Sandra Cox's Blog, page 306

Movie Night

We picked up pizza, chocolate kettle popcorn (OMG, delicious) and a couple of movies over the weekend. We saw Green Lantern. I usually enjoy the comic book action movies, but the previews for Green Lantern didn't interest me. I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be a fun, action movie. And Ryan Reynolds didn't look half bad in his green lantern costume:)
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We also watched TRON, a good movie for gamers. My favorite two things about TRON. One: Bruce Boxleitner was in it. Anybody remember Scarecrow and Mrs. King? I've been a Boxleitner fan ever since. And two: it twice mentioned rescue. It was subtle, but the point was made.

Has anybody else seen these movies? What did you think?
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Anny Cook
Amarinda Jones
Julia Barrett

Hide N Go Seek

BLURB :

A twisted game of Hide'n Go Seek forces an unlikely alliance between a no-nonsense FBI agent and a search-and-rescue worker.

Celebrated search-and-rescue worker Kali Jordon has hidden her psychic abilities by crediting her canine partner Shiloh with the recoveries. But Kali knows the grim truth—The Sight that she inherited from her grandmother allows her to trace violent energy unerringly to victims of murder. No one knows her secret until a twisted killer challenges her to a deadly game of Hide'n Go Seek that threatens those closest to her.

Now she must rely on FBI Special Agent Grant Summers, a man who has sworn to protect her, even as he suspects there's more to Kali and Shiloh than meets the eye. As the killer draws a tighter and tighter circle around Kali, she and Grant find there's no place to hide.

Are her visions the key to finding the latest victim alive or will this cruel game of Hide'n Go Seek cost her…everything.

EXCERPT :

Twenty minutes later, Kali made her way to the kitchen. She fed Shiloh on the deck in the morning sunlight. Running her fingers through her shoulder-length hair, she remembered last night's painting. She headed to her studio to take a look. She'd almost reached it when apprehension washed over her.

The door was closed.

She never closed the door after painting. It wasn't good for the wet canvases, besides, the room only had a small window so the paint fumes built up fast. A frown wrinkled her forehead. Had she simply forgotten? She had been deadly tired last night.

Bolstering her courage, she pushed the door wide and flinched as the fumes rushed out almost stinging her nose. "Oh gross."

Holding her breath, Kali crossed to the window, shoving it as far open as it would go. Fresh air surged into the small space. She'd love a huge studio, except painting wasn't exactly a full time career for her – no matter how much she'd like it to be. It was a release for when depression and madness overcame her soul. Maybe later, when she no longer did rescue work, she could indulge her art as a creative hobby instead of as an outlet of pain and turmoil.

Walking around the easel, Kali stopped midstride.

The painting stood where she'd left it. With surreal and strangely enticing clarity, blacks and purples and browns popped off the canvas. Heavy paint splotched at places, then thinned and stretched across the top.

She stepped back and frowned. Up close, besides the heavy amount of paint, the picture resembled a distorted nightmare. Not surprising. Still, she caught a glimmer of an intentional design. She tilted her head and looked at it from a different angle. Nothing changed.

Sniffing the air, Shiloh ambled into the doorway.

Kali smiled down at the dog. "Not very sweet smelling, is it?"

She glanced back at the jumble of colors and stilled. There. She studied the abstract mess, letting the colors move and form to reveal the image hidden within.

Shivers slid over her spine.

Oh my God.

No way.

Kali blinked. It was.

There was no mistaking the image of a person buried under small bushes, civilization of some kind crouched on the horizon with a series of rough rock formations soaring behind the bushes.

"What the hell?" she whispered.

Kali was not a great artist, by any means. Blind escapism kept bringing her back to the process because it worked. She painted with wild abandon. The paint slapped on canvas with no thought discharged her emotions. For some reason it always worked.

And it always looked like shit.

This, on the other hand, was ingenious. Sure the subject matter was gruesome; however, given her volunteer work, not unexpected. Especially after finding the letter.

The artistic abandon was still there. The paint was so thick in spots the picture was almost three-dimensional. The terrain had depth and movement. The light was dark and terse, yet still shone with gruesome clarity—and way beyond her artistic abilities.

"It's fucking brilliant."

It was also scary as hell.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She's best known for Tuesday's Child, her romantic suspense novel that was one of the final four in the Kensington Brava/Romantic Times contest this last year. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres. To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, comp[image error]anion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series in ebook format.

To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author

Books by Dale Mayer:

Psychic Vision Series

Tuesday's Child

Hide'n Go Seek

Maddy's Floor- out soon

Young Adult Books

Dangerous Designs – Book I

Vampire in Denial – Book I of Blood Ties

Gem Stone Mystery Series- out soon

In Cassie's Corner- soon

Non-Fiction Books

Career Essentials: The Resume

Career Essentials: The Cover Letter

Career Essentials: The Interview

Career Essentials: 3 in 1

Contest: For a chance to win a download of Hide N Go Seek just leave a comment and your email address.

Shoes

Whoever said shoes don't make the woman hasn't talked to Cinderella lately.

It Is

www.free-extras.comIt is what it is-----
Till it becomes what we make it

Tuesday's Child

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BLURB :

What she doesn't want…is exactly what he needs.

Shunned and ridiculed all her life for something she can't control, Samantha Blair hides her psychic abilities and lives on the fringes of society. Against her will, however, she's tapped into a killer—or rather, his victims. Each woman's murder, blow-by-blow, ravages her mind until their death releases her back to her body. Sam knows she must go to the authorities, but will the rugged, no-nonsense detective in charge of tracking down the killer believe her?

Detective Brandt Sutherland only trusts hard evidence, yet Sam's visions offer clues he needs to catch a killer. The more he learns about her incredible abilities, however, the clearer it becomes that Sam's visions have put her in the killer's line of fire. Now Brandt must save her from something he cannot see or understand…and risk losing his heart in the process.

As danger and d esire collide, passion raises the stakes in a game Sam and Brandt don't dare lose.

EXCERPT :

Lying in bed that night, Sam couldn't sleep, her overwrought mind refused to let up. The tantalizing possibility that she was meant to do something with this gift worried the frayed edges of her mind. Depressed and unsettled she fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams dark and disjointed pieces of past visions.

Screams jarred her from a deep sleep. Confusion turned to fear when Sam realized the horrific sounds were coming from her own mouth. Even worse, she had no idea where she was.

Terror overwhelmed her. Her fingers spasmed in a death grip around a strange steering wheel as the car she drove careened further out of control. Still trying to toss off the remnants of sleep, Sam yanked hard on the wheel in a futile attempt to turn it. The mid-sized car plowed through a steel barricade to hang suspended in midair before plummeting to the rocks below. Screams ripped from her throat and she reefed on the useless steering wheel, helpless to stop the deadly impact. Her foot pounded on useless brakes. The front grill of the car crumpled and metal buckled upward. The car smashed into the first of the rocks below, snapping her forward into the windshield. Agonizing pain shattered her spine. Grinding metal, exploding glass and continuous crunching sounds filled the air as first the bumper flew off, then the rear window shattered outward. Twisted metal ripped and groaned, flying to land beside the crash site. The car tumbled, smashed on a huge rock, careened to the left and flipped end over end before coming to a hard landing on its wheels at the bottom of the cliff.

Then utter silence.

Sam trembled. Shock and pain pulsed through her veins even as her blood dripped out one beat at a time onto the shredded seat beside her. God, she didn't want to die.

She wanted to live. Please, dear God.

Someone help!

Blood streamed over her face, her spine…where a shearing heat set off continuous stabbing pain. The steering wheel jammed into her ribs. The front dash had crumpled into a mess of twisted steel and plastic, the famous Mercedes emblem now hung drunk in mid air over the remains of the once beautiful cream leather seats.

Sam couldn't feel her right arm. And wished she couldn't feel her left. She closed her eyes, willing away the image of bone shards that had sliced through her sweater, a few loose strands of wool clinging to the ends. Heart wrenching sobs poured from her throat, tears coated her cheeks. She was alone. And dying.

A brilliant flash of light engulfed the car as the fuel from the pierced gas line flashed into flames. Heat seared her lungs and scorched her hair, the strands melting against the inside of her car window. Panicked, she screamed as flames licked at her feet, burning, and cooking the flesh right off her bones.

Agony. Pain. Terror.

A voice whispered through the blackness of her mind, so odd, so different it caught her attention. She strained to hear the words.

"Let go. It's time to let go."

Sam stared through the flames, stunned. Let go of what? She couldn't hear over the roaring fire and could barely see, but knowing that someone was there stirred her survival instinct, and she started fighting against the seatbelt jammed at her side. She was saved. Just another minute and they'd open the door and pull her free. She'd be fine.

"Please hurry," she cried out.

"Let go. You don't need to be in there. Let it all go, and come with me."

She peered through the golden orange windshield to see a strange male face peering at her through the flames.

He smiled.

"Come with me."

"I want to, damn it. Can't you see I'm trapped?" she screamed, her vocals crisping in the heat.

"Release yourself. Come with me. Say yes."

The pain hit a crescendo. She twisted against it, hearing her spine splinter. The car seat melted into her skin. So much pain, she couldn't breathe. Blackness crowded into her mind, blessed quiet, soothing darkness. She reached for it.

"Let it go. You don't need to go through this. Hurry."

She started. Why wasn't he opening the door or getting others to help? He should be trying to save her. Shouldn't he? Sam, so confused and so tired, she could barely feel the pain overtaking her body. Where had he gone? She tried to concentrate. His face was now only a vague outline that rippled with the heat waves. A soft smile played at the corner of his mouth. The flames burned around him, weird as they centered him in the warm glow. She wanted to be with him. To live.

"Here, take my hand."

Dazed and on the brink of death, Sam focused on the hand reaching for her. She struggled to raise the charred piece of flesh that had been her arm and reached out to grasp his.

She was free.

Overwhelmed, cries of relief escaped. She turned to hug her savior, her head just reaching his shoulder. He stood beside her, the same radiant beaming look on his face. His blond hair glowed, and he had the brightest teeth. She sighed. This beautiful man pointed to her right arm. Confused, Sam glanced down at her burned arm, realizing she could feel none of her injuries. Just like her other one, her broken arm had miraculously healed – whole, smooth and soft. Her skin hadn't looked this good in ten years.

Realization hit.

She spun around to find a massive fireball below. What the hell? She had to be dead. But instead of the horror or shock, she expected to feel, she felt good. In fact, she felt great. She turned to the ever-smiling stranger.

"Let's go sweetheart."

Sam didn't know why he'd called her that, but she bloomed under his loving gaze. Honestly, she was so damned grateful to be out of the car, she let him get away with it.

Holding hands, they floated higher into the cloudless blue sky. Then when the crash site below had become a tiny speck, Sam felt a hard flick on her arm and the words, "Thanks, but I can take it from here."

And she woke up.

BUY LINKS :

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Tuesdays-Child-Psychic-Visions-ebook/dp/B0056I5M22/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1318799904&sr=8-2

Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tuesdays-child-dale-mayer/1104562657?ean=2940011406607&itm=4&usri=tuesday27s%2bchild

All Romance eBooks - http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-tuesday039schildbook1ofpsychicvisions-569718-140.html

REVIEWS :

"This book grabbed me from the get-go and never let up! The story unfolds brilliantly, transporting the reader on a horrific journey. This mesmerizing horror-thriller is a must-read for any fan of the genre." ~Laurie - Reviewer for Night Owl Reviews

"I place TUESDAY'S CHILD in my top ten reads of the year and I have no doubt you will enjoy this book just as much as I did!" ~Neis - Reviewer from The Romance Reviews

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She's best known for Tuesday's Child, her romantic suspense novel that was one of the final four in the Kensington Brava/Romantic Times contest this last year. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres. To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series in ebook format.

To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author

Books by Dale Mayer:

Psychic Vision Series

Tuesday's Child

Hide'n Go Seek

Maddy's Floor- out soon

Young Adult Books

Dangerous Designs – Book I

Vampire in Denial – Book I of Blood Ties

Gem Stone Mystery Series- out soon

In Cassie's Corner- soon

Non-Fiction Books

Career Essentials: The Resume

Career Essentials: The Cover Letter

Career Essentials: The Interview

Career Essentials: 3 in 1

Contest:

For a chance to win a copy of TUESDAY'S CHILD, leave a message with your email address.

Ouija Boards

Remember Ouija Boards? My friends and I were fascinated by them when I was in high school. Since Halloween is approaching and since a Ouija board makes an appearance in my current wip, I thought I'd go over the rules and regs in case some of you haven't played or don't remember.
1. The sun on the top left represents good spirits.
2. The moon on the top right represents evil spirits.
3. Two people lay their fingers gently on the planchette. If a third person is present, have them take notes.
4. The first question to ask is, 'Ouija are you there?' Ask it until the planchette points to yes.
5. Electronic devices should be turned off, so they don't block the electronic impulses of the spirits trying to communicate.
6. Ask who you are talking to.
7. Only ask one question at a time.
8. Don't let the planchette drop from the Ouija Board. This can let loose a spirit.
9. Don't use the Ouija Board when you are feeling sick or weak, this makes you vulnerable to possession. Also don't use it in a graveyard.
10. When you are ready to end the session do not take your fingers from the planch ette until the spirit has said goodbye. The planchette will move to the word good bye.
11. Close the board properly, so malevolent spirits don't remain behind.
12. Don't ever try to burn a Ouija Board. If you must destroy it, break it into seven pieces, sprinkle it with holy water then bury it.
13.....Did you know the original Ouija boards were made from the wood of coffins........
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Anny Cook
Amarinda Jones
Julia Barrett

Odd Body Parts

I'm blogging today at Amarinda Jones on odd body part facts.

Changing Seasons

I took this while we were in the mountains the other weekend. I'd love to see Maine and New England in the fall, but nature puts on quite a show here too.

Sunday Afternoon

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This is how the critters spent their Sunday afternoon at the Cox household. The lazy bums:)Maggie, the dog is fourteen. The gray kitty on the right is seventeen.
Did you have a good weekend? Do anything exciting? The HH and I went to the walking park. Our motivation--ice cream when we finish our walk. I keep telling myself the ice cream has nothing to do with my recent weight gain.......

I Cannot Live Without Books

I cannot live without books~Thomas Jefferson





Doesn't it make you wonder what his preference would be today? Would Thomas Jefferson prefer paper or e? And if e would he carry an ipad or a reader?