Friday, December 25, 2015

Celebrate: Merry Christmas & Thank You


I'm so grateful to every one of you who took time out of your busy lives to stop by my blog.  Writing can be a lonely business, but your support and encouragement have been awesome!  You always make me feel I'm surrounded by kind and wonderful friends.  

Thank you so much and


MERRY CHRISTMAS!


My wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:


** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **


 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, 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)

Friday, December 18, 2015

Celebrate: Wickedly They Come, Cooking Fail & Giveaways!

I wish I could say my adventure with my new meat grinder went well.  Sadly, it was more like a tragic-comedy of errors.

1)  The grinder didn't have a block to push down the chicken meat in the top, so I used a juice glass. The grinder didn't fasten tightly enough to the granite countertop, so while I grinded with one hand, the other had to hold the front so it wouldn't wiggle and keep one finger on the glass so it wouldn't fall.
2)  I had 4 kilos of chicken and after grinding for 45 minutes I still had 2 kilos left! The stupid chicken refused to go through the holes and out the other end! I tried poking the holes with a toothpick to no avail.
3)  I figured it was just hard, so I put more effort in... Grinding, grinding, grinding!
4) Finally, I lost my hold on the glass, and it fell and broke, waking up my husband.
5) My husband came out and took the front of the machine apart (I didn't even realize it came apart!), he cleaned out a long piece that had gotten wrapped around the blade and blocked the holes. 
6) While I practically cried from exhaustion, he ground the last 2 kilos in 5 minutes. 5 MINUTES! While I'd spent 45!
7) Apparently, with the blockage and all that grinding, I'd succeeded in puree-ing the chicken. Instead of nice loose meatballs, the chicken glued together in balls of mush. When cooked, they came out as hard and compact as golf balls. Yuck!

My arm was killing me the next day, but at least I learned a valuable meat grinder lesson. I'll be prepared the next time. (IF there is a next time...)

Have you ever messed up cooking something and had it come out totally wrong?


My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:


** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **


 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, 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)


Cathrina Constantine releases a new version of
WICKEDLY THEY COME


A gripping, dark fantasy!

        A Destined Prophecy: “The White Warrior will be one with Lucifer and God will weep.”
        Haunting visions and supernatural talents are the norm for the sixteen-year-old warrior, Jordan and her mother Seeley. Together with their formidable angels they find themselves in peril when a wicked sorcerer is determined to fulfill the prophecy to his lord, Lucifer.
        After an ominous vision of spirits inhabiting teenagers in a local school, Jordan enrolls in the social culture of teendom at Elma High to combat soulless demons. She encounters Mark, a mysterious new classmate, who is hell bent on keeping her unscathed from the forces of evil.
        The battle between Heaven and Hell is escalating—and Earth is their battleground.

Buy on: AMAZON    
Contact Cathrina:  Blog  Facebook  Twitter

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

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


Here are Foxy's suggestions for Dec 18, 2015:

Free Signed YA Paranormal/Ghost Story Paperback – Win a signed paperback of Giving Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe about a high school girl who converses with ghosts to dig up dirt on her lying classmates. Enter via rafflecopter on YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 23)

Free Mystery/Romance Paperback – Win Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer (author of the Elemental series), about a young man whose mother moves to a new town and ends up dead and he’s the primary suspect. Enter via rafflecopter on YA Books Central blog (ends Dec 21)

Free 2 Romance eBooks – Win both of the romance novels Unforgiving Debts and Second Chance Sunshine by Cassie Strickland via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 1)


Free Signed Paperback Thriller, $10 Amazon Gift Card, and Swag – Win a signed paperback of A Shadow of Time by Louann Carroll, about a widow who inherits a haunted mansion and must unravel its mysteries, or a $10 Amazon card or a skull rearview mirror ornament. Enter via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. (ends Dec 22)


Free YA Fantasy eBook, Anthology eBook, $5 Amazon Gift Card, and Swag – To celebrate the release of Mayan Blood, about an orphan girl who must save the world from evil beings, author Theresa Dalayne is offering 2 ecopies, 1 Mayan lore anthology, 2 $5 Amazon cards, and 4 Mayan pendants via rafflecopter on Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 30)


Free $75 Amazon Gift Card and 3 Romance eBooks – To celebrate the release of Walking Heartbreak, a romance about a bad boy rock star, the author Sunniva Dee is giving away a $75 Amazon card and 3 of her romance novels. Enter via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 12)


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

Friday, December 11, 2015

Celebrate: Home Cooking & Giveaways!

What I'm celebrating this week:
1)  Did your mom have a meat grinder like the one above?  Mine did. I'm sure most of you have bought food processors over the years, but those are expensive, so this week I bought myself one of these old, hand cranked meat mincers.

Times are tough for a lot of people, and as I've been trying to cut costs, I've found myself  thinking back to my childhood and trying to remember the things my mom used to make. That woman knew how to stretch a buck!  I never imagined that at this point in my life I'd be grateful for knowing how to do things on the cheap, things I was actually a bit embarrassed about when I was a child.

My first adventure will be mincing chicken and making Chicken Kofta, an Egyptian dish that's a bit like meatballs only with ground chicken, tomatoes, onions, and lots of spices.  I hope it turns out ok!

Do you find yourself doing things your parents did that you didn't think you'd do?

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:


** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **


 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, 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 Friday Freebies posts -
  • Free short stories, novellas, and novels
  • Giveaways for books and swag
  • Free services for authors


Here are Foxy's suggestions for Dec 11, 2015:

Free New Series of 3 YA Dystopian Novels by James Dashner – Win all three books of NYT bestselling author James Dashner’s (author of The Maze Runner) new series Mortality Doctrine about a gamer searching for a killer inside the VirtNet gaming world. Enter via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 17)


Free YA Fantasy Hardcover Novel from Richelle Mead – Win Soundless, the new release by Richelle Mead, bestselling author of the Vampire Academy series. Enter via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (US only; ends Dec 18) 

Free 3-Novel Detective/Mystery Omnibus – Win three books in one in the omnibus The Winemaker Detective by Jean-Pierre Alaux & Noel Balon, which contains the mystery novels Treachery in Bordeaux, Grand Cru Heist, and Nightmare in Burgundy. Enter via Entry Form on the France Books Tours blog. (ends Jan1)

Free Family Saga eBook – Win Siblings by KJ Janssen, an exciting drama about a wealthy family of doctors, their sins, trials, and tribulations, via rafflecopter on Mythical Books blog. (ends Dec 13)



Free Audiobook, Boxed-set of 4 Paperbacks, or Set of 4 eBooks – Win Dying Light, the newest release in the Jesse Sullivan Paranormal series about a supernaturally powerful girl who fights monsters like Buffy. Author Kory M. Shrum is giving away the audiobook, all 4 series books in paperback, and all four books in eBook. Enter via rafflecopter on Mythical Books blog. (ends Dec 28)

Free $10 Amazon Gift Card – To celebrate the release of 29, a YA Contemp Romance about a high school girl who falls for a secretive guy classmate who’s being investigated by her brother’s military unit, author Nancy Pennick is giving away a $10 Amazon card via rafflecopter on Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 5)

Free $15 Amazon Gift Card – To celebrate the release of her short story collection Doll Parts (a haunting trio of tales about love, obsession, and secrets) author Azzurra Nox is giving away a $15 Amazon card via rafflecopter on Mythical Books blog. (ends Jan 8)


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

Friday, December 4, 2015

Celebrate: The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow & Giveaways

This week I'm celebrating:
1) I'm getting caught up on laundry, cleaning, and cooking -- and hubby is helping.  Yay!
2) Congrats to Jessica and Stephanie on their new release THE SECRET FILES OF FAIRDAY MORROW -- Woohoo!!


Title: The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow
Authors: Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson
Illustrator: Roman Muradov
MG novel, published by Delacorte Press/Random House Kids Books

Blurb:
Eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow is less than thrilled that her family is moving thousands of miles from civilization to the quiet country town of Ashpot, Connecticut, where she’s absolutely certain she’ll die of boredom.

As if leaving Manhattan and her best friend, Lizzy, the only other member of the elite Detective Mystery Squad, weren’t bad enough, Fairday is stuck living in the infamous Begonia House, a creepy old Victorian with dark passageways, a gigantic dead willow tree, and a mysterious past. 

Before she can even unpack, strange music coming from behind a padlocked door leads Fairday up a spiral staircase and into a secret room, where she finds an ancient mirror, a brass key, and a curious portrait of a red-haired lady. These seemingly unrelated items prove to be the first in a series of clues that takes Fairday, the visiting Lizzy, and their new squad member, Marcus, on an amazing adventure.

Can the members of the Detective Mystery Squad piece together the puzzle before it’s too late? Or will whatever’s causing trouble find Fairday and her friends first? 


Catch the Book Buzz...

"I really enjoyed this book. It was a marvelously done, debut, thriller novel. Ms. Robinson and Ms. Haight are great authors that really pull you into their story. I couldn’t get out until that final sentence. And, by then I wanted more. To say I want a second book is an understatement. The writing style is compelling, and makes me feel as if I was there with Fairday and her friends. I really like the illustrations in the book. They are like the ribbon on a present, or the icing on the cake. I give this book five out of five bookworms!"~ Erik Weibel/ This Kid Reviews Books 
 
"Mixing realism and fantasy, Haight and Robinson’s debut opens with 11-year-old Fairday’s move from Manhattan to a small town in Connecticut, where her relentlessly cheerful parents plan to turn a dilapidated Victorian into a bed and breakfast. No sooner has the family arrived than eerie sights and sounds begin to haunt Fairday. The house turns out to hold dark secrets that everybody in town suspects but nobody can explain: a perfect mission for Fairday and her best friend Lizzy’s Detective Mystery Squad (DMS)."~ Publishers Weekly 

"Fifth-grader Fairday Morrow's new home lives up to its spooky reputation, but she and her companions in the Detective Mystery Squad find out why. At Begonia House, strains of bagpipe music issue from behind a padlocked door, grains of sand in an hourglass have stopped falling, and a malevolent weeping willow looms in the backyard. A magic mirror shows an invisible door; a wardrobe hides secrets and a portal. Ruby Begonia vanished more than 50 years ago. Is there also a ghost? Fairday has a new, helpful friend in classmate Marcus, and her best friend Lizzy can visit on weekends to help solve the mystery. What more could readers want?" ~ Kirkus Reviews

Buy Links:   AMAZON      BARNES&NOBLE




Jessica Haight is a true New Englander, with a deep desire to be near the ocean and a love of the four seasons. She enjoys drawing while standing up and cultivating magic in her garden. She easily floats away in the pages of a good story and is still waiting for her owl from Hogwarts.

Stephanie Robinson lives with her husband in a quiet town, though not as quaint as Ashpot. After teaching fifth grade for almost fifteen years, she is now enjoying her role as a school media specialist. 



Contact:    BLOG      BOOK WEB-PAGE       TWITTER


a Rafflecopter giveaway

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:


** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **


 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, 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 Friday Freebies posts -
  • Free short stories, novellas, and novels
  • Giveaways for books and swag
  • Free services for authors


Here are Foxy's suggestions for Dec 4, 2015:

Free Dark Fantasy eBook – Download completely FREE Drayton by Tony Bertauski, about an immortal who tries to help people while hiding his true, dangerous nature. Get the novella free on Kobo or get it and 4 more books free by signing up for Tony Bertauski’s Newsletter. I loved the novella and gave it 5-stars on Amazon!


Free $15 Amazon Gift Card – To celebrate the release of 3 ebook series The Gray Haired Knitting Detectives Series by D.E. Haggerty, about a knitting club of Jessica Fletcher wannabes who solve crimes and matchmake while they’re doing it, the author is giving away a $15 Aazon card via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. Hurry—only 2 days left! (ends Dec 6)


Free SciFi YA eBook and $25 Amazon Gift Card - Win Crimson Earth by Anna Soliveres, about a part-cyborg girl who finds herself desired as a weapon by both sides of a war, and a $25 Amazon card. Enter via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. (ends Dec 9)

Free 2 Romance Novels and Amazon $20, $10, & $5 Gift Cards – Win a paperback of The Girl’s Got Secrets by Linda Kage, about a girl drummer who gets into a “guys only” rock band by pretending to be a guy and then falls for the lead singer, plus winner’s choice of a paperback by Ada Frost, plus a $20, a $10, and two $5 Amazon cards. Enter via rafflecopter on the Mythical Books blog. (ends Dec 13)

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

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

IWSG: Writer Quotes

My brain seems to be taking a little vacation after finishing novel revisions, and I can't come up with a topic for the IWSG -- but here are others who have advice:










This is a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It exists so the community of blogging writers can share and support each other, blog-hopping to cheerlead and commiserate. To find out more, visit: Insecure Writer's Support Group. Plus, check out the IWSG Website for lots of helpful info and links.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Celebrate: Done & Tons of Giveaways!

This week I'm celebrating:
1) I'm finally done with revisions of Bloodwalker!  Yay!  (It now goes out to a final CP and a few betas.)
2) I promise, no more squawking about the book -- for a while anyway.  But I may have a Vote For The Cover poll in January, and I hope to release it in March. :)
3) To celebrate my accomplishment, I've found tons of giveaways for you!! (bottom of post)

When you finish a big project, do you do anything special to celebrate?

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:



Grab the Linky html-code here:


** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **


 Celebrate the Small ThingsTo be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, 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 Friday Freebies posts -
  • Free short stories, novellas, and novels
  • Giveaways for books and swag
  • Free services for authors


Here are Foxy's suggestions for Nov 27, 2015:


Free YA Contemp Novel – Win Traffick by NY Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins. This book is a sequel to her bestseller Tricks, about teen prostitution. Enter via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 5)

Free YA Comedy Novel – Win The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever by Jeff Strand. No zombies, just a group of kids trying to make a movie for YouTube and failing miserably and hilariously. Enter via rafflecopter on YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 5)

Free YA SciFi Novel – Win 1 of 5 paperback copies (US) of Zodiac by Romina Russell via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 6)



Free YA Urban Fantasy Novel – Win 1 of 2 signed paperback copies of The Other Inheritance by Rebecca Jaycox about alternate worlds and a girl with special powers via rafflecopter on YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 6)

Free YA SciFi Dystopian Novel – Win 1 paperback copy (US) or 1 ebook (INT) of Sugar Skulls by Lisa Mantchev & Glenn Dallas about a futuristic society where everyone lives “on the grid” until 2 teens breakaway, endangering their lives, via rafflecopter on YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 6) 

Free 2 YA Steampunk Novels – Win 1 of 3 sets of The Inventor’s Secret and The Conjurer’s Riddle by NY Times bestselling author Andrea Cremer about teens fighting the evil Empire’s Machineworks via rafflecopter on YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 6)


Free YA Contemp/Romance Novel – Win 1 of 5 copies (US) of For the Record by Charlotte Huang about an Australian girl who becomes a rock star and an even bigger international sensation when a super-star shows interest in her, but she has secret feelings for her bass player, via rafflecopter on YA Book Central blog. (ends Dec 6)

Free Trilogy of YA Paranormal/Mythos Novels – Win all three books of the Blooming Goddess trilogy (YA Paranormal/Mythology) by Tellulah Darling who’s giving away 1 signed paperback set and 3 ebook sets via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Dec 3)

Free Mystery Novel – Win Front Runner: A Dick Francis Novel by Felix Francis, part of the very popular series of horse racing murder-mysteries by ex-UK jockey Dick Francis, enter via email instructions on Red Carpet Crash site (ends Dec 4)

Free Romance eBook – Win Love is an Action by Bry Foster about a college girl falling for a hot but infuriating French man who’s determined to prove her scientific brain doesn’t know everything, especially about love. Enter via Entry Form on Romance Novel Giveaway blog. (ends Dec 12) 

Free Cook Book – Win Best of Bridge Home Cooking, 250 recipes for all types of food, via entry form on the Pawsitive Living blog. (ends Dec 2)



Free Woman’s Fiction Novel – Win The Second Sister by Marie Bostwick about a successful woman forced to return to her small hometown to fulfill the strange conditions of her sister’s will and learns more about life than she thought possible. Enter via Entry Form on the Fresh Fiction blog. (ends Dec 1) (You’ll be put on their mailing list but you can opt out any time.)

Free Regency Romance Anthology – Win  A Gentleman For All Seasons, an anthology of 4 Regency Romance novels by authors Shana Galen, Kate Noble, Vanessa Kelly and Theresa Romain. Enter via Entry Form on the Fresh Fiction blog. (ends Dec 1) (You’ll be put on their mailing list but you can opt out any time.)

Free $15 Starbucks Card or a Mystery/Romance novel or an audio book – Win your choice of 3 prizes:  That Night on Thistle Lane by NY Times bestselling author Carla Neggers, an audio book of her Echo Lake, or a $15 Starbucks card. Enter via Entry Form on the Carla Neggers blog. (ends Nov 30) (You’ll be put on her mailing list but you can opt out any time.)

Free $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card – To celebrate the release of Only Wheat Not White by Varsha Dixit, a diverse romance about an Indian girl falling for a white nightclub owner, the author is giving away a $50 Amazon or B&N card. Enter via Entry Form on the Romance Novel Giveaway blog. (ends Dec 18)

Free Kindle Fire, $5 Amazon Card, 3 Novels – Win a signed paperback or ebook of Love Me Like That by Renee Kennedy, about a Southern spitfire who can’t decide between her heart or her head, an ARC copy of Love Me Without Regret by Renee Kennedy, a Kindle Fire, a $5 Amazon card, or  winner’s choice of any ebook from authors Kay Lindy, Kris Hack or Maggie Adams via rafflecopter on Romance Novel Giveaway blog. (ends Dec 20)

Free Kindle Fire, $100 Amazon Card, Signed Novel Copy – To celebrate the release of The Second Chance (romance) by Aubrey Parker, she’s giving away 2 Kindle Fire devices, $100 Amazon card, and 3 signed paperback copies of her novel via rafflecopter on My Book Addiction blog. (ends Dec 3)

FREADO - Site With Many Free eBooks For Download (To Review)
This site has hundreds of FREE ebooks (fiction, non-fiction, & all age levels) and most are available for Instant Download. However, you must sign up/register to use the site and it’s “recommended” that you review or share the books you receive on social media. For more info: FREADO


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

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