Back To Business

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 her. One was a Rosary for a nephew of mine in the Marines--really cool thing about this Rosary was that there was a medal on there that either said Marines on it or had a symbol of the USA Marines. This nephew of mine is serving in a dangerous place, and he took that Rosary with him. A niece and nephew of mine recently got their First Communions, so once again I ordered from this friend. (I was late ordering so the gifts aren't here, yet, but I expect they'll be lovely). Nance is awesome and I recommend emailing her to contact her. But I do recommend going to her website and checking out what she has. If you find something you like, you can email and see if she has them in stock.

Many of you who look in my blog margin will see that I have plugged this author numerous times--Melissa Ohnoutka. She wrote a Romantic Suspense entitled Faithful Deceptions which is just utterly magnificent. Seriously, this is just an awesome book. I thought I had read and handled suspenseful novels (I read Paranormals for crying out loud!) But I was unprepared for the fact that Melissa reaches in starting on page one, grabs hold of you and refuses to let go until the end. This is incredible work and she's one really cool person to boot. You check her out at her blog. Tell her I said hi. Oh yeah, she's available on Amazon (paperback copy), Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. Ooo, and I just found out it's available in paperback through Barnes & Noble.

Recently I was looking for book 4 of this series I own--I own book 4, just put it somewhere and now I can't remember where I put it. But anyway, searching for this book reminded me how much I love the series and well, if you enjoy fantasy meets breezy type writing, then get your cursors clicking at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders --whichever bookstore you like best--and order your copy of Shanna Swendson's books--the series starts with Enchanted, Inc. Book 2 is entitled Once Upon Stilettos Book 3 is Damsel Under Stress and Book 4 is Don't Hex With Texas. They are totally awesome. I just love them. I've read them twice and I've fallen in love with Katie and Owen. It's fun, it's charming and I love it, love it, love it and well...you'd just have to read the books to see why!

So, what's everyone up to this week?

Have A Magically Marvelous Monday!

Friday's Winner

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!

The Great Jewelry Giveaway Friday: The Lady's Got Quality

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 between Annis Wychwood ,who volunteers to chaperone a young lady named Lucilla. One of Lucilla's relatives, Oliver Carleton comes to Bath to see about Lucilla's new living arrangements with Annis. Annis and Oliver apparently hit it off, but Annis doesn't want to give up her independence. Will Oliver win Annis, or is he, a rake, just not right for this Lady Of Quality? (Each time I mentioned the title, Lady Of Quality, in the above paragraph I provided a link to a different bookstore where you can purchase the paperback version).  You can also get it on Amazon Kindle and on Barnes & Noble Nook.  You can get many other of Georgette Heyer's novels at Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon.

Kathy made a lovely necklace to sponsor for today's giveaway in Georgette Heyer's name the necklace is called Lucilla:

Lucilla necklace

click here to see another photo of it on Kathy's Beadmore Designs website

Here's how you can enter to win the Lucilla Necklace (but careful, the contest word today is NOT Lucilla):

Either you can...

A.  Comment in the comment section. Be sure to provide your name and email address (I can't enter you without an email address, sorry). You must use the words "lady" and "quality" in a sentence to enter tonight's drawing. (Use your imagination. Get creative and have fun with it).

Or you can...

B.  Email me but you must use the words "lady" and "quality" in a sentence (Use your imagination. Get creative and have fun with it).

No anonymous entries. If you wish not to leave your name and email address in the comment section then you may send me an email with a sentence using the words "lady" and "quality".

Unless I'm told otherwise, International entries are welcome.

I'll be closing the contest at 10:00 p.m. Central Time. When that happens, I'll draw a winner, email them, and put up a special post announcing who the winner is.

If you have any further questions/comments please email me.

I hope you all have enjoyed this week as much as I have. Special thanks go to the following people:

Kathy of Beadmore Designs for her lovely workmanship and jewelry (you can purchase jewelry from Kathy by going to her website and contacting her through her email. She has many pieces available for sale, including the ones that were featured in this week's giveaway. She also makes lovely custom pieces).

C.C. Hunter (YA Paranormal)

Tea Trelawny (accent on the "e" in "Tea") (Erotica)

Tess St. John (Historicals, Romantic Suspense and Mysteries)

Thank you, all of you, for helping me make this Great Jewelry Giveaway possible and for their continued support and friendship.

Congratulations and thanks goes to all the winners:  Susan M. (Monday), Donna Marie (Tuesday), C.C. (Wednesday) and Beth (Thursday)...Friday's winner is yet to be determined.

Also, thank you so very, very much to all my followers and all those who participated. You all rock!

Be sure to enter today's drawing!

Have A Fairy-Tale Friday! 

Great Jewelry Giveaway Thursday: Jade Eyes Following Me

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 scenes from her action movies. FBI agent Jacob Dane swore off love after his engagement ended in tragedy. He’s been assigned to Eve’s case because of the bizarre attempts on her life. Hiding her away from the world brings the two of them close. Very close. Agreeing to bait a trap for the would-be murderer, Eve puts on the performance of her life while Jake realizes if he fails to keep her safe—he’ll lose his heart. Again.

Tess St. John has a Historical Romance, Second Chances available. It's very well done (I've read it all the way through). Emma Easton married her husband to escape her the fate her father has in store for her--to be sold to the highest bidder as a wife. Harmon Easton offered Emma sanctuary and a caring home. However, old age catches up to Harmon, and Emma finds herself a young widow, with no real protection from her vengeful father. Drake, himself a young widower (after losing his wife in childbirth), was a good friend of Harmon and offers Emma help--however, he doesn't wish to marry again. As their friendship grows, so will a love they didn't expect. However, is that love meant to be? Do they really get a second chance? You can purchase Second Chances on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook, as well as on Smashwords.

Tess commissioned Kathy of Beadmore Designs to make a bracelet and necklace set. The Eyes Of Jade Bracelet & Earring Set is very striking...check it out:

Eyes Of Jade Bracelet & Earring Set <--Click here to see a better picture

Okay, here's how today's gonna work for you to enter to win the Eyes Of Jade Bracelet & Earring Set:

Either you can:

A.  Comment in the comment section (name and email address is a must). You must also include a sentence using the words "eyes" and "jade" (be creative/use your imagination and have fun with it!)

OR you can...

B.  Email me, but you must use the words "eyes" and "jade" in your email (be creative/use your imagination and have fun with it!)

No anonymous entries. If you wish to remain anonymous send your entry by email.

International Entries:  So far I haven't heard that there's a problem with accepting International entries, so unless I'm told otherwise, International entries are welcome.

I will close the contest at 10:00 p.m. Central Time. At which time, I will draw the winner. The winner will be announced on here on Friday's post.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me.

Have A Treat-Filled Thursday!

Great Jewelry Giveaway Wednesday: Finding Hidden Treasures

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 won't be able to help but feel gorgeous while wearing it. It's made to look like Rubies & Diamonds:



"Ruby & Diamond" Hidden Treasure Necklace <--click here to see a bigger photo of necklace



Hidden Treasure by Tea Trelawny cover

You can enter to win the "Ruby & Diamond" Hidden Treasure necklace one of two ways:


Either

A:  Post your name and email address in the comment section. You must use the words "hidden" and "treasure" in a sentence (get creative!) with your comment to qualify to be entered in the drawing.

Or you can...


B.  Email me an email but you must use the words "hidden" and "treasure" in a sentence (use your imagination!) in order to qualify to be entered in the drawing.

EDIT (3:15 p.m. Central Time):  I thought I had this in here, but Tea just sent me an email asking about when I was closing today's drawing.  I will be closing today's drawing at 10:00 p.m. Central Time. At that time I will come on here and put a comment in the comment section and officially close the contest. Then I will draw the winner and send the winner an email. I will announce who the winner of tonight's drawing is on Thursday's post. I apologize for any confusion.

A couple of things to note:

I will not be accepting any anonymous entries for the drawings this week. If you do not wish to provide an email in the comment section, then send me your entry by emailing me.

There's been questions about International Entries:  The answer is that it's up to whoever is mailing the prize. If you are OUTSIDE the United States Of America, then email me your entry and let me know what country you're from and I'll see what we can do if you win the drawing.

Any other questions? Send me an email :-)

Have A Wonderful Wednesday!

Great Jewelry Giveaway Tuesday: The Shadows Are Falling!

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.

In honor of Born At Midnight, C.C. Hunter commissioned Kathy of Beadmore Designs to make this stunning necklace and jewelry set, nicknamed ShadowFalls #1, to giveaway in tonight's drawing:

ShadowFalls #1 Necklace & Earring set

Born At Midnight by C.C. Hunter

You can enter to win this beautiful necklace and earrings set one of two ways (and either way is fine, it's just you have two options):

1.  You can comment with your name and email address in the comment section below. Be sure to use the words "shadow" AND "falls" somehow in a sentence (be creative!) But you must use those words and you must include your email address.

2.  If you don't want to post publicly, you can send me an email but you must give me at least a first name and you also must use the words "shadow" AND "falls" in a sentence (use your imagination!)

Entries must be sent to me either in the comment section or through email by 10 p.m. Central Time. I'll put the names into a container and draw one winner. That winner I'll notify by email and then announce who it is on here on Wednesday's post.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email me.

Have A Thrilling Tuesday!

Look! It's A Shiny Thing!

Happy Monday All,

The contest portion of this post is now closed. However, you can read the rest of the post just for the fun of it and to find out what it was about. Thank you!

If the date looks weird on this post it's because I'm posting this on Sunday night; but I couldn't go to bed without making sure this post was up--especially since I've been gearing up and hinting at this giveaway for so long! But rest assured, this post is for Monday.

It's finally here! The author/jewelry giveaway that I hinted at last week.

I know this really awesome person named Kathy. Kathy is an incredible jewelry artist and she has recently started up a company, Beadmore Designs (I have a link available at the end of this post) I have several pieces of jewelry made by Kathy and all her work is absolutely exquisite. She makes it all by hand and her attention to detail, creativity and imagination makes her work absolutely lovely.

This week, along with several author friends, I'm hosting a big giveaway of Kathy's jewelry and you, my readers have the opportunity to win it!

Each day this week will feature a different piece of jewelry as well as a different author. Each piece of jewelry will either represent an author's book, book cover, or characters. Oh yeah, and did I mention I'm one of those authors (although, I'm the only unpublished author of this week's giveaway) sponsoring a piece that's being given away? In fact, the set I'm sponsoring is what's kicking off this Great Jewelry Giveaway!

Today you all get a sneak peek into the mind of one of my heroes. This particular hero tends to go a little over the top when he gives anything to the heroine. He's incredibly wealthy, so he can afford it. Today's piece is nicknamed SURREAL and it represents my writing (although, I'm not published, yet...keep those prayers and fingers crossed for me, please).  Here's a picture of the necklace (it has matching earrings, by the way):

The necklace is called a "front-toggle necklace" meaning, you wear it with the clasp in front (oh and it's gorgeous in person, by the way). It's tough for me to part with this set, but since I don't have pierced ears the earrings would do absolutely nothing for me, so I must giveaway.

Mother's Day is Sunday, everyone--so even if you're not a woman, read below to find out how to enter, because I'm sure there's a lady in your life somewhere--and ladies, you don't have to be a Mom to enter to win this, you just have to follow the directions below:

You have two ways to enter the drawing for the SURREAL Set.

1.  You can either post in the comment section of this blog--but you MUST somehow mention the word "Surreal" (use your imagination--in a creative way (a sentence, a funny story, a day dream anything like that). and you MUST include your email address. Without these two things I cannot enter you into the drawing for the SURREAL Set.

2. Or you can email me. But in your email you MUST use the word "Surreal"in a creative way (a sentence, a funny story, a day dream anything like that).



I will leave the drawing open until 9:30 p.m. Central Time. At 9:30 p.m. I will come and officially close the drawing. After I close it, I will email the winner, then tomorrow, along with revealing which author sponsored tomorrow's piece and that author's work, I will also announce who won the SURREAL Set.

REMEMBER: You MUST include your email address AND the word "surreal" to be entered.

Please be sure to visit Kathy's Beadmore Designs website. She's in the process of updating the website, but has several photos up (with prices). Her work is very, very reasonably priced.

Anyway, this is the first day of the Great Jewelry Giveaway, be sure to return each day to find out what piece is being given away and what author (and what story) it represents.

Oh yeah, and enter to win today's set! The SURREAL Set is abolutely gorgeous!

Have A Magical Monday!