Posts in the Announcements Category at Savvy Verse & Wit, Page 44

Moonlight!

January 30, 2009 by Serena

I’ve talked about my love of vampires many times on this blog, attempted to campaign to save my two beloved vampire shows from cancellation, and have even converted some readers into fans.

I wanted to announce that I recently got my hands on the Moonlight DVD! Yes, the complete season is out for your viewing pleasure. It must be popular because I went to three stores to find my copy last night, rather than wait for Amazon to deliver it to me.

Best Buy was a bust, and the staff couldn’t find the copy that the computer system claimed was in the store. We headed to Wal-Mart next, which was right next door since we were headed their for fish tank filters, I figured it was a good bet. Unfortunately, there were no Moonlight DVDs in the store, and I don’t dare ask Wal-Mart workers any questions. Then I had to follow my husband to the store looking for filters and other items, which seemed to take forever. Didn’t he know I was on a mission?

Finally, we headed to Target, where I snatched up my copy of Moonlight! It was one of only two copies on the shelf. It’s either that this show is so popular the DVDs are no where to be found, or it isn’t that popular so they have very few in stock. You can imagine what I did when I got home!

I watched two full episodes and started a third before I realized that it was nearly 10PM and past my bed time. You can imagine I’m dragging butt this morning, but I have something to look forward to when I get home.

In other news, if you are interested in checking out my interviews with other bloggers, click on their Blogs and check out my questions and their answers:

Diary of an Eccentric
Another Day
It’s All About Books
She Is Too Fond of Books
The Bookworm
Fresh Ink Books

If I haven’t sent you interview questions yet, please drop me an email. I am forgetful sometimes.

Filed Under: announcements

Importance of Lit Blogs & An Award

January 28, 2009 by Serena

This is a topic that comes up a lot in the publishing world and among book reviewers. I never much paid attention to book reviewers in newspapers and magazines, simply because the books chosen for review were either too mainstream or too obscure. However, with lit or book blog reviewers, there is a variety of opinions, genres, authors, and topics to choose from. I love the choices available to me in this online community from those that love audio books to those with Kindles. And of course, there are a lot of us still reading from actual paper-based books.

Whether you are into horror, suspense, comedy, chicklit, mainstream, obscure, or poetry, there is a blog out there reviewing material for you.

However, don’t take my word for it. Let the survey results speak for themselves.

So, if you are as interested in this topic, please take a moment to fill out a short survey sponsored by Literary License.

I’ve answered the survey honestly, and I am encouraging others to participate.

Consider yourselves tapped for participation.

Additionally, LadyTink has approved me! I was am so honored by her award, that has just a little bit of her in it. If you haven’t checked out her blogs, you should. Here’s Up Close & Personal and the one I had been reading instead, Movieholic & Bibliophile’s Blog.

I’ve just expanded the Google Reader again!

Filed Under: announcements, awards Tagged With: survey

More Awards!

January 8, 2009 by Serena

Anna at Diary of an Eccentric gave me the Lemonade Award, which is for blogs with great attitude and/or gratitude.

I am supposed to pass this one to 10 bloggers, but you know that there are many more out there who are deserving. But here’s my list of 10:

1. Susan of Gottawrite Girl
2. Janel of Janel’s Jumble
3. April of Cafe of Dreams
4. Toni from A Circle of Books
5. Naida of The Bookworm
6. Nikki of Fyrefly’s Book Blog
7. Literate Housewife
8. Literary Feline
9. Susan Gottfried of West of Mars
10. Sandra of Fresh Ink Books

I’m breaking the rules again!

11. 5-squared

Anna at Diary of an Eccentric also bestowed upon me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Which means I have to list 6 values that are important to me and 6 things I do not support. I also have to pass it along to 6 creative bloggers.

6 Values/Characteristics that are important to me:

1. Honesty above all else
2. Generosity of heart, mind, pocketbook, self, whatever…
3. Respect
4. Compassion
5. Creativity
6. Humor (sarcastic or otherwise)

6 Values/Characteristics I do not support:

1. Dishonesty
2. Selfishness
3. Disrespect (are you seeing a pattern yet)
4. Laziness
5. Arrogance
6. Ignorance

6 Bloggers:

1. Iliana of Bookgirl’s Nightstand
2. Monica of Monniblog
3. Sheri of A Novel Menagerie
4. Terri of Ways I See the World and Reading, Writing and Retirement
5. Toni of A Circle of Books (did you know she knits?)
6. Naida of The Bookworm (she crochets and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with out of that little animal crochet book I sent her)

Filed Under: awards

Winners of Gods Behaving Badly & Awards

January 7, 2009 by Serena

Out of 31 entrants in the U.S./Canada Hatchette Group giveaway, Randomizer.org selected numbers 1, 7, 17, 21, and 30.

The winners are:

1. Jenners of Find Your Next Book Here

7. Amy of My Friend Amy

17. Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness

21. Naida of The Bookworm

30. Debbie of Debbie’s World

Out of the 8 entrants to the International portion of the giveaway for my gently used copy of Gods Behaving Badly, Randomizer.org selected #4.

The winner is Alessandra of Out of the Blue

Congrats to all the winners. If you haven’t sent me your address, you better send it quick! I’d like to get Hatchette the addresses by Jan. 8.

Now for some awards. I was recently awarded the Butterfly Award by some fellow bloggers–Janel at Janel’s Jumble, April at Cafe of Dreams, Toni at A Circle of Books, and Margaret at Literary Menagerie. Thank you ladies. . . I’m flattered.

This is a “meme” award, so it gets passed on. The rules for passing it on are:

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Award up to ten other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

Here are the recipients I picked:

1. Alea of Pop Culture Junkie (I just love her book cover discussions/comparisons)

2. Luanne of A Bookworm’s World (she’s a gracious commenter & blogger)

3. Bermudaonion (she is always the first commenter on my blog posts and she’s so enthusiastic)

4. Terri of Ways I See the World and Reading, Writing and Retirement (she shares my passion for books and photography)

5. Suey of It’s All About Books (I admire her eclectic taste in books, her adorable posts about Josh mania, her updates about her family, and her reviews)

6. Karen of Scobberlotch (she’s an author, blogger, and great source of inspiration)

7. Monica of Monniblog (she’s a fantastic graphic artist, creative, and a doll)

There are a number of other bloggers I could pass this along to, but I figured I would leave some for the rest of you.

Amy of My Friend Amy awarded me the Prémio Dardos award.

The Prémio Dardos is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

I cannot tell you how honored I am that Amy would think of me. I blushed, smiled, and demurred. I hope to make an even bigger cultural impression. In honor of this award, I hope to bring more poetry to all my readers this year and throughout many years to come.

I also received this award from Ruth at Books Books and More Books. Thanks, Ruth!

Now, who will I pass this on to. I have to pass it onto 15 bloggers that impact the Web culturally, ethically, and creatively.

1. Gautami of Reading Room (I love how she reviews short stories and introduces me to authors that I may not have heard of)

2. Alessandra of Out of the Blue (She’s always got a variety of reviews and she’s upbeat and positive)

3. Anna of Diary of an Eccentric (She’s got a keen sense for books that are not on the best seller’s list but should be! I love the gems she finds at the library or by accident that turn out to be some of the best books published. Don’t forget her commitment to getting the girl into reviewing and reading.)

4. Amanda at A Patchwork of Books (A dedicated reader and promoter of children’s books. I love her dedication in the face of adversity and the bravery she shows us when she shares with us her tragedies and triumphs.)

5. Marie of Boston Bibliophile (She has exposed me to some great books in the Jewish realm that I may have otherwise overlooked or not known about. She also was the dedicated host of Tuesdays Thingers until recently, and some of the questions had me checking Library Thing more in depth.)

6. Nymeth of Things Mean a Lot (Her blog was among the first I read, and she turned me onto Neil Gaiman and other fantasy and graphic novels. I haven’t read them yet, but I now know what some of them are. She was also the first to host a book blogger holiday exchange, which helped me meet a number of other bloggers)

7. Iliana of Bookgirl’s Nightstand (Let’s just say this girl is amazingly talented. She not only reads and writes eloquent reviews, but she creates her own blank journals from scratch. She binds them, sews them, and adds great little accents to them. They make great gifts and they are gorgeous and sometimes one of a kind pieces.)

8. Natasha of Maw Books (This is a woman who is passionate about more than just reading. She’s passionate about using her love of reading to foster giving and awareness among bloggers and others about the atrocities across the globe, particularly in Darfur.)

9. Dar of Peeking Between the Pages (She has some great reviews and is also passionate about reading, but she is fantastic about visiting all the blogs in the community. Her comments often make me proud to be a part of her community and I am honored when she stops by for a visit. Plus she’s a dog lover too, and that gets you props in my book–though I love kitties too! Charlee just happens to be my baby.)

10. Marvin of Free Spirit (Because he’s Marvin. No, seriously. He has a lot of opinions about the world, spirituality, and other issues, but he’s also willing to listen, step aside and let his commenters and visitors have the floor. He’s open minded and I think he’s trying to promote peace and love one post at a time.)

11. J. Kaye of J. Kaye’s Book Blog (She’s a busy bee with her well organized blog activities. Her noontime chats about books with other bloggers spurred great conversation among many blogs and for many visitors. She’s gracious and always willing to help.)

12. Veens of Give Reading a Chance (Her enthusiasm leaps off the blog! She’s an enthusiastic reviewer, commenter, and blogger. She loves reading and communicating with her Internet community and her enthusiasm is contagious!)

13. S. Krishna of S. Krishna’s Books (Her reviews of chicklit books narrow down the best ones for me. She easily points out the chicklit books with more substance and helps me narrow down my choices. I’m usually at a loss in the bookstore about which chicklit books to choose. I just hope one day I can be as organized as she is with her reviews, ratings, and links to her reviews and interviews.)

14. Shana of Literarily (Another fantastic blogger who has a knack for picking fantastic books that are not necessarily best-sellers but should be. I don’t know how she jungles her family, reading, and blogging and still keep smiling without falling down asleep. She participates in a number of weekly memes and has organized reviews.)

15. Sher of A Novel Menagerie (She not only offers up a great review of books, but she’s been adding movie reviews as well, which keeps me up to date on the latest finds in the theaters. I like that she believes movies and books have their own cultural places in society and that even though books and movies may differ, they are art to be appreciated.)

I know this is one more than I’m supposed to have, but hey, I like breaking rules.

16. Gottawrite Girl (She is one of the newest bloggers I’ve found, but she is raising awareness among bloggers and readers alike to the struggles of writers as they mold their projects and work on their craft. I’m happy to have found her through First Person Plural‘s blog, which is the local Writer’s Center blog–which somehow I forgot to pass this award onto.)

There are many more bloggers I could have given this award to, but I ran out of room. Now, I hope all of you will pass along this award as well. Thanks again, Amy! I’m flattered.

Filed Under: awards, winners

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2008 by Serena

I wanted to wish everyone a

Happy New Year!

Later this week, I’ll be posting my wrap-up post for 2008. I know I should have posted it today, but things got a bit out of control and crazy.

I hope everyone has a great night.

***Don’t forget about the Gods Behaving Badly Contest, which runs through January 5 at Midnight EST.***

Filed Under: announcements

Secret Santa Revealed

December 26, 2008 by Serena

My Secret Santa from the Book Bloggers Secret Santa Swap, organized by Nymeth and our beloved Dewey, was revealed to me some time ago, though I waiting until Christmas to open my gifts. My Secret Santa was Carrie of Care’s Online Book Club, which is a new-to-me blog. You can bet with such great taste, she is the latest addition to my Google Reader.

I bet you all want to see what Carrie got me, well, here you go:

Here are the presents all wrapped up:

And here are the gifts in no particular order, since I kind of randomly opened them:

This gift has a Santa-candy puzzle. Too funny. Wherever did she find this?

Here’s some Mary Kay products, I believe she is a Mary Kay Rep:

This book has been on my To-Read list for sometime, and she kindly gave me her copy. And she was worried I wouldn’t like it. She’ll know better now! 🙂

The best present in this bundle was this one because I saw some television show about this series of books and have been dying to start on them. Carrie even got this one for herself to read. Happy Reading Carrie!

Wanna see what else the little elves brought me?

This one is from a friend of mine, who apparently had ESP that I had run out of nice smelling bath gel, though that is under the paper cubes and the mug.

My hubby got me the waffle iron and the socks. The pillow cases were made by my aunt. She’s very crafty!

Now for the most coveted of my gifts, are you ready?

Can you find the froggie that Anna’s daughter (aka The Girl) got my for Christmas? She just knows I love my little frogs. Anna got me the much anticipated Lace Reader and The Rest of Her Life, which she highly recommends. I want to provide Iliana at a Bookgirl’s Nightstand with a shout out because she made me the small little journal in this photo as a thank you for ordering from her store. Anna’s one of the recipients of Iliana’s handiwork. Yes, I am a Star Wars fanatic, thanks Dad! So the hubby got me the Wii light Sabre, now all I need is the game and another one so we can battle each other! LOL And last, but not least, my favorite and newest iPod. Yes, it will hold much more than the last iPod I bought ages ago…thank goodness because I have way more music than will fit on the other one. Yippee, thanks to the hubby!

I hope your secret Santa and elves were as good to you! I hope you had a great holiday. Have a great weekend.

Filed Under: announcements

Savvy Verse & Wit Reborn

December 13, 2008 by Serena

Hello everyone, if you usually view this site in Google Reader, it is time for you to click over onto the site and check out the great banner Monica and I collaborated on.

Ok, I really only provided her with a few photos and some ideas, and this is her hard work and creation hands down. I am thrilled with the banner and wanted to issue a public thank you for her efforts.

If you haven’t visited Monica’s blog, you should. She is great and her cat, Henry is hilarious. He makes an appearance every Wednesday for–you guessed it–Whiskers on Wednesday. Click the icon for her blog and check out her reviews. She’s off to England for vacation, and I hope she has a great time.

Filed Under: announcements

Garden Stuffed Chicken & Mozzarella

December 12, 2008 by Serena

I was hopping through Google Reader when I came across a post about recipes and Katie Brown Celebrates over on B&B ex libris.

Anyway, she got me thinking about my various creations, and here’s one that I posted on an older blog that I really loved making and eating. Check it out, try it. Tell me what you think.

****

It is not often that I cook meals at home because frankly, I’m not that great a cook. However, on a rare occasion that I do cook, I mostly make up a recipe on my own. I was extremely excited about how the Chicken Mozzarella turned out last night, that I figured I would blog about it and share the recipe.

I started with two breasts of chicken and I split them horizontally so I could stuff them with yummy cheese and peppers. Once the breasts were split, I seasoned the insides of the chicken with garlic, oregano, pepper, onion, Parmesan cheese, and Worcestershire sauce. I diced up the red, green, and yellow peppers as well as the mozzarella cheese and chives. See Below.

Once the inside was stuffed to the brim, I closed the chicken breasts with toothpicks. Topped the breasts with Italian seasoned bread crumbs and chives, and set them in a lightly sprayed glass baking dish. Check these images out.

Mind you, I am not a culinary genius. I baked the chicken breasts in the oven at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or so (yes, I often fail to use a timer and do things sort of by hunches). When the chickens were nearly cooked, I placed slivers of mozzarella on the top to add more cheese, because I just love cheese. I placed the breasts back in the oven for a bit longer, maybe about 10 more minutes until the cheese melted and the breasts were fully cooked. And here is the result.

I bet you are all salivating now. Enjoy!

Filed Under: recipes

Owen Fiddler and Marvin Wilson on Tour!

December 4, 2008 by Serena

Today is the day! Day 1 of the Owen Fiddler and Marvin Wilson tour!

Here’s a quick look at the tour dates and happenings: (Did I forget? There will be prizes!)

Owen Fiddler Experience Christmas Cyber Tour 2008 with author Marvin Wilson.

December 4: Diary of an Eccentric book review.

December 5: Diary of an Eccentric‘s Marvin Wilson and Owen Fiddler Q&A.

December 6: Kat Logic Blog hosts an interview with Owen Fiddler

December 7: Unwriter Blog hosts a collision between Amanda the cat and Owen Fiddler

December 8: Books and Authors Blog posts an interview with the reformed Owen Fiddler from the last part of the book in three parts. Part one, thoughts on the new President. Part two, thanks and gratefulness (for Thanksgiving), and Part 3 on Christmas.

December 9: Zhadi’s Den Blog post a short review of the book, and a humorous piece written by Marvin with a preface written by Owen Fiddler.

December 10: Savvy Verse & Wit posts a review of Owen Fiddler and an in-depth article written by Marvin Wilson, a biographical overview of the transformation from the undisciplined “freebird” Hippie of yore into the structured disciplined writer “living life on purpose” type of person he is today, and how that transformation affected and was affected by his taking up the arduous task of establishing a golden years career as a published author.

December 11: Straight from Hel Blog; Helen re-posts her review of Owen Fiddler and Marvin posts an article on novice authors dealing for the first time with a dastardly candid and task-mastering professional editor.

December 12: The Emerging Author Blog posts an interview with author Marvin D Wilson. The focus of the interview will be on writing and marketing techniques and ideas, with a flavor of Christmas-like subject matters touched on as well.

December 13: Pretty, Prosperous and Powerful Blog; Owen Fiddler asks Lacresha questions. He wants to know why the church is so judgmental, why there are so many hypocrites that call themselves “Christians” and then don’t act like Christ. Owen’s anger toward the religious and his hurting inside is attempted to be resolved by Lacresha’s addressing his spiritual needs and his misunderstanding of the difference between the religious and the truly spiritual.

December 14: Morphological Confetti Blog; Stephen posts an excerpt from the book Owen Fiddler.

December 15: The Quiverful Family Blog; Jennifer Bogart posts an interview with Marvin D Wilson focusing specifically on his redemption and salvation spiritual experience and how that has affected his writing.

December 16: The Daily Blonde Blog; Host Cheryl Phillips, in her own inimitable witty, chatty, fun-loving blond-headed-girl-next-door style, posts her piece on her impressions after having read Owen Fiddler – a spiritual/inspirational novel with SEX SCENES in it!

December 17: My Friend Amy’s Blog; Amy posts the interview with Louis Seiffer on “Inside the Actor’s Head Studio with Thames Lipton.” Louis Seiffer is the puffed up Satan-wannabe character in the book that grows in stature the more attention he is given.

I grabbed this tidbit from Marvin Wilson’s Free Spirit site:

The first three people who purchase a paperback copy of Owen Fiddler during the tour and who email me ([email protected]) with a copy of their proof of purchase invoice from either www.amazon.com or www.cambridgebooks.us will receive a FREE signed copy of my first book, I Romanced the Stone (Memoirs of a Recovering Hippie).

A free copy of Owen Fiddler will also be given to someone who leaves a comment on all 14 stops on the tour. If there is a draw between two or more, a competition for the winner will be held here on FREE SPIRIT, with the first place prize going to the commenter who posts the best answer to the question, “Why I want to read Owen Fiddler.” Any runner-ups will get an ebook copy of Owen. More fun. (smile)

Additionally, if anyone can, during the tour, purchase a copy of Owen Fiddler, pay for rush delivery, read it and post a review on Amazon before the tour ends, that person will receive a $25 gift certificate to either Borders or Barnse & Nobles bookstores, his or her choice. If more than one person can accomplish this, 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive $15 gift certificates.

But wait – I’m not done. Free Spirit will still have a quality post each day during the tour. Yes, the old silly is going to be working his tush off for the whole two weeks. I’ll be hanging around the host’s blog to answer questions and chat with readers all day and into the evening, also writing a post per day for Free Spirit, and also my usual work as an author with works in progress and a couple books I am editing for other authors. So I have a special award for anyone who can leave comments on all 14 days of the tour at both the host’s blog as well as Free Spirit. Hey – I’m gonna want some company over here too, y’all. (smile) Of those who can accomplish this, there will be a drawing, and I will give away up to three copies to three lucky people of the soon to be released Free Spirit Anthology, titled Between the Storm and the Rainbow. You’ll have to wait probably a couple months, but I’ll get them to you as soon as it is published.

So get started, with the stop at Diary of an Eccentric, Today!

Filed Under: announcements

"Keep Calm, Carry On!"–Gods Behaving Badly

December 3, 2008 by Serena

“Keep Calm and Carry On!” (Circa WWII)

What great motto to have on a wall of a writer’s study!

While I missed the discussion yesterday, Dec. 1, on BlogTalk Radio with Marie Phillips–author of Gods Behaving Badly–I was able to listen to it today.

She answered my question about her writing space in great detail, since she was sitting in her study where she does most of her writing. Fabulous. She has about 100 books that she has not read in her study! An entire wall of books, now who doesn’t have that dream? I guess I shouldn’t feel bad about my TBR pile. She has piles of books all over the floor and she says maybe she should start building furniture out of books. Marie Phillips is so witty.

Check out what else she had to say about her book, here.

Filed Under: announcements Tagged With: blog talk radio

Julie Gabriel, Author of The Green Beauty Guide

November 30, 2008 by Serena

Later this month, I’ll be hosting a TLC Book Tour stop for Julie Gabriel, author of The Green Beauty Guide, on December 9th.

However, until then, I wanted to let you know that you could catch her on XM and SIRIUS Radio on Martha Stewart Living Radio, which is Sirius 112 and XM 157, 10 AM EST on Monday, December 1.

I urge all of you to check out the radio show and share your thoughts here on Savvy Verse & Wit. I unfortunately will be at the office and unable to listen in, but I hope that some of you can and will share your thoughts.

Filed Under: announcements

Happy Turkey Day!

November 27, 2008 by Serena

Good Morning everyone and have a

HAPPY Thanksgiving!

The hubby and I will be headed over to Anna at Diary of an Eccentric‘s house for Thanksgiving Day dinner.

I’ll have to let you all know how it turns out. Let’s just hope I don’t miss too much of the Dallas Thanksgiving Day game. . . my own little tradition.

Have a great afternoon everyone. . . watch out for sleepy turkey syndrome.

***Reminder***

Don’t forget my contest for the writing guide Grit for the Oyster. You have two chances to enter: the review and the guest post

Deadline is December 1, Midnight EST.

Filed Under: announcements

Moonlight!

Importance of Lit Blogs & An Award

More Awards!

Winners of Gods Behaving Badly & Awards

Happy New Year!

Secret Santa Revealed

Savvy Verse & Wit Reborn

Garden Stuffed Chicken & Mozzarella

Owen Fiddler and Marvin Wilson on Tour!

"Keep Calm, Carry On!"–Gods Behaving Badly

Julie Gabriel, Author of The Green Beauty Guide

Happy Turkey Day!

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