Five for Friday

Next week is Thanksgiving! I love turkey day! I love having a reason to gather with family, cook and pig out until our bellies look like ticks. And I especially love that we get to do it all without the added pressure of shopping and gift giving. Of course, I love Christmas, too. It is my favorite holiday, but Thanksgiving is a very, very close second.

Since this is the last Friday before we gorge, here are 5 writing-relevant things I'm grateful for:

1. The blessings of the stories that have been given to me.
2. The talent to put those stories into words that people understand.
3. The health and physical ability to record those words into a format others can read.
4. The resources (like a computer!) to share those formats with those who want to read it.
5. The people I've met along the way, from my alphas, betas and critters to other writers to book bloggers to fans, you are all a true blessing. Thank you for being my friend!

Six for Saturday

I totally missed Five for Friday. WAY too much going on yesterday. And I've actually missed quite a few FFFs, so I'll make it up with Six for Saturday.

Six things you should know for this weekend:

1. You can now pre-order signed copies of Purpose!!! Do it right here with our fancy new shopping cart.
2. You have extra time to enter my contest and giveaway to win a Purpose ARC, other books, a gift card or a Kindle. We've extended the deadline for the contest and giveaway. Details here.
3. You can read my scary ghost story for #HauntedHalloween and win a signed copy of Promise on Jessica's blog over at Confessions of a Bookaholic on Halloween (Sunday).
4. NaNoWriMo starts Monday, so if you haven't decided whether to do it or not...you probably ought to this weekend. We writers are known for procrastinating, but this is getting a little ridiculous, don't you think? (Do you think I've made a definitive decision? I keep thinking I have, but...)
5. Be sure to (re)stock your candy bowl before Sunday. Because it is Halloween, ya know? Please tell me this is not the only house that goes through all the candy before the day even arrives. All. Five. Bags.
6. Be sure your pets are inside and safe Halloween night - there are some sick people out there! And speaking of pets...I can't even pull together a costume for myself these days and look at these beastly get-ups.

Have a Happy Halloween!!

Five for Friday

Five reasons you must enter my new contests!

1. Two contests - one fun and one easy-peasy
2. THREE winners!!!
3. Prizes include books and swag and either a $25 B&N gift card, an iPod Shuffle or a Kindle 3 or Nook!
4. It's the weekend, giving you lots of time to think about and do all those things with Tristan.
5. Because you love me...or Tristan...or Promise...and want to help a new author and fellow blogger out. :) Even if it's just because you feel bad for me and my crappy week (to which I must add that my oldest is 18 today, a horrible reminder that I am no longer 18!).

Yes, I'm begging. Please help me spread the word this weekend and throughout the month. I soooo want to give away an awesome prize like a K3! Kthnxluvyabai! And have a fantabulous weekend!

Five for Friday

It's October!! Which means Halloween-y fun! Halloween also happens to be Tristan's birthday, but, shhh, he doesn't like to acknowledge it. We might just have to anyway...but more of that later.

There are tons of things happening all over the blog-o-sphere this month, including giveaways, blogfests, scary stories from your favorite authors and more. Here are just 5 to get you started:

1. Haunted Halloween by Jessica at Confessions of a Bookaholic & Lisa at A Life Bound By Books - I will have a scary story posted there later this month, including a giveaway!!




2. Book or Treat to support UNICEF!

3. Halloween at the Haven (Paranormal Haven)




4. Halloween Giveaways at From the Shadows

5.Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick's Countdown to Halloween

Five for Friday

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's Saturday. I was in meetings all day yesterday, though, and then had a ton of emails to catch up on. But I didn't want to miss this post completely.

As I posted on Tuesday, this past week was Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Besides Confessions of a Bookaholic, here are 5 more fantastic book blogging sites you should follow (in no particular order):

• Ex Libris
• A Life Bound By Books
• Book Crazy
• Paranormal Haven
• Books With Bite

Okay, I can't leave it at five! More:

• Lavendar Lines
• Tynga's Reviews
• All Things Urban Fantasy
• Tales of a Teenage Book Lover
• DemonLover's Books and More (and not just for the guy-candy, really, I swear)

There are so many more, but every time I go check them out to get the link, I keep getting pulled into the sites to see what they have to say this week. At this rate, I'll never get this posted. So we'll leave it at 10 for this Saturday.

But, please, feel free to share your favorite book bloggers in the comments. I'd love to find more!

Five for Friday (x2!)

I love the latest word mash-ups that are quickly becoming a part of our vocabularies. You know, the combination of two words that make something even more fun. Five of my faves:

1. Craptastic
2. Fantabulous
3. Fabulicious
4. Ridiculicious
5. Frawesome (freakin' awesome - still catching on, so I thought it needed explaining)

When we write a puke-draft of a manuscript and then have to go back and revise it, one of the things we're supposed to look for is a string of adjectives or adverbs, select the strongest one and delete the rest. This can be excrucialorious (excruciating laborious). Sometimes we need more than one! The solution: word mash-ups! Great idea, right? I know. You can thank me later.

So, I've been trying to make up my own word mash-ups (wash-ups?). For an added Five-for-Friday bonus, here are five of my very own:

1. Crapedible (incredibly crappy)
2. Dampy (damn happy)
3. Frumpy (freakin’ yummy guy)
4. Sexfart (sexy, fun and smart)
5. Dickalicious (these guys run rampant in high school, college fraternities and meat-market nightclubs - super hot assholes)

Okay, so I'm probably not the originator of all of these, but I doubt they'll ever catch on. Except maybe the last one, which makes me sure I'm not the first person to come up with it.

What do you think? Are my wash-ups catchy? Will you be using them this weekend? Do you have any to add to the list?

Five for Friday - Promise Special!

It's a holiday weekend! Woot! Three days to do whatever we want. Yeah, right. More like two days to catch up on all the crap we didn't get done this week and, if we're lucky, an actual day off on the third. That's how my life is anyway. Has been since...oldest son was born nearly 18 years ago. LOL

I do have "work" to do, but it's mostly writing-related, so I'm not complaining (except for the clean the bathrooms and dust part - blech).

How about you? What do you have going on? Here are some suggestions:

1. Drink a beer or share a bottle of wine with friends or neighbors.
2. Eat a hot dog or bratwurst hot off the grill.
3. Sleep in.
4. Go to the beach or the pool one last time.
5. Read Promise! Use this coupon code TP46E at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/19238 to download Promise for only $2.99!!!!  Coupon expires Monday, so don't delay! Formats include Nook, Sony Reader, Apple iPad, Kobo, Diesel and HTML.

Bet you'll have it done by the end of the weekend. :) Enjoy the long weekend, whatever you do!

Five for Friday

Last week, I had a little whine fest and shared my gratitude, all with the hope of explaining why I've been a little quiet on the blogs lately. I've realized, with another relatively quiet week, that it's all about my feeling of being overwhelmed and the need to re-evaluate priorities and find balance. So I've been in a melancholy mood this week while I try to figure out what to do about the chaos.

Today, I share five things that have inspired me, with the hope that you can fall back on these when you, too, need a little kick in the butt:

1. Writer friends - They ROCK!!! Regardless of what stage they're in - from writing or revising their first novel to querying to writing or revising their next contracted book - they inspire me with their commitment, perseverance, passion and courage.
2. Reader friends - Whether real-life or online, occasional or die-hard readers, book bloggers or not, their love for one story or many brightens a writer's day. When they share their love of a book and its characters, it's like the sun coming out on a cloudy day.
3. Bloggers - Regardless of their topic or theme, they provide a connection to others with similar interests, challenges or accomplishments. They lift me up with their positive words when needed; enlighten me with their insights; broaden my mind with new perspectives and ideas; and give me new goals to shoot for. They often remind me that there is a whole world out there to be enjoyed.
4. Family and friends - because I just can't leave them out. They are my rock.
5. And last, but not least, this one quote was exactly what I needed this week. I've been thinking about it for several days, since someone posted it on Facebook. I've decided it needs to be my new mantra (though I think I'll paraphrase it for myself, to make it a little easier to remember). There are so many things to do all the time, but not all of them are truly important. It's also easy to put off the ones that really are the most important. Here's the quote:

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." - Picasso

One thing I can't put off this weekend is my youngest son's birthday. 15!! Yikes!!! He can get his learner's permit now. Double-yikes!!! And now, for the next 6 weeks, my kids will be 15, 16, 17. How did we get here already????

 

Happy Birthday, bud! I love you! (No, he doesn't read this...but just in case.)

Five for Friday

Friday is more than half over, although there's still Friday night. That's the best part, right? ;-) But today has just been full of really cool and crazy things:

1. First, it's Friday! Cool all by itself!
2. I found out one of our day-job clients is married to a prolifically published author! I hope to meet her one day very soon. That's just too cool.
3. We got tickets to see Aerosmith in Tampa tomorrow. I've never seen them and I'm really looking forward to it. Especially to the fact that I won't be the oldest in the crowd. LOL Recently, we've been to Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and 30 Seconds to Mars and we've always been the geezers. Now I'll be the baby. :-)
4. My son got inked! Yes, it's frawesomely cool. But he's 16 and he's my son! A part of me weeps, but I like it and I'm glad he got something that will still mean something to him in 25 years - he'll still be Irish. LOL And it refers to a Bible verse, so that's pretty cool. It's very well done and if I decide to get an Amadis tattoo, I know where I'll go now (if not Miami Ink). What is Amadis? You'll have to read Promise to find out. ;-)
5. And last but definitely not least...Promise has been selected as a finalist for the Royal Palm Literary Award by the Florida Writers Association! Woohoo!!

Many reasons to celebrate. So I'm going to do just that. Have a cool and crazy weekend, lovelies!

Five for Friday

Tropical Storm Bonnie arrived this morning, all gray and soggy. Not much of a guest, huh? It depends on how you look at, though... I guess she'll be hanging out at least through tomorrow and her effects will be lingering on Sunday. That means a weekend spent indoors.

A perfect weekend for...

1. Writing
2. Reading
3. Napping
4. A movie
5. And, for me, signing and packing books for pre-order deliveries next week

So what are your favorite things to do on rainy weekends? Most of us prefer a nice, sunny weekend so we can finally spend time outdoors after being closed up all week working. But, at least for me, rainy days make me feel like chilling out, snuggling and having a little downtime.

Have a great weekend, sunny or not!

Five for Friday

What a moron! Flake, idiot, dork, dumbass. That's me. Somehow, I totally missed Tuesday this week. Where did it go? *searches around* Huh, there it is. Right where it should be. On the calendar three days ago. And I didn't post a Teaser Tuesday. Oops.

I shall make up for it now and combine it with Five for Friday...because I'm about to miss Friday, too. Gasp! No. Skipping. Friday! Second best day of the week (I get to sleep in on Saturdays, so it's like Friday but better).

I don't know that these are really much of a tease, but I'd still like to share. And hopefully they'll get you excited for Promise. I posted the first four songs on the Promise playlist here and here. So here are the rest. And it even includes a bonus #6, you know, to make up for my Tuesday brain fart.

Except for the last one, explained below, these are all songs that I used to put me in the mood for writing and editing different scenes in Promise. There are others, but these all go with the story.

And the bonus wraps up Promise and leads you into Purpose. It's a recent release, so I didn't use it in writing Promise, but it's perfect for the two books together. And so, it's my new favorite song.

Now...could someone please tell me how to embed a playlist into blogger? I'd be eternally grateful! Thanks!

Five for Friday (With a Challenge!)

First, a word from our sponsor: Today is the last day to pre-order Promise. If you want a signed copy delivered by the release date of July 30, we must have your order by today. Order here.

Ok, now back to regularly scheduled programming: Five for Friday

Book release + dayjob + herd of teens + everyday crap = Very little writing done on Purpose 

For my new friends, Purpose is a little over 2/3 written and has been revised, rewritten, edited, proofed, etc.,...until I broke it away into a separate book from Promise. I've had to add about 31K words to make it a complete book.

I'm so close to being done...but so far away. And I really need to get it out to critters so I can stay on schedule for a (late) Fall release. I know exactly where the words are going to go and what's going to happen. I just haven't had time and focus to put it down.

So, this weekend, I'm doing a writing marathon. I wanted to go and hide out in a hotel room for the weekend, but the funds won't allow it. So here are five ways I'm going to make this happen:

1. Lots of coffee and chocolate.
2. Lots of food to keep the herd of teens and the man happy. This includes a big pot of something that they can warm up and eat without bothering me.
3. A "Do Not Disturb - I'm Writing" sign on my door.
4. Unplugging! No Facebook, no Twitter, not even email. Yikes!!
5. A challenge! Taking a page from Anne Riley's book (not her actual book, of course - I'm not into piracy), I'm challenging my writer friends. Can you write more words than me this weekend? I've easily done 25K in a weekend before. I don't know if I can do it again - it's not as easy as during the first draft. But I plan to make some serious headway.

Want to play with me? Here's how it goes:

• Start at 8 p.m. ET tonight (gives us time to get our ducks in a row)
• End at 6 p.m. ET Sunday (gives us time to do other things before True Blood starts LOL)
• Post a comment below that includes your starting word count (as of 8 tonight) and what you think I should do for retribution if someone beats me. I'll pick one or two of the best ideas and if anyone writes more than me, I'll follow through (within reason - financially, morally, legally, etc.).
• Come back Sunday night/Monday morning to post your ending word count.

Are you in? I hope so! I need the challenge!

Five for Friday

One of the reasons I worked so hard to bring my family to Florida sooner rather than later is because the state offers an excellent scholarship program for all of its high school graduates. We will have three in college at the same time, so, yeah, that means a lot.

One of the requirements is for students to put in community service hours. My oldest, who will be a senior next year, procrastinated on this forever. The Man (his dad) found a great opportunity for him. One of his techs' wives is a marine biologist for some kind of non-profit organization. She needs help. So Son#1 and her husband go out on the boat and cruise the harbor and into the Gulf, replacing batteries in fish detectors. Now how's THAT for community service?!?

Anyway, this guy (in his 50s) texts my son the other day about a party out on one of the barrier islands on Sunday. It can only be reached by boat. And he adds, "It's Father's Day. I'm sure your dad would love spending the day with all the girls in their bikinis."

Say what?!? Obviously, I didn't think that was such a great idea. So today's Five for Friday are some ideas we can do for the fathers in our lives, whether they are our dads, step-dads, grandpas, husbands, fathers of our children, uncles, neighbors, etc. Ideas that moms can embrace a little better than a big party with drunk, half-naked girls.

1. Create a Jib-Jab Father's Day greeting.
2. Make a photo video of old family vacations put to dad's fave music.
3. Hire a lawn service to take care of the yard this week.
4. Write a short story about one of your favorite memories (since we are mostly all writers here...)
5. And, heck, I guess if he wants to sit on the beach or go to a party where there are young girls in bikinis, it is his day. And, after all, there are guys to appreciate, too. :)

Enjoy the weekend! Pamper the dads in your life. Give them lots of love.

Five for Friday

I'm feeling a little brain-dead after all the excitement this week. So I'm keeping it simple (but hopefully not lame haha).

Five things you should know about Promise:

1. It's not, I repeat NOT Young Adult. Older YA readers will enjoy it (and some have already), but if you're looking for a squeaky-clean book for children, this is not it. There seems to be a misconception that it's YA and I don't want parents mad at me for exposing their innocent kids...or readers writing about how shocked they were with it.
2. It's basically a prologue for the rest of the series. Part of the misconception might be because Alexis is 18 when the story starts. By the end, she's 20 and very much an adult through the rest of the series. Promise introduces the characters and some of the mythology, while sharing the love story between Alexis and Tristan. I'll be doing a guest post for Tynga's Paranormal Summer Fest on June 23rd, with a more in-depth explanation.
3. Promise will be available widely starting the end of July, including on Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle), Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, iTunes/iBooks, Smashwords, etc., as well as through indie and chain bookstores.
4. But, you can only pre-order Promise through the website: www.IHavePromise.com.
5. All pre-orders will be signed and include a discount coupon for an e-book version, so you can keep your signed copy pretty and nice.

Next week may be a little crazy. I'm making my bi-monthly trip to Orlando for the day job, along with everything else going on in prep for Promise's release, while also working hard on Purpose. Knowing the ending of Promise, I'm pretty sure readers will be anxious to know what happens. (I'll be hiding in a bullet-proof safe room until book two's release.) So, if I'm a lame-o blogger next week, at least you've been warned. :-) Have a great weekend!

Five for Friday

Blogfests! They're all over the place this month! So this week's Five for Friday is all about blogfests. What I'll be doing this month (I hope you'll join the fun!):

1. Amalia T's Dream Sequence Blogfest - Today, June 4
2. Rachel Bateman's Beach Scene Blogfest - Saturday, June 5
3. Sangu Mandanna's Character Interview Blogfest - Tuesday, June 15
4. Michelle Gregory's Share Your Darlings Blogfest - Thursday, July 1

That's only 4, you say? Of course, this is Five for Friday. Not Four for Friday! What's number 5? My entry for the Dream Sequence Blogfest!

I wrote this sometime last year and it was at one time on my website. This is a dream Alexis had the night she met Tristan. You can read that night over at the Promise excerpts at www.IHavePromise.com. The dream means nothing. Seriously. Don't go reading anything into it. It's just her fascination with "mythical" creatures getting the best of her.

Warning: It's not really that good. I read it now and wonder what the heck I was on while writing it. But I realized all my other dreams give too much away. So here you go...

We sat on the beach by Mom’s cottage at sunset, but neither of us paid attention to the vivid colors in the sky or the whispering waves of the Gulf of Mexico quietly sliding over the sand. Our eyes were on each other. His were sparkling as he smiled slightly, seductively. He lifted his hand to my face and stroked his fingertips across my cheek. I shivered, though all I could feel was warmth spreading over my skin.

“Beautiful,” he murmured in his low, sexy voice.

And I was beautiful in my dream. Not my normal, ordinary self. Chestnut hair, striking mahogany eyes, perfect features…I was as beautiful as my stunning (and somehow forever young) mother. But I was definitely me – my pounding heart and shallow breathing confirmed that.

He leaned in and his mouth pressed against mine, kissing me gently at first, his satiny lips sliding so softly against mine. But as the heat built, the kisses became longing and searching. I opened my mouth slightly and he tasted even more delightful than I expected, like his scent, but intensified. It filled my mouth, coating the back of my throat and I couldn’t get enough of it. I kissed him hungrily, my hands caressing his face and sliding back into his hair, pulling his hard body against me.

We were abruptly lying in the sand. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Tristan's. As he kissed me, his hand slowly, lightly trailed down my side to my waist, then slid under me at the small of my back, pressing me against him. His mouth moved over my chin…along my jaw…down to my throat…kissing and tasting and sucking.

He looked up at me, his eyes smoldering. And that’s when I noticed the fangs. They made perfect sense to my dream-self. He was too beautiful, too perfect to be human, after all.

I smiled to show him I wasn’t scared. His eyes glinted before he bent his head again, his mouth at my throat. My body trembled with anticipation. I wanted him to bite me. Then I felt the pierce and a small sound, a mixture of pain and pleasure, escaped my lips.

He looked up again at my reaction. I could feel the wound already healing – that’s what my body did, healed itself. His eyes sparked as they caught mine, then they darted to the disappearing bite mark on my throat. The fangs disappeared. He was just Tristan again, the Tristan I met in class that night, though saying he was just Tristan was like saying Brad Pitt was just Brad Pitt. But now Tristan’s inhumanly beautiful face was filled with disgust at what my body did. Then suddenly he was gone.

And the pain of loss and betrayal ripped through my body.

“No!” I awoke with a start, disoriented for just a moment.

Of course, I thought as my heart settled down. What else could I expect? Guys like Tristan and girls (freaks) like me just didn’t happen. I just needed to forget about him.

If he would only let me…

Five for Friday

Happy Friday! And there's no better one than that before a long weekend! Woohoo!

Actually, my weekend has been extra long. In fact, yesterday started mine and I've been in Orlando. While you're reading this, I'm at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure and, hopefully, checking out the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!! According to rumor, today is a soft opening.

(Truth be told, I'm writing this Wednesday night to post on Friday with the magic [sadly, not HP magic] of technology. So, I'm not positive we'll get to go through HP world, but if we do, I'll tell you all about it next week!)

Anyway, here are five things I hope we all get to do this holiday weekend:

1. Spend time with family and friends.
2. Relax.
3. Appreciate our freedoms and remember the fallen soldiers who gave their lives for us.
4. Take a dip in the pool, sit on the beach or at least spend a little time in the great outdoors.
5. Drink an ice-cold beer or some kind of frozen concoction. Or both.

Enjoy your weekend! Be safe!

Five for Friday

Looking for something good to read this weekend? Check out and bookmark these review blogs for great recommendations for urban/contemporary fantasy and paranormal reads.

1. All Things Urban Fantasy
2. Bitten by Books
3. Ex Libris
4. Paranormal Haven
5. Book Chick City

Have a great weekend and happy reading!

Five for Friday

I know, it’s Saturday now. Sorry this is late. I was waiting for a moment when Kristie was away to post this, but she shut the computer at 5:30 p.m. last night! Can you believe it?!? She never turns off the computer until like 2 a.m. So I was kind of stuck in the dark and then she got to work this morning, and I finally have a chance to put this up.

So, here are my five favorite things [from Alexis]:

1. Tristan – His eyes, his purrrrfectly chiseled chest, his hands and what they do to me [shudder], his luscious lips…
2. Vampires and everything magical and fantastical
3. Chocolate croissants
4. Writing
5. You!!

There’s something else, but, unfortunately, I can’t tell you right now. You’ll have to read Promise and Purpose.

Thank you for distracting me from my woes this week. I guess now I have to go back to waiting in my misery. Kristie promises to be back, though, so we can finally finish this story.

Talk to you soon!

Five for Friday

For Mother's Day, five things I love about being a Mom:

1. Flutter of those first kicks
2. Hearing their heartbeats for the first time
3. First cries
4. First smiles
5. Looking UP at them (two are a foot taller than me!) and saying "Because I'm the Mom! That's why!"

Oh...and the pride I feel when I see what great young men they are growing up to be. I love my herd!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!

Five for Friday

Don't forget to enter the 50 to 100 Giveaway!

Geez...Friday is over in an hour already and I haven't posted Five for Friday. So, here we go.

Five websites (mostly for writers, but non-writers may enjoy, too):

1. http://www.behindthename.com/ - Don't just get meanings for names, but get names for meanings.
2. http://surnames.behindthename.com/ - Same as above, but for surnames
3. http://absolutewrite.com/ - Great community!
4. http://bittenbybooks.ning.com/ - Supernatural, paranormal, urban fantasy, dark fantasy...you name it.
5. http://howpublishingreallyworks.blogspot.com/ - Get the real scoop.

Tomorrow brings a bonus post: BLOGFEST!!! Woohoo! I love blogfests. They're a lot of fun and there's much to learn and gain from them. So come back and check out the Last Lines Blogfest, hosted by Lilah Pierce at The Good Grief Writer. Go here to see everyone else's great Last Lines.