Tuesday, May 31, 2011

New cover for one of my favorites....


One of my favorite books, Sleight, by Jennifer Sommersby, just got a new cover and its gorgeous! But then again, so are the words inside. As you may know, Jenn and I are both a part of Accendo Press, along with Angeline Kace, so I'm sure I sound biased when I say this book is one of my favorites, BUT -

I read this book before Accendo Press was born. Before I knew Jenn, really. And I loved it from the very first page. I am one of her biggest fans. She really is an amazing writer. Don't believe me? Download the free sample and you WILL be hooked, trust me. So I don't feel like a cheater when I say, you NEED to read this book. And the new cover is so amazing, how can you resist?

Now, I'm out the door to shop for sundresses with my mommy so I will be back later....

I'm out like an ugly chic at a beauty contest!


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Shout Outs, Contest Revision, and Summer Lovin'

First off, some shout outs are in order.

Last week, Heather over at Nightly Reading ran an awesome giveaway for Dirty Blood and the winners have just been announced. Congratulations to Cambria for being the grand prize winner!!! There will be a character named after her in Book 2, Cold Blood. And I am really excited because I love her name and its already a perfect fit for the character I have picked out for her. Also, congrats to Alicia for winning the signed paperback. Its on its way. Also, Tezza and Regina, congrats on winning an ecopy of Dirty Blood, as the runner ups. And thanks again to Heather for running an awesome contest and showing indies so much love!

Okay, real quick, an update on Race to Reviews. A couple more reviews have come in for Dirty Blood, putting the score at:
Dirty Blood - 14
Across the Galaxy - 5

So, obviously, Across the Galaxy needs some love. The reviews it has received have all been excellent and it really is a great story and unique and different from other fantasy out there right now. And here's the thing, it's only .99 on Amazon right now so go get it and read it, so you can be entered for the contest! And don't forget that tagging either title also gets you an entry, so if you don't have time to review, just click on the tags at the bottom of the screen for each book and then email me the tags you used. You can even just copy and paste them from amazon so you don't have to type them, and you're entered. Simple. Easy.

Also, in the interest of time, and the fact that humans, by nature, are impatient, I am lowering the goal from 30 reviews to 20. Which means, when we hit 20 reviews (only 6 more to go for Dirty Blood!!) on one of the titles listed above, I will draw a winner for the 5 free books (which include a paperback of Dirty Blood, and an ebook of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby). And don't forget, you'll also get an advanced copy of Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace!

Alright, so....

Now that's out of the way.

We can talk about what I can't stop thinking about....

Summer!!

It FINALLY feels like summer here. Okay well, minus the humidity, which is nice. It was 90 yesterday but there wasn't that choking humidity with it, so it felt nice. I am so excited. I love summer. I only tolerate the existence of winter for 2 reasons. Christmas. And so that I will appreciate summer MORE. Every day in summer, I get to wake up and decide: "what should I do today? the beach, the pool, or the water park?" Yeah I know, you hate me right now. It's cool.

So, the fact that it was finally warm enough to go to the pool on Saturday and to get IN the pool yesterday, is really exciting to me. Unfortunately, it also means time away from the computer, because as much as I love being a writer, and connecting with you guys every day, summer is calling and I just want to be out there...

Seriously. I've had the following song lyrics stuck in my head for like two days now...

I've got chills. They're multiplying. And I'm loo-oosing control. Cause the power you're supplying'. Its electrifyin!

And what could be more summery than Grease?!

John Trovolta in leather will ALWAYS represent summer to me.

BTW, for those of you who read my last blog post, the bird smell is finally gone thanks to apple cinnamon Air Wick, AND Herman the Worm (aka the fetus) is doing great. He's already a big'un!

Monday, May 16, 2011

The day the birds took over my microwave... and current giveaways to enter

Okay, let me just start at the beginning. The hubby and I have been aware for some time that a family of birds have made their nest just inside the little vent on the back of our house. The same vent that leads to our range vent over our oven. We know they're there and we decided to leave it until the baby birdies get big enough to fly away and then we can seal it up.

But...

I woke up Saturday morning to frantic chirping and scraping of birdy claws, right behind my microwave. It was loud. Like in the room with you kind of loud. And it didnt go away. It wasnt hard to figure out that the birdy family was STUCK. Inside my range vent.

At the time, there was nothing we could do. We had plans to help my mother move into her new house on Saturday so we told the birds to chillax and we left for the day. I was hoping they'd manage to find a way to climb out and get free while we were gone but no such luck. I got home around 9pm and still, the chirping and scraping. It was loud. Like, I was scared that if I opened my microwave or the spice cabinet above it, a bird might just fly out.

Then there was the smell. Like a sweet-sickly smell that made you want to gag and wrinkle your nose on a good day. I was the only one who could smell it, though. Now to understand the extent of the gagging it caused, you must know this: I'm pregnant. Yeah, I just slid the big news right into the middle of my bird story. We'll come back to that if you want. But the main thing to know is that my nose is like a super smeller, so no one really believed me or cared that i could smell something weird (yet again) that they couldn't detect.

Anyway, so it was gross and made me want to hurl and in the end, I just couldn't stay downstairs, so I went to bed.

Sunday, we wake up... STILL chirping and trying to scrape free. No luck. The smell is worse. Really bad. The hubby can smell it now. We have friends over. (Did i mention Saturday was my birthday?) I put lunch in the microwave to heat it and open it to find my microwave covered in bird... debris. Tiny feathers and what looks like dandruff is everywhere. Apparently came in through the vent inside my microwave. Gross. The food goes in the trash. We spring for Taco Bell.

I vow to never eat/cook anything in this kitchen again, until the hubby fixes the bird problem. They've gotta go. And I'll be outside 'til he's done because I can't take the smell.

The hubby calls his friend over from next door. They don gloves and begin to make a battle plan. The neighbors wander over. This is getting interesting. My hubby's friend, we'll call him Wingman, comes over with what looks like extra sharp pruning shears. I give him a horrified look but he says they're to help cut the access hole. Still, I'm suspicious...

The hubby says he can make a hole in the vent through the spice cabinet fairly easy but then what? I tell him to use a plastic bag to catch the birds in. Conversation goes like this:

Hubs: What should I catch them in?
Me: a plastic bag
Hubs: Then what? You just want me to leave them in the bag and beat on 'em til they're dead?
Me: NOOO!! What?!! Why would you think that?? Take the bag to the backyard and LET THEM GO!
Hubs: Ohhhh, yeah that works, too.
me: Geesh. *shakes head*

So, they man up and square their shoulders and come inside. My kids, along with their cousins and neighbor friends, all squish onto the barstools across from the cabinet, to watch. I creep just inside the front door and peer around the corner, with one foot out the door.

The hubby and his Wingman begin. They peel the hole open. Beaks are visible. There are SIX birds!!

One by one, they reach down and grab birds and shove them into a plastic bag. The bag is handed off to the Wingman, and taken out back and let go. But then...

The last bird gets feisty. Before the hubby can snag it, it makes a break for it and soars across the living room, and perches on my MP3, above the fireplace.

Pandemonium ensues.

Kids scream. I scream.

Kids beeline for a door. I beeline for a door.

People pour out of my house. Some are laughing. Some are crying. Through the open front door I can see my husband chasing the bird around the house. I see it fly by and perch on the railing at the top of the stairs.

Someone closes the door in their panic.

The hubby reopens it. "We need the doors open if we want to chase it out," he says. Oh yeah, duh. Okay. We leave the door open and back up into the yard to stay clear of any sudden escape on the bird's part. Kids are pulling on my arms, wanting to be held or just be heard. They aren't even my kids. Pretty sure my son and his friend are still in the house, watching the crazy bird.

Voices drift up from the backyard. The bird is gone. Chased out the back door. Whew. It's over.

Everyone regroups in the driveaway to share the experience from their point of view. The hubby emerges and says four of the birds were young and can't fly away. They're behind the fence in our backyard, wandering around. I check it out and feel bad when I see them looking so helpless, but I know they have a way better chance at survival that way than being stuck in my oven vent...

The panic dies down. Everyone's laughing now. Some of them are still laughing at how quick I got out the door when it happened. The kids wander back inside and when I check on them, they're playing 'Angry Birds' on the Ipod.

So that was the story of the day the birds took over my microwave. Now, real quick, there's some really cool giveaways going on right now that you should know about.

Me, My Shelf, And I is hosting me for an Ebook giveaway of Dirty Blood. Just fill out the form on her site to be entered.

Rachel at The Rest is Still Unwritten is doing an ebook giveaway as well.

Both are running through the end of May, I think. Be sure to stop over and enter.

Oh and be sure to stop by Angeline Kace's blog and read chapter one of Descended by Blood, due out this summer. Its going to be awesome! Be sure to leave a comment and let her know what you think.

Monday, May 9, 2011

I'm stylish... apparently.

Monday hurts.... that's what my 8 year old told me on the way to school today. I'm not a fan of Mondays either, so I didn't argue with her.

But then I sat down at my computer and got caught up on all the stuff I missed this weekend and found this awesome award from Angeline Kace; The Stylish Blogger Award. Thanks babe!







Here's how it works:

1. Thank and link the person who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award on to five new-found blogging buddies.
4. Contact the winners to congratulate them.


So... Randomness about Heather:

#1.  I was homeschooled for all of high school. I went to public school up til 8th grade and then my parents decided I was influenced by bad friends (they were right, hehe) and pulled me out for high school. My mom had her teaching degree so the state didn't hover or look over our shoulder; they basically let her make the lesson plans and do whatever and only checked on us through a state mandated test (like an SOL) once a year. It was fun because I had way more say in what we learned and there was a lot more field trips (marine science museum for science and even the grocery store for home ec.) But I missed out on the social aspects of being in school with friends all day. I ended up at prom at my best friend's high school, so I at least didnt miss out on that.

#2 I was nicknamed "Gazelle" by my basketball coach in high school. (I played on a church-sponsored team and we were dangerously agressive and serious about it, considering we were supposed to be playing for Jesus and all... ) Not sure if that is good or bad, but it was something about how I ran. At least I wasn't the girl nicknamed 'Amazon'.

#3  The first 'smut' I ever read was Julie and the Wolves, in middle school. (Its middle grade YA fiction) There's a part where Julie's husband forces himself on her and I re-read it like twenty times because it was my first sexual encounter in a novel and it was dirty and provocative and exciting all at once. I never told my mom about that chapter, either.

#4  I'm deathly afraid of slugs. When I was like four, my mom says, I put a slug in my mouth and tried eating it. I throw up a little bit in my mouth just typing that or thinking about it, even though I don't remember it at all. Probably because people tend to block out traumatic experiences. *shudders* I assume this is where my phobia comes from, but its serious. I can't even look at one. And heaven forbid I find one in my house! I did, when we first moved in. There was a peice of molding that wasn't sealed near the front door and one got in and I cried while I salted it. Then I cried and threw up when I had to pick it up with approx. eighteen layers of paper towels between my hands and its body, and threw it out. (I couldn't flush it because then I'm worry it would resurface and come back and get me!)

#5  My dream vacation would be to Washington state. The thing that captivated me most about Twilight was the scenery. Any time I see pictures of  Washington, I feel a pull. There's always been something magical about woods to me, like any sort of storybook magic is possible when you're alone in the woods. And something about the particular shade of green there pulls at me. Its magic.

#6  My favorite pet when I was a kid was my llama: Dolly. She was awesome and I used to put a leash on her and walk her around the yard like a dog. She broke her leg one day when she got spooked by a car and wrapped her leg around her cord she was tethered with. She had to be put down.

#7  I love the movie 'Little Rascals', and being that I'm on number 7, all I have left to say is: "try eight"

That wraps up the randomness on my end. Now its time to pass the award on so I'm going to show some love to my book bloggers, you guys are awesome AND stylish!

Shana at A Book Vacation
Katrina over at Page Flipperz
Stephanie at Book Love Blog
Misty at The Top Shelf
Heather at Nightly Reading





Friday, May 6, 2011

moving on from Wentworth Miller...

Oh my goodness. I just heard some horrible news and I needed to share it with someone who would grieve with me. (This means you). Wentworth Miller, from Prison Break, is gay. This can't be. He's been my digital boyfriend for years now. (Yes, my husband knows.) This sucks. Now we have to break up.

I know, calm down. You're just as shocked and upset as I am.

I actually found out about it a couple of days ago but I didn't want to believe it when Angeline told me, so I chose denial. I finally googled it this morning.(because Google knows everything) Apparently, he's still maintaining that he's straight, even though he's had like zillions of pictures taken with Luke McFarlane who IS out of the closet... I just can't believe it. I watched Prison Break from the beginning and I never even suspected. I loved that show. Everyone knew that was my sh*t. Sigh.

I guess I'll have to pull myself together. I still have Christian Bale, right?

Thanks for being there for me. Since you're here, I'll fill you in on a couple things.

First, I've got TWO giveaways going on right now. We still have Race to Reviews going (score is Dirty Blood - 8, Across The Galaxy - 6) but I am also doing a giveaway on Goodreads, one for each title.

If you want to enter those, you can click here for Dirty Blood and here for Across The Galaxy. The contests run til June 5th so don't forget to go enter. All it takes is one click and you're in there like swimwear.

Also, Soulkeepers author, GP Ching, is running a contest on Twitter. When she reaches 1000 followers, she will be giving away a free eBook. The thing is, the winner gets to pick the book! How cool is that?! She will have a list of a bunch of titles available from various authors, and the winner can choose which book they want to receive. That would be a really hard choice for me. There's alot of great books on that list. Dirty Blood is on there, too, but I wouldn't be hurt if you didn't pick it. Mainly because that means you would just go out and BUY Dirty Blood instead. =) Anyway check her out and see what books she has to offer. Its a cool idea for a contest.

Oh and one other thing. Dirty Blood is now available in paperback!! Yay! You can go here and order from Create Space, which is powered by Amazon.(it will appear directly on amazon.com very soon) OR you can order through my blog and it will be signed for the same price. <grin> so excited!! It looks beautiful in print!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Some things worthy of mentioning... and other stuff

This week has been miserable and wonderful all at once.

Miserable because I've been ill <--- perfect word for the all around nastiness I feel which kept me on the couch for most of the week. Boo!!

But wonderful because of all the nice things people are saying about Dirty Blood. Katrina over at Page Flipperz has the most recent review, I think, which was not only a super awesome review, but ALSO got her entered into my Race to Reviews giveaway. =)

Speaking of.. Let's update those numbers, shall we?

Across the Galaxy reviews/entries  - 6
Dirty Blood reviews/entries - 5

*Don't forget: if you 'tag' either book on Amazon, you get an entry for that too, but you MUST email me with what tags you used so I know to enter you for it.

Oh and another thing that must be said: Congratulations to A Book Vacation for winning the Dirty Blood giveaway this week over at the Bookish Babes. Enjoy ;)

Whew. Okay I'm actually sort of tired of talking about myself (or, more accurately, my book). Who ever thought I would say that? haha.

I'm sure I'll recharge and be back at it again later, fully amped to talk about and promote myself and my masterpeice, but for now, I need to take a break by thinking about something totally random and having nothing to do with me. I just read Water for Elephants which was brilliant but I can't talk about that because that sentence had the word 'I' in it so nevermind.

Oh, but that brings Robert Pattinson to mind, since he is in the movie. I could definitely sit and talk about him, as he's gorgeous and yummy and ... yeah you don't want to sit and listen to me though. It gets sappier and sappier. I'll just take a moment to myself. <pause. deep breath> Okay, I'm good now.

Actually, if I'm honest, there is an actor I love more than Rob. Its an affair that has been around since I was like twelve (yeah, I'm good at commitment) and I've never wavered in my devotion. CHRISTIAN BALE. Oh wow, he's just... Even when he was crazy in American Psycho. I usually can't watch movies like that (scaredy cat) but I watched that one, just to support him. I'm sure it meant alot to him that I did that.

It all started with a movie called Newsies and if you've never heard of it, then sadly, you have no idea that Christian can sing and dance - and you're missing out!! He was romantical and handsome and a bad boy and sweet all at once and I just couldn't help myself. (I was twelve!!) I think that was the beginning of my love for bad boys.

Oh and if you're wondering, yes, my husband knows about this. He's okay with it. He's still got a thing for Olivia Newton John so he can't say much.

So. I'm curious now... Who is your favorite male actor?