Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Boo! Happy Halloween!

To all those with children who'll be out tonight trick-or-treating, please remember to dress in bright colors or use those glow sticks and necklaces, flashlights, reflective garments, etc. Keep those babies safe and sound and if it's going to be a cold one where you live, be sure to dress warmly! Don't forget to brush after all the sweets and have fun!

For those who might partake of mid-week Halloweenie parties- be safe, have a designated driver if there's drinking involved and watch out for the little ones!

And don't forget- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs tonight on ABC (7PM Central/8PM Eastern-check your local listings) for those who might enjoy a little Peanuts tradition!

I'd also like to say-

Bright blessings and warm wishes for those celebrating Samhain Eve today and Happy Halloween to everyone!

No matter what the day brings, I hope everyone has a wonderful time and a safe holiday!

(I got to get ready for NaNo- It starts TOMORROW!!! CAN'T WAIT!)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday- So that's how you're going to play... #sixsunday

  (click above image to read MORE Six Sentence Sunday excerpts)
(Check out more by looking up hashtag #sixsunday on Twitter)

Welcome Sixers.
For those who might not know here's what 6 Sentence Sunday is all about-
Pick six (6) sentences from anything you like (it can be from a Work in Progress (WiP), something you recently sold, something you hope to sell or even something already under contract and available for purchase – and don’t worry, Six Sentence Sunday is for published AND unpublished writers). Then post them on your blog on Sunday. That’s all there is to it!
You can add yours link to their official list by signing up before midnight the Saturday beforehand.
Heading back into my currently unpublished contemporary romance, Love by Design.

Love by Design

Jasmine Galloway sees beauty in all things but it’s not a thing of beauty when she meets Derrek Martin, a shallow, arrogant playboy celebrity. When her sister Juniper, a blockbuster actress, recommends her interior design business, Décor Dreams, to Derrek, it’s sure to be a disaster. Jasmine is uncertain she can hold her tongue and get the job done, but she takes it, never one to let her opinions of others stand in the way of professional success and she’s not about to let some pretty boy win her over whose ego is as big as his blockbuster movies. It isn’t long before Derrek’s gentle, affectionate manner and country boy charm gets the better of her. She curses herself for allowing the tabloid fodder to contaminate her impression of a man who might well put his designs on her heart.

Derrek Martin counts himself lucky his acting career took off shortly after his arrival in California. Even more since his parents’ deaths left him the guardian of his little sister. The new house is nice, but it needs a woman’s touch before he brings Paige out from Indiana to live with him. He knows his reputation in the tabloids depicts him far from who he really is, but he has never met with a more chilly reception than the moment he meets Jasmine Galloway, Interior Designer to the Stars. He’s sure she has read everything bad ever published about him and disregards all the good. His private life is simply that, private. Derrek intends to keep it that way—until he meets Jasmine.

Her blatant dislike for him pushes a button no one else ever has and Derrek finds he’s desperate to prove that he isn’t what the tabloids make him out to be. More than that, he’s determined to make her his leading lady, but will an ex with a secret steal the spotlight away?

She forgot about painting at that moment. She jerked her hand away and smeared the dark blue paint down Derrek’s chest. “I didn’t want that. Take it back.”
She found him watching her in surprise at first, but then his expression flickered to one of mischief.
“So that’s how you’re going to play, huh?”
If you missed previous Six Sunday posts from Love by Design and would like to check them out, look at the top of the page in my pink tabs for SSS Posts where you can easily find links to each previous post.  

Saturday, October 27, 2012

SCENTsational Saturdays- Favorite 10- Body Fantasies Vanilla




A very soft and sweet vanilla, this body spray calls me home and makes me feel warm and safe. I'm not sure why, but vanilla tones in perfumes make me think of fairy tales and knights on white horses. Perhaps it's the simplistic natural aroma of vanilla that harkens back to homemade cookies and childhood.

I lures me with memories of holidays spent with my family. Of warming my hands next to the fire and the sharp aroma of wood smoke spiraling from a chimney on a cold winter day. It's a scented journey through my youth that gives me inspiration and reminds me of my mom and her encouragement.

I wish you a lovely weekend and a reminder that life is nothing if you don't Try... ;)



Have a SCENTsational Saturday!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Friday Spotlight- with Prince Charming by @JenniA8677 #TMPress @FictionWitches

 Click Image for Amazon Kindle

Book Two in Jennifer Anderson's Honey Creek Royalty Series (Young Adult)

Break-ups are never easy, and Sarah O’Connor finds her hard truth from a note. Furious with the delivery and lack of reasoning, she’s forced to carry on with her life, but Josh’s timing couldn’t have been worse. The Ohio State High School Cheerleading competition is around the corner, and instead of focusing on a monumental win, she’s overwhelmed with the recent heartbreak, jealous when she sees him with a new girl, and confused by lingering feelings of taking him back.

Enter Adrian Beale, a face from her past. Soon, she’s more conflicted because while she knows she needs to move on, making Adrian an ideal candidate, Josh won’t go away.

She decides to put both boys aside to focus on winning state, but when she witnesses an scandalous situation, can she erase what she’s seen, or will the images plague her performance? Can Sarah move on from an old love to a new one, and will she carry her squad to victory?

Jennifer Anderson's Biography
I'm a Mommy, wife and now author. Even though I've spent many years on either coast, I've spent a majority of my life in the Midwest. Here is where my heart grows with the love and support of my family and friends and here is where I find inspiration for my stories.

I didn't grow up wanting to be an author but knew I needed to do something creative. After many years or moving from one job to the next and not finding happiness, I set pen to paper and began work on a Young Adult novel that will never see the light of day. And that's okay.

Finally, after a year or two of bringing life to the stories in my head, I got a break. Ice Princess, Book 1 from the Honey Creek Royalty series released April 2012. Prince Charming, Book 2 releases September 2012. Queen Mean, Book 3 releases December 2012. In 2013, King of the Lake, the 4th and final book releases in March.

I'm also excited to announce Spider, my first non-series YA novel will also release in 2013. Stay tuned for more news.
You can visit me at www.jenandersauthor.com and www.musingsfromthepeanutgallery.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Taryn Raye's Writerly Wednesday~ Surfing & NaNo

Yesterday I avoided the computer altogether while I tackled Mt. Dirty Laundry, hemmed a raveled seam on one of my daughter's shirts by hand and read a couple of books about surfing on my my Kindle. Honestly, I think I need the time away from the computer every once in a while to clear my head and find inner balance.
 (image from morguefile.com)
In regard to my research, I know reading about surfing is far from having experience with it, but as a writer who lives no where near the coast, I'm making do with the sources I have and honestly think I've gathered several great ideas for scenes for Mark and Alexa in my upcoming WIP that I'll be writing next month.

As of today, we're a mere week and a day away from NaNoWriMo. Am I excited? HECK YEAH! The closer we get and the more I read, the more exhilarated I feel.

Of course, that means, I'm stepping back from prepping Love by Design for publication, so I can concentrate on writing Heart of the Surf and putting a finish on this 2nd book series. I have plot lines and tweaking for LBD, that I'll work on after I come through NaNo on the other side.

Reading the books on surfing is really fueling my excitement for NaNo to begin for sure, though now that I'm researching and learning more about it, I'm also seeing more on television, especially the sad news of the surfer who was killed by a shark off the coast of California. That caught my attention last night on the news because my story is set on the California coastline and that could be a real issue, but I don't think I'm going to be writing a shark into the story.

Normally surfing is not my normal fare of interest, but I'm eager to see the new Chasing Mavericks movie, starring Gerard Butler. Of course, Mr. Butler is a mighty fine reason to watch ANY movie, but I'm finding myself interested in learning more about surfing, too, though I might never step a foot in the ocean.

Mind you, I love Gidget, but this has gotten me to thinking about other movies that might help give me a clearer, more modern idea visually— Point Break & Soul Surfer are a couple I need to get so I can watch them. Even Surf's Up is recommended viewing by one of the authors of one of the books I read about surfing.

Over the next few weeks I'm also intent on checking out the vast amount of surfing videos on Youtube, such as this one-

I find it's often easy for me to plunk myself down in another world and experience other things vicariously through words and visuals. Such is the blessings of being a writer and an avid reader.

Hope you have a great and wonderful Hump Day!
I can see the weekend from here!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Help Taryn Raye Welcome Cat Shaffer @catromance to #TuesdayswithTaryn

Tuesdays with Taryn
Cat Shaffer

What book(s) most influenced you as a writer? 

Oh, I ran the gamut from Issac Asimov to Rebecca DuMoire. Living in the country, going to the library was a big deal -- and we could get 10 books each time. Even then I loved stories with strong characters and a feel-good ending. 

What book do you read over and over again? 

Gone With the Wind -- there's just something about it.

Tuesday Trio-
  1. Movie- Close Encounters of the Third Kind 
  2. Music- Newer Johnny Cash (in his older years)
  3. Decadent Dessert- New York cheesecake with cherry topping

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel?

While writing my vampire Ancient Shadows series (as Cammie Eicher) I did a whole lot of research on the Mafia code of honor and killing with liquid mercury, followed by ancient rituals. I am so glad the cops didn't seize my hard drive then.

Novel on your Nightstand:

Who/what are you currently reading?

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Whom would you cast as your Main Characters/Hero/Heroine if your book became a movie?

Emily Deschanel as the heroine - Silas Weir Mitchell (from Grimm) as the hero.


Keeping Secrets (clicking image below will take you to the Smashwords book page)

When Miranda Coulsen accepts a summer assignment that takes her to Colorado and away from her daughter, she doesn’t expect to encounter the sexy Rik Hallowell. He’s even hotter now than a decade ago, when they had a brief, sizzling relationship that fell apart once she returned to Michigan and Rik went back to the family ranch.

Rik has returned just long enough to get the place back in shape and hire a manager. His father’s death and his brother’s decision to take off without giving the ranch a thought has trapped him there for at least the rest of the summer. When he encounters Miranda, he realizes the sparks are still hot and he’s quite willing to engage in another summer fling…or more.

But they’re no longer the kids they used to be. And the secrets they’ve harbored for ten years may be far stronger than the passion they both feel and the love neither is willing to confess.

Keeping Secrets is currently available in eBook on Turquoise Morning Press and will soon be available through all other retailers!

You can find out more about Cat Shaffer and her other work on the following-


Monday, October 22, 2012

Taryn Raye takes a walk down Memory Lane ~Do Scents Matter?

Saturday I spazzed out. I forgot to schedule my post beforehand in the busyness of hubby's birthday. On Friday, he arrived home early, just as I took his pineapple upside-down cake from the oven and after all, who can resist a warm pineapple upside-down cake? Not my hubby. I caught him sneaking a slice before the kids even got home from school.
Of course, the big surprise to me, was that he'd taken the money my parents sent him and bought me a vase of fresh cut wildflowers, just because. He said it was what he wanted to spend his birthday money on. I kept telling him he hadn't had to do that, but each time I looked at the flowers, I couldn't help but smile. I'm blessed.
Once the kids got home from school and my stepson's mother picked him up for the weekend, hubby, daughter and I headed out to have his birthday supper at his favorite local Mexican restaurant, Los Mariachis.

After filling our tummies, we returned home to relax and watch television. Hubby dozed off in no time flat. Saturday morning was filled with grocery shopping and errands, then a walk at the mall, window-shopping Christmas ornaments at Hallmark and then meeting hubby's mom and stepdad for a birthday lunch at Ryan's (Steak & Buffet). I'd never eaten there before, but thought it was pretty darn good. Too many yummy foods to choose from! LOL

It wasn't until mid-afternoon, on our way home that I realized I must have forgotten my "SCENTsational Saturdays" post. I guess part of the reason for that was because my "Through the Years" perfume of choice was Lady Stetson. I remember wearing it, but I'm not remembering it as fondly as I originally thought. I received it for Christmas in my teens and I wore it because it was a much more mature fragrance than I typically wore. It made me feel more grown-up, but I've seen it described as a soft floral scent. My recollection of it was not so— it was a very loud scent on me, which gave me (and others) a headache.

Of course, rather than post about it, I spazzed and well, seemed to conveniently forget about it. ;) But....It did bring to mind instead, an incident from my youth that made me wonder how "personal" colognes and perfumes are to women, and to men. My husband usually wears Preferred Stock. It's his sole cologne choice, whereas, I LOVE a variety of fragrances because I enjoy picking to suit my mood. To each their own, but that got me to thinking- Fragrances are very memory-heavy personal items, so, are there fragrances in our lives we avoid like the plague?

I know myself well enough to know that I wouldn't necessarily want to wear the fragrance my husband's ex wore, unless it's happens to be one of my absolute favorite scents. At this point, I'm better off NOT knowing, but then I still have my favorite men's colognes, even though my husband doesn't wear them and some of them revive memories because they are the signature scent of an ex. Much as I might like to tell myself it's not personal, it is. The very hint of a familiar old cologne can resurrect a time from your past that you may or may not wish to recall.

And this is where the memory comes in- In my early twenties, my best friend called me one morning to see if I'd want to tag along to the amusement park for the day, with her and several of our other friends because they were shy one person to make riding in pairs a no-brainer. There were two other couples, her kid brother and my most recent ex, who still hung out with our mutual grouping of friends. My friend didn't want to be the odd-person out on rides.

I was in a fresh new relationship, but my new boyfriend had no problem with me going. The ex, on the other hand, was in a particular "mood" because I was along for the outing, the first time our group of friends all hung out since he and I ended a few months before. It was like one of those awkward sitcom moments. Its never easy to stay part of the crowd when there's a break-up. Not because we ended on bad terms or anything- it was just that I wanted a serious relationship and he didn't. I had been madly in love with him and thought we WERE in a real relationship and he basically told me "we're not together like that." So I ended it with him and started seeing this other guy. According to the ex at the time, we had "nothing" so there was "nothing" to end. {raised eyebrow} (of course, this was the same guy who told me I had his "permission" to go out with the other guy, to which I replied, "You're not my father or my husband, you have no say in what I do or who I go out with. You don't "own" me, so it doesn't matter if you give me "permission" to go out with him.")

I thought we ended on mutual terms, but as we hung out that day, it was clear he was jealous. He didn't want me, but he didn't want me to be with someone else. He was nice to me all day, but rude as hell to my best friend, just for pure meanness sakes. It was so bad that my best friend and I wandered off on our own the majority of the day and rode the Big Wheel just to get away from him.

Thing thing I remember most though was the ride home in the minivan. Someone had given my ex a gift set of men's cologne—you know the kind, those tiny bottles that usually come in a four or five pack box at the holidays—He carried them in his pocket all day, pulling them out and uncapping them to smell them. I can't remember what all scents he had- I remember a green bottle with a gold cap- perhaps Aspen, or maybe Polo. It was something from Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger or some other name brand.

Of course, being the big clumsy oaf that I knew, and loved, it wasn't long before IT happened in the back seat. IT being that when said cologne bottle was SPILLED in a van on a hot summer's day and the van was filled to capacity (8 of us) and we still had to ride for about an hour and half, it STUNK it all up to be damned, even with the windows cranked wide open.

By the time we arrived at my apartment building and I rolled out of there, sunburnt, gasping for air, and suffering a monstrous headache, what I remember was his blurted, angry parting words to me that went something like-

"Don't you dare go buy your "new" boyfriend this cologne, cause it's MY scent."

Bwhahaha! I don't remember my response, but I'm pretty sure it was rounds of laughter and something along the lines of "I wouldn't dream of it. My boyfriend's cologne doesn't STINK like that."

Are there colognes or perfumes you avoid because they have memories attached to them? Has anyone ever asked you not to wear a certain fragrance because it was something their ex wore?

How personal are fragrances for you? Do scents matter? Feel free to share, I'd love to hear about it.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Taryn Raye's #sixsunday ~ If I had a girlfriend...

 (click above image to read MORE Six Sentence Sunday excerpts)
(Check out more by looking up hashtag #sixsunday on Twitter)

Welcome Sixers.
For those who might not know here's what 6 Sentence Sunday is all about-
Pick six (6) sentences from anything you like (it can be from a Work in Progress (WiP), something you recently sold, something you hope to sell or even something already under contract and available for purchase – and don’t worry, Six Sentence Sunday is for published AND unpublished writers). Then post them on your blog on Sunday. That’s all there is to it!

You can add yours link to their official list by signing up before midnight the Saturday beforehand.

Heading back into my currently unpublished contemporary romance, Love by Design.

Love by Design

Jasmine Galloway sees beauty in all things but it’s not a thing of beauty when she meets Derrek Martin, a shallow, arrogant playboy celebrity. When her sister Juniper, a blockbuster actress, recommends her interior design business, Décor Dreams, to Derrek, it’s sure to be a disaster. Jasmine is uncertain she can hold her tongue and get the job done, but she takes it, never one to let her opinions of others stand in the way of professional success and she’s not about to let some pretty boy win her over whose ego is as big as his blockbuster movies. It isn’t long before Derrek’s gentle, affectionate manner and country boy charm gets the better of her. She curses herself for allowing the tabloid fodder to contaminate her impression of a man who might well put his designs on her heart.

Derrek Martin counts himself lucky his acting career took off shortly after his arrival in California. Even more since his parents’ deaths left him the guardian of his little sister. The new house is nice, but it needs a woman’s touch before he brings Paige out from Indiana to live with him. He knows his reputation in the tabloids depicts him far from who he really is, but he has never met with a more chilly reception than the moment he meets Jasmine Galloway, Interior Designer to the Stars. He’s sure she has read everything bad ever published about him and disregards all the good. His private life is simply that, private. Derrek intends to keep it that way—until he meets Jasmine.

Her blatant dislike for him pushes a button no one else ever has and Derrek finds he’s desperate to prove that he isn’t what the tabloids make him out to be. More than that, he’s determined to make her his leading lady, but will an ex with a secret steal the spotlight away?
****
Jasmine's little trip & fall from last Six Sunday was because Derrek mentioned plans to move a girl in with him. After he tells her it's his 12 year-old sister, she stumbles to recover from her nosy gaffe. Derrek sets her straight.

“To be quite honest, I didn’t know. I thought it was possible. You hadn’t mentioned anyone until now.”
“No, if I had a girlfriend living with me, she wouldn’t be sleeping in a separate bed on a different floor. She’d be in my bed, in my arms, every night.”
Jasmine’s cheeks flamed red and she sputtered.

If you missed previous Six Sunday posts from Love by Design and would like to check them out, look at the top of the page in my pink tabs for SSS Posts where you can easily find links to each previous post. 

Friday, October 19, 2012

Taryn Raye- What You Don't See ~Authors Against Bullying~

There's been a lot in the news and on the net this past week about Amanda Todd, the 15-year-old girl from Canada who struggled with being subjected to bullying and harassment, not just in school but online, the acts of which ultimately led to depression, self-harm and her suicide last week.

Wednesday, I became aware of a movement among my fellow writers- Authors Against Bullying (link takes you to my Page Tab here on the blog with the list of Authors participating or you can click the AAB button at the bottom of this post to go to Mandy M. Roth's site) and decided to share my own story of bullying today, as well as go around and visit and comment on all the other author blogs where they will be sharing their thoughts and experiences as well.

I might have written about this before, but it's probably lost in the archives if I have.

Often when we think of our adolescence, we're forced to put a mirror in front of ourselves to see who we once were. We're also reminded that things aren't always what they appear to be on the surface. In fact, most the time it's what you don't see, what's on the inside- those tiny cracks in the reflections of ourselves, the hidden scars and memories of the angst of being a teenager are still there, even if we've Windexed the hell out of it and tried to "spit shine" the pain away so that it doesn't look so bad looking back.

The cracks I have to look at, the ones that distort my view of my younger self? It is knowing that I was harassed and bullied by a group of boys in 7th grade. Every day, the same class, the same group of boys who took turns getting in my face and teasing me, taunting me, harassing me. And always the same knot of fear tightened in my stomach as that time of day rolled around and I had to enter that classroom. Sometimes I would drag my feet and wait as close to the tardy bell as I could, just so I would be able to get to my seat and hope they'd leave me alone as the teacher called the class to order. I hated being me because for some reason, I had attracted their attention and I didn't know how to shake them, I didn't know how to get them to back off and stop invading my personal space.

I always worried- Would they bother me today? What nasty remarks would it be this time? What stupid pick-up lines or lies would they feed me? Not that I was lapping up the attention by any means. I was disgusted, embarrassed and just wanted to be left alone so I could become invisible again. I wanted a boyfriend at that age, I wanted attention, but not the way I was receiving it, being ganged up on and teased and taunted before class. This was not the type of attention I had hoped a boy would show me.

Most of it was simply vulgar references that my 13-year-old self didn't quite understand, although I had a notion I understood well enough because the things they said made my skin do the creepy crawly dance. I'd already started placing bricks in the walls around my heart and mind to protect myself. Even when the one I had a crush on joined in with the others, I still huddled inside my skin, wishing things were different, that I could trust him to be kind, but I knew better than to believe a word that crossed his lips because he was just as guilty as the rest of them for being a class-A jerk. As my mom would have said, they were just "boys being boys" but when you're faced with that sort of thing on a daily basis, over weeks and months, it takes its toll.

Everyday I was filled with angst, fear and self-loathing, wishing they'd pick on someone else, wishing I could fade into the concrete walls and disappear. I was left wondering why I was the girl they singled out. I was a goody-two shoes, as I was reminded on numerous occasions later in life. I wasn't developed yet. I was a plain-Jane in glasses, hiding behind books and wishing I was someone else. Either someone they wouldn't pick on or someone who knew the right comebacks, the right zings, the proper burns, but instead I was myself, innocent, quiet, unassuming and shy and maybe that was the draw. I was too well behaved which made me a target. Let's see how much we can make this girl blush.

So often, the question that plagued me most was-

How would I make it until the final bell rang for the day so I could dart out of class safely, slip away to my bus, then go home and cry in the privacy of my own room?

I went home quite often and cried, or I'd have busting headaches and nervous stomach issues. I sort of talked to my mom about it, but it was embarrassing, so the majority of what I dealt with, I kept to myself. I cried myself to sleep, I shut myself up in my bedroom and I became even more of an introvert, burrowing further into books, into writing and wrapping the blanket of my depression around me.

Yes, I thought about suicide, that I didn't know if I could take one more day of it. It was emotionally draining. As if being a hormonally awkward teenager wasn't hard enough, having others draw attention to the fact that you're stuck between being a child and a woman was like death anyway. They might as well have shone a spotlight on me and thrust me up onto a stage cause that's the LAST place I wanted to be. I didn't want to draw attention to myself. All I wanted to do was try to grow into my adult skin with the least amount of embarrassment, learn to be comfortable in that new suit that was changing all the time, emotionally, mentally, physically and then be seen as a beautiful young woman deserving of respect. The situation I found myself in couldn't have been further from what I imagined.

I'm not sure what pulled me through. Maybe it was that 7th grade finally came to an end and for those couple of months of summer, my bullies were nowhere to be seen. I didn't have to deal with them and I was able to breath again and enjoy life. 8th grade year brought back all those worries and fears, but lucky for me, most of the boys who were part of my troubles had been broken up into different classes, so the couple who were in my class seemed to have moved on to pestering other girls and left me alone.

I was still plagued by those fears though and always felt I was looking over my shoulder, waiting for one of them to sneak up on me and start the teasing and tormenting all over again. Even though the bullying happened in 7th grade, it left it's mark for several years to come. I wore baggier clothing and went through a slouchy phase and at one point I gained so much weight, I was barely recognizable- but then, the less noticeable I was, the better. I withdrew more into myself and I stayed the quiet shy violet. That's probably the reason my eighth grade yearbook is full of "To a really sweet, quiet girl who I don't know very well" comments.

I didn't open myself up to others anymore, always scared to trust people, afraid that their friendship or kindness wasn't genuine. That took time to get over and eventually being able to talk about what happened with my mom and with friends. Being young sometimes makes it hard to see how much support we truly have from our loved ones. It's not just "me against the world."

Being a teenager stinks and it's probably the hardest part of growing up. I don't ever wish I was 13 or 15, or 17 again. Those weren't great years for me, but I survived. If you're having problems with someone bullying you, reach out and talk to a friend, a parent, a teacher or a trusted adult. If you see someone else being bullied, reach out to them and let them know they're not alone. Don't stand by and allow a bully to get the upper-hand. Tell someone if you see it happening. Don't enable the behavior by keeping silent. Silence is what leads young adults into the darkness where they feel alone and helpless to change it. Where they contemplate hurting themselves, where they grow larger-than-life gardens of self-doubt and allow that to choke out their self-esteem and their self-worth. There's so much more good ahead of them after adolescence, we can't let them wither in their youth.

Find your light and douse the darkness, cut back those choking doubts and help others when they have no light to lead the way. Now is the time. Not later, for later may be too late.

Click Image above to go to Mandy M. Roth's Blog
for more on Authors Against Bullying

Please share this blog and other blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and any other social media sites you are on. Spread the word and feel free to share your own experiences. I'm here to listen if anyone would like to talk.

Friday Spotlight- Love Blossoms by @JulieALindsey #TMPress @FictionWitches

Click Image for Amazon Kindle

A Honey Creek Sweet Romance (Seeds of Love Series)

There’s a wedding coming to Honey Creek and the whole town’s preparing for the party. When Jillian Parker agrees to host a few groomsmen at her inn, she has no idea what she’s in for. With events to coordinate, a bride to please, and an ex-fiancé to dodge, her comfortable life’s getting crazy fast.

And then there’s Jackson.

Jillian’s floored to discover one perfect groomsman is someone she’s known for years. Once a regular at Honey Creek reunions, he’s back for his cousin’s wedding. Jillian’s smitten, but falling in love is out of the question. She’s already juggling bar fights, lodge fires and financial woes. Not to mention, he’s leaving in a week and love takes time.

More about Julie Anne Lindsey-

Biography



As an only child Julie always had plenty of time to people watch and make things up. When she didn't think she could make a living at the latter, her love of people led her to a BA in Psychology instead. A few years and three kids later, Julie discovered the thrill of writing. Writing lets her harness a seemingly endless supply of energy and enthusiasm and create something of value in the wake.

Mother of three, wife to a sane person and Ring Master at the Lindsey Circus. Most days you'll find her online, amped up on caffeine & wielding a book.

You can find Julie blogging about the writer life at Musings from the Slush Pile

Tweeting my crazy at @JulieALindsey

And reading to soothe the obsession on GoodReads

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Taryn Raye has @MonaKarel on #ThursdayswithTaryn Awesome #booktrailer

Thursdays with Taryn

Mona Karel
Please help me in welcoming one of my Tribemates to Thursdays with Taryn where she answers some Q&A and shares with us about her novel My Killer My Love, her paranormal romance. Check out the book trailer! It's awesome!

What book(s) most influenced you as a writer?
My Brother Michael, Mary Stewart
Nerve, Dick Francis
The Witch World, Andre Norton

What book do you read over and over again?
You don’t believe in easy questions do you??  Right now, it’s Wolfsbane and the Alpha and Omega books, by Patricia Briggs. I have NO idea why, except they comfort me.

Thursday Trio-
1)      Movie- Ladyhawke
2)      Music- soundtrack from National Treasure.  I didn’t realize how amazing it was until my husband pointed it out.  That was an expensive Christmas present, VERY hard to find
3)      Decadent Dessert- Now, it would be low carb fudge, homemade, masses of cocoa powder.  Before now, probably a fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and toasted salted pecans. DAMMIT now I’m food imagining.

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel? Aaaaah, I collect bizarre trivia as a matter of course!  Ummm, for the books. Oh, yeah, Atrahasis.  I wanted a special title for the Overlords in My Killer My Love, so I started going back in history. Akkadian was pretty cool, and helped with Mykhael’s Language.  But I went down a few more levels and came across Atrahasis, which links to the creation of humans.

Novel on your Nightstand:
Who/what are you currently reading? Black Tiger by Greta van der Rol

Whom would you cast as your Main Characters/Hero/Heroine if your book became a movie?  I have them set for a series I’m planning, but you mean for the book I’m featuring, which is My Killer My Love.  Mykhael is physically patterned after someone I met at a Saluki show, who was an extra in Last of the Mohicans.  So I’d say Daniel Day Lewis for Mykhael and for Kendra, oh, this is make believe so Kate Blanchette (as a blonde) or Morgan Fairchild. Neither one is perfect but both have that air of innocent wisdom.

MY KILLER MY LOVE

She came to the woods to heal and found evil lurking among the trees....

Upon her grandmother’s death, Kendra inherits a cottage deep within the sequoia forest, along with the powers given only to certain women in her family—powers she doesn’t know she has. Recovering from a vicious attack in Phoenix, Kendra returns home to the remote cabin determined to heal both her body and her spirit. But the forest is ailing, too. Evil lurks in its dark places, turning its quiet glades into a battlefield. When a strangely beautiful man appears at her cabin intent on punishing her for a crime she didn’t commit, Kendra needs all her strength to protect her forest, her life... and her heart. Can she learn to use her powers and to trust Mykhael in time to save the ancient forest?

He came to the woods to redeem himself and found innocence that would be his undoing....

Throughout his long life, Mykhael has struggled, often in vain, to please the Atrahasis, immortal overlords of the sacred places in the universe. Now they have given him one last chance to redeem himself. He must punish the person they think desecrated an ancient forest in Northern California. But when he meets Kendra, he realizes he’s doomed to disappoint them yet again. Not only is she innocent of the crime the Atrahasis have accused her of, Kendra is the missing part of the soul he didn’t know he still possessed. Can he defy the Atrahasis yet again and live long enough to save the only thing in his life that matters?

My Killer My Love is available at the following:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book trailer- just so you know!
Gonna have to see if I can buy that song and I'm definitely getting this book!


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 I'm adding this pic and I hope Mona doesn't mind...
Just a nice looking man with a sweet little behind.
She said he was as nice as he was HOT!