It's April and I Love You Guys Giveaway!

I meant to put this up earlier this month, but life sure gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it?  I won't go on about it, but I'm glad this 'death' spell is over!  So, let's celebrate!  Last month I gave away a bunch of goodies that made the winner smell the same way I smelled when I posted the contest. This month, I'm giving you the same thing I'm drinking!

I was never a big coffee drinker until I discovered Folgers Carmel Drizzle.  Seriously, the smell alone is divine!  I'll drink other coffee now, but it's my 'go to' coffee.  I love it!  It's great for calming down or waking up or just for drinking something with a hint of sweetness.  It makes you feel like you're being all naughty and all good at the same time.  No, this isn't a commercial for Folgers and I haven't even told the Folgers people how much I love their coffee. I probably should at some point. I believe in giving credit where credit is due :)

Anyway, I'm quite the digressor tonight!  So, this month, one lucky Literary Litter Follower will win a package of coffee!  I'll draw the winner on May 1st.  So, how do you win?  If you follow Literary Litter here or Facebook, you're already entered to win.  If you 'like' the Facebook message talking about this month's fan follower giveaway, you'll get another entry.  Sharing it is another entry.  Clicking here will take you right to our Facebook page.

Good luck, guys!  Thanks for being such a great part of my life :)

I Have Three Things to Tell You My Friend by RM DAmato

In 2033, every senior citizen is offered a second chance and a second career. At 65, John Sinclair, a life-long teacher, faces two choices—a second career or permanent retirement and early death. The state will pay for his genetic rehabilitation, university education, and an extended life span of 160 years. It’s guaranteed! All Sinclair has to do is to mentor his young apprentice, commit to a new career, and avoid any dealings with a daft and spiteful school janitor, Fernando Smith. Like all incredible offers, Sinclair’s new career comes with a toxic price tag. The question is—is he willing to pay? (taken from the back of the book)

This is DAmato's second book.   The first, The Last Seminarian, was released last year and he's currently working on a book of poetry to be published this fall.

Though I loved the premise of this story, I wasn't as fulfilled as I'd hoped to be.  Most of the characters are lackluster and lifeless.  To be honest, I didn't care for any of the main characters.  A little depth would have gone a long way.  Although we know a lot about them, we don't really get to know any of them, except the janitor and his love, Helen. While reading, I kept trying to figure out why the book wasn't written about them.  I figured out the reasoning, eventually, but it really bothered me.  It felt like these wonderful characters were created and then a science fiction story was set up to go around their 5 seconds of fame.  

As for the story itself, if you don't read the back cover and know what's going on before you begin, you could have some small issues. The timeline kept throwing me off.  I think the  main reason for that is that it actually begins in the past and goes through into the year 2033. It's difficult to be in 'the now' and see how that fits into a futuristic story.  

What I loved most about this story is that I'm not told everything.  It took me the entire book to find out what the 'three things' are. Though I wanted more depth to the characters, the amount of information handed to me about the story line was perfectly handled. I had to think, but I wasn't left with unanswered questions.  

What could have been an intense character study turned out to be a decently entertaining read. It's mostly easy to follow and will keep your mind busy while you're in Damato's world.  Everyone should be able to identify with at least one of the characters.  It is an excellent look at what could be in the future. Though it's definitely different than the world we currently live in,  it has a plausible ring to it and forces you to realize the possibilities.

Pine Brothers Softish Throat Drops

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Pine Brothers is made in America and was established in 1870.  They produce soothing throat drops.  Their flavors currently include Natural Honey, Wild Cherry, and Licorce.  Sometime with the next two years they plan to release Lemon-Citrus, which I'm looking forward to. Not only do they come in bags, but they also have neat little travel packs with a screw-on lid that are perfect for carrying in a purse or backpack.  All of the current flavors have 0 fat, 5 mg of sodium and 1 g of sugar.  This means that if you're diabetic or have high blood pressure, you don't have to worry about your throat drops interfering with your diet.

Softish is sort of a vague term.  Softish, of course, means sort of soft, but what exactly does that mean?  Imagine a partially dehydrated gummy bear.  It's chewy, but a bit more dense.  You can suck on it without having that 'hard candy clink' going on with your teeth.  If you attempt to chew them, they will stick to your teeth and/or dentures, but do not fear because it will simply melt away.

As a throat drop, these are great.  As the throat drop melts, it sends a soothing coating down your throat.  When you have that ticklish feeling or slight soreness,this will feel like a wonderful healing balm.  They'll help take away that annoying and stubborn sore throat feeling.

As for flavors, I've only tried two.  I'm not a fan of licorice, so that's scratched off my list.  The Honey Lemon has a mild flavor and is light and pleasant.  I wasn't a huge fan of the smell of those, but they were pleasant enough tasting.  The Wild Cherry has a wonderful cherry smell.  It reminds me of the smell of wild cherry cigars.  It doesn't have an overpowering cherry taste.  It's mild but definitely  more reminiscent of actual cherries than cherry flavoring.  The nice thing about the mild flavors is that they won't cause bad breath and you can still drink your coffee or tea without having the flavor of your beverage disturbed.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Winners!!!

We had two recent giveaways end and I'm excited to announce the winners!

There were five winners drawn from the Darkness and Mac N Cheese giveaway:

David Riding
Carol Evans
Robin Nessel
Susan Meyers
Wallace Cairn

We also have one winner for our Schism and Stars giveaway:
David Riding

Looks like Mr. David Riding is having quite the lucky morning!  I'll be contacting all of you in one form or another today for addresses and information so that we can get your prizes to you as quickly as possible!

Congrats and don't forget to keep coming back for more great giveaways!

Have a beautiful day!