The Second Day of Bookmas

Welcome to day two of our Bookmas Giveaway contest. For those who missed the rules, hop back over to the November 30 post and give a quick read.

And of course, before we start today’s contest, we need to announce yesterday’s winner. Yesterday’s question from Jessica Faust was:

At the end of last year I had the "brilliant" idea of tackling the Book List Challenge. At the time I thought I was smart by giving myself a lot of leeway. Probably not smart enough. I still didn't read nearly as many of these in 2011 as I would have liked, but I did get to a few and one of them became such a favorite that I read it twice and am a little sad it took me this long to read it at all.

And the answer is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Congratulations to Gloria Weber. Please email your contact information to blog@bookends-inc.com and we’ll get your prize out immediately.



Now on to our contest . . .

I am about to make a public confession of crimes committed when I was much younger. It’s been over twenty years since these crimes were committed, so I hope the statute of limitations has expired. Here goes . . .

I was a serial romance stealer. From the ages of nine to twelve, countless Harlequin novels were stolen from my best friend’s mother’s collection. I devoured these books and read them whenever I had a chance. My parents were not supportive of my romance addition. They wanted me to read “serious” books that might actually teach me something and help me get a career one day. And look at me now—I have made a career out of that passion.

Eventually my crime spree ended and, due to my parents’ unwillingness to fund my romance collection, I started buying my own books with my allowance money. Even so, many of those original stolen books are still in my possession, including the very first romance I ever read.

Which book was the first romance I ever read?

Clues can be found here, using the Twitter hashtag #bookmas or by seeing what these authors have to say:

Krista Davis
Heather Blake
Paige Shelton
Sharla Lovelace
Janet Bolin
Snarky Mommy
Monica Marlowe
Amy Eller Lewis
Ellery Adams
Erin Kellison
Peg Cochran
Elizabeth Buzzelli
Laura Alden
Sally MacKenzie
Stacey Kennedy
Charlotte Featherstone
Jennifer Delamere
Avery Aames
Molly Cannon
Erika Chase
Bill Crider
C. C. Hunter
Sofie Kelly
Annie Knox
Kim Lenox
Hannah Reed
Gina Robinson
Andrea Laurence


Jessica Alvarez