Found Not Lost

Years ago when I first started blogging, I blogged mostly about the kids and food. While searching online for Filipino recipes, I ran across an interesting blog about coconuts. I was there mostly for the recipes which I printed out and have referred to since, when making Filipino rice cakes. I riffled through the other pages of that site and found out that they have a small farm in the Philippines and that they produce coconut products with an emphasis on what they termed ‘virgin coconut oil’.

Coconut oil was not so foreign to me. I grew up in the Philippines with a grandmother who swore by the benefits of coconut oil and even made her own. She used it for everything from cooking to personal hygiene. It’s a great moisturizer, she used it as body oil and hair oil. After she came to live in the U.S., my grandmother always made a point of requesting virgin coconut oil whenever someone went to the Philippines so they can bring her back some. She always had a jar in her room and she always smelled pleasantly of coconut.

So I was excited when I rediscovered this website and even had a chance to sample their best and main product, Virgin Coconut Oil. Along with the oil, I also received a copy of the book, Virgin Coconut Oil - How it has changed people’s lives, and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy, the founders of Tropical Traditions. You can get a complimentary copy of this book with your first order. All you have to do is, when you are checking out and are asked, “How did you hear of us?” you must select: “Referred by a friend” and enter this ID number: 5493412.
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My Comments:
I am excited to introduce you to this book, released today, Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran. Here is a short story from the Amazon page for Cleopatra’s Daughter just to give you an idea of what the book is about:

From Publishers Weekly
Moran’s latest foray into the world of classical history (after The Heretic Queen) centers upon the children of Marc Antony and Cleopatra . After the death of their parents, twins Alexander and Selene and younger brother Ptolemy are in a dangerous position, left to the mercy of their father’s greatest rival, Octavian Caesar. However, Caesar does not kill them as expected, but takes the trio to Rome to be paraded as part of his triumphant return and to demonstrate his solidified power. As the twins adapt to life in Rome in the inner circle of Caesar’s family, they grow into adulthood ensconced in a web of secrecy, intrigue and constant danger. Told from Selene’s perspective, the tale draws readers into the fascinating world of ancient Rome and into the court of Rome’s first and most famous emperor. Deftly encompassing enough political history to provide context, Moran never clutters her narrative with extraneous facts. Readers may be frustrated that Selene is more observer than actor, despite the action taking place around her, but historical fiction enthusiasts will delight in this solid installment from a talented name in the genre.

I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet but I have seen it being given away on various blogs and I’ve probably entered every one of them but haven’t had any luck winning one yet. So how much of a coincidence is it that I received an email offering some free book marks and book plates as a consolation price for not winning the giveaway? Not being one to refuse anything for free, I went to the Cleopatra’s Daughter’s website and started looking around. I found some very interesting facts about the book and also some fun facts about Roman history and other related items to the book. Then I found more giveaways direct from the author and also a bloggers section. I found out I can ask to review the book directly!
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LUCAN by Susan Kearney
Publish Date: 9/5/2009
Price: $6.99/$8.99
ISBN: 9780446543316
Pages: 368

Summary
Healer and high priestess of her people, Lady Cael is fated to life without a mate. But a mysterious explorer named Lucan Rourke doesn’t know her secrets, and his touch makes her crave a future that her extraordinary birthright has forbidden her. . .

Lucan has just one mission on Pendragon: to find the mythical Holy Grail, Earth’s only hope for survival. His powerful attraction to Cael is a distraction he can’t afford, unless he convinces her to join forces with him. Yet working so closely together only heightens their passion . . . even when the terrifying truth of Cael’s heritage threatens to shatter Lucan’s every belief-and the galaxy itself.
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These giveaways are a lot of work but they are also a whole lot of fun! I have been entering quite a few of them and have actually won some pretty cool prices! I’ve won books, snacks, bags, and recently, I even won a Visa gift card! I can’t wait to go shopping with that one I wish I could use it to pay off some bills instead. It seems like all our insurance payments came due at the same time. So now in addition to the utility bills this month, we also have to pay the car insurance, the home insurance and the term life insurance. ANYWAY, getting back on topic, I usually hold a giveaway roundup every Friday on Amoores.com if you just want a one stop place to get all the giveaways.

I’ve noticed that the giveaways get pushed down the list pretty fast as I post more reviews and giveaways. So just to give you guys a head’s up, in case you haven’t noticed already, I added a new link on the navigation bar above titled GIVEAWAYS. That link will take you to a page that lists all the giveaways on this site, past and present. For the ones that have already closed, it will also list the winners for each one.

If you’re are blogger and left a link to your site when you left me a comment, I will link back to your site when I list your name as winner. Just an added link love bonus from me to you Also for you bloggers out there, I just added the Do-Follow plugin on this blog and the main blog, Amoores.com. If you don’t know what Do-Follow is, it simply means that when you leave a comment on this blog, the link that you leave counts as a backlink to your blog. Kikolani gives a better explanation for do-follow than I can give you so go on over there and read up on it.

Book: Stray Affections
Author: Charlene Ann Baumbich

Book Summary:
In Stray Affections, the last thing that Cassandra expects out of her Sunday is to be mesmerized at a collectors’ convention by a snowglobe. She’s enjoying some shopping time, with husband Ken at home tending their brood of four young boys, when she’s utterly charmed by the one-of-a kind globe containing figures of three dogs and a little girl with hair the color of her own. She can’t resist taking the unique globe home—even if means wrestling another shopper for it!

The beautiful snowglobe sparks long-dormant memories for Cassie, of her beloved Grandpa Wonky, the stray she rescued as a child and the painful roots of her combative relationship with her mother, “Bad Betty” Kamrowski. Life in Wanonishaw, Minnesota is never dull, though, and Cassie keeps the recollections at bay, busy balancing her boys, her home daycare operation, and being a good friend to best pal Margret. But after a strange—flurrious, as Cassie deems it—moment happens with the remarkable snowglobe, Cassie and the people she loves are swirled into a tumultuous, yet grace-filled, and life-changing journey.

“As a believer, I know the power of forgiveness and new beginnings, and of a God, and family and friends, who love me the way I am,” Charlene Ann Baumbich says. “The heartbeat of change flows through those wonderful gifts.”

With the quirky, close-knit Midwestern small-town feel that made Charlene Ann Baumbich’s acclaimed Dearest Dorothy novels so popular, Stray Affections invites readers to experience the laughter and the healing of second chances.
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THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

The winners are:

Ann, Natalie A., Wanda, Kristine Michell & pixie13

Emails have been sent out to notify the winners. Please reply within 48-hours or another winner will be chosen.

Thanks to everyone who participated!
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DARK HUNGER by Rita Herron
Edition: FOREVER SPECIAL RELEASE
Publish Date: 8/1/2009
Price: $6.99/$8.50
ISBN: 9780446199483
Pages: 320

Summary
Reporter Annabelle Armstrong will go to any lengths to deliver a story, even track down Quinton Valtrez, a man she believes is a coldhearted assassin. Quinton has fought his demonic powers since he was a child. Now using his gifts for the good of national security, he can’t let himself be distracted by the beautiful, determined Annabelle. A wicked enemy is out for vengeance, a demon who wants to draw Quinton into a life of pure evil and is willing to use Annabelle as bait. To save her, Quinton must achieve the near impossible: tame the sinister force that is both his inheritance and his curse before it claims him forever.

For additional information about this book, read an excerpt, read Five Fun Facts from the author and watch the video below.

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