Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Happy Solstice + Stocking Stuffers!

It looks like everyone in the Northern Hemisphere must have lit enough candles last night because the sun did, in fact, rise this morning, and today will be ever so slightly longer than yesterday was. Personally, I love winter solstice, but then I'm such a product of my Northern European ancestry that I get annoyed when there are too many consecutive days of sunshine. I like the long, dark nights of November through January.

On to the stocking stuffers!

We're having a grand time giving stuff away, and hey that's what this season is about right? Giving gifts? Well, I have a couple for you. First is my Solstice-themed freebie, Wand'ring Home, that I wrote last year. If you don't have a copy yet, you can download it right here. Despite what the cover suggests, it is in fact a fantasy, not contemporary, m/m, and it's a follow-up to my first book, The Ballad of Jimothy Redwing.


And now for the contest!

I love to give presents at least as much as I love to get them. I think the best present I've given (at least since I've been married) is the picture light I gave my hubby a few years back so he could properly light the gorgeous framed photo that hangs over our fireplace. It's an incredibly beautiful shot he took while he and his brother were at Camp Muir on Mount Rainier. That was a serious score in that he loves it, it lights a very special photograph, and it gets used practically every day.

For the Naughty Stocking Stuffers, I'm giving away your choice of a free download of either of my novels, The Ballad of Jimothy Redwing or Client Privileges, or, for those of you willing to wait until January, a free download of my upcoming short story, Play Music, Play Magic. And winning couldn't be simpler. Just comment and tell me about the best gift you can remember either giving or receiving. Just post by midnight of the 25th and I'll pick a winner on the 26th, then pop back in here to update the post so you know if you won. (If you leave your email address in your comment, I can notify you directly, too.)

Happy Holidays!

ETA 22 Dec 7:52pm: Can't seem to comment on my post, so I'll just pop in here to say "Great gifties, everyone! Keep 'em coming!"

ETA 26 Dec: WE HAVE A WINNER! Mo, you are the lucky winner! Please email me at maia (at) maiastrong (dot) com to let me know what title and what ebook format you would like!

Happy Boxing Day, everyone!

9 comments:

Chris said...

Best gift - hmm. This would help if I could remember things from longer ago than 20 minutes, eh?

One that's been a gift that keeps on giving is the cat tree/house that my brother and SIL made for the kitties and I. They love it and it's sure more durable than any commercial product.

s7anna said...

Best gift...umm...My Mum got me a limited edition L.A.M.B. travel bag filled to the brim with books from my wishlist.

Merry Christmas
Anna Shah Hoque
s7anna@yahoo.ca

Lisa G said...

Happy Holidays Maia! I've received alot of great gifts over the year but my most recent favorite is a GPS for my car. I have a horrible sense of direction and now I'm never lost, can find any place to get gas, food, shopping and best of all no longer am bugging my husband at work to pull up a map and get me back on track. lol. I'm sure he thinks it was the best gift he gave me as well (besides our daughters). :)

blessedheart said...

The best gift I ever got was in 1988 from my then 3 month-old baby girl. She got me a beautiful set of decorative salt and pepper shapers that said "To mom, With Love". I think she had a little help with that gift from her daddy, but I've always treasured them.

Blessings,
Rhonda

booklover0226 said...

The best gift I received wa a typewriter! I was so thrilled to have it since I was heading off to college.

Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 AT gmail DOT com

Janna said...

The best gift I received was from my hubby for my 25th birthday: surprise tickets to a concert of my favorite Dutch singer (Ilse Delange). We had a great time!!
:)
Janna
eroticromance[at]live[dot]nl

Mo said...

My Dad passed away the week before Christmas a decade ago and I was really missing him. He was an oil burner service man and the smell of oil always made me think of him and smile. My hubby gave me a perfume mister filled with fuel oil #2. Best gift ever. Now when ever I miss my Dad I mist a hanky with the oil and smell the memories.

n.c. jenks said...

The best gift I ever got was from my sister. It's a huge green polka dot piggy bank about half a foot tall and a foot long.. It's kind of cheesy but when I was growing up, we didn't have a lot of money so I never got a piggy bank. Well, I would always complain that I missed out on having a little bank when I was a kid so one year my sister got so annoyed at me that she bought it for me for Christmas and said, "There, now you can shut up about the stupid piggy bank. I mean seriously, you've got a much bigger bank now. You'd think you'd get over this stupid obsession." She huffed and puffed the whole time I was opening it, too, because I was careful not to rip the wrapping paper or the box.. It was the best present I ever got and I still use it. Gives those lost pennies a home.. lol. Happy Holidays.

mercedes791@live.com

Yami no Ite said...

Huh. I can't remember the best gift I've ever gotten right off hand. Though I have to say the best gift I've ever given was to a friend of mine who does some amazing cosplay/costumes. She's done Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, and several others. And she'd been using her mom's old sewing machine. So I got her a nice, new one for Christmas. I'm still happy about that four years later.

yami_no_ite@yahoo.com

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