Wednesday, December 31, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!

There will be no Wordless Wednesday today.

WW will resume next week, January 7th!

See you next year!

(Don't you just love to say that to everyone you see on December 31st???


                             


What does "Auld Lang Syne" mean?

The title of the Scottish tune translates to “times gone by” and is about remembering friends from the past and not letting them be forgotten. Despite its strong association with New Year's Eve, “Auld Lang Syne,” written by Robert Burns in the 1700s, was never intended to be a holiday song.

Monday, December 29, 2014

MONDAY MUSINGS

Hope you each had a wonderful Christmas!

Over the Christmas break my son and I decided to re-do his bedroom.

We bought this house in 1994. I chose wallpaper borders for EVERY single room, a decision I have lived to regret!


Even though my son is now in college, and doesn't live at home anymore, he is SICK of this space border. It's an amazing border, but he has long ago outgrown it. Changing it was long overdue. He stays in this room whenever he comes  home, and it was time for an update.

So, we did it!


We taped off the top and bottom black border of the wallpaper, and painted the remaining wallpaper blue. We also painted the walls a very light gray.

And it worked!!!


I wasn't sure if painting over wallpaper would work, but in this case it did.
We are both happy with the results. Now his room doesn't feel like a kid's room anymore.

So, what did you do over Christmas break?



Friday, December 26, 2014

FRIDAY FAVORITES

Friday Favorites include my favorite images on reading or writing!
(taken from Facebook)
 Enjoy!

Hmmmm . . . this is an intriguing thought . . .



Wednesday, December 24, 2014

FOR NICK IS FREE FOR FIVE DAYS!


TO GET YOUR COPY, GO HERE!

HAPPY READING!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Congratulations to last week's WORDLESS WEDNESDAY winner: RITA!

I liked her answer entitled: 


Image courtesy of [Feelart] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

ROMANCE BOOKS ARE PAGE TURNERS

(For obvious reasons, I loved this answer!)

To view, go here.

There will be no Wordless Wednesday today or next week, but WW will resume again on January 7th. 

In the meantime, relax and enjoy the holiday season!

And please enjoy this video that reminds us of the reason we celebrate Christmas!


             

Monday, December 22, 2014

MONDAY MUSINGS

Today is the three year anniversary of losing my grandson to Trisomy 18. 

When it happened, I knew the experience would somehow translate into my writing.

I just didn't know it would turn into a full length novel.


 It took me awhile, but I was finally able to put all of my thoughts and feelings into the written word. 

After writing I'M WITH YOU, I felt expunged of my overwhelming feelings of grief. For that reason, I'm glad I wrote it.
I'm also glad I was able to spread the word about Trisomy 18, a devastating condition.
What I love the most of anything is that my grandson is forever memorialized in this book.

We visited Jerad yesterday and placed sunflowers on his grave.


We love you, Jerad, and you will never, ever be forgotten.


Friday, December 19, 2014

FRIDAY FAVORITES

Friday Favorites include my favorite images on reading or writing!
(taken from Facebook)
 Enjoy!


Wednesday, December 17, 2014

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH WINNER

Congratulations to last week's WORDLESS WEDNESDAY winner: Vidya!

I liked her answer entitled: 


Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

YOUR LOVE MEANS THE WORLD TO ME

To view, go here.

PLEASE NOTE: 

There will be NO Wordless Wednesday over the holidays; Dec. 24 and 31.
Wordless Wednesday will resume on January 7th.

Happy Holidays!

Wordless Wednesday is actually filled with words--the words, thoughts, and feelings that pictures or images evoke within each of us without uttering a single word!


Image courtesy of [Feelart] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What WORD/WORDS does this picture evoke within you?

Or, in other words, "TITLE THIS IMAGE."

I'll start: "A new chapter of love."


My favorite answer wins a $5.00 dollar Amazon gift card.
Don't forget to leave your email!

Contest is closed by Thursday at midnight and the winner will be contacted. Winner will be announced the following Wordless Wednesday.

Open only to those who can legally enter. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be emailed. If email is incorrect, a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is sponsored by Taylor Dean Books. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


Monday, December 15, 2014

MONDAY MUSINGS

This week both FOR NICK and JOSHUA'S FOLLY  will be returned to me by my ebook formatter.

FINALLY,  the book cover changes to ALL of my books will be complete!!



I can't wait to get my new manuscripts (they each received a light edit) and covers up and available!

It feels like it has taken forever! (Because it has!)

It has also felt as though I was going backwards; making changes to already published books, but the changes were necessary.

From now on my efforts can all be concentrated on my newest book, GIRL OF MINE.


That's all the news for now. I know we are all busy with the holiday season and thinking of other things right now. Me too. My son is home from college and I'm having so much fun visiting with him. 

Hope your holiday season is wonderful!

Merry Christmas!


Image courtesy of [janoon028] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For your enjoyment, one of my favorite "fun" Christmas songs . . .
(And this video just cracks me up; it's sooooo eighties!)


    

Friday, December 12, 2014

FRIDAY FAVORITES

Friday Favorites include my favorite images on reading or writing!
(taken from Facebook)
 Enjoy!



Wednesday, December 10, 2014

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH WINNER

Congratulations to last week's WORDLESS WEDNESDAY winner: Sherry!

I liked her answer entitled: 

Image courtesy of [SweetCrisis] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

YOUR LOVE SETS ME ON FIRE

To view, go here.

The answers were highly creative last week and I loved them all.
The answers were varied.
Some thought the image was a tower or a bull's eye. Some said a roll of trash bags or a punching bag. And some thought it was a candle.
I ended up choosing an answer that inferred the image was a candle.

But, in all actuality, the image is supposed to be a
BATTERY!!! It was meant to portray "LOVE POWER."

Yeah, I know. None of my batteries look like that.

But, thank you for some very clever answers!

Now . . . for this week . . .

Wordless Wednesday is actually filled with words--the words, thoughts, and feelings that pictures or images evoke within each of us without uttering a single word!



Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What WORD/WORDS does this picture evoke within you?

Or, in other words, "TITLE THIS IMAGE."

I'll start: "Worldly Love"


My favorite answer wins a $5.00 dollar Amazon gift card.
Don't forget to leave your email!

Contest is closed by Thursday at midnight and the winner will be contacted. Winner will be announced the following Wordless Wednesday.

Open only to those who can legally enter. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be emailed. If email is incorrect, a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is sponsored by Taylor Dean Books. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.






Monday, December 8, 2014

MONDAY MUSINGS--PLEASE VOTE!

I have the awesome privilege of having one of my books nominated for a SWOONY AWARD.

Some wonderful readers nominated I'M WITH YOU. 

If you feel so inclined, I would be thrilled if you'd like to vote for I'M WITH YOU.
(Pictured on the SWOONY AWARD page is the old cover for I'M WITH YOU) 


THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Read more about the SWOONY AWARDS below:




What Are the Swoony Awards?
The Swoony Awards were created to recognize excellence in clean fiction. There are so many books published every day and it can be hard to find the ones worth reading. We want to help recognize authors who write entertaining books that are wholesome. It’s our hope that each year we will help provide everyone with a great list of books to read and maybe introduce them to new authors.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
-Publication Year: Only books published during the current contest year may be nominated. To be fair to all books, contest dates will run from December 1, 2013 – November 31, 2014.
-Clean romance: No sex or closed door, low/mild innuendo. Only M/F romances.
-Language: None/mild, anything over a handful of profanity (especially the more offensive words) would not be considered clean.
-Violence: None/mild
-Other: Nothing overly dark, depressing or heavy subject matter

Novels, novellas and short stories are all eligible for nomination, no limits on page number. Any (clean) genre is eligible (i.e. contemporary, fantasy, mystery, historical, etc.).

Each voter is able to choose up to 100 books to vote on or nominate each contest year. There is no cap on the overall number of books nominated.

How Are Winners Selected?
We will be accepting entries throughout the year and the winners announced the first week in January. There are fifteen award categories (i.e. Best Novel of the Year, Best Historical, Best Contemporary, etc.). Winner’s will be announced via our blogs (Bookworm Nation, KJ’s Book Nook and Katie’s Clean Book Reviews) and through Goodreads Swoony Awards Group.

Since this is a reader’s choice award the winners are determined by a combination of the number of votes received and how high the voter rated the book and what rank the voter gave each book they voted for.

Who Are We?

Kathy 
Kathy (Bookworm Nation)
I've been hosting a book review blog, Bookworm Nation, for over five years. I love to read and review books. And of course, I love to discuss books! A few years ago I started the Goodreads group, Happily Ever After Book Club. It's through Goodreads that I met Katie, Kathy Jo and Heidi and while discussing our love of books one day we thought it'd be fun to host our own Reader's Choice award. We're excited to introduce the Swoony's this year, it's going really well and we look forward to hosting it for years to come. 
Contact Info for Kathy:
Twitter: @bookwormnation
Kathy Jo 
Kathy Jo (KJ's Book Nook)
This may come as a shocker but I have NOT always been a little bookworm. In fact growing up I was not the kid you saw jumping at the chance to read. I was the one that just did it to make my teachers happy. That silent reading time during school?! Yeah.. I was the kid napping! ;) About 12 years ago someone loaned me a book and said I just HAD to read it. I took it just to get them off my back and much to my surprise I could NOT put it down! And from then on I would read... but only that one author. I refused to read anything else! It wasn't until 2009 when 2 of my favorite people introduced me to the Twilight Series that I actually started branching out. And ever since then I haven't been able to STOP reading! ;) About 5 months ago I decided to start a book blog and I have been loving it! I get to be another voice for all the amazing authors that I love! How cool is that?! And of course through my adventures in reading I have been able to meet some amazing women who love books just as much as, if not more than, me! I love chatting with them about all the books we read! We have become such great friends that at times I forget that I've never really met them in person! Books just have a way of bringing people together! My reading choices vary... I love a lot of different genres.With that said... I am not ashamed to admit that I am a romantic and I love fluff! As long as it's clean and has a HEA, I'll definitely give it a try! Any book that gives me a break from reality and puts a smile on my face is definitely a book for me!   
Contact Info for Kathy Jo:
Email: kjsbooknook@gmail.com
Blog: kjsbooknook.blogspot.com 
Twitter: @kjincali

Katie Watkins 
Katie (Katie's Clean Book Collection)
I started blogging about a year and a half ago. I've always loved to read and talk about books--it's my obsession. The first book I learned to read on my own was Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham. I love a lot of different genres, but my favorite is clean romance, which is perfect for the Swoony's! I've had a blast meeting new friends who enjoy the same types of books that I do.

Contact Info for Katie:
Email: lilacqueen75@gmail.com
Twitter: @lilacqueen75
Blog: www.katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/katiescleanbookcollection

Heidi 
Heidi 
I'm a mother of four amazing kids and married to my own Prince Charming. I love to read, kiss my handsome Prince, bake, run (because I love to bake), ride horses, play sports, and spend time with my little family. I first fell in love with reading at a very young age because of my sweet grandmother who always took the time to read me my favorite books over and over again. She could never tell me no. My wonderful mother is also entirely addicted to reading and we love to "talk books" late into the night....and plot how we are going to buy more. :) I adore clean, happily ever after books, and I've loved getting to know so many other women who do as well. Who knew books would be the reason I would meet some of the dearest people in the world?! 
Contact Info for Heidi:
Email: curlyhide9@hotmail.com

Note to Authors:
If you’ve written a book that matches the above criteria fill free to nominate it for a Swoony! Don’t be afraid to promote the award or to let your fans know your book is up and that it needs votes. We are doing some promoting, but sometimes a Facebook, Twitter or blog post directly from the author is the best way to let your fan base know your book has been nominated. Only books with a minimum of THREE votes will be added to the official nomination list found on the Goodreads Swoony Awards group page. Winners will be announced January 2015.

To stay up to date on voting and nominations, please join our Goodreads Swoony Awards group page!

Note to Readers:
If you’ve read a book this year that you think is awesome…VOTE! This is a great way to let authors know you appreciate all that hard work. You can vote for up to 100 books on the list. We’ve also learned that the order you rank the books you vote on does affect the overall score of the book. So take a minute and make sure you have your books in the order you want them. Invite your friends to vote! Voting ends December 31, 2014.

The 2014 Swoony Awards is now accepting nominations and votes for your favorite books of the year. Polls will be open until December 31, 2014. 

Join us on Facebook and Twitter.

As a thank you for making the Swoony Awards a success,
we'd like to offer an Amazon gift card! The winner will
have 48 hours to claim the prize. Only valid
where Amazon gift cards may be used. You must
be 13 or older to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, December 5, 2014

FRIDAY FAVORITES

Friday Favorites include my favorite images on reading or writing!
(taken from Facebook)
 Enjoy!



Wednesday, December 3, 2014

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY WITH WINNER

Congratulations to last week's WORDLESS WEDNESDAY winner: Jana!

I liked her answer entitled: 

Image courtesy of [lamnee] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

PLAYING THE GAME OF LOVE

To view, go here.

Wordless Wednesday is actually filled with words--the words, thoughts, and feelings that pictures or images evoke within each of us without uttering a single word!



Image courtesy of [SweetCrisis] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What WORD/WORDS does this picture evoke within you?

Or, in other words, "TITLE THIS IMAGE."

I'll start: "Powerful Love"


My favorite answer wins a $5.00 dollar Amazon gift card.
Don't forget to leave your email!

Contest is closed by Thursday at midnight and the winner will be contacted. Winner will be announced the following Wordless Wednesday.

Open only to those who can legally enter. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be emailed. If email is incorrect, a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is sponsored by Taylor Dean Books. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.



Monday, December 1, 2014

MONDAY MUSINGS

Hope your Thanksgiving was WONDERFUL!

We spent the holiday with my daughter and her family in Dallas. My son was also able to drive up from college and join us. 



I even got to feed my grandson his first Thanksgiving roll!




Pictured below is the "after-Thanksgiving-my-stomach-hurts" crash landing . . .
(Even the dog was stuffed!)


We had a great time together!

Tell me about your Thanksgiving!