Looking Forward To March 2012 Releases?

Happy Wednesday All,

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on yesterday's post. The prayers, positive thoughts, and words are much appreciated!

There are so many books being released in March that I'm feeling like I'm going to get behind and accidentally leave someone out.  I'm going to take the time to list the ones I do know and am aware of so that everyone knows what's coming. If you know of one that I do not mention, please be sure to say so in the comments and say when in March it's to be released.

So here we go...

March 2nd -- Carla Rossi will release a brand new Inspirational Romance. The title of this book is Unlikely Praise.

March 6th -- Laura Childs will release her next novel in the Tea Shop Mystery series, entitled:  The Agony Of The Leaves.

March 26th -- Jennifer Bray-Weber will release on E-Reader her 2nd Romancing The Pirate novel, A Kiss In The Wind.
(Note to Nook Users:  Barnes & Noble's website is giving me problems right now. I don't know if it's my computer or a glitch or something else).

March 27th -- Kerrelyn Sparks will release her next Love At Stake novel, Wanted: Undead Or Alive.

These are the releases I know off the top of my head. If you have any to add,  please do so in the comment section along with which day in March the book is released.

Have A Witty Wednesday!

Sinuses Misbehaving, New Releases, & Do I Have Enough To Read?

Happy Tuesday Everyone,



As this image suggests,
lots of Kleenex
have been used



I'm a little slow getting this post up. A family member of mine has a sinus infection, which has made for an adventure I wasn't planning on. The good news is, the family member is doing better today and saw the doc yesterday and got on antibiotics the same day. I have hopes that this person will be much better tomorrow, but it has meant that I don't have the time to myself that I normally would get during the week. Fortunately, today that person seems to be in better spirits, which I hope continues throughout the day.

I expect the family member will improve and get well soon, but positive thoughts and prayers are always welcome and appreciated.

Author (and friend of mine), J.D. Faver has done it again! She's put out a new novel, A Romantic Thriller called On Ice (intriguing title, right?) Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's available on Barnes & Noble Nook (I'll check with J.D. and see if it'll be available at a later date), however, there are other titles of hers available for Nook users. On Ice, and other titles by J.D. Favor are available on Amazon Kindle.

Blog ideas are beginning to stack up! I have 2 official blog reviews coming up...both are early March releases (don't worry, I've started reading both books...and yes, I can have 2 books going at the same time, I just can't read them at the same moment, so I have to go back and forth...but they're very different so it's not hard to keep them straight--so far so good!)

There's another official blog review coming up later in March--but I already read that ARC (I got it earlier this year, so I was able to get it started and finished rather quickly--I'm looking forward to posting that review).

I have a few other things for the blog that I'm working on, that you'll see once I get it all put together. It's a surprise what else I've got planned. Just keep coming back and commenting and it'll be revealed throughout the year.

Other than that, I've got my 2nd cup of coffee and Vanilla yogurt waiting for me, so I best get this blog post up and running.

Is there a 2012 release you're excited about? Tell me all about it in the comments! Always interested to hear what's coming.

Have A Thrilling Tuesday!

Flight Of Fancy: Weddings

Happy Monday All,

How many of you are fans of weddings?

I'm a huge fan. Some I like more than others. But I love wedding stuff. I always tell folks I'm a hopeless romantic. Not because I didn't find my "other half", but because it doesn't look like I'll ever quit being a romantic--not that I mind.

If I wasn't sure I couldn't take the stress (let's face it, some brides get very emotional) I'd consider being a wedding consultant in some capacity. However, due to other responsibilities (personal and writing related) I don't see that avenue being explored anytime soon. Luckily for me, there's been times I've been able to lend my thoughts, experience, and joy of wedding-planning to people.



Caption Reads: May 8, 2004 marked the
 beginning of my happily-ever-after with my
wonderful husband.  I love him more NOW
than I did then :-)

 When I got married, I was so nervous about going over-budget I asked my mom about every, "Is this okay? If I'm going over-budget let me know." It got to the point that my mother said, "I'll TELL you if you go over-budget. You're FINE." Of course, she said it nicely, but also firmly (I'm very grateful to her, she was absolutely wonderful through everything). I loved my wedding, I had a blast at my reception, and with a few slight hitches (no wedding ever goes off without something going wrong--hopefully in most cases it's something small), it was as close to perfect as any wedding can get.



Picture taken at my wedding reception of
one of the bridesmaids' bouquet.
Red and lavender roses.
Red roses mean passion/love
Lavender/purple roses mean fantasy
(I didn't know about the meanings at the time
but how perfect!)



Since marriage isn't perfect (even the really good ones have their difficult moments) it's nice to have something that can be almost-perfect...something romantic, light, fun, and beautiful to cherish.

Some of my favorite TV shows are wedding-related. I love Say Yes To The Dress and Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta. I've watched several episodes of My Fair Wedding With David Tutera.

What is it about weddings that spark the imagination? Many girls dream about them from the moment they know what a wedding is (I know I thought about mine). Girls often have weddings with their Barbie Dolls (I did!) And you find them in books. Even some Shakespeare plays end with a wedding (all of the Shakespeare plays that end in a wedding are considered "comedies" even if they're not really comedic).

There's just something about the romance, the idea of forever, and all the little details that make some people sigh with happiness.

So, what about you? What do you like about weddings? And do you even like weddings? Why or why not?

Have A Memorable (in a good way) Monday!

When I Grow Up...

Happy Friday All,

When I was a kid, I went through many ideas of what I wanted to do when I grow up. I remember at one point I thought of being an ornathologist (someone who studies birds), and several other ideas.

It's fascinating how we end up where we are. Many years have passed since I came up with the ornathologist idea. I still can identify some birds, but it's not something I'm passionate about. Not because there's anything wrong with that field, there isn't--I just don't feel calleed in that direction anymore.

What did YOU want to be when you grew up?

Have A Fantastical Friday!

By Shakespeare, I Think We Got It!

Happy Wednesday All,

Whoo-hoo! Your good wishes, prayers, and positive thoughts have rendered an idea for a blog post! (Thank you, God!)

This post has 2 sources to it.

The first one is the book I'm currently reading (not yet reached 100 pages and there's over 400, so I can't say much about it, just that I'm intrigued and enjoying it) called Juliet by Anne Fortier. 

The second one is my dear Critique Partner, Tess St. John's post on English History Authors Blog talking about Shakespeare sayings we still use (very good post, by the way, fascinating and fun!)

Shakespeare is a favorite of mine. I've read so many of plays--I've also seen several on stage. I've studied several in high school (probably 10?)

So anytime there's something with Shakespeare involved it always catches my attention. I don't know how many different Romeo & Juliet inspired books, plays, and ballets I've seen (oh the ballet is so beautiful!) I've seen The Taming Of The Shrew so many times, but I still laugh watching it.

You hear a lot about who Shakespeare pulled/"stole" from or whether or not he was the "original" author of something--but whether or not a story was "his" or someone else's doesn't seem to be the point to people who enjoy his work.

There's something about the stories, the words ("A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!"--Richard III ) and the passion behind the words that makes people come back again and again ("Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow..." -- MacBeth).

So, do you have a favorite Shakespeare play/sonnet?

Have A Witty Wednesday!

Brain On Vacation

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!

It's Tradition!

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 rehearsal dinner some of the siblings would get up and give the "Mawiage" speech from The Princess Bride.

The point is, traditions are fun, bring people together and inspire us.

So what sort of fun traditions do you have in your life?

Have A Fabulous Friday!