Seekerville presents our Bridal Edition, because who doesn't love a wedding?
So talk to us. Your favorite wedding movie? (Mamma Mia?) (Father of the Bride?) Who's your favorite bride? (Toula, My Big Fat Greek Wedding?) (Anne, The Bachelor?) Or tell us what's your favorite part of the wedding hoopla? (the proposal?) (the ceremony?) (the reception?)
Today we're giving away something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue!
Something old: Tina Radcliffe's January release, The Rancher's Reunion
Something new: Missy Tippens' April release, A Family for Faith.
Something borrowed: A Seekerville Unpubbed Island Necklace
Something blue: Debby Giusti's May release, The Officer's Secret.
Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.
BTW, my favorite part of wedding is bridesmaids. If you agree, you'll want to create your own bridesmaid photo opp here
Please contact Seekerville through our new web email if you are a winner and if needed, provide your snail mail address. Please note our giveaway rules in the right lower column of Seekerville.
Tuesday Ruth Logan Herne shared When Life Messes with Fiction: Dealing with Reality Timelines. The winners of promise copies of Small-Town Hearts are DaisyTea and Michelle
Love Inspired author Glynna Kaye brought us What's Holding You Back? Part 4: Story Logjam. Winner of Kelly L. Stone's Time to Write is CatMom.
Thomas Nelson author Cara Lynn James was your hostess with The Importance of Setting. The winner of an ARC of Love by the Book, her July 2011 release and the third of her Ladies of Summerhill series is Sally Bradley.
Friday was our May Contest Update. The prize vault was open and the winner of Mary Connealy's Deep Trouble is Nancy Kimball.
Our Saturday First Five Pages critique winner is Kirsten Arnold.
Next Week In Seekerville
Monday: Barbour author Mary Connealy is your trouble maker today. AND, she's giving away a copy of her latest release, Deep Trouble.
Tuesday: Love Inspired author Tina Radcliffe will be live on the shores of Unpubbed Island to share today with her post, Are You Right Where You're Supposed to Be? Stop by for encouragement and a giveaway!
Wednesday: Multnomah author Meg Moseley (When Sparrows Fall) is our special guest blogger today.
Thursday: We are delighted to have Harlequin Romance author Donna Alward in Seekerville today, talking about Service. She's also giving away a copy of Honeymoon with the Rancher, her May release.
Friday: Love Inspired author and Seeker Audra Harders is your hostess today!
Seeker Sightings
Brenda Novak's Annual Auction for the Cure of Diabetes 2011 begins TODAY. Seekerville is giving away a Kindle loaded with Seeker Books and & Autographed Books! Come on out to the auction. A great cause and some great prizes!
Congratulations to Debby Giusti who is a finalist in the Traditional Category of the NRCA with her Love Inspired Suspense, Killer Headline. Winners are announced in NYC, at the RWA Conference.
And don't miss Debby's ad for The Officer's Secret on page 34 of the May RWR!
Don't miss Julie Lessman's Cold Call interview at Writing for Christ: The Audience of One!
And CONGRATULATIONS to Julie Lessman who won two Number One Favorite Family Fiction Readers Choice Awards: for Romance Fiction Author and for Series of the Year.
Please visit the eHarlequin community the week before Mother's Day for lots of fun activities. Missy will be sponsoring an event Thursday, May 5. Come tell what makes your mom/mother figure special! The link will be active on May 5th.
Spin on over to Vince Mooney's interview with Captain Trent Michaels, hero of Ruthy's "Reunited Hearts". A true sage and philosopher in his own right, grab a cup of coffee and see what Vince wants to know about... and Trent's answers might surprise you!
AND!!!!
On Saturday, May 7th, from 9-11 A.M., Ruthy will be at the Black-Eyed Susan Acoustic Cafe for a delightful "meet and greet" breakfast hosted by Karen and Don Ash, owners and proprietors of the cafe and The Angelica Sweet Shop. Angelica, NY (population 900) served as the inspiration for Ruthy's "Jamison, NY" the sweet, Brigadoon-like town that provides part of the setting for her Allegany County series. Tickets for breakfast are available for $9.95 from the cafe: karen@black-eyed-susan.com or call: 585-466-3399
This is it! The Big Release Week! Don't miss multiple chances to get into Deep Trouble with Mary Connealy.
Stop by Casey Herringshaw's blog on May 2nd, and Joy Avery Melville's blog on May 3rd for a chance to win Deep Trouble.
If that isn't enough Deep Trouble, Mary will be on Cheryl St. John's blog, From the Heart, on May 6th, and on Barbara White Daille's blog on May 6th.
Are you sensing a pattern here? Stop by Carmen Boley's blog, A Sequence of Continuous Delights, also May 6th for yet another opportunity to win Deep Trouble.
Random News- Do know what an old fashioned wedding night shivaree/chivaree is? Check it out here.
- Want to jump to the top of the slush pile? Check out this item on the Brenda Novak Auction site: Evaluation of Partial by Tina James, Sr Editor of Love Inspired w/Follow-Up Phone Consultation. The winner of this auction will receive an evaluation of their partial unpublished manuscript aimed at Love Inspired Suspense OR Love Inspired Historical.
- One Unpublished Maggie entry has been placed on the Brenda Novak Auction site. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who wants to enter the Maggie writing competition and support Diabetes research. Check it out here.
- A special thank you goes out to DREAM from eHarlequin who wrangled two sets of Love Inspired Historical for giveaways during her visit in Seekerville to share the Love Inspired Historical Pitch with Senior Editor Tina James with us. Remember, May 5th is the deadline.
- Do Editors Edit? by Caroline Tolley(Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood)
- We Love Barbara Vey, of Beyond Her Blog. Do Check Out Her Upcoming Schedule so you can possibly meet her in person!
- Two New ACFW Programs (Afictionado)
- How not to write a query letter? Check out Query Shark.
That's it!
Have a great week!
Yay for weddings! My roommate is getting married in August, and she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids!! I am so excited, as this will be my first time being a bridesmaid, and I already have my dress! :D
ReplyDeleteAnd I got to be there at the proposal (it was elaborate, and her now-fiancee asked for help to set everything up and take pictures!). Sooo romantic! (Think waterfall, trail with rose petals, picnic lunch beneath a canopy, and violins!)
Anyway, I already have Tina's book, but I would love a chance to win Debby's or Missy's! Thank you, and I hope ya'll have a wonderful weekend! Now...back to work on my paper... At least summer break starts on Thursday! :D
~Amber
stokes[dot]a[at]suddenlink[dot]net
I'm really big on the food I have to admit.
ReplyDeletewmussell(at)hotmai(dot)com
Coffee pot's set.
ReplyDeleteAnother good lineup ahead.
The food. I hadn't thought of that. Rubber Chicken?
ReplyDeleteI like the cake. I love watching THE CAKE BOSS make wedding cakes. My new favorite word is ganache.
Thank you, Helen.
ReplyDeleteWow, you got to be there at the proposal. And that sounds like SOME proposal. Glad she said yes.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite parts of a wedding is the moment when the bride enters. Most people are watching her, but I invariably focus on the groom in order to catch his awestruck expression. I love recalling the melt-my-heart look on my Gwynly's face as I entered the church. Memories!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part probably is the vows! Everyone always does a little something different at each moment whether it's a mouthed "I love you" or at my friends wedding the groom pulled out a guitar and serenaded her with a song !
ReplyDelete- Ann
Crazuiee[at]gmail[dot]com
A part of weddings I really enjoy is the music. When my friend's daughter married, my friend's father played the piano with her brothers, who are violinists. All are accomplished musicians. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAt other weddings, I've enjoyed the words of the chosen songs as well as their friends singing them.
Yes, I majored in music in college and my devotion to culture never wanes :)
I love weddings! I think my favorite part of the wedding is the ceremony when the groom sees the bride making her way down the aisle. What a wonderful moment! Favorite wedding movie I would have to go with The Wedding Singer. Hope everyone has had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone during the upcoming week!!
ReplyDeletefantum2004ATsbcglobalDOTnet
Oh yeah - the Wedding Singer! TOO much fun. I love the kiss, personally, as my favorite part of the wedding. And my favorite bride? Can I say Kate? She's the first who comes to mind (not surprising, eh?
ReplyDeleteI also have Tina's book - but would love either of the others - or THE UNPUBBED ISLAND necklace. That would be AWESOME :)AM back on the agent trail again. :sigh:
I like the cakes...not only to eat them! But because they are such works of art anymore! It's a shame to cut into them.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the prize winners and authors winning awardsWhat a great week for everyone!
I vaguely remember The Wedding Singer and Adam Sandler singing. I'm going to have to put that on my TBW list.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to watch the original Father of the Bride with Spencer Tracey and Liz Taylor as well.
I like the speeches at the reception, especially if I've grown up with the bride or groom. Speeches provide lots of laughter (and sometimes tears), and I love to laugh (and have gotten teary just watching a television commercial, let alone hearing a beautiful speech!).
ReplyDeleteBTW, I have read THE RANCHER'S REUNION and loved the way it was written - Tina made excellent choices of descriptive words and thereby provided more meaningful detail, plus the banter throughout made me LOL.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Laney!
ReplyDeleteI have a sister getting married in a few weeks. Last night at her bachelorette party, we were saying we should all wear fascinators to the wedding. :)
ReplyDeleteI love seeing The Dress. And the end of the ceremony when the bride and groom walk down the aisle and out of the church together. That always makes me cry.
Thanks for the great WE and all the links, Tina.
Tina, the original Father of the Bride with Spencer Tracey and Elizabeth Taylor is good, but more serious—more of a drama than comedy. I’ve been wanting to rent the newer version recently.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite wedding movie? The Princess Bride! That counts, of course, doesn’t it? There IS an almost-wedding in it. Even if they DID “skip to the end” and exchange the “wing.” Okay, so The Princess Bride is probably my favorite movie in general or at least in the top five.
I’ve already won a promised copy of The Officer’s Secret (thanks to Seekerville!), but of course, anything else is great. : )
Lovely photos, by the way. IS that Grace Kelly? My mom collects antique and vintage photos, so she has a beautiful collection of wedding party pictures like the last one of the post. By the way, I know what a shivaree is and think it sounds like a lot of fun (think “Oklahoma” or Myra and Horus in “Dr. Quinn”), at least for the well-wishers giving it. :p
road_to_avonlea_17(at)yahoo(dot)com
-Whitney
One of my favorite parts of a wedding is the vows, to watch the couple as they exchange the words of love that bind them together. And the music. It's always fun to hear what music the couple chose to represent them.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, when I was maid of honor for a friend my favorite part of the wedding is when it was over. :o)
--Kirsten
It is Grace Kelly.
ReplyDeleteYes, when I think chivaree I for sure think of Oklahoma!!
Anne, those hats are pretty amazing. Did you see the one Victoria Beckham had on? I couldn't figure out how she did it.
ReplyDeleteI need to watch some wedding movies to get me in the wedding groove (The Wedding Planner is a fav!)... my son is getting married in July and my daughter in November! I love the unexpected touching or humorous moments in a wedding. :)
ReplyDeleteLoved Mamma Mia! Guess my favorite part of wedding is the ceremony...yea, seeing groom's smile as bride enters, etc. I don't have any of the books offered, and all are on my wish list! Thanks Seekers for such an interesting blog!!
ReplyDeleteMerry, you are about to have a real life crash course. Take notes.
ReplyDeleteOh! TOO hard to decide on favorite bride!
ReplyDeleteAngel Hosea from Redeeming Love.
Michael: "You said 'I do.'"
Angel: "No I didn't. I said 'why not.'"
Michael: "It will do."
And Anne Elliott from Persuasion.
I will rock, paper, scissors Joanne for the something borrowed hehe. I really want that unpubbed necklace =)
Now to head over to query shark (great link Tina!) and see what we can do about that LOL
Oh, my I was late to yesterday's party....
ReplyDeleteAnd Angela Hunt is a hoot. Wonderful. Marvelous. I'm STILL laughing....
Tina, I tried the bridesmaid dress.
I'm voting with the new Duchess of Cambridge:
No bridesmaids.
One good-looking friend or cousin.
A host of adorable kids.
end of one segment of wedding controversy forever!!!
Thank you for this! Wonderful WE, and I can't wait to sink my teeeeeeth into Mary's Deep Trouble...
Love the concept, love the author!
I'm with Cathy...
ReplyDeleteThe music at a wedding makes it for me.
Bad music: bad omen.
Good music: Better chance....
Best music: HEA!!!!
And I didn't have music for my wedding so my wonderful brother sang "You are my Special Angel"....
Very small wedding.
Read: miniscule.
Tiny.
Sweet.
I love the original Father of the Bride...
ReplyDeleteWay more than the new one, but I love Spencer Tracy.
TEEEEEENA....
The Wedding Singer????
HUGE FAMILY FAVORITE HERE!
Of course we're demented, but LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!!
I am THRILLED to win the TIME TO WRITE book - thank you sooo much!!! (It will be used a LOT, I'm sure!). Congrats to all the other winners too! ~ I LOVE Seekerville - - and how appropriate that you mention WEDDINGS today, because last night my oldest daughter Amy became ENGAGED!!!! Yes, I am THRILLED!!! (sorry about all the exclamation marks *sigh*). Looking forward to another great week in Seekerville - - thanks to ALL of you for all your hard work and wonderful posts! (and Tina, you always do a great job with these Weekend posts!). ~ Hugs from beautiful Georgia, Patti Jo :)
ReplyDeleteI love weddings, everything about them! The moment when the bride first walks down the aisle is probably my favorite moment though. That and the first dance. LOVE the dancing at the reception.
ReplyDeleteFun edition! :)
Oh, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE weddings!!! Always, always cry and inch closer to Keith, nails dug into his arm like I think he's going to finally bolt after all these years.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with Walt and Ann -- the food and the vows are what I love best, not necessarily in that order, however. Romance me, then feed me is my motto.
I actually do like the dancing part too, but not with Keith. He HATES to dance, so we made a deal years ago that I would water-ski (we used to have a boat and I HATED to ski) if he would dance. So now I get my token two or three slow dances, which I LOVE!!! The rest of the time I dance barefoot with my daughter and her friends or my sisters, making a complete fool of myself since I cannot dance to save my soul.
I was a bridesmaid eight times before I finally landed somebody who let me wear a bridal gown!! YAY, KEITH!! :)
Hugs,
Julie
Wow, Patti Jo, congratulations!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful is that! More note taking. You can write a wedding into your next story.
I wonder if you could write off an entire wedding as a tax deduction as a writer...hmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteWeddings are mainly my focus when I'm the Mother of the Bride. And, with four daughters, two married, I've had my chances to do weddings.
ReplyDeleteI learned something from the first wedding I didn't know. The hall we rented for the reception....I found a cleaning lady who was willing to be bribed to clean up after us.
Such a great thing!!!!
I was so exhausted when it was all over that cleaning up was just almost torture.
Favorite part? Oh, I love the flowers, the beautiful dresses. I love sweet personal moments between the bride and groom that make me believe for all the hoopla, they really are making a spiritual, lifetime commitment, at least that that one perfect moment, they mean it with all their hearts.
Hi Tina:
ReplyDeleteI’m reading “Small-Town Hearts” and the heroine is named Megan Russo. She’s a twice jilted bride – once by ‘text message’ at the church! Such a doll! But is she man-shy at this point.
Oh, weddings.
I’ve seen Mamma Mia! 22 times on the big screen. I want to live on that island! That screenplay is perfect. There is not one wasted word in the movie. Get the DVD and watch the bonus material. The director was a genius.
Come to think of it Mamma Mia! is a ‘hidden-child’ and ‘runaway bride’ and ‘marriage of convenience’ romance. How could it miss? And I want to be Bill with his boat and I’d love to be Sophie’s father. If I had a daughter I would have named her Sophie (Wisdom).
Favorite part of the wedding? No contest: when the groom first sees the bride in her wedding dress. I can still remember it as if it happened this morning. I thought my wife was the most beautiful woman in the world in that dress.
BTW: Kate’s dress was perfect!!!
Vince
P.S. I just noticed you mentioned the Trent Michaels interview on my website. I didn’t see that when I woke up this morning. Trent was so interesting as a hero that I wished he lived near me so we could be friends. I wondered what it would be like to do a real interview with a man like Trent.
Usually with character interviews, when the hero is asked what he reads, he just says ‘I don’t have much time to read’ or ‘technical journals and mysteries’. Trent goes into full detail of three important books he’s read. He really is smart. This is a real intereview.
It is hard to pick out one favorite. I love weddings! The dress rates up there, I love seeing what brides pick out for their special day. I also love romantic proposals and the music is a must...how does one choose just one? I love it all.
ReplyDeleteI love Mamma Mia! Vince. It could only be improved if it was set on an Italian Island instead of a Greek one. (I also love ABBA)
ReplyDeleteJulie, eight times a bridesmaid? Wow. I've done it twice. A number of my friends took the Kate route and just had their sister as maid/matron of honor.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of a wedding is the music. I was actually more curious about what music would be played at the Royal Wedding than about the dress, believe it or not. Music can be wonderfully personal. One of my friends is very musical, and another friend of hers who's also a musician composed a piece of music to be played during the ceremony as her wedding present.
I'm watching the royal wedding, yet again! Third time. Can't stop! It's so lovely! I keep smiling!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I need to write a book about a commoner who falls in love with a prince...but wait! I write suspense. The commoner would have to be stalked and kidnapped, and the prince would have to save her, and the queen would be upset, and the country would be up in arms and...well, maybe I'll just keep watching the wedding on TV!
Patti Jo, hugs and best wishes to Amy! How fun to have a bride-to-be in the family again! :)
ReplyDeleteGranache, Tina? Love it!
Ruthy, according to the broadcasters I watched during the royal wedding, the little girls were called bridesmaids. Not sure what title Piper had...maybe maid of honor. Never heard her called anything except Kate's sis.
So fun. Picked up a bit of hat trivia. The hat needs to tip to the right so the left cheek can be extended for a kiss. Who knew?
Whitney,
ReplyDeleteTHE OFFICER'S SECRET is in the mail and on the way to your house. Hope you like the story! :)
Great WE, Tina!! Thanks for all the great links.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the wedding is the when the bride walks down the aisle. And after that royal wedding on Friday, I'm still in awe! :)
Amber, the proposals are my second favorite part. That's amazing what your roomie's fiance did!! Sounds like a great guy.
Debby, I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again! I didn't get to watch the Royal Wedding. : ( I have watched many of the clips and looked at hundreds of pictures online. :p It was such a perfect wedding. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteDebby, I've watched it twice and bit of it a third time. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Debby! Three times.
ReplyDeleteAnd I like your story idea!!
I suppose my favorite wedding scene is from While You Were Sleeping, where they managed to NOT get married, which would have been all wrong. It was a touching, funny, perfect scene.
ReplyDeleteI love weddings and I love receptions. But, if you're talking about in books, I think I love proposals the most. Maybe because in real life we usually see the wedding and the reception, but the proposal is normally private. I love seeing the inner/private life. In fiction, that is. :D
ReplyDeleteWeddings are so fun...especially when you know the couple, their story, etc. I laughed very hard at My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but there were some parts about I didn't love. Call me old fashioned, but I kind of like it when the happy couple doesn't spend the night together before the wedding...and we all know I don't mean a slumber party! : ) A recent fave was "Leap Year". I loved the setting, the accents, and all things Irish! As far as the royal wedding, I loved her dress...and her sister's dress. Beautiful! When I go to weddings, I love to see the whole package...dress, colors, flowers. It's fun to see different people's styles. : ) I'd love to be entered into the drawing!
ReplyDeleteStacey
travelingstacey(at)bellsouth(dot)net
I love Leap Year. Why is that? He isn't even all that heroic, but he's vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I think my favorite part was when they made supper together and stayed at the B&B. :)
ReplyDeleteI Tweeted my way through the Royal Wedding with thousand of my friends and while wearing pajamas.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great links (and including me). I've bookmarked the page. :)