Karen Michelle Nutt's Blog, page 101
July 10, 2011
The Art of Decorating a Christmas Tree
I'm at Happily Ever After for our Christmas in July Celebration.
Do you like homemade ornaments or store bought. Find out where decorating Christmas trees all began.
July 9, 2011
Join us for Christmas in July Event!
Please join us as we spread some Christmas cheer in July.
There is a list of participating sites, blogs, and authors at my blog along with discounts. All commenters will be entered in a variety of drawings.
http://rebeccajvickery.blogspot.com
Every visitor receives a free dessert recipe ebook.
Scroll to the end of the article and click on
Christmas Dessert Decadence.
Thank you for your support.
July 8, 2011
Join us for Christmas in July Event!
Please join us as we spread some Christmas cheer in July.
There is a list of participating sites, blogs, and authors at my blog along with discounts. All commenters will be entered in a variety of drawings.
http://rebeccajvickery.blogspot.com
Every visitor receives a free dessert recipe ebook.
Scroll to the end of the article and click on
Christmas Dessert Decadence.
Thank you for your support.
July 2, 2011
At Martha's Bookshelf Celebration: I'm in the Spotlight today!!
Martha's Two Year Blogoversary Celebration has begun!
Check the Giveaways - ELEVEN with more to come next week!
I'm giving away pdf copies of Book one, Eli: Warriors for the Light and Book two, Lucca: Warriors for the Light
of my Fallen Angels Series. (Open worldwide.)
Stop by and find out how easy it is to enter!
http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/07/mbs-blogoversary-spotlight-11-author.html
At Martha's Bookshelf Celebration: I'm in the Spotlight today!!
At Martha's Bookshelf Celebration: I'm in the Spotlight today!!Martha's Two Year Blogoversary Celebration has begun!
Check the Giveaways - ELEVEN with more to come next week!
I'm giving away pdf copies of Book one, Eli: Warriors for the Light and Book two, Lucca: Warriors for the Light of my Fallen Angels Series. (Open worldwide.) Stop by and find out how easy it is to enter!http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/07/mbs-blogoversary-spotlight-11-author.html
Freedom to Read Sale!!
Our Freedom to Read Sale begins July 1 and ends July 31.
Here are the links for the Freedom to Read Sale pages where the sale titles, discounts, and coupons for free reads can be found:
http://westerntrailblazer.yolasite.com/freedom-to-read-sale.php
http://www.rebeccajvickery.com/freedom-to-read-sale.php
http://victorytalespress.yolasite.com/freedom-to-read-sale.php
Also visit http://rebeccajvickery.blogspot.com and leave a comment and contact info. Random drawings will be held throughout the month for free reads and prizes.
Freedom to Read Sale!!
Our Freedom to Read Sale begins July 1 and ends July 31.
Here are the links for the Freedom to Read Sale pages where the sale titles, discounts, and coupons for free reads can be found:
http://westerntrailblazer.yolasite.com/freedom-to-read-sale.php
http://www.rebeccajvickery.com/freedom-to-read-sale.php
http://victorytalespress.yolasite.com/freedom-to-read-sale.php
Also visit http://rebeccajvickery.blogspot.com and leave a comment and contact info. Random drawings will be held throughout the month for free reads and prizes.
June 27, 2011
Come Chat with Us!!
CoffeeTime Romance on June 28th at 9 p.m. EST.
Western Trail Blazers and Rebecca J. Vickery Publishing Authors will be there, too!!
We will be offering Reader's Choice of an ebook from our VTP site to 3 different winners. We will also be giving away one print book - reader's choice from the anthologies.
Tell all your friends and groups please. The more the merrier!!
***You might want to log into their Chat System so you can be familiar with the system. It is easy to use and quick. Then you will be set for the Chat that evening. To get to the chat room...click on this link:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/ctr_chat.htm
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Romance, Historical, Suspense, Mystery, Adventure, Action, Horror, and all the varieties of Western reading you could wish for will be presented by Western Trail Blazer authors.
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We are a select group of authors joining together for the purpose of publishing romance based anthologies. Our readers will always find a M/F couple, interesting situations, and if not a happy-ever-after, at least a happy-for-now somewhere in the tale.
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The publishing company's work is especially designed for those who love to kick back at the end of a hard day and escape from their problems and worries for a while with a great read.
The Lore of Lavender by Cate Masters
Karen: Cate Masters is the author of compelling romantic tales that are sure to warm your heart. She's here today to share her interesting research about Lavender. This intriguing article gives a whole new meaning to love and fae magic. Take it away, Cate.
Cate:
Funny how reading a short article in a woman's magazine can lead to writing a 90,000-word paranorma
l romance novel! But that's what happened. An article about a woman who opened a bed and breakfast and grew lavender to use in special recipes piqued my interest about the flower. So naturally, I researched it.
And researched it! Lavender has an amazing trove of lore and legend, beginning with Adam and Eve, who supposedly took lavender with them after they were banished from the Garden of Eden. The flower's mentioned in the Bible, so some believed it to be a charm against evil. Maidens in many cultures used lavender to dream of their true love. When braided into a bride's hair, lavender's supposed to help her retain her sacred female power.
There are lots of recipes for cooking with lavender too. Besides adding a floral flavor to dishes, it also has medicinal uses – people use it on anything from a bug bite to acne. For recipes using lavender, watch my blog: http://catemasters.blogspot.com.
What also intrigued me about lavender is the legend that it attracts the fae. These fairies bestow healing and protection, plus help to overcome emotional blocks. The perfect ingredient for a paranormal romance. :) So The Magic of Lavender was born.
The Magic of Lavender is the first book in The Goddess Connection series, which says: Every woman should embrace her inner goddess. What's your connection? I have several more novels in this series in mind to follow. In each, the heroine will be somehow connected to a goddess. Her lifelong quirks will become strengths once she finds her true place in the world, and accepts herself for who she really is.
It's available from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61378 and Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Lavender-Goddess-Connection-ebook/dp/B005237580/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306147122&sr=1-1
You can find more info, including the, Casting Call (who I envisioned in these roles), and read the first chapter, at: http://catemasters.blogspot.com/2009/05/magic-of-lavender-contemporary.html
Trailer:
Blurb:
Jocelyn Gibson forgot about the realm of magic. But it never forgot her. Gram always told her: don't ignore your magical gifts, it will insult the family. But Joss didn't realize her gifts included channeling the energy of powerful ley lines. Or that her family included a goddess. Family connections come in handy when the Lord of the Underworld kidnaps local vet Eric Hendricks. He's an amazing lover, but Joss didn't know she loved him until too late. With a little help from the Goddess Iris, Joss defends the new life she's forged, and helps save the town of Boiling Springs from destruction. Once Eric escapes Hell, can she stop loving him to keep him safe?
Excerpt:
When her grandmother entered, fully dressed, Joss went to her. "Morning. Coffee's on in the kitchen."
Gram hugged her. "Jocelyn, are you all right? You had an eventful evening."
To say the least. Gathering the votive candles, she spoke as if distracted by her work. "I'm fine."
Standing slowly, Lydia's blood-red nails clenched the air. "I've never seen so many fae invade a home at once."
Neither had Joss. When she was a girl, swarms of glowing beings would flicker in the blades of grass, or leaves of trees. Sometimes flit to her window. But come inside? Only on occasions of rare importance. "Aunt Lydia—"
Her aunt came toward her. "The sign was very clear."
Evading the interrogation, Joss wrestled a wing-back chair to the center of the carpet. "I can't let myself believe in bad luck." Safer to make her own luck through hard work than rely on luck bestowed by supposedly mythological creatures.
Gram stepped closer. "They've come back, Jocelyn. I'm not surprised, really, that you found their favor again, given our family history."
Lydia added, "But you must treat them with respect."
How could she admit she'd hoped they'd return? That in planting a field of lavender in the spring, she'd hoped to encourage them to stay?
Nor could she admit last night's dream to her aunt. Like the lights, it had happened once before. The same night as before.
Long after saying goodnight to Gram and Lydia, Joss stood at her bedroom window and imagined a field of purple waltzing with the breeze beneath the stars. The image stayed with her as she settled into bed. It coaxed her to sleep, but grew more vivid with the lights out.
In her dream, the evening star shone more brightly than usual, and led her to the stone bridge. The silhouette of a man beckoned beyond the lavender field. She crossed the bridge into the lavender, and its blooms caressed her legs as she walked. Instead of its scented oils soothing her skin, it excited her. The thought of meeting him excited her too. Dusk deepened quickly, and she couldn't see his face as he leaned down to kiss her. Pressing against him, her body fit snugly against his curves. He took her down into the lavender, filled her body and soul, with the stars glimmering so bright and low, they mingled with the violet blooms. He was so tender, yet strong. His caresses so loving, he brought her to heights she never imagined, and only after she was fulfilled did he allow himself release. Afterward, he rolled onto his back and pulled her close, his skin warm against hers. His voice rumbled through his chest. "Who needs fireworks with so many fireflies?" The reverberations made her fingers tremble, and she closed her eyes to listen to him breathing.
She'd awakened in a luscious afterglow, but bothered she had no clue who he was, or when she'd find him. Or what he'd meant about fireworks. In the dream, she knew exactly what he meant, but now...
Thanks so much for having me on your beautiful blog, Karen!
Cate Masters likes romance with a dash of magic and mayhem! Multipublished in contemporary to historical, sweet to erotic, fantasy/dark fantasy to speculative, she sometimes mashes genres. Reviewers have described her stories as "so compelling, I did not want to put it down," and "such romantic tales that really touch your soul."
When not spending time with her family, she can be found in her lair, concocting a magical brew of contemporary, historical, and fantasy/paranormal stories with her cat Chairman Maiow and dog Lily as company. Look for her at http://catemasters.blogspot.com, and in strange nooks and far-flung corners of the web.
Cate loves to hear from readers. Email her at: cate.masters AT gmail.com
June 20, 2011
The Authors of "A Historical Collection"
Cheryl Pierson: Hi Karen, and thanks so much for having us all here today. I'm a native of Oklahoma. I live in the Oklahoma City metro area with my husband. The mother of two grown children, and pet-sitter on occasion, I am
always busy. A romance author who loves to read, I also teaches novel writing classes and am the co-owner of West Winds Media, an editing/teaching business for writers. I write short stories that have appeared in VICTORY TALES PRESS anthologies as well as anthologies compiled by Adams Media and Chicken Soup.
Kate Kindle:
This past year with Victory Tales Press has been very enjoyable and rewarding for me. I've written four novellas/shorts for VTP. By the way, Victory Tales Press is now celebrating its one year anniversary. The most exciting news for me has been the eBook and print publication of my novel, Angel's Requiem. I hope you will purchase A Historical Collection: Sweet/Sensual, for the relaxation and inspiration that only a collection of short stories can offer.
As for my background, I've been a journalist and teacher, a mother who has raised four children, and the wife of a husband who shares my interests in playing Irish music, and enjoying the cultural pleasures in New York City.
Miriam Newman: Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I have published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. I bring that background to my writing along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18 year career in various areas of psychiatric social services and many trips to Ireland, where I nurture my muse. My published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. Currently I live in rural Pennsylvania with a "motley crew" of rescue animals.
I live in California with my husband, three fascinating children, fo
ur dogs, and three cats. Jack, my Chihuahua/Yorkshire terrier is my writing buddy and sits long hours with me at the computer. Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all my stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.***What inspired you to write your story for A Historical Collection?
Cheryl Pierson author of Jason's Angel: I normally write my historicals in the old west setting of Indian Territory, but because we have Indian blood on both sides of my family, I decided to do something a bit different with JASON'S ANGEL. During Andrew Jackson's presidency, he enforced the Cherokee Removal from Georgia and many other states (because gold had been found in Taladega). He ordered the Cherokees moved west to Indian Territory on what became known as The Trail of Tears. Although many of the Cherokees lived just as the whites lived, in plantation houses, some of them with slaves of their own, and had their own government, this removal was anything but voluntary. I began to wonder…what if some of the Cherokees stayed behind? Jason's mother was married to a Scotsman. That might offer her some protection, being married to a white man, but it couldn't stop the hard feelings of the neighbors that wanted them gone. I gave Jason a tragic past—a mother and father who were murdered when Jason and his little brother, Eli, were only children. They go to live with their father's brother, so they're safe from the Removal. Because their father is Scottish, their last name is McCain, but they carry the Cherokee coloring of their mother. When the Civil War comes along, Jason decides to fight for the Union, although he's a born and bred Georgian. Eli leaves his uncle's inhospitable home and follows Jason to battle. When they're both severely wounded, a Confederate angel comes to take them to her home where they might be properly cared for.
Miriam Newman author of Deirdre : Just about the time Rebecca Vickery asked me to write a short story for her Historical Anthology, I had been thinking of the poetry I wrote for forty years before I ever published a romance. Some of that poetry was very romantic and much of it was based on the Irish Bardic poetry of my childhood. The echo of that style can be heard in the works of Gerard Manley Hopkins, W. B. Yeats and Dylan Thomas, but the earliest written Bardic poetry dates back to about the 6th century, and the oral traditions of bards greatly pre-date that. The "Tain Bo Cuailnge"—the Cattle Raid of Cooley—falls into that category and is mentioned in my story, "Deirdre." Much of the Bardic writing would hardly be recognizable to modern readers as poetry, comprised as it was of long genealogical records and nearly journalistic accounts of deeds of lords and ancestors. The ancient tale of Deirdre of the Sorrows, with which I was raised, falls roughly into that category and I had begun to wonder if I would like to undertake my own rendering of the ancient tale. Rebecca's email came right at that time and a new project was born.
Kate Kindle author of A Tale from the Red Chest : What inspired me was summers in Pennsylvania coal country where some of my ancestors live. These were very happy times among colorful, warm and ambitious people. A few years ago, years after visiting my folks there, my family and me went down the Lackawanna County coal mine, now closed. I experienced the life of a miner. I was glad Rebecca Vickery asked us to do an historical story so I could do The Tale From the Red Chest.
Karen Michelle Nutt author of The Devil's Wolf: At a Scottish Festival I came across a book about the reivers and was intrigued to find out more about the border families. Many of the reivers had colorful names such as Archie Fire-the-Braes, Out-With-the-Sword, and Cleave-the-Crune. I created a few colorful names for my tale: Two-Left-Feet and the Devil's Wolf seemed an appropriate name for the hero of this tale.
***Was your story based on a true life event and how much research did you need to do?
Cheryl: All my stories are based on historical things that have happened. This one didn't need a lot of research because being born and raised in Oklahoma, we are taught about the Removal and Trail of Tears through all school grades as part of our Oklahoma history. My great grandfather was Scotch-Irish, and I have a great grandmother who was Cherokee, and another great grandfather who was Choctaw. So my stories are a mixture of history and true life events and people.
Miriam Newman: No, it wasn't. Most of the research I needed was already in my head
Kate Kindle: I did hours of reading on the web, in addition to an onsite visit to the coal mines. Yes, this is a fact-based story.
Karen Michelle Nutt: They Along the Scotland and England borders, the lawless period of reivers organized their family groups to steal from their neighboring clansmen.The
Maxwells were the strongest family in the Scottish West March until the Johnstones reduced their power in the sixteenth century. The feud between the Johnstones and the Maxwells was the longest and the bloodiest in history. ***What are your hero and heroine's first impressions of each other?
Cheryl: Sabrina is a volunteer nurse in a Confederate hospital. She is appalled at the treatment of wounded Union prisoner Jason McCain. If she doesn't bring him home with her where he will get the treatment he needs, he will surely die. When Jason comes to, through his fevered haze, he thinks Sabrina is an angel.
Miriam: As in so many tales of this type, they were nearly magically drawn to one another and love was instant—a deeply fatal attraction.
Kate: First impression? Hmmm. Well, Maddy and Jack were lifelong best friends. She admired his courage. He liked her for her friendship and concern for him when he was a young boy in the mines. Later, of course, his innate courage and spunk, and his good looks, made him the alpha male whom Maddy realizes she has fallen in love with. As for Jack, he realized Maddy was a beauty now, and his warmth for her became desire.
Karen : At a Scottish Festival I came across a book about the reivers and was intrigued to find out more about the border families. Many of the reivers had colorful names such as Archie Fire-the-Braes, Out-With-the-Sword, and Cleave-the-Crune. I created a few colorful names for my tale: Two-Left-Feet and the Devil's Wolf seemed an appropriate name for the hero of this tale.
***Tell the readers where they can find you:
Cheryl Pierson: Website: www.cherylpierson.com
E-mail: fabkat_edit@yahoo.com I love to hear from readers and other writers!
Miriam Newman:
At my website, www.miriamnewman.com and at both my
publishers— http://victorytalespress.yolasite.com
and www.thedarkcastlelords.com
Kate Kindle: You are welcome to visit at my blog: kindlecloudnine.blogspot.com. You can find my print book, Angel's Requiem: Amazon
Karen Michelle Nutt: Website: http://www.kmnbooks.com
Blog: Here at KMN Books Blogspot
I hope you enjoyed meeting the authors of A Historical Collection.
Don't forget to stop by to read Kate Kindle's interview with Rebecca Vickery and Laura Shinn and to wish them continued growth and excitement with their company, Victory Tales Press. Kate's Blog:
http://kindlecloudnine.blogspot.com/p/happy-birthday-victory-tales-press.html
The Western Saga Authors are at my website to chat about ghost towns and favorite westerns, we'd love to have you come by: http://www.kmnbooks.com
***Contest: Don't forget to leave a comment or a question at each of the blogs for your chance to win gift certificate from Victory Tales Press!
Victory Tales Press: http://victorytalespress.yolasite.com/
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