Destiny Booze's Blog: The Smiling Pains of Novelist Destiny Booze - Posts Tagged "contest"

Do you want to be a hero? Join my contest!...



…and win a signed copy of Altered Beginnings!



Here’s why. July 4th is just around the corner and I want to honor a hero. Here’s another why. Altered Beginnings is full of heroes.



Leigh Lawson, the main character of Altered Beginnings is a true hero. She overcomes an abusive childhood, puts herself through college and lands a highly successful career. Yet, that’s not the reason she’s a hero. She agrees to work with the police to put a mobster in jail. Yet, there again, that is not the reason. None of the obvious reasons for heroism apply here. The most important aspect about Leigh is that in order to do all of the above, she has to begin the process of accepting herself, flaws and all, and loving herself. Shouldn’t we all do the same?



I think she is an amazing character – a definite heroine!



Now, the contest…



I want to give my book away to an everyday hero – someone who really goes the extra mile for others. It doesn’t have to be anyone with superhuman powers. To me, a hero is someone that wears clothes from a thrift shop to save money for his or her family’s budget, someone that asks themselves what little thing he or she can do to make his or her spouse happy every single day, someone that smiles when he or she walks down the street to everyone – even the vagrant sitting at the corner. The list could go on and on!



So, are you a hero? Does this sound like you or someone you know?



Nominate an “everyday hero” by emailing me at destinybooze@gmail.com. It’s okay to nominate yourself! In the entry, include the reason that this person is a hero. This isn’t an essay. One or two sentences will do.



I will accept entries beginning today until Wednesday, July 1st. Be bold and give yourself a nomination! I dare you, double-dare you, or even triple-dare you!



When all entries are received, I will select the reasons I find the most meaningful and post them for an anonymous vote by you. You get to choose my hero, the winner! So, don’t forget to come back by to read the entries! No names will be included, just the explanations of our “everyday heroes.” Voting will take place from Thursday, July 2nd to Monday, July 6th. Send in your votes to destinybooze@gmail.com. The winner will be announced Wednesday, July 8th. Good luck!



I sure hope there are lots of heroes in the world!






**Please, only one entry per email address, and each person may only be nominated once. However, the reasons for the nomination may be endless. All entrants will automatically be placed on my mailing list for my newsletter. This address will not be sold or shared for any reason. You may choose to opt out of the newsletter at any time.**

Give a big round of applause for all the heroes out there! Congratulations! Here are the final contestants. Email me your votes by Monday, July 6th to destinybooze@gmail.com. Good luck to everyone!


Hero # 1 - "I guess your description fit me to a t- with yard sale clothes , helping others, even to animals so I nominate myself."


Hero # 2 - "I nominate myself. I garden obsessively these days; it's a way of getting exercise that doesn't kill me, and working with the Earth. The last few years, I've raised many more crops -- strawberries, tomatoes, onions, kale, cucumbers, peppers, raspberries -- that my family can eat on our own, so I've been sharing my extra produce with my neighbors. Healthy, organic, chemical-free veggies and fruits to four or five families in my immediate neighborhood, all free."

Hero # 3 - "My husband is my hero. He gave up his job to become my full-time caregiver when my arthritis became to painful for me to take care of myself. He shows me a million times a day by doing the laundry, in taking out the trash, in making all the meals, in helping me get dressed that he loves me and cares about the quality of our life together. It might not be the life we had originally planned but it is filled with love. He keeps me laughing with his humor and that is indeed the best medicine. He is my everyday hero."

Hero # 4 - "I nominate my step-dad. I was dropped on his doorstep late one night on my 13th birthday and my father told him that he couldn't keep me anymore. Jim took me in, dried my tears and stepped up to the plate of raising me through my teenage years. He was one of the few positive influences that shaped my life. He's a hero because even though he didn't have too, he did."

Hero # 5 -"i would like to nominate myself, because just like leigh lawson in ur upcoming book, ive had to a rough back ground to and i can relate to the character alot. i try to look for the good things in a person and not dwell about the negatives. well to begin why i think im a hero is because when my mom comes homes from her job, i always have a nice meal set and ready for her and ask how her day was and clean the house from my other older siblings that make a mess all the time, how i convined my mother to take in a stray cat that i love very much which had kittens and we kept some of them and when i go cut grass for my clients that i have, i stay there to talk to them for a while, cause they dont get to talk to anyone that much,when it comes to my education wise i just graduated from high school with my friends and made some of them to graduated by helping them with there work with some classes so they would understand it cause there were times i thought they were not going to make it at first and how i know that if my friends are in trouble that they can always count on me to help. for me i love cooking very much and my inspiration is when i get to see smiling faces as they bite into a delicious treat that i have made. for my work as a landscaper assisstant for one of my brothers company i love to make something out of nothing for poeple properties, how once a normal looking yard becomes filled with diffrent rays of plants and streams of water to make a little river around there yards, those are the memories that you will never forget."

Hero # 6 - "Hi! I should be nominated because, I'm watching eleven of my sister's and her friend kid's with high blood pressure! While they're taking a trip for two weeks to relieve some stress of being a single mother's! Im not asking for any money in return and still doing it with a smile on my face. Also I just reunited three sister's after seven years! Please keep in mind that it's the summertime!"

Hero # 7 - "I'd like to nominate my husband for the hero contest. He is a powerlineman, has been for going on 4 years now. He's the one that shows up in the middle of a storm, middle of the night, rain or shine, to retore our power when something goes wrong. For the first 3 years, he left on Sunday and returned home on Thursday from work, if we were lucky. There were times when he had to go out of state to work and would be gone for months at a time. He's worked several hurricane storms to help restore the power. Not once has he mumbled or grumbled about having to go out in the middle of a storm to go to work. He loves his job and loves to help others in their time of need. He's worked several 16-18 hour shifts in the pouring rain, high winds, and thunderstorms to get the power back on. We have two small children that he pretty much watched grow up in pictures. Through all this he's been a wonderful husband and the best dad my kids could ask for. In Jan he decided to go with a local company so he could be home every night and see his kids more. He's home most every evening now. There have been a couple times he's had to be gone for a fews days up to a few weeks. Some people just don't realize the dangers these guys and gals go thru to ensure we have power."

Hero # 8 - "First of all I'd like to refer my mother, Addie Alley, for being a hero. She has overcome abuse from her alcoholic father. She lived through very tough times including having only an outhouse for a bathroom. They used to use a wringer washer. She also took care of 9 brothers and sisters. She survived the death of two of the brothers who died at very young ages. She survived a younger brother in his later years who took ill with cancer. She stayed by his side until his death, administering to his every need or want. She left school at a very young age and got married. She didn't have much of an education but later on in life after her husband (my father) died of a sudden heart attack. She remarried a while later and raised her new husband's two children, this after raising three of us and all the children in her family. She took in her grandson when he needed a place to stay when he was homeless. She has supported my brother through his tough times giving them groceries, money and clothing. She still assists him and his wife and four children. She is always thinking of others. She sold the bulk of her and my father's land to him for a very low price so that he could continue living there, which he had been living there rent free. He finally paid it off. She also deals with the issues of my alcoholic and drug addicted sister. She finally continued her education and became a CNA to work with the elderly in nursing homes. She graduated in the top of her class. Her husband took the same course and they enjoyed their work. Giving is what she does. She currently is disabled due to a patient who had grabbed her arm when he was falling and then re-injured it when a rough acting patient grabbed her arm and tried to bite it. She twisted to get away thus re-injuring her arm. This was an awful thing for her as she was no longer able to help the elderly. She currently maintains her home and husband's needs while he works. She also takes care of my gr andfather. She has been doing this for over 20 years unselfishly as well as takes care of my grandmother. She provides rides to their appts. and takes care of their finances and makes sure they have their groceries. While all of this has taken its toll on her and she sometimes has to "vent" she still does it. My grandfather recently had to go to a nursing home and he gives her constant grief but she takes it all in stride.

I, on the other hand, am a hero in my own rights because I suffer from Bi-polar, depression, panic and anxiety attacks, IBS, arthritis, bursitis, fibromyalsia and agoraphobia. I raised my son to the best of my abilities while suffering from all of these situations. I too am now disabled due to the physical and emotional issues I deal with. I used to be a legal secretary for 20 years while suffering from these illnesses. My first husband passed away after 13 years of marriage and left me to raise my son who was 9 at the time. He had some issues while dealing with his father's death but I stood by him all the way. Today I am an author of 10 books. I also run a web site for free advertising for authors. I feel that they need some assistance in marketing their books because I know the hardship of the costs of marketing. I give of my time and the fees for this web site and enjoy all I can do for authors. I have always worn used clothing in the hard times of my son's and my lifetime because I would not take from him what he needed or wanted. I provided for him until he was 17 and wanted out of our home. He was being a typical teenager and felt his mom was to constraining on him. He still is welcome in my home. My husband was a musician and always out on the road. Although I knew he was not faithful I needed to maintain his position in the household for his son's sake. At one time I finally had to leave just before he passed away in the best interests of my son.

I am not sure if myself or my mom would be a hero in your mind but I truly believe that my mom is definitely a hero. I, myself, on the other hand find it hard to type out what it is that makes me a hero because I suffer so much but have not taken my life as so many others do because of their disabilities with psychological issues."

Hero # 9 - "I'm nominating my Mom as my hero. When I was in 1st grade I told her I wanted to be in Girl Scouts and she made it happen. Not only that but because my leader got sick she took over the troop. Even though she had to bring along my younger brother and sister. That alone is not what makes her a hero. My younger sister started having gran mal & petit mal seizures when she was 3 1/2 years old (physical reason), but mom didn't let that slow her down. My siblings shared in everything, camping, trips, selling cookies etc.There were 24 girls in our troop and we went from Brownies to Seniors. Mom's spirit, fairness and goodness made ours the best troop through out the years. Even when you'd think the girls would have too much else going on in our lives (boys top of list) they wanted to stay in scouts.She never let any of the girls down and when my brother was old enough, helped him in Cub thru Boy Scouts (he got his Eagle, me my Gold).While still a Brownie Leader she stood before TV cameras and my whole Elementary school to support a little girl with AIDS. We welcomed the girl into our troop and everyone gained from the experience. Mom called the paper & complained with they only reported the bad things that were said about the school meeting and then went around our Girl Scout council and told other leader it could be done. Not to be put your head in the sand, but get educated.

I am now a graduate from Florida Southern College and in charge of their art gallery, soon will be earning my Masters and teaching college arts. I am also proud that I am a lifetime member of Girl Scouts.

It's not all about merit badges or selling cookies, I have learned from my hero to give to the community and want to thank my Mom for her inspiration!!"

Hero # 10 - I have served my country proudly and cry whenever I hear bag pipes. I am a mom who has dedicated her life to her kids and husband, for which takes great courage to look under the beds and pull that stuff out and then wash it! :) Teenagers you know! I smile at strangers, I feel compelled for some reason and can't resist a stray animal, I adopt my kids friends and when it comes time to pass out the doughnuts at school for mom's day I seem to be hearing mom more and more....how many kids do I have again?? lol If not for me one said child would have never played football, ran track or other things because his parents are busy with other things. Sweet kid and I hope it will someday make him know someone supported him for know other reason than every child deserves to do those things you know.

Hero # 11 - I don't think I'm a hero (I just do what has to be done). But I do think it's more than some people would do.

I'm 20 years old, I still go to school and 2 years ago my parents divorced. My father is a very busy man. He owns 2 shops and manages them all by himself. That's why I started doing the household. Every friday and 2 out of 3 weekends I help my father in his shop

Bring on 2010!

I'm beginning the year with a romantic thriller!

Here's a Blurb:

From the killer:


No one knows who I am. I answer to no name. Call me rage. Call me vengeance. I am a punisher, an executioner.

There is no fate I fear. No Heaven or Hell. Existence is my curse and my sentence to serve.

I know who will die next.

I swoop inside, unseen, like an apparition. I will kill you. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.

Death has taken me. I am death. Be prepared for my rage. My curse is coming to you…


There's no hope. The killer is using a marvel in the medical field known as techlepathy, a combination of technology and telepathy to produce a telepathic result. He’s reading their minds.


Chris Chambers is a private investigator with great instincts and a shady past. She’s hardened to life, even more so to people, and as tough as the military trained her to be.


Her team’s newest case is a construction worker by the name of Aidan Wolfe. Someone is trying to kill him, someone with extraordinary gifts.


The killer blames Aidan for the injustices in his life, and he wants revenge. He’s coming for Aidan, Chris and her team. He wants them to all die in a terrifying manner, but first, he’ll make them face their worst fears.


The intensity grows as Chris and Aidan deny a growing attraction for each other while they fight to stay alive. Her life is a constant test of discipline, and he makes her feel totally out of control. There is no middle ground for either of them, but in the end, it may not matter, not if they can’t survive.


Can they win? When faced with the inner demons within, will they want to?




Some more news for this year...


Every Friday, I will be posting an email from readers. This email can be a comment you have, a story you want to share, a question you have for me, a funny experience. You pick. It's your day. If you have something to share, send it to me at destinybooze@gmail.com.


I will also continue my Creative Corner this year. If you have a poem, picture, short story, anything to submit, send it my way to destinybooze@gmail.com.



Now, for the first contest of the year (for a $50 VISA card)...


This contest is all about helping others. What better way to make us all feel great at the beginning of a New Year?


Here's what you need to do...Email me with the most creative way you can think of to use $50 to help someone else. The answers will be posted and put up for a vote. The winner will receive that $50.


Only one entry per email address. Answers must be turned in no later than January 29, 2010.


Emails will be posted anonymously on my blog on January 30, 2010 for the winner to be voted on. The results will be announced February 6, 2010.


Entrants will be placed on my mailing list. You may opt out of the mailing list at any time. Email addresses will be used for no other purposes than my newsletter and kept private.


Good luck!