Jamie Farrell's Blog, page 11
September 2, 2014
Jamie vs. The Summer
Congratulations to Gail and Shelby! They won last month’s blog and newsletter subscriber giveaways!! Woot!! Congratulations, ladies!
And now on to your daily dose of Jamie…
One morning last month, in the midst of all the fun of launching The Husband Games, I stumbled out of the shower and found SuperHubby prepping his uniform for the day.
“You slept in again,” he said.
Now, I’m normally a morning person, but that week… Y’all, I was tired. So I nodded at him as emphatically as I was able to muster. Which meant I also had to add an, “Mm-hmm,” in case he couldn’t see my head moving. “It’s been a crazy busy week,” I added.
It had. A fun week, but still crazy busy. And then you add in the dreams about Brett Eldridge holding his buggy together so his horse could pull me in it, and then the dreams about staying out all night partying in a bookstore (which also happened to be in my grandparents’ back yard, where Buttercup kept trying to dig in the dirt), and the truth was… yeah, I could’ve used a cup of tea. With a side shot of straight caffeine. (I mentioned that morning person thing? That’s normally without coffee or tea.)
SuperHubby smirked at me. “Didn’t you launch Southern Fried Blues right after we moved last summer?”
“Uh-huh,” I said. Stupidly. Because I had. And it was–yep, you guessed it–crazy busy with moving boxes on top.
“Do we need to get you a magnet for the fridge that says, ‘Stop Me Before I Launch A Book While I’m PCS-ing Again’?”
(Side note: PCS is military speak for “moving.”)
I burst out laughing. “Yeah. It’ll go great with my ‘Stop Me Before I Volunteer Again’ magnet.”
“Exactly,” he said.
So, this is for SuperHubby. (And all my military wife writer friends.)
Just kidding. 
I’ll launch my books whenever they’re ready, even if it’s during PCS time, because I love y’all.
Hope you have a great Tuesday!
* * *
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Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
September 1, 2014
A Year of Happy Mondays – The Jackson Davis Takes Over Edition
Hey, y’all. Jackson Davis here. Jamie couldn’t make it today, so I reckoned I’d step on in for her this Monday, seeing as I got the day off work and all. Anna Grace‘s snoring–ah, I mean, Radish‘s snoring woke me up early, so I got a couple minutes. Hope y’all don’t mind.
Ten Things That Put A Smile on My Face (by Jackson Davis)
10. My sister Louisa. (Now, y’all, don’t go groaning. She’s a right fun sport when I get her all riled up ’bout them Auburn Tigers of hers and my Alabama Tide. And whenever she’s fixin’ to be annoying, I just remember that there time Anna Grace smacked her in the kisser with a trout. Makes me grin every time.)
9. Hunting season. (Reckon I won’t be going quite so many weekends this year though. Got something better to do than spending two whole days by my lonesome.)
8. All of Jamie’s fans and friends here on her blog and over there on the Facebooks. (Y’all are mighty kind to this old boy. Much obliged, ma’ams.)
7. Sweet potato pie. (‘Specially when my Anna Grace makes it–but don’t tell my momma I said that.)
6. The Air Force. Couldn’t be prouder to serve my country.
5. Redneck golf. Been playing a lot of it this year. I’m fixin’ to make a set for the living room to keep my skills up during the cold months, but I don’t reckon I better be inviting Kaci over. She might break Enrique.
4. Enrique. (Always know I’m in trouble with Anna Grace when my bronze armadillo turns up in unexpected places. And Anna Grace and Louisa–those two have been plotting to get him some girly clothes. I might could have to hide him myself to save his dignity one of these days.)
3. Mamie and her girls. Those ladies know how to flatter a man. And I reckon I can confess an appreciation for Mae Daniels romances too. Ain’t a secret. 
2. Radish. She’s a sweet ol’ pup. Man couldn’t ask for a better best friend. Unless she’s…
1. My Anna Grace. Because there ain’t a more perfect fit for me in the world.
Y’all enjoy this here Labor Day. Jamie says she’ll be back tomorrow to talk about monthly winners and those crazy kids of hers.
* * *
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 29, 2014
Happy First Birth-iversary, Southern Fried Blues!
I’m feeling all sappy and sentimental today. Because one year ago, my first book came out into the world. And it’s been one heck of an awesome year for Southern Fried Blues.
When Mr. Good Enough was published this spring, I wrote a little note here on rejection and inadequacy and doubts. Two months later, I found out Southern Fried Blues was a finalist in the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A month later, it was named a finalist in the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards.
Reviewers have brought me to happy tears. Because phrases like these are music to an author’s soul:
I didn’t want to shut off my Kindle and let the story end. I have a strong feeling I’ll be back to revisit Jackson & Anna Grace often. — Jaime at For the Love of Books
I loved this book so much I hardly know where to start. — Sacha at Gonna Need More Books
The love story is timeless and the happily ever after is forged from the fires of perseverance, strength, passion, hard work, acceptance and love. – Elizabeth at Expressions of a Hopeful Romantic
Southern Fried Blues is a stand out book in flood of other military romance books. — Amazon reviewer
Wow, y’all. Just… wow. And thank you.
I still think about my favorite scenes and smile. Anna vs. the fire ants. Anna vs. the armadillo. Anna and the fish vs. Louisa. Anna vs. Jackson. Jackson vs. himself. Mamie and her friends. The Mae Daniels books. The Iron Bowl. Dinner at Jackson’s momma’s house. The squirrel hunting scene. The biscuits. Really, I can’t pick just one favorite.
Happy first birth-iversary to Southern Fried Blues, the little book that could. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll give it a chance this weekend! And if you have read it, have you checked out the archive of deleted scenes, character interviews, and other extras here?
Get Southern Fried Blues at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Have a great weekend, y’all!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 28, 2014
The Husband Games Deleted Scene – CJ Gets Hired at Suckers
It’s Thursday, and my kids are nearing the end of the Summer Vacation That Never Ends, and I’m making steady progress on the second draft of The Battle of the Boyfriends. So I’m feeling like sharing a deleted scene from The Husband Games today! But first – have you entered Page By Page Inside-Out Review’s Rafflecopter for some of my books? Do it today, y’all!! Time’s almost up! (And if you already have all of my books, share the love and tell a friend!)
And now, for your reading pleasure, the spoiler-free (but not profanity-free) version of how CJ got hired at Suckers, the anti-wedding-establishment bar in the Most Married-est Town on Earth. He’s brought his brother, Father Basil, along for the ride. Enjoy!
* * *
When CJ and Basil pulled up at Suckers, those Help Wanted signs were impossible to ignore. More productive than getting shit-faced too. CJ would be in Bliss for a while, and he needed cash for Utah. Plus, he could stand to have more reasons to spend less time at the rectory.
He’d worked a variety of bars—from a rooftop joint in Brazil to a polished study in an Irish castle hotel to holes in the wall in a variety of holes—and Suckers sat in the middle of the spectrum. It smelled faintly like latex and stale beer but the floors were clean and, despite the pimpin’ décor, the clientele appeared to be the dependable Midwestern stock that didn’t cause a lot of problems. For a Monday evening, Huck was doing a good bit of business.
CJ and Basil took seats at the middle of the curved bar between three single guys in matching Bliss Bachelors baseball jackets and a middle-aged couple enjoying beers and burgers.
Huck shuffled up to them. “Whiskey?” he said to CJ.
Hell, yes. A few of them. “A job.”
Huck studied him for a long minute. “You certified?”
It was voluntary in Illinois, but CJ had it. He gave a nod.
“Experience?”
“My fair share.”
Huck glanced at Basil. “You brought references.”
“I suppose I’ll vouch for him,” Basil said. “But only during work hours.”
“How long you here for?” Huck asked CJ.
Wasn’t that the question. “Through Knot Fest.”
“Don’t look so happy about it, boy. You got experience, then you know that face ain’t gonna make you any tips.”
“He’s mighty prickly these days,” Basil said. “Family speculation is he hasn’t had relations with a female in a few years.”
“Jesus, Basil,” CJ muttered. Could’ve said the same to himself. Wasn’t right that female relations made him think of a dark-haired piece of work he’d met in a confessional. Wasn’t right that thinking of that dark-haired piece of work made his body stir either.
He’d just found out she had a kid, for crissakes. A kid, a family. A purpose.
Everything he’d looked all over the world for.
“Watch your mouth,” Basil said. “And you might want to talk to Cinna. She’s the one who started the pool.”
As if he’d suspect any of his other siblings of taking bets on when one of them would next get laid.
And there he went thinking about Natalie’s mouth again.
Basil’s eyebrow twitched. “But I do admire you for taking sexual intercourse with the gravity the Lord intended.”
“That right boy?” The sympathy in Huck’s eyes broadcast one clear message: even the old guy got it more often than CJ did.
“Does it get me hired?”
“Naw, but you did right good with the royalty Saturday night. Reckon that’s good enough reason to try you out. You can start Wednesday. If you’re good, I’ll keep you. But if you start depressing the customers with that puppy dog shit, you’re done.”
“Noted.”
“Oh, and by the way, Wednesday’s ladies’ night. I ain’t gonna say nothing if you use it to solve that little problem of yours.”
Bliss. Right. “You’re a king among men, Huck.”
The old guy wheezed. He cocked a finger pistol at CJ. “Maybe you got some good stuff in you after all. Whatcha drinking tonight?”
Basil ordered a tea—regular, not long island—and CJ asked for a beer. Because the whiskey wasn’t going to get him what he wanted.
Huck was back with their drinks quickly. “You playing in the Golden Husband Games?” he asked CJ.
“Hell, no.” Sit in a parade and smile for his in-laws, sure. Make a spectacle of himself to fool people into thinking he’d been the world’s greatest husband? No.
“Too bad,” Huck said. “Like to see more common folk take some of those honors the royalty likes to save for themselves. Like they got the market on what makes a good marriage. You know who makes up the majority of this town? Folks who clean houses and run the grocery stores and donate their time to the churches and the VFW. But do they ever get recognized for their contributions? No, sirree. It’s all them folks baking fancy cakes and selling fancy dresses and making it so a man’s gotta pay near on sixty bucks to get flowers to put on his wife’s grave.”
CJ felt for the guy. “How long’s she been gone?” CJ asked.
“Which one?”
And CJ thought he had it bad. He’d only buried one wife. “Aw, jeez, man. I’m sorry.”
Huck smacked the bar and guffawed. “Aw, boy, you thinking I buried ‘em? No sir, not me. Still paying alimony to all three. Will be ’til the day I die, or the day I don’t got no money no more. I was talkin’ ’bout Jeremy’s gramps. Had my eye on his Evelyn myself back in the day, I did. Shoulda stole her when I had the chance. Woulda been cheaper in the long run.”
A tired businessman at the end of the bar signaled Huck, and he shuffled on down the way.
“Productive day, Princess,” Basil said.
CJ grunted into his beer.
“Keep this up, next thing you know, you’ll be settled with a house and a job and a real future.”
An image of Natalie’s kid popped into his head. Those wide, dark, curious eyes wouldn’t leave him alone. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
“You talking to me, or you talking to you?”
Basil was watching him, except the pompousness was gone. So was the holier-than-thou. In fact, the frankness of the question scraped something raw deep in CJ’s center. “Of the two of us,” CJ said, “I’m not the one who likes to hear myself talk.”
“I can’t speak for what Serena would’ve wanted, but God took her and left you here for a reason. Might want to think about that.”
Not if CJ could help it. Because he didn’t think God had much to do with taking Serena.
Nope, that was all CJ and that damned deployment she’d taken to make a point about not giving up her military career to have a dozen babies of their own.
Bothered the shit out of him that Natalie thought her marriage ending was bad.
At least she’d gotten a little family of her own out of it. “Save it for your homily, Father Mom. Me and God are good.”
CJ and the rest of the world, though—that was starting to feel like another story.
* * *
Get your copy of The Husband Games today at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
Happy Thursday, y’all! Be sure to stop by tomorrow to help me wish Southern Fried Blues a happy first birth-iversary!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 27, 2014
Squeaker vs. The Cauliflower
We were at dinner the other night, eating hamburgers and cauliflower, when Squeaker announced, “I’m putting ketchup on my broccoli.”
“Cauliflower, honey,” I said.
He grinned a pure red-headed Squeaker grin. “I’m putting cauliflower on my broccoli.”
I hope that boy never outgrows his silly.
Happy Wednesday, y’all! Make sure you stop by tomorrow and Friday – there’s some book fun planned here!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Help send Squeaker to college! Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 26, 2014
Munchkin vs. His Toothbrush
Munchkin has an electric toothbrush. And most days, I remember to tell him to brush his teeth. And some days, while he’s brushing his teeth, he makes weird noises to coincide with the electric noises of the toothbrush. And Squeaker makes electric toothbrush noises while he’s brushing his teeth with his old-fashioned, hand-powered toothbrush.
And my point today is not my kids’ teeth-brushing habits, I promise, but rather, how Munchkin believes his toothbrush operates. Because the other day, he walked into my room after being told to brush his teeth and said, “But Mama, my toothbrush is breaking. It makes these weird noises.”
“What kind of weird noises?” I asked him.
“Like there’s something wrong with its engine.”
So now, every time I’m having a bad day, I think of Munchkin’s toothbrush revving its engine to go flying down a runway, and everything gets just a little better.
Happy Tuesday, y’all!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Help send Munchkin to college! Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 25, 2014
A Year of Happy Mondays – The Buttercup Edition
Yes, it’s a repeat picture. But she’s so stinking cute!
Buttercup is in the middle of her second year of life, which means she’s doing more and more funny things. And so today, your ten Monday smiles are ten things Buttercup has mastered. Enjoy!
TEN THINGS BUTTERCUP HAS MASTERED
10. Stripping naked
9. And climbing the steps
8. While shrieking, “Poopy dap-dap!” (translation: “Poopy diaper.” As in, “I just left a poopy diaper at the bottom of the stairs. Thank goodness “poopy” means “wet” most of the time. Most of the time.)
7. Singing “Something Bad”
(She’s working on “Drunk on a Plane” too, but she’s not quite there yet.)
6. Mimicking her brothers when they say “weiner butt.”
5. Mimicking her brothers when they bend over and dance with their butts (clothed and naked), which I assume her brothers do because a) they’re male, and b) they’re under the age of 43. (And also possibly because they have the same level of coordination as their mother, and sometimes forget exactly how dancing is supposed to be done.)
4. Lifting her shirt with the request to “tickle me.”
3. Saying, “I do.” Which is quite disturbing, because I really don’t want to hear her say this phrase for at least 38 years. She might be old enough then.
2. Putting the silverware away.
Buttercup is trying to teach me the fine art of organization, but I keep missing the silverware holder.
1. Stealing wet wipes so she can wipe her baby doll’s “poopy dap-daps.”
Hope y’all have a fabulous Monday and an even better week!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Help send Buttercup to college! Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 22, 2014
Happy Summer Friday!
It’s Fun Song Friday! Brad Paisley. Happy sigh.
Hope y’all have a great weekend!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 21, 2014
The Ultimate Guide to Scrambled Pancakes
Last Friday, SuperHubby was running late for dinner, and I actually didn’t have a clue what I was going to feed the family for dinner anyway, and so I resorted to a popular last-minute dinner option: breakfast for dinner! And then SuperHubby and I would order Indian food later for ourselves, because A) Friday night, and B) YUM.
I had some bananas and blueberries laying around, so I googled “banana blueberry pancakes.” Then I can claim the pancakes are health food. The first recipe I clicked on called for what flour and only two tablespoons of sugar, so I was feeling pretty good. I mean, here I was, about to feed my children healthy pancakes. Total Mom win, right?
And I only had to make a little substation here or there for items I didn’t have in my cupboard, but they were equally nutritious, so all was good. I mixed everything up, heated my pan, melted some butter (I might feed them healthy, but I’m not cruel enough to deprive them of butter), and poured in the batter.
And then this happened.
That’s right, y’all.
I invented scrambled pancakes. Seriously, does a Friday night get any better than this?! My children ate Every. Last. Bit. There was plate-lickage going on. Seriously.
Want to make your own scrambled pancakes?
You’re in luck. I saved the modified recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup ground oatmeal
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 ripe bananas, smushed
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
a whole bunch of blueberries
Directions:
Heat pancake griddle or skillet. Combine all dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix egg, bananas, milk, and vanilla.
Stir wet mixture into dry mixture until it’s moistened.
Grease or butter your skillet (but not too generously, or else you might not get the scrambled effect). Pour batter onto hot skillet in 1/4-cup increments, then sprinkled with as many blueberries as you’d like.
When it’s time to flip the pancakes (which will be when they’re a little bubbly on top and slightly dry around the edges), break pancakes instead of flipping them. (This works best if you can simulate accidental pancake breakage, and if the oatmeal hasn’t entirely soaked up the liquid yet.) Gape at the mess a little. Eyeball your children. Shout, ‘Scrambled pancakes for dinner!” and listen to the cheers.
**Warning: The later pancakes may actually stick together in pancake form. To prevent this, use two skillets simultaneously so that your oatmeal doesn’t have time to absorb the liquid.
And there you have it. How to be a Scrambled Pancake Superstar.
Have an awesome Thursday, y’all!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter a signed copy of one of my books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
August 20, 2014
Wowser Wednesday
I asked the Feisty Belles for help finding a picture of Jackson Davis, my hero in Southern Fried Blues.
And this is what they found me.
Yowsers!!
And I can agree with that.
Have you read Southern Fried Blues yet? It’s a good time, I promise.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
Have a great Wednesday!
In August, I’m giving one blog commenter their choice of one of my signed books! To enter, comment on any blog that I post this month. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! Limit one entry per post. Full contest and giveaway rules here.
Sign up for Jamie’s newsletter: Click here.
Join The Feisty Belles, Jamie’s Facebook Fan Group: Click here.
Buy Jamie’s books:
Southern Fried Blues at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Smashwords
Mr. Good Enough at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks |Google Play | Kobo
The Husband Games at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play
