tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77717705959200929122024-03-14T14:49:30.835-04:00Kristen Brockmeyer, Romance WriterUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-38712646877347766092014-07-10T15:18:00.000-04:002014-07-10T15:19:40.914-04:00*Sniff, sniff.* Goodbye, dear Blogger...Please feel free to visit my new spot, over at<br />
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<a href="http://www.kristenbrockmeyer.com/">www.kristenbrockmeyer.com</a><br />
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Same ol' content, fun new digs! <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-89910872269710649292014-07-08T10:22:00.000-04:002014-07-08T10:35:22.601-04:00Written? Kitten! Why I like it.I love things that make me write faster, so when I saw a <a href="https://twitter.com/Kat_Lerner/status/486496181413875713" target="_blank">mention</a> on Twitter about <a href="http://writtenkitten.net/" target="_blank">Written? Kitten!</a>, a free online writer interface that rewards you with kittens every time you get to 100 words, I had to try it. I pulled up the tool and it was simply a pretty blue screen with a white text box and a little explanation of how things worked. You just click in the box and start typing.<br />
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Here's a recap of my experience with this <a href="http://writeordie.com/" target="_blank">Write or Die</a>-like positive writing reinforcer:<br />
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<i>Hello, my name is Kristen and I want to see a kitten. So I'm going to keep writing until I get to 100 words. I love Write or Die, but it scares me, and I'm really more the kitten type, so lets see how positive reinforcement works as compared to scary, scary spiders. Or, like in the original WoD version, screechy loud violin music or crying babies. That last one really got me at the time, since I was pregnant. Hmm... 20ish more words. What else can I say? I like your site. It's really cute and the blue is nice. </i><br />
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<i>Okay, I'm at 101. Where the hell is my kitten?</i><br />
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<i>Now I'm sad. I was really looking forward to seeing a kitten, and I'm just not sure I can hang in there for another 100 words to see if it works at 200. Well, just about halfway there now, so might as well keep on trying. Ugh. Can I just ask why it's so easy to write 200 words here, when it's lame stuff about nothing, than it is to get them down on my manuscript? That makes me sadder. You know what would make me feel better? A kitten. </i><br />
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And then, at 200 words, this pops up:<br />
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<i>There it is! YAY!</i><br />
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<i>Thank you. My morning is awesome, now.</i><br />
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I'm not sure what it is about earning the baleful stare of a green-eyed tabby that made me feel so accomplished, but it's true: my morning somehow <i>is</i> awesome now. Despite the lack of a kitten* at the first 100 words, I'll definitely be using Written?Kitten! again and will highly recommend it to my writer friends.<br />
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*They also offer puppies and bunnies, if you're allergic to digital cats.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-27584273957381004222014-07-02T10:56:00.000-04:002014-07-02T10:56:45.007-04:00Giveaway Winner Announced: Teresa T.!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.vintag.es/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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Congratulations, Teresa--thanks for entering Jennifer Lowery's giveaway! (And if anyone missed the interview with Jennifer on MaGM, be sure to check it out <a href="http://kristenbrockmeyer.blogspot.com/2014/06/magm-6-meet-author-jennifer-lowery-with.html" target="_blank">here</a>!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-56826966456990154782014-06-30T16:03:00.001-04:002014-06-30T16:09:16.160-04:00MaGM #6: Meet Author Jennifer Lowery (with GIVEAWAY!)See, the trick to being late with a blog post is to do it exactly a week later than you said you would. Then, you can pretend you were never late at all! Promise, though, this one was worth the wait. There's even a giveaway!<br />
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So, welcome to another Meet and Greet Monday, where we pull an author or reader of romance out from out of that book they're buried in, drag them in front of everyone and introduce them! Please wave hello to today's featured guest, another <a href="http://midmichiganrwa.org/" target="_blank">MMRWA</a> friend and <i>fantastic</i> author (she's a NYT and USA Today bestseller for a reason), Jennifer Lowery!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is her. Ain't she purty?</td></tr>
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<i>Hi, Kristen, and all you fabulous readers out there! *waves* Thank you so much for having me today! My romantic suspense, </i>The Maze<i>, released this month so I’m very excited to be here! Thank you so much for sharing it with me!! </i><br />
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<i><b>In honor of my release I am giving away an e-book copy of any one of my books (go to my </b><b>website</b><b> to choose) to one lucky commenter so please leave me a comment with your EMAIL so I can contact you if you win!!</b></i><br />
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Thank you, generous Miz Jennifer! Are interviewers included in that giveaway invite? Just askin'... Okay, lets get to some questions. Here are the just-because-I'm-nosy ones:<br />
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What fairy tale character do you most identify with?<br />
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<i>Snow White. Loved the story as a kid and always felt the most like her. I am a romantic suspense writer, after all, lol. And Snow White’s story is very much a suspense story to me. Especially with the huntsman. :)</i><br />
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I love the Snow White story and all of it's variations, but I could not agree with you more about the huntsman version.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mumfection.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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Whew. *fans self* Okay, on to the next. What historic period would you live in if you could? Or would you rather live in the future?<br />
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<i>I would love to go back to medieval times-just for a little while-and live with a Scottish Highlander. The kind you read about in romance books, lol. </i><br />
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It's a good thing you put that qualifier in there. If fairytales have taught us anything, it's that you have to be very careful what you wish for.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.romanscotland.org.uk/" target="_blank">original image credit</a></td></tr>
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Scary thought... but that picture lets me segue nicely into my next question. Which of your five (or six!) senses would you say is the strongest?<br />
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<i>My sense of smell. Ugh. My family calls it a curse. It is unusually heightened and very sensitive. I’d make a great narcotics dog, lol. </i><br />
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Oh, man. I think I'd rather have any other sense heightened but that one. The world doesn't always smell like sunshine and roses and fresh-baked cookies! It could be worse, though. You could have a nose that just <i>looks</i> like it's super sensitive.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What are you looking at?" <a href="http://twistedscottishbastard.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
Moving on, what's your lucky number? <br />
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<i>7. There are three ‘7s’ in my birthdate. And 2 ‘1’s. So maybe 1 is my lucky number. Hmmm…</i><br />
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Seven is my son's favorite number, too, so I'm kind of partial to it. I'm pretty partial to my son, too. Can you tell why? Just look at that shirt. He's my favorite nerd, ever.<br />
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Sorry, I'll take any excuse to show pictures of my kids. :)<br />
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So, back to you, Jennifer! Are you a good public speaker?<br />
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<i>No! Very adamantly no. I would take an F in school if if meant avoiding making a speech. My grades were always pretty good so I could afford the bad grade. Yeah, I hate speaking in front of people. </i><br />
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Phobias are brutal. I'm that way about spiders. It was even worse when I was was younger--my sister an I had a closet we used as a "fort" when we were kids. I saw a spider in there once the size of a dime, and I kid you not, I never went in to that closet again. And we lived there another three years. I take my phobias very seriously.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kulfoto.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
Speaking of scary things, have you ever gone bungee jumping? If not, would you?<br />
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<i>Since I’m terrified of heights that would be a no way!</i><br />
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You're in good company, then. Me and <a href="http://kristenbrockmeyer.blogspot.com/2014/06/magm-5-meet-author-connie-bretes.html" target="_blank">Connie Bretes</a> won't do it, either.<br />
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What's your favorite holiday?<br />
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<i>Christmas. Hands down. I love everything there is about the holiday and we go all out. Christmas in my family is a big event every year. I start baking in November if that’s any indication, lol. And we are lucky if we make it through Thanksgiving before our Christmas tree goes up. :)</i><br />
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I love Christmas, too! My mom has been posting on Facebook that there's only 170-something shopping days left. Not that anyone but us Christmas-lovers are counting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amusingtime.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit.</a></td></tr>
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You're ordering a pizza just for you. What's on it?<br />
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<i>Pineapple and ground beef. </i><br />
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If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?<br />
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<i>Ireland.</i><br />
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I've always wanted to visit Ireland! And I hear it's a great place for pale people, too.<br />
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One last nosy question for you. Ever gone skinny dipping?<br />
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<i>Yep. And I shall say no more! LOL.</i><br />
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We'll just watch for skinny dipping scenes in your books if we want to know the details, right? ;) Okay, on to the writerly stuff. Pick up the book closest to you. Turn to page 12. What's the first full sentence on the page?<br />
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<i>“Roger that.” As he exited the garage, the sun flooded the cab of the truck, and he pulled on his mirrored aviator sunglasses.</i><br />
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I always forget to ask for the title of the book, too, with that question, but with my mad detective skills (and Google-assisted copy/paste), I know that the book closest to you was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Heat-Titan-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00FCZC2KE" target="_blank">Winter's Heat</a> by Cristin Harber! Does that win me a free book? :)<br />
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Who is your favorite author of all time?<br />
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<i>Cherry Adair. But there are so many, I can hardly narrow it to just one.</i><br />
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I'm the same way. I've had to cut down on my reading time just to fit in my writing. What are you currently working on?<br />
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<i>Book #2 of my SEAL Team Alpha series. </i><br />
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LOVE those military men! What book have you released most recently?<br />
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<i>The Maze.</i><br />
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Can we read a little of it?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am drooling over this cover.</td></tr>
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<i>Trying to explain was out of the question, he knew she wasn’t in a place where she could listen, so he set the lantern on the ground and stepped back. “Come on, Devayne, take what you need from me.”</i><br />
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<i>“You have nothing I need.”</i><br />
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<i>“Oh, I think I do. Let’s work on your fighting skills before we meet up with Santiago.”</i><br />
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<i>It worked. Attie took off her parka and hung it on a tree limb. Then she lunged. Noah simply allowed her to release her pent up emotions on him, parrying her blows, challenging her and offering what she needed. She flew at and around him with skill and agility that impressed him once again. She jabbed with her fists, kicked and danced as if she were weightless.</i><br />
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<i>The ground below them grew muddy from rain and their boots. Anyone watching would no doubt think them crazy to be out in such weather—Noah would have agreed—but this was important. Attie’s state of mind took precedence over the storm.</i><br />
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<i>Dodging a jab to his kidney, he put his hands together in a time-out gesture as lightning flashed overhead. Attie ignored it and trotted toward him. Deflecting the blow, he said loudly to be heard, </i><br />
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<i>“Enough. You’re going to catch pneumonia.”</i><br />
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<i>Again, she ignored him.</i><br />
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<i>Annoyed, he waited for her to turn just like so…and in one swift move spun her into his arms and trapped her arms at her sides, holding her tight against him.</i><br />
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<i>Green ice met his stare and her beauty struck him again. Anger never looked so good on a woman. Raindrops clung to her lashes and slid over the smooth flesh of her cheeks. Her hair clung like a deep flame to her head and shoulders. She looked hostile and aggressive and sexy as hell with her eyes flashing, cheeks flushed and clothes plastered to her lithe body. Her chin jutted out stubbornly.</i><br />
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Fantastic. I can't wait to read this. Every excerpt I've read has been better than the last! So, where can we buy it?<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KPJ84U4"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon</span></span></i></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-maze-jennifer-lowery/1119638588?ean=2940149587339&itm=1&usri=2940149587339"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Barnes & Noble</span></i></a><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-maze-14">Kobo</a></span></i><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-maze/id884843933?mt=11" target="_blank">iTunes</a></span></i></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Any other info links for all of us bookstalkers out there? </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://starzaki.eu.org/~littlemaggot/blog/Stalkercat_F511/Stalkercat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://starzaki.eu.org/~littlemaggot/blog/Stalkercat_F511/Stalkercat.jpg" height="320" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://starzaki.eu.org/~littlemaggot/blog/Stalkercat_F511/Stalkercat.jpg" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<div style="background-color: white;">
<i>Yes, and thank you for having me today, Kristen!! I also want to send out a big THANK YOU to all my readers out there! Without you I wouldn't be here. My wish is to one day meet each and every one of you so I can personally thank you for your generosity and support! </i></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://jenniferloweryauthor.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-LoweryAuthor/302548869788688" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://twitter.com/JLoweryauthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="http://romancerecipes.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Romance Recipes</a></i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://jenniferloweryauthor.com/join-my-newsletter/" target="_blank" title="Jennifer's Newsletter">Jennifer's Newsletter</a></i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i>***BONUS***<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i>For everyone who signs up for my </i><a href="http://jenniferloweryauthor.com/join-my-newsletter/"><i>NEWSLETTER</i></a><i> you will receive an e-book copy of my short story, Taking Chances ($.99 value) for FREE!</i></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
Sweet! Thank you so much for being on today, Jennifer, and thank you for hanging out with us on MaGM Monday! Best of luck and many booksale wishes for your new release. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-65216503115724892812014-06-17T10:40:00.000-04:002014-06-17T10:49:50.888-04:00MaGM #5: Meet Author Connie Bretes<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">So, when I get back my questionnaires for MaGM, usually the answers I receive are detailed and chatty. My next guest, though, has written more in the past year than probably Nora Roberts and Steven King combined. Plus, she works full-time, has a long commute (no time to dilly dally!) and she's a little shy--so we're going to call this the <b>MaGM Lightning Round</b>! </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">Welcome to Meet and Greet Monday (ahem, Tuesday), where we pull an author or reader of romance out from out of that book they're buried in, drag them in front of everyone and introduce them! Please wave hello to today's featured guest, a <a href="http://midmichiganrwa.org/" target="_blank">MMRWA</a> friend and new author, Connie Bretes!</span></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSKAj7lt19fE9rWDaCd3fUqZIS0OLI1g9VBzHQgGOj1esCed4kSvqAyZFI3CVYTWiLOrZhE-dIXeWKUHMpba3JYuUFTeiDapCZhOfkw1LfXSHKIXjbsS5_mbF3HPo34VX0akS0CXEdu0/s1600/P12-resize+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSKAj7lt19fE9rWDaCd3fUqZIS0OLI1g9VBzHQgGOj1esCed4kSvqAyZFI3CVYTWiLOrZhE-dIXeWKUHMpba3JYuUFTeiDapCZhOfkw1LfXSHKIXjbsS5_mbF3HPo34VX0akS0CXEdu0/s1600/P12-resize+(1).jpg" height="256" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(She barely left off writing long enough to let the photographer take this picture!)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">Alright, brace yourself, Connie. Here come the just-because-I'm-nosy questions:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's your favorite color? </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><i>Purple.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">Okay, that was easy. Now, what's your middle name?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><i>Sue.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">Good. I was just seeing if you were paying attention. Quick, if you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><i>Bionic ears.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">Did you see that? No hesitation. Connie keeps a cool head under pressure.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.actionindia.net/uploade/1329638879-7124-Bionic-Ear-pictures-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.actionindia.net/uploade/1329638879-7124-Bionic-Ear-pictures-1.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And now I know what to get her for Christmas! <a href="http://www.actionindia.net/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">But I'm just getting warmed up. Connie: have you ever gone bungee jumping? </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">If not, would you?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>No, not on your life.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;">Are you sure? I've heard it's a lot of fun. Ask anyone that's tried it!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><br /></span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.acidcow.com/pics/20120914/video/funny_russian_bungee_jumping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.acidcow.com/pics/20120914/video/funny_russian_bungee_jumping.jpg" height="227" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&docid=zZRrmRaIM0iCzM&tbnid=Ktd1rD7RI_VDXM:&ved=0CAQQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Facidcow.com%2Fvideo%2F37028-funny_russian_bungee_jumping_guy_skip_to_140.html&ei=SE6fU7nvNcuCqgbYrYC4CA&bvm=bv.68911936,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNHq-6xBQoCnfr0HCwIHcJDFK2zFhw&ust=1403035016520588" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image Credit</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next question! Have you ever met a celebrity?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you ever gone skinny dipping? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>No.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hmm. Ever had a secret admirer?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>No.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scared to fly?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>No.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, Connie, I've got to get something juicy out of you. Like, stuff that no one else knows. Our readers expect it. Then, I promise I'll let you get back to writing! For example, have you ever had a really bad haircut? Be honest, now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I had my hair cut, then permed. It turned into a
frizzy Afro. It was horrible and made my face look tiny.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sure it wasn't that bad. What kind of afro are we talking, here, anyway? Was it a free-form Bob Ross coiffure?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bobrossfacts.com/images/Bob_Ross_afro.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bobrossfacts.com/images/Bob_Ross_afro.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bobrossfacts.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or more of a, uh, stylized 'do?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01455/White-afro_1455424i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01455/White-afro_1455424i.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/" target="_blank">Image Credi</a>t</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And no worries, we all rock styles we regret at some point in our lives. Except me, of course. My hair is and always has been as fabulous as the rest of me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/1457648_10200852875108193_548925030_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/1457648_10200852875108193_548925030_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't knock the leggings or the Farrah wings. It was the 80's.</td></tr>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah. So. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much to Connie's relief, I'm changing the topic to books now. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pick up the book closest to you. Turn to page 12. What's the first full sentence on the page?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Copper ringlets curled on her forehead and on her nape”</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should have asked what book! Now I'm picturing this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Yop62wQH498" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those probably aren't the copper ringlets you're referring to, though.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who is your favorite author of all time? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Victoria Holt.</i></span></div>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are you currently working on? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love Songs<i>, getting it ready for release.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such exciting words for a new author. Bet you don't get tired of saying them! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What book have you released most recently? </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Last Dig<i>, released yesterday.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Woo! Congrats! I feel like I own a little of that excitement, having been one of the first to read it. Can we let everyone know what its about? </span></div>
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGOKeidXD9qU00QKubN2Pl3JHYuu4U7fWVx5zPmXAzUFIkzfIuuh5U26LOyBoUeXDD7tGbWuo8UJTbm91-mKbzJWB_pTChyphenhyphen4xljhsfBKck0B2_wdRXs65kGudfBZGIvj8Z5AzswEqy_I/s1600/The+Last+Dig+Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGOKeidXD9qU00QKubN2Pl3JHYuu4U7fWVx5zPmXAzUFIkzfIuuh5U26LOyBoUeXDD7tGbWuo8UJTbm91-mKbzJWB_pTChyphenhyphen4xljhsfBKck0B2_wdRXs65kGudfBZGIvj8Z5AzswEqy_I/s1600/The+Last+Dig+Small.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nancygideon.blogspot.com/2014/06/20-questions-for-constance-bretes.html" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Paleontologist Caroline Priest is shocked when she finds a dead body at her dig site. When she calls it in to the sheriff's department, her former boyfriend, Rand Callahan, comes out to investigate. The evidence quickly starts to point to Caroline being the killer, and Rand has no choice but to arrest her.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>It's clear to Caroline that she's been set up, but by who and for what reason? While Caroline is out on bail, Rand rekindles his relationship with her as they try to solve the mystery before it's too late.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where can we buy it? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://beachwalkpress.com/the-last-dig/" target="_blank">Beachwalk Press</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Dig-Constance-Bretes-ebook/dp/B00KZNLGKU/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403015164&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=connie+bretes" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-dig-constance-bretes/1119735520?ean=2940149774692" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the now-familiar stalker question: where can we find you at?</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/MjAxMy1kZTQ2ZmViYmZmMWE1YWMy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/MjAxMy1kZTQ2ZmViYmZmMWE1YWMy.png" height="280" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just remember, friends... <a href="http://www.someecards.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://conniebretes.weebly.com/">http://conniebretes.weebly.com</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://facebook.constancebretes/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://twitter.conniebretes/" target="_blank">Twitter</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="mailto:cbretes@sbcglobal.net" target="_blank">Email</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm so excited for your debut, Connie. Enjoy the ride and best wishes for tons and tons of book sales! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-46321220317541775802014-06-12T08:08:00.001-04:002014-06-12T10:42:28.189-04:00Book Review: Secret Love by Christine Warner<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.25em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 4px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21.818180084228516px;">Will you judge me if I tell you I had never read a novella until yesterday? Matter of fact, when I first saw <i>Secret Love</i>, by Christine Warner, I didn't even know that's what it was. Then I started reading and was like, what? Only 69 pages? Won't I feel cheated? And voila: just an hour or so later, I'm a now a <i>big</i> fan of novellas in general and Christine Warner in particular.</span></span></h3>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Book: Secret Love</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Christine Warner</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: Self-Published</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Sweet Romance</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rating:</b><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;"><b> </b></span><b>(5 out of 5 hearts!)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbL2dnfiZgCB9Hv9g6CbHEhC2QofClVn7T1qa3v-sy2OnxCLINPNri4cNncsAKbRKjtwspRCetyicKEjVQqdFYs19hMX2oAI0aMFXNt1anGDei47OQB7m_lby6Hpkxw4XJ5npQzZclcqM/s1600/SECRET+LOVE+FINAL+COVER+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbL2dnfiZgCB9Hv9g6CbHEhC2QofClVn7T1qa3v-sy2OnxCLINPNri4cNncsAKbRKjtwspRCetyicKEjVQqdFYs19hMX2oAI0aMFXNt1anGDei47OQB7m_lby6Hpkxw4XJ5npQzZclcqM/s1600/SECRET+LOVE+FINAL+COVER+(1).jpg" height="320" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the Book:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">Saranac, Michigan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">March 1955</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">Lizzie Tarleton has always done things her own way—including the time at the tender age of thirteen when she confessed to her brother’s best friend she loved him. But now she’s a new teacher at the local high school, and independent enough to know that you can’t force love. She’ll find love when the time is right—even though her parents are adamant the time is now. The only downfall to her idyllic life is the fact that her childhood crush—who broke her heart—is now her boss. If only she could stop daydreaming about him.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">Wayne Whitmore grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and worked hard to get where he’s at in life. Even though he enjoys being principal at the small town high school, he dreams of coaching baseball. When his best friend asks him to watch over his little sister at her new job at Wayne’s school, he agrees. What he doesn’t count on is how she’s grown from the pig tailed kid who told him she loved him, to the woman who breaks his concentration with her beauty and smile. Unable to get over his fascination, and afraid he’ll ruin his friend’s trust, Wayne applies for his dream job—one that will take him far away.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">One night while decorating the school gymnasium for an upcoming sock hop, Lizzie and Wayne find themselves alone. They share a kiss and Lizzie realizes her childhood crush for Wayne has never died. Wayne decides he doesn’t want to let Lizzie get away.</span><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;" /><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Can they come to terms with their secret love and then overcome the other secrets they are hiding in order to get what they each want? Or is their timing for love still off?</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">My Thoughts:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the spirit of novellas and the abbreviated slices of fiction they offer, I'll try to rein in my enthusiasm about this book enough to keep this review relatively brief. Here are five things I adored about <i>Secret Love</i>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. The cover. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Visually appealing as heck, with a strong vintage vibe. Feel free to judge this book by it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. The vintage factor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's no secret that I'm a lover of all things vintage, so when I saw "1955" in the description, I was instantly intrigued. I love historical romance, but I rarely see anything set newer than the Victorian era. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. The writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Clean, polished and error-free, and very well edited. I like that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Portrayal of life in the 50's:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm still trying to figure this out: since I was born in 1980, how did reading this book make me so flipping nostalgic? I couldn't get over the way the setting was so unobtrusively but unmistakably 1955. It probably helped that I toggled over to YouTube and played the songs that were referenced as I read. The title of the book itself was a catchy Doris Day number.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. The love story itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There's no major trauma, no bullets flying, no fatal car accidents, just a lifelike romance with the emotional stakes that come along with the territory. But this is in no way boring: I found myself falling in love with and rooting for Lizzie and Wayne from page one. They're very likable, realistic characters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To sum it up all short and sweet? Five hearts.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the Author:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t1.0-9/407022_473471989391899_1844720863_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t1.0-9/407022_473471989391899_1844720863_n.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.390625px;">Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her husband, three children, one laptop and a much loved assortment of furry friends.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.390625px;">Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no </span></span><span style="line-height: 22.390625px;">arithmetic</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.390625px;">. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy, heroines.</span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Connect with Christine Warner:</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://christine-warner.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blog</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinewarner" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0a5294; font-family: inherit; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinesWords" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0a5294; font-family: inherit; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5763713.Christine_Warner" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the Book:</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Love-Sweet-Fifties-Series-ebook/dp/B00KRG1Z42" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-love-christine-warner/1119640230?ean=2940149616909" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Barnes and Noble</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<i style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Secret Love in exchange for a fair and impartial review.</span></i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-8328323381016156222014-06-09T13:27:00.000-04:002014-06-09T14:01:43.153-04:00MaGM #4: Meet Author Nancy Gideon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" height="320" width="260" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Woohoo - there's a chance it's <i>actually Monday </i>when you're reading this! Well, unless something crazy happens between now and the time I hit the post button... Welcome to Meet and Greet Monday, where we pull an author or reader of romance out from out of that book they're buried in, drag them in front of everyone and introduce them! Please wave hello to today's featured guest, author Nancy Gideon:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF4FB2zMAlSFGZb17jN23Sqh3iwQXTkXhK-GpL7LoZ-QuYkGtGJX1hJUWZnlyV2F1fEfD3RwKrFyViAFPZwtkkKFeGq_VKcOE3o8JzAqe9G_ACYwMd-fh17VZPetPCnk83xIDxXhFt4s/s1600/My+search+for+bling+rewarded!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF4FB2zMAlSFGZb17jN23Sqh3iwQXTkXhK-GpL7LoZ-QuYkGtGJX1hJUWZnlyV2F1fEfD3RwKrFyViAFPZwtkkKFeGq_VKcOE3o8JzAqe9G_ACYwMd-fh17VZPetPCnk83xIDxXhFt4s/s1600/My+search+for+bling+rewarded!.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You see that 24-carat gleam in her eye? Nancy was on a bling-buying expedition in Nawleans.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Heya, Nancy - thanks for coming! I'm really looking forward to this interview. I know you're gonna have some good answers for us... *rubs hands together gleefully* </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">First, I'm going to ask you a handful of random questions, just because I'm nosy. Starting with: </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">what fairy tale character do you most identify with?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>Gretel from the movie Hansel & Gretel, Witch Hunters. If only I looked that bad@ss in leather! Lie around helplessly and wait to be rescued? Not this babe in the woods.</i></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrz_ccAVjKCFZVTa1LN2NksikLo7YRBCRHXHTuUuZb5YoG0bTuCJnhMTk0gXjTK9HBbAcPJxWkZCQuOHYeKgjrj-1V1WWmg8NVnJqy1DX0IVcUbV4wz71e2qtkTjpm5UJIYqR9CdbFqvY/s1600/nancy+gideon.bmp" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrz_ccAVjKCFZVTa1LN2NksikLo7YRBCRHXHTuUuZb5YoG0bTuCJnhMTk0gXjTK9HBbAcPJxWkZCQuOHYeKgjrj-1V1WWmg8NVnJqy1DX0IVcUbV4wz71e2qtkTjpm5UJIYqR9CdbFqvY/s1600/nancy+gideon.bmp" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Oh, Nancy, quit being modest. You <i>do </i>look badass in that leather outfit. Except your shoulder pads are kind of big, but we won't judge.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Which of your five (or six!) senses would you say is the strongest? Your witch hunting sense or...</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>I wish it was my hearing, but that’s the first to go. It’s probably my sense of smell. I’m ultrasensitive to certain scent notes in candles and perfumes. Boom – massive headache.</i></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Little known fact: Wolverine has the same problem. Click on the pic to read the speech bubbles better.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYxyk1pSAHkA85VmJx-x2lUk7Q1uHIJavj_FNBqcVqFazyavdNkaWwkd36E2I-OXAiOd3MJGhbHC0E0vr4dNmMs37qlISSJTIAjloXcJGA9ZxFD2HTfiYb-s6uyT-ZeRzXqG0iaiRWIE/s1600/Nancy+Gideon+kristenbrockmeyer.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYxyk1pSAHkA85VmJx-x2lUk7Q1uHIJavj_FNBqcVqFazyavdNkaWwkd36E2I-OXAiOd3MJGhbHC0E0vr4dNmMs37qlISSJTIAjloXcJGA9ZxFD2HTfiYb-s6uyT-ZeRzXqG0iaiRWIE/s1600/Nancy+Gideon+kristenbrockmeyer.blogspot.com.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">I hope you're happy, Nancy. I ruined a perfectly good comic book image, just for you. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Lollypops: are you a licker or a biter?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>Let me see. One, two, three, CRUNCH.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.quickmeme.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Speaking of direwolves, do you have any pets?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>Though I’m currently at a pet deficit, which I plan to resolve soon with the adoption of a new cat, I adore all things fur, feather and fin. I’ve always shared my life and love with animals, from gerbils to Guinea pigs, aquarium frogs to foundling cats, my dad’s hunting dogs and a tank of pampered fish to a balcony hosting squirrels (including flying), five varieties of woodpeckers and a family of raccoons – I spoil them all.</i></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">That's so cool <i>–</i> what's it even <i>like</i> having a flying squirrel? I've never met anyone that's had one. Do they sell little aviator goggles for them?</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lemondropvintage.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">(Yes, I now want a flying squirrel, in case you were wondering. And I will name it Rocky and it shall be mine.)</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Are you a good public speaker?</span><br />
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<i><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Actually, I am - once I learned how to conquer the terror the thought of it immediately inspires. The idea of walking up in front of the class to put an assignment on the teacher’s desk used to make me hyperventilate. I’d prefer to write a 50-page essay than give a two minute speech. But I do love to talk on any subject endlessly so I had to train myself to circumvent the fear by refusing to recognize it. I volunteer then don’t think about it until it’s time to write my speech. Then I rehearse until I’m comfortable saying the words and with the material and put it away. Out of sight out of mind until I have to get up in front of a half-dozen or several hundred. I take several slow deep breaths and go for it. The size of the group doesn't matter. I focus on one face at a time when I speak and force myself to pause frequently so my brain can catch up with my words. A simple technique but it works for me.</span></i><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">I tried out for a play at the Civic when I was 13 and was coincidentally picked to audition first. I immediately forgot every word of the Thomas Moore poem I had painstakingly spent the previous week learning, and then cried in front of 100 other kids for the awkward 30 seconds it took for someone to come lead me offstage. I did not get the part. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://joalderson.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/public-speaking.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://joalderson.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/public-speaking.jpeg" height="227" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Today in "Lessons from Nancy." <a href="http://joalderson.co.uk/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">What's your favorite holiday?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>I’m a Christmas-aholic. I collect everything from music boxes and CDs to Santa Clauses and nutcrackers. ’Tis the season to go overboard in my house. I love gift giving and baking and setting that perfect holiday table. Halloween is a close runner-up, probably because I write paranormals and love the drama.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.neatorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/outdoor-christmas-lights-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.neatorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/outdoor-christmas-lights-11.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Google Street View of Nancy's house on November 1. <a href="http://www.neatorama.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Are you scared of flying?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>I love to travel and flying gets me where I want to go in two hours without having to stop for a bathroom every 40 miles. I learned to drink coffee in an aviation class in 12th grade (I was one of three girls in the class—part of the appeal). My younger son volunteered at our local Air Zoo and snuck stick time on small planes whenever he could (including a couple of Warbirds!) and now is teaching my grandson to pilot R/C planes. I guess you could say we’re a heads in the clouds people. </i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">My husband loves airplanes and flies R/C's, too, and my youngest is showing a lot of interest in them. Me, though, not so much. The only time I've ever flown was to England, and I just happened to come home in the wee hours of the morning on September 11, 2001. So, waking up to the news that morning was pretty sobering and I vowed to take a boat or swim if I ever needed to go overseas again. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Plus, I always see things like <i>this</i> on the news, and they don't exactly inspire confidence:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://weknowmemes.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Okay, let's talk about book stuff. Pick up the book closest to you. Turn to page 12. What's the first full sentence on the page?</span><br />
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<i>Chance shook his head, a glint of amusement temporarily cutting through the pained expression on his face. “Lucky, you haven’t changed a goddamned bit, have you? Still a bossy little brat.”</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://busyteacher.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<i>Okay, that was a paragraph. Do you recognize it? You should. It’s from your book LUCKY IN LOVE, still on my desk from when you were a guest on my blog! A really fun read, BTW!</i><br />
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Oh, I see what you did, there, lady... I swear, readers, that I didn't tell her to plug my book!<br />
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Who is your favorite author of all time? (Not angling for another compliment here, folks, just a legitimate question. lol)<br />
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<i>As a writer, Nora Roberts. I admire her seemingly effortless prose, prolific output and absolute professionalism. As a reader, Dean Koontz. He’s da man!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
You have great taste. I can say that, because you just named off my two of my ever-changed but frequently-favorited authors.<br />
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What is your favorite genre overall?<br />
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<i>I read and write everything so I don’t really have a favorite genre, but I do have a favorite element. I love anything with suspense, whether it’s wearing chainmail, taking SEAL training, or howling at the moon.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Sure, suspense is an element. But I'll bet I can think of another common appeal...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkMe3GGNTi-Pc-h5PtFgmYUedvX6iptSDfv2HrINlKBbfqpeO0QzqWLmxETM4cfdKqGalaJRe_98OpB3pO-nEenHWZaf9g66BqWdYTM5HzcRsAtcIfcpNZq560j-XlUHe1-ukwP3dgPM/s1600/Knights+Seals+and+Werewolves+Oh+MY.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkMe3GGNTi-Pc-h5PtFgmYUedvX6iptSDfv2HrINlKBbfqpeO0QzqWLmxETM4cfdKqGalaJRe_98OpB3pO-nEenHWZaf9g66BqWdYTM5HzcRsAtcIfcpNZq560j-XlUHe1-ukwP3dgPM/s1600/Knights+Seals+and+Werewolves+Oh+MY.png" height="161" width="400" /></a></div>
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What are you currently working on?<br />
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<i>I’m fine-tuning the ninth book in my “By Moonlight” dark paranormal series, REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT. It returns shape shifter Max Savoie and NOPD detective Charlotte Caissie as the main couple for an October, 2014 release.</i><br />
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I've got one of your <i>By Moonlight </i>books! It's literally next in the TBR stack and I'll be reading it by tomorrow. Just working my way through a Karen Robards, so you'll be in good company. What book have you released most recently?<br />
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<i>LOVE’S OWN REWARD written under pen name Dana Ransom was just reissued by BelleBooks/BellBridge Books on May 27th – my birthday – as the first of four contemporaries in 2014!</i><br />
<br />
<i>Sweet! </i>Talk about a happy birthday for you! Can we read a little of it?<br />
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<i>Confronting her was the nicest denim-molded backside she’d ever seen. Whoever was rummaging about in the vegetable crisper of her refrigerator, it definitely wasn't Alan Peters!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsG6LCnmnbJimt14mE9S891PKt6F_KuryjXNSRfts8mdOCmCQBexIAjTezq2dueOGZ4o-lIO0VHVPXRzyPtA9r-vGngOcziRRRldCrg-svtqD468wL7lvGMntx53CpmNdQGMuqwwZcdo/s1600/Love%2527s+Own+Reward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsG6LCnmnbJimt14mE9S891PKt6F_KuryjXNSRfts8mdOCmCQBexIAjTezq2dueOGZ4o-lIO0VHVPXRzyPtA9r-vGngOcziRRRldCrg-svtqD468wL7lvGMntx53CpmNdQGMuqwwZcdo/s1600/Love%2527s+Own+Reward.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><i>Charley must have made some noise, for the forager called back cheerfully, “Good morning. How do you like your eggs? Over easy or scrambled?” He straightened and turned.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>With one look at her stunned features, he nodded to himself and said, “Scrambled.”</i><br />
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<i>Charley’s mouth opened and closed several times in soundless wonder. Who on earth was this absolutely gorgeous man taking control of her kitchen with more natural ease than she’d ever managed? She just stared. She couldn’t help it. His untidy brown hair looked finger-combed back from a moody brow and startlingly gray eyes.An overnight stubble darkened his firm jaw and made his mouth appear disarmingly soft in contrast. A white cotton sweatshirt clung to his broad shoulders and exposed very masculine forearms where its sleeves had been shoved up to the elbows. From beneath the hem of the blue jeans she’d already noticed in far too much detail, his feet were bare. “Ruggedly bed-rumpled” was the only way to describe him. And that evoked a more alarming question.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Where had he spent the night?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Noting her confusion with a slight lift of that mobile mouth, he turned back to the refrigerator. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>“How old is this milk?” When she didn’t answer—couldn’t answer—he popped open the spout and sniffed. His head jerked back as if a snake had jumped out at him. “Nevermind.” He upended it in the sink. “Why don’t you go sit down? I’ll have things ready in a minute.”</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Obediently Charley stumbled to the breakfast bar and collapsed on one of the high stools.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>She knew her jaw was sagging. She could feel the slack weight of it as she struggled valiantly for a stabilizing breath of air. She made a half-strangled noise like a sink gurgling.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>“Coffee?” He was already pouring. She stared at the steaming mug in blank amazement.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>“Cream? Sugar? Though God knows if you have any.”</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>“Black’s fine.”</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>“Ah, she talks. Good. If your hands are bothering you, that’s your prescription on the counter. I filled it for you last night.” At her distressed shift of expression he soothed, “Don’t worry. You were dead to the world. I figured it would be safer to leave you than to haul you around in a wheelbarrow.”</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Charley’s mind was still laboring. Emotions were dulled. When she should have been having hysterics, she found herself only mildly bewildered. No, she definitely didn’t want to take any more painkillers. She already felt as stupid as a stump. All she could think of to say to him was, “You undressed me.”</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>He smiled. It was a very slow, very wide, very sexy smile. “No need to thank me. It was no trouble at all.” He was still grinning when he began to crack eggs into one of her little-used skillets.</i><br />
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Ooh, good stuff. Scrambled eggs, indeed. Where can we buy <i>Loves Own Reward</i>, should we be so inclined?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Loves-Own-Reward-Dana-Ransom/dp/1611945097/ref=tmm_pap_title_0" target="_blank">Amazon</a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/loves-own-reward-dana-ransom/1000173700?ean=9781611945096" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble </a><br />
<br />
And say we want to <strike>obsessively follow every aspect of your career</strike> see what you're up to?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://notreligious.typepad.com/.a/6a00e552e3404e88330133f58100e3970b-450wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://notreligious.typepad.com/.a/6a00e552e3404e88330133f58100e3970b-450wi" height="320" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://woodsydude-gkcrocks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<i><br /></i>
<i>(Please note: This is a joke. Stalkers are creepy. Especially stalkers in gillie suits. Don't stalk Nancy in a gillie suit.)</i><br />
<br />
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<br />
It's been a blast, Nancy - thanks for hanging out with us and we wish you many sales! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-71954038746041169782014-06-03T09:37:00.000-04:002014-06-03T14:04:18.414-04:00MaGM#3: Meet Author Sandra Dailey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" height="320" width="260" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, sorry, but please pretend it's Monday again, people. The saga of my faulty gallbladder continued yesterday, so, <i>belatedly</i>... welcome to Meet and Greet Monday, where we pull an author or reader of romance out from out of that book they're buried in, drag them in front of everyone and introduce them! Please wave hello to today's featured guest, author Sandra Dailey:</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaBCGjUcGH8UZURcU6Qwfk9a_VIxkq2Ukfjp4Nk51rGohhqMCbniRaansTOnp3wx2vkKuWbpxovgpPiZYR8StCAJDJdh1UnGiVrt5EuTcVOFekxEWN2nfSUEO8RHiJ1AUViFm5_s8yTo/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaBCGjUcGH8UZURcU6Qwfk9a_VIxkq2Ukfjp4Nk51rGohhqMCbniRaansTOnp3wx2vkKuWbpxovgpPiZYR8StCAJDJdh1UnGiVrt5EuTcVOFekxEWN2nfSUEO8RHiJ1AUViFm5_s8yTo/s1600/002.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">You know what they say... the bigger the foot, the bigger the shoe.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi, Sandra! First, I'll ask you a series of random questions, just because I'm nosy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Hi
Kristen! I’m delighted to be a guest on your blog. I love the opportunity to
meet new readers and fellow writers. </i></span><i style="line-height: 115%;">This should be fun.</i></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hey, fun, traumatizing, it's all semantics. Okay, let's jump right in: if you were a superhero, what would your
superpower be?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d
love to have the power of ‘Invisibility’. There’s two ways this power would
work well for me. 1 - As a writer, I work at home. Constant interruptions
plague me. 2 - Also, as a writer, I love to listen in on other people’s
conversations. You can get some great ideas that way. As they say, truth is
often stranger than fiction.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtT_FWyqPQuVeuDFYECVdvEhBr-ZacUv9Vq5-g6OL55aEOf1rKKwzye7alRLE3e79rzUvKYiJZ3-A8tz1ZhblmqSoE2EwCpatXk8eNnbDosUwcNlZKoYBpaYfBmZJqa05WUTduyNbPEI/s1600/couple-on-park-bench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtT_FWyqPQuVeuDFYECVdvEhBr-ZacUv9Vq5-g6OL55aEOf1rKKwzye7alRLE3e79rzUvKYiJZ3-A8tz1ZhblmqSoE2EwCpatXk8eNnbDosUwcNlZKoYBpaYfBmZJqa05WUTduyNbPEI/s1600/couple-on-park-bench.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">See Sandra listening in? Neither do they... <a href="http://www.sheknows.com/love-and-sex/articles/816583/creating-intimacy-through-vulnerability-1" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">That totally makes sense to me. If they can't see you, they can't interrupt you. Or, in the case of persistent eavesdropping, smack you with a restraining order. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Do you have any hidden talents?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It’s
not really hidden, but most people who know me would say I have a talent for
sarcasm. It serves me well. 1 – It tends to spill out into my writing and helps
spice up my characters. 2 – People with a good sense of humor are drawn to me.
3 – People with no sense of humor avoid me. I’m good with that.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And boom. We're kindred spirits. I love sarcasm! I was wondering about that strange, magnetic pull you seemed to have... </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">So, if you could live anywhere in the world,
where would it be?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d
love to live in one of those little bungalows out on the water in Bora Bora.
It’s beautiful and secluded, a perfect place to write. I’d like to see who’d
knock on my door in the middle of the day there.</span></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHQHGSwi-aYCvVMNomt01BXb6lwcuvMngdmw3xvPunG31atl7m0s6zXlhZxZNpXbhZTqWRCBGd2O4ZUD8i42cCDpQKjRnN2S1SbZnlrWwpsaq6SRZZa0puvwUyKK8CiMWjYA0u-1Zw-A/s1600/LeMeridienBoraBoraHutsSideview300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHQHGSwi-aYCvVMNomt01BXb6lwcuvMngdmw3xvPunG31atl7m0s6zXlhZxZNpXbhZTqWRCBGd2O4ZUD8i42cCDpQKjRnN2S1SbZnlrWwpsaq6SRZZa0puvwUyKK8CiMWjYA0u-1Zw-A/s1600/LeMeridienBoraBoraHutsSideview300.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Sandra's dream hut. <a href="http://www.overwaterbungalows.net/overwater-bungalows-in-bora-bora" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Looks gorgeous, doesn't it? Wonder how much real estate in Bora Bora goes for. If I budget my money right, I could probably afford something more like this:</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-F_nnmewjNHvxwl7ylFHkvfMaK7QJYFiI3zV4kdQH1TlTFwe2n4hKHcDR65m0unN0_FS40DWJmK-tbZh9sc_sK80B3qZGhWuAu-bo5jRse-dZqz3x-uslYTPdRdlxnbqMQYG79OKedM/s1600/tumblr_lqwvj1Yubb1qlj5dr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-F_nnmewjNHvxwl7ylFHkvfMaK7QJYFiI3zV4kdQH1TlTFwe2n4hKHcDR65m0unN0_FS40DWJmK-tbZh9sc_sK80B3qZGhWuAu-bo5jRse-dZqz3x-uslYTPdRdlxnbqMQYG79OKedM/s1600/tumblr_lqwvj1Yubb1qlj5dr.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Is there room in your hut for me, Sandra? <a href="http://all-things-cardboard-and-square.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Speaking of money, what would you do if you won the
lottery?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bora
Bora, here I come! I guess I’d also need a boat for those coffee and chocolate
runs. You can’t write without coffee and chocolate. It’s a fact.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chocolate2die4.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/cruiseshiplg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.chocolate2die4.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/cruiseshiplg.jpg" height="116" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You buy a boat to go get your chocolate, and I'll just buy a chocolate boat to eat in my cardboard box. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I won't tell you how many hours I've spent daydreaming about lottery winnings. I've even promised to buy everyone I know a pony if I ever win... On an unrelated note, are you a good liar?</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I
believe </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">I've</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> established that I’m a writer. I spend my days, and often my
nights, making up fictitious stories and relating them in a believable way.
According to my rankings, I’m a pretty good liar. My confession, there you have
it.</span></span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZUHT-WGBer7KGtnrBxOtxcSiyUWfYkbNHXoADFOUWuRsfye84lEC1jfSR71mTfaMacNqW1B9Jn2t8JE0YDs4DqB0daC9IKFSaZBJ7XTkUhyphenhyphenSxQK3Rz47Q47Y9DxUhaOoloEVyb23J6U/s1600/tumblr_mc9ehimbTj1rfx7k3o4_250.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZUHT-WGBer7KGtnrBxOtxcSiyUWfYkbNHXoADFOUWuRsfye84lEC1jfSR71mTfaMacNqW1B9Jn2t8JE0YDs4DqB0daC9IKFSaZBJ7XTkUhyphenhyphenSxQK3Rz47Q47Y9DxUhaOoloEVyb23J6U/s1600/tumblr_mc9ehimbTj1rfx7k3o4_250.gif" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://rebloggy.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Ha, I love that being a writer gives us a legitimate, tax-deductible reason to put lies to paper. And kudos on those rankings! Wait, you're not lying about those, right? </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Okay, next: pick up the book closest to you. Turn to page 12. What's the first full sentence on the page?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Gunshots,
shouts, and the squeal of tires against pavement erupted outside the heavy
industrial door. (Hard As You Can by Laura Kaye)<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do like the sound of gunshots in a romance - especially by page 12. I haven't read any by Laura Kaye yet. I'll have to check her out! Probably the best thing about being romance writers is that we can read all the other authors we want and call it research or market analysis. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jokideo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/529146_510490188993651_1547486470_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://jokideo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/529146_510490188993651_1547486470_n.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jokideo.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Who is your favorite author of all time?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Oh,
that’s a hard one. I guess I’d have to say James Patterson. I’m addicted to his
Alex Cross and Michael Bennett series'.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm sensing a suspense theme here. So what about <i>your</i> books? What are you currently working on?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I
have three stories in the works. A suspense called </i>Close Enemy<i>, (sequel to </i>Common
Enemy<i>), a suspense called </i>Independence
Day<i>, and a mystery called </i>Deep Blue<i>.
However, my publisher doesn’t often agree with my titles, so we’ll see what
happens to them later.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/ef/efea89cac86f736170bc4b7c487deaac01c0abac3b4c0ff7cf7edd51fa88b1f8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/ef/efea89cac86f736170bc4b7c487deaac01c0abac3b4c0ff7cf7edd51fa88b1f8.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.quickmeme.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">I personally think those titles sound fantastic. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What book have you released most
recently?</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>That
would be </i>Common Enemy<i>, a romantic
suspense involving a scarred man determined to protect a single mother and her
five-year-old daughter from her psycho ex-husband.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Can we read a little of it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Here’s
a bit from the villain’s point of view ~</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtOFJ4dPHtUiP9kc2M1oF8TTP9fUpLGebYkUZFx8SCR4npyKFz09-PqSEpDolrsVUMLExhxEwchq_hSKyTqL9LPWQGnNJ-49cMm9LTHeLChYxF7p9HpWCl-14ntfGBdf5iL7BTPpXZPY/s1600/CommonEnemy_w8699_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtOFJ4dPHtUiP9kc2M1oF8TTP9fUpLGebYkUZFx8SCR4npyKFz09-PqSEpDolrsVUMLExhxEwchq_hSKyTqL9LPWQGnNJ-49cMm9LTHeLChYxF7p9HpWCl-14ntfGBdf5iL7BTPpXZPY/s1600/CommonEnemy_w8699_300.jpg" /></a><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bobby Ray
Butler watched the sunset through the barred window of his prison cell. He
squinted as the florescent lights automatically came on. They’d turn off again
to leave him in darkness at nine o’clock. It had been the same for the last
five years, five months and twenty days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He’d worn the
same orange jumpsuits every one of those days. He’d eaten the same tasteless
food and walked the same exercise yard. Any time he was outside his cell, he’d
had to watch his back. The bad guys here were dirty, diseased, and mean. The
good guys fell to them or learned to be just as bad. Bobby Ray had gone to
great lengths to avoid all but a select few.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">He earned a </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">minuscule</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> amount of money working on the grounds. Almost every dime of it had
gone into pads of paper. The only time his mind was truly calm were the hours
he spent sketching his pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-mirror-indents: yes; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">He peeled a
picture from the wall where it hung from a small piece of tape he’d had to beg
for. He’d never beg for anything again. The circumstance that put him here </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">wasn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> right. A man should be able to trust his wife. King of his castle and
all that crap.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">He carefully
lifted another picture from the collage on his wall. He’d be leaving soon and </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">wouldn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> leave a single one behind. No one here deserved to even look at them<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He’d been
through hell, but soon it would be his turn to send someone else. The
difference was, her hell would be permanent. There’d be no reprieve, no escape,
and no second chance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sounds right up my alley and I love the concept. Where can we buy it?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Common Enemy</span><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;"> is available in ebook and print through
Amazon only until the end of June when it goes worldwide. However, it’s
currently being offered at a reduced price: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Get </i>Common Enemy<i> here in </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Common-Enemy-Sandra-Dailey-ebook/dp/B00ILYKD8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400861854&sr=8-1&keywords=common+enemy+by+sandra+dailey" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">ebook </a></span><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Common-Enemy-Sandra-Dailey-ebook/dp/B00ILYKD8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400861854&sr=8-1&keywords=common+enemy+by+sandra+dailey" target="_blank">for $2.99</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Or grab a</i></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Common-Enemy-Sandra-Dailey/dp/1628303271/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1400861854&sr=8-1" target="_blank">print copy for $11.08</a>.</i><span style="background: lime; mso-highlight: lime;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Score! Sweet, sweet bargain prices. Thanks so much for letting yourself be subjected to MaGM, Sandra. Where can we </span></span><strike style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">stalk</strike><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">non-threateningly</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> find out more about you and your books? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.weekendcontent.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/02/cat-is-watching-you-funny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.weekendcontent.com/wp-content/uploads//2012/02/cat-is-watching-you-funny.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peeping tom. <a href="http://www.weekendcontent.com/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://sandradailey.blogspot.com/">sandradailey.blogspot.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/sandradailey.author" target="_blank">Facebook</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/sdaileyauthor" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Kristen. I’d love to hear from you and your friends.</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">No problem, Sandra! And don't worry, the emotional effects of this interview will heal eventually... </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-41768892515866536372014-05-29T08:37:00.001-04:002014-06-03T11:19:53.876-04:00Top 5 Reasons I've Procrastinated on Writing This Week. (With Pictures.)5. There was a buzzing outside my window in the lilac bush and I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out if it was a baby hummingbird or a freakishly large moth.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://butterfly-conservation.org/files/humming-bird_hawk-moth_1984_dave_green-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://butterfly-conservation.org/files/humming-bird_hawk-moth_1984_dave_green-web.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://butterfly-conservation.org/51-1087/humming-bird-hawk-moth.html" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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I'm still not absolutely sure.<br />
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4. I started picking out patterns in the textured ceiling of our living room.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.house-painting-info.com/image-files/acoustic-ceiling-texture-400x299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.house-painting-info.com/image-files/acoustic-ceiling-texture-400x299.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.house-painting-info.com%2Fdrywall-textures.html&h=0&w=0&tbnid=kguk1yuD63j3JM&zoom=1&tbnh=194&tbnw=260&docid=5YeG8k6SzlHitM&tbm=isch&ei=NUuGU-fbEsqNqgbYuYGQDA&ved=0CBcQsCUoBw" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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If you connect the dots right, you can see Jimmy Fallon's face.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.parade.condenast.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/jimmy-fallon-ftr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static.parade.condenast.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/jimmy-fallon-ftr.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://parade.condenast.com/63778/viannguyen/jimmy-fallon-5-year-fertility-struggle-was-awful-and-depressing/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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3. There was a tickle on the back of my neck and I thought for a second it was a spider. It wasn't. I don't think. *shudder*</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.morethanturquoise.com/wp-content/uploads/VintageScreamingWomanPink.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.morethanturquoise.com/wp-content/uploads/VintageScreamingWomanPink.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.morethanturquoise.com/2013/10/07/shes-got-your-back/" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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I had to jump up and do the heebie-jeebie dance to make sure, though.<br />
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2. I remembered there were leftover frosted lemon sugar cookie bars in my kitchen. 'Nuf said.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdAxPzKgcOtKCmhgaQfbEHAYnflPyFZJOAeO_x4500MAJPoizQpEQvfTTn1OR8xL1n-vMXJ4ukvm7CxrRaGqtNzkftFGbFlyvOtJOQf7sMybOQvfEJnxpe7n8wC4j6Xce1wY1DG0Eqh_K/s1600/sugar+cookie+bars+labeled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdAxPzKgcOtKCmhgaQfbEHAYnflPyFZJOAeO_x4500MAJPoizQpEQvfTTn1OR8xL1n-vMXJ4ukvm7CxrRaGqtNzkftFGbFlyvOtJOQf7sMybOQvfEJnxpe7n8wC4j6Xce1wY1DG0Eqh_K/s1600/sugar+cookie+bars+labeled.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/2012/08/sugar-cookie-bars.html" target="_blank">Recipe Here</a> (I just added lots of lemon zest to the cookies and left the icing white.)</td></tr>
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1. But mostly, I was a victim of this phenomenon:<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/97/64/8e/97648ecbd29fcb1709d349fde097b042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/97/64/8e/97648ecbd29fcb1709d349fde097b042.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Image Credit: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/169870217169247372/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr>
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Anyone else have this problem? Happy Thursday and here's hoping for a very productive day. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-17614441225808869602014-05-27T11:42:00.000-04:002014-06-03T11:26:38.724-04:00MaGM#2: Meet Author Melissa Keir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" height="320" width="260" /></a></div>
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For the record, we're pretending today is Monday. You know how when there's a holiday, they always pick up your garbage the day after? <span style="font-family: inherit;">This is kind of like that. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, anyway, welcome to Meet and Greet Monday, where we pull an author or reader of romance out from out of that book they're buried in, drag them in front of everyone and introduce them! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Please wave hello to today's featured guest, author Melissa Keir:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdemiA92rtcjBjCcO22nrbKMeNoQVBXala_ifjBGSz8VOUBvHYRgrSMSoZ97sUIbDr2-5MApg4InYVs258cy1NFUk0tHJ1uZrOMt5y6yOmPJrN10-bPWg_sWJiaTZflgvy_OsGgdcMnas/s1600/melissakeir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdemiA92rtcjBjCcO22nrbKMeNoQVBXala_ifjBGSz8VOUBvHYRgrSMSoZ97sUIbDr2-5MApg4InYVs258cy1NFUk0tHJ1uZrOMt5y6yOmPJrN10-bPWg_sWJiaTZflgvy_OsGgdcMnas/s1600/melissakeir.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">First, I'll ask Melissa a series of random questions, just because I'm nosy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Melissa,</i> </span><i style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">how many pairs of shoes do you have?</i><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I have two pair of boots, one for winter and
one cute pair. I have one pair of tennis shoes which need to be replaced and
four other pairs of shoes. This amount is much less than my husband who seems
to have inherited the gene for needing many shoes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Yay, a kindred spirit! Lets just say, this is not my shoe closet. Ahem, Kim Kardashian. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/27/article-2194130-14B4F217000005DC-121_634x411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/27/article-2194130-14B4F217000005DC-121_634x411.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2194130/Kim-Kardashian-donates-100-pairs-designer-shoes-charity--Kanye-West-brands-closet-ghetto.html" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><i>If
you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? </i>I would want to have
telekinesis. However, I realized it last night that I would make a bad
superhero, since I’m jealous and temperamental. Poor people might get hurt when
I get upset! </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">:)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><i>I'm thinking Hulk here. RRR... Melissa... ANGRY. It's cool, though. You'd look nice in green!</i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What
did you dream last night? </i>I dreamed that I had superpowers and misused them.
Instead of helping people, I became infuriated when someone hit on my hot
husband that I tried to set them on fire. I also wanted to hurt the mean dance
instructors who were making the poor little children cry over their lack of
talent. The dream reminded me once again of why I’m human. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Note to self: do </i>NOT <i>hit on Melissa's hot husband.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasvuYutszSu65Kn2Wdb2WGinKTcjvn9Zt-F3Uucd6vbc2NBagGTPpUFasKMaCQSN7vB62ArXdtxYuub9Yt69euKP9nyt4hGBBJyW3i5ai93MNFD_ney-MHK6QWEsY5EZ6cvdttTYKCylR/s1600/o-universal-rebooting-stephen-king-s-firestarter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasvuYutszSu65Kn2Wdb2WGinKTcjvn9Zt-F3Uucd6vbc2NBagGTPpUFasKMaCQSN7vB62ArXdtxYuub9Yt69euKP9nyt4hGBBJyW3i5ai93MNFD_ney-MHK6QWEsY5EZ6cvdttTYKCylR/s1600/o-universal-rebooting-stephen-king-s-firestarter.jpg" height="189" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://robnolanrobrage.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">What
would you do if you won the lottery?</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> If I won the lottery, I would get new
teeth! </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Isn't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> that what everyone does? I would certainly pay off the mortgage
and get myself a new car, then help my children pay for college. Now, do you
have the winning numbers?</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>That's totally what I'd do. Put me under, yank 'em all out, and put in titanium choppers that won't get cavities. And every time I buy a lottery ticket, I very nicely ask the person behind the counter to push the winner button, but it must be broken. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://global3.memecdn.com/did-i-win-the-lottery_o_1263643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://global3.memecdn.com/did-i-win-the-lottery_o_1263643.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shut up, Grumpy Cat. <a href="http://www.memecenter.com/fun/1263643/did-i-win-the-lottery" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Do
you have a hidden talent?</i> My hidden talent is that I can roll my tongue and
twist my elbow so that it looks funny. I know, it seems like a useless talent,
but let me assure you that it grosses out the pre-teen demographic and as a
teacher, sometimes it’s good to have a gross-out factor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It's cool. I can bend all my fingers backward at the second knuckle and cross my eyes like you wouldn't believe. Still freaking out my husband after all these years...</i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Are
you a good liar?</i> Would you believe me if I said yes? Really, I don’t know if I
am or aren’t. I know that growing up, I always got caught but I seem to be
doing better now with telling fibs like… “No those pants don’t make your butt
look big.” </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Probably better to tell a small white lie than get kicked in the head.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.quickmeme.com/img/0e/0ee33a912f849cb464962f92eceb2710c6d4e51fa154960d3dbbd99d16ca7e6f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.quickmeme.com/img/0e/0ee33a912f849cb464962f92eceb2710c6d4e51fa154960d3dbbd99d16ca7e6f.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.quickmeme.com/Do-these-pants" target="_blank">Add caption</a></td></tr>
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Next, I asked a little about Melissa's professional life. She's an author, you know. Melissa has talents beyond just setting people on fire with her mind.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pick
up the book closest to you. Turn to page 12. What's the first full sentence on
the page? </i>The book is The W.I.S.E. Journal for the Sensual Woman…. The line-
“It is forgotten that these same body scents are what attracts the man to us.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>Are they talking about the scent of vanilla? I read somewhere that men love women that smell like vanilla sugar cookies. Or maybe I just read men love vanilla sugar cookies, I can't remember.</i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><i>Who
is your favorite author of all time?</i> Do I have to pick only one? This could scar me for life! I love Margaret Atwood, Laurell K. Hamilton, Langston Hughes,
and J.D. Robb.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>I have the same problem narrowing my favorites down. Yours looks like a good spread, though! Mix them all together and you might get an environmental crusade masked as a dystopian fantasy novel about a raisin-loving zombie who solves crimes using futuristic police procedures. Hmm.</i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></i></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">What
are you currently working on?</i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I’m currently working on the sequel to </span><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Protecting
His Wolfe.</i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> In the second book of the Pigg Detective Agency series, Lucas Pigg
finds that someone is targeting his buildings but a sexy arson investigator has
him burning for more than just solving the mystery.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What
book have you released most recently?</i> <i>Protecting His Wolfe.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Can
we read a little of it?</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgqQ8wsmrm9DhBMQjdzW8sQduH783NUoxCBaEyPzC1Yao883j11UlDkVIC9E5uKegHF4NetUvRa_Xq0p7PkH8wVep4y5ZJ5O17aOhqDPZKPSdE-Hfq9AMkS6NEnuP999vuXBioSZE6l8/s1600/Protecting+His+Wolfe+MED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTgqQ8wsmrm9DhBMQjdzW8sQduH783NUoxCBaEyPzC1Yao883j11UlDkVIC9E5uKegHF4NetUvRa_Xq0p7PkH8wVep4y5ZJ5O17aOhqDPZKPSdE-Hfq9AMkS6NEnuP999vuXBioSZE6l8/s1600/Protecting+His+Wolfe+MED.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">She kicked off her shoes
and wiggled her toes, glad to be free of the fashionable toe-pinchers after a
long day. Grabbing the stack of papers, she walked over to the tall filing
cabinet. She sniffed and sneezed. “Julie must have worn the whole bottle of
Chanel this morning.” Her co-worker’s “more is better” perfume policy made
their close quarters trying at times. Juggling the folders in one arm, she
pushed the window open for fresh air then sat on the floor to sort the files.
Perhaps Mrs. Hildebrand, the old dragon who ran the secretarial pool, would
appreciate her efficiency and lay off her for once.</span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Few, if any, other staff
members remained so late in the day. Only the soft hum of the fluorescent
lights broke the quiet, and she was able to work quickly without all the
interruptions of the business day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As she finished
alphabetizing A-L, harsh voices echoed from outside, startling her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Who could that be? She
crept closer to the window, but found it too high to see the people below. </span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps she shouldn’t have stayed alone at night, no matter how it might
benefit her career.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Do you have the stuff?”
The voice sounded familiar. She scrunched her eyes, trying to envision the
person behind the sound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yes, I do, but the drugs
are hidden until you pay me twice the amount we agreed on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She held her breath and
crouched behind the file cabinet, afraid to make a sound. <i>Is that Mr.
Anderson? Why is my boss talking about drugs?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s not the way to do
business. We agreed on a fee. I did the loading and driving. I had all the
risk.” The rough voice took on a menacing tone with a rasp that sounded like
he—and it was clearly a man— had smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for
twenty years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Love those excerpts that grab you and pull you right in to the action, and yours fits the bill, Melissa! Where
can we buy it? </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Protecting-Wolfe-Pigg-Detective-Agency-ebook/dp/B00K3G4188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400292976&sr=8-1&keywords=protecting+his+wolfe" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/protecting-his-wolfe-melissa-keir/1111605967?ean=2940149435739" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And if we want to stalk, I mean</i> visit <i>you, where can we do that?</i> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Dcn0zrpN4E/TyH-m3iqDWI/AAAAAAAAA4I/KEWsIPrG4As/s1600/Law&OrderBullseye6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Dcn0zrpN4E/TyH-m3iqDWI/AAAAAAAAA4I/KEWsIPrG4As/s1600/Law&OrderBullseye6.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the bushes at the park? <a href="http://thenocturnalrambler.blogspot.com/2012/01/video-games-in-tv-law-order-svu-again.html" target="_blank">Image Credit</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I
do love stalkers…um…readers and visitors. Please feel free to drop in and keep
up on what’s going on in my crazy world</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.melissakeir.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><u><a href="http://www.melissakeir.com/blog.html" target="_blank">Blog</a></u></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><u><a href="http://www.facebook.com/melissaakeir" target="_blank">Facebook</a></u></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><u><a href="http://www.facebook.com/authormelissakeir" target="_blank">FB Author Page</a></u></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><u><a href="http://www.twitter.com/melissa_keir" target="_blank">Twitter</a></u></span></div>
</div>
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<br />
Thanks for playing, Melissa! And everyone else, be sure to come back next week and meet another talented writer, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sandradailey.author" target="_blank">Sandra Dailey</a>. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-71079783248213142052014-05-23T12:10:00.001-04:002014-06-03T11:27:30.279-04:00Five Things Friday<b>#1 My gallbladder is a rowdy punk and I now glow in the dark.</b><br />
<div>
I've been in and out of the doctor's for the past several months, probably for a funky gallbladder, although that's still not confirmed. Yesterday, I got radioactive dye injected into my arm and then they put me under a machine to watch what happened. I asked the nurse whether she could see my gallbladder, did it have a mohawk and was it flipping her off. Hopefully she won't recommend me for a neuro scan next.</div>
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<b>#2 For some reason, this song is now stuck in my head.</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ktvTqknDobU" width="560"></iframe>
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<b>#3 It's going to be a Cub Scout kind of weekend.</b><br />
I'm going to be hanging out with these guys on Saturday and Monday:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoAQqEsLWwj0-BaE59JLs_tEEz73aubfsKq4R9SzhWFUOLw0Z3AH5p49JBZc7xwd2MGu0zr-pVnZbL9SS_4FMvrLM3_-JQRTxN_vflKU8dsr6QSiIENFo7fUGRfcKPS7P5tiKsd5HlMY/s1600/cub+scouts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoAQqEsLWwj0-BaE59JLs_tEEz73aubfsKq4R9SzhWFUOLw0Z3AH5p49JBZc7xwd2MGu0zr-pVnZbL9SS_4FMvrLM3_-JQRTxN_vflKU8dsr6QSiIENFo7fUGRfcKPS7P5tiKsd5HlMY/s1600/cub+scouts.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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We'll be planting flags at a military cemetery on Saturday and participating in a Memorial Day Parade on Monday.</div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>#4 These two are mine.</b><br />
The little one doesn't know he's not a Cub Scout.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGbYaoz9CjSc8Ivtr5w1K7RBNmqZetiqVeyF14FyM5XD8QyDj2oSNFtt2XK7yW9FiMHDytqQ6kimsovTxQies53msHEtqojX3PSMnN53RqEINLMeLSgBc_aruOCus_SFNpaK18u-HiPo/s1600/cub+scouts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGbYaoz9CjSc8Ivtr5w1K7RBNmqZetiqVeyF14FyM5XD8QyDj2oSNFtt2XK7yW9FiMHDytqQ6kimsovTxQies53msHEtqojX3PSMnN53RqEINLMeLSgBc_aruOCus_SFNpaK18u-HiPo/s1600/cub+scouts.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>#5 </b><b>Monday is Memorial Day.</b><br />
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Please be sure to thank your troops for their service.<br />
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That's all. Have a wonderful weekend! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-51269266621740780482014-05-19T13:33:00.001-04:002014-06-03T11:31:47.501-04:00MaGM#1: Meet Author Diane Burton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUXblJEGMwBzwlwO629SkGHI0ZFtT2Al8kQLem46E8uM4W8VwcjO8AWETy7Pakp81DN3eUWTDYo-r-4FCM3wqGFFvxvvefjfk_xFZ7sUnP0vQARcpjR6obZTmC9UISg7-2qHZ1BCwRoc/s1600/Meet+and+Greet+Monday+-+Kristen+Brockmeyer.jpg" height="320" width="260" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome to the first-ever Meet and Greet Monday, where we pull an author or reader of romance out from out of that book they're buried in, drag them in front of everyone and introduce them. Please wave hello to today's featured guest, author Diane Burton!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtr3FYDQxK-VcgZg6QhxtXtzoxXVaBxBm4VCQOKc3B1byFGEMS1PGdP4_CXlVeb0LV-BkWzYWVejCI6ZEKeeIOlGuWh-p2ZN38BuVqx0eq3CUZl7cCgt3UYsiU7GMGqvUBuHhv0ROIr8/s1600/Diane+Burton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtr3FYDQxK-VcgZg6QhxtXtzoxXVaBxBm4VCQOKc3B1byFGEMS1PGdP4_CXlVeb0LV-BkWzYWVejCI6ZEKeeIOlGuWh-p2ZN38BuVqx0eq3CUZl7cCgt3UYsiU7GMGqvUBuHhv0ROIr8/s1600/Diane+Burton.jpg" height="195" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">First, I'll ask Diane a series of random questions, just because I'm nosy.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">What is your middle name? </i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Marie</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Goes good with my middle name - Ann! </i></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Where were you born?</i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> On an Air Force Base in Illinois. My dad
was in the Army Air Corp (predecessor of the U.S. Air Force. He met my mom at a
roller skating rink. The rest is history. LOL</span></div>
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<i style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><br /></i></div>
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<i style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">That's just gotta be one of the best parent meeting stories - can't you just picture them holding hands, skating around the rink?</i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/67/3c/75/673c75092329bc2e1774ab07919cf784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/67/3c/75/673c75092329bc2e1774ab07919cf784.jpg" height="320" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are not Diane's parents. But aren't they cute? <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/candacepants/roller-derby/" target="_blank">Photo Credit</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What would you do if you won the lottery?</i> Pay off our
mortgage and our children’s mortgages; set up college accounts for the
grandchildren; take my family on a cruise; donate to my favorite charities;
invest the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Hmm, I don't see anything in there about buying a hovercraft. Just sayin'.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What's your favorite holiday?</i> Thanksgiving. No gifts, just
family getting together for a traditional meal. I love cooking for Thanksgiving
because I don’t have to think about what to prepare—same thing every year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>I love Thanksgiving, too. Sometimes my birthday even falls on it, which is doubly awesome, but the turkey is the definitely best part. Mmm, tryptophan...</i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What color socks do you have on?</i> I’m not wearing socks. I
usually go barefooted in the house unless my feet are cold, then I wear plain
old white socks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Diane, you a closet hippie. Rock those bare feet! Take a look at Diane's pic again and tell me she doesn't look like has hippie tendencies...</i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7771770595920092912" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="" /></a></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXmiXJe7YNlkKrYLsPvO24dzYoBDiNjzSdFXzXAThIrxqjgiaKJSxqM4Ke_DI2jB-mDlconxRUvGTjQp1Mu09NZx32sd-JUL3w6h9W46FQL775C2-PYRVpInigblCBaOuUGy86TTMpjw/s1600/picmonkey_image.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXmiXJe7YNlkKrYLsPvO24dzYoBDiNjzSdFXzXAThIrxqjgiaKJSxqM4Ke_DI2jB-mDlconxRUvGTjQp1Mu09NZx32sd-JUL3w6h9W46FQL775C2-PYRVpInigblCBaOuUGy86TTMpjw/s1600/picmonkey_image.jpg" height="195" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?</i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">
Right where I am. We moved to be close to our grandchildren. Besides, I love
West Michigan.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><i>I'm kind of fond of West Michigan, myself. Which is good, because I live here, too.</i></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Do you still have a camera that uses real film?</i>
Yes, but I never use it. Hubs has cameras from the early 1900s</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love old things, and my grandpa used to collect antique cameras. What a fantastic hobby!</span></i></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.neatorama.com/images/2006-08/mammoth-camera-george-lawrence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static.neatorama.com/images/2006-08/mammoth-camera-george-lawrence.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But does Diane's husband have one of <i>these</i>? <a href="http://www.neatorama.com/2006/08/29/the-wonderful-world-of-early-photography/#!ONFQo" target="_blank">Photo Credit</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next, I asked a little about Diane's professional life. She's an author, you know. Writes out of this world stuff. Literally.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Pick up the book
closest to you. Turn to page 12. What's the first full sentence on the page? </i></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is hard because I usually don’t read print books. I’ll
answer with what’s on my Kindle. From <i>In The Black</i> by Sheryl Nantus: The two
hundred-plus miners jumped to their feet as one, stomping their booted feet in
a deafening chorus.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Who is your favorite author of all time?</i> Jayne Ann Krentz.
She is so versatile, writing contemporary romantic suspense, historical
romantic suspense (as Amanda Quick), and futuristics (as Jayne Castle). I
discovered her back in the 1980s when she wrote for Dell Candlelight. And I’ve
read all of her books. I even found a futuristic she wrote before that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What are you currently working on?</i> A contemporary mystery
featuring a female P.I. It’s set in a small, fictional resort town on Lake
Michigan. <i>The Case of the Bygone Brother</i> will be available in July.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5k-4QevDbnxzSGP30t59ZLrNB-8moxnHL3uzCjdAIio-4HmHbK0iTz0HfNSZvquyNc3OspNQLgu9RFddcxNyPNJCZmPicjDUkzt_VsMmTlUNO5eU-wZshgz9P7ePrX4mpiY1R_X38Yk/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5k-4QevDbnxzSGP30t59ZLrNB-8moxnHL3uzCjdAIio-4HmHbK0iTz0HfNSZvquyNc3OspNQLgu9RFddcxNyPNJCZmPicjDUkzt_VsMmTlUNO5eU-wZshgz9P7ePrX4mpiY1R_X38Yk/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K8GDN00/ref=cm_sw_su_dp" target="_blank">The Chameleon</a>: Latest Release from Diane Burton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What book have you released most recently?</i> <i>The
Chameleon</i> <i>(An Outer Rim Novel):</i> Think Legally Blond meet Mata Hari. Socialite
Jileena Winslott appears to be the spoiled, bubble-headed daughter of an
industrial magnate. In reality, she’s her father's smart, savvy aide, who
yearns to run the family business. When her father sends her on a covert
mission to the Outer Rim, she has the chance to prove herself. But he insists
she take along a fake fiancé—the man she’s secretly loved for years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Can we read a little of it?</i> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“The company belongs in the family,” Jileena said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“You have to accept that your brother is dead.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">Despite her heartache, she stood in front of her
father, hands on her hips, determined to bring this to a head. She’d danced
around the subject long enough, dropping hints that he ignored. He may have
groomed her older brother to take over, but she wasn’t going down without a
fight. “I am family.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">With his trademark stare—one that made competitors
back off and employees quake—he pinned her in place. “You don’t have what it
takes to replace me.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">His remark sent such an arrow of hurt through her
she snapped, “Neither did Konner.” The moment the words left her mouth, she
wanted to retract them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">Father slumped back in his chair. The desolation in
his expression broke her heart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">Immediately, she dropped to her knees in front of
him. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I shouldn’t have—”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">In a gesture she remembered from childhood, he
smoothed her hair away from her forehead then tipped up her chin. “What you say
is true. He had no stomach for this cutthroat business. And neither do you,
thank the Divine One.” He patted her head twice. “You don’t have to worry about
that. Now get up. We have work to do. Plans to make.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“Plans?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“Baby, I’m sending you to Galeria 7 to check out
this discovery.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“To the Outer Rim?” Jileena’s jaw dropped. While her
father had sent her on discreet missions before, he’d never sent her that far
from the Central Planets—especially since Konner had died out on the Frontier.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“You will check the site and do your own analysis.
Put that geology degree of yours into practice. If, indeed, it is high-grade
lambidium, you will negotiate mining rights with the local tribe.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“M-Me?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">He’d done it again and seemed to enjoy surprising
her. He couldn’t mean it. He wasn’t sending </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">her</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">.
He had to be teasing. Yet he’d never been intentionally cruel. At least, not to
her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“I certainly can’t send Sindaro. As soon as
reporters learn he left for the Rim, rumors would fly and negotiations would
fail.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">He was right about that. If secrecy was paramount,
Father had to send someone whose presence was innocuous. Someone like his
fluff-brained daughter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">“Discretion is imperative. No one will suspect you
are going out to the Rim for anything other than a vacation.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.3in;">Hope began to trickle through her. He’d never had
her negotiate anything as important as mining rights. He was giving her a
chance. A chance to prove herself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I love your writing, Diane. I'm a big fan of yours after </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Red-Shoe-Diane-Burton-ebook/dp/B00FDXRHZA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1400519012&sr=1-1&keywords=one+red+shoe+diane+burton" target="_blank">One Red Shoe</a><i>,</i> <i>and I can't wait to try your Sci-Fi on for size. Where can we buy </i>The Chameleon<i>?</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B00K8GDN00" target="_blank">Amazon</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/436631" target="_blank">Smashwords</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-chameleon-an-outer-rim-novel-book-2" target="_blank">Kobo</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-chameleon-diane-burton/1119480831?ean=2940149208616" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And where can we stalk you at, social media-wise?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.dianeburton.com/" target="_blank">Website</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://twitter.com/dmburton72" target="_blank">Twitter</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2902110.Diane_Burton" target="_blank">Goodreads: Diane Burton Author</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://amzn.com/e/B00683MH5E" target="_blank">Amazon Author Page</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Thanks for playing, Diane. And everyone else, be sure to come back next week and meet another talented writer, <a href="http://www.melissakeir.com/" target="_blank">Melissa Keir</a>! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-6965270427165556372014-05-16T16:37:00.000-04:002014-06-03T11:32:53.886-04:00Five Things Friday<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbGfqSwNy4p5Bd00AkHr0GcM77N9dzQ89boKUC5Tx0fFuvDWLpbKfQavvWddBIW3WmTL1hUaTXM6K2JIa6QbaIYQ66yS9wd6wURZnjVTNs6MA4w-gOEEmHKxSLtA_jxx8dc1iw70ieQ0/s1600/vintagewomanreadingbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbGfqSwNy4p5Bd00AkHr0GcM77N9dzQ89boKUC5Tx0fFuvDWLpbKfQavvWddBIW3WmTL1hUaTXM6K2JIa6QbaIYQ66yS9wd6wURZnjVTNs6MA4w-gOEEmHKxSLtA_jxx8dc1iw70ieQ0/s1600/vintagewomanreadingbook.jpg" height="200" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet the faces hiding behind the books.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">A quick list of random things, in no particular order:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>#1 Thundercats are go for #MaGM.</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">It's official: starting on Monday, I'll be interviewing readers and writers of romance for my new blog feature, Meet and Greet Mondays. Matter of fact, it's so official, it even has it's own registered<i> hashtag</i>. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>#2 If you're coming out of anesthesia, try not to speak. At all.</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Just hypothetically speaking, of course, because you might do one of the following things: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Call the nurse by a co-worker's name and ask her to cover the reception desk for you, because you're going home for the day.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Overhear the doctor telling your mother that he didn't find anything wrong with you during the tests and holler "Well, f*ck!"</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Loudly call the </span><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">anesthesiologists sneaky bastards because they didn't warn you before they knocked you out. </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">When the nurse refers to you as "kid," indignantly inform her that you're almost 34 years old and you're <i>not</i> a <i>child... </i>and you'll sound just like a 4 year-old when you say it.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>#3 If you live in Michigan, cover your plants tonight. </b><br />There's another frost advisory. What month are we in again?</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>#4 Motown released it's first hit on this day in 1964.</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">It was Mary Wells' <i>My Guy</i>. </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/r1M5eEJeT38" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>#5 If it looks like a baby chicken, peeps like a baby chicken and a duck sat on it for 20+ days, then trust me, it's a baby duck. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">I discovered this exact situation at my farm last week: Mama Duck doesn't care if her "ducklings" look like chickens. She will still bite your face off if you try to argue semantics with her. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">That's all. Have a great weekend! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-3878072631002949792014-05-09T17:07:00.003-04:002014-06-03T11:33:47.820-04:00Five Things Friday<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">A quick list of random things, in no particular order:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXKat_ZeHWsPyKy4vRK5650vsE_59b-Np_wrVdj8AMh4ZmesI94UEMpLFt2oSO0Va1LF75amoNeaG33rH4xzmVjDrzHmeLmherCp41Vr-SoiNQdDCxy0T5DMWalyyyP8FYdXPLwcQZvJK/s400/vintage+mothers+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXKat_ZeHWsPyKy4vRK5650vsE_59b-Np_wrVdj8AMh4ZmesI94UEMpLFt2oSO0Va1LF75amoNeaG33rH4xzmVjDrzHmeLmherCp41Vr-SoiNQdDCxy0T5DMWalyyyP8FYdXPLwcQZvJK/s400/vintage+mothers+day.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Mama's Day, all you mamas. Image Credit: <a href="http://elislids.blogspot.com/2009/05/happy-vintage-mothers-day.html" target="_blank">Elis Lids</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Fact #1: You should be celebrating Independence Day today!</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">(If you live in Romania.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Fact #2: I'd like to feature you on my blog.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">If you're reading this post, I'm going to make the assumption that you're a writer of romance, a reader of romance or a close relative of mine. Specifically, I'm looking for romance writers and readers to interview for a new blog feature called "Meet and Greet Monday," but if you're a close relative of mine and would like to be on my blog, feel free to message me, too. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Fact #3: Meet and Greet Monday will not start <i>this</i> Monday.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Instead, I'll be prepping for a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy... and that's all I'm going to say about that. You're welcome.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Fact #4: Jaxon is not really Justin Bieber's first cousin.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Book #3 is rolling right along and Cora just told Jaxon she doesn't care if he's Justin Bieber's first cousin, he doesn't have the right to trash her aunt's hotel room. They don't like each other. Yet.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><b>Fact #5: Are you a mom? If so, you're not the Best Mom in the World.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">I'm sorry. That title belongs to my mom. But I'll bet you're an extremely close second and I hope you have a WONDERFUL Mother's Day! </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">That's all. Have a great weekend! </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-48653215214400373412014-05-02T16:47:00.000-04:002014-06-03T11:34:48.418-04:00Five Things FridayA quick list of random things, in no particular order:<br />
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<b>Fact #1: Fabric glue needs time to cure.</b></div>
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I know this now from experience: don't attempt to glue Cub Scout patches on your son's shirt a half-hour before his meeting and expect them <i>not</i> to slide off like greased banana peels just in time for uniform inspections.</div>
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<b>Fact #2: The traditional publishing world experienced another earthquake today.</b><br />
Harlequin just <a href="http://www.thestar.com/business/2014/05/02/torstar_sells_harlequin_to_news_corp.html" target="_blank">got bought</a> by Harper Collins. Probably doesn't mean anything to you if you don't write romance, or say, don't have a book in progress that you'd planned on finishing this month and submitting to them. But if you do? Whoa.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/what-does-this-mean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/what-does-this-mean.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: <a href="http://weknowmemes.com/">weknowmemes.com</a></td></tr>
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<b>Fact #3: Jaxon and Cora just met... and it's not love at first sight.</b><br />
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Book #3 is in progress. Book #2 will probably languish in a drawer until I can motivate myself to either fix it or rewrite it, but in the meantime, I'm planning to finish Cora and Jaxon's story this month, during my <a href="http://midmichiganrwa.org/" target="_blank">MMRWA</a> chapter's MarNoWriMo. What I do with this book remains to be seen. (See Fact #2.)</div>
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<b>Fact #4: Today is a potato-bacon-cheesy-corn chowder day. </b></div>
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It's a cold and drizzly 52-degree <strike>fall</strike> spring day and I've been thinking about dinner since lunchtime. Send me an email if you'd like the recipe. </div>
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<b>Fact #5: Save your lingerie in case you get famous someday.</b></div>
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Someone paid $14,000 for the bra Marilyn Monroe wore in the movie <i>Some Like it Hot.</i> You just never know.</div>
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That's all. Have a great weekend! <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-83684461259276455872014-04-30T16:30:00.000-04:002014-06-03T11:36:19.752-04:00Book Review: The Best Medicine by Tracy Brogan<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; margin: 3pt 0in 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 25.600000381469727px;">I'm not sure if I want you to read this book or not. I mean, I completely loved <i>The Best Medicine. </i>I've read it twice already and it has earned a paperback place of honor on my keeper shelf. I'd even consider myself a newly-minted perma-fan of Tracy Brogan. But if I recommend this book to you, I will have to share Tyler, and I don't want to do that because he's <i>my</i> book boyfriend.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Book: The Best Medicine</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Author: Tracy Brogan</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Publisher: Montlake Romance</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Genre: Contemporary Romance</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Rating:</span></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 10.5pt;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 10.5pt;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 10.5pt;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 10.5pt;">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart';">[</span><span style="font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;"> </span><b style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">(5 out of 5 hearts!)</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsHw_gNGqTgZo9cLyXcQXJn2LEsN0it626g_L7LozToAbnjHsZZSCO9RxmbflIyhxeeLyF5_4qW7QFflJsavDj088lIvACw00zTvcDnS8aMnHydEoJcn9MNzzi4D8wnqbGDJx9oTrCjc/s1600/TheBestMedicine.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsHw_gNGqTgZo9cLyXcQXJn2LEsN0it626g_L7LozToAbnjHsZZSCO9RxmbflIyhxeeLyF5_4qW7QFflJsavDj088lIvACw00zTvcDnS8aMnHydEoJcn9MNzzi4D8wnqbGDJx9oTrCjc/s1600/TheBestMedicine.png" height="400" width="269" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">About the Book:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Everyone in Bell Harbor thinks career-minded plastic surgeon Evelyn Rhoades needs a husband. Everyone, that is, except for Evelyn…sort of. Even if she did want a husband (which she doesn’t…most of the time), she’d never let something as intangible as fate determine who she marries. No, if she’s going to find someone to spend her life with, she’ll do it scientifically: with a carefully crafted list of criteria and an Internet dating site.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">But when intoxicated, law-breaking Tyler Connelly crashes into her life by way of a stolen Jet Ski, unruly emotions defy common sense. Sure, he’s sexy, charming, and determined to win Evelyn’s affection, but all evidence points to him being the worst possible choice. He’s too young for her. Too irresponsible. Too underemployed. And, oh yeah, he’s her patient.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">But Tyler knows firsthand how the best-laid plans can crumble under the weight of destiny. Now all he needs to do is to teach Evelyn that, in matters of the heart, love often supersedes logic.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">My Thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This is the first Tracy Brogan novel I've ever read and I can honestly say I haven't felt this way about an author since <a href="http://www.emilyhemmer.com/" target="_blank">Emily Hemmer</a>. Okay, that sounded creepy. Not a stalker, ladies, I promise! I'm just so excited to have found a book that can snag me emotionally while making me laugh out loud. <i>The Best Medicine </i>is seriously a must-read if you're a fan of humorous contemporary romances, for three reasons: it's written with a skewed, laugh out loud sense of humor, there's a realistic and quirky heroine, and the hero is will make you drool. Like, a lot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Don't believe me? Let me present some evidence:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Skewed Sense of Humor (Exibit A)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I could give you so many examples. Divorced parents that send each other Gorilla Grams and pick up the other's dry-cleaning, only to drop it off at the Salvation Army. Friends that drop Portuguese phrases like <i>foda pena</i> in daily conversation. Blind dates who think testicular implants are going to be the next big thing (and they're willing to let you in on the ground floor). But, in my opinion, this opening sentence says it all: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"Birthday parties, in my opinion, are a lot like pelvic exams--a little uncomfortable, a little awkward, a little too personal, but an unavoidable yearly nuisance--like a pap smear, only with presents." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Realistic and Quirky Heroine (Exibit B)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Evie is great. She's skeptical of anything smacking of true love, after the humorously volatile example her parents set for her (see above), and she's afraid to have children because she doesn't know how to entertain them. Plus, she never has food in her apartment. Kids need to eat. And when she finally decides that her biological clock has been ticking long enough and she should cave to the pressure of the close-knit Bell Harbor community, where life is like a Viagra commercial followed by a Toys 'R' Us advertisement (oh yeah, Tracy is great with comparisons), she makes a list of what she wants in a future husband. A weighted list with things on it like "civic awareness." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Drool-Worthy Hero (Exibit C)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Tyler. Connelly. Don't tell my husband, but boy-oh-boy did this man make me drool. If I was single and he was, well, real, I'd give Evie a run for her money. He's hot, funny, works harder than three normal men put together and has a protective streak a mile wide. A real-life knight in shining armor who is not afraid to buy tampons. Lots of tampons. He might not meet the requirements on Evie's list, but I'd take him with a quickness. I mean, if I weren't married. And if he was real.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I can't stress this enough: buy this book. (Well, pre-order this book. It goes on sale May 13.) Read this book. Love this book. Really, that about sums it up. I'm just super glad I spontaneously bought Brogan's <i>Highland Surrender</i> at my MMRWA retreat a few weeks ago. I can't wait to see what she does with historical romance.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">About the Author:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.tracybrogan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/tracy-pubphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.tracybrogan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/tracy-pubphoto.jpg" height="200" width="142" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Tracy Brogan is an award-winning, bestselling author of both contemporary and historical romance. She was a Romance Writers of America® RITA Finalist for Best First Book (Crazy Little Thing), and a two-time Golden Heart Finalist. Her latest titles include Hold on My Heart and Highland Surrender. She resides in Michigan with her husband, their children, and their overly indulged dogs.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Connect with Tracy Brogan:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.tracybrogan.com/category/blog/" style="color: #0a5294; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Blog</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTracyBrogan" style="color: #0a5294; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Facebook</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/tracybrogan" style="color: #0a5294; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Twitter<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6452601.Tracy_Brogan" style="color: #0a5294; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Goodreads</span></a></span><span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Buy the Book:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #3b23ed;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Medicine-Bell-Harbor-Novel-ebook/dp/B00FEVBUYA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398881881&sr=8-1&keywords=tracy+brogan+the+best+medicine" target="_blank">Amazon</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-best-medicine-tracy-brogan/1117776140?ean=9781477818350" style="color: #0a5294; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Barnes and Noble<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Disclaimer: I received a free advance review copy of </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Best Medicine<i> from Tracy Brogan, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-50166234011403269012014-04-04T16:47:00.000-04:002014-06-03T11:39:38.855-04:00Five Facts FridayA quick list of random things, in no particular order:<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Fact #1:<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Learning German is fun. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hubs and I decided to use <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/" target="_blank">DuoLingo</a> on a whim </span>(best free language learning tool <i>ever</i>)<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and now I can tell my husband I love him (Ich liebe dich) and give him an affectionate nickname like Gummi</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">b</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">ärchen (gummy bear). We're thinking if we keep this up, we'll be fluent when we finally get enough money together for an overseas vacation. Like 15 years from now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b>Fact #2:</b> <b><a href="https://www.createspace.com/4521642" target="_blank">Lucky in Love</a> is finally in paperback.</b> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Buy it at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Love-Breaks-1/dp/149374027X/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396641388&sr=1-1&keywords=kristen+brockmeyer+lucky+in+love" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, tell all your friends how awesome it is and help me save enough money to go to Germany!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b>Fact #3: Gallbladders are tricky beasts. </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Mine is apparently about to explode, and has been masquerading its malfunctions as a vitamin deficiency. We're on to it, though, and an ultrasound has been scheduled for next Monday. It had better not try and interfere with my <a href="http://www.retreatfromharshreality.com/" target="_blank">MMRWA retreat weekend</a>, is all I can say...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b>Fact #4: There will be autographs and they will probably be cooler ones than mine.</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">If you're local, I'll be at two upcoming book signings:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> <b>4/11 </b> <b>Romance Writers Reception, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b> </b>Kazoo Books, 2413 Parkview, Kalamazoo, MI </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b> 4/17 Ransom Library Author Fair, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b> </b>Ransom District Library, 180 S. Sherwood, Plainwell, MI</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b>Fact #5: RPG means more than Rocket-Propelled Grenade.</b><br />Apparently, there's this huge group of people that enjoy Role Play Games (think Final Fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons). And I think I might be one of them. I'll know for sure after this weekend. Friday is <a href="http://www.tabletopday.com/" target="_blank">Tabletop Day</a> and we're celebrating with friends, snacks and Pathfinder.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Not that I've been blogging predictably at all lately, but I'll be MIA again for another week or so. I'll be back April 14, hopefully all fresh and motivated from my first writer's retreat. Until then, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">woohoo, I'm on vacation!</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-79473563107671583572014-03-21T17:03:00.000-04:002014-06-03T11:43:15.001-04:00Book Review: Primal Instinct by Janie Crouch<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.8pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 3.0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 19.2pt;">Man, I love
Harlequins. I’ve been reading them since I was like 8 or 9 years old, when both
of my grandmas would save them and sneak me grocery bags full on the Sundays
when we came to visit. Those first Harlequin Romances were the reason I wanted
to be a romance writer! So when Janie Crouch offered me an ARC of her debut title
</span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 19.2pt;">Primal Instinct</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 19.2pt;">, a Harlequin Intrigue,
I said “Yes, please!” and can’t tell you how glad I am that I did. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 19.2pt;"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Book: Primal Instinct</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author: Janie Crouch</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Publisher: Harlequin
Intrigue</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre: Category
Suspense</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rating:</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">] </span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(4 out of 5 hearts!)</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdIM6ovpn9egzygb4E2dPrt2sNCGR8g-dQm-tFk2SAqI_tSjpw24K4GDprLezxZ8g0j4lj_uMM-Dpfoljt-0WVau_mCitzpda78JIIEy69tpphULRxkXYQU5vuoL1m6jH1nqRIlIPsFA/s1600/514Ftn13LtL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdIM6ovpn9egzygb4E2dPrt2sNCGR8g-dQm-tFk2SAqI_tSjpw24K4GDprLezxZ8g0j4lj_uMM-Dpfoljt-0WVau_mCitzpda78JIIEy69tpphULRxkXYQU5vuoL1m6jH1nqRIlIPsFA/s1600/514Ftn13LtL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About the Book:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A killer stalks the city streets, and one FBI
agent is determined to bring him down in Janie Crouch’s </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Primal Instinct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the crowded streets
of San Francisco, a serial killer watches and waits. Known only as “Simon Says,”
he lures his next victim while the FBI grasps for answers. Desperate, they turn
to Adrienne Jeffries. Adrienne has an uncanny talent for getting inside the
city’s most dangerous minds. But first she’ll have to get past agent Conner
Perigo. Skeptical of Adrienne’s abilities, Conner begrudgingly enlists her help…unprepared
for the powerful attraction that could jeopardize their focus. With little
time, and everything to lose, they must work to find Simon’s next victim—before
he does.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Thoughts:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">I have to admit, being
a freshly-minted writer myself, I was rooting for Janie before I started </span><i style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">Primal Instinct. </i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">Getting a bad review on
your first book sucks (been there, done that) and I </span><a href="http://kristenbrockmeyer.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">don’t like</a><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">
handing them out. But I </span><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">didn't</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;"> need to worry—after reading Janie Crouch’s first
novel, I am very happy to say that she </span><span style="font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">didn't</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;"> disappoint me in the least.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Primal Instinct</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> grabbed my attention first because of the
cover. I liked the film noir/Alfred Hitchcock vintage vibe that it had going on.
And then I started reading… very quickly, actually, because Janie threw me
right in to FBI agent Conner Perigo’s frustrating case and it caught my
interest. He’s desperate for any lead that will help him and his partner catch a
serial killer that’s terrorizing San Francisco and thumbing his nose directly
at the FBI at the same time. But when his boss tells him to basically blackmail
Adrienne Jeffries, the former FBI “Bloodhound” with some bigtime special
skills, into helping out with the case, he’s less than thrilled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Like flint and steel, Conner
and Adrienne strike sparks off each other right away, even though they’re the
angry kind. Their relationship has a big element of friction, which I liked,
because you know that they’re going to make up for all that animosity later on.
I also thought that Adrienne’s personality was appealing—she was no shrinking
violet and she faced the frightening aspects of her gift with gritty
determination. And I’m a sucker for a protective alpha, which Conner definitely
was. They made a great team without either of them having to be at all wishy-washy.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also enjoyed the
twists that Janie put on what could have been a familiar storyline. The
side-effects of Adrienne skills were realistic and frightening, and the effect
that their relationship had on things was really interesting and unexpected.
And, while I’ll admit I did figure out whodunit (I’m good at that, though—ask my
often-annoyed husband why he doesn’t like watching movies with me…), <i>Primal Instinct</i>’s resolution felt solid
and satisfying and I enjoyed it immensely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My final verdict? I’m
giving <i>Primal Instinct</i> and Janie
Crouch lots of love. If you like Harlequin romances like I do, I highly recommend
this one. Can’t wait to see what this shiny new author has in store for us
next! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jMzY9lP2ipQjLPN1bM8_Mu0c_dG5OEEZ1CDYLZZ-_0bRbPipEUNOOb-SPmoMif3kUZ9I9k8pK0NP9R1xdPVh2u6KbXBtF5iKCgCi4Tc-BAe-1shTJZ1pBOlhmYaPxoTS9YN8dme7_Zw/s1600/HarlequinParty2013CloseUp-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jMzY9lP2ipQjLPN1bM8_Mu0c_dG5OEEZ1CDYLZZ-_0bRbPipEUNOOb-SPmoMif3kUZ9I9k8pK0NP9R1xdPVh2u6KbXBtF5iKCgCi4Tc-BAe-1shTJZ1pBOlhmYaPxoTS9YN8dme7_Zw/s1600/HarlequinParty2013CloseUp-small.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About the Author:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">Janie is a member of </span><a href="http://www.rwa.org/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">Romance Writers of
America</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">, </span><a href="http://www.virginiaromancewriters.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">Virginia Romance
Writers</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;"> and </span><a href="http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">KOD</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;"> (Kiss of
Death – the Romantic Suspense Writers Group). When she’s not listening to the
voices in her head (and even when she is), she enjoys traveling, long-distance
running, movie-watching, knitting and obstacle course adventure racing. Most of
all, she loves to laugh and smile. And she’s tremendously thankful she has so
much to laugh and smile about. (For Janie’s full bio, </span><a href="http://www.janiecrouch.com/about-1.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">go here</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 16.8pt;">.)</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Connect with Janie
Crouch:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.run-janie-run.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Blog</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Janie-Crouch-Author/375033609178636" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Facebook</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://twitter.com/janiecrouch" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Twitter<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7211574.Janie_Crouch" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Goodreads</span></a></span><span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buy the Book:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Primal-Instinct-Mills-Boon-Intrigue-ebook/dp/B00FTQUNV6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395426846&sr=8-1&keywords=janie+crouch" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Amazon<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/primal-instinct-janie-crouch/1117057019?ean=9781460329214" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Barnes and Noble<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b23ed; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html;jsessionid=8F6FFC4AAED59F5B771B17C1E907A9DF?iid=51146&cid=" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b23ed;">Harlequin<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Disclaimer: I received
a free copy of </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Primal Instinct<i> from
Jamie Crouch, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-24248056112022306572014-03-11T14:20:00.002-04:002014-06-03T11:43:57.482-04:00Back on the Blogging TrainI can't even believe I've let almost a month go by without blogging. For shame! But, I do have several excuses:<br />
<br />
<b>Lucky in Love</b><br />
I've been designing a new cover for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Love-Kristen-Brockmeyer-ebook/dp/B00I52VQ7Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394559499&sr=8-1&keywords=lucky+in+love+kristen+brockmeyer" target="_blank">Lucky in Love</a>, since the dpi on the picture I used for the ebook would have shown up as blurry on a print cover. I'm a little bummed, since I was really attached to the other one, but with a fresh look, Lucky might find more readers.<br />
<br />
<b>MarMoWriMo and The New Book</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://austinexpat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/50s-wife-list-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://austinexpat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/50s-wife-list-1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://austinexpat.com/2013/06/why-may-is-the-hardest-month-for-texan-moms/" target="_blank">Austin Expat</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Several members of my RWA chapter have gotten together to do a March version of NaNoWriMo. We're all on an email loop almost daily, sharing our word counts and cheering each other on, and it's been a great experience. I'm pulling in at just under 10K on my next manuscript and, with the help of the stressful productivity aide, <a href="http://writeordie.com/" target="_blank">Write or Die 2</a>, I have plans to write many more words this month. I've said it before: <a href="http://kristenbrockmeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/3-quick-tips-staying-focused-on-writing.html" target="_blank">Write or Die is scary</a>, but it works.<br />
<br />
<b>New Website</b><br />
I finally bit the bullet and bought a domain name. The address <a href="http://kristenbrockmeyer.com/">kristenbrockmeyer.com</a> isn't exactly a hot commodity on the domain name market, so it was pretty simple. My whole website is pretty simple, actually. That hasn't stopped me from tweaking and fiddling the layout half to death.<br />
<br />
<b>Real Life</b><br />
Oh, yeah, I'm a wife and mom, too! Life on the farm with a 9 year-old, a 2-year old, and assorted dogs, ducks and chickens is never boring. Plus, there's Cub Scouts, the whole baking things semi-professionally thing (cupcakes, anyone?), and the fact that the husband and I are trying to get our finances in order sometime this decade so we can buy a house. And we're doing all this while being buried in this incessant Michigan snow - 6+ inches in the forecast tonight and it's almost mid-March!<br />
<br />
As usual, I'm swamped, but I would want it any other way. The kids are being fed, the word counter keeps rising and those darn dishes will get done eventually! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-14994373077335299062014-02-16T21:49:00.003-05:002014-06-03T11:47:05.248-04:00New book! <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSbLMwXJAi68Iv139uwTicxEnrrF-nfAuOjk84V52kf5dFoKQ9MXtOIZk0rEAThT3nxtD7xxCjdULoAg1aO-k54lXUl4y_rH5O6oXrDKeTtg55ifTkFw3QFo6lTF2vMGEQwZb2nAfjqw/s400/vintage+writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSbLMwXJAi68Iv139uwTicxEnrrF-nfAuOjk84V52kf5dFoKQ9MXtOIZk0rEAThT3nxtD7xxCjdULoAg1aO-k54lXUl4y_rH5O6oXrDKeTtg55ifTkFw3QFo6lTF2vMGEQwZb2nAfjqw/s400/vintage+writing.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.com/2012/08/mrs-angry-is-warmly-received.html" target="_blank">Broken Barnet</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just in the last hour or two, I've worked out a plot for my next book, and it's coming together like gangbusters. I've got a Harlequin line picked out for it already (Desire), 819 words down in a fresh new MS Word document and I'm off to get an outline scribbled down before I blank on everything and forget where I'm going already.<br />
<br />
My advice to anyone out there that wants to write romance or write professionally in any genre, really? Join a writers group. I don't think it's a coincidence that I'm all fired up and full of ideas just one day after a great session with a bunch of like-minded professional romance-inistas. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-89922237851517966192014-02-14T15:00:00.000-05:002014-06-03T11:45:01.662-04:00Awkward Vintage Valentines (Because nothing says true love like false teeth.) If you haven't yet given your special someone a sweet Valentine to mark the day, I've put together a small collection of awkward vintage Valentines for your consideration... or not.<br />
<br />
Skidoo. Skidoo, I say.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/Mean-Vintage-Valentines-01-634x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/Mean-Vintage-Valentines-01-634x406.jpg" height="256" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://twentytwowords.com/creatively-insulting-valentine-cards-1840s-1950s-10-pictures/" target="_blank">22 Words</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Because nothing says true love like false teeth.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjky8y9tZDtNQgzOH91AFiD1FfJ3qPcNbEXKjFltgUdGwo5omkZHgUBSGrDRhmifJ69RcMw5ISrGF6H4qxDfW3HDpb-h6XF3GtuLrj08KfbBNqEk-K4mp3b2Yyjx2Kq33EPjD6EaL4OJfw/s1600/a9c2af07a320242ddc784d7cb969cb3d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjky8y9tZDtNQgzOH91AFiD1FfJ3qPcNbEXKjFltgUdGwo5omkZHgUBSGrDRhmifJ69RcMw5ISrGF6H4qxDfW3HDpb-h6XF3GtuLrj08KfbBNqEk-K4mp3b2Yyjx2Kq33EPjD6EaL4OJfw/s1600/a9c2af07a320242ddc784d7cb969cb3d.jpg" height="271" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/lumpydumpling/" target="_blank">Lumpy Dumpling (Pinterest)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Got any Valentine's Day plans? How about dinner and a movie?<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://image0-rubylane.s3.amazonaws.com/shops/ruthsredemptions/SZQVAL3.1L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://image0-rubylane.s3.amazonaws.com/shops/ruthsredemptions/SZQVAL3.1L.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/lumpydumpling/" target="_blank">Lumpy Dumpling (Pinterest)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">You know. Because I won't trip over an endtable and drop it or something.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zx740v7y8ic/TVgYNunBaVI/AAAAAAAAHWU/6a8eiS4S2QU/s1600/valen%5B3%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zx740v7y8ic/TVgYNunBaVI/AAAAAAAAHWU/6a8eiS4S2QU/s1600/valen%5B3%5D.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://kittystampede.blogspot.com/2011/02/cute-strange-cat-valentines.html" target="_blank">Kitty Stampede</a><br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't get it (is it the dog who cares?), but I'm still laughing. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5KjFwb2z45qwZOlk_iugmIeF7PvAZEO5SOulWTrzfzNwFYxSwojmaTy_8SWaup3DEVegOxU8-nUfoioTXPbc26tMOnQ879Ovpc9Ke8V1xRVR9A_P_1GAFvKkevTy_Ke1PQeeiCZKaxk/s1600/NewImage5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS5KjFwb2z45qwZOlk_iugmIeF7PvAZEO5SOulWTrzfzNwFYxSwojmaTy_8SWaup3DEVegOxU8-nUfoioTXPbc26tMOnQ879Ovpc9Ke8V1xRVR9A_P_1GAFvKkevTy_Ke1PQeeiCZKaxk/s1600/NewImage5.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://boingboing.net/tag/vintage_weird" target="_blank">Boing Boing</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And one more, just for you. This awkward, squinty little ferret (mongoose? possum? honey badger?) wants you to be his Valentine. Or lunch, maybe.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQkR_tSVlECgh-8KkimC9S1pXKV12_82bVInDBKtTYE72rVEjpUBoXZj3-LgArCg2s0wuidtPojwGdKS9zDHfxVwDqsHg5R1caBOPXzSzmo-6_1IwsvhpZjns4RQ91hn8eOdmjiOiNY0/s1600/valent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQkR_tSVlECgh-8KkimC9S1pXKV12_82bVInDBKtTYE72rVEjpUBoXZj3-LgArCg2s0wuidtPojwGdKS9zDHfxVwDqsHg5R1caBOPXzSzmo-6_1IwsvhpZjns4RQ91hn8eOdmjiOiNY0/s1600/valent.jpg" height="400" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/obakestyle/" target="_blank">Obake Style (Pinterest)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-63440919428055985562014-02-13T14:53:00.000-05:002014-02-13T14:53:51.584-05:00How do you get your book listed on an Amazon Top 100 list?I don't know, but that's what happened to me this week!<br />
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That's mah book, baby! Up there with a Janet Evanovich! I've been joking all week that my time on that Top 100 list was the most glorious 10 minutes of my life. Like I said, no clue how it happened, but I've been trying to figure it out so I can do it again someday.<br />
<br />
I've read about the mysterious formulas and algorithms that are used to calculate Amazon's Top 100 lists, but was able to make no sense out of them, except to end up with the vague understanding that the more sales you get in a short amount of time, the better your chances are of ranking. I think <i>Lucky in Love</i> ended up there through, well, sheer luck. And maybe a combination of a few other things.<br />
<br />
I'm working on a sort of sequel to <i>Lucky</i>--spin-off novel telling the story of two other characters in the book. Sales on <i>Lucky </i>had been pretty underwhelming lately, with just one extremely kind but lonely review on B&N, Smashwords and Goodreads and none yet on Amazon. I hoped to build up a readership in advance and maybe get some feedback. So, in my attempts to self-promote (HA! I stink at that.), I decided to make <i>Lucky</i> a free e-book for February wherever I could. Incidentally, on B&N and Smashwords, that's easy. Amazon, not so much, except for Prime readers.<br />
<br />
Almost simultaneously, in another attempt to get the word out there, I entered <i>Lucky</i> in a <a href="http://freebooksy.com/free-book-giveaways/" target="_blank">giveaway</a> on <a href="http://freebooksy.com/" target="_blank">Freebooksy</a>, a well-known site for promoting free e-books. They charge $25, but the huge jump in my Facebook fan numbers alone made that price well worth it.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sr.photos3.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CLT/CLT006/t2109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://sr.photos3.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CLT/CLT006/t2109.jpg" height="200" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/woman-gossiping-on-vintage-phone.html" target="_blank">Fotosearch</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some combination of those events resulted in me doing a very happy dance on Monday morning. Amazon updates their lists hourly, and I can only think that my book must have been on it most of the night, because I experienced an astronomical (for me) jump in sales before it was all over.<br />
<br />
Full disclosure here on earnings? I made $1.40. Four copies sold at $0.99 and the rest were freebies. Not even enough to buy a decaf Starbucks mocha, or really even leave a decent tip, but I'm completely happy with those results, since I now have 60 more chances to have someone read <i>Lucky</i>, hopefully enjoy themselves and maybe even write a little note on Amazon to let everyone else know how much fun they had with my book.<br />
<br />
One kind reader already has, posting this 5-star review on both Amazon and B&N:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i>A mix of some Janet Evanovich-esque quirkiness in the leading lady makes this book a page turner! You fall in love and relate to Lucky instantly. Add in some spicy sex scenes with the knight in shining armor sprinkled with humor and even some drama and action and you have a must read written by an up and coming author. From the first page, I was hooked and unable to put the book down. Anxiously awaiting more books by this author!</i></span><br />
<br />
To me, that single review was worth giving away 60 copies.<br />
<br />
And, on a side note, my freaked out, early Monday morning Facebook post touting the news gained me more hits than any other FB post I've ever made: 430 views and I only have 273 fans. That's a whole lotta sharing going on.<br />
<br />
So, in summary, I'm not a famous writer yet, but for a little while this week, I sure felt like one! Have you made an Amazon Top 100 list? Was it the result of careful planning or just pure, sweet luck? I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments.<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Always In My Heart'; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">[ </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-53940619431299984162014-02-07T16:33:00.000-05:002014-06-03T11:47:37.915-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxZsF8UOrpCCL7ttiWh0xHObh5TMIFBfQ8cCKKy8ZQv8m3Ag9v7SRi5QhXjrDOVrNIh2GS3kxO0mVaAYvEkCyLP3FSb_WGIb7CNdk95CC6zG3QtgjYgpTYTSiW9jXV9sAZeFR59_AFZ0/s1600/LuckyInLoveKristenBrockmeyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxZsF8UOrpCCL7ttiWh0xHObh5TMIFBfQ8cCKKy8ZQv8m3Ag9v7SRi5QhXjrDOVrNIh2GS3kxO0mVaAYvEkCyLP3FSb_WGIb7CNdk95CC6zG3QtgjYgpTYTSiW9jXV9sAZeFR59_AFZ0/s1600/LuckyInLoveKristenBrockmeyer.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-58319419428356739862014-02-05T15:09:00.001-05:002014-06-03T11:49:27.925-04:00Book Review: The Break-Up Psychic by Emily Hemmer<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 19.2pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a writer, I follow all kinds of
blogs and Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. Like, hundreds. That’s probably why
I don’t get enough writing done, actually. But it’s all worth it when I find a writer
like Emily Hemmer. Her blog and Facebook page have cracked me up from the
get-go, and when she posted an Oprah meme letting FB fans know her book was
free (<i>“You get a free book! And you get a
free book! </i>Everyone<i> gets a free
book!)</i>, I jumped on it. Read the first two pages. And then proceeded to
devour <i>The Break-Up Psychic</i> in just a
few hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Book: The Break-Up Psychic</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author: Emily Hemmer</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Publisher: Emily Hemmer</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genre: Romantic Comedy</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rating:</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Always In My Heart"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b> </b></span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(5 out of 5 hearts!)</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About the Book:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ellie has a bad habit of picking the wrong man; a cheating
ex-boyfriend, a mild-mannered foot fetishist, and let’s not forget about the
hillbilly with the impolite hard-on. But when Sam James, the oh-so-hot bad boy
Ellie has sworn to stay away from, keeps turning up like a bad penny, she’s
going to need more than her psychic senses to see what’s coming her way.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My Thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I love romance and I love humor, but
it seems like finding a book that combines those two elements effectively is harder than walking a tightrope while wearing flippers and carrying a big
suitcase. Either you get a book that’s heavy on the hilarity, but the
relationship doesn’t quite ring your bell, or the love story between the main
characters is honest and believable but the funny stuff falls flat. I'm happy to say that neither of those were an issue here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ellie, <i>The Break-Up Psychic</i> herself, is a likeable character that I can
easily picture being friends with. She’s got rotten luck in the man department,
and has been burned many times—so many, that when she meets Sam, a sexy,
motorcycle-riding mechanic with “bad idea” written all over him, she doesn’t
trust her head, her attraction, or the notable lack of psychic alarm bells that
usually go off when she’s about to get her heart stomped on again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sam and Ellie’s relationship struck
me as believable and realistic, perfectly created with complexity and depth.
And I almost hesitate to confess this, since it’s never happened before in all
the years I’ve been reading romance, but I’d seriously consider Sam for the
position of my book boyfriend. In a word? Yum. Plus, the supporting cast, Ellie’s best friend Luanne, coworkers Brooke and Amber (I love Amber – she’s
got to be some close relative of my favorite <i>Parks and Recreation</i> character, April Ludgate), and everyone else
that shows up throughout this story, are really well-written. No cookie cutter
characters here, that’s for sure, even among the secondaries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And finally, add Emily Hemmer’s unique
brand of humor (quirky, surprising, offbeat) into the mix. It’s not just that
there are funny scenes that leave you like oh, that situation was hilarious (even though some
of them are, like the mysterious teddy bear massacre or the flavored body powder
taste-testing)—it’s more like shiny comedic threads are woven throughout the whole
story. Kind of like the caramel in Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food. That ice cream
would be delicious without it, but add the caramel, and the whole experience is
elevated from tasty to <i>BUH-BAMM.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In all? Two thumbs up. I don’t make
the promise of a five-star read lightly and <i>The Break-Up Psychic</i> is totally worthy of the rating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/f6/81/93bbbaa298260ac1d18801.L._V383731144_SX200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/f6/81/93bbbaa298260ac1d18801.L._V383731144_SX200_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About the Author:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to her Yahoo! Shine horoscope for 2013, this year looks to be the best of Emily’s
life. She has plans to publish three books, win countess accolades from her
peers, and literally roll around on a bed made of money. She also plans to
purchase a new dishwasher. (Emily’s full
bio is <a href="http://www.emilyhemmer.com/bio/" target="_blank">here</a>. I just liked this part the best.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Connect with Emily Hemmer:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.emilyhemmer.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Blog</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/emilyhemmerauthor" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://twitter.com/EmilyHemmer" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span> </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/emilyhemmer" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buy the Book:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Break-Up-Psychic-Dangerously-Dimpled-ebook/dp/B00D1AK18M" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span><span id="goog_532249406"></span><span id="goog_532249407"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-break-up-psychic-emily-hemmer/1115550748?ean=2940044559691" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/320266" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Disclaimer: I received a free
digital copy of </span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Break-Up Psychic<i> from Oprah Winfrey—I mean, Emily Hemmer, during a Facebook contest.
The review was my idea and when I asked permission to post it, I was promptly told to
put that shit up. </i></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771770595920092912.post-57631852030251855942014-01-30T12:29:00.001-05:002014-06-03T11:50:23.990-04:00Hello from Amazon KDP! <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/71/3e/7d/713e7d9f81b7bbd6c9d8dae1b4676a19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/71/3e/7d/713e7d9f81b7bbd6c9d8dae1b4676a19.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://sean-mackenzie.blogspot.com/2013/05/pinsperation-photoshoot-ideas.html" target="_blank">The Fictionista</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">The book <b>“Lucky in Love”</b> you recently submitted to KDP has possible spelling errors in your converted file. Consider correcting these and resubmitting.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...I definitely did not want to be sitting in front of this gorgeous man looking like a toddler that had just gone</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"> <b>buckwild</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">on a birthday cake....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...There was no way I was going out there with the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"> <b>creeptastic</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">cornfield....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...Chance worries too much." I went to the table, hugged him tightly, and swiped a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><b> fingerfull </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">of chocolate icing....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...It was snapped when I was in mid-flight, trying to catch a Frisbee, but they had cropped the Frisbee out, so it was just my face, sporting a weird</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"> <b>grimacey</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">scowl....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...Finally, I got my</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"> <b>ladybits</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">mostly covered, except for my butt, and just figured I wouldn't turn my back to him....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...I had to tone it down or Chance would take one look at the combination of love and fear I was currently</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"> <b>skitzing</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">out on and go running the other direction....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...A swish, swish,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"> <b>thub</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">sound....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">...I had no idea that my hair was spiraling out every</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"> <b>whichway</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">in wiry reddish sprigs and I still had some post-wedding mascara smudged under my eyes....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">You have chosen to ignore these possible errors.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">Regards,</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;" />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7771770595920092912" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">Kindle Direct Publishing</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0