UPDATE ~ MckLinky is back!

PHEW! MckLinky is back, so please use MckLinky to enter my giveaways. They can be found:

• Here Burns My Candle ~ Ends 4/9
• An Absence So Great ~ Ends 4/15
• This Little Prayer of Mine ~ Ends 4/19

GIVEAWAYS ALERT: MckLinky is DOWN!

This is a bad thing if you want to enter any of my giveaways! Until further notice, please leave a comment on the post in which the giveaways are announced. If you already signed up, PLEASE leave a comment in the post just in case MckLinky's not back soon! I don't want to miss anyone. Anyway, here are the links:

• Here Burns My Candle ~ Ends 4/9
• An Absence So Great ~ Ends 4/15
• This Little Prayer of Mine ~ Ends 4/19

Book Review & GIVEAWAY: Here Burns My Candle

Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

From the back cover: Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My review: Very good book. Very. So, why only four stars? It was too sad. Too much loss, too much crying, too little happiness. I know it reflects the time period during which it occurs, but add to all that this book clearly was written with a sequel planned. The end isn't much of an end, and after finishing I found an advertisement for the next book – coming next spring! I hate that! So, while it was a VERY well-written story with very good characters, I just couldn't give it the full five stars. Four and a half would've been my preference, but Goodreads doesn't allow! ;-)

Source: Sent by the publisher for review.

Get your own copy: One lucky reader will win a FREE copy of this Here Burns My Candle! (Entry details are below.) For the rest of you, it can be purchased HERE.

View all of my Goodreads.com reviews >>

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GIVEAWAY

The publisher has graciously sent me an extra copy of this book to give to a lucky reader! It was VERY good, and I'm very excited to be sharing one with you!

To enter: Submit your entry using the MckLinky below (you can leave the first box, labeled "entry content," blank). Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Friday, April 9. A winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S. No P.O. boxes.

Getting to Know You

Another fun question-and-answer thing I wanted to try. It's hosted by MannLand5. Feel free to join in if you want! She has a MckLinky on her blog that you can use to share your post - or you can just leave me a comment. :-)

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1. What's your favorite Easter candy?

Chocolate bunnies. I prefer the hollow ones, because they're easier to break up. LOL But, it's gotta be good chocolate (nothing cheap) - Hershey's, Lindt, Dove, etc.

2. Who do you think is cleaner..men or women?

I wanna say women, but I don't know. I can't BELIEVE the mess I've seen in women's bathrooms sometimes!

3. Which do you prefer..wordy blog posts or ones with pictures?

I like a healthy mixture of both. If it's REALLY good, I like the wordy ones. But I often don't want to take a lot of time to read it all, so pictures are good, too. After all, pictures are worth 1,000 words, right? ;-)

4. Were you popular in high school?

Nope.

5. What's your bra size?

I believe the bras I wear right now are 38DD, but don't quote me on that. In my efforts to lose weight, I've noticed I might be losing some of that - I sure hope so!

6. How many states have you lived in?

Two: Illinois and Iowa

7. What's one blog you read every day?

There are so many blogs I read, I'm not sure there's any specific one that I read EVERY day.

8. Peanut butter or Nutella?

Peanut butter - preferably with chocolate! :-)

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Your turn! The questions are repeated below for easier copying and pasting!

1. What's your favorite Easter candy?
2. Who do you think is cleaner..men or women?
3. Which do you prefer..wordy blog posts or ones with pictures?
4. Were you popular in highschool?
5. What's your bra size?
6. How many states have you lived in?
7. What's one blog you read every day?
8. Peanut butter or Nutella?

Five Question Friday

It's Five Question Friday time again! (Another one two weeks in a row? Wow. How is this happening?)

1. What's your guilty pleasure?

Hmm...that's a bit of a loaded question. Are we talking food? Activites? Something else? I'm gonna think on this one - and hopefully remember to come back to it so I can really answer it!

2. What is your favorite TV series?

I'm sorry, but this question implies that I have ONE favorite! So NOT the case! LOL My absolute FAVORITE shows (meaning ones I MAKE SURE to watch by making them a priority of sorts, as opposed to the shows I really like but never get around to actually watching them) are:

• Dexter ~ I cannot believe I'm saying that! PLEASE don't tell my hubby! I thought it was abhorrent when he started watching it (thanks to NetFlix) and openly showed my disgust. I have since been sucked in, and he's - graciously, I'm sure - rewatching the first two seasons so I can see them all, too! He knows I'm enjoying it - just don't tell him how much!
  
• 24 ~ Love, love, LOVE this show!
• Lost

There are plenty more that I REALLY like (Private Practice, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, The Forgotten), but have fallen so far behind that I think I've decided to let them go - at least for now. Perhaps with the help of NetFlix I can get caught up again sometime!

3. Can you speak any foreign languages?

Not really. I can speak a tiny bit of Spanish, but I'm nowhere near fluent - and likely couldn't carry on a conversation beyond "hello, how are you, my name is Heather" and the like!

4. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I honestly don't know. I used to have a LOT of shoes, but having babies made it so some of those shoes no longer are wearable by me. I got rid of a TON of pairs that no longer fit - but just bought some new shoes last weekend. I'd say a dozen or so - but likely to get more as I rediscover my love for shoes!

5. What's your favorite kind of M&M's...peanut, almond, straight up regular, etc.?

Peanut, hands down!

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Rules: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then link up! If you'd like, grab the code for the blog hop...but you don't have to! Link back to Mama M., so people know where to go for the next go around!

Questions for Friday, March 5th (repeated for easier copying):

1. What's your guilty pleasure?

2. What is your favorite TV series?

3. Can you speak any foreign languages?

4. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

5. What's your favorite kind of M&M's...peanut, almond, straight up regular, etc.?

GIVEAWAY: Dancing With My Father & Mother-Daughter Duet

Today I'm posting for another blog tour. This one features two books that I just don't think I can get finished by tomorrow! I'm a little over halfway through one, and just don't see the time to read the second - at least not by the end of tomorrow! ;-) So, here's the info about the books. I'll post my thoughts on them, and later - eventually - a review.

I have one copy of EACH book to give away to two lucky readers. Details on how to win are below!

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Description:  The reality of living in a broken, fallen world can leave women feeling overcome by fear, guilt, and weariness. Many develop “sawdust souls,” numb to any sense of joy.

In this warm and wise book, author Sally Clarkson invites readers to take God’s hand and let Him lead them into a life of anticipation, passion, and purpose. With the voice of a trusted mentor, she reveals how, by getting in tune with the rhythm of God’s presence, women can nurture an inner attitude of anticipation and celebration even in the stressful seasons of life.

Through rich biblical insights woven with real-life stories, women will be inspired to recapture a spirit of joy as they follow God’s lead on the dance floor of life.

Author Bio: Sally Clarkson is a popular speaker, known across the nation and internationally for her work with women. She is the author of several books, including The Mission of Motherhood, The Ministry of Motherhood, and Seasons of a Mother’s Heart. She has worked in various ministries, including Campus Crusade for Christ. With her husband, Clay, she is cofounder of Whole Heart Ministries, which encourages and equips Christian parents. The Clarksons, parents of four, live near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

My thoughts: This book is making me think about a lot of things in ways I'd never done before - or at least not in a long time. While it's about joy, it's also made me think about my role in my family - my job as a wife and a mother. It's made me realize that I need to embrace these roles in a way I haven't yet, and really give these people in my life everything I have. The following quote, in particular, really touched me:

Parents face the test of whether to pursue our own rights and interests or give up personal time and priorities in order to invest in training our children and learning what it means to be a servant leader.

This quote jumped out at me. I need to be better about giving up my own personal interests and personal time for the benefit of my children. Yes, the needs to be some balance, but I need to be less self-centered and more focused on my kids. God has given me these wonderful blessings, and I need to focus on them. That means less time pursuing my own interests and more just caring for them, loving on them, being a good mother to them.

The style of the writing in this book is very conversational and very easy to read. Overall, I am enjoying her stories and learning a lot about my relationship with God.

Source: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Get your own copy: Order your copy of Dancing with My Father HERE.

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Description: When a daughter is born, her mother has a thousand hopes and dreams for her, especially that they will be best friends one day.

Unfortunately, even the best of intentions can go awry. There are so many challenges on the journey to adult friendship that the reality is fraught with friction and frustration. But a harmonious relationship is possible.

Award-winning author Cheri Fuller and her daughter, Ali Plum, have been there and have discovered the keys to a healthy relationship. In Mother-Daughter Duet they share their story—each from her own perspective—in which they have experienced distance and tension, growth and challenge, and, ultimately, acceptance and harmony. Filled with personal anecdotes and based on several basic principles (letting go; listening; respect; setting boundaries; and more), Mother-Daughter Duet helps moms repair the breach so that daughters want to draw close.

The mother-daughter dynamic is intense, personal, complex, and unique. But mothers and daughters can achieve mutual respect and learn to celebrate their differences when they learn the two-part harmony of the mother-daughter duet.

Author Bios: Cheri Fuller is a best-selling, award-winning author whose books have sold more than one million copies. She speaks to a wide range of women at women’s conferences and is a frequent guest on national radio and television programs.

Ali Plum is Cheri’s daughter, a writer and songwriter, a wife, and a mother to Noah and Luke. She and her mom have weathered the ups and downs of their relationship to find one of the most treasured, honest relationships of their lives. Ali has recorded background vocals for popular musicians, and Mother-Daughter Duet marks her debut into book publishing.

My thoughts: Don't really have any yet, as I have yet to even open this book. BUT, I do look forward to reading it. As the mother of two daughters, I hope to gain a lot of insight into how best to foster a healthy relationship with my girls. Once I've read it, I'll let you know if it delivers! ;-)

Source: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Get your own: You can purchase your own copy of this book HERE.

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And now for the EXTRA FUN part! Sign up to get a FREE copy of either book. Contest ends at 1 a.m. CENTRAL on March 17. To enter, just give me your information using the MckLinky form below. Make sure to specify what you're entering for (Dancing, Duet, or both)! Remember, only I have access to your e-mail address, so don't be shy! Finally, contest is open only to U.S. residents. No P.O. boxes.