Friday, February 13, 2015

Celebrate: Valentines & Freebies

This week I'm celebrating:
1) I'm caught up on critiques for my CPs. Yay! Plus, I got a bunch of very helpful feedback and did some revising. Revising always makes me feel good because I know the book's improving!
2) I had lunch with a friend at a new restaurant this week.  The food wasn't very good -- she had chicken curry and I had Mexican chicken, which bore zero resemblance to anything Mexican; it tasted like it was in a Chinese sweet and sour sauce.  We won't go back, but it's always fun to spend time with friends!
3) Valentine's Day is on Saturday.  Hubby usually gets me something nice, like chocolate or a little gift.  Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

Are you going to give or receive something for Valentine's Day?  Do you have any special plans to celebrate it?

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Katie @ TheCyborgMom

Celebrate The Small Things Sign-Up Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:



 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is put your name on the linky list on Lexa's Blog, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! (Originated by VikLit)



Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net
When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Fridays Freebies posts -
  • Free short stories, novellas, and novels
  • Giveaways for books and swag
  • Free services for authors


Here are Foxy's suggestions for , 2015:

Free "Feel-good" Short Story – Celebrate’s own Julia Thorley (of Life, Yoga and Other Adventures) offers a Permanently Free Read of her light-hearted short story “Briefs Encounter” at Ether Books.
"Briefs Encounter" blurb:  Jenna had only popped out to the shop. She had NOT expected the trip to end with her displaying her underwear to the passing public. (*Readable only on a mobile device -- smartphone, iPad, or tablet)

Free Literary/Mainstream Novel – Win Radiance of Tomorrow by Ishmael Beah (the bestselling author of A Long Way Gone). Read instructions on the post at The Africa Book Club blog. (Must be blog subscriber, answer a question, and send email to the address given) (ends Feb 28)


Free Classic Historical Romance Novel – Win A Room With a View by E.M. Forster. Just leave a comment on the post at Charlotte Luxhoej blog. (ends Feb 20)



For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here!  Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com


44 comments:

T.F. Walsh said...

Oh, hope you get something nice for Valentine's Day:) I've made hubby strawberry mousse... hope he likes it.

Your book is coming along very nicely... Loved the last chp. Please write quicker!! hehe

Kate Larkindale said...

You totally deserve something special for Valentine's Day! I hope your hubby spoils you.

And you should feel proud of your revising. Your book is looking great and I can't wait to read the next chapter.

Heather R. Holden said...

Hard to believe Valentine's Day is almost here already. Hope you have a fantastic one with the hubby! :)

Suzanne Furness said...

Glad to hear the revisions are coming along.

I always think it is about the company and not the food so pleased you still managed to have fun with your friend.

Enjoy Valentines. We have been together so long now we don't tend to do gifts but we will exchange cards.

Dixie@dcrelief said...

Mexican that tastes like Chinese - there's a kick to the curb!

Saturday, I'll be with a volunteer group who visit hospitalized children; they need the most love :)

Anonymous said...

Happy writing. Saturday is errands day for me.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Mexican should never taste like Chinese.
My wife and I always say we aren't getting anything for each other for Valentine's. And then we do anyway.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Glad you had a fun lunch with your friend even if the food wasn't good. I did too yesterday.

Unknown said...

Happy Valentine's Day to you, too. Have a good weekend.

mshatch said...

Aw, that's too bad about the lunch. It's so disappointing to order something and get nothing like what you expected.

Oh, and Dianne Salerni is offering a free book at my place this week to one lucky commenter - so I guess it's not free; it will cost you a few words :)

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

The possibility of snow might change our plans, but sitting home all warm and comfy and sharing a bottle of fine wine and laughing at our funny cards will be just fine with me. Of course, there will be chocolate.

Happy Valentine's Day to you, Lexa. I hope you find a better restaurant than the one you went with your friend.

Ava Quinn said...

I want a Sasquatch scarf for Valentine's Day, but I have a feeling I won't be getting one. Sigh.

Hope yours is full of fun!

DMS said...

My honey usually bakes me something special, like heart shaped cookies. :)

Glad so many great things are happening on the writing front!

Sorry the food wasn't good, but glad the company was great. :)

Happy Valentine's Day-
~Jess

Tyrean Martinson said...

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Sometimes rotten meals with really fun friends make for the best stories later - stories that can be brought out again and again over laughter. :)

Hope you have a great weekend!

cleemckenzie said...

Great news on the book progress. That's always something to celebrate.

Hope your Valentine's day is wonderful and filled with the best kind of treats.

Cherdo said...

Happy Valentine's Day, Lexa!!

Isn't it good to just feel like you are progressing towards a goal? I love that feeling. It's my brain crack.

Julia Thorley said...

Have great weekend, with your man. And thank you for the mention (it's JuliA, by they way.)

Birgit said...

Congrats on the feedback & striving forward with your book. The place you went to does not sound that great but friends always make it better. We always exchange a nice card for one another and I ended up getting my hubby a movie I know he would like

stephen Hayes said...

This year I remembered early to make a dinner reservation for Valentine's Day so I'll be taking my honey to her favorite restaurant.

Unknown said...

Bummer about the restaurant! But as you say, it's always nice catching up with friends. Hope the hubs takes you somewhere better on Valentine's! Have a great weekend :)

Unknown said...

despite being single I def really like V-day, it's all about hearts and chocolate and I'm all about that :) gotta love fun times with friends, bad food or not!

Dianne K. Salerni said...

My husband and I might go for sushi over Valentine's weekend ... which would make it a lot like most weekends, actually. But we will say "Happy Valentines Day, sweetie" before digging in, so that's different. ;)

Unknown said...

It's always a good thing to celebrate when you share your time with friends! <3
Too bad about the restaurant though.
Revising is always improvement! YAY! and great you got caught up!
Happy valentines day and have a great weekend!
Jamie Dement (LadyJai)
Caring for My Veteran

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to you, Lexa.

Those revisions do make a girl feel great.

Nothing special planned for Valentine's Day for me.

messymimi said...

Happy Valentine's Day! May you get your heart's desire!

Jeff Chapman said...

Sometimes when I revise, I feel like I'm hiding, not doing the hard work of furthering the first draft. Sounds like you have a good attitude about it. Have a great Valentine's Day weekend.

Unknown said...

Happy Valentine's Day Lexa!
I spoke a lot about revising today with the children I had an author visit with. It is so true how much stronger our work gets after revisions. I told the kids about editing and showed them my old manuscripts. They were intrigued, lol. They didn't think authors needed help or revisions, so cute!
We are hoping to go to a really chic lounge/restaurant for Vday. However, we are supposed to get another blizzard. I am so over the winter.

JeffO said...

Enjoy your Valentine's Day!

Anonymous said...

Getting caught up is a great feeling. Too bad about the restaurant. At least you had good company to offset the bad food. Good luck with your revisions, and have a great Valentine's Day weekend!

Anonymous said...

Valentines day isn't really a big deal for me these days. I'm going to try to get some good work done and get some visit time with a friend.

Cathy Keaton said...

I'd say congrats on being able to actually enjoy feedback and not want to curl up and die every time you receive it! I know I do....

Melancholy and Menace said...

Happy Valentine's and Vampire's Day. I hope you're having a magical day. :)

Cathrina Constantine said...

Glad to hear your book is coming along and getting good and helpful feedback always helps. My hubby usually gives me chocolate...yum. Happy Valentines Day

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a great Valentine's. My wife and I were single quite a while before we met, so we always make it a special day -- in addition to the other 365.25 of the year!

kimlajevardi.com said...

I hope you and hubby had a fabulous Valentine's Day. I vote for chocolate on the something nice front. ;) I enjoyed Chapter 7 and now on to Chapter 8. Keep those chapters coming.

L.G. Keltner said...

Time with friends is indeed great, even when the food isn't good. Bad food can also make for good stories later.

Unknown said...

Sounds like an interesting menu. Glad you at least got to spend time with a friend! :)

Kelley said...

Was it Mexi-Chino fusion? What an add crossover!
Happy gratitude!

alexia said...

I love Mexican food, so that would have made me sad :( Hope your V-Day was better! I got a sweet homemade card, a bottle of wine and we went out for dinner and a movie. It was lovely :)

Carol Kilgore said...

Hope your Valentine's Day was great. Here's hoping you can find some great Mexican Chicken over there one day. I can send you a recipe. It's up to you to find the ingredients!

TBM said...

I grew up in Southern California and became spoiled with delicious Mexican food. Sweet and sour is not Mexican. Sorry the restaurant wasn't good, but at least you had fun.

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

Crystal Collier said...

I hope you had a great Valentines day! We were actually kind of lame on the 14th because at almost 9 months pregnant, even culinary experiences can be a challenge. I sure love that my hubby is good with humoring me though.

Nas said...

Hoping you had a great V Day! All the best!

Jocelyn Rish said...

I'm always bummed when I try a new restaurant and it's not so great. But it's never a loss when a meal is spent bonding with friends. :-)

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