Unclaimed Random Freebies given to new winners! Is it you?

Hi, everyone! Since two of the previous random freebie winners did not claim their prizes, according to my rules, I'm selecting two new winners from my list of eligibles. Remember, even if you leave your e-mail address on your comment, I will not contact you to notify you of your win. In other words, return visits to my blog are their own reward, heh heh. Winners must contact me with a snail mail address at tjb @ tjbennett . com (no spaces) to claim their prizes. The winners below have until Wednesday, February 3, 2010, to do so.

1. siNn - Knight of Pleasure
2. Jane - Divorced, Desperate and Deceived (this is the Jane who commented 4:16 PM, January 22, 2010).

Contact me soon! If these folks don't claim their prizes by Feb 3, then I will select other winners, so stay tuned.

Sheesh. Never had so much trouble giving away good books before...grumble grumble....

TJB

Clock's ticking, Random Freebie winners...

Still waiting to hear from two of our random freebie winners. Remember, you only have until Friday to send me an e-mail claiming your prize. Include your snail mail address. If I don't hear from you, I'll have to give your prize away to another eligible winner. Donnas has claimed Beguiled; I'm still waiting to hear from these winners:

1. Busy Bee - Knight of Pleasure
2. J K Maze - Divorced, Desperate, and Deceived

Hustle up!

TJB

Random Freebie Winners!

I've chosen the winners for my latest Random Freebie contest, and they are as follows:

1. Busy Bee - Knight of Pleasure
2. J K Maze - Divorced, Desperate, and Deceived
3. donnas - Beguiled

Congratulations, everyone, on winning these great books! However, you have one more step. You need to claim your prize by sending me an e-mail with your mailing address to tjb @ tjbennett . com (no spaces) by Friday, January 29, 2010, or I will be forced *sob* to give your prize away to another eligible participant. So don't delay, claim your prize today!

Stay tuned for more good stuff and giveaways at IMHO soon. I'm organizing my pre-Valentine's Week event, and I know you'll want to be front and center for that from February 7 - 13, when we engage in a week-long discussion of why smart women (and men) read romance, from some very "smart" guest bloggers. We'll give away prizes, too, to smart IMHO readers who hang out with us that week.

I've already seen the posts from two of the menfolk (one a former Romance Writers of America chapter president who solves cyber crimes in his professional life, the other a Golden Heart finalist with a PhD in economics and a black belt in karate); they're fascinating, and you really don't want to miss what these smart guys who read romance have to say about it.

Take care,
TJB

Psst! I'm giving away some random freebies!

It's our secret, okay? I've got some random freebies to give away, and I've even got one you aren't supposed to be able to buy yet...AND it's signed by the authors. But don't TELL anyone, for goodness' sake!

Here's the rules: leave a comment telling me which books, in order, you'd most like to win. I've got three, listed herewith:

1. DIVORCED, DESPERATE, AND DECEIVED by Christie Craig - The latest in her light romantic suspense DD&D series, autographed!

2. KNIGHT OF PLEASURE by Margaret Mallory - (unsigned); second book in the "All the King's Men" series from a new historical romance author. This beautiful cover was the winner over at The Season Blog last month.

3. BEGUILED by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand - signed by the authors and not yet released in stores (I have connections, heh heh). What happens when an inspirational romance author and an acclaimed debut crime novelist get together? This unique contemporary romantic suspense!

US and Canada addresses only. Follow the rules, please, as only those who are eligible will be placed in the prize pool. Prizes will be awarded on Monday, January 25, 2010. You must return to the blog to see if you won, so be sure to come back on Monday.

Leave your comments now!

TJB

Under the Radar Romances

The Seasons Blog is asking about romances deserving recognition that have flown "under the radar" for lack of buzz, promotion, bookstore shelf space, etc. If you'd like to add a comment or suggest a book she should give attention to (*cough cough*), stop on over.

TJB

New event planned for Valentine's Week!

Hi, folks!

Just wanted to give you a head's up that I have a fantastic event in the making for Valentine's Week. I'll let you know as soon as the whole thing is locked down solid, but I was inspired to do a special event for the most romantic week of the year when a dear friend found herself in the position of having to defend her right to read romance recently to a mocking naysayer.

If you are a romance reader who has ever been made fun of by others (or feared that you would be), or called "dumb" or "undiscerning" because you love to read "those trashy books" with all the other desperate housewives sitting around in curlers eating ice cream out of the carton with a spoon, you'll want to check in with IMHO the week of Feb 7 - 13. You'll also want to direct the naysayers to this blog that week, because I rounded up a bunch of smart romance-reading folks who have an answer to all of those other folks who put loyal romance readers down. From a university professor to a cyber-crime specialist; from a former pentagon military officer to a PhD in Theocentric business and ethics; from a database administrator to a doctor of psychology, and more...you and your detractors will be in for a few surprises.

Stay tuned, because you'll want to know the kinds of smart women--and men--who read romance. And yes, there will be prizes!

TJB

Winners of the "Dang it's Cold" Random Freebies!

We have our winners, folks!

Dyockman of San Diego, CA, you are the winner with the warmest temp of 76F degrees. You will receive To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Holt.
Chey of Red Lake, ON, you are the winner with the lowest temp of -30C (-22F). You will receive Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle.

You have until Wednesday, Jan 13, to contact me with your mailing address to claim your prize. Winners were chosen from all eligible entries (i.e., you followed my directions). Congratulations! I do love it when people do what I command.

Stay tuned, because I visited my RWA chapter this weekend, and I bought three luscious, brand new releases, a couple even autographed, and I'm going to give them away when I'm darned good and ready. Heh heh heh. I get to pick when 'cause I paid good money for these--no donations this time. Although, admittedly, there is no such thing as bad money...

I so enjoy toying with you folks.

See you soon!

TJB

"Dang, it's COOOLD" Random Freebie Giveaway

I'm laughing here in Houston, folks, because it's 25 degrees. I'm not laughing because it's cold, but because of the Houstonian's reaction to it. Now, understand that we are about 20 degrees lower than normal right now, so I get that. It is cold. But Houstonians are freaking out. I mean, it's just COLD, fer crying out loud. It's not even going to rain! Not even sleeting, snowing, storming, or hailing, although I did see a little puddle on the side of the road that had iced over a little. A group I belong to decided to cancel their monthly meeting because it was predicted to have a low in the 20's. Sheesh. My feeling is, put on an extra sweater, a jacket, don a pair of gloves, and you're all set.:-)

I used to live in Los Angeles, and they were the same way about rain. Gridlock, school closings, mass hysteria, dogs mating with cats, the moon crashing into the Earth: you name it--and that was with a summer shower!

But, it is a good excuse for me to give away some free books. So, just to let you know I'm still around and giving stuff away, I've got unsigned copies of Liz Carlyle's WICKED ALL DAY and Elizabeth Hoyt's TO DESIRE A DEVIL to give away. All you have to do is respond to this post and tell me how cold or hot it is where you live today. The person with the coldest low temp and the person with the warmest high temp wins (and I WILL check, so no fibbing). Include in your comment which of the two books you'd like to win when you respond. US and Canada mailing addresses only, please. I'll select a winner by 8pm tomorrow, January 9, 2010. [Note: date corrected. Apparently, I went a week into the future for a moment, it was so cold.]

Good luck!

TJB

And the winner of the Christmas-theme tote is...

JANE L!! (Please note there was more than one Jane commenting on the site this month; this is JANE L.)

JANE L, you are the winner of December's tote filled with autographed books from all of this month's guest, a copy of my historical romance THE LEGACY, and the $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com! JANE L., you must contact me at my e-mail tjb @ tjbennett DOT com in order to claim your prize by December 31, 2009 (that's a shorter deadline, so don't delay) or I will have to give the prize to another eligible winner.

Well, this has been a great run, folks. We've had some amazing guests on this year--authors I have admired and enjoyed getting to know as much as you have, and had special events such as our summer RITA Extravaganza whereby nearly 50 RITA nominees gave away their books on my blog and told us why they were happy to be nominated for this prestigious award. We also gave away a big basket of looove and found out what our guest authors were thankful for this year.

I hope in the near future to bring you other special events here at IMHO, but the weekly Wednesday guest blogs are going on indefinite hiatus. I'll still introduce you to great authors you should know on an occasional basis, so be sure to bookmark this site, become a follower of the blog, and/or sign up for my newsletter if you want to be in the know and get a chance to win free books and other prizes. And this summer, I plan to travel to the RWA national conference (God willing and the creek don't rise) so you'll get to be a part of the action there. I know I'll meet plenty of wonderful authors and get great books that I can pass along to you as random freebies, hint hint.

In the meantime, I'm going to be focusing on a few other areas of my life that are demanding attention now, and I hope to be able to get back to the regular guest author posts soon. Feel free to browse the archives beginning with Jan 2009 to discover new authors you should know, and check back here periodically to see what's happening.

For now, I'll say, "So Long, Farewell"....



TJ Bennett

IMHO Welcomes Carrie Lofty!

IMHO would like to welcome our final guest for 2009 (and for the duration, as the guest author segments are taking an indefinite break for a while; but no worries--we'll be back with the occasional special event). Carrie Lofty has visited with us before, and we're delighted to have her back again to close out the year.

Born in California and raised in the Midwest, Carrie found the love of her life in England. Since earning her Master’s in history, she’s been devoted to raising her family and writing romance. Her January release, Scoundrel’s Kiss, featuring a Spanish warrior monk and the troubled woman he’s sworn to protect, is the sequel to her Robin Hood-themed debut, What a Scoundrel Wants. Kathe Robin of Romantic Times says, "Lofty writes adventure romance like a born bard of old." With Ann Aguirre, she also co-writes apocalyptic romance under the name Ellen Connor.

Carrie will put a copy of Scoundrel's Kiss in the Christmas tote for our lucky winner to take home. In the sequel to WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, Meg of Keyworth's troubled sister Ada travels to the Kingdom of Castile. Here's the story synopsis:

When it comes to temptation...

Turning his back on his old life as a rogue, Gavriel de Marqueda has joined a monastic order in Spain and taken a vow of chastity. Before he becomes a monk, he must pass one final test: help a woman who has lost her way. But when he lays eyes on Ada of Keyworth, he is tempted beyond measure by her sultry beauty and dangerous curves...

Rules are meant to be broken...

Far from her home in England, Ada has been battling inner demons for more than a year. When she discovers that her only friend has abandoned her, she has no choice but to grudgingly accept Gavriel's help. But Ada is not fooled. Though Gavriel wears the robes of a monk, Ada sees that he is a virile man who looks at her with a hunger that matches her own--one that begs to be satisfied again and again....

IMHO: Welcome back, Carrie. Tell our readers: What is something you want for Christmas this year?

CL: Well, TJ, all I want for Christmas is…a few days of relaxation and health with my family. Last year was great but not without problems. As we do every other year, we went to England to spend time with my husband's family. We visited Windsor Castle, enjoyed a great family reunion, and took our daughters' to their first panto performance--mine too!

But in the days leading up to The Big Day, my younger daughter needed to go to the emergency room because of dehydration. A bad cold had taken a turn for the worse. At least another dozen families were there in the emergency pediatrics ward, too. I was in pretty sad company: sick kids, anxious parents, harried doctors, and Christmas videos playing on the waiting room television.

Our daughter recovered in time to open her presents with some degree of energy, but it put me in mind of all those other families we'd waited with. That was just one hospital. Around the world, there must be millions of people who spend part of the season in hospitals—the sick or wounded, their loved ones, and their medical professionals. I admire their strength and dedication beyond words. I would be a wreck.

Thus this year, I want a quiet season of health and smiles. My family lives in Northern Indiana and it's "their year," so we'll head that way for at least a few days during the holiday season. I want to watch all of my favorite films: It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, and Scrooged. My mom always makes us grilled ham and Swiss on rye after the initial glazed ham dinner, which I anticipate almost as much as opening presents. I'm going to take over the responsibility of baking the decorated sugar cookies that used to give me such a thrill as a child. So beautiful and colorful! And my brother and his family will probably bring over Rock Band. I have a love-hate thing for karaoke…

All of this will be so much more wonderful if we're healthy! I have the "happy" part of "healthy and happy" down pat. It's been a good year for me. I love my family, I have a wonderful array of the most supportive friends, and I've been fortunate enough to make a go of this business. No matter what you celebrate during this festive time of year, I wish the same health and happiness to all of you.

IMHO: You know, Carrie, I can get behind that "healthy Christmas" thing this year. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we'll all be there in a couple of days, right? In the meantime, IMHO readers, tell Carrie what your Christmas wish is this year. Not for something material, but something intangible. Peace in the Middle East? Peace in the kids' room? A far away family member to come home for Christmas? What would it be?

Leave a comment for Carrie for a chance to win signed books by Emily Bryan, Jennifer Ashley, Christie Craig, Carrie Lofty, TJ Bennett, and a $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com. Don't forget--to be eligible to win, you must comment on at least one other guest author's post this month as well (the more, the merrier). On December 28, 2009, I'll pick the winner of my Christmas-themed tote. For contest rules, go here.

Good luck!

TJB