Terry Odell's Blog, page 242

Out With The Old

What I’m reading: Power, by Debra Webb

It’s the last day of 2012. No matter what your year was like, I hope 2013 will be even better.

Thanks to Jess the Romanceaholic who helped me out with my Rafflecopter issues. My box of books giveaway is now alive and well on my Facebook Page.

Also, there’s still time to sign up for my newsletter. The next issue goes out the first week of January, and this time the contest features books from five authors–mine and offerings from four friends. Only subscriber...

Friday Field Trip — More 2012 Favorites

First, a few ‘housekeeping’ items:

1. I hit my 500 Likes Milestone, so there’s a contest for a box of books. The contest will run through January 230th. You can enter via my Facebook Page (there’s a blue giveaway tab)

2. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. Four other authors are joining me to give away books. Use the tab in the Nav Bar. Only newsletter subscribers will find out how to enter.

3. Please take a minute to answer my survey questions so I have a representative sample of what y...

Looking Ahead

[image error]The year 2012 is on its way out, and it’s time to start looking toward 2013. Here are some things I’ve got on my schedule. And I’m looking for input from you. There’s a link to a quick survey at the end of this post. Please click through to let me know what you think.

Contests:

Four great authors are joining my January newsletter giveaway, but the only way you can enter is to be a newsletter subscriber. Look for offerings from Terry Ambrose, Karla Darcy, Dana Marton and Maggie Toussaint. And, o...

What’s Cooking Wednesday — Hoppin’ John

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and Happy Boxing Day to those who celebrate it.

When we first moved to the south, I read about a New Year’s Day traditional dish, Hoppin’ John. My kids call it Johns Hopkins. There are probably countless variations, but the idea was to serve something with lots of little bits, to represent lots of wealth in the coming year. Here’s some more information. I don’t think I’ve ever made it exactly the same way twice, but it’s kind of hard to mess up. You just...

Flexibility: a Key to Happiness?

Wishing all of you who celebrate the holiday a Merry Christmas.

Today I welcome Brenda Hiatt to Terry’s Place. Brenda is the author of 15 novels, primarily historical. She is now indie publishing her backlist as she continues to write new books, which include contemporary women’s fiction and young adult romance.

And, to illustrate Brenda’s flexibility, she’s on a last-minute trip to Germany. She’ll respond to comments when she can.

It seems to be an accepted truth that as we get older, we become...

Christmas Traditions

What I’m reading: Forever His, by Shelly Thacker; The Surreal Killer, by Jerry Last
As I schedule this post, I have 423 “Likes” on my Author Page. Very close to my target of 500. That means it’ll be time for my giveaway soon. For details, click to Saturday’s post.

Normally, I’d post this tomorrow, but since tomorrow is Tuesday, I’ve got a guest, author Brenda Hiatt taking over for me. She’ll be talking about being flexible.

So, my “annual” Christmas post is a day early.

Enjoy your holiday, everyo...

Want Books?

I’m back in that overflowing bookshelf dilemma. I’ve judged contests, picked up books at conferences, and have accumulated more than I have room for. Here are some of them:

[image error]Some brand new, many gently read, some autographed. Mystery, romance, and romantic suspense in many sub-genres of each.

When I get 500 “Likes” on my Facebook page, I’ll select a mix, box them up, and send them to one lucky winner. I’ll do the same thing when I hit 1000. Remember, thanks to Facebook’s strange rules, if you wa...

Friday Field Trip — Looking Back

The year is almost over. I’m going through files for some of my favorite shots of 2012. In no particular order…enjoy!

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A glacier from our neighbor’s trip to Antarctica

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Hubster’s shot from Guffey, CO

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Rose with Bud, shared by my mom

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Overcast day at the Grand Canyon, shared by Karen Cherubino

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Waldo Canyon, before the fire, shared by Hubster

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Garden of the Gods, shared by Jason Odell

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View from the train through Royal Gorge, taken by my grandson, at age 4

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Mountain goat, shared by Terri Barnett

More next week...

Do You Need a Dead Body?

Although my holiday is over, I’m taking a brief ‘break’ today and rerunning a post from October of 2011, with a few updates. As I start a new book, even though it’s romantic suspense and not a ‘straight’ mystery, this is one of the questions I find myself asking: Do You Need a Dead Body?

On his blog, The Graveyard Shift, Lee Lofland shared some important information about property crimes, and how patrol officers work to solve them. He presented a lot of good information, including how useful f...

What’s Cooking Wednesday — Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Dip

Today’s recipe comes courtesy of neighbor Andrea Schultz.

Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Dip

Yield: 15 servings

Ingredients:

1 12 oz package fresh cranberries

1/4 c green onion, chopped

1/4 c cilantro, chopped

1 small jalapeno pepper or more

1 1/4 c sugar

1/4 t cumin

2 T lemon juice

2 8 oz packages cream cheese

Chips and/or Crackers

Instructions:

1. Chop cranberries. I used my mini food processer.

2. Chop up green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper into small pieces. Use the jalapeño to taste. I found the l...