you know what, because I'm here telling you this anyway, I will also tell you that I never review a book I don't like, because you know what, why waste my time, life is too short to read a crappy book! There.

DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY by KAREN DOORNEBOS

Winner of Definitely Not Mr. Darcy is:

Jenn3128 

To receive your book, please email me your full name and address to stephanieelliot@gmail.com. Thanks, and I loved everyone's answers! Remember, every time you leave a comment for each book, you're all entered to win the grand prize at the end of the giveaway to win the prize package of ALL OF THE BOOKS! So keep coming back to try your luck and find out about great new authors and books! Thanks everyone! Love your comments! There are a ton more books to read about!

For rules on the giveaway, please see this post: Fall Fab Book Giveaway Details

 Am so very excited to announce the FIRST of 25 books being given away in the Fall Fab Book Giveaway, where you can win each book or the Grand Prize of ALL 25 at the end of the promotion! Details can be found in the previous post (or by clicking the link above the book cover)! ...

Definitely Not Mr. Darcy


By Karen Doornebos


Read the First Chapter Here


Author Events HERE

Let’s get this party started Regency style shall we? First on the list of awesome features for the Fall Fab Giveaway I’m beyond thrilled to introduce a debut author and close friend of mine: Karen Doornebos, and her book, Definitely Not Mr. Darcy.

Karen and I met through a friend I connected with at Romance Writers of America and we formed a small critique group. She was in the midst of writing her novel when we met and we spent about a year working and writing together … and here it is, DEBUT TIME!

I am so thrilled for her and her successes!

I’ve told her from the very beginning that I KNOW NOTHING about Jane Austen, that Darcy dude, the charm of hiding in hedges and drinking tea with your pinky up or feigning to be demure and unaware of one’s sexual prowess.

I have no idea what any of that stuff is all about, I never read Pride and Prenup … haha. I know nothing about Regency times except everyone looks a bit uncomfortable in their clothes, and the women have really prominent boobs, they faint quite a bit, and the men gallop on horses a lot.

Yet, when I read Karen's first pages, I knew I would love what she had written! Definitely Not Mr. Darcy is about divorced mother Chloe who goes to England thinking she will be participating in a documentary in the Regency times only to discover she’s actually going to be a contestant on a Regency Reality Show. Chloe must woo the ‘bachelor’ to win the $100,000 prize, which she needs to be able to afford her failing business and keep custody of her daughter.

The premise was attractive because not only is Bachelor Mr. Wrightman a hottie, his younger brother is thrown into the mix and he is a quite gallant chap himself! (ooh, that sounds like such a regal regency phrase, does it not? The book rubbed off on me!)

I loved learning about the quirkiness of the times, like how the women wore their gowns, how they didn’t bathe but once a week, what they used for deodorant, what they DIDN’T use for underwear, how they tied up their busts, what "fanology" was, and the hobbies they participated in. It has all made me very thankful for the comforts of our times!

I loved Karen’s quick-witted writing, and found myself longing to jump back into the book many times. You’ll find that after you read Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, you’ll look around at the men in your life and think, “Seriously, chivalry IS TOTALLY DEAD!”

And on THAT note, in order to be entered to win DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, tell me something kind or sweet that a man (ANY MAN) in your life does or has done for you that’s unusual or unexpected. Here’s a couple from me. My husband ALWAYS kisses me on an escalator. He also always “butters” my toothbrush for me before we go to bed (or if I go to bed first, I do it for him). Also, not to be forgotten, my son, AJ, is fast becoming a chivalrous young man, and I noticed this just today. He ALWAYS holds the door open for me.

So tell me about your chivalrous guy, and remember to use an IDENTIFYING username throughout the whole Fall Fab giveaway so I will know who you are throughout the promotion!

Thanks for reading and being a part of this promotion! To find out all the details on how to participate throughout the whole promotion click the previous link!


I also blog at Real Moms Guide if you'd like to read some of my other work.


If you're new here, check out the rules and all the books at in the promotion HERE.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer it in the thread, or email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com. It is always at my discretion to change things up, and because of some regulations, I guess I must say that the books I review are given to me by either the authors or publishers or publicists, and I am never paid for my reviews, and they are my own personal reviews, and you know what, because I'm here telling you this anyway, I will also tell you that I never review a book I don't like, because you know what, why waste my time, life is too short to read a crappy book! There.

Fall Fab Book Giveaway Is Here!

Update: Since yesterday! Two more books added! See below!

Here it is!  

The Fall Fab Book Giveaway! 

Here's your chance to win 23 books by amazing authors!

For those of you not familiar with how the MaNiC MoMMy Book Giveaways work, let me explain! Every time I feature an author, you'll have a chance to win that book by simply leaving a comment on that post. I usually give 3-5 days to comment on a particular post to win a book. I will leave a "COMMENTS CLOSED" note at the end of the comment thread when that particular book is no longer available.


For every time you comment, that gives you an additional chance to win ALL the books at the end of the promotion as well. Let's say you win "I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship," and that's the only book you win throughout the whole contest, but you continue to comment on every single book I feature. Your name gets put into the hat that many times for the grand prize drawing at the end. Perhaps you don't win a single book, but you comment on all 23 books throughout the whole contest. Your name will be placed into the drawing 23 times at the end of the contest for the grand prize drawing to win all 23 books.

So, you see, it pays to come back and learn about all the great books I'll be featuring throughout September and part of October!

And who knows, some more authors may come forward and bring new books into the promo, so there could be even more fabulous books to offer you!


So far, there are 23 books being offered, and some will be featured as a Daily Double where one of you will win two books on that day. There are some rules, like books can only be shipped to U.S. and Canada (sorry, publishers make up that one, not me), and of course, there's that other rule that says I have to disclose that I get all these books from the authors or the publishers, although sometimes I do purchase them on my own.

You may only enter ONCE per book being featured; and please use a unique identifying USER NAME. There have been times when a winner might have entered her name as "Jen" and she's lost her chance to get a book because I can't say "Jen" won because that's too vague. PLEASE create a specific UNIQUE name if you want to win! Including an email address ensures you as the winner.

Check back to see if you’ve won the book of the day; winner will be listed at the top of the blog entry for the day in the highlighted area.


You must contact me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com to claim your book. Send me your full name, address, email address and the name of the book that you won. I will NOT alert winners. If you don’t contact me before the end of October, you will not receive your book. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com or leave a comment in the comments section and I'll answer them there.

And now, here are the participating authors, in no particular order: