(Pretty Big) Summer Reading Giveaway: Six Books by Six Awesome Authors




Wow, wow, wow.

That's a lot of books, right?

What overwhelms me most is not that that there are a lot of books. No, what overwhelms me is that I know these ladies. I have met all but two of them in person, but I feel like I know the ones I have never met in person like I have met them in person.

AND THEY'VE ALL WRITTEN BOOKS.

Successful books.

Different books.

These books are all so unique from each other. Not all of the books may be for every single person. Nicole Knepper of "Moms Who Drink And Swear: True Tales of Loving My Kids While Losing My Mind" even says that in the opening of her book. She said that MWDAS, the site from which her book was eventually born, started out as a Facebook group geared to a certain kind of mom. Over time, that group exploded all over the internet. Nicole writes a funny book (I'm still laughing at "tomato pants") and proves that she is much, much more than a mom who just drinks and swears. Nicole has big heart and is incredibly giving to those around her. She is a warm, fun and kind person who has literally roped in thousands upon thousands of people...

Ohmygoodnessgracious.

I just clicked over to check her Facebook numbers. She has 884k fans on Facebook.

884,000!!!!!!!

*She faints*

*She gets herself together*

Back to Nicole, she has won the hearts of many due to her wit, authentic, real, loving and funny self. It's no surprise her book has done so well. You will want to check out her book here and also see what she's got going on over at her site. Her most recent post ,"Flexible Families Are Forever Families: Part One", really made me think. I loved it.

Robin O'Bryant's book, "Ketchup Is A Vegetable...And Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves", is a great read. Robin is a very transparent, down-to-earth, funny person. If you walked into a room, you'd see Robin sitting there and you'd be compelled to go sit next to her, I'm sure. She just looks nice. She looks nice and she writes nice. And funny. I remember when I saw Robin's book at Target. I wanted to build a fort with all the books right then and there and put a sign on my cabin's door that said, "I know the lady who wrote this book". I would have needed 83 books to git 'er done and they didn't have that many, so I decided not to do that. Her book has a lot of stories that will make you laugh. I can identify with so much! If you check out her blog, Robin's Chicks, you will see what I mean. She has a recent story on there about her daughter meeting John Currence, a chef that owns five restaurants in their area. It is the cutest thing. I loved hearing her interview him.

Abby Heugel of Abby Still Has Issues is definitely, definitely one of my favorite people to read all around. I love her posts, I love her books (I bought Abby Has Issues a long time ago!) and I love her tweets. She is original and writes in a very smart and funny way. She makes you look at situations and every day occurrences in a totally different way. Every time I realize the whole world doesn't follow everything she writes, I go into temporary shock. Her stuff is my kind of stuff. I just love quirky, off-the-wall observations about normal things. In that way, she reminds me of Ellen. I used to watch everything Ellen ever did or said long, long, long before she had her on show. I bought one of her books back in the early 90s and laughed out loud all the way through it. Abby is sort of like that to me. You can find Abby on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

Kim Bongiorno of the very popular blog, Let Me Start By Saying, is something else. I look at her in amazement so many times. She has got her stuff together, friends. She knows how to rock the blog, show knows how to rock social media and she also knows how to rock a book. (Not in a rocking chair. She's crazy but not that kind of crazy.) I really, really was impressed when I read her book Part Of My World (it's only 99 cents on Kindle!). She truly has a talent for writing short stories. I felt like I was there with the characters. Kim knows how to pick the right words at the right time. I think that you will be captivated when you pick it up and you won't want to put it down. Books that are well written are that way, but especially well written books of short stories. You always think, "I can read just one more" and before you know it, it's 3 a.m. and you're still reading. Thank Kim for the bags under your eyes after you get your hands on this one. (You can find her on Facebook here.)

Stephanie Giese, the author of The Cookie Jar Parable, also writes the blog, Binkies and Briefcases. Stephanie amazes me. She really does. This book is just what I wish I had not too long ago when my great aunt passed away. Her book is meant to help children through grief. She pointed out on her blog that this book is for your family if your child or a child you know has:
  • lost a grandparent or relative
  • suffered the death of a pet
  • struggled with a tragedy on the news
  • questions about death
I think this is the kind of book that you would want on hand to give to children that are experiencing any of those above things. In addition to that, every purchase comes with a free audio download of the book, which is a such a nice feature.

Stephanie has not only has written a really sweet, heartfelt book that teaches children about how to deal with grief in a really helpful way, she is also the primary organizer behind Blog U. Blog U happens on June 6th for the first time at Notre Dame of Maryland University. I'm so excited! I am speaking in one of the sessions along with You Know It Happens At Your House, Too and Bad Parenting Moments. (They're talking about Facebook and I'm talking about Twitter.) REGISTRATION ENDS TODAY, so, if please check it out and see if it is something you'd like to attend. It is going to be smaller than other conferences in order to provide an intimate feel and easier access to people and topics you want to know more about.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS
 
If you are interested in winning these books, all you need to do is leave a comment here or on the Kelley's Break Room Facebook page AND "like" Kelley's Break Room on Facebook. For an extra entry, you can share the giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did so. It would also be super awesome if you followed the authors on Facebook, too, but that is not mandatory for entry into the giveaway. Their links can be found above and also on my Facebook page here  or in that little cute box below. I will use random.org to pick a winner at 10:00 p.m. central time on Friday, May 23rd! Thanks for stopping by!