Rionna Morgan's Blog, page 4

Haunted Week!!

Ever had the feeling that someone was watching you? It just might be the spirit of a book you haven't put to rest.

Today I'll feature five books I began, but never finished.

* The Shining
* Portrait of An Artist as a Young Man
* Pet Sematary
* Gone with the Wind
* Where the Red Fern Grows


How about you...what book is haunting you?

Letting Go of the Reins

Life Lessons of a Rodeo Queen
Lesson #4

Many of you know, I have four kids.  They amaze me on a daily basis.  I am moved to tears of pride so often because of their talents and wonderful hearts.

Lately though, this mother has been having a hard time letting go.  Recently, I took my oldest daughter to audition for a play. Normally, this would not be a big deal.  I have been a theatre director for almost 10 years.  I love the theatre and am so excited for her to be involved with it.  Yet, I had so many worries.  What if she doesn't get a part she likes?  What if they're mean to her?  What if she trips? What if she doesn't get a part at all!

I was so worked up that I almost went back inside and got her.  Or at the very least, sat with her.

But, I didn't.  And everything turned out just fine!  She was a beautiful member of The Secret Garden cast, and we cheered for her with roses and all--for she was the Star of the Night in our family.

And I learned that it's okay to let go of the reins.  To let life teach and let my kids step out on their own.

You'll have to remind me of this soon...we have the Nutcracker coming up!

What have you done lately where you've let go of the reins?

Win a Piece of Montana

Big Sky, Montana
Patti P has Won a Piece of Montana!

Here is a brief introduction to Patti...

Most people around the web know me as Patti P or musicalfrog. I love to read, travel, cook, bake, play with my grandbabies, meet new people, sing, dance, lots of other stuff and not in that order.

In the last few years I have started attending lots of online book/author chats and I’ve done some online book reviews for http://romancing-the-book.com/ 
They also repost to other sites like Amazon/GoodReads and others, mostly romance/erotica but I also love to read fantasy and sci/fi. I could never compose a list of favorite authors because there are way too many. Thank goodness for e-books and libraries.

Between us, my husband and I have 5 children and we are awaiting our 9th grandchild. I am currently studying under a Healer who is teaching me traditional his traditional healing ways and I am really loving working with nature and people. Learning how to work with creation, I would like to have my time in this life be useful as much as possible. Last summer my husband and I took two months and drove west from Illinois to visit some of our nations national parks. It was an amazing experience and we are talking about repeating it again very soon.
Missoula, Montana


If you would like to enter to Win a Piece of Montana
...just follow this link.  One of my favorite vacations ever was a trip to Montana many years ago to a dude ranch. If it weren’t for how my bones feel about the cold I would love to live there.

I am looking forward to my wonderful surprise! I plan on being out your way someday soon.

Thank you so much,

Patti P

Make Breakfast

Life Lessons of a Rodeo Queen

Lesson #3

I am busy person. Four kids, husband, cats, horse—well soon to be horse. We’re fixing her fence as we speak. I’ve heard all of my life that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When I was growing up, we always had breakfast.

I’ve always cooked breakfast. We have all manner of things: scrambled eggs, spinach omelets, whole-wheat toast, protein fruit smoothies, scones etc…

But, this summer, we were so busy, I tried the cold cereal route. I thought tossing a couple boxes of cereal on the table with a few bowls and spoons would do the trick for breakfast.

Not so.

I learned pretty fast that the best way to have happy, smiling children at 10 am is to make breakfast. Same goes for a happy, smiling husband.

So I thought I’d share a recipe that is a hit at our house: Sunday Morning Cinnamon Waffles with homemade Buttermilk Syrup.

Cinnamon Waffles 2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
½ tsp of ground cinnamon

Preheat your waffle iron.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and butter until well
blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and cinnamon; stir into
the buttermilk mixture. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla with an electric
mixer until stiff. Fold into the batter.

Spoon batter onto the hot waffle iron, close, and cook until golden brown. Top with homemade buttermilk syrup.

Buttermilk Syrup 1 1/2 cups white sugar
 3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup. Bring to a boil on medium heat and cook for 7 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Add the baking soda. *Warning—this will make the mixture foam. I add the baking soda and then quickly stir with a whisk lifting the whisk up and back in a circular motion—almost like scrambling eggs. This will dispel the foam so it doesn’t overflow over the edges of the pan.

Stir in the vanilla.

Pour over warm Cinnamon Waffles.

Add in a nice cup of coffee or tea and you’ve got happiness all around.

What breakfast menu is a hit in your house?

Rionna Morgan with M.V. Freeman

M.V. Freeman is stopping in a visit today.  We are fellow Crimson Romance writers, but more importantly friends.  M.V. is a joy to chat with.  She has an elegance about her that makes one feel comfortable and listened to.  And you should read her writing!  Wow!  She is here with us talking about Incandescent, the first in an amazing new trilogy!
Where are you from? 
 I am originally from Minnesota, but I am happily ensconced in the southeast. I love the weather better (I don’t miss the sub-zero temperatures). I do miss a white Christmas.

Tell us your latest news? My first book, Incandescent is out, and I am currently working on the second book. Sounds very short…but this is huge for me.
Buy on Amazon!Incandescent Some gifts are unwanted, and Laurie’s Hudson’s affinity for fire is one she hates. It has destroyed her relationship with her family and she has few friends. She’s fought hard to keep the fire inside suppressed, living a low key life as a bartender, until a brutal and charming man blows into her life.

Around Mikhail Petrov, her careful control disintegrates. She is at once drawn to his urbane, cool demeanor and irritated by his overbearing manner. Her options are taken away when he kidnaps her, forcing her into a fight she wants nothing to do with.

As she learns to survive, Laurie faces the hardest choice of all, her freedom or the destruction of the frustrating man she’s come to care for.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
The main thing is I want the reader to enjoy the story. But it’s also about dealing with the hand you are dealt and responsibility.


If someone wrote a book about your life, what would they title it? Probably: Adventure: Another name for –Graphic Training Aid.

What is the ultimate dream vacation? I would love to live for a year (I’d take a month—even a week) in a Castle or Bed and Breakfast in Ireland. I’d explore all the castles—talk to the locals and drink the beer. I love the weather there—cool and misty most of the time. Granted I only know this by research.
Follow MV on Twitter!
What person in history would you most like to meet? I’d love to talk to Margaret Thatcher. Now that is a woman with strength and character.

If you could design a refrigerator magnet, what would it say? “Everyone Has a Story.” Or “Never Forget the Coffee.”

M.V. Freeman is a native of Minnesota, but calls North Alabama her home. She is a member of RWA,
and the chapters: Georgia Romance Writers, Southern Magic, and Heart of Dixie. By day her mind is filled with medical jargon at the local health clinic, but at night she finds herself exploring alternate worlds within our own. Heavily influenced by Slavic languages and culture, you will find she weaves these elements into her stories. Her award winning current story INCANDESCENT is the first in a series. She is currently working on the second book in the series while plotting another project. When she is not writing, she's reading, cooking, throwing around kettle bells, or making coffee.   www.mvfreeman.com

Rionna Morgan with Synithia Williams

Synithia's WebsiteI've found a kindred spirit.  A country girl from the South is visiting with me today.  I was born just up the road from this darling lady in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  I can't wait to share her charm, wit and wonderful story.  Come on in, grab a rockin' chair, a glass of sweet tea and let's meet the beautiful Synithia Williams!  
Rionna, thanks so much for inviting me to your blog today. I enjoyed it when you visited mine because I got to know what barrel racing is :).  You are so welcome!  We are going to have a great day!

Where are you from?

I’m originally from Newberry, South Carolina. Currently, I live in Lexington County, SC which is near the capital of Columbia. I’ve always lived in the south, and although I’ve visited larger cities, I’m a country girl at heart and will (hopefully) always live here.  Buy on Amazon
Tell us your latest news?
I’m excited about the release of my debut novel, You Can’t Plan Love from Crimson Romance on August 20th. I’ve been writer for years, but didn’t look into publishing until 2010. I still can’t believe that my dream came true so quickly. Below is a quick blurb about my book.

After several bad relationships, Kenyatta Copeland decides to control her love life with the same discernment she uses in her professional life.

Knowing firsthand the heartbreak that comes when desire and emotion rule a relationship, Kenyatta assumes marrying Brad Johnson will lead to a stable life. But as much as she believes she can plan her future, it’s hard to ignore the way her boss, Malcolm Patterson, ignites her passions with just one look. After Malcolm learns of her engagement, he makes a play for her heart and reminds her that passion between a man and a woman has its perks … but also its costs. When Brad suspects there’s more than work between Kenyatta and Malcolm, he works harder to keep Kenyatta by his side. Torn between her promise to marry Brad and her irrepressible longing for Malcolm, Kenyatta must decide if she can live her life in a passionless marriage of convenience or once again trust her heart. Yet Brad isn’t as perfect as he seems, and by the time Kenyatta realizes this it may be too late.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I didn’t set out to convey a message in my book, but one came through anyway. My heroine, Kenyatta, tries to plan her love life. She thinks she’s found the perfect man, but being with him requires her to give up her dreams. The message I hope people get, is that you can’t compromise your happiness and your dreams for another person. 
If someone wrote a book about your life, what would they title it?
The Life and Times of a Freak Out Queen. (I have a tendency to overreact) 
What is the ultimate dream vacation?
I have so many ideas for dream vacations, but what I’d really love to do is visit London. 
What person in history would you most like to meet?
Harriet Tubman. What she did with the Underground Railroad is amazing. I would love to understand what made her tick. 
If you could design a refrigerator magnet, what would it say?
Take two breaths, drink a glass of wine and think about this problem in the morning.

Thanks again for inviting me over. I’ve listed all of the places where your readers can find me online:

www.synithiawilliams.com
www.facebook.com/synithiarwilliams
www.twitter.com/@synithiaw

My Blog Been Nominated for an Award!!

Great news, my blog has been nominated for another award!


I would like to say a big thank you to Cat from:
Catherine Garnell's Blog
Who so kindly nominated me!

There are a few rules one must follow before accepting the award and they are as follows: 

Nominate 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging.
Let the nominated bloggers know that they have been nominated for this award.
Share 7 random facts about yourself.
Thank the blogger who has nominated you.
Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.


7 Random Facts About Me:
I love the color green.
I write in the middle of the night.
I love glitter and all things sparkly...ooh me too!!
I own far too many books...yes here too!
I love to dance.
I try to always have my toenails painted RED!
My coffee generally tastes like mocha ice cream.



My Nominees are:
http://spewsofmyviews.blogspot.comhttp://lynnthompsonbooks.blogspot.comhttp://montanaromancewriters.blogspot.comhttp://heatherthurmeier.comhttp://www.taramillsromance.com/blog.htmlhttp://kwana.com/http://www.candacesamsbroomflying.comhttp://nikkielocke.weebly.com/blog.htmlhttp://elizabethpalmerauthor.wordpress.comhttp://www.amandalvshalaby.wordpress.comhttp://www.mollykategray.com/http://www.bethyarnall.com/http://www.melinenadeau.com/blog.htmlhttp://katefellowes.wordpress.com/http://erinrichards.blogspot.com

Sharon Clare with Rionna Morgan

I am so excited to share with you a lovely lady, a **deleted scene** and a fun fantasy romance!

First off, the lady: Sharon Clare lives in Ontario with her husband and three wonderful kids who come and go from the nest. She is a fellow Crimson Romance author who is loyal, witty and so much fun to  Follow Sharon Clarework with. How could she not be when her favorite place to write is outside under the maple trees beside the trickling pond and blooming lilies. I think it would be great to settle in beside her and write for a while.

Sharon is going to share with us a bit about her inspiration for her book Love of Her Lives recently published by Crimson Romance! I can't wait. There is even a deleted scene. Yee Hee!     A Place of Unencumbered Time
It’s been a long and bendy road, with more speed bumps than open highway and more potholes than smooth sailing, but it’s been a journey worth taking on a road well-travelled, and I can finally say I’ve arrived at a destination. Love of Her Lives is published by Crimson Romance!
One of the reasons I wrote this book was to indulge my fascination with paranormal worlds. Are we humans alone in this vast universe? Can’t fathom that we are. Are we humans alone on this vast planet? Hmmm . . .

One day I watched Dave, my cat, drinking from the pond in my garden. The gold fish seemed fascinated by this intrusion into their world. As Dave lapped water, the fish hovered just under his nose, his tongue, his teeth. Lucky for them, he didn’t share their curiosity.

The fish made me wonder about perception. Could there be another world a step away that we don’t perceive?

In one scene in Love of Her Lives, Beth asks Calum where he comes from. This conversation is a deleted scene. It didn’t make the book, but I’d like to share it because it’s part of the world building I did to create a place where humans and spirit guides dwell, inspired by Dave my cat.
Calum starts this passage of dialogue:

“I came from Seraphina in the Upper World. It’s beautiful enough, a place of unencumbered time that lies between Earth and what you think of as heaven.”
“And Earth is what?” Beth asked. “The Lower World?”

“Middle.”
“And Seraphina is a star in the sky?”

“Not exactly, m’eudail. Another dimension is the best word I can use. You understand a three-dimensional object verses two, no? The difference between a painting and the real thing? Envision stepping out of the real thing. Finding Seraphina is like stepping out of this world into another as close as a footstep away, but for the most part, impossible to detect with a human brain.”
He detected Beth gritting her teeth. The lass was finding the other worlds difficult to comprehend.

One dubious eye brow arched. “So this Upper World is all around us, but we can’t see it?”

“Some people catch glimmers, but they excuse it as a trick of light or something else because they lack the ability to interpret it. It’s like being a gold-fish in a pond. Imagine what happens when someone puts their toes in the pond. The fish interprets this somehow, likely as danger, but they can’t possibly fathom toes, feet, human, city, country, planet, universe. They’re in their world, unaware of the world on the other side of their pond or how it might interact with them.”

She let out a loud exhale. “Okay, that’s weird. My head is swimming with all that’s happened, Calum. Let’s just stick with you, for now.”
He turned up the heat in his smile. “Stuck on me is good.”

I meant Love of Her Lives to be a fun fantasy romance; a little sexy, a little suspenseful, a little whimsical, a little humorous. If you’d like to read more, you can find it here: Amazon

Sharon, I have just loved spending time with you today. That scene is so great! I love the line: "Stuck on me is good." Nice!! I can't wait to read your book!!!

Peggy Bird with Rionna Morgan

Peggy Bird is a fellow Crimson Romance Author. This lady is classy and so wonderful! Besides that she's an award winning Kiln-Formed Glass Artist. And besides that, her book Beginning Again was recently published June 4, 2012!
Click Here to Visit Peggy Bird's Art
Beginning Again is a story about starting over in love and life, finding happiness and fulfillment at any stage of life.
Not long after Liz Fairchild opens an art gallery in Northwest Portland, a sexy and mysterious sculptor named Collins bulldozes his way into her gallery, her life and her bed. In spite of her determination not to, she finds him irresistible. But he's holding something back. What are the phone calls he makes when he thinks she isn't looking? And what's the real reason he walked into her gallery? Liz doesn't know what worries her more--that she's falling for him or that she could lose him.
So without further ado...Here's the lovely Peggy Bird!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 
Peggy: Well, I'm a writer, glass artist, wife, mother and grandmother living in the Pacific Northwest. I've blown through about five careers, apparently incapable of settling into a specific one but I've always written. I now believe this is where I was always meant to be, I just needed to get a few things out of my system before I got here.    
How did you choose the genre you write in? Peggy: It chose me. I've had children's stories, memoir pieces and a couple plays produced and always assumed I'd write mysteries. Then these characters started obsessing me. When they fell in love, had obstacles in their way but came out happily ever after, I recognized the story arc and knew I had just become a romance writer.
Do you work with an outline, or just write? Peggy: To outline or not to outline, that is the question at every writers' conference. I do both. Sort of. I always have a clear idea of the beginning, middle and end of the story. I don't outline scene by scene. Tried it a couple times and ended up with characters behaving badly. Now I get to know my characters, know broadly where they're going and then I write.
Can you tell us about your upcoming book? Peggy:  Beginning Again which is out now, is the first book in a series I think of as the "Three Degrees of Separation" series. Everyone in the Portland area is separated, at most, by three degrees and so are my characters. This first book is the story of Liz Fairchild who finds herself starting over in mid-life with an art gallery and her lover, Collins. Next up, Amanda St. Claire, a glass artist, and Sam Richardson, the police detective who helps prove her innocent of murdering her boyfriend and falls in love with her.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or is it purely all imagination?
Peggy:  I have been asked by a number of friends and family members if any of the book is true to my personal experience. I've avoided answering, but I'll tell you if you'll keep it secret. The easy answer is--I was a member of a co-op gallery for five years so Liz's preparation for opening her gallery is pretty true to life. The fun one is--the helicopter scene at the beach is true.
(How awesome!)

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
Peggy:  The helicopter scene at the beach. Good memory.
Click Here to Buy BEGINNING AGAIN

What project are you working on now?
Peggy:  I'm working on the fourth book in the series. Numbers two and three, "Running Scores" and "Closing Arguments," have been contracted by Crimson for release in the fall and early next year. My work-in-progress has been fun for me. "Intersecting Lives" takes place partly in the San Juan Islands so I get to visit in my writing some of the most beautiful real estate in Washington state. And I get to listen to Latin music because my hero is Cuban-American and I always use music to get me into a scene.
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Peggy:  The best advice I ever got was "writers write." So keep writing. Just keep writing.
Now for the clever-silly question, if you were a t-shirt, what would you say?
Peggy:  If I were a T-shirt I'd either say "Adam was a rough draft" or "Writer's block is when your imaginary friends stop talking to you." Hard choice.
Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans? Peggy:  The idea that I have readers and fans makes me smile, giggle and blush. Okay, I don't blush but it's such a surprise to think that someone other than my writing buddies are reading my work. What I hope is that Liz's story touches them, convinces them that that love and fulfillment and a happily-ever-after ending is our right at any age or stage of life.
Please be invited to visit Peggy at her website!  It is as beautiful and as classy as she is.  

Scavenger Hunt for The Wanting Heart

I am sending my lovely friends on a scavenger hunt...

Drop by The Romance Reviews and tell me where you find the cover of The Wanting Heart and you'll be entered to win a copy of the book!!  
Just leave a comment below with your e-mail included!
I am so excited.  
I will be featured on the site until July 15th.
I am so excited!!  (Oh, I said that).  I just might give away a copy a day!
Have a beautiful day!
Happy Hunting!
Rionna