9 days until Christmas
Julie is married with eight children and ten published books. She loves to travel and her favorite cities are probably Athens, Paris, Ottawa, and London. She would love to visit Hawaii, Australia, Ireland, and Scotland someday. She loves to read, write, teach, watch Castle, The Blacklist, and Hawaii Five-O, and eat Canadian chocolate. Not necessarily in that order.
Please take a minute to visit Julie at one of the links below:
WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | PINTEREST
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LDSWBR: What is your favorite Christmas song/hymn? Does it have special meaning to you?
JULIE: My favorite song is Silent Night. There’s just something so reverent about it. My second favorite is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I love the message in that one.
LDSWBR: Do you get together with friends/family to play board games on Christmas or New Year’s? What games do you like to play? Do you have a favorite game from your childhood?
JULIE: We do board games on New Year’s. Our favorite games are Disney Scene It, Survive, and Risk. We also have a Bellon family Air Hockey Tournament. I might have to relinquish my crown this year!
LDSWBR: If you could recommend only one book from those you read this year, what would it be and why?
JULIE: I would probably recommend Longing For Home by Sarah Eden. I love the depth of her characters and the emotion in her stories. Love all her books!
LDSWBR: Thanks, Julie!
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Pocket Full of Posies
AMAZON | KINDLE | NOOK | SMASHWORDS
They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .
Hostage Negotiation Team member Bart Gutierrez is shocked to find Lucy Aguayo, a girl he knew as a teenager, working for the deadly Castillo drug cartel. This revelation uncovers a secret in Bart’s family so big it forces him to accept a dangerous offer: infiltrate the cartel to keep his family safe. Once inside the cartel’s headquarters he discovers that a large-scale attack on America is imminent and the only way to prevent it is to bring Lucy in on his plans—and hope she doesn’t betray him.
Lucy Aguayo has become a key player in the Castillo cartel, but not for money or power—she’s on a mission of vengeance for her father’s murder. Just when she gets a chance to bring down the cartel leader responsible, Bart Gutierrez appears, stirring up buried feelings and disrupting all her plans. But as the enemy closes in from all sides, Lucy must choose between being free from her past or finding justice for it. Can she give up everything she’s ever worked for and reach for something more?
I *love* air hockey. A family tournament would be a blast. Who would be Air Hockey Champion in your family tournament?
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**To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2013, leave a thoughtful comment below.**
Because this is a raffle-style drawing, commenting on each Countdown to Christmas 2013 post will give you more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.
Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions below.
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By leaving a comment and entering the Countdown to Christmas 2013, you agree to the contest rules below:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY; entrants must be 18 years or older; open to residents of continental US only; giveaway begins December 3, 2013 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight December 23, 2013 Mountain Time; to enter, complete the required entry on each post and any additional entries of your choice if listed; LDS Women’s Book Review reserves the right to determine what is considered a thoughtful comment as per each post’s required entry; giveaway prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and a variety of book prizes donated by featured authors; the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning; LDS Women’s Book Review is not liable for technical problems which may affect entry into the giveaway; winner identity will be verified by email address; winner will be selected December 28, 2013 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winner will have until January 4, 2014 to claim their prize; if any prize winner forfeits or does not claim prize, prize will be re-awarded to next winner in sequence; all prizes will be awarded; limit of two prizes per entrant; this contest/giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified; by entering the giveaway you give LDS Women’s Book Review the right to publicize your name on the LDS Women’s Book Review blog; winner agrees to release LDS Women’s Book Review from any liability as a result of winning; email comments and questions to LDS Women’s Book Review – ldswbr (at) gmail (dot) com; giveaway subject to Utah regulations; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
**Book Prizes (as of 12/16/13 – more to be added to this list!)**
- Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack (personalized copy)
- Shannon’s Hope by Josi S. Kilpack (personalized copy)
- The House at Rose Creek by Jenny Proctor (signed copy)
- Penumbras by Braden Bell (signed copy)
- The Reluctant Blogger by Ryan Rapier (personalized copy)
- Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen (personalized paperback)
- Longing For Home by Sarah M. Eden (signed copy)
- Mile 21 by Sarah Dunster (ebook or signed paperback)
- Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson (audio CD)
- Finding Sheba or Ruby’s Secret by H.B. Moore (winner’s choice; format of choice)
- Pocket Full of Posies by Julie Coulter Bellon (or other Hostage Negotiation novel of choice in either paperback or Kindle)
Previous Countdown to Christmas 2013 posts:
- Rocky Road and Shannon’s Hope by Josi S. Kilpack (12/3/13)
- The House at Rose Creek by Jenny Proctor (12/4/13)
- Penumbras by Braden Bell (12/5/13)
- The Reluctant Blogger by Ryan Rapier (12/6/13)
- Just Ella by Annette K. Larsen (12/7/13)
- Longing For Home by Sarah M. Eden (12/9/13)
- Mile 21 by Sarah Dunster (12/10/13)
- Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson (12/12/13)
- Finding Sheba and Ruby’s Secret by Heather (H.B.) Moore (12/13/13)
22 Responses to “Pocket Full of Posies by Julie Coulter Bellon – Countdown to Christmas 2013”
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We don’t play air hockey a lot, but I think my husband would be the definite champion in our family. But our 11-year-old might just surprise us all — she is extremely competitive!
I haven’t played air hockey in quite a while, but my husband usually won. In our extended family I’d say either my husband would win or my older sister.
My husband would for sure be the champion, but I’d be close :)
I love air hockey, but the definite winner of my family would be my little brother. He is super competitive!
I don’t know who would win, but chances are there would be a lot of gloating involved!
My hubby probably would be the winner. We have a foosball table, and he is pretty quick on that. Looks like a great book!!
Definitely one of my sons. What reflexes my husband and I had are going…going…gone.
I’m not sure…maybe my brother? But I enjoy air hockey, too.
hmmm I’d probably only play with my husband, everyone else would take it to seriously.
I LOVED Pocket Full of Posies!
Air hockey champion would be my husband :)
We actually had an air hockey tournament. And I was not the winner. Not even close.
Probably my husband or my second oldest child. :)
Wow, it would a fight tooth and nail to find out who the air hockey champion in the house would be. It would vary depending on the night but what I can say for certain is that it would be a laughing, good-hearted smack talking, adventure of a night.
I love air hockey but do not get to play a lot. I think that I could beat anyone in my immediate family because I can get competitive at times.
I would be a toss up between my two sons. Growing up they had an Air Hockey, I don’t know what to call it a game, table? They use to beat the pants off me every time I played. The boys have told me through out the years that they have played. I grew up playing Shuffle Board, loved it. Over the years I’ve played it again in some bars, never lost my touch, lol!!
I’d love to say I’d be the winner for my family’s air hockey tournament, but we haven’t played lately, so who knows! I love Julie Coulter Bellon’s writing!
I think my 7-year-old daughter would win. We don’t play much, but when we do, she rocks it!
My husband would win for sure because I would probably be so bad and laugh too much!
You guys ask hard question, especially for a family that doesn’t necessarily play games. I have no idea who would win, my hubby maybe?
I like to play air hockey with the kids and I just told my husband we should get a table top one for our youngest.
It would be a toss up between my hubby and my 15 year old son–they’re both very good at sports and very, very competitive. :)
Most likely my husband. He wins pretty much everything