Stacey Joy Netzel's Blog, page 6

Authors Give Back Blog Hop

One day only: May 28thBid on our Kindle donation, and you could win a $50 Amazon gift card from the WG2E Street Team members!
A group of authors from the WG2E Street Team got together to donate a Kindle Paperwhite to Brenda Novak's Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research. Not only are we giving away the e-reader, but it'll have 40+ of our books preloaded for the highest bidder. Proceeds from the auction will fund diabetes research.

Brenda Novak's Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research is having its biggest year yet. Thanks to all who have participated in the past — both donors and shoppers — we've raised a cumulative total of $1.6 million. This year we are hoping to surpass $2 million

You can see all the details of our donation, and how to enter for the gift card, right here: RG2E 


But you must bid TODAY!
By bidding on our donation, not only could you help in the search for a cure for this disease, but you could 'win' a great prize with a bunch of awesome books, AND you'll also be entered win the WG2E Street Team Authors Give Back Blog Hop Grand Prize $50 Gift Card!

For my individual blog hop prize, I'm offering the chance to: Win a chance to name a secondary character in my next Romancing Wisconsin book, to be published by December 2013.



The Romancing Wisconsin Series will now shift 'seasons' from Christmas to Autumn, until eventually I have 3 individual stories for each season, and a boxed set with an exclusive bonus story.

Leave me a comment with your name and email for your chance to win! You can name one of my secondary characters after yourself, or someone else.

Happy bidding and good luck on all the prizes!!

It's been awhile...

...but I have a good reason! I've been working hard on the sequel to Lost in Italy, and I'm thrilled to say, Book 2 of the Italy Intrigue Series

RUN TO ROME

is done! Well, 'first draft' anyway. This one was harder to write than I expected, but in the end, I'm happy with how it worked out. Now it goes to my editor, and I pray she likes it so there aren't a ton of revisions. :)

My hope is to publish the book by no later than the end of the summer, but hopefully sooner.

In other news, More Than A Kiss is a double contest finalist. First in the NERFA contest (National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards), and second in the Greater Detroit RWA's Booksellers Best Awards (BBA) for Long Contemporary.

Rising Above , my paranormal romance, also finaled in the BBA novella category.

Last, but not least, watch for my upcoming blog post where I tell you where I'll be doing my next charity donation for the month of June. I was going to do the whole Christmas in July thing, but then decided instead to split the year right in half so I can do it all over again in December, too. Last year, thanks to all the wonderful readers who bought Mistletoe Magic, I was able to donate just over $6,000 to the local no-kill animal shelter Happily Ever After. They were amazed, I was thrilled, it was great. Hoping for a great run in June!

That's it for now. Have a great week everyone!

Oh--wait, I also posted my blog over at NovelFriends if anyone wants to stop by:  http://novelfriends.blogspot.com/2013/05/displaced-and-busy-stacey.html

Stacey

Beauty in Every Day

I'm blogging at NovelFriends today if you want to check that out.

Otherwise, I'll keep this short and sweet. In the face of yesterday's evil (and all the evil acts committed in our world on a daily basis) the volunteers and emergency personnel remind us of the good humanity offers, too.

The pictures below are another reminder of the beauty in every day, even when it's cold and the sun is not shining.





Be thankful for and enjoy the day you have before you.

~ Stacey

Sunday Share: Darkwalk, by Cassy Campbell

First, if you're looking for the Lucky In Love Blog Hop, click HERE
But wait...before you do that, you might want to check out my Sunday Share today, DARKWALK, by Cassy Campbell. Her debut book is a great Scifi with a splash of urban fantasy and a sexy twist of romance. I don't always get a chance to say that I've read the book I share with my readers, but this one I have read (just finished it last night) and I LOVED it!! I'm so impressed and looking forward to her next one.
Rogue is just plain awesome, and Lace is cool and pretty darn amazing in her abilities. Campbell's writing style is a pleasure to read as it pulls you right into the story and takes you on a wild ride with these wonderful characters and the others in their group.
Stick with us to the end and you could win a copy!
Darkwalkby Cassy Campbell
Genre: Scifi/urban fantasy/romance.  Heat level: spicy 
Lace is one of NIA-Teliad’s best agents.  But when her partner Parker inexplicably turns against her, she only escapes with the help of a hauntingly familiar stranger named Rogue—a stranger who apparently knows more about her own past than she does.  It isn’t until Rogue tells her the details of the past she’s made herself forget that she realizes NIA-Teliad doesn’t want her for what she did, but what she is.
When Rogue finds out what NIA-Teliad is really involved in, things take an even more sinister turn.  Fossuel was used up decades ago, and the American Republic has been struggling to stay alive with the few power sources that are left.  But Parker’s found the ultimate new power source.  All it will cost is human lives.
Now Lace and Rogue have to stop him before more people die to supply fuel to those in power.  They’ll have to go against her partner, her agency, and the shadow agency behind it all, the one she forgot existed: Darkwalk.
Lucky for her, she’s a Darkling.
EXCERPT:

(Wraith and Rogue are preparing to break into the most secure facility on the Eastern Seaboard to rescue one of the members of Rogue's team. They've scouted the facility and are now meeting to report their observations.)
There had been no visible breaches in security, and no weaknesses. However, when Sin, who reported last, finished discussing the same things the others had seen, he hesitated as if debating whether to continue speaking.Rogue raised an eyebrow. “Spit it out.”Sin swallowed hard and nodded. “I saw something else. It was only for a couple of seconds, and it was in shadow, and hidden behind some bushes. It moved so fast that its shape was blurred. I didn’t really get a good look.”He’d spoken matter-of-factly about all of the defenses she had seen, including the Watchdogs. Now he seemed to be trying to convince himself that he was wrong, and dread settled in Wraith’s gut. What could be so much worse than what they already knew?Rogue made an impatient sound. “Are you going to get to the point any time tonight?”Sin swallowed. “It was a Chimp.”Ice washed through Wraith’s stomach, freezing her whole body down to her hands and feet and up her neck to her scalp. And she had thought Watchdogs were her worst fear.Prime swallowed hard, as if he had a huge solid object blocking his throat. That was how Wraith felt. “It could have been a ‘Dog.”Sin was already shaking his head. “It was easily eight feet tall. It walked upright.”“You saw a lot for not getting a good look,” Prime muttered.Rogue’s face was bleak as an open grave and his eyes were riveted on Sin. “How sure are you?”Sin closed his eyes. “One hundred fucking percent.”Rogue simply nodded. Wraith glanced around at the others and saw her own fear mirrored in Prime’s eyes and Sin’s. “This doesn’t change anything,” Rogue said quietly. “The hell it doesn’t!” Prime said with quiet force. “Rogue, I want to break Slayer out as much as anybody, but we knew this was a nearly impossible mission. I mean, the fence, the automaton, the guards, the Watchdogs. That’s enough, man. But a Chimp? How the fuck are we going to get past that?”Sin looked miserable. “It signaled to something behind it.”“Did you see what it was signaling to?” Rogue demanded.“No.”“Did it receive an answer?”Wraith would have thought it was impossible for Sin to look worse, but he suddenly did. He nodded.“Fuck.”“There are two of them?” Wraith asked. She was surprised her numb lips could form the words.“At least two,” Sin said.“Okay,” Rogue said. “This is a setback, but it’s not insurmountable. Obviously we’ve all heard the stories, but has anyone ever seen a Chimp before?”Wraith nodded, surprised her frozen muscles weren’t cracking at the movement. “I have.”“Okay.” Rogue held up a hand. “We don’t need a horror story, but are they as bad as the rumors say?”Wraith shook her head. “No. They’re much worse.”Three years ago, she’d met a contact at a government facility in Arlington while on a mission to protect the president during his cross-country campaign. A data thief hacked the mainframe while she was there. It was a local hack, and they determined the suspect’s approximate location. He was sure to be armed to the teeth, so they sent a Chimp after him.“Would you like to see it up close?” the liaison asked. She figured this was probably her only chance, and jumped at it. Everybody heard stories, but she didn’t believe any of them. Then.She stood in a hallway behind a locked and triple-barricaded door with a doubly reinforced window. The window looked out on another hall lined with eight enclosures each fronted by a ten-foot-square doorway covered by metal bars set in a grid. “This door is foot-thick reinforced titanifibramic, and the window is space-station grade ten-inch-thick glass, able to withstand forces of ten megatons per square inch. The door is held closed with locking bolts ten inches thick that seat into reinforced sills set three feet into the walls, ceiling and floor. The gate bars you can see on the Chimps’ enclosures are six inches of solid titanium each, and they seat five feet into the surrounding titanifibramic frame which is the two-foot-thick core of every wall of that wing of the building. Each gate is cast as a single solid piece so there are no weak joints that might break. They can’t be cut through even with a plasma torch.” “Are you afraid someone will get in and steal the Chimps?” Wraith asked.The liaison stared at her with a withering mixture of shock, exasperation and pity. “No.”Wraith turned back to the window and watched as the bars at the end of the hall slowly slid up into the ceiling. The walls were so thick they formed a sort of tunnel and the room beyond was dim, so all she saw at first was shadow. Then a piece of the shadow moved. It was eight feet tall, and broad. It had at least a five-foot shoulder span. It shifted into the light and she had the briefest impression of a huge hulking head set low and forward, shoulders that were slightly hunched so its massive arms could reach the ground, an enormously muscled chest, and thick, powerful legs. Then it launched itself out of its den as if shot from a cannon, and all she saw was a black blur flash past the window. And it was gone. She heard no sound as it passed, but it gave a hoarse grunt as it reached the end of the hall and vanished into the dark outside.“Let’s retire to the monitors,” her liaison said, and they watched as the dark hulking shape tracked down not one but four hackers and brutally slaughtered them. Thank Goddess the video hadn’t been sound-equipped.The thing brought back their dripping right hands as proof of its success. Wraith, frozen by the ice water that had apparently replaced the blood in her veins while her attention was on the Chimp, watched on a monitor as it gravely handed the hands to its trainer. It took its reward in payment and ambled back into its den.The instant it crossed the entry to its cage, the bars snapped into place. Before seeing it in action, she would have said the beast was locked safely away, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever think of the word “safe” in conjunction with a Chimp again.Now, she shuddered as the memory flashed through her mind. She forced herself back to the present and focused again on Rogue.“How do we get past them?” she asked through her still-numb lips.Rogue frowned. “I’m working on it.”
*** 
Cassy is sharing a copy of the ebook with one lucky visitor, so be sure to leave a comment with your email.
Otherwise, grab your copy now - I highly recommend the book!
Amazon    BN   Kobo   iTunes

You can see what Cassy's up to and follow her here:
Website: www.cassycampbell.com  FB: www.facebook.com/cassycampbellbooksTwitter: @Cassy_Campbell


Cassy Campbell grew up in the frozen tundra of the Far North. Perhaps not surprisingly, the long dark winters encouraged her love affair with stories from an early age, and one of her favorite things is still curling up under a blanket with a book. Once she realized that she loved to write stories as much as read them, she realized the world was hers (at least the ones in her books). She wrote a book, and the rest is history. She currently lives in the much balmier climate of the Not As Far North where, at this moment, she is likely daydreaming her way through her next story.
Huge thanks to Cassy for sharing with us today and wishing all the readers good luck!
And now, to go to the Lucky In Love Blog Hop, click  HERE

Lucky In Love Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my hop stop! Read on to see how you can enter for the grand prizes and my individual prize of a $15 gift card (winners choice) so you can load up on some of the lovely books featured by all the generous authors.

Almost 300 bloggers have giveaways and posts about St. Patty's day and/or being Lucky in Love! But that's not all....
The hop has TWO grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Each comment at a different blog gets you an entry--just don't forget your email address!
Now what are those Grand Prizes?
1st Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card2nd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

I'm going to focus on second chance Lucky. There's nothing like learning from past mistakes and getting it right the second time around--even if it takes a lot of work and 'you' almost screw that up, too. At least my characters seem to follow that pattern in the Welcome to Redemption series.

But once we find that love that lights up our lives (most especially if it's a second chance), aren't we all truly Lucky in Love no matter the path that got us there?

If you love stories about second chances, check out my USA Today Bestselling Welcome To Redemption series with Donna Marie Rogers. We reached bestselling status just last week, so we're still pretty excited about it. *grin*

Amazon US UKCA DE, BN, SW, Kobo, Apple

To enter to win my individual prize, use the Rafflecopter below, and make sure you also leave a comment with your email address. (Which also enters you into the Blog Hop Grand Prizes)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Question: What chance lucky are you in love? 1st, 2nd, 3rd...or still working on it?

Once you've commented AND entered via the Rafflecopter, please visit the other authors on the LUCKY IN LOVE BLOG HOP for more chances to win! My group blog NovelFriends is also part of the hop and we're giving away a $25 gift card, so head on over.

Happy Hopping and Good LUCK! 
Stacey Joy Netzel

Romancing the West Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to my stage coach layover for the tour .

My individual blog stop prize is a $15 gift card, winner's choice. Hopefully you'll pick up some of the wonderful books featured in the tour!
Grand Prize for the entire tour: A swag pack which includes books (both ebooks and paper), Amazon gift card, custom made butterfly jewelry, book cards, magnets and much more all tucked away in a keepsake box. (Available to US residents only. Winner will be announced on February 26 at 10 PM EST)
You've got 30 stops on the tour, but we've got a linky list at the bottom to make sure you have a smooth ride. And don't forget, every post you comment on with your email address listed will give you an entry into the drawing for the Grand Prize. So settle into your seat, have fun reading, and good luck!
My love of cowboys stems from thinking a man willing to put in a hard, honest days work is one of the sexiest things there is. Any cowboy hero I write will have a good heart and epitomize a man who works hard to earn the heroine's love. He may go about it the wrong way at the start, hit some bumps along the trail, but that's what makes life (and books) interesting, right?
Speaking of keeping things interesting, here's a short excerpt from the first book in my Colorado Trust Series.
“[Trust in the Lawe] is another keeper I'm adding to my library that's written by a wonderfully talented author who knows what readers want to read. Well done, Ms. Netzel!” Diana Coyle ~ Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK
Kendra Zelner has three brothers: Eight-year old Noah she's determined to protect, Joel who has no clue she exists, and Robert who wants her dead.
With reason to be distrustful of cops, she takes Noah and flees their Manhattan home for Joel’s ranch in Colorado. Under the pretense of needing a job, she plans to hide out until her twenty-fifth birthday, when she’ll inherit her trust fund and legally gain custody of Noah away from Robert’s greedy hands. Unfortunately, her brother’s sexy, infuriating ranch manager insists on demolishing her defenses and digging into her past.
Colton Lawe has good reason to suspect Joel’s beautiful, long-lost sister isn’t what she seems—the little liar stole from him! He silently vows to expose her secrets, but long hours together on the ranch fosters a closeness and fiery attraction neither of them expects. Can Kendra trust Colton with the full truth before Robert finds them?
~*~
In the darkened bedroom, Kendra sat straight up and strained her ears to pick up anything unusual. Any sound to explain why she suddenly found her eyes wide open in the middle of the night without having had the dream.
A glance at the clock brought her up short. It was only ten-thirty. In the absence of any other explanation, she began to imagine that Robert had found them. Her heart pounded so hard in the acute silence, she heard the thump of each beat.
Then she heard a sound that chilled the blood in her veins—the muted sounds of footsteps on the kitchen linoleum. They were too heavy to be Noah’s…
Noah!
She flew out of bed and peered into the hallway. All clear. Pressing against the wall, she scurried to the entryway between the living room and kitchen. A quick glance revealed the living room to be empty.In the dim illumination from the light above the sink, she saw the kitchen was, too. Whispering across the floor in her bare feet, she grabbed a butcher knife and went to check on Noah.
She froze at the sight of a hulking shadow backing out of his room. If he hurt Noah…A blinding red wave of anger swept through her and she sprang forward, the knife raised high. “Leave him alone, you monster!”
The shadow’s arm rose to deflect her attack. He was definitely real, not a dream.
Flesh and blood after her brother. She had to stop him.
That single thought screamed inside her head. When his hand closed over her wrist, the one with the knife, the one thing she’d mastered in self-defense class flashed back.
She dropped the knife and seized his wrist with her free hand. Pure adrenalin gave her the strength to twist her back to his chest and plant her feet. Using his own weight and forward momentum against him, she bent at the waist and heaved him over her shoulder.
He landed flat on his back with a loud thump. The breath whooshed from his lungs. She heard a strangled gasp and squatted down, scrambling to locate the knife. The bite of the blade had her reaching with her other hand for the handle.
Ironically, a rush of temporary relief shook her knees even more.
She braced her free hand against the wall for support as she rose with the knife extended in front of her. Slightly crouched, she swept her hand back and forth along the wall until she located the light switch. One flip and she’d confront Robert face to face. Her heart clogged her throat, but she forced her fingers to move.
The hallway lit up. Kendra nearly dropped the knife again as her other hand flew to her mouth in astonished horror.
Colton?
He lay on the floor in front of her, squinting in the bright light. Then his gaze fixed on the nine-inch blade in her hand, and he scooted to sit against the wall.
What was he—her gaze narrowed before she spun around and hurried inside Noah’s room. Assured he was unharmed and still sleeping soundly, she returned to the hall to find Colton picking himself up off the floor.
Dizzying relief gave way to anger. He’d scared the living daylights out of her! “What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.
His green eyes narrowed. His attention dropped to the hand at her side and then, without a single word, he strode toward the kitchen. She rushed after him and he whirled to face her. She jerked the knife up in automatic warning. “Stay there. I asked you a question.”
His gaze caught hers and held. The challenging glitter in his eyes held her immobile as he took a deliberate step forward and slowly reached to close his hand over her fingers on the handle. Heat from his touch radiated up her arm and through her entire body. She tried to pull away and his gaze darkened in tandem with the tightening of his grip.
“Threaten me again, and you’d better be damn sure you succeed the first time.”
~*~
And good news! My publisher recently discounted TRUST IN THE LAWE so readers could give my Colorado Trust Series a try at a great price of just $5.99 $2.99! 
You can lasso your copy here: The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, BN, ARe
Now that you've got that taken care of, leave a comment (with your email!) telling me What's your favorite western movie or book?, then go ahead and use the Rafflecopter to enter to win the $15 gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Then head on out to the next layover! (Make sure to stop by NovelFriends where I'm talking about my other western, CHASIN' MASON.)
Thanks so much for coming by.



***PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT TO QUALIFY for prizes***

Valentine's Ebook Sale

Today's hottest ebooks are on sale from Feb. 14-16 only! Mystery, romance, young adult - there's something for everyone ...


... including the chance to win 1 of 4 $25 Amazon gift cards!

More Than a Kiss
 Regularly $3.99, on sale for $0.99


Head on over for some more great titles like:
An Eternity of Roses, by Natalie G. OwensUnder His Command, by Kristine CayneInto The Dark, by Stacy GreenStorm on the Horizon, by Meredith BondWicked Sense, by Fabio BuenoFourteen Days Later, by Sibel HodgeSomething to Live For, by Natalie G. Owensand many more!

Have fun shopping and Happy ReadingHappy Valentine's Day
~ Stacey

Meet the Book Bloggers: Becky & Randi

Today I have two book bloggers so Double the FUN! Let's give a warm welcome to Becky and Randi from the Cardigans, Coffee and Bookmarks Blog . I'm going to jump right in because they have a lot to share.

When and how did you get started with book blogging?

Randin  Randi: Well, this is a bit of a long story. I’ll try to make it short. JBack in January 2009, Becky and I met as fellow English majors at a little college in rural Iowa. Our snarky attitudes and love for books created a slow bond. Fast forward to the summer of 2012. Becky and I had been hanging out on Goodreads and Skype together, and one day I mentioned “hey! We should start a book blog!” Since I’m a pre-service language arts/English teacher and Becky’s a soon-to-be youth librarian, it was one of those “duh” moments. We both thought it was a cool idea and pretty soon, while chatting on Skype, Becky informed me she had started our blog! And the rest is recent history. ;)
n  Becky: Here’s my version of the same story…Randi made me do it ☺
LOL I love it!
What can readers expect from your reviews?n  Randi: Readers can expect honest reviews, first and foremost! We mostly review young adult books, with the occasional middle grade, picture book, and adult book thrown in. We try to keep them brief and to the point, though sometimes fangirling is unavoidable. We also try to be conversational and informal in our reviews so that they’re more like conversations about books rather than the stuffy kind of reviews you might see from literary critics. We love books and we want to share that love while having fun and meeting other readers!
Beckyn  Becky: I think we also try to provide a usability aspect to our blog and reviews that is not common in book blogs. We have our reviews separated by ages (picture books, tween, teen, adult…) so if you’re looking for something to hand someone right away then you can just do a quick scan. In the works are a series of booklist pages such as “books for boys, GLBTIQ books, Historical Fiction etc). I think they will be helpful to teachers and librarians who need a quick reference.
What is your favorite genre and is there anything you won’t review?n  Randi: My favorite genre varies. By far, my favorite is young adult, so I’ll try to break that down a little. (Favorite adult genres are gothic and fantasy!) It used to be primarily fantasy, though the broader my reading becomes, the more I find I need different kinds of books at different times. Fantasy still catches my eye the most, but I’ve been reading a lot of young adult contemporary this year and have fallen in LOVE with this subgenre. I like the occasional paranormal, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, mystery, thriller, verse, etc., but honestly my favorite changes from book to book and week to week! I won’t review erotica, and I’m picky about nonfiction, but that’s really it.
n  Becky:  My favorite genre hands down for any age is horror/scary.  I never feel all the way invested in a story unless it creeps me out.  I read fairly broadly in the other genres, particularly fantasy and science fiction.  I gravitate to darker stories and don’t care much for romance.  I won’t review erotica or most romance.  I don’t review much nonfiction either.  I do love picture books, though ☺.
What was your most exciting ‘fan-girl’ moment with an author?n  Randi: I read a spectacular book by Trent Reedy called Words in the Dust (read my review HERE ). It was one of those hard-hitting make-you-feel-all-the-things books. So I just had to send Mr. Reedy an email (also, he’s from me & Becky’s beautiful state of Iowa!) and he RESPONDED. I almost passed out. Especially because, as a pre-service teacher who hopes to teach middle school, this is a book that I would lovelovelove to teach in my classroom. I included that note in my email, and Mr. Reedy responded that he does Skype visits and such! WHAT?!?! Total fangirl moment. There was also a tweetback from Courtney Summers about me talking someone into buying her latest book, This is Not a Test, and that was also a fangirl moment!
n  Becky:  I’m not a fangirl lol.  I don’t have those moments.  So sorry. 
Randi, that's awesome! And Becky, don't apologize. Viva la difference!
Is your significant other/family supportive of your book addiction?n  Randi: Luckily, my husband is also a reader, though I read far more often and more quickly than he does (he also has all those video games to play, ya know). So he understands my addiction to book-buying. And besides, I have that nice little phrase “But I’m building my classroom library!” which usually garners an eye-roll, a sigh, and reluctant acceptance. My friends always give me crap every time they see my ever-expanding bookshelves. But they know it’s just part of me!
n  Becky: I don’t really buy mass amounts of books.  I’m an avid library user, as you might expect from a future librarian.  I do have a bad habit of checking out 20 books at a time hee hee.  Since I don’t have that towering stack of books that Randi does, my reading addiction stays (for the most part) off my family’s radar.
Do you have a pet who loves to snuggle with you when you read? n  Randi: I have three! Hester Ann, Brady, and Bacon are my three cuddly guinea piggies. Hester Ann is especially cuddly so she’s my most regular reading buddy. They sit on my chest (one at a time) while I read and/or do homework. J 




n  Becky: I have a new-used English Cocker Spaniel named Kit who chillaxes with me on my bean-bag chair when I read. When she feels left out she either shuts the book with her paw or comes and sits on my book…she’s very direct. 

What does it take in a book to absolutely annoy you to the point where you quit reading or throw the book at the wall?n  Randi: Generally, bad writing. I notice typos and bad grammar, so when there’s a lot of mistakes like that, I get really annoyed. I wouldn’t say I’m either pro-plot-driven or pro-character-driven, because I like both and there are different times when I prefer reading one over the other, but I need whatever book I’m reading to have at least strongly written characters or plot, otherwise I won’t finish it.
n  Becky: I’m always up for good book toss and I usually love books or hate them, as Randi can attest.  I’m a woman of many feelings lol. My biggest issue with books, particularly YA, is that characters don’t have consistent personalities or actions. They do and say things just to move the story that don’t really make sense for them.
What makes you a fan for life? n  Randi: Short answer: a book I can get lost in. If I can fall into a book’s world, that’s my kind of writer!
n  Becky: I’m a fan for life if the author has 1 book that I absolutely loved, even if I don’t like all of their others.  I’ll keep trying until they stop writing. The key element for me is atmosphere. I’m all about a richly described setting and tone, hence my love of gothic literature.  Stephen King is an all time favorite for this reason, Juliette Marillier, and Shirley Jackson are two more.
Do you have a popular blogger meme started by you? n  Randi: I’ll let Becky take this one since it was her idea! J
n  Becky: We are a very new blog, so we’re still figuring things out.  We do have a meme that we’ve started,  called  Twice Baked Thursday .  Randi and I read the same book and “argue” with each other about it in a post.  It’s great fun and if you have more than one blogger on your site or a guest partner, feel free to join in.
You mentioned earlier that you try to keep your reviews conversational, which is what I love about your Twice-Baked Thursdays. Sometimes you agree, sometimes you don't, but it truly does come across like two friends chatting (discussing/arguing) about the book.  :)
Can you share with us up to 5 authors who are auto-buy for you?n  Randi: I can’t wait for these authors to write MORE: Huntley Fitzpatrick, Erin Morgenstern, Ruta Sepetys, Diane Setterfield, and Trish Doller. All of their debut novels are absolute favorites of mine, and I will auto-buy anything they write!
n  Becky: I never auto-buy. I’m a very selective buyer and I can count on my hand the books I’ve purchase this year.  If I had a full-time job and a huge bookshelf, though…. Stephen King, John Green, Joanne Harris,  Maggie Stiefvater, and Juliette Marillier.
Definitely some great authors! 
A huge THANK YOU to Randi and Becky for taking the time to answer my questions and spend the day with us here.

Find Becky and Randi here:
Blog: http://cardiganscoffeeandbookmarks.blogspot.com/Twitter: @BeckyandRandi (blog twitter)              @randinicole13 (Randi's twitter - better to get ahold of us!)
Reader's, now it's your chance to ask them any questions you may have. 

Elvis Rejected and Recycled

Elvis rejected? What??

Whoa, relax. Yes, I rejected one of my Elvis writing prompt efforts (explanation to follow), but since I'm the one who did the rejecting, that means I can recycle it for you here!

See, over on the NovelFriends  blog, we did a fun writing prompt and the keyword was "Elvis". My friend Delia Deleest mentioned that she managed to fit 17 song titles into about 200 words. Now, I hadn't read it yet, but subconsciously I channeled her idea as I was writing mine. I realized it when I was about half way through my first attempt.

I decided to finish it, but then wrote a second mini-story to go with the above NF blog post because I worried it would be too close to what she did. Turns out I was right. Go ahead and click the link to check out the original post -  NovelFriends

I'll wait................

And you're back! See? I told you they were fun!

Now you get to read my original (or maybe not so original) story. And I'm adding a picture of Bailey the basset hound, courtesy of my friend Sherry, because I realized after the fact that I was also channeling someone else as I was writing. (I see tons of Bailey pictures on FB, along with his 'sister' Babette.)

So, here we go...

~~~

“Elvis.” I stage-whispered the name as I tiptoed through the dark, then muttered under my breath, “This is getting ridiculous.”


The dew-wet grass chilled my bare feet and goose bumps rose up on my arms. It was cooler than our typical Memphis June nights and if my brat of a dog would just stay home for once, I wouldn’t have been out walking around in my pajamas at nine-thirty.
With a brisk rub over my bumpy arms, I crept forward and peered onto my neighbor’s back porch. The one that belonged to the tall, sinfully good-looking single guy who’d moved in a week ago.
I knew he was single because my meddling mama had done some snooping though the neighborhood grapevine. Once she found out Danny was only two years older than me at thirty, had a decent job, was the grandson of a friend of a friend, she’d promptly ordered me to “Go see if that boy’s lonesome tonight.”The woman was pushy with a capitol P and desperate for some grand babies I might have even suspected her of somehow orchestrating Elvis’s new nightly wanderings, but she was on a cruise in the Caribbean, so my suspicious mind had no leverage on that one.
“Elvis.” I repeated the entreaty through clenched teeth, trying to sound commanding without raising my voice. Failing that, I resorted to insults and threats. “If you don’t get your mutt butt over here, you’ll be grounded to the leash.”
I put my foot on the first step, then remembered it had a loose board. A creak echoed in the silence.
I froze.
Had that been me? I didn’t think so. My heart thundered in my chest, each beat loud in my ears. Another squeak reached my ears, as if someone were sitting on the porch swing.
Please, Lord, don’t be so cruel.
“Hey, Jude. Puttin’ this teddy bear in jail would make you the meanest girl in town.”
The deep southern drawl swirled my insides like a Tennessee twister. He knows my name? “Um, I’m…sorry. I didn’t mean…he doesn’t usually…”
Darn it. I was so shook up I couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.
The porch light flared to life, revealing my spoiled hound’s head resting oh-so-comfortably on the lap of my sexy neighbor.
“It’s actually my fault Elvis is here.”
“Your fault?” I asked in confusion, moving to the top of the stairs with reluctance. My hair was a mess and I had no make up on. Not how I’d envisioned us meeting.
“Well…” He hesitated, then took a deep breath and rushed on. “Your mother said we should meet, but—”
“My mother?”
He nodded as he stroked Elvis’s long ear. “She stopped by the other day.”
I knewshe was involved in this somehow! Hard headed woman.
Oh, God, what if he thought I’d sent her over to talk to him? I felt like an idiot. As if I needed my mother to find me a man. I was perfectly capable of managing my own love life. Eventually.
“Elvis, come,” I commanded, tucking a curl back into my wreck of a ponytail.
"Elvis" aka BaileyHe lifted his head. His droopy, puppy dog eyes shifted from me, up to Danny’s face. He looked back at me, gave a yowl of protest, then lowered his jowls back to the jeans-clad thigh he’d been using as a pillow.
When Danny made no move to push the traitor off the swing, I stalked across the porch. “In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s cold out here, so how about a little less conversation and hand over my dog.”
In truth, my anger had taken care of the goose bumps, but pretending to be cold was much better than revealing my humiliation.
As I reached the swing, I heard Danny mutter under his breath.
“It’s now or never.”
“Excuse me?”
He sighed and raised his gaze to meet mine. “Listen, I’ve been wanting to talk to you since the first time I saw your face, but I felt like a fool rushing over to introduce myself. When I spotted you sprinting off my porch with your dog last night, I…um…”
When he trailed off, I lifted my eyebrows and crossed my arms over my chest.
“I left a trail of treats to get him back over here tonight,” he admitted.
I stared as his sheepish expression, completely dumbfounded, all anger deflated. This brown-eyed handsome man had planned this just so he could talk to me?
He dropped his gaze and shifted Elvis from his leg so he could stand before me. “So, I’m the one who’s sorry now. I won’t bother you again.”
Again, Elvis gave me The Eyes. He looked so lonesome I wouldn’t put it past him to cry.
I became as much a teddy bear as my dog and caught Danny’s arm when he would’ve brushed past.
Sticking out my hand, I offered a warm smile. “Nice to meet you, neighbor. Now, about that conversation…”


~~~

Thanks so much for reading! Hope you have a wonderful day, and I'm going to get back to writing Run to Rome, my Lost in Italy sequel.

Oh, hey, anyone got a title for this short little story? 

Stacey Joy Netzel

Book of the Year?

I hope so! But I need your help.

LOST IN ITALY has been nominated for Book of the Year (2012) at LASR and now the book needs all the votes it can get!


It's the old cover below, but still the same book. Voting ends at midnight Feb. 14th, so head over right away, please!
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