Happy Tuesday All, Sorry for being MIA so much. I've been having a lot of trouble lately coming up with blog post ideas. I'm doing okay, just lots of writer's block at the moment. I'm working on a solution, though. Until things get solved, I might be posting irregularly. Don't fret, I am around...I am checking email and I'm checking comments to see if there's any that need to be posted and answered. So keep coming back to check and see if there's a new post. Please also keep those positive thoughts and prayers going--I appreciate them! And thank you to everyone who's sent me an email asking about me. I appreciate your thoughtfulness! I do love hearing from my readers. Have A Terrific Tuesday!

Happy Friday All, Has everyone had a good week? Mine seems to have flown by, but then again, I was pretty busy. If you've seen the musical, Fiddler On The Roof , you might remember a song called Tradition . It talks about all the different traditions that hold the community together. In my family we had traditions that brought us together. For Christmas we tied together all kinds traditions from around the world. There's a Scandinavian tradition called the Yule Goat. Much like Santa Claus, this goat brings gifts to good little boys and girls. We would talk about the Yule Goat bringing this or that. It was great fun. My Dad started making a German Christmas bread/coffee cake baked good called stollen (pronounced "schol-en"). Wikipedia called it a "fruit cake", but this isn't quite as dense. It has nuts, candied fruit, cinnamon, and raisins (well at least the way my Dad makes it). For some of the weddings in my family, the night before, at the rehe...

Happy Thursday All, I missed posting Wednesday, but don't worry, I'm okay--just busy! There's a new release! Author of Nocturne , Syrie James , has teamed up with her son, Ryan M. James, to put together a Paranormal YA novel entitled,  Forbidden . And, it looks intriguing! It's available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle , as well as Barnes & Noble and Barnes & Noble Nook . I'm currently reading a novel by an author I hadn't ever read before. The premises really interested me because it's pulled from Shakespeare. I'm not very far into it, but I'm already curious as to what this novel will bring. So we'll see what happens. On and off I've mentioned music on here. Especially music that sets a tone/mood for one's writing--or inspires. For me, it can be anything from AH-HA's Take On Me to Spin Doctors' Two Princes .  I like a lot of different songs, but those two came to mind because Two Princes always makes me want to da...

Happy Tuesday All, Sorry for the long silence. Last week husband had off and I don't post on the weekends and Monday I was getting used to the usual schedule after the weekend. I'm doing all right. Friday I went out with 3 of my best gal-pals and we had a blast. A lot of laughter and fun. I didn't get home until almost 2 a.m. I never thought I'd stay out that late--we didn't do a lot...mostly hung out at Starbucks, then at one of the ladies' apartment. But it was still fun and we all agreed we had to do that again (although I'm hoping that I'd get home before 2 a.m. next time LOL). Trust me, me being out that late is very unusual. I'm so behind on scheduling my blog! I still need to email some people and see what I can figure out for this year. But don't worry, I'll get it pulled together. I finished an ARC for an official blog review that will be posted in March and the novel is also releasing in March. I'm very excited about it ...

Happy Tuesday Everyone, I've been absolutely remiss about this, but author, and pal of mine, Ciara Gold , has a new Romance released, On Timless Wings Of Gold , (title links to the All Romance Site--the publisher's website--where you can purchase this novel) and it looks so good. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. You can also pick it up on Champagne Books , or on Amazon . I didn't find it available through Barnes & Noble, so Nook users will either have to go through Ciara's website, or download Amazon For Computer . (There's also Nook for PC and Nook for Mac  available, too).  Never read Ciara's work, want to get to know her a little better? Check out the interview I did with her November 2010 . So what's everyone reading these days? I'm getting back to reading MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi's Jennifer Scales Novel: Evangelina This YA Paranormal (shape shifters--including dragons). It's book 6 in her and Anthony's Jennifer...

Happy Monday Everyone, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Hope everyone has a good day. When I was growing up we sometimes would get sidewalk chalk and take it out in the backyard. Among the hearts, flowers, names, and whatever else we'd draw, it wasn't uncommon for a Hopscotch Board to be drawn out in the driveway and used. Hopscotch, Red Rover, Tag/Freeze Tag/TV Freeze Tag, Hide & Seek...these games have been passed on generation to generation. There's something so free and easy about these games. Simple rules, fun, and kids get to just be kids. So what was your favorite childhood game? Have A Marvelous Monday!

Happy Friday Everyone, You made it! It's Friday! Hope you all had a good week. Life keeps moving along on my end. It's been pretty chilly this week after all the rain we had on Monday. I'm taking today off from posting, but I'll be back on Monday. Enjoy your weekend. Hope you have some fun things planned! See y'all on Monday! Have A Fantastic Friday!

Happy Thursday Everyone, There's a YA Paranormal trilogy by Andrea Creamer  out there full of werewolves...only this isn't your ordinary werewolf--in fact, I kind of hestitate to call them "werewolf" because they're not really like that, they're not a typical werewolf at all. The last one came out January 3, 2012, and it was very good. Calla Lily--Calla for short--has known all her life that as a Guardian, she was to serve and protect the Keepers and obey their every command. In return, they supply everything a Guardian could need. In Nightshade , the first in the trilogy, Lumine, Calla's Keeper decides the Nightshades (Calla's wolf pack) and the Banes (rival pack) must unit. Lumine and the Bane's Keeper have arranged for Calla and Bane up-and-coming alpha, Ren to be mates. Calla understands this is how things must be. After all, her kind aren't allowed to choose very many things for themselves. They owe the Keepers everything. Except, w...

Happy Wednesday Everyone,  I had to flip this picture for it to be vertical. Unfortunately it's turned the wrong way. the mantel is actually on the other side of the tree.  Yay! I finally did it--I got the pictures taken of the lion ornament I got for Christmas. It's the one that represents my hero, Monroe. For those of you who missed the post about the ornament, you can read it here . Also, if you'd like a chance to meet Monroe, up close and personal, please check out the guest post I did on author Tess St. John's blog .  Isn't he awesome? Very majestic. I just love it!  Monroe is the hero of my novel. He's a man who can turn into a lion (hence the ornament). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this glimpse at Monroe. I've been delighted to have the ornament. From where I would sit on the couch I can see it hanging on the tree (we have yet to take our tree down, but I'm sure that's going to happen this week or this weekend). So what...

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Monday was a wet day in Texas. Very wet. But I'm happy to report that my end of town did all right (from what I could tell). Unfortunately, there were people who had to evacuate their homes in another town, and there was flooding in different areas. Hopefully those people's cars and homes don't sustain a lot of damage. For those of you who pray, please offer up a prayer for them. I did remember to take a picture of my lion (Monroe, hero of my novel) ornament I've mentioned, but because I've lost the hook up wire for my camera, I'll have to go take it in and get it put on a disc so I can upload the photos (yes, I took more than one LOL). So, I've finished reading all the books I got for Christmas. The one I haven't reported on is Tera Lynn Childs , Sweet Venom (YA Paranormal). It's the story of 3 girls who look exactly alike. At first they don't know about each other. Gretchen grew up with adoptive parents who were...

Happy Monday All, Warning: The following post will cause chocolate lovers all over to drool uncontrollably on their keyboards. Please take the necessary precautions to protect your computers. Thank you. Yes! Today I'm talking about chocolate. Rich,dark,milk,white, truffled, in cake, cookies, dripping-off-your-spoon-in-a-sundae, chocolate! If you couldn't tell I'm something of a chocoholic. There. I said it. Chocoholic. No, don't be ashamed. There's redeeming features in chocolate. Like dark chocolate is supposed to be good for you--okay, you're not supposed to gorge yourself on it like a thirsty person trapped in the dessert, but in reasonable (that is not huge amounts) it can have health benefits. Chocolate contains magnesium, which women's bodies crave (this is one of the reasons some women really go for the chocolate). On the converse side, I suppose a woman could take magnesium supplements to curb her craving for a chocolate, but I leave that ...

Happy Friday Everyone, Well the first work week of 2012 is coming to a close. I hope everyone has had a good week so far! Mine has been fun. I'm feeling a lot better, too. I'm working on figuring out the WIPs (Works In Progress) and catching up on my reading. I've got 2 books I'm reading at once and they're both good. I'll probably talk about them next week. Generally I don't make New Year's Resolutions, however, a new year feels like a chance to improve oneself and reach out to those goals we keep setting. There's a sense of hope hanging in the air and I figure why not grab that hope, and hold on? I think I'll make it a part of what I resolve for the new year. To believe in achieving my goals. What about you? What are your hopes for 2012? Have A Fabulous Friday!

Happy Thursday All, We're almost near the end of the books I got for Christmas...however I still have today's and then one more (although the last one will probably be in one of next week's posts). I haven't seen a lot in YA, or Romance (I could be wrong, but it's not been my experience). But what I have read of dragons in YA and Romance, I've really liked. After reading Sophie Jordan's Firelight and finding out there was a sequel, I knew I'd want to read it. I put  Vanish on my wish list for Christmas and figured if I didn't get it I'd pick a copy up, myself. I was delighted to receive it from my sister (the one who gave me the really awesome lion ornament, which holds a particular significance for me, and I still need to take a picture of it!) Believe me, Vanish did not disappoint! If you haven't read Firelight , I strongly recommend you do that before reading Vanish . Jacinda finds herself back among her own kind (the draki...

Happy Wednesday Everybody, I forgot to let you all know that Andrea Creamer's Bloodrose , book 3 in her Nightshade series came out yesterday. I've got it and am looking forward to reading it...if you haven't read this series, it's a YA Paranormal...wolves done differently...not your typical werewolf fare at all. Really good. If you haven't checked out Nightshade I recommend it. Now, for anyone who didn't read the comments in the comments section of yesterday's post , I warned a commenter that I'd be posting about more books I've read. After all, I mentioned I got THREE books for Christmas and I'm now reading last one. Today I'm going to talk about one of the ones I received and tomorrow I'll talk about the other (I don't know when I'll talk about the last one, I still have to finish reading it). The first book I chose to read out of my Christmas presents was Lesley Livingston's Once Every Never . I chose it because i...

Happy Tuesday All, Recently I found out that Beth Fantaskey's Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side (YA Paranormal) was out on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook for free for a limited time. Having seen this book in stores and curious about it, I figured I'd go ahead and check it out. Some people described the story as "tongue in cheek". I personally, just plain enjoyed it. There was a scene that I excitedly told a friend was, "romantic without being romantic." That is, you could sense the romance there, even if the scene itself wasn't strictly romantic. That kind of writing is way cool. When Lucius, a member of Romanian vampire royalty, first arrives in the rural American town he's not quite sure what to expect. At first he's appalled by the "peasant" way folks live. Gradually, though, he becomes intrigued. Jessica, the heroine, finds herself caught between the world she knows, and a world she's being ...

Happy New Year & Happy Monday Everyone! Hope everyone has a safe, wonderful, and blessed new year! 2012 has started off pretty well for me so far. I'm feeling much better (thank you to everyone for the well wishes and support). I finished reading a couple of books that I plan on talking about on here this week. As I'm entering the 3rd year of working on this blog, I'd like your feedback. Not counting giveaways (because I think we all look forward to those), what posts on here do you like the best?  Please let me know in the comment section of this post. Have A Marvelous Monday!