Shelley Shepard Gray's Blog, page 19

Off To Las Vegas

I'm heading off to Las Vegas tomorrow with Tom for a much anticipated getaway.  My husband is a salesman, and he won a trip last year for reaching his quota. Unfortunately, that was right when his sister passed away, so we had to cancel the trip. His company is very graciously is sending on this little trip tomorrow.

I can't wait. I happen to really like Las Vegas. Maybe it's because I'm alone so much, but I really do enjoy the crowds and the lights and all the glitz and glamor. You can put me on a park bench just about anywhere in Las Vegas, and I'll be happy for hours. It's a very fun place to people-watch.

Tom and I have tickets to three shows-The Blue Man Group, Elton John, and Ray Romano and Kevin James. I couldn't believe the choices! Barry Manilow and David Copperfield are also appearing there. There are also several musicals playing:  Mama Mia, Phantom of the Opera, and Jersey Boys.  It was really hard to decide what to do~all of it sounded like fun to me!

I really like those reality cooking shows, like Top Chef. Some of those chefs have restaurants in Vegas, so, yes, I plan to eat at least one of their restaurants.  We haven't made any dinner reservations yet, but I think I'm going to have a great time choosing where to eat.

So, people watching, dinners out, shows to watch, and four new books on my Kindle to read! I think I'm going to be very busy having fun.  The best part? Tom and I made a pact to tell each other not to work. So I won't have my computer, and he (hopefully) won't be attached to his Blackberry. Everyone needs a break every now and then, right?

I'll take pictures, and will be back here on Tuesday. In the meantime, thank you for stopping by!

with blessings,

Shelley

Things I Love

  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I have to admit that I love Valentine's Day. Maybe it's because I write romance novels? Maybe it's because I spent years teaching elementary school? I've had my share of Valentine parties, for sure! In any case, I think it's a fun day to celebrate, even if it's by doing nothing at all.

I thought I'd write a quick list of  10 Things I Love in honor of Valentine's Day. Then, it's back to work for me-I have some revisions to complete before I go on vacation on Thursday. My husband and I are going to Las Vegas, and honestly, I can't wait! I'm leaving my computer at home, which I haven't done in years.

Ten Things I Love

1) My mother's paintings. She painted for most of her life, and made her living selling her work. When she passed away, I shipped a few of them home. My husband took the one above to the framer and brought it home on Saturday. Looking at it makes me very happy.

2) I love planning trips. Big or small, I love having something to look forward to! Here in Ohio, having a spring or summer trip planned definitely helps get me through lots of dreary gray days.

3) My Kindle. I never thought I'd love an electronic 'gadget' so much~but being able to never be without a book makes me very happy! Getting a book in 10 seconds? Can't be beat!

4) Candles. My current favorite ones are those Slatin candles from Bath and Body Works.

5) Baking. If I'm happy, stressed, bored, or sad…I know exactly what to do: bake something! It's not so good for my waistline, but very good for me.

6) Getting up early and drinking coffee.

7) Which brings me to: Coffee, anytime, anywhere.

And…Diet Cokes in a glass with ice.

9) I absolutely love talking to my kids on the phone. I love hearing what they're up to, even if it's just a regular day for them. Lately, I have to say that I love when my son calls with yet another Rudy story. (Rudy is his puppy)

10) Days like today.  I've got work to do, it's snowing outside, and a cake to bake for tonight. For me, that makes for a pretty great day!

Anyone want to share a few things that make you happy?

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Shelley

We have 4 Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the drawing! Between comments here, on Face Book, and sent privately, we had over 200 entries! I'm so thankful for your interest in the new books!

Below are the Four Winning Names. If you see your name, please email me privately with your full name and mailing address. I should be getting my author copies of both of these books in one or two weeks. I'll send you a book as soon as I receive them!

 Or, if you don't want to wait, and you want one of my other books, just tell me which one you want, and I'll send it right out to you!

This week's winners:

Becky Darmogray

Chrissy Valstar

Maxie Anderson

Christina

Blessings!

Shelley

Four Star Reviews!

I received a very sweet note from my agent last week-congratulating me on TWO 4 Star Reviews in the March issue of Romantic Times Magazine.  RT Magazine is often the first place that will publish a review of my books. Sometimes they've liked a book (like GRACE) Othertimes? The review is rather lackluster, or even worse…they decide not to review it.

So, having two books receive good reviews in one issue is a pretty big deal for me!

Here's what they had to say:

For MISSING, by Shelley Shepard Gray: "Gray presents the Amish culture with a realistic perspective on their customs that is both refreshing and captivating. The first Secrets of Crittenden book is a story about forgiveness, truth, and love with a good element of mystery."

For A TEXAN'S HONOR, by Shelley Gray: "The second Heart of a Hero book has something for everyone, along with interesting characters readers will love getting to know. Gray knows what her readers expect and does not disappoint."

 In honor of my four star reviews, I'll be giving away four books! The four winners can pick which one they want!

To enter, all you have to do is tell me which of my books you'd like to receive! We'll draw names on Thursday.

Shelley

Book Signings!

Happy Tuesday!

I'm back in my office, sipping coffee. Hooray! Isn't it funny how sometimes the littlest things can simply make a 'good' day a 'really good' one?

One of the things my publicist, Joanne, and I have been working on is my March booktour. MISSING, the first book of the Secrets of Crittenden County, series goes on sale March 20. To celebrate its publication, I'll be hitting the road!

Here are some of the confirmed dates. If you live near, I hope you'll stop by, I'd love to see you! As times get confirmed, I'll be posting more information.

March 20: Book Launch Party at Joseph Beth Bookstore in Cincinnati, OH! I'm thinking of hosting a dinner before!

Friday, March 23: Speaking/signing at McCracken County, KY Library 2:00-3:30 pm

Saturday, March 24: Speaking/signing at Crittenden County, KY Library

Saturday, March 31: Signing and booktalk at Lifeway Christian Bookstore in Lexington, KY

More dates coming soon~we're definitely planning to visit Louisville, KY!

Shelley

The Flood

We had a little flood in our basement last week. A few months ago, we decided to build a little bar in our basement, complete with an ice maker and mini-refrigerator.  Some days I'm in my basement office for eight hours or more~I'd been dreaming about how nice it would be to walk right into the living space down there and grab my favorite drink-Diet Coke in a glass with ice. Or brew fresh coffee. So, for the last few months, we've been getting it all installed. Last Wednesday? Finished! It was just perfect! I ran to Walmart and grabbed new glasses and a case of Diet Coke!

Last Thursday morning? I went downstairs to find most of our basement soaking wet. The ice maker connector had broken off and water had poured into our beautiful new cabinets all night long. Ugh! Of course, my husband was out of town, but he did help me call everyone who needed to be called. And by Thursday night, the restoration company had installed 10 fans and assorted commercial heaters throughout our basement.

I carried my computer upstairs, and now I'm set up at the kitchen table.

The photograph is how my office looked all weekend.

Things are better now. By next week, I should be back in my office, and finally enjoying my glass of Diet Coke.

The good news? Through it all, everyone has been terrific. From our insurance rep to the plumber and contractor, to well, you name it.  It proved to me once again that something good can always come out of bad things!

with blessings,

Shelley

We have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our drawing. We had almost 500 entries, between the comments here and the notes to me on FaceBook.

The winner is Jane Rinelli.

Jane, if you contact me privately with your address, I'll get that beautiful quilt right out to you!

with blessings,

Shelley

Quilt Drawing Is Still Going on!

Thanks to everyone who's been taking part in this giveaway! I've truly enjoyed reading everyone's one word resolutions! Once again, I've learned so much from all of you. We've had over 400 entries, but the contest will still continue until midnight tonight!

So, if you're just now hearing about the drawing, all you have to do to enter is tell me what one word you're taking to heart for 2012. Please read some of the entries…you'll get inspired!

I thought I'd add another photo of the Amish quilt. My little dachshund Suzy was happy to be this morning's model!

Thank  for stopping by~

Shelley

Amish Quilt!

This week, I'm holding a drawing for an absolutely lovely Amish Quilt, sewn by Mary, one of my Amish friends in Sugarcreek. The quilt is the perfect size to cuddle up in on chilly nights~or on ice days! The edges are frayed on purpose, so it looks very rustic and cozy. How can you be eligible? Either tell me here or on my Face Book page what your 'One Word Goal' for 2012 is. Mine is 'BALANCE'.  I'm going to try my best to work a little less and get out of my office a little more! The winner will be announced on Thursday afternoon. Good luck, and thanks for stopping by.

The Ice Day

Last Friday night we had an ice storm. I woke up to a yard full of sparkly trees~beautiful! In years past, we've had enough snow and ice that we've had to worry about branches breaking. Not so this time…only about a 1/4 inch of ice covered everything. Not bad enough to do any damage, but definitely bad enough for my husband and me to be stuck at home. We have a steep driveway, with the temperature holding steady at 25*, we weren't going anywhere.

What to do?

This is too funny, but we ended up polishing silver. For hours! When we were in California, going through my mother's things, I found quite a few silver trays. Neither my brother or sister wanted them, so I shipped them home. They arrived about a week ago~and their condition was pretty bad.  After I unpacked them, they'd been sitting on our dining room table, practically begging to be cleaned. I kept putting it off.

Around noon, my husband Tom decided it would be a great project for us, so out went the gloves, polish, and old towels. We got to work. I had to smile~turns out Tom had never polished silver before. I've polished plenty, so I had to give him a tutorial. Turns out it was a good project for us. It took forever-not only had my mom not cleaned the pieces in years, she'd put them away dirty. We talked, we scrubbed, we talked some more, and admired how much better everything looked. But before long, shiny trays decorated the dining room table and we had a kitchen full of dirty rags and towels.

 Don't you just love projects where you can see results in just a few hours? I wish everything was like that!

After cleaning that up, we dug around the kitchen. I'd planned to go to the store on Saturday morning, and we'd planned to go out to dinner on Saturday night. Since we were iced in, Tom and I decided to make the best dinner we could-using what was on hand.  I found frozen corn~it became corn pudding. Two forgotten frozen steaks, some canned mushrooms and an old onion became an impromptu Steak Diane of sorts. Three bananas that had seen better days became dessert-banana bread!

 None of it was fantastic, but we had a good time.  The best part? We were still dressed in old sweats~no fancy dinner clothes for us! We ended the evening watching an old movie.

Saturday's ice storm ended up being a very good thing for us. A day together doing nothing special.

Today, it's a balmy 52 degrees! My husband's flying out for the week in a few hours, and the weather report says the temperature the rest of the week will be in the 40′s.  I'll be able to run errands and eat out as often as I want. But I think part of me is going to wish for another excuse to stay home soon.

And since it's only January…I have a feeling we'll get more snow and ice very soon.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a good week! Please come back on Tuesday~it's time for another contest!

Shelley