Holly, Jolly December!

My goodness!  Exciting stuff is brewing here in the Land of Eclecticism.  With so many big things to announce, I decided an entire post was in order, just to fill you in on the latest doings.  Mark your Advent calendars for all of the following!


December 5th--My 1st Author Interview and Giveaway!

Regular readers will know how impressed I was with a book called Raised Right (click to read my review), to which I gave 5 stars and an absolutely glowing recommendation.  This memoir of an American Evangelical Fundamentalist who was forced to expand her understanding of life and its complexities demonstrates introspection without excuse.  It is often entertaining and witty, always engaging, but brutally frank, and for three of you lucky readers, it will be yours--FOR FREE!  Ms. Harris and her publisher have graciously provided copies, and I'll be choosing the winners at random. SO, be sure to enter the giveaway by leaving a comment, because a glance at the date on this post will tell you that this event is coming up SOON!

December 12th--2011 Virtual Advent Tour

I think this is just an awesome idea.  Kailana and Marge, our delightful hosts for the Advent Tour of blogs, have created a special way for many of us to share our special Advent memories, traditions and favorites with our fellow (book)bloggers.  At the link above, you'll find a schedule of who will be posting each day with a link to each site.  My chosen date is December 12, and I hope you'll all stop in to talk a little holiday schmaltz with me.

December 29th--My 1st Book Tour!

Thanks to the awesome folks at BlogHer and Penguin Publishing, I get to be a part of the marketing tour for Jeffrey Zaslow's The Magic Room, an ARC of which was delivered into my eager little hands to day, and which will hit the shelves in January 2012.  I'm really looking forward to this one, and hope you'll join us.  The Magic Room is about the joys, perils and pitfalls of that place now made legendary by shows like TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress"--the dressing room where a bride-to-be searches for her perfect gown.  Honestly, it's an experience I didn't have, for a number of personality and budget reasons, but I'm eager to read about it, since I'm as nosy curious as the next girl!  Besides, I love weddings like everyone else does; it's that joy we all feel for events that affirm life.

That's all the major news at the moment, and that's plenty, surely!  It's going to be an exciting December, and I hope you'll all come along with me for the adventures.  Nothing like bookish events to top off your holiday preparations, whatever holiday you're preparing for.