Monday, July 30, 2012

Let the Games Begin

Happy Monday, everyone. It's sunny in London, and the city is still on a high after the totally bonkers but completely amazing Opening Ceremony for the Olympics on Friday. Although I heard NBC butchered it for those of you Stateside, I hope it was still enjoyable.

Today, I'm part of another great opening ceremony. Author JC Martin releases her novel, Oracle, today. To celebrate, she's holding a month-long Oracle Olympics Blog Tour, with tons of games and prizes, including a possible grand prize of an iPad3 (for more details, visit J.C.'s blog). And it all kicks off with today's Opening Ceremony! Read on to find out how you could win a signed paperback copy of Oracle right off the bat! 

To win a signed copy of the book, visit all the blogs in the Parade of Nations in order (for a complete list of blogs, visit Olympics HQ here).  Each blog will have a secret letter. Collect them all to decipher the secret message. Then go back to J.C.'s blog and enter your answer in the Rafflecopter for your chance to win. The contest will remain open till midnight EST on Friday 3rd August, with the winner announced on J.C.'s blog!

 So here is my secret letter: S. Click on over for the next letter. Good luck!

In keeping with my letter, I'm on author Nicky Well's blog today, talking about strong women. And author Jessica Bell has re-released her debut novel, String Bridge. Yay for S!


With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn't need a serial killer stalking the streets, but they've got one anyway. Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police force is no closer to finding the latest psychopath than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter's disability. Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential victims. One of whom could be his own daughter. Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer's only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene. Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

In keeping with the lazy summer, I'll see you on Wednesday - maybe! But definitely on Friday. Have a great week!
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45 comments:

  1. Kyra Lennon30 July 2012 at 11:31

    Ah, I loved the Opening Ceremony! I genuinely thought it would be an embarrassment, but it turned out to be amazing!

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  2. Anonymous30 July 2012 at 11:33

    Book launch sounds fab! Impressive.
    Good luck to JC and also Jessica Bell.

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  3. Nicky Wells30 July 2012 at 11:37

    What a lot of parties to go to! Loved the opening ceremony. What can I say--Mr Bean? A parachuting queen? Well, I never! Great post, Talli, and am so happy to have you visit my blog today among all these festivities. What's that I always say... Rock on! XX

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  4. Leigh Caron30 July 2012 at 11:47

    Didn't catch all of the opening ceremonies, but what I did was awesome. How are the crowds there?

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  5. Creepy Query Girl30 July 2012 at 12:14

    Ooooh! Sounds intriguing and like a perfect read during this years games! How exciting to be in London right now! I actually missed the opening show:( We were on a flight back to Paris.

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  6. Alex J. Cavanaugh30 July 2012 at 12:49

    Congratulations to JC! And even butchered the opening ceremonies were cool.

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  7. Anonymous30 July 2012 at 13:17

    I missed the opening ceremonies, but have the image on my Facebook banner.

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  8. Joyce30 July 2012 at 13:25

    I loved the opening, all but that super creepy giant baby. The coverage here is awful...too much pointless talking, waaaay too many adverts, and tape delay. I may have ranted a bit about that on my blog today : )

    Interesting idea...will have to check out the link. Happy Monday!

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  9. Carol Hedges30 July 2012 at 13:35

    Lovely opening ceremony! Lovely blog. Good luck J.C. Need. To. Organise. Publicity. zzzzzzzzz

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  10. Theresa Milstein30 July 2012 at 13:49

    I'm so excited for JC! She's visiting my blog in August.

    I was miffed with NBC. But I've been enjoying the Olympics other than those omissions from the opening ceremony.

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  11. Amy Saia30 July 2012 at 13:52

    Oracle has a really cool concept-congrats to J.C., and congrats to Jessica on the re-release of String Bridge!

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  12. Jemi Fraser30 July 2012 at 14:20

    I loved the Opening ceremonies - so much fun! :)

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  13. Karen Lange30 July 2012 at 15:09

    Congrats to JC! Thanks for all the news and links, Talli. Hope you are doing well. :)

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  14. ~Sia McKye~30 July 2012 at 15:25

    Very creative.

    Congratulations, JC. Sounds like a winner!

    Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

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  15. Carol Kilgore30 July 2012 at 15:29

    The Queen and Daniel Craig! Who could ask for more :)
    Oh yeah...the athletes, too!

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  16. Julie Dao30 July 2012 at 16:17

    I heard about that whole NBC debacle, but thoroughly enjoyed what I saw of the opening ceremony on TV, so I can only imagine what it was really like!! Loved the Queen jumping out of the plane. She's a spunky lady! :D

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  17. L. Diane Wolfe30 July 2012 at 16:27

    It sounds good.

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  18. Pamela30 July 2012 at 16:45

    I'm here from Write Now. What fun to meet other authors. This book looks amazing. I'm off to Amazon to check it out.

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  19. Johanna Garth30 July 2012 at 16:55

    What a great idea! Your opening ceremony is lots of fun too.

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  20. Old Kitty30 July 2012 at 17:18

    Boo to NBC cos the opening ceremony was FABULOUS!!!! Yay for JC Martin's Olympian bookfest launch!!!

    Take care
    x

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  21. Anne Mackle30 July 2012 at 17:34

    The opening ceremony was a bit bonkers but got better as it went on.I have it taped to watch again in more detail as there was so much to see.

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  22. Slamdunk30 July 2012 at 18:06

    JC's work is getting lots of coverage--excellent.

    I hope you survive the games without too much frustration. They can be a real tax for the "locals."

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  23. Writer Pat Newcombe30 July 2012 at 18:10

    This book sounds good! I may check it out! Have a good week Talli and enjoy the Olympics!

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  24. James Garcia Jr30 July 2012 at 20:22

    Hi, Talli. It's been too long. I'm on vacay and caught up with my recent publishing issues, so I have lots of time for visiting. *waves* I'm a member of the parade of nations for J.C. as well. Glad to be involved with the event.
    Best wishes to you and yours.

    -Jimmy

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  25. Nancy Thompson30 July 2012 at 20:28

    Hey Talli! Okay, total brain fart here. Though I have your books and I've been here and all, I wasn't a follower. How the heck did I miss that?! *bangs head on desk* So sorry. I've amended that error and am now a follower. Anyway, I'm here on the tour. Catch ya later!

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  26. Carole30 July 2012 at 21:33

    Aren't the Olympics a hoot - I end up getting interested in weird things like weightlifting! Cheers

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  27. Melissa Sugar30 July 2012 at 21:44

    I thought the opening ceremony was fantastic. I would love to be there. Congratulations to C.J. I am very excited for her. I have already purchased the kindle edition and can't wait to get started. This is a really cool book launch. I am having fun jumping around trying to decipher the code.

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  28. Bish Denham30 July 2012 at 21:46

    I must say, England has had it's fair share of activities this year! I watched part of the opening, but those stupid announcers were talking over it most of the time.

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  29. RHYTHM AND RHYME30 July 2012 at 22:43

    Seeing I have been in much pain I have watched the Olympics today and really enjoyed it.
    Weather not too bad either.

    Yvonne.

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  30. Sangu Mandanna31 July 2012 at 10:51

    Ooooh that sounds great, off to visit JC now! Very timely too: Olympics fever is all over the place. x

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  31. J.C. Martin31 July 2012 at 10:53

    I thought the start of the Opening Ceremony was a bit bizarre: sheep and shire horses? An Abe Lincoln lookalike that's supposed to be Brunel (not that many non-Brits would know who he is)? Moldevort being defeated by an Army of Mary Poppins? But the later parts, including the Queen and Bond, Mr. Bean, and the torch ceremony especially were brilliant!

    Big thanks to Talli for participating in this Parade of Nations, and thanks to everyone for their lovely comments! Hope y'all enjoy all the fun and games planned for the month!

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  32. Unknown31 July 2012 at 14:06

    Such a beautiful cover. I'm a sucker for covers like this though! This was an excellent Open Ceremony :D

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  33. Anonymous31 July 2012 at 22:09

    The kids and I were up at 5:30am to watch the opening. It was enjoyable, as is watching the games. :)
    Cool cover on Oracle

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  34. Carrie Butler1 August 2012 at 03:09

    I loved your post over at Nicky's blog! :) I hope you're enjoying the games!

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  35. Flowerpot1 August 2012 at 10:06

    Yes love that cover. As for the Games - loved the Opening Ceremony let's hope the rest goes well!

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  36. Denise Covey 1 August 2012 at 10:27

    Hope you're all enjoying the Games over there. No seeing much in Fiji, only boring stuff mainly. Great to see you supporting JC. Her book sounds great and the cover is to die for.

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  37. LTM1 August 2012 at 13:59

    Awesome! What a great topic for JC's book! I didn't really "get" the opening ceremony as we were watching it, and then I found out about the botching... what?

    Regardless, we're tuning in every night for gymnastics. (Of course!) Running over to get my next letter~ <3

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  38. Anonymous1 August 2012 at 14:06

    Great Opening Ceremony! My favorite part was the Queen and Bond.

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  39. Heather1 August 2012 at 17:18

    A blog tour and secret letters, sound like too much fun to miss! Speaking of missing, I missed the Olympic opening! :(

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  40. Michael Di Gesu1 August 2012 at 21:19

    Hi, Talli,


    Congrats J.C. What a great theme for your blog tour!

    Overall, I thought the ceremonies were great, but there were some STRANGE imagery going on.LOL.

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  41. Green Monkey1 August 2012 at 22:03

    Hello Talli,
    I wasn't going to tell you this but there are some who are waiting for your response. So...I sort of tossed you into a rant. It wasn't planned, it just sort of happened ( I blame the wine).

    Anyway.... respectfully yours, MonkeyME

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  42. Sherry Ellis2 August 2012 at 01:23

    Oracle sounds like a great book!

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  43. Unknown2 August 2012 at 18:49

    Talli: Each time I visit here I enjoy your amazing sense of humor! I laughed over ..."after the totally bonkers but completely amazing Opening Ceremony". I'm sure if a vote were taken, you would be the favored Blogger chosen to for each of us to hang out with in London for being so spirited! Enjoy!!

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  44. Maurice Mitchell2 August 2012 at 22:26

    Some say the opening ceremony was boring compared to the China Olympics, but that was over the top.

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  45. William Kendall3 August 2012 at 22:39

    Read and commented!

    Of course, Chariots of Fire had it coming, getting mangled by Mr. Bean....

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Coffee and wine for all!

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