Sheila Seabrook's Blog, page 12

The Directionally Challenged Weathervane

I’m over at the Women Unplugged blog today.

If you remember, last year I blogged about a new garden area we were designing. We spent the summer with a shovel in our hands, turning over the dirt, then built a small garden shed which we planned to let weather naturally so one day it would take on the appearance of those old buildings you see falling down around an old farm yard. This summer, we’ll work up the soil and fill the garden area around the shed with cedars and a variety of flowering bushes and plants.

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

This winter, while we watched the snow fly and wondered if it would ever stop, we jumped online and ordered a weathervane from the Urban Nature Store.

For the rest of this post, join me at the Women Unplugged blog.

I Have Website Envy and It’s All Steena Holmes Fault!

Monday night, I popped over to women’s fiction author Steena Holmes’ recently revamped site and now I have website envy. You’d think I’d be envious of her success with her bestselling book FINDING EMMA, but I know how hard she’s worked, so I’m thrilled for her success.

But her website … well, that’s a totally different animal.

You see, even though I don’t have a natural eye for design, I love designing websites and logos and images of all kinds. So when I see a gorgeous website design, I fall in love and want to redesign my own site. I love the chocolate hearts on Steena’s main logo and the rounded corners on the banners in her sidebar. Plus, she’s incorporated some pretty cool features into her site.

Like her Secret Society for book readers. Okay, I’m in, all signed up, and ready to go.

So now I have the desire to revamp my website and make it all pretty and cozy and cute, and I’m holding Steena responsible.

And while I dream about the changes I’m going to make, let me leave you with a little blurb about Steena’s popular book FINDING EMMA.

Megan is the harried but happy stay-at-home mother of three little girls living in a small town. Her life implodes when her youngest daughter, Emma, disappears on her third birthday.

Two years later, Megan is preparing to commemorate Emma’s birthday and the anniversary of her kidnapping, compelled to keep her name alive in the minds of her community and her family. Her commitment to Emma, however, borderlines on obsession as she follows the families of little girls who look like the daughter she lost.

Her obsession with finding Emma has distanced Megan from both friends and family. Her two older daughters are resentful of her relentless and fruitless search for their sister, and her husband pleads with her to accept that Emma is gone so that the family can move on with their lives.

Meanwhile, in the same small town, Jack is beginning to question his wife’s secrecy about their adored granddaughter, Emmie. As Dottie slips into dementia and becomes increasingly protective over Emmie, he can’t help but wonder if there could be a dark secret that Dottie is keeping from him.

Jack and Megan’s worlds finally intersect at the town carnival, when Megan snaps a photograph of a little girl on her grandfather’s shoulders.

Until next time, happy reading!

Valentine’s Day Book Date Giveaway

Starting February 4th to February 14th, 30 authors have gathered together to give our readers a book date. Exciting, isn’t it? So click on the image below and check out the details.

Ripples In Time

I’m over at the Women Unplugged site today, talking about destiny …

Back in high school, I had a crush on a guy. He was cute and funny and a year older than I was. He also had a girlfriend who went to a different school, which meant that as long as she was in the picture, he was off limits.

But I liked this guy and we became friends. Sure, there was some flirting. Mostly we hung around outside of classes and he let me store my books in his locker because my locker was way down at the other end of the school.

For the rest of this post, click here.

Cursed by Vivi Anna

Today is the release of the final Bandit Creek Book, CURSED by Vivi Anna. If you’ve been following the series, you’ll be excited to finally read JD’s story.

JD, short for Jack Daniels, is Bandit Creek’s town drunk. He’s shown up in every single Bandit Creek novella and there’s something very mysterious about him. He’s always giving out advice, but no one really pays attention to his advice, although there’s always wisdom within his words. Here’s a snippet from when Jack appeared in WEDDING FEVER:

The ambulance attendant put one hand on JD’s chest. “Stay put, JD. I need to make sure you’re okay before I let you go. You nearly drowned.”

With a muttered curse, JD resumed his prone position on the ground, hooked his arm around his bottle of Jack Daniels, and gathered it snug against his chest. “Who saved me?”

Once again, the attendant hooked his thumb toward the diver. Liz followed JD’s gaze. Behind her, Naomi let out a low wolf whistle. “Who’s that?”

JD frowned, but kept his attention on the stranger. He raised one arm, his bony fingers crooked. “You there, boy. Come here.”

As the diver came out of the shadows into the ever growing morning light, the memories Liz had buried deep erupted. She stared up at the familiar face. His gaze met hers only briefly before he turned his attention to JD and crouched down at his side. “No need for thanks, JD.”

Liz’s heart stuttered in her chest, then started pounding in her ears as JD grabbed the diving gear by the fist and pulled Mitch Parker down close enough to spit in his face.

“Do I know you, boy?”

Naomi touched Liz’s shoulder, her voice a bare whisper. “Wow. He’s pretty hunky for an old guy.”

“Yes, sir. I’m Mitch Parker, Randy and Gwen Parker’s eldest son.”

“Don’t you ever—I repeat—ever save me again.”

JD started coughing and the ambulance attendant shouldered Mitch out of the way.

With a grace Liz recalled far too well, Mitch straightened to his full height and backed up a few steps, the hard wall of his naked chest now aglow with the rising sun, his gaze hidden by the dark sunglasses he’d slipped over his eyes.

Behind her, Naomi sighed. “Wow. Now there’s a man you couldn’t say no to. Right, Mom?”

Mitch didn’t hear the teenager as he turned away and walked to the lake front where he resumed pulling on his scuba gear.

JD stopped coughing and shoved the attendant’s hands away. “Let me alone. You know I’m gonna live, so stop all yer fussing.”

As Liz started to push to her feet, JD caught her by the arm, his eyes shining with the fever of one suddenly possessed. “If love comes knocking, don’t answer the door.”

If you want to read the entire first chapter of WEDDING FEVER, go here.

Now, let’s find out more about Vivi Anna and CURSED.

Vivi Anna likes to burn up the pages with her original unique brand of fantasy fiction. Whether it’s in ancient Egypt, or in an apocalyptic future, Vivi writes fast paced action-adventure with strong independent women that can kick some butt, and dark delicious heroes to kill for. She’s written for Harlequin, Kensington, and Carina. Once shot at while repossessing a car, Vivi decided that maybe her life needed a change. The first time she picked up a pen and put words to paper, she knew she had found her heart. Within two paragraphs, she realized she could write about getting into all sorts of trouble without suffering the consequences.

About CURSED:

For as long as Jack can remember he’d been a resident of Bandit Creek. For almost two hundred years he’s been roaming the streets, alone, drinking to forget about his damned life. Cursed by a demon, he can’t die, although he’s tried many times.  The only thing that can release him from this wretched existence is to find the gold he stole all those years ago and return it to those who died in the flood. Only problem is…with his mind so ruined he can’t remember where he buried it.

His salvation comes with Kristen Morgan’s arrival. The infamous psychic and the sheriff’s daughter can help him. There’s only one other person who knows where the gold is…his long dead partner Colton. And Kristen’s seen him in her dreams.

Read an excerpt from CURSED, join us for the Facebook party, and buy the book at Amazon.

This brings us to the conclusion of the Bandit Creek Books series … or does it? Only time will tell. Thank you for joining me on this wonderful adventure. And remember, there’s something at Bandit Creek for everybody!

Now, I’m running off to buy my copy of CURSED. You know what I’ll be reading tonight ….

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Welcome to the Warm Winter Reads Beach Book Blast!

This weekend, join the WG2E Beach Book Blast authors as we celebrate our warm winter reads. There are books and prizes … and did I mention books? Here on my blog, I’m giving away an ebook copy of my latest release THE VALENTINE GRINCH.

Go read the first chapter of The Valentine Grinch, then come back here and answer the question below. The first person who posts the correct answer in the comments wins!

When Amanda Goodwin first sees her dad, what is in the yellow can that her dad is holding in his hand?

And there’s more.

To help you fill your e-reader, we’re offering a $50 Best Buy gift card as our Grand Prize, along with a $25  gift card of the winner’s choice (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes). That’s a $75 prize!

Second prize is a $25 gift card from Amazon. All you need to do is enter the Rafflecopter drawing on the Beach Book Blast website and follower the directions.

Wait, there’s more! Many of the Beach Book Blast authors are offering prizes on their websites, like I am. So click on the links below or go to the Beach Book Blast website and click on the links to the other sites to see what terrific prizes they’re offering.

While you’re here, sign up for my newsletter updates and blog posts, and join me on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Have fun at the Beach Book Blast Warm Winter Reads event. And good luck! I hope YOU win the grand prize!

 

Channeling Jekyll and Hyde

I’m over at the Women Unplugged blog today, where I’m talking about …My dad was a social butterfly. He liked to get out, visit with people, and have a good time.

My mom is more the hermit type. Content with her own company, she’d happily stay in her house and yard for weeks on end.

I inherited both those qualities from my parents in equal amounts, so I’m half social butterfly, half hermit. Jekyll and Hyde, with the two entities battling for domination.

Pop on over to the Women Unplugged blog and read the rest of Channeling Jekyll and Hyde. Then check back here on the weekend (Jan 12 & 13) for the Warm Winter Reads bloghop information.

© Phil Date | Dreamstime.com

Celebrating the New Year with a Giveaway!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you did something special last night to welcome in 2013. I certainly did. At midnight, I kissed my favorite guy.

And now I’m celebrating the first few days of 2013 with a giveaway. For the next five days — Jan 1 to Jan 5 — WEDDING FEVER is free on Amazon.com. Please, tell all of your friends, and have all of your friends tell all of their friends, and etc, etc.

Liz Templeton, Bandit Creek’s star reporter, is about to have her life turned upside down.

When her ex-husband, Mitch Parker, returns to town to hunt for the legendary Lost Lake treasure, her mother and former mother-in-law are determined to reunite the estranged couple. While Liz dodges their attempts, she must also deal with the ghost of her teenage daughter, Naomi, who is obsessed with discovering whether or not Mitch is her father.

Liz has one chance to stop her family from driving her insane … and falling head over heels in love with her ex isn’t part of the plan.

2013 promises to be a busy year. I have some special things planned and I’ll announce them as I get them up and running. But first and foremost, I have books to write.

How about you? What is the number one item you hope to accomplish this year?

The Valentine Grinch Is Here!

The Valentine Grinch novella has arrived just in time for the holidays. Yay!

This is a revised and expanded version of the story originally published in the WG2E All-For-Indies Anthology (the Viva La Valentine edition), so I want to warn you that if you bought the WG2E Viva La Valentine edition, you probably don’t want to buy the standalone version of the story … unless you want to read the revised and expanded version, that is.

This is Book One in the Home For The Holidays series. Watch for BookTwo in the series to come out some time in 2013.

You can read The Valentine Grinch blurb here.

Or read the excerpt here.

And of course, it’s available for purchase at Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo and All Romance eBooks!

Now, back to work on the mess-in-progress … just saying.

Wishing You A Merry Christmas!

From our house to yours …

May your day be bright and merry and filled with joy and laughter.

Happy holidays!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a very special announcement.