YAY!

It's a three day weekend....

A Man's Midlife Crisis

AFTER  BEING MARRIED FOR 44 YEARS, I TOOK A

CAREFUL  LOOK AT MY WIFE ONE  DAY  AND SAID,

"Darling, 44 YEARS AGO WE HAD A CHEAP APARTMENT,

A CHEAP  CAR,  SLEPT ON A SOFA BED AND WATCHED

A 10-INCH BLACK  AND WHITE TV, BUT I GOT  TO SLEEP

EVERY NIGHT WITH A HOT 25-YEAR-OLD  GIRL.  

NOW I HAVE A $500,000.00 HOME, A $45,000.00 CAR,

NICE BIG BED AND PLASMA SCREEN TV, BUT I'M SLEEPING

WITH A 65-YEAR-OLD WOMAN.  IT SEEMS TO ME THAT

YOU'RE NOT HOLDING UP YOUR SIDE OF THINGS."



MY WIFE IS A VERY REASONABLE WOMAN.  SHE TOLD

ME TO GO OUT AND FIND A HOT 25-YEAR-OLD GAL,

AND SHE WOULD MAKE SURE THAT I WOULD ONCE

AGAIN BE LIVING IN A CHEAP APARTMENT, DRIVING

A CHEAP CAR, SLEEPING ON A SOFA BED AND WATCHING

A 10-INCH BLACK AND WHITE  TV.



AREN'T OLDER WOMEN GREAT? THEY REALLY KNOW

HOW TO SOLVE YOUR MID-LIFE CRISIS.

Ma'am Versus Ms.

I grew up in the Midwest, where the polite way of addressing an adult female is 'ma'am.' Is there any female out there who likes to be called ma'am? No one I know. So when I moved to the south where most women are addressed as Ms.Insert First Name. I took to it like a misguided homing pigeon. To me its a much warmer form of address than ma'am.  When talking to other women and friends I almost always address them as Ms. Whomever. A couple of weeks ago, I was told by two different women that they hated being addressed as Ms.......fill in the blank. It makes them feel a hundred years old. Really? Ma'am makes me feel a hundred. I wonder if its a regional thing. What polite form of address do you hate?

Tuesday's Giggle

Blonde Pole Dancer

I thought this was appropriate considering the press about the 'Gentlemen's Clubs' gearing up for the Republican Party Convention.  Tee Hee.

~*~

On a more serious note, I trust that all our Florida friends stay safe.

Sunday is Cat Day At Night Writers

I'm blogging today on Havana Browns at Nightwriters, http://sevennightwriters.blogspot.com. 
If you're in the vicinity stop by and say, hey.
 ~*~
Oh my gosh, just watched Gogi Grant sing Wayward Wind and The Four Coins sing Shangri-La on PBS. They've still got it.
Now how many out there know whom I'm talking about? Grin.

It's Friday, Liebster Award Day

I just received the Liebster blog award.

I just received the Liebster blog award. Thank you, Dana Davis, fellow writer and good bud.
http://danadaviswriting.,blogspot.com
Here's my top five picks:
1.  Hippie Chicks: http://hippiechicks68.blogspot.com/

2.  Sherry Morris: http://sherryink.blogspot.com/
3.  Shelley Munro: http://www.shelleymunro.com/
4.  Jennifer Shirk:http://jennifershirk.blogspot.com/
5. Vonnie Davis: http://vintagevonnie.blogspot.com/

These are the "original rules":

1. Thank the giver who gave the award to you and link back to their blog
2. Reveal your top five picks for blogsters and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog with your posting similiar to this

  Enjoy the weekend.

VBT Sykosa

With us today is Justin Ordonez. I asked Justin how he decided to write Sykosa. This is his response:
 

I wish I had a great story of how I eventually decided to write Sykosa, but it’s actually one that’s rather simple, be it however amusing, especially contextually. In the past, I’ve documented in several blog posts the many inspirations that brought me to write Sykosa, but I never actually sat down and explained the moment when I decided to write it. First off, you gotta understand that I knew Sykosa as a character before I knew her story, so the primary struggles I had was figuring out how I wanted to use the character and what story I wanted to tell. As I failed at different stories, one after the other, either about Sykosa fighting in some holy war, or being a hero on some space adventure, I was eventually struck by the notion that I should just write a story about Sykoss as a girl, just living her normal life, with her normal friends, going to school and doing whatever. It seemed so simple in the moment. There I was, always trying to write this prolific and profound storyline that would put the universe on a tilt, and all I really needed to do for Sykosa is write a simple story about a simple girl living a simple life.

            So I thought, “Well, that’s easy! I can do that!”

 

“Cause if there’s anything women are known for, it’s being simple!”

            I made the tragic mistake that many artists make. I thought that simple would be easy, that the lack of complexity would make something straight forward. I recently read a review of The Dark Knight Rises @ ew.com, the final chapter in the Batman series from Christopher Nolan, and in crediting the subtly of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s portrayal of police officer John Blake, noting that, “It is a far, far harder thing to do ordinary good than to steer a Batmobile.” Basically, this means that being interesting while not causing thousands of explosions around you, or not oozing sex appeal from your every pore, as it seems Anne Hathaway does so intrinsically, I don’t know who she’ll ever avoid it, is basically the hardest feat of acting there is. We go to the movie theater to get away from normal, so why the hell would we want to watch it while we’re there? We don’t. And so we come to understand why only Gordon-Levitt can truly handle a human role like John Blake, and we come to understand why writing Sykosa didn’t turn out to be easy simply because I dropped the explosions and the sex appeal from her plot.

            In actuality, she got far harder.

 “Actually, I’m simple. Justin’s just not very bright.”

            Writing Sykosa became much more about subtleties. You have to get people hooked into her everyday life. And once you start throwing out the “popcorn” element of the story, people are going to be much more critical of it, and they’re less likely to outright like it. (I’m not saying anything bad about humanity, even I love the “lizard brain” art that gets tossed at us these days). So my easy story became an incredibly complicated one, where story wasn’t driven by a bomb that’s about to blow up, or a universe that’s about to end, but by one character’s inability to empathize with another, and how the friends, families, and support groups of each character could cause secondary conflicts that soon snow-balled out of control, leading to conflicts that lacked clear resolution, and where there was so much guilty to go around, no one would dare tell the whole truth as they knew it.

BLURB:  

Sykosa (that's "sy"-as-in-"my" ko-sa) is a sixteen-year-old girl trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the life of her friends. This process is complicated by her best friend, Niko, a hyper-ambitious, type-A personality who has started to war with other girls for social supremacy of their school, a prestigious preparatory academy in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. To compensate, Sykosa has decided to fall in love with her new boyfriend, Tom, who was involved in the act of violence. Propelled by survivor guilt, an anxiety disorder, and her hunger for Tom and his charms, Sykosa attends a weekend-long, unchaperoned party at Niko's posh vacation cottage, where she will finally confront Niko on their friendship, her indecision about her friends and their involvement in the act of violence, and she will make the biggest decision of her life—whether or not she wants to lose her virginity to Tom. YA fiction for the 18+ crowd.

EXCERPT:

Everything is too complicated. It should not have to be. She goes behind the chapel. He goes behind the chapel. They make out. Simple, right? It’s not. Regardless, if even that must be complicated, then certainly the concept that she wants to go to Prom, thus he should ask her to Prom and then they should go to Prom is simple, right? It’s not. You see, he has this best friend, this confidante, this main focus, this everything—and her name is not Sykosa, but Mackenzie.

Or as you will soon find out: “M.” That’s what he calls her.

So, every day, she faces the fact that they are merely acquaintances. Two pigeons in a flock of nine hundred who dress the same, talk the same, and act the same. That’s okay. Pigeons are only pigeons because conformity is only conformity. It’s okay to be like everyone else so long as she is always herself. And that is the reason, because there is no other reason, why she makes out with this boy. Other than she likes it. Kissing is fun. She’s lying. There is another reason. Another trivial teenage doodad—when she talks to him, lame as it sounds, she feels like she is being herself.

Tom’s never understood this. He sees no issue in how she feels like a phoenix, but is only regarded as a pigeon—and not only a pigeon, but one pigeon in a flock of… Never mind, conformity sucks!

REVIEW SOUND BYTES

"… gritty, intense and definitely not a book I'll forget anytime soon! It was so differently written. I wouldn't have expected to fall in love with the writing style but I did. It practically made me get under Sykosa's skin despite getting a dose of the perspectives of the other characters and there were parts that were so lyrical." ~ On Books

"Justin Ordonez’s debut novel, Sykosa Part 1: Junior Year, disproves the old saw that youth is wasted on the young. He adroitly delves into the minds and social lives of his titular sixteen-year-old protagonist and her peers, showing that young people wrestle with tough decisions just like adults do." ~Clarion ForeWord Reviews

"Sykosa makes for some compelling reading. Older teens and adults alike will enjoy Ordoñez's tale for its humor, realism and relatable protagonist."~ Kirkus Indie Review

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Justin Ordoñez was born in Spain, raised in the mid-west, and currently lives in Seattle. He's nearly thirty years old, almost graduated from the University of Washington, and prefers to wait until TV shows come out on DVD so he can watch them in one-shot while playing iPad games. For fifteen years, he has written as a freelance writer, occasionally doing pieces as interesting as an editorial, but frequently helping to craft professional documents or assisting in the writing of recommendation letters for people who have great praise for friends or colleagues and struggle to phrase it. Sykosa is his debut novel.

LINKS:

 www.facebook.com/sykosanovel
www.twitter.com/sykosanovel
www.goodreads.com/sykosa
http://sykosa.wordpress.com/     

    

 WOW!
Justin will be giving away a $50 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter on his tour).. The tour dates: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/05/vbt-sykosa-by-justin-ordonez.html. 

 

Wedding Bell Blues

About my brother's wedding....My family and the Murphys are very tight. You know the Murphys? The ones who invented Murphy's law: Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.
The bride and groom wanted a no-muss no-fuss stress-free wedding and opted for a justice of the peace.
The big day arrived. It was to be small, family only, but folks had come in from Florida, Pennsylvania, and Missouri.
We all went to the county jail were the magistrate's office was located. I'm sure the pundits out there can find all kinds of symbolism for the location.
But seriously, what could possibly go wrong......
My brother had taken care of the paperwork in advance, signed everything he was supposed to. We were minutes away from the ceremony. He handed the paperwork to the magistrate and poof  the stress-free piece went up in smoke.
The magistrate informed him she couldn't marry them. Why, you ask. Good question. We were all asking the same thing, even after the magistrate explained.
It seemed the clerk had signed the license but hadn't dated it. Since it wasn't dated, the magistrate didn't feel she could legally marry them, even with backup documentation. Since it was a Saturday, the clerks office was closed and he couldn't go back to get it dated.
The magistrate performed the ceremony, but told him it would have to be done 'legally' at a later date.
Collective sigh.
Monday he and his fiancee went back, with my sister--who he was driving to the airport--in tow.  The  employees at the clerk's office apologized profusely, saying they'd sent licenses over before with no dates and there'd never been a problem and if someone had called the clerk she would have came in and dated it. YadaYadaYada.
After getting the paper dated, he goes back to the magistrate where he's told he'll have to wait till twelve when the magistrate who wouldn't marry him the first time will be in. Keep in mind, he still has to get my sister to the airport and himself to work. Then they tell him he's only got one witness. This is quickly rectified by asking a police officer to act as the second witness.
Once again my brother and his fiance say their vows in front of the magistrate. This time she signs the paperwork.
Hurray!
And the moral of this story: There's no such thing as a stress free wedding. What can go wrong, usually does.
But on the upside...they get to celebrate two anniversary dates for the same wedding.
What about you? Got any wedding stories to share?

VBT Shades Of The Future

Welcome, Suzanne. By the way, I love your giveaway:)  And I was especially pleased to see that you're involved with animal rescue.

Tell us, how did you come up with the idea for this book?

I’ve always had times when I could sense what might be coming. I think everyone has those moments from time to time, but most of us don’t really pay attention to them. The idea of seeing into the future is a tempting notion for many people, especially young adults curious about how their lives will unfold. However, will we always like what we see? I think not. That’s where the kernel idea for this story was born.

Then I tried to think what it would be like if a person saw something terrible in their future. What if they tried to stop it but couldn’t? I always try to take my stories one step further by asking, “What if?”

One night, after struggling with different scenarios for several days, I went to sleep and told myself to work on the plot in my dreams. That’s exactly what happened, because when I woke up I had a vivid image of my heroine and her struggles. In my dream, she met a person who told her, “No matter what circumstances life throws at you, don’t let it stop you from going where you want and accomplishing whatever you want.” After that, it was a matter of sitting down and working the story out on the computer.

Here’s the book jacket blurb:

What would you give to see the future? Would you make your dreams come true? Would you change the things you didn’t like?

Mariah Davis loves animals, running, and her hunk of a boyfriend, Kevin Creamer. Everything looks bright for her until the day she finds a pair of sunglasses that allow her to see the future.

When she glimpses a disaster looming, she tries to avoid it but fails. She has a car accident that lands her in a wheelchair, smashing her hopes for a running scholarship to the veterinary program at Ohio State University. She pushes Kevin away, thinking he’ll want to end their relationship now that she can’t walk.

Will she ever learn to trust and love again? She could search for an answer in the sunglasses. But she’s afraid what they reveal might destroy her.

Here’s a short excerpt from the first chapter:

Mariah scooted closer to the inside of the booth to read the digital display. As she slid across the red vinyl seat, something poked into her thigh.

“Hey, somebody left a pair sunglasses here.” She picked them up, rubbing her leg where the frame had made a dent in her skin.

“Those are nice,” Hayley commented between fries.

“These aren’t random sunglasses. These are Dita Aviators.” Mariah turned them over, checking the thin metal frame to make sure she hadn’t bent it. She held them up to the overhead light. The lenses were clean and unscratched. “Plus, they’re like brand new.”

“Let me see them.” Hayley took the glasses out of her friend’s hands and started to put them on.

“Give them back,” Mariah told her. “Your hands are all greasy and cheesy. Not to mention saliva-y.”

Hayley laughed and handed the aviators back across the table to Mariah. “When I have clean hands, I’ll try them on. They’ll look good on me.”

“You think? How do they look on me?” She put them on and a warm tingle of fun washed through her veins.

If you’d like to read more, you can download sample pages or buy the book from these online retailers:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Shades-Future-Honey-Creek-ebook/dp/B008L1PQ0Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342622859&sr=8-2&keywords=shades+of+the+future

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shades-of-the-future-suzanne-lilly/1112092900?ean=2940014608800

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=shades+of+the+future

Turquoise Morning Press http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/shades-of-the-future

I love connecting with readers. You can find me online at these sites:

Suzanne Lilly Website: http://www.suzannelilly.com

TeacherWriter Blog: http://www.teacherwriter.net

Suzanne Lilly Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SuzanneLillyAuthor

Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5258804.Suzanne_Lilly

Twitter: @suzannelilly http://twitter.com/suzannelilly

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Lilly/e/B006HY79IY

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115758832631616324955/posts

 

 

 

One last note:

I’d like to let your readers know I’m on tour through the month of August, and I’ll be giving one commenter a free pair of designer sunglasses from Shoebuy.com. I just can’t guarantee if they’ll show you the future. You can get the schedule of blog tour stops at http://suzannelilly.com/blog-tours/http://suzannelilly.com/blog-tours/. Also, 10% of the royalties from the sales of Shades of the Future will be donated to a pet rescue organization. Together, we can help find forever homes for pets.

Thank you so much for interviewing me on your blog today!

Suzanne Lilly is a writer at night and a teacher by day, which is why she’s known online as the TeacherWriter. Her articles and stories have appeared in numerous places online and in print. She writes light romance, young adult, and middle grade novels. When not busy with words, she enjoys swimming, hiking, reading, fine arts, and cooking. She lives in California with her family and furry friends and has yet to feel an earthquake.

You can follow her on Twitter as @suzannelilly,  visit her blog at http://www.teacherwriter.net, or her author website at http://www.suzannelilly.com.

And The Winner Is......

Drum roll please......The winner of a copy of Rose Quartz and who goes into the drawing for a $100 BN gift certificate is Caris Roane.

Hot Summer Heroes Blog Hop

Sunday is the last day to enter the drawing for a copy (if US resident) or a download of Rose Quartz. The winner will be entered into the drawing for a $100 gift card from BN. To enter: just scroll down to August 12th enter the rafflecopter and leave a comment. Good luck and enjoy the weekend.

VBT The Whole Package

Blurb:

Life has thrown childhood friends Jackie, Cheryl, and Doris a few curveballs. Widowed and broke, Jackie returns home after an extravagant life in Paris, Doris is reliant on anti-depressants, and Cheryl’s plans for a corporate take-over are replaced with walking papers. But after a drunken night sampling the delights at strip club for women, the ladies stumble upon a genius idea and decide to open up The Whole Package—the world’s first restaurant staffed exclusively by very attractive men. Armed with Jackie’s connections, Doris’ ambition, and Cheryl’s business sense the ladies set out to make their mark in the world.

Excerpt:

French is a sexy language. Except, of course, if you are standing in line at a French café and the French you hear is a nasal, drawn out, “Fat American.“ Unnecessary, especially if you are simply trying to buy a chocolate croissant to dip into the first cappuccino of the day.

Jackie - and yes, it was Jackie and not Jacqueline even though she was closing in on forty instead of the throat of the snickering girl behind her – whirled around.

“Did you just call me fat?”

A French girl stared back at her. The girl had the audacity to cock her head. A yes.

Jackie was stunned. Okay, fine – and a little hurt. Such a judgment was the last thing she expected in this cheerful neighborhood cafe with its brightly painted walls, kitschy produce art and erratically placed wildflowers. Even the French sayings on the wall, written in such careful, scrolling script were meant to inspire good cheer, not snappy little insults.

 “Well, I am not fat!” Jackie said. And this was not in French, because after two years in the country she spoke French perfectly and proving it was no longer important. “I am sexy.”

A mustached host had been writing out specials on a blackboard with squeaking chalk. At this, he paused and took a look. Jackie ran her palms over her curvy hips and considered giving a slight shimmy. The man gave a nod in agreement and went back to the specials.

The French girl sniffed. She was dressed all in black, a total cliché. She was holding a sniveling, trendy dog. Its shaky face was framed by a bejeweled collar and its droopy eyes stared, along with everyone else in the cinnamon scented café.

“Perhaps you should order something to eat,” Jackie said, pointedly eyeing the girl’s bony frame . “You’re probably just suffering from low blood sugar.”

“Casse-toi.”

Jackie’s jaw dropped. Drawing herself up to her full height of 5’3” (5’6” with her three inch pumps), Jackie said, “If you want to live off of cigarettes and red wine and ignore the delicacies your country has to offer, you go right ahead. But I would rather get chased out of Le Bon Marche by a firing squad than strut around in a body that looks like it was stolen from an eight-year-old boy.”

The French girl gasped.

“I am going to embrace my sensuality,” Jackie said. “I am going to improve upon it. And,” she stood a bit taller, “it is gonna happen with a chocolate croissant.”

Reviews:

"The friendship between the women is realistic, the characters funny, and the premise well-executed. Readers will giggle and grin from start to finish, and will surely be eager for Ellingsen's next novel."--PublishersWeekly.com

“The Whole Package is a delightfully frivolous romp. An excellent beach read, this light but enjoyable fare will have you chuckling (and likely blushing!) throughout...”--RT Reviews

About the Author:

Cynthia Ellingsen is a fiction writer and screenwriter. She lives in Lexington, KY with her husband.

Website: www.cynthiaellingsen.com

Email: cynthiaellingsen@gmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cynthiaellingsen

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CynEllingsen

Link to schedule:http://cblspromotions.blogspot.com/2012/07/scheduled-vbt-whol-package-by-cynthia.html 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hot Summer Heroes.

To enter the hot bods, er, hot summer heroes contest scroll down to Sunday's blog.

VBT Book Tours Crimson Footsteps/ Seattle Delight

Seattle Delight

By

Charlotte Stout

BLURB:  

Charly’s life was simple and uncomplicated, just like she wanted it.  Or so she thought!  One chance encounter with a devilishly handsome stranger in her local coffee shop would turn her world, and her heart, upside down.  She would be thrown into a realm of privilege and romance, and more than just a little danger.  

How will she handle the dark gorgeous man who has inserted himself into her domain?  When danger threatens those she loves, will she have the strength of heart and spirit to do whatever it takes to save them?  Share Charly’s adventures as she navigates through the quickly changing landscape that has become her life.

EXCERPT:

“Hey, watch it,” Charly said as someone bumped her table and precious drops of the caffeine laced fuel danced across the table.  She couldn’t afford to lose a microgram of caffeine. Not today – well not any day!  Considering she’d written two lines and a finished first draft of her book was due in two months, she knew she was in a world of hurt.

Charly turned to see who had been so rude.  Okay, as a romance writer it was Charly’s job to write about hunks but what she saw before her left her breathless.  Looking at her with Caribbean Sea blue eyes, copper skin, and dark hair falling in waves to the top of his shoulders was a God.

“Pardon, I am so sorry,” he said in a deep, richly accented voice bowing his head in her direction. 

His eyes – those incredible blue eyes were intently focused on Charly making her feel self-conscious.  Charly regretted that she hadn’t taken more care with her appearance this morning.  Her damp hair was a mass of unruly curls, her face devoid of makeup with the exception of a dab of lip-gloss.  Charly rested her chin in her right hand appreciating the view before her until she laid a finger on her upper lip.  Panic rose within her; she felt it and if he noticed it she would be mortified.  Damn, why hadn’t she waxed her mustache last night?   Why did women get mustaches in the first place? It’s not like we don’t have enough to worry about.  

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Charlotte lives in Arizona with her hunky husband Warren, and her spoiled Silky Terrier, Tess. Her life has been filled with serious endeavors, including earning a Master's degree, owning her own business, consulting and working in the corporate world as a human resources executive. Before penning her first novel, Charlotte had written several practical guides for business applications, not exactly steamy stuff. Luckily, she never lost sight of her dream to write a novel that would encompass her passion for gorgeous men, adventure and a love of life. Enjoy

LINKS:

Web site:  http://www.charlotteastout.com

Blog:   http://www.charlotteastout.com/blog   

Charlotte will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card to one random commenter during the tour.

CRIMSON FOOTPRINTS

By

Shewanda Pugh

BLURB:  

When an insecure, bi-racial woman begins a cloak-and-dagger love affair with a Japanese American man, she is intent on keeping her bigoted family in the dark—albeit with devastating consequences. On the night of her brother’s murder, Deena Hammond stumbles upon Takumi Tanaka, lost and on the wrong end of a .32. After rescuing him from the certain fate driving through the hood in a Porsche will bring, a sweet kind of friendship begins. A balm for her grief. Maybe, Deena likes to think, it happened the day her white mother killed her black father. Or maybe, it was always a part of them, like DNA gone bad. Whatever the case, Deena knows that her family would never approve, hell, never acknowledge her fast-growing love for Takumi. And had he never made love to her that way, in that unraveling, soul-searching sort of way, she could’ve done the same. But love’s a devil that way. So, their game begins. One where they hide what they are from everyone. Anyone. And Tak understands this—for now. After all, Deena’s career hinges on the favor of her mentor and boss, his hard-ass of a father. And the Hammond family is already stretched thin with grief. Yet, each step Deena takes toward family and career brings her closer to an acceptance she’s never had. And away from him.

  

EXCERPT: 

“I wish that I didn’t want my family’s love so bad. I wish I could be one of those people who wore leather jackets and didn’t give a damned.”

Tak shot her a look. “You’d be musty if you wore a leather jacket in this heat.”

Deena grinned. “You know what I mean.”

He shrugged. “Who doesn’t want a decent family, Dee? It’s not much to ask for.”

Tak paused to pluck a seashell from the sand. Chipped and polished by time, it shone under the glint of a fast setting sun. “I don’t know the answers,” he said. “But they seem to be in things like this,” he held up the shell.

She frowned. “I don’t follow.”

He shrugged. “Well think about it. What’s a shell? It’s just a—a hard, protective outer layer.” He hurled it in the ocean. “The same is true with family. They’re an outer layer, a protection from the world. At least that’s what they’re supposed to be.” He paused. “Think about what happens when you screw with an animal that has one of those hard shells. What does he do?”

“He goes into it.”

“Right. He retreats.” He thumbed the shell thoughtfully. “Now imagine if you were to rip the shell off a turtle and expose him. What do you think you’d find?”

Deena cringed. “Something soft and hurting.

“And dead, if not close to it. So, our hypothetical turtle, who’s able to stand our shell transplant, needs another shell, another form of protection. And so do you.” Tak handed the grooved and sand-polished subject to Deena. She looked down at it.

“So, how’ve I been surviving all this time? What’s my shell?”

Tak grinned. “Tell you what. I’ll let you know when I crack it.”

Copyright by Shewanda Pugh

Shewanda Pugh is a native of Boston’s inner city, though she now lives in sunny Miami, Florida. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Alabama A&M University and a Master’s in Writing from Nova Southeastern University. Fueled from a young age, her passion for crossing societal boundaries like race, class and culture, is the inspiration for both her cluttered bookshelf and her writing. When she’s not busy obsessing over fiction, she can be found traveling, nursing her social networking addiction or enjoying the company of loved ones.

LINKS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.ShewandaPugh

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShewandaP

Follow on Twitter: @ShewandaP

Blog: http://shewandapugh.blogspot.com/

www.shewandapugh.com


THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY ($10 Amazon GC).The tour dates: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-blurb-blitz-tour-crimson.html.

Monday

Good Monday to you. Hope your weekend was great. Bureaucracy gave my brother's wedding a hiccup but everything worked out. More on that later. Due to the wedding, relatives, and a house project, I'm behind and won't be around too much this week. Hope your work-a-day week is quick, productive and pleasant. Talk with you later.
~*~
The Hot Summer Heroes Blog Hop is in progress. Whoever wins a copy of Rose Quartz will go into the drawing for a $100 BandN gift card. Good luck. More information on the hop can be found at the links below.

Hot Summer Heroes Blog Hop

carisroane.com
bellamediamanagement.com
hdthomson.com
Enter the copter for a chance to win a copy of Rose Quartz. (Paper or PDF for US Residents, PDF for residents out of the country.) The winner will go into the draw for a $100 gift card from BandN.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Its The Weekend

Enjoy. Waste the weekend.

~*~

I'll be attending my other brother's wedding:)

Hot Pink Toenails

Have you noticed how many toenails are painted hot pink this year? The three women in the office, including myself, all had some shade of hot pink polish on the other day.
When I went to get my toenails painted in June I asked for glittering red.
Oh my, I didn't realize, I'd committed such a faux pas. To quote dictionary.com - 'A slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.'  As far as the gentleman in the shop was concerned, that was exactly what it was too. That was for the Christmas season, he informed me, taking it from me and dragging out the hot pink polish. Since I had set my mind on dark red, I dug in my heels and went for a purplish/red. This was a little better, he admitted grudgingly and let me use that color. Having had time to process the seasonal color thing, I relented this time and got hot pink.  Actually, I like it, even if my tootsies have lost their identity and joined the 'seasonal toenail polish' masses.

VBT Subversive

With us today is Rebecca Royce talking about her new release Subversive. I asked Rebecca if Rachel had a nontraditional way of killing vampires, if her vampire hunter had a different spin than the norm.

In one sense, Rachel kills vampires very traditionally.  She stakes them.  But, it’s a little bit more complicated than that.  Rachel doesn’t just fight alone (if she can avoid it) she fights with a team.  They each have a role.  So the key is that she is not by herself when she takes down the vampires. Although she has had to figure out how to beat them solo on occasion.

Also…sometimes she doesn’t win.  I think that’s a little different than most vampire hunters.

Thanks so much for having me today! 

BLURB:

Rachel Clancy has been through a lot. She’s been sent to fight vampires, lost two boyfriends—one to a vampire and one because of his daddy issues—and now she is trying to lead a secret revolution that could change Genesis, her home, forever. Her confidence is shot, her hands are shaking, and she hasn’t felt a real emotion, except for anger, in a long time.

But Rachel should never be counted out. She sees things others can’t, even if her ideas are considered downright traitorous. There is an important life for Rachel to lead in the world, even if its filed with vampires and werewolves instead of romance and flowers. Rachel has always had to fight, she’s good at it, and the evil that has stalked her hasn’t forgotten her name.

EXCERPT: (None Provided)

AUTHOR Bio and Link:

As a teenager, Rebecca Royce would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She hopes, these days, that her parents think it was well worth it.

Rebecca is the mother of three adorable boys and is fortunate to be married to her best friend. They live in northern New Jersey and try not to freeze too badly during the winter months.

She's in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and tries to use all of these elements in her writing. She's been told she's a little bloodthirsty so she hopes that when you read her work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. Rebecca loves to write series because she loves to see characters develop over time and it always makes her happy to see her favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.

In Rebecca Royce's world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.

www.rebeccaroyce.com

Rebecca will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour and a digital copy of Initiation: The Warrior Book 1 to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. 

Tour dates can be found here:  http://www.goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/05/virtual-book-tour-subversive-warrior.html