Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Just Because It's Cute....Cookie The Penguin

Fillers

Greetings, blogsters. Hope you had a great weekend. Last week we talked about filters this week: fillers. Fillers are words that take up space without necessarily adding to the story. Sometimes you need them sometimes you don't. Rule of thumb: if it's necessary to the meaning of the sentence leave it in, if not take it out. There's all kinds of fillers.At the head of my list is that. When I was doing a word check on my manuscript I found I'd used really 38 times, while 32, had 75, and that...over 500. Even when I cut it I still had 400 left. Do you find there's a word that shows up frequently in your manuscripts? Is it a filler?
Below are some examples of fillers and when you can do without them.

June said THAT she was sick.
June said she was sick.

It's not REALLY your secret to share.
It's not your secret to share.

SO are you going out with me on the boat?
Are you going out with me on the boat?

I muster what LITTLE patience I have left.
I muster what patience I have left.

WHICH to be perfectly honest, spending time with you doesn't help.
To be perfectly honest, spending time with you doesn't help.


His craggy features harden AND the hand on his iced tea glass tightens.
His craggy features harden. The hand on his iced tea glass tightens.

You can go BUT call me when you get there.
You can go. Call me when you get there.

He grabs me BY the shoulder and yanks.
He grabs my shoulder and yanks.


That's ABOUT as clear as I can make it.
That's as clear as I can make it.

I go straight down FOR several feet
I go straight down several feet.

Why can't he JUST leave me alone?
Why can't he leave me alone?

It's The Weekend

WooHoo, It's The Weekend and Five O'Clock Somewhere.

To enter the Mom's Day Contest, just click on Contest on the right sidebar and enter the rafflecopter.

Thursday's Quote and My News

It's about time for more Doc Ford quotes.

'I can tolerate pompous a_ _ holes in short doses. Fakes and pretenders are a different story.' ~*~From Randy Wayne White's EVERGLADES
and...
'I'd rather be precisely wrong than approximately right about almost anything'.
~*~From Randy Wayne White's EVERGLADES

And here's my news: I'm very pleased to mention that I have a contract with Lyrical Press.
What about you? What's newsworthy in your world?

SBB: Kiss The Enemy

BLURB:

Her only hope is in the hands of her enemy.

Slye Temp operative Margaux Duke is chasing an international terrorist who murdered the last of her family. But her plans go up in smoke when her agency is in the crosshairs of the dangerous killer, forcing her to turn rogue to protect the only family she has left - her team. This is no time to get involved, especially with an enemy who steps between her and the terrorist she has to stop.

Logan Baklanov has been known by many names in the underbelly of international terrorism and will do whatever it takes to shield those he loves from the treacherous world he lives in. When his brother’s life is in jeopardy, Logan takes on a role that places him at the top of the most-wanted lists of government security agencies in every country. He accepts the no-win situation, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice until a long legged beauty draws the attention of his deadly target and screws Logan’s carefully planned mission.

Margaux and Logan must join forces in a dangerous game to save a major city from a powerful psychopath, but their ruse escalates out of control when the heat smoldering between them threatens to explode.

EXCERPT:

Margaux gazed around the elegant room, taking in the mundane, wealthy men shopping for an expensive party girl for the night. All of the clients here were middle aged and ordinary.

On the other hand, Dragan’s bodyguard was anything but uninteresting.

He stood off to her right, with Secret-Service-looking eyewear and a coal-black designer suit that had to be custom-tailored to fit shoulders as wide as his.

That was one big man.

Just her flavor, if she had any interest in a taste.

Surprisingly, he still managed to blend into the shadows, motionless as a tiger waiting for his dinner to stroll by. Power rolled off him in silent waves. She couldn’t tell much about his face with that thick, but neat, black beard and his eyes hidden.

Handsome was too simple a word to describe him, too civilized. Like admiring a wolf for its lush coat or a shark for its grace in the water, a woman would find this man attractive in a deadly way.

A woman who enjoyed playing with fire or dancing with lightning.

A woman who was a fool. 

Nothing about that man invited sexual banter, which she found even more appealing. No, he was not one to play with and that presented a problem.

Because right now she had to get to Dragan and that bodyguard was her only route.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

New York Times bestseller Dianna Love once dangled over a hundred feet in the air to create unusual marketing projects for Fortune 500 companies. She now writes high-octane romantic suspense, thrillers and urban fantasy. Her new Slye Temp romantic suspense series launched its first four books in 2013 to rave reviews and more will follow in 2014. Her books are available in print and ebook.  On the rare days she’s not in her writing cave, Dianna enjoys touring the country on her BMW motorcycle. She lives in the Atlanta, GA area with her motorcycle-instructor husband and a tank full of unruly saltwater critters. Read excerpts of her books at www.authordiannalove.com or join her Dianna Love Street Team on Facebook and get in on the fun!

Links

Website---- https://www.authordiannalove.com

Street team ---- https://www.facebook.com/groups/456015887852513/

Like her on Facebook at--- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dianna-Love-Fan-Page/144494875593699

Follow her on Twitter at -- https://twitter.com/diannalove

Buy Links for KISS THE ENEMY:

Amazon Kindle--  http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Enemy-Slye-Temp-ebook/dp/B00FZ0YGI2/ref=la_B001HMUWBC_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382305603&sr=1-18

Nook--  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kiss-the-enemy-dianna-love/1117191697?ean=2940148678243&isbn=2940148678243

Kobo—http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/kiss-the-enemy/huP1vBESdEC7Je-9gUUWDQ?MixID=huP1vBESdEC7Je-9gUUWDQ&PageNumber=1

iTunes—  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id728889359

Google Books--  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Dianna_Love_KISS_THE_ENEMY?id=hi_EAgAAQBAJ&hl=en

For other buy links, to read an excerpt, or to purchase an autographed copy, visit  the KISS THE ENEMY page on Dianna’s website:  http://www.authordiannalove.com/bookshelf/77/kiss-the-enemy---book-4

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e4be886/

Dianna will be awarding EITHER the ebook box set of the first 3 Slye Temp OR a signed copy of ONE of the first 4 Slye Temp books. (Print Books are Continental US Only - Amazon/iTunes/Nook ebook equivalent for international) to one randomly drawn commenter at each stop during the tour, and a GRAND PRIZE of Signed copies of all 4 Slye Temp books – LAST CHANCE TO RUN, NOWHERE SAFE, HONEYMOON TO DIE FOR – plus a MONOGRAMMED SLING BACKPACK, and swag pack of surprise goodies. (Continental US only for print books - Amazon/iTunes/Nook 3 ebook box set for international) will be awarded to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Tour dates can be found:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/virtual-super-book-blast-kiss-enemy-by.html

Tuesday's Chuckle And Little Miss E's Easter Bonnet

And In Her Easter Bonnet. Is that not the cutest thing?

Filters

Good Monday morning. Was the Easter Bunny good to you? He/she better have been or we'll hold an election and get a new Easter Bunny for 2015.

The topic for today, boys and girls, is filtering, a big no-no in deep POV.   Filter's are words at the beginning of the sentence that describe the character's thoughts in narrative fashion. These bad boys are guilty of diluting the reading experience. Raise your hands if you use filters. I admit I'm guilty.

Examples:

With Filter: I  thought it was supposed to rain.

Without Filter: It was supposed to rain.

With Filter:I  felt it was the right thing to do.
Without Filter: It was the right thing to do.

With Filter: I heard the phone ring.
Without Filter: The phone rang.

With Filter: I saw the guard at the gate.
Without Filter: The guard stood at the gate.

I'm currently on a de-filtering (This word came from the Cox Dictionary by the way)  project. Some of the filters are easy-smeasy to remove. Others not so much. What about you? Have you ran across any filtering problems you'd care to share?

Happy Easter

 

To my blogster buds: May your baskets be filled with chocolate and your Easter blessed. If you're traveling, stay safe. 

BB: A Baby For Easter

BLURB:

Alice Grantham lost her fiancé and her job, so she’s had to come home to Willow Park to live with her parents. To recover some sense of independence and security, she’s cobbled together different part-time jobs, including one as assistant to the pastor of her hometown church. Nothing seems to be going right for her. Even Micah, the pastor’s brother and the first boy she ever loved, is standoffish with her now.

Micah has always been a prodigal son, but now he’s trying to put that lifestyle behind him. Then a five-month-old daughter he never knew existed is dropped on his doorstep, the result of one of his many one-night stands. He needs help from Alice to care for his daughter, but he can’t let himself hope for anything more from her than that. He can’t help but want it, though…

EXCERPT:

Now, however, Alice was regretting her random impulse to put on a skirt that morning, since she was on her knees in front of the bookshelves, putting the last of the commentaries back in place.

At least no one was around to see her undignified position, with her skirt pushed up to her thighs to give herself freedom to move.

“Daniel,” a voice came from outside the office. “Daniel!”

She recognized the voice, but he was in the office before she could move or pull down her skirt. She froze as she looked over her shoulder, befuddled by Micah’s sudden appearance.

He seemed equally startled to discover her on the floor, after his eyes scanned the room for his absent brother. “Oh,” he said, standing in the doorway.

It took her a minute to pull herself together, but when she did she managed to smile. “He went to the hospital to see Mrs. Cooper.”

“Oh.” Micah was such a self-assured man that it was strange to see him so stumped.

Then there was a different sound in the office. It took Alice a few seconds to even identify it. It was so unexpected that she was sure it wasn’t right.

It sounded like a baby whimpering.

Finally, her eyes drifted down to something Micah was holding. A baby carrier. A baby carrier.

“Is that a baby?” she asked, her voice hoarse with surprise.

He looked down at the carrier as if he’d forgotten he held it. “Yeah.”

She scrambled to her feet, rather clumsily, and hurried over to look at the baby as he set the carrier on Daniel’s desk, right on top of the printed copy of sermon notes for Sunday.

She peered into the carrier and saw the baby—maybe four or five months old—wearing a pink sleeper. Her eyes were blue and grumpy, and her whimpers were quickly turning louder.

Instinctively, Alice reached out for the girl and pulled her up to rest against her shoulder, patting her back in a comforting manner.

Alice had always liked kids. She’d never had baby-fever, but she certainly knew what to do when one was starting to cry.

“What are you doing with her?” she asked Micah, who’d been staring at the baby with that same glazed look of bewilderment.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Well, whose is she?” Surely this baby hadn’t dropped from the sky into the back of Micah’s truck.

His features twisted slightly—maybe anxiety, maybe disbelief. “That’s the thing. I think…I think she’s mine.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

Social Media:

Website: http://noelle-adams.com/Home_Page.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoelleAdamsAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoelleAdams3

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572847.Noelle_Adams

Book Trailer for A Baby for Easter:

http://youtu.be/HkL8asd5StU

Buy links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

All Romance Ebooks

A Baby for Easter will be offered at a special release price of $.99 through Easter day! Regularly priced at $2.99.

*One winner will receive a $25 GC to Amazon or BN

* Two winners will receive signed paperbacks of Married for Christmas and A Baby for Easter

* Ten winners will receive their choice of ebook of any title from Noelle’s backlist.

To follow the tour:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/sbb-baby-for-easter-by-noelle-adams.html

Seeing Spots

Remember this one?

Mother's Day Contest

This contest is for all the moms out there and will be running through Mother's Day. The giveaway: a copy of Akasha--a book about a little calico cat who is the quintessential mother--and a multi-colored ceramic paws bracelet. To enter: just go to PAGES on the right, click on contest and enter the rafflecopter.

 

 

Short Excerpt:

Akasha raised her pretty calico head and sniffed the air. Something about the brooding stillness didn’t feel right. There was too much electricity in the heavy atmosphere. The cat peeped out the cubby hole in the boathouse, where she made her home, and looked at a sky turned black with storm clouds. The waves of the lake lifted and hit against the shore with a sharp slap that made her flinch. Thunder rumbled. In the distance, a bolt of lightning cut through the dark and hurled a sizzling blaze of light to the ground.

“Mamma, I’m scared.” A tiny replica of herself, down to the gold spot on her chin and black splotch on her right shoulder, peeped at her from the top of an old wooden fishing boat that rested upright on a flat webbing rack supported by eye-hooks.
“Don’t worry, Cairo. Mamma’s here. Mamma will take care of you.” Akasha purred. Her first litter and she was so proud. She’d never known kittens that were as smart or as cute as her little five-week old darlings. She’d had no idea how it would feel to be a mom. That nothing in the world would ever matter as much as these three balls of fluff. She would lay down her life to keep them safe.

And for the non-moms:)
On the same page is a goodreads giveaway of Akasha.  

Smelly Cat

Greetings. How was your weekend?
Did you see the story about the poor kitty that lived in a park for a year before he was taken into rescue, then adopted and returned two days later because he passed too much gas? Lucky for the little guy he was adopted out pretty quickly after he was returned.  Good thing you can't do that with people or there'd be a lot kicked to the curb. Here's the link if you want to read the story.
https://shine.yahoo.com/pets/smelly-cat-returned-parents-claim-farts-time-194900289.html

Happy Friday

Hmm, do you think that's true? Regardless...Have the best weekend ever.

Easter Eggs...Lots Of Them

Isn't this amazing? 
Mr. Volker Kraft, from Saaalfeld Germany hung 10,000 colored eggs in his apple tree this week.My idea of decorating for Easter is to toss a bunny face on my scrawny, stuffed alley cat I keep at work:)
He's motion activated. When he was younger he used to screech out: 'I'm nothing but an alley cat.' Over the years he has developed laryngitis so now he only arches his back and his eyes glow when someone walks by.