Raffle Prize: A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That...

We're almost done previewing all the donations! Take a look through the archives to see all the other wonderful gifts that have been donated. I'll be posting the completed prize packages soon, so be sure to come check them out so you can plot out the use of your raffle tickets and buy some more if need be!

Wonderful hand-sewn reversible book bag (15" x 18", $20) and four coasters of authentic African fabrics (4" sq., $12)  from Amy Bordoni:

$25 iTunes gift card, donated by Bonnie Leon: 

Handy casserole mitt for the pet lover in your life by Gretchen Wrede:

10 girl's hairbows (in custom colors!) and a hairbow holder  from Melissa Corban...

$25 Starbucks gift card, donated by Seema Bagai

Lovely crocheted doily from Allyn Kennedy:

All-in-one stocking stuffer set for the girl in your life, donated by Connilee Walter. Set includes a 27 oz pink Klean Kanteen, Life is Good pink and green striped fuzzy socks, Live Laugh Love bottlecap necklace, and two all natural lip dips:

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From Meghan comes an adorable 8.5" crocheted zombie doll, valued at $25

 

And from my friend Lisa, these beautiful serving utensils ($40):

Raffle Prize: Prize Packages from authors Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark!

The generosity out there just blows me away!!

Mother/daughter speculative fiction authors Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark are both successful authors on their own, but together they've also written two children's books that no little kid can resist AND have donated two themed prize packages for the fundraiser that would be fantastic Christmas gifts for the dragon-lover in your life!

 

The dragon basket includes:

-one copy of DragonLight on mp3

-one dragon pendent on a ribbon

-one blue stretch bracelet with a dragon's head charm

-one DragonKeeper mug

 

 

The turtle basket includes:

-one copy of The Dragon and the Turtle

-one copy of The Dragon and the Turtle go on Safari

-some bug stickers for interactive reading (for safari)

-one turtle necklace

-one colorful turtle bracelet

-a plush turtle

-a plush dragon

 

Raffle Prize: Bible and Books!

I love my family--they're pitching in for the fundraiser, too! From my father, Lee Strobel, comes a soft-bound Case for Christ Study Bible, which can be personalized from Lee on the dedication page if the winner so desires. Also included is a signed hardbound copy of The Case for the Real Jesus. Perfect for the apologetics buff or spiritual seeker in your life!

He's also donating a signed hardbound copy of his debut novel, The Ambition. Like John Grisham? You'll love this book!

And from my brother Kyle Strobel (yes, he writes too!) comes this excellent book on spiritual formation, Metamorpha: Jesus as a Way of Life.

(Also cool: his spiritual formation ministry, Metamorpha.com--check it out!)

And even my mom Leslie is getting in on the action, offering this Starbucks mug and book hook--the perfect addition to one of our many book packages!

Raffle Prize: Games & Activities Package!

How cool is this?! Dangerous Games series authors Tracy Ruckman, Debbie Roome, and Amy Barkman  compiled this collection that would be perfect for family game night or a snowy day. Included is $130 worth of great time-killing fun in the form of:

7 Books:

Board to Death: A Trio of Mysteries in the Dangerous Games Series

Which Witch? (Christian novel for middle grade readers)

Magnitude 7.1 and 6.3 (stories of survival during the New Zealand earthquakes)

Everyday Spiritual Warfare

Life Lessons from Grandparents 

A Pixel Perfect Christmas

Christmas Miracles

1 non-fiction booklet: Grieve Him Not (a booklet about walking with the Holy Spirit)

6 Games (Scrabble Slam, Uno, Dominoes, playing cards, jacks, puzzle)

1 Chocolate Chip cookie dough mix with cookie cutter

Fire Department toys

Police Department toys

popcorn

candy

hot cocoa mix

Big-time thanks to Tracy, Debbie, and Amy for their generosity! Wouldn't this make a perfect Christmas gift?! Get your raffle tickets today!

Southern California Raffle Prize: Free Photography Session and Wall Print!

This is for all you SoCal dwellers! Emily Stelea Photography has graciously donated a free photography session and wall print! Emily Stelea does beautiful maternity, birth, newborn, child, and family photography. Check out her blog when you have a moment--her work is gorgeous! (Especially these newborn ones--oh my goodness!!)

Raffle Prize: Editing galore!

Sandi and I are blessed to know some wonderful people in publishing. So many of them have pitched in to help with the fundraiser, from donating raffle items to helping spread the word and even helping with the administrative details. (Bless you, Miralee!!!) And those of you who are as yet unpublished and are hoping to get your first contract in 2012, you're going to LOVE these prizes!

Well-known, well-respected, and award-winning agent and author Wendy Lawton, who is a member of the Books and Such Literary Agency, has offered a critique of a proposal and three chapters. Wendy doesn't typically offer this kind of service, so this is a particularly valuable donation! Wendy's unique background as both a writer and an agent equip her to look not only at the crafting of your manuscript, but at its marketability. This would be a fantastic asset to any writers who are preparing to submit to agents in the near future!

Award-winning writer Nancy Kimball has offered a 100 page critique. Her fellow crit group members praise her editing skills, saying Nancy excels at both developmental and line editing. Fellow writer Mandy Hawkins says, "Nancy’s constant challenge and desire for me to dig deep within to perfect and improve my writing skills is greatly valued.” Writer Kathleen Freeman says, “Nancy has great skill as a reviewer and critique partner. With grace she weeds out problems and offers advice about possible solutions. She lets me know when I'm doing something right as well. I never feel like I'm ready to move to the next chapter until I've worked through Nancy's review.”

Barbour Publishing author Paula Moldenhauer has offered a critique of one chapter. (Perfect for that one spot in the plot that just doesn't seem to be working right!) With over 300 writing credits to her name, Paula knows what works in a story and what doesn't. This offer will be paired with Wendy's to provide one lucky winner with four chapters' worth of editing!

And Sandi's close friend and co-writer, Wendy Chorot, has offered a unique donation that will be raffled off separately. Only donors who have donated either $100, $200, or $500 will be allowed to enter the drawing for this item. The winner will receive an editing package worth double their donation. (So if you donate $200, you'll get $400 in editing, calculated at 3 cents per word.) The editing package includes a detailed edit (correction of spelling, punctuation, word choice and grammar), a content edit (correction and/or marking of passive voice, redundancies, weak dialogue, incorrect dialogue structure, incorrect paragraph construction) and more! This particular offer is open to any Christian genre or respectable secular genre. If you have any questions about this prize, you can contact Wendy through her website.

Raffle Prize: handmade goodies to keep you warm!

There are a lot of talented folks out there sharing their skills with us. Here are just a few of the hand-crafted items being donated!

From author Vivian Mabuni, who learned to knit during chemo treatments for breast cancer (two years into remission now, praise God!), comes this beautiful, super soft and washable wool/nylon/acrylic blend scarf.  Doesn't it look deliciously squishy?!

From Sheri Karobonik, who also donated knitting items that were highlighted yesterday, come this bold hat, sophisticated cowl, and cozy scarf, all in soft (I've confirmed it with my own hands!) 100% wool:

And don't forget this is Fundraiser for Sandi Rog Blog Blast Week--so please give Sandi and the fundraiser a shout-out on your blog, or Facebook, or Twitter, or whatever, and help us reach our goal to pay off Sandi's treatment! Every $5 helps, folks. Heck, every $1 helps. If that's all you can give, we're cool with that.

Raffle Prize: Yarn and other fiber art goodies!

Listen up, all you knitters and crocheters and those who love them! You're going to want to keep an eye out for the basket containing these items.

First off, we have $130 worth of handspun, hand-dyed fiber goodness, donated by Emily Rossa:


"Uluru's Oasis"
Fiber Source: Southern Cross Fibre
Fiber Type: Superwash BFL
Colorway: Uluru, Oasis
Construction: Two Ply
WPI: 8 (Aran)
Yardage: Two 160 Yard Skeins (320 Total)


"Lucinda"

Fiber Source: Enchanted Knoll Farm
Fiber Type: 45/55 Merino/Silk with Sparkles and Angelina
Colorway: Lucinda
Construction: Thick and Thin
WPI: 9-11 (light worsted to worsted)
Yardage: 215

"Fruity Drinks by the Pool" (Don't you just love these names?!)

Fiber Source: Spunky Eclectic

Fiber Type: Merino and Bamboo Viscose

Color way: Fruity Drinks by the Pool
Construction: Two Ply
WPI: 10 (DK to Light Worsted)
Yardage: 250

Don't your fingers just want to dive in!?

If you're already the knitting type, then you'll be thrilled with this donation: beautiful knitting stitch markers and two original knitting patterns by Sheri Karobonik!

Thank you so much, ladies!

Don't forget to make a donation today through the button on the sidebar so you can join us on the 25th as we start raffling off these fantastic prizes!

Raffle Prize: Chocolate! And more chocolate!

YUM. Whoever wins these prizes may find me at their doorstep with one hand outstretched and the other holding a glass of milk...

From Janice LaQuere comes a plethora of homemade chocolates. She uses Belgium chocolate, organic cream, Irish butter and Virginia roasted peanuts. (Just reading the ingredient list is making my mouth water!) She's offering a one pound box of chocolate peanut clusters, a one pound box of chocolate peanut clusters, and two half pound boxes of chocolate buttercreams (pralines--Leonidas style).

And from Sandi's friend Carol Morris, we have a 500g box of Belgian chocolates from Leonidas! The winner will get to choose which box they want from the Leonidas website.

What's that I hear? I think it's your sweet tooth telling you to pick up a couple more raffle tickets, because you know you'll be the favorite guest at Christmas dinner if you have these prizes to bring for dessert!

Raffle Prize: Colonial Basket!

Oh my gosh, this is just too fun.

Some of our prize donors just couldn't stop at one or two items--they compiled an entire gift basket* of their own! This is the first of them--a Colonial basket for all you fans of the 18th century:

This basket contains all sorts of cool stuff:

* A signed copy of Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland by Roseanna M. White
* A copy of Highland Crossings, signed by contributing author Gina Welborn
* A Pampered Chef knife and dual sharpener - the knife being the favorite utensil of the confectioner heroine of Gina's story
* A signed copy of The Chamomile by Susan F. Craft
* A packet of chamomile seeds & a packet of chamomile tea
* A mobcap
* A $15 Starbucks gift card
These last three titles are marked as "Your pick!" in the picture, but will now all be included! Thank you, ladies!
* Surrender the Dawn by MaryLu Tyndall
* Fire Dragon's Angel by Barbara Blythe
* The Colonel's Lady by Laura Frantz 
* Joab's Fire book and T-shirt by Lynn Squire



What a perfect gift this would be (or *couple* of gifts!) for someone this holiday season! A huge thank you to the Colonial Quills and their generosity! And for those of you who aren't familiar with CQ, here's a little info about them:

The Colonial Quills are a group of Christian writers with a passion for all things early American. On the CQ they offer reviews of Colonial-set fiction, excellent non-fiction books on Colonial subjects, author interviews and giveaways, and open discussion on Mondays; fascinating peeks into history on their Wednesday In Ye Olden Days posts; and some of the most interesting research methods, tips, and visits on Friday's Tools of Trade, as well as Colonial recipes over the weekends.

Methinks this would be a great place to visit for homeschoolers!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow to see even more raffle prizes that you could win when we start the giveaways on November 25th!

*And, just as a reminder, we're using the term "basket" in a symbolic way in most cases--chances are a basket will not actually be included with the prize package. :)

Raffle Prize: Costumes!

Those crazy historical writers--they're always lurking around in dusty archive rooms, pouring over microfiche of old Sears-Roebuck catalogs, buying costumes to help them envision what their character might have worn...


Nancy Kimball, who writes ancient Rome-based historical fiction (similar to Sandi) has donated this particular prize. Thank you, Nancy! Note these really are just costumes, not actual antiques or anything. But you'll be SO set for next year's Halloween party. Or for the local high school's production something Shakespearean. (Watch all those crazy historical writers come correct me in the comments.)

Raffle Prize: Writing Career Coach Business Building Series & "Earn a Living With Your Writing"

If you're longing to build a career out of your writing, then you're going to want to keep an eye on this raffle prize!

The Writing Career Coach Business Building Series releases in the spring and will retail for--are you ready?--$1,200, but creator Tiffany Colter* has generously offered to make the ebook version available to a raffle winner. Here is a description:

The Writing Career Coach Business Building Series includes more than 5 books and workbooks, CDs, DVD teachings, tools to build and market your business as well as a gift credit for copywriting [amount yet to be determined]. Finally, there will be coaching support from Tiffany and her team through exclusive webinars, conference calls and personalized coaching. This will be released during the first quarter of 2012. It is currently in Beta testing with 10 business owners across industries, levels of experience, and levels of revenue.

Talk about impressive! Tiffany understands in a very personal way what the Rogs are going through--her husband is a cancer survivor and his illness nearly destroyed them financially. Tiffany has built her business from virtually nothing 5 years ago to a nearly 6-figure salary today, and the Writing Career Coach Business Building Series encapsulates everything she learned and the tools she used to get where she is.

And as the infomercials say--but wait, there's more!

If anyone would like to pre-order this, have them contact me. It will be only a $200 non-refundable deposit; $100 will go to Sandy right away, the rest holds their set. Then the balance is due when it goes live. They'll get it a week before it releases. I will accept PayPal, check or money order made to Writing Career Coach with "Sandy Fund Raiser" in the memo. If for any reason the series is canceled, they will be given $100 back and a $100 GC [for the portion I gave Sandy].

This isn't the only item Tiffany is donating. She is also offering her "Earn a Living With Your Writing: How the Big Ideas You Have Can Get You What You Want" course, a $65 retail value! (Link goes to workbook only; raffle winner will receive the book and CDs.)

Do you have a story to share? Do you want to earn an income as a writer? The world of publishing is changing. E-books & small presses are on the rise. It is easier to get your book published, but harder to make a living with publishing. What is an aspiring writer to do? You need to remember the fundamentals & adjust them to the changing market. What are Blogs, Vlogs, Trailers, Pitches, Hooks, Blurbs, & Platforms? And what in the WORLD do they have to do with writing? How can you get your writing in front of the right people without doing the WRONG things? Are you ready to reach your goals, or even your dreams? When publishers were offering smaller cash advances & magazines were disappearing from shelves, my company tripled its gross revenue. In this course I want to help you create a plan to reach your writing goals. This Workbook is designed to be used with the audio lessons of the same name.

If you decide to buy the book on your own through the link above, you can order the CDs from Tiffany for $45, and she will donate $15 to Sandi's fundraiser.

In fact, Tiffany will donate 20% of *any* project she does to Sandi's fundraiser if the client requests it. So if you decide to hire Tiffany, be sure to ask for that!

Thank you, Tiffany, for your generosity!

Check back with us tomorrow to see what other goodies have been donated! See something you like? Be sure to donate through the button in the sidebar to earn raffle tickets. Drawings will start the 25th!

*Tiffany's website is currently undergoing some renovation, but there is a ton of great info there--don't miss it! She's also offering clients a chance to win a Kindle in January. If you want to learn more about that, or any of her services, be sure to visit her site and sign up for her newsletter.

Raffle Prize: Cat Cosmetics!

Check it out ladies! (Or gentlemen looking for a nice gift for their lady!) Author Miralee Farrell is also an authorized Cat Cosmetics consultant, and is generously donating nearly $150 worth of awesome product for the fundraiser! (If you would like to purchase something from her, you can check out the products at the Cat Cosmetics website and then contact Miralee (miraleef at gmail) to place an order--you'll receive 20% off the retail price!)


Check back with us tomorrow to see what other goodies have been donated! See something you like? Be sure to donate through the button in the sidebar to earn raffle tickets. Drawings will start the 25th!
'Pixie' Lip Gloss (a shade lighter than shown here), Precision Eye Shadow Brush (This versatile brush is great for applying a wash of color on the lid, a highlight on your brow and especially useful for applying color in the crease of the eye to create depth.), Sophisticat brown brush and liner.

'Ambrosia' Lip Gel, 'Girl on Fire' Baked Swirl Bronzer (Absolutely no shimmer in the formula--it is for those who want beautiful bronzing without shine to it. Great for medium to olive skin tones, and also for sculpting-your-cheekbones color!), 'Beach Cheeks' Blush Creme Refill (Possibly a shade darker than it looks; depends on your monitor--gives a natural radiant glow that you can apply over foundation or on bare skin without even looking like you've got blush on at all!)



'Black Cherry' hand-poured Gel Eye Liner (Can even be smudged as a shadow! Brush not included), 'Innocence' Shimmer Stick (beige/gold) and 'Pounce' Lipstick, both with with flip-up mirror case (so handy!). Shimmer stick is beautiful with a nude lip liner, or can be added to any color lipstick to give it a gleam and shine.

Raffle Prize: signed books by Terri Blackstock!

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times bestselling suspense writer with numerous awards to her name. She has generously donated signed hardbound copies of her three most recent standalone novels: Predator, Double Minds, and Shadow in Serenity to the raffle. What a great Christmas present they'd make for the suspense reader in your life!

Check back with us tomorrow to see what other goodies have been donated! See something you like? Be sure to donate through the button in the sidebar to earn raffle tickets. Drawings will start the 25th!

Raffle Prizes!!

I am beyond psyched at the incredible generosity of folks out there who want to help us reach our goal for Sandi. The items being donated are awesome, and to make sure you know exactly what you're entering to win, I'm going to start posting an item or two every day. Here is just one of them:

(Cocoon in action--adorable baby not included)

This is a custom crocheted baby cocoon and matching crown hat, crafted in the Berroco baby yarn of your choice and edged (if you choose) in a complementary color. (Because it is a custom prize, it will ship in February, no later than the end of the month.) What a perfect keepsake gift for that brand new bundle of joy making its way to you in 2012!

Check back with us tomorrow to see what other goodies have been donated! See something you like? Be sure to donate through the button in the sidebar to earn raffle tickets. Drawings will start the 25th!