Sandra Cox's Blog, page 264

It's The Weekend

Enjoy it my friends. Hope to see you here Monday.

Seventeen Inches

Really? Really!
We were getting ready to head for central Illinois last week when we heard Central Illinois was expecting 4 to 8 inches of snow. Being the cautious little travelers that we were, instead of heading for Central Illinois, we headed for Southern Illinois.  Chilly, but no snow. We skipped St. Louis all together. (Bless my sister's heart, she shoveled out and came to us.)
When we arrived I called my bro, and asked if they'd gotten snow.  "Oh yeah, seventeen inches."
"No, how much did you really get?" I blinked and asked.
"Seventeen inches. I shoveled the drive four times."
"No, really. How much did you get?" They couldn't have possibly gotten seventeen inches of snow. Winter's over. It's spring for God's sake.
"Seventeen inches," he laughs.
"Really?"
"Really."
It was a record breaker. The last time central Illinois got that much snow was in the early 1900s.
The next time we go in for a visit, we're waiting till July.
Pics taken after the snow had begun to melt.

SBB: Range(I Am Not Junco)

BLURB: Now Junco has to learn to live with the consequences.  Her Siblings are suspicious and angry, half her team is dead, Tier is wreaking death and destruction, Lucan is holding his secrets close, and she is spiraling out of control.
There is only one partnership that matters anymore – only one person she will trust and take direction from – and only one way out of the Hell she’s been sentenced to.
Junco is tired fighting and death. She’s had enough and this time she means to end it – once and for all.Excerpt:Selia comes out of the bathroom, her eyes darked up, her lips glowing and pink, and her golden hair flowing down her back in large bouncy ringlets.
She’s beautiful.
And I’m jealous of how easy she fits into her own skin, at how she can make small talk with strangers - even the guards in the elevator and downstairs in the lobby. And most of all, at how her face always seems to be smiling.
No wonder Ashur fell in love with her while I was away being morphed. She looks happy.  I have a permanent frown, I’m afraid to talk to anyone except Gid and Sel, and I feel like my brain has been forced inside a body I’ve never met before. Even when I came out of the tank with wings back on Amelia I never felt this awkward about myself. My replaced fingers and missing scars just make it worse. When a nightdog eats two of your fingers and a psycho slices a SEAR knife down your jawline, you’re supposed to have to live with the consequences of those things forever.
And when you cut yourself in half to save the man you love, there should be evidence of that.
But my scars have all been erased. Every bite from the mutants in the Stag, every prairie lion claw mark, every battle wound I’ve ever had inflicted on me is gone. Even the one I inflicted on myself.
Just gone.
On the outside anyway.AUTHOR Bio and Links: J.A. Huss writes new adult speculative fiction, contemporary romances, and an entire line of science non-fiction textbooks that cater to home learners. She also runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads book Blogs. She has an undergraduate degree in equine science and a graduate degree in forensic toxicology. She adores everything science and considers herself a major geek! Her first series is called I Am Just Junco.
Website: http://www.iamjustjunco.com/Author Blog: http://jahuss.com/Book Blog: http://newadultaddiction.blogspot.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IAmJustJuncoTwitter: https://twitter.com/JAHussGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446815.J_A_HussCLUTCH – Book One: http://www.amazon.com/CLUTCH-Am-Just-Junco-ebook/dp/B009BIOJTU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362700731&sr=8-2&keywords=clutch+juncoFLEDGE – Book Two: http://www.amazon.com/FLEDGE-Just-Junco-Dot-ebook/dp/B009D0U6LQ
J.A. will be awarding a $25 gift card to Amazon or PayPal cash, winner's choice, plus a custom angel necklace, plus swag (Book marks, stickers, postcards) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. (USA ONLY)
The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/02/virtual-super-book-blast-range-i-am-not.html

SBB: Identity Crisis

BLURB:At the age of ten, Ethan witnessed a brutal murder. He vowed when he grew up, he’d protect people in danger. Protecting Olivia is difficult when she won’t trust him. He soon realizes his desire to protect her goes beyond doing his job, but if his judgment becomes clouded by emotions, her safety could be jeopardized.
Can Ethan and Olivia learn to trust each other when they uncover secrets that will change their lives forever?Excerpt:Olivia stood paralyzed, her mind racing, trying to comprehend the letter. Was this some kind of sick joke? For the past twenty-four years her dad had lived in fear that somebody would hurt them? What had forced him to leave behind everyone he’d loved? Everyone she’d probably loved, but obviously couldn’t remember. And if her mom wasn’t buried in San Francisco, whose grave had Olivia been visiting here all these years? She tried to hold the letter steady in her trembling hands. Of course it was vague. Her dad had been a man of few words. However, these few words expressed a lot of emotion, something he’d never been good at doing.
“Is everything all right?” Father Clifford’s voice penetrated her thoughts.
Concern creased the older man’s brow and from the curiosity filling his gray eyes, he had no clue what the envelope contained. Her dad hadn’t even trusted a priest with his secret. Her dad had been the only person she’d ever really trusted, and it turned out she hadn’t truly known him.
She merely nodded, unable to find her voice. She inhaled a deep breath. The scent of beeswax candles and incense did little to calm the panic racing through her veins. She unfolded a clipping from a Chicago newspaper, dated twenty-four years ago. The headline read Art Dealer in Bed with Mob Blows Whistle on Forgery Ring and Vinnie Carlucci. The article included a photo of police officers escorting her dad. She started reading the article. Prominent Chicago art dealer Andrew Donovan confesses to having sold more than a hundred forgeries...
Her stomach dropped. She slapped a hand over her mouth, certain she was about to vomit right there on the pew.
Her dad had been a criminal.
The nature of his crime made it all the more surreal.
She stared in disbelief at the papers in her hand. His name had been Andrew Donovan, not Alex Doyle. Her last name was Donovan. Was her first name actually Olivia? Instead of inheriting a family fortune, she’d inherited a new identity.
Or rather, an old one.AUTHOR Bio and Links: Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade script writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it.
When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley, Frankie, and Sammy.
You can find Eliza on the web at:http://www.elizadaly.com/http://www.facebook.com/ElizaDalyAuthorhttp://www.twitter.com/ElizaDalyAuthorhttp://www.goodreads.com/elizadaly
Eliza will be awarding a one $20 Amazon or B & N Gift Certificates to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B & N Gift Certificate, winner's choice, to four (4) randomly drawn commenters during the tour.
The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/02/virtual-super-book-blast-identity.html

VBT: Saving Casey

With us today is Liza O'Connor. Liza, tell us how an eighty-year-old woman ended up in the body of a seventeen-year-old teen?Since Cass, the 80 year old woman in question, has no idea how that happened, the matter is never addressed in Saving Casey. But I am willing to share my theory, based upon my personal experiences and beliefs.So here is how it happened according to Liza:Old Cass is dying of cancer and short cuts her death by overdosing on painkillers. Like 20 percent of Americans, she believes in reincarnation and expects to come back as a baby with no memories of her prior life.However, when she wakes up with her memories and thoughts of her prior self, she first thinks she botched her suicide. When she realizes she’s in a teenage body, she is completely baffled. She goes back and forth as to whether God is rewarding or punishing her.Here’s how that happened according to Liza:Both she and Casey died at the approximate same time.Both their souls properly separated from their bodies in search of a new host. I suspect God sent Casey’s soul into a new baby of some nice middle-class family where she is slotted to have a loving and happy life. For Cass, he has a tougher task in mind. He sends her soul into the body of Casey, which is being artificially kept alive by the hospital, because her father is not yet ready to give up on her reviving.Why should I believe that is possible? Well, lots of people have experienced out-of-body occurrences. I myself have left my body—once. However, it’s one of those unbelievable realities that until you personally experience it, you probably aren’t going to believe it.I was sixteen at the time and I’ve no idea why my soul decided to go on a walkabout. I wasn’t sick and I wasn’t dying. But suddenly I was out of my body, through the window, and outside. While I had no sense or need of the body I left behind, I was fully aware of my environment. I existed, but had no form. When the crows began to screech excitedly, I knew they were crows, which meant my memories and knowledge had come with me. However, I became very frightened of those crows, certain they could somehow capture my soul. A second later, I flew back into my body, and I never tried to leave it again. So let’s say reincarnation occurs accordint to Liza and your soul retains all your memories when it finds a new host. Why don’t I remember all these past lives I’ve supposedly have had. And how does Cass retain all her memories?I have a theory on that. Most of us return as a newborn baby. A baby or fetus has an underdeveloped brain, thus our memories are either ditched or put somewhere in that undeveloped grey matter where, for most of us, it’s irretrievable. Now the body Cass entered would have been far mostly developed, so Cass could easily store and retrieve her memories in Casey’s brain. (The brain doesn’t fully develop until about the 25th year, but the memory section is pretty good at 17)Why can’t Cass tap into Casey’s memories as well? Because Casey took them with her when she left the body. From my experience, I am certain they accompany, or is part of the soul.How many people believe that souls can leave a body and reincarnation occurs?According to Wikipedia, 1 out of 10 people have experienced an out of body experience at least once in their life. A 2005 Gallop poll showed 20% of Americans believed in reincarnation. The percentage of Europeans believing in reincarnation is slightly larger.For me, I have no doubts, thus I treat out of body occurrences and reincarnation as facts of life. I would love to know what you think. Leave me a comment. Do you believe in out of body experiences and/or reincarnation? Have you ever had a personal experience you’d like to share?BLURB:I live in Denville, NJ with my dog, Jess. We hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, I learned to fly small cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. I’m an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through my entire life, my first love has and always will be writing novels. I love to create interesting characters, set them loose, and scribe what happens.SAVING CASEY BUY LINKSBonobookstore: http://bonobookstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_54&products_id=79
Amazon Link to Saving Casey:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7KRSOO
Barnes&Noble Link to SC:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saving-casey-liza-oconnor/1113795362?ean=2940015849295

Liza will award a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Other random commenters at blog stops will receive: $5 Amazon GCs, tattoos like Casey’s, or offer to place tattoos like Casey’s on a jpg picture supplied by winner.
The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/01/virtual-book-tour-saving-casey-by-liza.html Saving Casey will be reduced from $5.99 to $2.99 for the duration of the tour (March 5th-April 11th) at Amazon, B&N, DP/Bono, ARe, Coffee Time Romance, BookStrand and Smashwords.

Happy Easter

Graphics Fairy
Hope you and yours have a blessed Easter. My new waffle-maker will be making its maiden voyage at brunch:)

One More.....

Regina left home hurriedly one afternoon.  She ran straight ahead and then turned left.  She ran again and turned left once more.  She continued to run and turned left once more, this time running even harder.  Then she saw a masked boy waiting for her.  Who was he?
This is a good one. I missed it too. sigh. Did you figure it out?
*******
Answer:



The Catcher
 

Test Your Intellect

A man is driving a car with his son in the car beside him.  The car goes off the road killing the father and seriously injuring the son.  The boy is rushed to the hospital where he is wheeled in to an operating room.  The surgeon looks at the boy and says (truthfully), I can’t operate on him.  He’s my son.”
Who's the surgeon?

Did you figure it out. I blush to admit, I didn't.

*****************




Answer:

His Mother

Star Trek

Can't wait to see this one. Don't you love those blue eyes?
Have a great weekend. I'll be back Monday

Superman's Home Town...Really

It's Spring break and we're heading for Metropolis. Seriously.
I've mentioned Metropolis on this blog before, but in case you're a newbie and/or not familiar with the city, there really is a Metropolis and the town-folk take Superman quite seriously.
Metropolis is located in Southern Illinois on the Ohio River. The population is  5,550.  Hmm, not quite the thriving populace of the comic books and movies but still you can find things to do.
If you're an outdoor girl or guy, like bud Julia Barrett, Fort Massac sits on the Ohio River in a 1450 acre park. It was originally built by the French in 1757 during the French and Indian War  and called Fort De L’Ascension. Rebuilt in 1759 it was renamed Massiac. The name was anglicized to Massac. In 1794 President George Washington had the Fort Rebuilt. Today, besides touring the fort you can also picnic, camp, hike, boat and fish.
And for those looking for less strenuous occupations, there's also Harrah's. I believe the entertainment there is pretty self-explanatory.
And don't forget you can always go shopping for Superman paraphernalia and visit the Superman museum.  
We'll also be in Decatur, St.Louis and Riverton, IL. Ever heard of it?
Behave yourself while I'm gone. And if you can't behave, have fun. I intend to:)
I'm pre-posting blogs, but I may not have internet access while I'm gone.