Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Serendipity

We've been house hunting for two years. In that time we've never found a house that meets all our requirements. I want: in town, walk-in closet, fireplace, screened-in porch and a laundry room. Fence preferable but that can be added. The poor hubs just wants a work bench in the garage. grin. Really doesn't seem like that extensive a list does it? But in all the time we've been looking, we haven't found a house that meets all the requirements...at least in our price range.
We went house hunting last weekend and found one that we felt with some renovations we could make work and planned to make an offer on it. Then on the way back home, I spotted a house for sale and pointed it out to our realtor and told her I'd like to see it.  She said it looked like it would be outside of our price range but she'd check on it. Turned out it was in our price range and we looked at it the next day. You remember Miracle on 34th Street, with Santa's cane in the corner? It was that sort of feeling. The realtor was a few steps ahead of us and she'd motion the hubs forward to see and make me wait until he was in the room then she'd let me come in so they could both see my expression. The first time she did this, it turned out to be a huge laundry room. Did I mention huge? Then she did it on the screened in porch, then the bedroom which had two--count them--two walk-in closets. And finally on the sun room, which wasn't even on our list. It doesn't have a fence, but it does have a work bench in the garage.Serendipity.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Karma

So I sent the HH(happy hubby) after clear garbage bags for packing bedding. He came home with black bags. Being stressed about the move, I pointed out to him at considerable length how he needed to pay attention. Twenty minutes later, he was delighted to point out I'd just fed the cats dog food. 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Tuesdays Quotes and Funnies

'I would imagine that if you could understand Morse code, a tap dancer would drive you crazy.'~Mitch Hedberg

'I know the voices in my head aren't real, but sometimes their ideas are just absolutely awesome.'~Anonymous

'If you know how many cupcakes I'm holding behind my back I'll give you both of them.'~Anonymous

'When you fall I will be there to catch you - With love, the floor' ~Anonymous

'He grabbed her hand and held it tightly and she thought, "He loves me." And He thought, "This sidewalk is icy." ~Anonymous

'In the morning I can't eat, I'm thinking of you. In the evening I can't eat, I'm thinking of you. In night I can't sleep...I'm so hungry!'~Anonymous


Monday, September 22, 2014

It's Been A Week

It's been a week boys and girls. The babies got past their illness and now have caught something else. Yup, they attend daycare. I got through my manuscript and am hoping to do one more cruise through it before I submit. We received an offer on the house. What does this mean? If everything goes as planned and if it doesn't fall through, October is going to be a hellacious month. Challenging would sound more upbeat but hellacious is more appropriate. grin. Though better hellacious than the deal falling through:) We need to find a place to live, pack, and move. And did I mention, the hh is attending a work conference and I'm scheduled for two out of state conferences next month? Ah, the joys of the fast lane. But enough about me, catch me up. What went on with you last week?

Monday, September 15, 2014

LIFE

Life...it's getting in the way of blogging.
I'm going to be out this week, blogster buds. The grands and the baby boy have been sick. Galleys were due and a manuscript is due in October. I'll be back with bells on Monday. So in the meantime, be good and if you aren't being good, don't get caught. I'll miss ya.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Release Day for Ashelyn Drake



Ashelyn Drake has two young adult novels releasing September 9th--that's today! Yes, two! The first is a YA romantic fantasy called Into the Fire.
Seventeen-year-old Cara Tillman’s life is a perfectly normal one until Logan Schmidt moves to Ashlan Falls. Cara is inexplicably drawn to him, but she’s not exactly complaining. Logan’s like no boy she’s ever met, and he brings out a side of Cara that she isn’t used to. As the two get closer, everything is nearly perfect, and Cara looks forward to the future.

But Cara isn’t a normal girl. She’s a member of a small group of people descended from the mythical phoenix bird, and her time is running out. Rebirth is nearing, which means she’ll forget her life up to this point—she’ll forget Logan and everything they mean to one another.. But that may be the least of Cara’s problems.

A phoenix hunter is on the loose, and he’s determined to put an end to the lives of people like Cara and her family, once and for all.

The second is a young adult contemporary romance called Perfect For You.
Seventeen-year-old Meg Flannigan isn’t very self-confident, but what girl would be after her sophomore-year boyfriend dumped her by making out with another girl in front of her locker? 
Now a senior, Meg catches the eye of not one, but two gorgeous guys at school. Sounds good, right? What girl wouldn't want to be in Meg's shoes? One cute boy happens to be her boyfriend, and the other? Well, he wants to be. And Meg? She's torn between Ash, the boy she's been with for nearly five months, and Noah who is pretty irresistible. 
But Meg is playing with fire. Pitting two boys against one another, even if she doesn't intend to, could end badly if she isn't careful. 
To celebrate the releases Ashelyn is giving away a SWAG pack that includes:
·         A flame pendant from Into the Fire
·         a phoenix button
·         a heart bracelet from Perfect For You
·         $5 Amazon Gift Card
You know you want to enter, so fill out the rafflecopter. Good luck!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Brynna Curry's Elemental Magic Series: Earth Enchanted



Earth Enchanted

Brynna Curry
Blurb: Writer Liv Corrigan has the worst luck with men -- her telepathy tends to make them run for the hills. When she meets widower and ex-cop Jack Roarke, she decides to keep her talent hidden. Things are looking up until their third date crashes and burns as the man who murdered Jack’s wife turns out to be after him too.
Injured, Jack retreats with Liv to his house under armed guard. But with Liv’s mysteries rapidly coming unraveled, a diamond-thief killer to stop and passion in the air, the safe house is anything but safe for their hearts!
Excerpt – contains some violence, language
No light reached here in the bowels of the city. The air was thick with the stench of garbage, smoke, and prostitution for those lovely people who didn’t care enough to rent a room.
Summer heat in northern Alabama, the thermometer had been bursting at 103 degrees by noon, made the smell walk like a living thing. Sissy passed her penlight beam over the building’s brick wall. Graffiti announced the sort of things one human being could do to another. ‘Mickey,’ Jack’s informant, always showed on the signal, but not this time. He had a gut feeling to grab his wife, turn and run as hard and fast as he could. The premonition flashed through him dark and heavy.
Copper, the raw taste of fear, slid over his tongue. Both drew, half expecting to find the informant dead, definitely to find trouble. Neck deep in a suspected smuggling ring, they’d had their share of scrapes lately.
Jack screamed at her and his dream self, though he knew she couldn’t hear him.
“Run, baby, please.”
Why? Why do I have to watch over and over again? His heart and soul cried out from the wrenching pain. Please, God, have mercy! Just let me die with her this time.
He finally felt the prickles of warning on the back of his neck. The nauseating pain spread from the base of his skull to his temples and lastly in front of his eyes. Finally able to see the threat, Jack knew, the vision came far too late. Someone was watching them, unseen from high atop the neighboring building.
“Get out, Sissy!” Jack screamed. “It’s a trap! Run!” He fired two shots in the direction of his unknown attacker.
Three shots pealed through the dark. Two pinged off the brick. She turned toward his shouted warning and barely had time to call out before the third slammed into her chest. Dazed, she clutched her breast.
Jack returned the fire instinctively, getting off another six rounds, before the gun dropped from his hand. A dark stain spread across her white silk dinner blouse. He caught her as she cried out and crumpled to the ground. He pressed his hand over hers, a futile attempt to staunch the wound.
All that blood, so much gushing out of the hole in her heart. Oh, God!
It pulsed and dripped across her hand where his ring rested on her slim finger. An hour ago, it had seemed they had a lifetime to live, love, but now they might have minutes only. Maybe not even that long. He’d seen men die, had killed before, but nothing compared to watching the woman he loved bleed to death in his arms. There wasn’t anything he could do.
“Help us! Somebody!” He rocked her back and forth gently, and dug his cellphone out of his pocket. The alley fell silent. Her attacker had accomplished his mission.
Another vision came, along with a sickening sense of loss. She would be gone before help would come. Helpless, Jack fought back the drowning tears and grief he already felt, and lied to her. “It’s going to be all right, Sissy, just hold on to me.” He stroked her hair, kissed her cheek. She shuddered in his arms as though she’d never be warm again. He dialed 9-1-1. “Detective Jackson Roarke. I need a bus at…” He rattled off the address. “Officer down, I repeat officer down. Bullet wound to the chest. Hurry, damn it!”
“Don’t lie to me. I’m as good…as dead. You see it.” Her breath hitched as blood gurgled from her throat and stained her lips.
“Catch them for me, Jack. Promise me.” She clutched his shirt, pleading.
“I will, but you’ll help me. You’ll be there to help me.”
She nodded.
He looked back toward the gaping mouth of the alley. Where were the medics? He couldn’t panic, couldn’t afford to let his mind go frantic. Maybe he was wrong and what he saw wouldn’t come to pass. When he was about to give up all hope, the screaming sirens ripped the night air. Help was here. His vision had to be wrong, born of panic instead of the gift. Serena must live.
“Almost here.” She was so cold. How could she be so cold already?
“I love…Jack…tell…Sorry.”
“Don’t say it, not now.”
“Live.” She whispered, “Just live.”
He felt Serena’s spirit leave her body before fingers left a trail of blood to mix with his tears. Her bright green eyes lost their spark, faded and then saw nothing. His vision had happened. Serena Roarke was dead.
He shook her, rocked her, begged and pleaded. He cursed God and the devil, but she was beyond him now. Jack looked down to the bright red covering the concrete, her and him. Never again, he thought. Even though he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. He tossed his shield on the ground, where their weapons lay in her pooling blood. Cradling his dead wife in his arms, Jack curled into a ball, rocked her lifeless body, and sobbed inconsolably.
Series Buy Links
About the Author:  Brynna Curry was born south of the Mason-Dixon Line. After living all over the southern states, she finally landed in North Alabama where she lives with her husband and their three children. Growing up, books fueled her dreams and imagination, ultimately becoming her salvation during the hardest times in her life.Writing is her passion, but she enjoys the fun of sharing those stories with others by reviewing books and working in publicity.
When she isn’t writing or promoting, she’s often found haunting the library for new books to read or just spending an quiet evening at home with Jackie watching old westerns on TV. Although her wizards, shifters and vampires are as real to her as anyone, she insists love is the truest magic and with it every day is another wonderful adventure.
Brynna’s Links: