10 days until Christmas
Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back is her fourth happily ever after novel. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster that is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers).
Visit Sariah: WEBSITE |TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS
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LDSWBR: Do you top your Christmas tree with a star, angel, or something else? Does it have special meaning to you?
SARIAH: I top my Christmas tree with a star. It’s one of the old blinky kinds made of gold and fringe. It reminded me of my childhood, and I bought one for my first Christmas with my husband. We still put it up every year, and it still works!
LDSWBR: What is your favorite Christmas movie? Why is it your favorite?
SARIAH: This is hard. I love “A Christmas Story” and watch it every Christmas Eve while I’m wrapping presents. But I also adore “White Christmas.” I grew up watching it, and every single time the general walks into his surprise party, I still get choked up. I also feel very bummed out every year that it doesn’t snow on Christmas, thanks in part to the final scene.
LDSWBR: What Christmas gift have you been most excited to give?
SARIAH: My mother was very poor growing up. She remembers times when there was literally only ketchup and bread in the house. They never had much of anything. But one year, when she was a little girl, more than anything in the whole world she wanted a doll called Chatty Cathy. She knew she could never have it, that her parents couldn’t afford it, but that didn’t stop her from wishing. Her father came home one evening carrying bags, and inside one she glimpsed her precious Chatty Cathy. She couldn’t stay quiet and hold her excitement – but her father gruffly informed her that these were presents for her cousins that their parents had asked them to hide at her house. She went upstairs and cried for hours. Christmas morning came, and there were few presents under the tree. But one of them had her name on it. She opened it up, and it was her Chatty Cathy. She, obviously, was beyond thrilled. She loved that doll until it fell apart. It is her favorite Christmas memory. So a few years ago as I flipped through a random Christmas catalog, there they had a reproduction of the Chatty Cathy doll. I knew it wouldn’t be the same as an original, but more than anything, I wanted to give my mother another one of those dolls. I was so excited to give her that present! And for the rest of my life, I will never forget her tears, or the look on her face, when she opened it.
LDSWBR: What a sweet Christmas memory. Thank you, Sariah!
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Purchase The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back:
Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.
But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?
Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.
Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.
Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.
And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.
What favorite toy from your childhood would you love to have again?
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To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012, leave a thoughtful comment below.
Be sure to comment on each Countdown to Christmas 2012 post for 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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If one of our LDSWBR reviews has ever helped you find a book you enjoyed, perhaps you would consider helping us spread the word about the LDSWBR Countdown to Christmas 2012. A link posted to your friends and family either in email or on your favorite social network would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!
By leaving a comment and entering the Countdown to Christmas 2012, 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, 2012 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight December 23, 2012 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 posts 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 27, 2012 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winner will have until January 3, 2013 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 & 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 December 15, 2012)(more to be added- 21 books have been donated!)
- Tres Leches Cupcakes by Josi S. Kilpack (signed paperback copy)
- Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick (paperback or ebook)
- Deadly Undertakings by Gregg Luke (personalized paperback)
- Turning Pages by Tristi Pinkston (personalized paperback)
- Athena by Heather B. Moore (autographed paperback)
- The Kindling by Braden Bell (paperback, signed if desired)
- Sudden Darkness by Margot Hovley (personalized paperback)
- Code Word by Traci Hunter Abramson (paperback)
- The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Anderson (ebook)
- The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson (ebook- PDF/.mobi)
Previous Countdown to Christmas 2012 posts:
- 22 days until Christmas: Tres Leches Cupcakes by Josi S. Kilpack
- 21 days until Christmas: Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick
- 20 days until Christmas: Deadly Undertakings by Gregg Luke
- 19 days until Christmas: Turning Pages by Tristi Pinkston
- 18 days until Christmas: Athena by Heather B. Moore
- 17 days until Christmas: The Kindling by Braden Bell
- 16 days until Christmas: Sunday – no post
- 15 days until Christmas: An Unlikely Match by Sarah M. Eden
- 14 days until Christmas: Sudden Darkness by Margot Hovley
- 13 days until Christmas: After Hello by Lisa Mangum
- 12 days until Christmas: Code Word by Traci Hunter Abramson
- 11 days until Christmas: The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Anderson
