Traditions and a special surprise!

Here in Germany we have a special tradition for the 6th of December. It´s Nikolaus. we celebrate the birthday of a saint called Nikolaus von Myra. He was a very rich bishop and it is said that he cared especially for poor people and for children, giving them money and gifts. And in celebration of him and in momory of his deeds, the Nikolaus comes very year on December 6th to bring small presents to children, like fruits, nuts or chocolate. He only comes when in´s already dark and only brings presents to the good children. 

Sometimes he leaves the presents in shoes you place for that occasion for you to find, sometimes he will come to your house and read to you from his golden book, where all your good and bad deeds are written down. And yes, he really knows everything you´ve done, believe me!

On the left you can see a picture of him. You might think that he resembles to Santa Clause, but there is quite a difference! :)

The NIkolaus also has a companion who is called Knecht Ruprecht.You can see him in the other picture. That´s a rather dark and scary figure (at least for children), motsly dressed in brown or black, he helps the Nikolaus with his duties. It is his special task however to “scare” all the bad kids. He always brings a birch which he will leave if a child was especially naughty. Sometimes, he would also put small pieces of coal inside the shoes instead of presents!

But mostly it´s an awesome tradition! In the small town where I come from, some of the older men would have organized pairs who played Nikolais and Knecht Ruorecht and would actually visit our house. Until I was 5 or so I would still believe he was real and boy was I nervous every year! :) But fortunatly I would always get a present rather than coal!

You possibly ask yourself why I´m telling you this now, I be assured, it has a reason! It´s already getting dar here in Germany and all of my readers have been very good this year, so I come bearing gifts! I might ni have a beard and a red costume, but I believe you will like them!

Three of you of will receive a book today! YAY!

The winner of my “I got money who wants books” giveaway is…

 

Robin K (Intense Whisper)

 

Then, we have one lucky reader who will win a copy of Christina Henry´s “Black Wings”. The prize goes to…

 

 

Brooke!!!

 

 

 

 

 

And last but definetly not least, the winner of a copy of Gini Koch´s long expected “Alien Tango” is…….

 

 

Kelly!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Congrats to the lucky three and thank you so much to everyone for entering!

All winners were drawn with help of random.org. I´ve sent mails out to notify them as usual and they have 2 days to contact me. If I don´t hear back from them, I´ll choose another winner.

As soon as I receive the mailing address via email, I´ll place the order for the respective book!

Sad that you didn´t win? Maybe you should try and come back tomorrow, there´s another surprise giveaway then! :)

Review: “Touched by an Alien”

Author: Gini Koch

Title: Touched by an Alien

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: April 6th 2010 by DAW

How can a sexy marketing manager join forces with an Alpha Centauri male in Armani to save the planet-using hairspray, a Mont Blanc pen, and rock n' roll?
Easy...
She's Touched by an Alien
Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.
In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the "agency" to perform crowd control. He's Kitty's kind of guy, no matter what planet he's from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

I´ve read a lot of good reviews about this book and when I saw the amazing cover by Dan Dos Santos (once again), I just had to have it.

Let me tell you, it´s been a long time since I had so much fun with a book, right from the beginning, when we meet Kathrine “Kitty” Katt who wields a mean Mont Blanc pen. Gini Koch creates a world that is not only filled with super sexy aliens (one like Martini could kidnap me anytime in a grey limo) but also with so much wit, charm and orginality that there´s not one dull moment. Throughout the book, I had to laugh, smile, giggle and grin practically constantly. You stumble from one absurd yet highly entertaining situation into another. And did I mention that Kitty´s MO tends to be rather unusual? :)

The cast of characters is also a whole new league. While you sometimes really begin to ask yourself if Kitty really is insane (going after Alien with hairspray? not my first choice of weapon!), she is also refreshingly normal. She gets lost in the science center, has issues with her over-protective family and is jealouse when she meets all the equally beautiful femal alien. Kitty is definetly a girl after my heart! At first I was afraid that I would be annoyed by Martini´s behaviour, but I guess his alien charm even works through the book – I couldn´t help but like him. Add to the mix a family that is so familiar in their adorable weirdness, pets who save the day and one big fat fugly (I leave it to you to find out about that one) and your in for an all-night read.

I can recommend this book to all of you if you´re looking for something different, something that stands out from the mass of vampires, werewolves and shapeshifters, something funny, witty and sexy, then Touched by an Alien is just the book for you.

But be careful, these aliens are highly addictive! :) With this amazing debut, Gini Koch goes straight to the top of my list of favorite authors!

5 points straight for Touched by an Alien!

To stalk Gini Koch, and go and visit her blog. And did you notice the awesome countdown widgets on my sidebar (Thaks to Larissa for those!)? They definetly make waiting for the release of Alien Tango in December easier!