Happy Monday Everyone, On March 1, 2011 Laura Childs will release book #12 in her Tea Shop Mystery series, Scones & Bones . As a fan of Theodosia, Indigo Tea Shop, and Laura's portrayal of the Historical District of Charleston, I can tell you, Scones& Bones can hold its head high among it’s predecessors in the series, not only that, but it could be one of the best ones in the series. Laura has managed to make Theodosia look very human in Scones & Bones (complete with flaws, internal conflict, and a sense of heroism--she's had these traits in the other books in the series, but I really felt it in this one). The other very delightful thing, is that fans of the series will be glad to note that Theodosia is finally moving into her little English style cottage (and the descriptions are great!) Her dog, Earl Gray, seems to be right at home in the cottage, as well. Unfortunately, what isn’t at home is the skull cup of Blackbeard the Pirate, which goes mis...

Hello Everyone, Yesterday's Win The Shadows! Contest was a great success. Thank you to all who entered and supported Kim Lenox. Congratulations go to the winner, Sheree! Sheree has been notified by email and will receive her inscribed copies of the Shadow Guards series soon. Thank you everyone! I'll have a new post on Monday--which you won't want to miss...it's book review day :-) Have A Wondrous Weekend!

Happy Friday All, ******CONTEST IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED********* Finally, the day has arrived. The grand give away of Kim Lenox's amazing Shadow Guards Series: Night Falls Darkly , So Still The Night and Darker Than Night. Not only that, but Kim said she would inscribe said books however the winner wants. There will be ONE winner. (By the way, I have all 3 of these books and they have everything...action, suspense, history, romance, paranormal elements--so a little something for all your tastes). Here's how it works: Comment in the comment section and make sure you leave your email address. If there's any question or concern with commenting in the comment section, email me .  I will leave the contest open until 10:00 p.m. Central Time. At 10:00 p.m. I will officially close the contest, and draw a winner. Then once I've draw the winner, I will email them with information on how to claim their prize :-) Have A Fantastical Friday! 

Happy Thursday Everyone, Reminder:  TOMORROW (Friday) is Kim Lenox drawing. You won't want to miss this give away. Kim's paranormal historical romances have a little something for everyone: darkness, romance and action. She's giving away all 3 of her books to ONE lucky winner. I'll post more details probably sometime around Midnight Central Time. There's some things I should have been letting you all know about, and now that I'm able to sit down and actually get those things up for you, you'll see, too: Kerrelyn Sparks reported that (and I quote from her email):  For a limited time only, Avon is giving away the e-book of " How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire" for FREE. The free version includes a two-chapter excerpt from "Vampire Mine", which releases at the end of March. She said you can get it on Kindle , Nook and Sony E-Reader . L Reveaux's new erotica short story, Siren Call just released in the Erotic Dreamspell An...

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Well, I'm looking forward to Friday's give away. I'm hosting Kim Lenox as she gives away her Shadow Guards series (pictures to come). Last night she sent me an email saying that she'll sign and personalize the books for the winner however the winner wants. (Which, I thought was really cool). As many of you know, I have a critique partner (whom I think is just awesome). What you all may not know is I'm also a part of a critique group. So, I emailed out a story that's a side-project (because I was still working on one of my main projects and had nothing else ready for a critique and I wanted to send something). Several people thought some of my lines were really funny. One person said "You have a natural wit." I sat there reading that, with my jaw dropping. I work hard on those funny lines. I think they're hilarious, but since reading and writing is subjective, I don't know (until someone reads it) whether someone el...

Okay, I was going to save this for tomorrow, but I just can't. A friend of mine (and fellow member of NWHRWA), Melissa Ohnoutka, has just released her romantic suspense, Faithful Deceptions . I've been reading about her journey on her blog . Once my paycheck (from my part-time job) comes in that's another e-book I'll have to get. To get your e-book copy of Faithful Deceptions you can go one of two places: Amazon (Kindle)  or Barnes & Noble (Nook ) Congratulations, Melissa and best wishes :-)

Happy Monday Everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend. I did. First off, I want to give a warm welcome to all the new followers on Write By Bethany. I'm so pleased you decided to stick around and hang out with me :-) Looks like I'll be hosting another give away this Friday. This time, courtesy of Kim Lenox, whom I interviewed last year . Kim has written a series of books called Shadow Guards and wants to give  them away to one lucky winner. I've read them and they're good. I have a few other surprises coming up, so don't be a stranger :-) Before I close this post...what are you reading these days? Have A Merry Monday!

Happy Weekend Everyone, Thank you to all of you who commented and emailed about yesterday's author interview with Kerrelyn Sparks and thank you to those who entered the drawing. The winner is Claire. So congratulations to Claire, I've forwarded your information to Kerrelyn who will send out your copy of Be Still My Vampire Heart. I hope all of you who visited on Friday will make return visits. I have some exciting things planned for this blog and I wouldn't want you all to miss it :-) Have A Great Weekend!

Happy Friday Everybody, THE CONTEST PORTION OF THIS AUTHOR INTERVIEW IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED. Finally! I get to post the interview with Kerrelyn Sparks . I was planning to last Friday, but unfortunately my computer had issues. I have been enjoying Kerrelyn's books for awhile now, but I had the pleasure of meeting her recently at one of her book signings. She is incredibly nice, funny, encouraging and a delight to be around. You, my dear readers, have a special treat today. Not only do you get this awesome interview to read, but if you leave a comment in the comment section (with your first name and email address--I won't be able to contact you if you're the winner if you don't leave your email address) I'll put your name and email address in my contest box for Friday night's drawing for a chance to win Kerrelyn Sparks' Be Still My Vampire Heart . Below (after the interview) you'll see the rules of how to enter, please read them carefully. So...

Happy Thursday All, I think the computer issues (well most of them anyway) are resolved, so I'm back up and running. Tomorrow is author interview day. Guess who's the author? I normally do not reveal authors before the actual day, but due to the fact that this one had to be postponed, I'll be nice and say who it is...Kerrelyn Sparks! Yep, tomorrow I'm posting an interview I did with paranormal romance author, Kerrelyn Sparks. And yes, she plans to do a giveaway. Now how are going to run it since it's a Friday? Well, I'm gonna have to cut it off around 9:30 p.m. Central Time because otherwise I might not get to draw a name (my weekends are generally family time, so I don't get on here). I'll reveal the winner publicly on Monday. The winner I will notify immediately by email (to get mailing information to forward to Kerrelyn so she can send the prize out).  I'll unveil what the prize is tomorrow. (Hey, I got have some form of a surprise for you, it...

Happy Wednesday Folks, I'm still dealing with some computer issues, but I thought I'd post this up (thank you to Jan, one of my critique group members for giving me the idea!) Last night the critique group I joined met. Jan, the hostess with the mostess, had these dice with pictures all over them. She said we were to choose one of the pictures on our die and write a story having to do with that picture. We had 7 minutes. She set the timer and away we went. We weren't supposed to edit, but I seriously started writing wrong words (or ended up not using a word) that I had to cross out, but I didn't do any other edits. After the 7 minutes were up we went around the room and read our stories. Some nifty/fun/intriguing/what-happens-next stories came out of those 7 minutes. So today, I thought, what could a person accomplish in 7 minutes? Not just in writing, but in general? It seems like such a short time, but you'd be amazed at what you can do when you put your mi...

Happy Monday All, Please pardon my absence. I've been having computer issues, and so I'm having to be away from posting on this blog until they're all resolved. The author interview I had scheduled for last Friday has been rescheduled for this Friday, for all of you who knew about it (and for those of you who didn't, please be sure to be here on Friday!) It's an exciting interview (I got to meet the author face to face for the first time on Saturday, and she's awesome!) There's also a drawing connected with that interview, so you won't want to miss. Meanwhile, please know most of this has been resolved, just working on some other things. You can pick up a copy of Cheri Jetton's new romantic suspense,  Crimson Snow. You can get it on Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook. Also, if you're a reader who likes erotica, P.J. Mellor has a new one coming out called Island Nights . Ms. Mellor said that they're also romantic comedies, so i...

Happy Wednesday All, Thinking about what I like to do besides reading and writing made me remember some of what I used to do (that I sometimes do now or don't do much of anymore, but still could). I used to take horseback riding lessons (no, really, I did). I learned how to ride both in an English and Western saddle (English saddles are smaller and have no saddle horn, western saddles are big and have saddle horns). Even though I haven't been on a horse in over 10 years doesn't mean I wouldn't ride again--I would, just haven't gotten around to it. I know how to the play the piano--not real well (not like my younger brother who's incredible at it and a composer). But I know how to read music and I still can play a little. I still sometimes tap-dance down a grocery store aisle (although I never was the most coordinated dancer in my ballet, tap and jazz class). I'm one of those people who's done a little of everything. I know how to embroider (wit...

Happy Tuesday All, I've received news there's a new book on the block. It's by a friend of mine, Cheri Jetton , and it's called Crimson Snow . It's an e-book available at both Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes & Noble  (Nook). It looks good (I read the synopsis on the Barnes & Noble website).  I've read Cheri's book, Jessie & The Ranger which was more of a "sweet romance", but it was good. I liked Jessie, I thought she was a "spit-fire" (to use a term to mean "spunky"). Anyway, Crimson Snow looks good  :-) Have A Thrilling Tuesday!

Happy Monday All, Hope everyone had a great weekend. I did...it was incredibly busy, which would account for the fact that I'm not yet mentally fully awake (the right amount of coffee will remedy that). On Saturday, the NWHRWA hosted Alicia Rasley , who gave a wonderful all-day workshop on how to improve and vamp up your writing (it's no wonder she's so popular!) She was interesting, funny, fun and very informative. A bunch of us (myself included) have been raving about her ever since. (If you click on her name it'll take you to her website. She has a lot of information on her website, as well). But an all-day workshop means I was wiped out. Sunday I was still tired, but it was library day, which means I got to go see Valerie and Anthony (two librarians I've gotten to know, whom are both awesome). It was great to see them again and to chitchat. Sunday I got together with a few members from NWHRWA to sit and talk about pitching in conjunction with the fab...

Hello Everyone, Fabulously Fine Friday's Winner , was Victor. Congratulations to Victor! Not only did I draw his name out of the box (no, I didn't look, all the papers were all folded the same way and pretty much all the same size, and I just reached in, without looking, and pulled out a name), but Victor also had a really funny and imaginative comment about what he would do as a dragon. I talked with MaryJanice Davidson's assistant and so she's gonna put everything together to send Victor the copy of the audio of MaryJanice Davidson's Me, Myself & Why . I want to give a very special thank you to my wonderful and generous donors, who are also fabulous authors. Without them, this contest wouldn't have been possible. So thank you goes to: Laura Childs Ciara Gold Will Simon Christie Craig MaryJanice Davidson All of them were wonderful to interview and incredibly generous with their donations and time. I want to thank all of you who entered eac...

THIS CONTEST IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED! Happy Friday All, Today marks the last day of the Write By Bethany 25+ Followers Celebration week. I'm grateful to everyone who donated a prize, participated, passed the word along--y'all rock! Yesterday's winner was Sarah. So congratulations to Sarah! You'll be receiving your swag from Christie as soon as she can send it. Hope you enjoy your prize and thank you to everyone who participated. Hope y'all are ready for today because we have a wonderful prize for you all, donated by the very talented MaryJanice Davidson. I interviewed MaryJanice and Anthony Alongi in July of 2010 . (Hey, did anyone catch on that all the prizes have been donated by a published author I interviewed last year? That was on purpose). The prize is an audio book of MaryJanice's novel, Me, Myself & Why that was published last year. So here's how today will be run: FIRST:   Of course, give me your first name (or nickname). SECOND:...

Happy Thursday All, Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Debbie! Due to problems I didn't know existed, that I'm looking into, if you have trouble posting your entry in the comment section, please send me an email and let me know that's going on. Anyway, Debbie, you will be receiving your copy of Murder By Magic from Will as soon as he can send you a copy. Hope you enjoy it and thank you! Thank you everyone for your comments yesterday! Today's prize is delicious (but I don't mean in terms of something to eat). I mean, it's fun and it's donated by Christie Craig (under the name C.C. Hunter ). For a little trivia: Some of you might remember the interview I did with Christie in June of 2010.   The prize has to do with her new YA novel, Born At Midnight coming out in March. Here's a picture she gave me of this swag (prize): Pretty awesome, huh? Anyway here's how today will be run: FIRST:   As all the other days, give me your fi...

Happy Wednesday All, So far I've had a prize to give away every day this week...however, you never know what prize that will be, so I hope everyone is coming back each day to see what it is. Congratulations goes to Susan for winning yesterday's prize! You'll be receiving your PDF copy of Ciara Gold's The Keeper Of Moon Haven soon. Thank you to everyone who participated/commented in yesterday's Tantalizingly Tempting Tuesday of Write By Bethany's 25+ Followers Celebration. Let's see if we can kick it up a notch today... As always, please be sure to read the entire post, thanks! Today, I'm pleased to announce the prize is donated by Will Simon, whom I interviewed in October of 2010 . Will is kindly donating a copy of Murder By Magic , in which he has a short story. I've read it and it's a really good story about a couple that solve mysteries using their paranormal gifts. So here's how today will be run... FIRST: As usual, gi...

Happy Tuesday All, So far the Write By Bethany's 25+ Followers Celebration is off to a great start! Yesterday went really well, so let's keep it going, shall we? Just like yesterday, be sure to read the whole post! Yesterday's winner was Kathy. Congratulations! You'll be receiving your copy of Laura Childs' Scones & Bones as soon as Laura can send a copy. Enjoy and thank you for participating. Thank you, also, to everyone who participated yesterday. If you didn't win, I have good news! You have a chance to win a different prize today! A little bit of trivia about today:  Originally it was going to be called Tip Top Tuesday--but in light of today's drawing, I wanted something a little bit more intriguing... Why? you ask... Well here's how today is going to be run... Today's prize is donated, courtesy of author, Ciara Gold, whom I interviewed in November of 2010. She has graciously agreed to giveaway a copy (in PDF file format) ...