SAVE A TURKEY: GOBBLE A BOOK BLOG HOP TOUR (NOV 14-21)
November 13, 2011
Hi and welcome to all the blog hop visitors! I’m thrilled to take part in my first ever Blog Hop. So…
1) HAVE FUN!!!
2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!
3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, November 14, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, November 21, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
Winners will be drawn and posted November 22nd! ***
4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!
5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!
6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***
Save a Turkey? Is it *really* that close to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays?
While we may not celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, I’ve already started my Christmas shopping, bought the cards and wrapping paper etc. I used to be all organised and bake mince pies and a chocolate log but these days, I confess to cheating buy buying them ready made.
I also have a great big reason to celebrate, because I have a brand new book out in the States on December 1st. It’s called Carrie Goes off the Map and it’s published by Sourcebooks. Now, it’s not a ‘holiday’ themed book but it does start and end in the frosty nights of an English winter. In between, the characters, Matt and Carrie, take the journey of a lifetime in a vintage VW camper van.
Me outisde the vintage VW van we hired as research for Carrie goes off the Map
As research for the book, I took my lovely, long-suffering husband on a five day tour of the south west of England in a vintage van. It was March and while the weather was largely fine, it was also freezing! One night it rained and with only the canvas roof for protection, my husband (who is 6ft 2″) got his feet wet.
Still, it did give us an excuse to huddle together for warmth…
Carrie goes off the Map is a romantic story of one couple’s very bumpy journey to happiness after both seem to have lost everything – and hopefully it will make you laugh and cry.
To win a print or E-book copy of Carrie Goes off the Map, simply tell me what was the most memorable trip or vacation you’ve had.
Hop to another tour blog HERE.
Posted by Phillipa @ 12:33 pm | Leave a Comment
diane Says:
I might have to say the most recent trip i took with DH -this summer – to the wedding of a friend of my younger son’s – in Spain (actually in the Basqueland) – we also went “off map” in so far as we traveled by car on our own across the northern Basque coast and into France, where we continued our car journey from Biarritz to Lourdes and back again. While it doesn’t sound very “off map” it was, since neither my husband nor I speak a word of french, (well, merci), Spanish (si) OR Basque. We only wound up in the wrong toll lanes once – and even took in a small farmers market where we bought our own “picnic” goods for a stop by the coast. I “copied” what the person in line before me said – good thing i liked what he was ordering from the meat merchant…and did a lot of smiling and pointing.. oh, i DO know another french word – magnifique!
Phillipa Says:
Diane – sounds like you got along fine! The Basque country is a place I haven’t visited yet but really want to see – especially the Pyrenees. Magnifique, definitely!
digne Says:
When I was eight-years-old my parents took my sister and I on a let’s-see-America car trip. The day before we left I got the chicken pox so for the first week of the trip I was not happy. We visited my grandparent in Idaho and Texas and we saw many other sites (and huge spiders) along the way.
Our car, which had had trouble in Oklahoma, broke down outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. It was very late by the time we had the car toed into town. The necessary repairs were going to take a few days. And every hotel in town was full. We were sitting at a diner wondering where we were going to sleep that night when in walks a church tennis team (or was it bowling?). We ended up staying at the pastor’s house a couple days, where I, having finished with the chicken pox, got the flu. The car was still not fixed so my father stayed in Flagstaff while my mom, my sister and I went on to Disneyland via other transportation.
We arrived in LA and discovered the hotel has lost our reservation. But they realized it was their fault and they gave us a better room. We had tickets and money for two days in Disneyland after which time if my father didn’t show up with the car we would be stranded and broke in LA. To add to the stress my sister didn’t like Disneyland. She was scared of absolutely everything — except “It’s a Small World,” which she made us ride at least 5 million times. Fortunately, my father did show up with the car before the money ran out and we all made it safely back home to Washington state.
And we never made this kind of trip again.
Phillipa Says:
What a saga, Digne! You know, we took my daughter to Disneyland when she was not quite four years old, and foolishly, we took her on the Alpine Bob Sleigh ride which terrified her – we had no idea it would be so scary. After that she (rightly) refused to go on anything except It’s a Flipping Small World which she adored. There is a lesson there somewhere…
Phillipa Says:
PS huge spiders… OMG…
Bookfool, aka Nancy Says:
I have two, actually. The first was my first overseas trip, taken at the age of 17. I traveled across the pond from my home in Oklahoma to London with a friend whose father was living in the UK. I will never forget stepping out of Victoria Station, into the wonderful, exhaust-fume scented world of double-decker buses and big black taxis. It was exciting for a teenager. We took side trips from London to northern Wales, Paris and Southend-on-Sea.
My second most memorable trip is one I just returned from 3 weeks ago. I went to Japan with my husband. I have a friend in Japan and she showed us around, making the language barrier a bit less of a problem (although it did keep us from learning more than one word – “sumimasen,” the all-purpose apology). Japan was memorable for its people’s amazing manners, the food (and I am not a foodie!), beauty of its parks and temples . . . well, I could go on. We had a grand time, thank goodness. Originally, we planned to go to Australia because it was really my husband’s 50th birthday trip and he loves Australia. But, we jumped on my friend’s offer to show us around Japan because she will be leaving, soon, moving to the U.S. Husband was definitely not sure he wanted to go to Japan, but now he’s telling everyone it was the “trip of a lifetime” and he wants to return. Also . . . Qantas was striking, so it was a good time not to be in Australia!
kaye Says:
We took a trip to The Bay of Fundy national park one summer years and years ago but we still talk about it every once in a while. While doing some sightseeing, we got lost in the forest. When I saw a big moose looking at me thorugh the car window, I knew we were really off the beaten path. We saw a logging camp and tried to get directions back to the main highway but it was Dominion day and not too many people were around. The ones that were there only spoke French. NO help at atll!
Driving around for quite a while longer, suddenly a car passed in front of us and in the back seat was a little old lady with a fancy hat on. I told hubby to follow that car, they must be going somewhere. Yep! They led us right back to the highway. If it weren’t for that little old lady, we’d probably still be lost in the forest.
Marilyn Yarbrough Says:
The vacation I loved the best was camping in Lassen Volcanic Park in Northern California. The park isn’t advertised because the volcano is still active. There were hardly any people around. The deer walked right into our campsite and our kids feed them bread cubes.
kayla merritt Says:
My most memorable vacation was when I went to North Carolina a few summers ago. I absolutely loved it there. It was very warm, and everyone was so nice. It was a fun experience and I would love to go again.
kaylalovesandrew09@yahoo.com
Eva P. Says:
My most memorable trip was with my best friend back in 2007. We went to London for 2 weeks!! It was awesome, it was exciting, first time I’d been to another continent (other than the ones attached to the US like Mexico and Canada) 🙂 We did so much traveling throughout the area and there was still so much we didn’t have time for, we told ourselves we would go back and do those other things!
Phillipa Says:
Wow, thanks for all your stories about memorable trips – I’m loving reading them, trying to imagine the great open landscapes of the trips in North America. Japan has always sounded the most exotic place you can travel. As for London, I live ina country village and I’d only been a few times until I started writing novels and joined the Romantic Novelists Association – now I go every few months and I know *exactly* what you mean about stepping out of the station into the mayhem of the London streets. Exciting but whew…
Meg @ A Bookish Affair Says:
I have two trips as well:
I went to Italy and the UK for my honeymoon. My husband and I went to Rome, Venice, and Tuscany and just really enjoyed the dolce vita. Then we ended our trip in London, which I absolutely loved. I ran my poor husband ragged trying to see everything (I made a dent in my list but I need another trip to London soon)!
My second most memorable trip was to Ukraine in August. I went to go visit a friend who is working over there. I went by myself and that’s definitely the first time I ever traveled so far by myself. It’s an interesting country and it definitely opened up my eyes to what it means to be a third world country. My ancestors were from Ukraine so it was nice to see one of my proverbial homelands.
Lynn Doezema Says:
Best trip would have to be my honeymoon last spring to the Colorado mountains. Gorgeous scenery and we had our own private bungalow on a lake with beautiful mountain views. We can’t wait to go back.
BTW, I really hope to visit the UK some day. It’s the top on my list for visiting other countries. Good to meet you Philippa, and feel free to check out my blog if you like. I’m a new blogger and writer. 🙂
Phillipa Says:
I am now getting serious envy for all these amazing vacation spots. Lynn- will pop over and say hello.:)
Danielle Williams Says:
Well last year I met the family up in Vegas (where my aunt and grandmother live) by taking a Greyhound Bus…it was actually kind of fun!
Phillipa Says:
Danielle – whenever I hear Vegas these days, I start thinking of the Hangover but I’m *sure* your aunt and grandmother didn’t get up to anything quite like that!
Gloria Says:
When I read that question, multiple trips came rushing into my head. How to pick? I quickly settled on one. The summer before my senior year, my parents & I took a trip that included the world’s fair in Knoxville. I met someone who would become a serious boyfriend for a long time. We did not get married, but it did lead to me moving to TN & meeting my husband, whom I have been married to for 22 years & can’t imagine life without him.
Thanks for the giveaway!
geschumann at live dot com
Kathryn Merkel Says:
I’m so jealous of your vintage VW bus trip. My families business is based on old VW’s & the one vehicle we never had to drive was one of the old Buses. All the old buses we’ve had were past saving & got junked for the parts.
For our family, the most memorable trips are the ones where something goes wrong & so the trip that stands out in my mind today is one such trip. I don’t remember how old I was, maybe 14, which would have made my sister about 11. Also on the trip was my mom, her sister & 2 of my cousins, who would have been 11 & 7. Mom drove us all in our mini motorhome to meet some more relatives at their family cabin, just south of the Mackinaw Bridge in Michigan. On the way something hit the window that looked out from the bunk over top of the drivers compartment & it sprayed little pebbles of safety glass all over the inside of the motorhome. Made quite a mess & we were late reaching our destination, since we had to find a store & buy plastic to cover the opening.
There were several other very memorable things that happened on after we reached the cabin. Three more cousins, ages 13, 11 & 6 were part of the group already at the cabin, which we were delighted to learn was on a lake & there was a ski boat for us to play with. All 7 of us kids were out on the lake in the boat, when we ran out of fuel. Luckily the lake was pretty shallow & my 13 year old cousin was a giant. He jumped out of the boat, grabbed the front of the boat & walked us back to the dock.
Because the parents didn’t think we kids were having enough fun on the lake with the boat, they drug us off to visit Mackinaw Island & Tahquamenon Falls. We enjoyed biking on the Island & scaring each other silly in the Haunted House, but by the time we got to the falls, all of us kids were done & just wanted to go back to the cabin. Somewhere there is a picture of 7 disgruntled children standing by a sign for the falls.
drainbamaged.gyzmo at gmail.com
desiree Says:
we used to traveling green byer\van with 6kid and 2 adults and a camper and it was fun trying t get over the mt in Canada while we there we did go to the ri and mas and Plymouth mass and around the area site seeing
Phillipa Says:
You know, there are whole new novels in these wonderful road trip stories! Keep them coming, I will put everyone’s name into the ‘hat’ and draw a winner on Monday night (that’s Tuesday morning here!)
Michelle Fidler Says:
I haven’t traveled much but my most memorable trips were to Williamsburg, Virginia, and Toronto. I’m in Ohio so Toronto is closer than Williamsburg. I’ve been to Toronto twice and went to Black Creek Pioneer Village and the zoo. I loved shopping at Eaton Centre, the big mall downtown. I also went to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake.
I went to Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. I went to the water park, too, but that’s not really my thing, especially since I can’t swim! I went to Busch Gardens two different days since I had a pass for that and the other attractions. The shopping was great there. They had three outlet centers to shop at.
Mary Preston Says:
My most memorable would be when my family & I camped our way around AUSTRALIA. My Father had long service leave, so for months we traveled. It was brilliant.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Christine A. Says:
This book sounds great. Thanks for the giveaway. My most memorable trip was last year when my sister flew in from MN and we went to Universal Studios in FL to see the Harry Potter ride/park. It was so much fun. I miss my younger sister a lot.
your1chef at aol dot com
christina cessna Says:
Well just this weekend my 13 y/o daughter was in a soccer tournament that we drove 5 hours to get to. It was wonderful to see her U14 boys challenge team have their first away tournament. In the last game they played in, it was in a stadium! It was great to see her doing something she loves!
thanks for the chance to win!
imajicasnow@inbox.com
imajicasnow@gmail.com
Andrea I Says:
Mine was the one I took this year. Two of my daughters went with me to Costa Rica for 14 days. None of us had ever travelled outside the US.
My youngest daughter injured her leg so we got to experience medical care in Costa Rica. It was very intresting.
ainfinger(at)comcast(dot)net