Happy Tuesday Everyone, I'm posting this a little later in the morning than I intended, but since I woke up later, then had to take care of some things, and finally had to make sure C.C. had put up the blog post about this before I could post it here. C.C. Hunter has some fantastic news for you all. Born At Midnight is doing very well, and in October she'll release her next book in the series, Awake At Dawn.   But now here's a real treat:  she's revealed the cover for book 3, Taken At Dusk, and sent the cover art in the email she sent me. So, here's the cover art for all 3 books:  Book 1 of the ShadowFalls series by C.C. Hunter (available now)  Book 2 of the ShadowFalls series by C.C. Hunter (available October 2011)  Book 3 of the Shadowfalls series by C.C. Hunter (release date yet to be announced) But that's not all... As I mentioned yesterday, C.C. Hunter is running a brand new contest starting today (May 31, 2011) and...

Happy Memorial Day, **Edits 11:29 a.m. (I remembered it was Memorial Day, but I should've posted this earlier):  Here's to all the USA's service men and women, both past and present , fallen or alive . Thank you for your service to the U S A and God bless you and your families. (Note:  If I tried to do actual white, it wouldn't show up). Everybody have a good weekend? My weekend was fairly nice. Mostly quiet, which was just fine with me. For all you C.C. Hunter fans, tomorrow she's starting a very special contest. I'll reveal more details tomorrow, so be sure to come back tomorrow to see what those details are. Hope everyone enjoyed Tess St. John's author interview on Friday . I had fun having her on my blog. She's an incredibly talented author. Be sure to watch for her Romantic Suspense novels. I'll also probably let you know about those releases here.  Did you all follow the link to Tess St. John's blog on Friday and meet th...

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Thank you to everyone who commented on Tess St. John's interview yesterday. Congratulations to Sarah, the winner of yesterday's drawing. Tess will be sending you a copy of her book soon. Hope Everyone Has A Great Weekend!

Happy Friday All, The drawing/contest part of this post is now closed...but please feel free to read the interview. I got my days mixed up. This week has been nutty for me, so for some reason I thought next week was the 27th (even though yesterday was the 26th, I kept thinking for some reason I was posting this on the last day of the month). Anyway, I feel horrible I didn't have this up earlier...but at least I'm getting it up now. Today is a special Author Interview Day. I'm going to call it "Mutual Admiration Day" because of this:  I've got Tess's interview on here today, and today she's got a guest blog post on her HER blog that I did! Below (after the interview) there's a link I provided to the guest blog post I did for Tess St. John's blog. There's a short part about writing fantasy/paranormal, then I do an interview with the hero of my novel, Surreal --his name Monroe Dubay and he's a man-beast lion...to check out what all t...

Happy Friday All, Sorry I was gone on Thursday. No, I hadn't forgotten the blog, or you, my dear readers. I've been really busy this week and so blogging has fallen by the wayside. But today is not quite so busy. Robin Badillo newest Blood Hunter book is now available on Amazon Kindle . She and her vampires are becoming quite close from the looks of things. She also has a non-vampire romance out called Whiskey Road . Currently I'm reading Lady Of Quality by Georgette Heyer...the same book Kathy at Beadmore Designs  used as inspiration for the last day of the Great Jewelry Giveaway . I haven't gotten very far into it, yet, but so far the character of Annis Wychwood is very spirited, as is one of my favorite Georgette Heyer female characters. Right now I don't have any major plans for this weekend...there's a few things that might happen, but we have decided, yet. So, what have you been up to and what do you have planned for the weekend?

Happy Wednesday Everyone, When I was growing up I read Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy Books:  Betsy-Tacy Betsy Tacy & Tib Betsy-Tacy Go Over Big Hill Betsy-Tacy Go Downtown Heavens To Betsy Betsy In Spite Of Herself Betsy Was A Junior Betsy And Joe Betsy And The Great World Years later, I found Betsy's Wedding and finally got to see Betsy happily married and settled. I now own all the books, including Betsy's Wedding and have read them at least once through, if not more since I got them a few years back. Growing up there were other series I got into, but I don't think I've read those series as much as I've read this one. To me, there's something incredibly personal about the fact that the characters and events bear a strong resemblance to the author, her friends and events in the author's life. It's part of the appeal. You feel like these characters are real. You want to be their friends. You want so badly to walk ...

Happy Tuesday Everyone, How do you feel about ballet? Growing up, I took ballet lessons (on my demi pointes ) for a few years. I wasn't great at it, but at the time I could pirouette pretty well. Anyway, it was fun while it lasted--first time in my life I felt truly graceful. I've also seen a number of professional ballets over the years:  Swan Lake, Coppelia, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet and one where there was different kinds of ballets. So, do you like ballet? If you've watched/enjoyed ballet, which ones have you seen? Have A Thrilling Tuesday!

Happy Monday Folks, I'm posting this way later in the day than I normally would, but there's several things going on in my life right now (not bad, just several things) so if I miss a day posting (or post later in the day), that's why. The NWHRWA's Annual Lone Star Conference is still accepting early entries--early bird discount won't last much longer (early bird discount ends on May 25, 2011 at midnight). Oh and writers/authors--the NWHRWA Lone Star Conference is in October ! Have A Merry Monday!

Happy Thursday All, Some of my favorite books are ones that left me with a warm feeling in my heart and/or a smile on my face.   Here's a few of them:   Lesley Livingston with her Wondrous Strange trilogy (according to her blog she has a new release coming out July 2011) Shanna Swendson with her Enchanted, Inc. books Christie Craig with Shut Up And Kiss Me (She has a new release coming out August 2011).   Oh yeah and the list continues:   Jackson Pearce's As You Wish (She has a new release coming out August 2011, and one in sometime in 2012). Suzanne Selfors Coffeehouse Angel (She had a new release in April--the book wasn't a children's book, by the way--apparently several authors contributed to the release that came out this past April. It's called Hotel Angeline: A Novel In 36 Voices ).   Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy   Of course, I could name more. You see...I have a love affair with books. I consider them some...

Happy Wednesday All, There's another new release on the horizon. Jennifer Bray-Weber   has her first pirate romance available on Kindle and Nook , as well as Smashwords . I haven't as yet read her novel, but I've heard bits and pieces about it, plus I've looked at her book trailers and it looks like a lot of fun. Melissa Ohnoutka has been making the rounds, on Tess St. John's blog , Muse Tracks  and Part 2 , and on Wild, Wicked & Wacky , talking about her earlier release, Faithful Deceptions . (A really good Romantic Suspense, also available on Kindle and Nook and in-print  on Amazon and in-print on Barnes & Noble ). Will Graham has made his new release, Street Heat,  available on Kindle , Nook , and Smashwords . (Looks really good!) Also, Paranormal Romance author, Robin Badillo has released a new novel in her Blood Hunter series   entitled The Betrayal . So, what are you reading now? Have A Witty Wednesday!

Happy Tuesday All, So, I'm moving on from talking about quotable movies to show tunes. Why? Because I've got a song from the musical, Anything Goes playing in my head. ("And if this ditty, is not so pretty, at least it'll tell you how great you are."-- You're The Top from Anything Goes). Show tunes often play in my head. Either that or I'm singing them. I've been known to sit in the car, turn off the radio and start singing The Impossible Dream from Man Of La Mancha . ("This is my quest, to follow that star...") One of the things that inspires me is the song This Is The Moment from Jekyll & Hyde . ("...destiny beckons and I never reckoned second best..."--see why I find it inspirational? Lyrics like that and the music just makes you feel you can do anything). Some of my favorite songs come from 1776 (hey I told you in a previous post that my family can quote that movie). It's John Adams' song, Is Anybody...

Happy Monday All, I was watching one of the cable channels and it was saying Saturday they were going to show the movie Pretty In Pink . I love that movie. I had the VHS version of it, then my VCR broke and I haven't replaced the VHS version with the DVD yet. There's just some movies that you hold onto, even twenty or so years later, you still love 'em. And can quote them. A good example is The Princess Bride . I think my family can recite almost (if not the entire) movie. ("Chocolate helps it go down easier."--Valerie from The Princess Bride) . When I was growing up all it took to set me and my whole family quoting lines/songs from the musical 1776 was to say one line. ("Simple! Johnny here's obnoxious and disliked."--Richard Henry Lee, 1776). Of course you can't forget Casablanca and "Here's looking at you, kid." ( Humphrey Bogart's mannerisms help define the word "suave"). So what movies do you think ...

Happy Friday All, Correction--I'm so embarrassed, I only realized I had put Thursday instead of Friday at around 9:30 p.m.! This was supposed to have been Thursday's post, but it didn't happen due Blogger being down, as of 11:08 p.m. For about 2 days blogger was down for maintenance reasons. I was unable to sign in or update. I just now found out it's up and running and so I can finally get back to my Monday through Friday posting. The other day I got an email in my inbox from a friend of mine saying he had put out on Kindle and Smashwords his new novel, Street Heat . Will Graham has been a fabulous person to know for the last 2 years. I interviewed him last year (under the name Will Simon) where I talked about some of his other works. He also was the one waiting not far outside the door after my first in-person pitch with an agent, offerring me encouragement and support. (Everyone I know who knows him thinks he's awesome, so it's not just me). He g...

Happy Wednesday All, Awhile back I talked about what cookies I like and you all mentioned the ones you like . It's time for another treat...  This Cake was served at C.C. Hunter's launch party  Cake! I'm a big fan of cake--although there are cakes I won't touch, and cakes I'm not especially fond of, but there are plenty I really like. Baskin Robbins makes excellent ice cream cake . I have to say, my favorite is what I used to get on my birthday--a custom ordered cake:  World Class Chocolate Ice Cream (in my opinion the best flavor ever--you can find it listed on their classic flavors, I believe on page 2 or 3) next to Chocolate Cake. Talk about heavenly! (I need to have that kind of cake again). Next on the top of my list would be chocolate cake with chocolate icing. You just can't go wrong. Moist, gooey, chocolatey--oh yes. Yum times ten. In one of her Tea Shop Mystery novels, Laura Childs , has a receipe for a Apple Cinnamon Cake (I can...

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Does anyone remember the song If I Had A Million Dollars by Barenaked Ladies ? I can't remember when or how I was first introduced to this song, but it's a fun song. So, how about if you had a million dollars? What would you do with it? Of course there's the responsible things to do with a million dollars--pay off debts, and such like that. Then there's the question of whether or not you give to charities, and how much. But, suppose you answered all those questions and you still had quite a lot left; what would you do with it? Maybe I'd go to Disney World. I've wanted to go, and I've never been able to. Or, perhaps I'd go to Germany and England, and Belgium (three of the countries my ancestors are from). Travel around seeing family and friends I don't see often. There's all kinds of possibilities. So, what about you? What would you do with a million dollars? Have A Tremendous Tuesday!

Happy Monday All, Thanks for all the well wishes for my offspring. Offspring is on antibiotic and doing much better. Anniversary was fun and Mother's Day was lovely. I feel like I'm still coming down off of last week's Great Jewelry Giveaway high. That was so much fun and I can't believe it's over! (Wah!) Oh well, there's other fun things coming up (although, unless Kathy at Beadmore Designs tells me differently, we won't be giving away anymore jewelry). By the way, just because the Great Jewelry Giveaway is over does not mean you can't go to Beadmore Designs and order something from Kathy. Please tell her you heard about her from Write By Bethany. Now onto business. Today, I've got some special things to tell you about: I got a friend who sells lovely Catholic (and there's some other not strictly Catholic things on there, too) gifts. Her name is Nance, and the website is called Visions In White . I've ordered several things from he...

Hello Everyone, Congratulations go to Jessica, Friday's Write By Bethany The Lady's Got Quality winner! Thank you everyone for participating. Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Offspring has gotten sick, so I get to spend my Friday night helping husband with that. My wedding anniversary is Sunday, so hopefully Offspring will be better by then so we can enjoy Mothers' Day and Anniversary happily. Have A Wonderful Weekend!

Happy Friday All, The contest portion of this post is closed, however, you may enjoy the rest of it :-) Congratulations goes to Beth, who emailed me her entry, and is the winner of the Eyes Of Jade Bracelet & Earrings Set in yesterday's drawing. Today is the last day of the Great Jewelry Giveaway. I've had so much fun hosting it and the comments have been very creative and imaginative with their usages of the contest words. So, I hope today to see that creativity and imagination alive and well for this, the last giveaway day for this particular contest. Kathy of Beadmore Designs and I both share a love of Georgette Heyer's books. Ms. Heyer died in 1974, leaving a legacy of Regency Romances and Mystery novels behind. I have read that she often called "Queen Of The Regency".   I've read about 13 of her Regency Romances . Kathy's favorite is Lady Of Quality (which I have not read, but it looks good). Lady Of Quality follows the friendship b...

Happy Thursday Folks, The contest portion of this post is now closed, but please feel free to enjoy the rest of it. Congratulations goes to C.C. for winning Wednesday's drawing! Tea will be sending you the "Diamond & Ruby" Hidden Treasures Necklace. The week marches on and so does the Write By Bethany Great Jewelry Giveaway author and jewelry pairings. Thursday (today) features one of my critique partners, Tess St. John . Tess has written a Romantic Suspense called Eyes Of Jade . I've read the first 3 chapters of this novel (as one of her critique partners) and I'm chomping at the bit to read the rest of it. Unforunately, Eyes Of Jade won't be available until later this summer.   Edit at 11:16 a.m. Central Time ( Eyes Of Jade blurb!):    Sick of acting, Hollywood film and TV star Eve Knight plans to start life over in Houston, Texas. But before she can announce her retirement, repeated attempts are made on her life—in ways mirroring deadly scene...

Happy Wednesday All, The contest portion of this blog post is now closed. However, you can enjoy the rest of the post. Yesterday's The Shadows Are Falling Jewelry Winner is Donna Marie! Congratulations to Donna Marie and I hope you enjoy the ShadowFalls #1 Necklace and Earrings Set. Never fear, readers...the week continues and so does the author/jewelry pairings... Tea Trelawny ( accent on the e in Tea ) has an erotic story out called Hidden Treasure : Lara Lacy inherits a Victorian home, a ghost and a possible treasure. But too many fake mediums have convinced her that anyone claiming to communicate with ghosts is a liar—including Lara’s inventive lover Nate Hoffmann. Of course, his seductive ways tempt her to change her mind. Stripped bare—in all ways possible—the lovers engage in deep exploration and eager discovery—of the physical and paranormal type. Tea commissioned that Kathy of Beadmore Designs make her an antique looking necklace that's so exquisite you wo...

Happy Tuesday Everybody, The contest portion of this post is now closed. Please feel free to enjoy the rest of the post and check out the author and jewelry combo and be sure to visit Kathy at Beadmore Designs to see how to purchase her lovely jewelry she has for sale. Congratulations to Susan M. for being Monday's Great Jewelry Giveaway winner of the SURREAL Set. But, nobody fret...the week's not over and I have more authors who are sponsoring more jewelry that you can enter to win. Today's contest prize is sponsored by C.C. Hunter , author of the fabulous Born At Midnight , which is book 1 in the Shadow Falls Series.   A little about the series:  Kylie thought her life was normal, until she ended up with some weird stalker soldier dude, a camp full of paranormal teenagers, and Kylie is faced with one heck of an identity crisis. Who is she? Does she have any special powers? And just who is that stalker anyway? Start your journey with Kylie in Born At Midnight . ...