Kimberly Lewis's Blog, page 30

Total Randomness #1: Baking

Now that warmer weather is approaching, I'm starting to get that itch to be outside more. My husband and I have been in the process of starting a garden--more on that later--and I think because of this it's put me in a mood to start making more "home-made" items. I will be the first to admit that I am not a patient person, so store bought items are my go-to for everything. But there's something satisfying about making your own stuff and this post is dedicated to my latest obsession: baking.

Let me start off my saying that I do not consider my self a great chef or baker. It's a hobby and it's fun (when everything comes out the way it's supposed to--ha ha). I've attempted to make things from scratch in the past and they just never, ever turn out the way they are supposed to. My impatience and lack of proper ingredients is most likely the cause for that. That is also why I have never attempted to make bread--even though I LOVE bread. Too much resting time, and kneading, and more resting time. To quote Sweet Brown, "Ain't nobody got time for that!". But I decided that enough was enough and I was going to make time to bake some bread.
First on the list: find a recipe. I didn't do too much searching to find a bread recipe (add that to the list of impatience). I went to Google, typed in "Artisan Bread Recipes", looked at a few, and settled on this one:
Artisan Bread Recipe
Seemed easy enough, so I got to it. I went to my pantry and--surprise, surprise!--I actually had all of the ingredients! I did substitute unbleached all-purpose flour for bread flour, but that was the only thing I changed. How'd I do? I'll let you be the judge :)

After all that resting time we're ready to bake!
 And the finished product! Not bad for someone who once burned box macaroni and cheese :)
Day 2 of my baking craze was spent making more bread and one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures--chocolate chip cookies. Yum! I'm really particular about my chocolate chip cookies. They have to be a little crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. We have a local bakery/restaurant that makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever and--lucky for me--she shared her recipe for these delicious treats on her blog. Here's the recipe:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
It was really hard not to eat all of the dough before baking... You know you do it too :) I mean--come on!-- that's the best part! 
And the final product. They turned out sooooo yummy and are now my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. My husband even said they were the best batch I've ever made. Score one for me :) 
I feel a lot more confident with my baking skills now and I see more baking from scratch in my future.
What are some of your favorite goodies to make from scratch? 

Tour Stop! "Drama Jerk" by Lulubelle Love

Good morning, everyone! Today I am happy to host author Lulubelle Love on her tour for "Drama Jerk". Welcome Lulubelle!

Can Anyone Write a Book?A Guest Post by Lulubelle LoveI think the answer is yes. If you really want to write don’t let anything stop you. The world of books is changing, and it’s now possible for anyone to publish their book. In fact I wish more people wrote more often and just let go of their fear. About 80% of people say they have a book in them and in the world we live in it’s possible for all 80% of those people to make their dreams come true.
Some self-published authors don’t let anything get in their way and keep publishing their books one after the other. Because of Amazon and Kindle they are making over six figures a year- no joke. The authors who publish more than one title a year and do this year after year, are finding real success in writing books, but don’t get me wrong it has to be quality. So anyone out there who wants to write get your pen out and try your turn at making hundreds or thousands of dollars a month. It’s worth a shot!





Today we welcome Lulubelle Love and her newest work: "The Lola Diaries: Drama Jerk"
If you have kids, you can't miss this book.
The Lola Diaries: Drama Jerk 
by Lulubelle Love.

Quick FactsRelease Date: February 28,2013.
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction.
Formats Available for Purchase: Paperback and ebook.


 Book Synopsis

Let’s face it turning eleven can be difficult especially when you still wear diapers to bed.  This is a secret that Lola Swanson wants to keep under wraps. But secrets always have a way of coming out especially when Hannah Thompson ( A.K.A . Captain Evil) is involved.
And then there’s the little problem that Lola and Hannah are both in love with the same boy.

GOODREADSAMAZONBARNES & NOBLE



The AuthorLiz Steele (Pen Name Lulubelle Love) grew up in Holden, MA. She graduated from Worcester State College with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and from Assumption College with a Master of Arts in Education. After working as a special education teacher for several years, she decided to follow her passion for writing and publishing books.Find more about her at: www.lulubellelove.com






GIVEAWAY:

Participate for a chance to win one of the 20 Paperback Copies of "Drama Jerk" available.


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Follow the Tour:

Tour Schedule 
April 17: Black Lion Tours Blog: Tour Kick-Off
April 18: Bunny's Reviews Blog: Promo Stop.
April 19: Laurie's Non Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews: Interview.            Cheryl's Book Nook: Review.
April 20: I know that Book: Guest Post.
April 21: Melissa's Midnight Musings: Guest Post.April 22: Kimberly Lewis: Guest Post.
April 23: My Devotional Thoughts: Review.April 24: Pure Jonel Book Reviews: Review and Interview               Ohana Day Academy: Review. April 26: Bookworm Lisa: Review.April 27: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest PostApril 28: A Novel Idea Live: Live Interview.April 29: A Novel Idea Live: Promo.May 1 : Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap- Up.

Tour Stop! "The Devil's Elbow" by Ed Londergan

Today I am hosting Ed Londergan on his virtual book tour for "The Devil's Elbow". Ed is joining us today with a guest post about how to avoid those rejection blues. 
Welcome Ed!
How to Avoid the Rejection BluesLet us start with a basic fact - no one ever said this was going to be easy. Writing and being published is not for the faint of heart. It takes determination, perseverance, and hope. If you give up easily, stop writing now. There are a couple of ways to make sure you do not get too down on yourself. The first is to realize that it will happen. Your writing career will be filled with ups and downs so get used to it. There will be times when you are thrilled because an agent or publisher is handling your book. At other times, you will be discouraged because sales are low or nonexistent. That does not mean you are not a good writer or that people don’t love you. It means you or your publisher have to do more marketing. Writing a book is only a third of the battle; finding an agent or publisher is the second third and getting people to buy it is the last third. Another thing you must realize is that publishing is a business, a for profit business. If an agent does not think a publisher will be interested in your book because it does not have a wide enough audience to have significant sales, then they will not represent you. If they think your book ain’t going to make them any money, they ain’t going to publish it. Prepare yourself for a tidal wave of rejections. It is a fact of the writer’s life. Not everyone likes what you write. Get over it. You have a greater chance of being hit by lighting twice in the same month than you do of being the next blockbuster author with you first book. You may think is too cynical but you have to realize the reality of the situation. Understand that it is all about the numbers: if you query 150 agents (yes, you may have to do that many), you might get 70 or so “thanks for thinking of us but it is not right for us,” emails. You will not hear back from the rest. If they are not interested, they will not take the time to respond. It is a business decision and nothing personal. Taking the time to respond to every query they get would take up a tremendous amount of and makes no financial sense. However, all you need is one agent or publisher who thinks your book is worthwhile. The more rejections you get is an indication of how hard you are willing to work and how strongly you believe in yourself. If you know that you are a good writer, if people tell you that you know how to tell a story, that they did not want to put your book down, then you need to believe in yourself and be  willing to put in as much time and effort as necessary to get published. Never give up no matter many rejections you get. If you believe in yourself, then someone else will too. 




Today we welcome author Ed Londergan and his new work: "The Devil's Elbow" a thrilling historical story.

THE DEVIL'S ELBOW
Quick FactsRelease Date: July, 2012.
Genre: Historical Fiction, history, action/adventure, romance.
Formats Available: Kindle


Book SynopsisSet in colonial Massachusetts, The Devil’s Elbow follows Jack Parker from his orphan childhood days as an apprentice to a greedy and brutal Boston merchant to the isolated pioneer settlement of Brookfield, where he ends up in the fight of his life to protect the people and place he loves.The knowledge Jack’s father gave him, that the measure of a man is how he deals with the worst life can throw at him, the support of the powerful man who becomes his friend, and deep, unshakeable love for the childhood girlfriend who becomes his wife, fuel Jack’s determination and will to survive. All Jack has learned on his eight year journey meets its greatest test when he and ninety-eight others are trapped in a four-room tavern for three hot, humid August days, fighting for survival against 400 once-friendly Indians, who are determined to wipe them out and reclaim their land and way of life.

PRAISE FOR "The Devil's Elbow"

Brings the 1600's Bay Colony alive.
A rousing story about tragedy, triumph, perseverance, and love. Rich in historical detail with well developed characters you will come to know. An enjoyable read from start to finish.- Jeff Lubs- August 9, 2012A very good story: This book is a wonderful read. Mr. Londergan brings history to life. His depiction of life in colonial Massachusetts is right on. It reminded me of Kenneth Roberts classic story "Arundel" but much easier to read. One of the best historical novels of this era. I hope there are many more coming.

Lawrence J. Murphy - February 25, 2013
Excerpts 
Excerpt 1
July 7, 1695

In the following pages, I will tell you a story. I am older now and some of the things I’ll relate happened more than 30 years ago although to me, it seems as if they happened only yesterday. 
While I do not consider myself an accomplished teller of stories, I will do what I can with the abilities I have, so that you will know all that happened and why. And while I do not have what many call a formal education, as mine stopped at the time this story begins, my curiosity and attention to detail has always served me well. 
Certain memories from this time make me smile, and though it was a difficult existence, there were many simple things and many people that brought me great pleasure. We tend to forget details as the year’s progress, and our memories of the good tend to outweigh the bad and I, like all other men, am subject to the same influence. 

Excerpt 2

On many a night, I’ve stood outside watching the stars twinkling and shining in the dark sky. I saw them that night through the window in the west-facing second floor room and the feeling it gave me was altogether different from past times. Instead of a pleasant sight that made me marvel, for I was always fascinated by nature’s displays, I felt a pervading sense of loneliness and despair. There we were, 99 of us, crammed into a hot, stinking house surrounded by hundreds of Indians who wanted to kill us and see us dead. Instead of being just 25 miles from Springfield to the west and Marlboro to the east, we might as well have been hundreds of miles from any civilized place.

LINKS:
AMAZONGOODREADS

The Author Ed Londergan is an author and passionate storyteller who enjoys sharing his work with everyone.He loves to write, is working on a sequel to The Devil's Elbow, and is an avid reader and an amateur colonial historian. A graduate of Holy Cross, he lives in Central Massachusetts with his wife Barbara and cat Duncan.Find more about him at: www.edlondergan.com


Follow the tour:
Tour Schedule April 11: Black Lion Tours Blog: Tour Kick- Off.April 12: Laurie's non Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews: Interview.April 13: Ky bunny's Blog: Guest Post.April 15: Kimberly Lewis Novels: Guest Post.April 17: Jody's Book Reviews, Giveaways & Tours: Guest PostApril 18: My Devotional Thoughts: Guest Post.April 19: A Writer's Life: Guest Post.April 20: Pure Jonel: Review.April 21: Bookworm Babblings: Review.              A Novel Idea Live: Live Interview.April 22: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest Post               A Novel Idea Live: Promo.April 23: I know that Book: Interview.April 24: The Self Taught Cook: Review.April 25: Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap- Up.

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Tour Stop! "The Devi's Elbow" by Ed Londergan

Today I am hosting Ed Londergan on his virtual book tour for "The Devil's Elbow". Ed is joining us today with a guest post about how to avoid those rejection blues. 
Welcome Ed!
How to Avoid the Rejection BluesLet us start with a basic fact - no one ever said this was going to be easy. Writing and being published is not for the faint of heart. It takes determination, perseverance, and hope. If you give up easily, stop writing now. There are a couple of ways to make sure you do not get too down on yourself. The first is to realize that it will happen. Your writing career will be filled with ups and downs so get used to it. There will be times when you are thrilled because an agent or publisher is handling your book. At other times, you will be discouraged because sales are low or nonexistent. That does not mean you are not a good writer or that people don’t love you. It means you or your publisher have to do more marketing. Writing a book is only a third of the battle; finding an agent or publisher is the second third and getting people to buy it is the last third. Another thing you must realize is that publishing is a business, a for profit business. If an agent does not think a publisher will be interested in your book because it does not have a wide enough audience to have significant sales, then they will not represent you. If they think your book ain’t going to make them any money, they ain’t going to publish it. Prepare yourself for a tidal wave of rejections. It is a fact of the writer’s life. Not everyone likes what you write. Get over it. You have a greater chance of being hit by lighting twice in the same month than you do of being the next blockbuster author with you first book. You may think is too cynical but you have to realize the reality of the situation. Understand that it is all about the numbers: if you query 150 agents (yes, you may have to do that many), you might get 70 or so “thanks for thinking of us but it is not right for us,” emails. You will not hear back from the rest. If they are not interested, they will not take the time to respond. It is a business decision and nothing personal. Taking the time to respond to every query they get would take up a tremendous amount of and makes no financial sense. However, all you need is one agent or publisher who thinks your book is worthwhile. The more rejections you get is an indication of how hard you are willing to work and how strongly you believe in yourself. If you know that you are a good writer, if people tell you that you know how to tell a story, that they did not want to put your book down, then you need to believe in yourself and be  willing to put in as much time and effort as necessary to get published. Never give up no matter many rejections you get. If you believe in yourself, then someone else will too. 




Today we welcome author Ed Londergan and his new work: "The Devil's Elbow" a thrilling historical story.

THE DEVIL'S ELBOW
Quick FactsRelease Date: July, 2012.
Genre: Historical Fiction, history, action/adventure, romance.
Formats Available: Kindle


Book SynopsisSet in colonial Massachusetts, The Devil’s Elbow follows Jack Parker from his orphan childhood days as an apprentice to a greedy and brutal Boston merchant to the isolated pioneer settlement of Brookfield, where he ends up in the fight of his life to protect the people and place he loves.The knowledge Jack’s father gave him, that the measure of a man is how he deals with the worst life can throw at him, the support of the powerful man who becomes his friend, and deep, unshakeable love for the childhood girlfriend who becomes his wife, fuel Jack’s determination and will to survive. All Jack has learned on his eight year journey meets its greatest test when he and ninety-eight others are trapped in a four-room tavern for three hot, humid August days, fighting for survival against 400 once-friendly Indians, who are determined to wipe them out and reclaim their land and way of life.

PRAISE FOR "The Devil's Elbow"

Brings the 1600's Bay Colony alive.
A rousing story about tragedy, triumph, perseverance, and love. Rich in historical detail with well developed characters you will come to know. An enjoyable read from start to finish.- Jeff Lubs- August 9, 2012A very good story: This book is a wonderful read. Mr. Londergan brings history to life. His depiction of life in colonial Massachusetts is right on. It reminded me of Kenneth Roberts classic story "Arundel" but much easier to read. One of the best historical novels of this era. I hope there are many more coming.

Lawrence J. Murphy - February 25, 2013
Excerpts 
Excerpt 1
July 7, 1695

In the following pages, I will tell you a story. I am older now and some of the things I’ll relate happened more than 30 years ago although to me, it seems as if they happened only yesterday. 
While I do not consider myself an accomplished teller of stories, I will do what I can with the abilities I have, so that you will know all that happened and why. And while I do not have what many call a formal education, as mine stopped at the time this story begins, my curiosity and attention to detail has always served me well. 
Certain memories from this time make me smile, and though it was a difficult existence, there were many simple things and many people that brought me great pleasure. We tend to forget details as the year’s progress, and our memories of the good tend to outweigh the bad and I, like all other men, am subject to the same influence. 

Excerpt 2

On many a night, I’ve stood outside watching the stars twinkling and shining in the dark sky. I saw them that night through the window in the west-facing second floor room and the feeling it gave me was altogether different from past times. Instead of a pleasant sight that made me marvel, for I was always fascinated by nature’s displays, I felt a pervading sense of loneliness and despair. There we were, 99 of us, crammed into a hot, stinking house surrounded by hundreds of Indians who wanted to kill us and see us dead. Instead of being just 25 miles from Springfield to the west and Marlboro to the east, we might as well have been hundreds of miles from any civilized place.

LINKS:
AMAZONGOODREADS

The Author Ed Londergan is an author and passionate storyteller who enjoys sharing his work with everyone.He loves to write, is working on a sequel to The Devil's Elbow, and is an avid reader and an amateur colonial historian. A graduate of Holy Cross, he lives in Central Massachusetts with his wife Barbara and cat Duncan.Find more about him at: www.edlondergan.com


Follow the tour:
Tour Schedule April 11: Black Lion Tours Blog: Tour Kick- Off.April 12: Laurie's non Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews: Interview.April 13: Ky bunny's Blog: Guest Post.April 15: Kimberly Lewis Novels: Guest Post.April 17: Jody's Book Reviews, Giveaways & Tours: Guest PostApril 18: My Devotional Thoughts: Guest Post.April 19: A Writer's Life: Guest Post.April 20: Pure Jonel: Review.April 21: Bookworm Babblings: Review.              A Novel Idea Live: Live Interview.April 22: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest Post               A Novel Idea Live: Promo.April 23: I know that Book: Interview.April 24: The Self Taught Cook: Review.April 25: Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap- Up.

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Tour Stop! Karen R. Hardin's Virtual Book Tour

Today I have the pleasure of hosting author Karen R. Hardin during her virtual book tour! Karen is joining us today for an interview and a guest post. Welcome Karen!


Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am Karen R. Hardin and the R stands for Renee. I grew up in Raleigh North Carolina. I enjoy writing, but I absolutely love to dance. I’m an introspective person and observant. I see things somewhat differently than others, yet I see the fluid way that life unfolds. I absolutely adore the nephews and nieces of my life and look forward to the type of love that can make it feel like a joy to become a mother myself. I love the beauty that shows up in life either looking at the sky or scenery or in the eyes of someone full of hope. I’m an author and a screenwriter and I enjoy both a great deal. I can be defiant in a playful way. I still watch Young & The Restless after growing up listening to the women in my family be so into what the characters were doing each day. I learned that one of my greatest audiences would always be women and I love writing strong female character stories, but I’m not limited to any particular story type or genre. Flexibility feels like the spice of life to me and I like to have fun with it.
Let’s talk about your novels, starting with “Loyalty”. What can readers expect to see in this novel?
“Loyalty” is a mafia series. It is intended as the first edition of a trilogy. The story starts with an affair and ends with the lead characters in a war that leaves everyone dead except the child born of the original affair. She carries on for the next two novels creating completely different storylines with the legacies of this first novel. The story has some metaphysical aspects if the reader is a deep reader, but it’s overall an entertaining story of the life of a hit woman deprived of her true identity.  I’ve been told it’s a page turner. It’s a multi-story line of characters who all want to rule over something while dealing with love and family.
What can readers expect to see in your second novel, “Heart Strings and Love Nots”?
“Heart Strings and Love Nots” is very different from “Loyalty”. I played with a new approach to writing using a diary style that blends a year in the life of three women who are best friends with completely different personalities that cause the events to take on completely different perspectives. It has a dry humor to it if the reader isn’t too sensitive or concerned with being polite. The main characters are Reese, the church mouse who doesn’t speak up for herself and gets swindled by love, Dominique the bitchy boss who speaks up too much and accidentally gets tricked into prostitution and Skylar the shallow diva who’s clothing is more together than her life, but has opinions about everything.
When did you first realize you wanted to write?
Writing chose me one night in a dream. I awoke the next day and wrote “Loyalty” by hand. After I published the first version of it, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Learning to write better led me into screenwriting. Somewhere on that journey I realized I was a writer, so I just became it.
What prompted you to take those first steps and start writing?
The desire to see the characters I dreamed of again sparked the urge to write it all down. I didn’t want to forget them. They were very different from the nightmares I was used to.
Do you ever experience the dreaded writer’s block?
No. I experience distractions.
Do you work with an outline, or just write?
I like to just write when it comes to storytelling, but outlines help when it comes to writing treatments or Television show bibles or anything that involves keeping up with details that surround the story itself.
Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
I enjoy writing day or night as long as the story is present.
Do you prefer a laptop, desktop, or good old pen and paper?
I like wireless keyboards for my laptop and I absolutely love to write by pen when I need something to register to my brain in a different way…I also love a good pen…I’m the type to ask if I can have it if I happen across one in the middle of signing something. I may actually have a slight office supply fetish. I also love beautiful dark lined college rule paper. As a little girl I was obsessed with getting a diary with a lock and key, but I didn’t get my first one until I was an adult, and I still haven’t found the perfect one that I can put my whole heart into as a keepsake. 
What is one of the most surprising things you have learned in creating your books?
I learned that inspired writing comes from a similar place that all communicated knowledge comes from and that people have so many names for it all, yet in all of their determining the “facts…no one knows what it is, yet it feels so present with me.
When you write, do you need background noise, or do you prefer absolute quiet?
It depends on my state of being at the time. If I’m unfocused, quiet gets me there, if I’m focused and playful some noise settles that playfulness in me enough to get me going.
Where can your readers connect with you?Please follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/karenrhardinLike me on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-R-Hardin/163422787065946And check for new releases and updates on my website www.KarenRHardin.com I look forward to making some new friends in the process. 
Please enjoy this guest post from Karen:
How do you research for your books?
I am a naturally observant Virgo who was abused in early childhood. The combination of these made me an analytical thinker who hyper visualizes and is aware of life, characteristics, movements, and actions in a self-protective way. This isn’t always helpful for personal relationships, but it allows me to create characters with ease when it comes to storytelling. It allows me to see multiple perspectives and what makes people’s attitudes and moods change. For the majority of my novels and scripts my research was life itself. In the past year I did a lot of online study of what’s going on with people today and I found a lot of judgmental and supernatural thinking and I had almost taken my latest novel “Heart Strings and Love Nots” to a supernatural level as a flip side to the book. The idea was to take the girls into their spiritual life to observe what was moving their lifestyles on a subconscious or spiritual level, but I opted to keep with their natural movements based on their personalities and allow the readers to use their own perspectives to either like or dislike any particular character or their traits. I find that people are more entertained when allowed to use their own perspective as to why a character is doing something or how they would do it differently. People are generally judgmental even when they deny it about themselves. If it is not showing in their words, it shows in their actions and it’s simply gaging right or wrong and reasoning. When it came to my first novel “Loyalty” it was a dream that I wrote the next day by hand because I was so entertained by the characters and I didn’t want to forget their interactions. Usually when I get a concept I just know how the story wants to go and I allow it to flow.


 One author, two stories.Today we welcome Karen R. Hardin author of "Loyalty" and "Heart Strings and Love Nots"
Check her work and follow her tour.You'll find interviews, guest posts and reviews.Don't miss it!


Quick Facts                                        

Loyalty:
Release Date: November 22, 2011                                        
Genre: Fantasy - Mafia                                           
                                                            


Loyalty:A mob story on the surface, but a metaphysical saga deeper within the pages, "Loyalty" begins when the power struggles between Mobsters and Gangsters of Chicago's underworld are forever changed by an affair between Italian mob boss, Frank Cipriano, and the wife of African American gangster, Jonathan Casey. When Anna gives birth to Frank's daughter, Jasmine, the Cipriano and Casey family ties bind Chicago's underworld for generations to come. Through tragedies and triumphs, loyalties are constantly questioned, but more so when Jasmine grows into a deadly beauty. As a hit woman for the Cipriano family, but with siblings ties to the Casey family, Jasmine is torn until the very end. Readers seeking a deeper challenge in their reading experience can take the metaphysical challenge of reading this money power trilogy as a novel that takes your mind as far as you will allow it to go.
                                                                                                                      Get it HERE.
Quick FactsHeart Strings and Love Nots:Release Date: October 25, 2012Genre: Romantic Comedy.


Heart Strings and Love Nots:Three diaries in one novel, “Heart Strings and Love Nots” is a comical drama of the heart-breaking yet life affirming love stories of three women. With different personalities the unlikely trio of best-friends are the perfect voices of reason for one another as the bossy bitch, Dominique, judgmental diva, Skylar and freaky church mouse, Reese, take readers on a journey of illicit affairs, strange religion, accidental prostitution all the way to marriage and motherhood.

Get it  HERE.

The Author
Karen R. Hardin has been hailed as a creative genius. With an imagination that developed from the sheer need to escape childhood abuse, her cultivation of higher consciousness at a young age brought forth unparalleled and unmatched artistry. She's turned out multiple scripts for indie film producers. One such script was written in a 24 hour period and helped to initiate the start of Derrty Entertainment's spinoff company UCME Films. Karen began her writing career with a dream that brought forth her first novel “Loyalty”, an epic mafia story. In 2012 Karen released a second novel “Heart Strings and Love Nots” with an eclectic take on novel writing, she created a southern sex in the city that blends three character diaries with perspectives based on some of the strongest stereotypical perspectives associated with women.
CONNECT WITH KAREN:
FACEBOOKTWITTERWEBSITE



Check these Excerpts:



Loyalty:

Chapter 1It was a quiet Sunday afternoon when Anna Casey made her first visit to the Cipriano mansion. She was less than pleased to see her sister wearing a food stained apron when she greeted her at the door. Thoughts of a mausoleum crossed her mind as she was led through the foyer into the kitchen. Immediately hit by the warmth of boiling pots and multiple hot ovens, Anna removed her sunglasses. She placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot as if she were demanding an explanation.Abigail Williams pulled a large trash can to the middle of the kitchen floor and placed two stools on opposing sides. She watched her sister, Anna, become increasingly agitated at the sight of her older sibling working as a servant. Anna folded her arms and smacked her lips trying to provoke Abigail into allowing her to speak her mind. She only got silent glances in return. Abigail opened two sacks of potatoes and took two paring knives from the drawer. She laid one on the counter in front of Anna and took a seat, “If you want to talk, you have to work.”Certain this would be the only invitation to speak up, Anna took the knife, “I don’t understand why you want to be some white man's maid,” she paused for a reaction, but Abigail only gave another disapproving glance as she peeled potatoes with the speed of a pro. “Humph, you can be my maid, at least we're family,” Anna took her seat and leaned over the trash can with potato and knife in hand. “Jonathan has plenty of money. We can take care of you. You really don't have to work at all.”Abigail found herself in deep thought as she watched her sister mishandling the potato like only a housewife with a maid would. Anna paused and sighed heavily to make way for another comment, but Abigail cut her off, “I do not want to live off my little sister and her crooked husband.”“Wait a minute now” Anna carelessly flung her knife side to side talking with her hands, “John is no more crooked than your boss, and when I say boss I mean Boss.”“Be careful with that knife!”“Girl, you know you working for the Mob.”“This family has been good to me.”“But they’re not your family and this is not home.”“I have my own quarters, and when I finish my work, it's just like going home. I’m happy here, besides Rosa really needs me.”“Lord, my sister has quarters,” Anna threw her hands up in a fake moment of praise. “You went from head nurse to babysitting a mental case all because you felt sorry for her. And calling her Rosa like she’s your friend?”“She is.”“No. If she was your friend somebody else would be peeling these damn potatoes, and you’d be out shopping with her.”“Anna, she’s been through a lot, and she needs someone to care for her,” Abigail put down her potato and knife to turn off the ovens and lower the heat on the boiling pots. She poured pasta into the strainer, removed two pies, a pot roast and a cake from the ovens without breaking a sweat. Then took her seat and picked up another potato.“That’s what her husband is for,” Anna continued to reason, “but I guess he’s too busy taking care of people for real, if you know what I mean.”“Mr. Cipriano is a good man. You shouldn’t believe all the rumors you hear about him”“Mr. Cipriano, humph, you mean The Don,” Anna chuckled at her own wit, “or The Godfather.”“And what is John but a street punk turned so called gangster?”“Wait a minute now, John is a good man. He provides and cares for his family. He takes good care of us. He would take care of you too if you’d come live with us where you belong.”A devout Christian, Abigail had chosen a life of hard work and taking care of others including Anna, who never had to work a day in her life. As a spoiled housewife with a “take care of your own” attitude, Anna was often at odds with her older sibling.At first glance no one would think they were associates let alone sisters. Abigail’s homely appearance and serious demeanor toned down her beauty leaving her in the shadowed of Anna’s gregarious nature and flamboyant style. They shared the same features and long wavy hair, but Abigail’s dark almond skin made her an exotic beauty that Anna’s fair complexion and cat like eyes could have easily paled in comparison to.With her hair locked away in a tight bun and her hazel green eyes hidden behind black rimmed reading glasses, Abigail was easily overlooked. Anna, on the other hand, tossed her wavy locks and batted her long eyelashes every chance she got. The attention seeking beauty made men stop in their tracks.“Give me that,” Abigail quickly removed the knife from Anna’s wailing hand before it accidentally became a deadly weapon. “I don't need to be taken care of. Besides, if both of us were living with Jonathan, where would you run when he's being a tyrant?”Anna’s composure quickly changed from self assured offender to insecure defendant. She looked Abigail in the eye and confessed, “Abby, tyrant isn’t the word…lately he’s just been absent,” she exhaled with relief now that they were getting to the true topic at hand, her. She paused in deep thought then proceeded to seek counsel, “Don’t get me wrong, I love him, but-”

Heart Strings and Love Nots

Reese"I can't feel my legs," Dominique moaned and groaned.She had a nerve!!It was 10:00 p.m., something below zero on New Year’s Eve and there I was freezing my butt off in front of a shady night club surrounded by corn fields. The line wasn’t moving at all. I was pissed!I cut my eyes to my right glaring at my best friend, Dominique. It was her bright idea to bring in the New Year at a night club in the middle of nowhere. On the other side of Dom was our other best friend, Skylar, looking just as frustrated as I was. This was not how I was supposed to bring in the New Year.My mind drifted to the midnight watch service I was missing at Church. I wondered how many people noticed my absence, particularly if Pastor Terry had since his last sermon was all about how Christians should bring in the New Year praising God… not the D.J. He speculated that some of our members would be doing just what I was doing, “standing in line at a night club, checking our watches, and praying that we make it in before midnight as if our Savior was waiting inside”.If Pastor Terry didn’t notice I was M.I.A, certainly my mother and grandmother did. They were probably urging him to put me in his next sermon…they always had suggestions on what he should preach about. I started working through my alibi in my head, trying to figure out how not to lie without telling the truth. But it was a no win situation. My grandmother would just ask random but direct questions that require direct answers and my mother would make wild accusations until their combined forces made me confess."It's too freakin’ cold to be out here," Skylar’s grumblings broke my concentration."We should just go," I suggested as soon as I saw my window of opportunity to get Skylar to talk Dominique into leaving, "There's no way we're getting in, and I don't want to bring in the New Year standing in line," I thought I made perfectly good sense, but from the look on Dominique's face, I was speaking gibberish…I knew I should’ve driven my car.“Check him out,” ignoring me, Dominique turned to Skylar and pointed to a very unattractive man sitting in a really nice car, “Boss,” she smiled.“I doubted it,” Skylar frowned, “more like perpetrator.”That’s when I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. Dominique had just regressed to her early twenties and took Skylar with her. So, I made the most of the situation and began to pray for the lost souls in the parking lot like a mature Christian would. When I felt the Spirit move upon me…I knew I was doing the right thing. With my eyes closed and my thoughts pressed towards God, I blocked out the noise around me. It wasn’t easy with the overlapping secular music and all the random conversations seasoned with unnecessary cuss words. Everyone around me was restless and I had hell’s noise to contend with, but with the Lord’s help I was able to bow my head in a moment of silent prayer.“Damn…you embarrassing!!” Dominique’s outburst instantly broke my connection to Heaven. “You not in Church,” she snapped, “Christians ain’t even supposed to celebrate a New Year, it’s a pagan ritual,” she couldn’t resist adding some of her faithless facts.“Leave her alone,” Skylar defended my right to be openly Christian.I didn’t say a word to Dominique. I didn’t have to. The Bible tells us not to cast our pearls before swine…meaning don’t argue the Word of God with nonbelievers and Dominique had to be the biggest swine of them all. She was always ready to challenge any Christian with the truth as she knew it.  She was really good at twisting things around. If I told her I’m saved by my faith, she’d tell me that the Bible says to worship God in truth, and go on to explain how Christians act more like Pagans…especially at Christmas. I had yet to figure out how to explain my faith as being the truth, but deep down inside, I knew that it was.

FOLLOW HER TOUR:Tour Schedule April 10: Black Lion Tours Blog: Tour Kick Off.April 11:  Bunny's Reviews Blog: Guest Post.April 12: Mythical Books: Interview              Kimberly Lewis Novels: Guest Post and Interview.April 13: My Devotional Thoughts: Interview.April 14: Fandom Fanatic: Guest Post               A Novel idea Live: Live Interview.April 15: Laurie's non Paranormal Thoughts and reviews: Interview.            A Novel Idea Live: Promo.April 16: Jody's Book Reviews: Guest Post.April 18: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest PostApril 20: I Know that Book: Guest Post.April 22: Pure Jonel: Review of Both books and Guest Post.April 24: Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap-Up.


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Things About Me #2

Each week "I Am A Reader, Not A Writer" hosts a blog hop titled "Know Me Better". If you'd like to join in the hop visit this link--http://www.iamareader.com/2013/04/know-me-better-46.html--and sign up! This week's questions...

What is your favorite flavor of jelly beans? I honestly don't like jelly beans so I don't have a favorite flavor. What size shoe do you wear? "Well, in a good shoe I wear a size six, but a seven feels so good I buy a size eight." Name that movie :) Oh, and it honestly depends on the shoe but I'm anywhere between an eight and a nine. What is your favorite cereal? It's a toss up between Kelloggs Raisin Bran or Frosted Flakes. Have you ever cut your own hair? Yes..... Do you sing in the shower? Of course!

Introducing Christine S. Feldman!

Today is my pleasure to introduce new author Christine S. Feldman! Christine is joining us today to tell us a little bit about herself and her very first published novel, Coming Home. Please join me in welcoming her!


Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?Sure!  I’m an avid reader and writer, and I enjoy doing both in multiple genres.  I’ve been doing some screenwriting, too, and I’m thrilled to say that over the past year I’ve been fortunate enough to place in—and even win—a few screenwriting competitions around the country.  I’m married to a wonderful man (we met through a ballroom dancing class), and we’re just getting started on putting in this year’s vegetable garden.
When did you first realize you wanted to write?I’ve always enjoyed writing, even when I was a young kid of about six or seven.  It started with short stories based on my favorite book characters (the Black Stallion featured prominently in most of them) and moved on from there.
You recently had your first novel published by Crimson Romance—Congrats! Can you tell us all about your newest release?Well, it’s a contemporary romance that has to do with first loves, unrequited love, and friends-turning-into-lovers.  How’s that for packing a lot into one little ol’ book?  The heroine, Callie, returns to her hometown after years of being away and encounters the man for whom she carried a torch during her teenage years:  her older brother’s best friend, Danny.  She never told him how she felt about him then, but now old feelings rekindle, and Danny begins to see her in a whole new light.  Callie has some unresolved issues from her past, though, that complicate things and threaten her budding relationship with Danny.
From where did you get the inspiration/idea to write this story?Friends-to-lovers has just always been a favorite of mine (blame John Hughes and movies like Some Kind of Wonderful, I suppose…).  I like the idea of two people who share a lot of history together even before the romance blossoms because I think it makes for a rich connection.
Do you work with an outline, or just write?I use an outline because I like to know where I’m going and to feel confident that there really is enough story to get me there.  I start with a very general overview that just includes the biggest plot points and then go back and flesh it out further.  I usually do that a few times, and each time the outline gets more detailed and things just seem to fall into their natural places.  But if I’m in the middle of the story and something seems like it needs to veer off course, then I don’t let the outline hold me hostage.
Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?I’d say the biggest challenge was actually persevering with getting the writing done.  Can’t publish anything if it isn’t written!  For a long time I let life get in the way and told myself that I’d write when I had more time, but then I finally realized that if I didn’t find a way to carve out time for writing, it would never happen.  So I used evenings and weekends over the past few years to write, and it feels wonderful to have writing be a regular part of my life again.Of course, once I had a couple of manuscripts written, then I had to learn to be patient (some publishers take a LONG time to get back to you because they’re so swamped with submissions), and I had to learn that rejection is a natural part of the process and shouldn’t make you give up.  Chocolate and ice cream did a lot to see me through that part.
Will you have a new book coming out soon? If so, what is it about?Crimson Romance just accepted a second manuscript tentatively titled The Bargain.  The release date hasn’t been set yet, but here’s a brief synopsis from my website:An awkward wallflower pursues her former high school crush by enlisting an unlikely ally–his estranged ne’er-do-well brother–in a wary bargain that ends up transforming them both.  Shannon Mahoney is a lot more comfortable with power tools than she is with high heels or lipstick, and she often wishes she could reinvent herself and finally tell her perfect boss that she has had a crush on him since high school.  But when his ladykiller older brother Michael returns to town–a former bad boy looking for redemption–Shannon starts to realize that maybe love isn’t about reinventing yourself after all.  It’s about finding your perfect match.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?Read, do most any kind of ballroom dancing, garden, play with my beagle, play with my husband… ;-)
What kind of films do you enjoy?I like a little of most everything:  comedy, romance, drama, family, action-adventure, classics (I love Cary Grant)…Most recently I’ve enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook and The Hobbit.  I’m really looking forward to the next Hunger Games movie, too.  I love movies with a strong heroine.
What kind of music do you listen to?Ooo, that depends on my mood, I guess.  Sometimes I like to listen to classical works, like Bach, but sometimes I feel like I could use some good old Southern rock, like Lynyrd Skynyrd.  I love to dance to Latin music, and I have to say that I’m a sucker for anything Celtic.  I’ve lost count of the number of CDs I own with the word “Celtic” in the title.
What is your all time favorite book?The Lord of the Rings.  
Do you have any writing quirks?Only if you count stressing over whether to continue editing as I go or to knock it off already and just finish the first draft so I can go back and edit it when it’s actually DONE.  I like to think my tightly-wound nature is part of my charm.
Describe yourself in five words.Well, I already used tightly-wound so…creative, homebody (it’s true, I don’t get out much), natural, tenacious, quirky.  How’s that?
Where can your readers stalk you?Well, I live at—oh, wait.  You meant cyberstalk, didn’t you?  I would love to get reader feedback at my website http://christinesfeldman.com and I’m building an author page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ChristineSFeldman so I would love to hear from folks there.
About the Book: No woman ever really forgets her first love. Callie Sorenson is no exception. Hers was tall, tanned, and—as her older brother’s best friend—completely off limits.Danny McCutcheon.It’s a name that Callie hasn’t spoken in years, even if the man to whom it belongs has never really been all that far from her thoughts. Or her heart. But now a twist of fate will bring her back to the childhood home she left behind years ago, and to the hometown boy for whom she secretly longed.When her mother takes a bad fall and breaks her hip, Callie leaves the bright lights of New York City to fly back west and help with the rehabilitation. It’s a tense homecoming due to a long time estrangement between mother and daughter, and it drives Callie to confront both a painful personal loss and her unanswered questions about the father who abandoned her when she was just a child.It also brings her face to face with Danny again, and Callie quickly realizes that old feelings die hard.But for Danny, it’s new feelings that are a problem. Callie is not the young girl he remembers but a woman now, and a very desirable one. They both have reasons to fight the growing attraction between them, but the temptation may just prove to be too much to resist, despite some very real risk to their hearts. The past casts a long shadow over the future, though, and Callie will have to overcome it or else face losing the one man who means the most to her.
About the Author:
Christine S. Feldman writes both novels and feature-length screenplays, and she has placed in screenwriting competitions on both coasts.  She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her ballroom-dancing husband and their beagle.  Visit her at http://christinesfeldman.com or say hello on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ChristineSFeldman.

Tour Stop! "January Justice" by Athol Dickson

Today it's my pleasure to host author Athol Dickson during his tour for January Justice! Athol is joining us today with a guest post on his Top 10 Rules Murder Mystery Rules. Enjoy!
The Top Ten Murder Mystery Rules SOME RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN. Others are broken at our peril. And still others are made to create peril, delicious, lovely peril for the victim in a good old fashioned murder mystery. With that goal in mind, for your consideration I hereby present my Top Ten Murder Mystery Rules. Mystery authors should feel free to stretch them to the breaking point, but do bear in mind that most of the great murder mystery novels abide by them all, and for good reason. They work.1. There must be at least one murder, or else good reason to believe a murder has been, or will be, committed.2. The murderer’s identity must be unknown to the reader. If the murderer’s identity is unknown to the protagonist but known to the reader, the book is a suspense or thriller novel, not a murder mystery.3. The murderer may not be identified through a character’s psychic powers, or through magic, or through time travel, or a futuristic machine. In such cases, the book is some form of speculative fiction, not a murder mystery.4. The murderer and the motive for the murder must be clearly identified in the novel, preferably at the end.5. While the murderer may be insane, the reason for the murder must be understandable.6. The protagonist may have companions who assist with the investigation, however the ultimate solution must be discovered or deduced by the protagonist.7. The protagonist must be in immediate danger as a result of the investigation, or else responsible for saving or defending another character who is in immediate danger.8. The act of murder must be consistent with the murderer’s personality and abilities.9. The murderer must be a human being. If the murderer is an alien, a ghost, or a monster, it is science fiction or a horror novel, not a murder mystery.10. All clues used by the protagonist to solve the murder must be revealed to the reader and the protagonist simultaneously. 






Today we welcome author ATHOL DICKSON and another of his great books.If you like suspense, you can't miss this one!


January Justice (The Malcolm Cutter Memoirs #1)
QUICK FACTS:
Release Date: November 29th, 2012.
Genre: Murder Mystery.
Formats Available for Purchase: Paperback, Kindle, PDF

    The book is PG 13. Very little sex and nothing explicit in any way. There is some violence but again nothing graphic: gun shots, etc…


Synopsis: 



Reeling from his wife’s unsolved murder, Malcolm Cutter is just going through the motions as a chauffeur and bodyguard for Hollywood’s rich and famous.

Then a pair of Guatemalan tough guys offer him a job. It’s an open question whether they’re patriotic revolutionaries or vicious terrorists. Either way, Cutter doesn’t much care until he gets a bomb through his window, a gangland beating on the streets of L.A., and three bullets in the chest.
Now there’s another murder on Cutter’s Mind.
His own.

PRAISE FOR "JANUARY JUSTICE"
I was looking forward to reading this book especially when I discovered the author was returning to the mystery thriller genre. No one can weave a story, create real live characters and make someone enjoy the English language as much as Athol Dickson can. From page one I was hooked. The story was intense and deep. The plot was complex but I never felt lost. We stayed right with the main character Malcolm Cutter as he deals with his wife's death, re-cooperates from a near death experience and tries to get his life back together while undergoing a deep international plot to clear a terrorist organization of wrong-doing.Never before in a book have I ever become so well-acquainted with a person who was never in the book but only mentioned in a past tense. It could only have been pulled off by an author that understands human nature and how we think deep inside.- Steve Taylor-
  
GOODREADS   AMAZON

ExcerptChapter 48:One of the strangest things about the city was the sudden way it disappeared around the edges. One minute you were down on Sunset Boulevard surrounded by glass and concrete, and the next thing you knew you were up on Mulholland Drive, alone in the rough country. From a high window or a rooftop almost anywhere in Los Angeles you could see the mountains, and there was always something ravenous up there looking down.I was up among the hungry creatures, standing at the edge of a cliff, with Hollywood and Santa Monica far below me in the distance. One step forward and I would be in midair. I was looking down and wondering if Haley had considered how suddenly you could go from city to wilderness. Then I wondered if it was a distinction without a difference, if the city might be the wilderness and the wilderness the city, and maybe Los Angeles’s edges seemed to disappear so suddenly because there really was no separation between sidewalks and mountain paths, buildings and boulders. Up in the mountains or down in the city, either way the carnivores were in control.
I imagined Haley, out of her mind, running full speed off the cliff. I wondered what it had been like, that final second or two before she hit. Had she realized what was happening? Did she recognize the city lights below for what they were, or did she really think she was flying toward the stars? And did she think of me?
Stepping closer to the edge, I slid the toes of my shoes into the air. I looked down two hundred feet, toward the spot where she had broken on the rocks. I stood one inch from eternity and tried to imagine life without her. I could not summon up a single reason why I shouldn’t take that final step, except for one. I thought about the kind of animal who would drive someone to do what my wife had done. Predators like that were everywhere. I should know. I had trained for half my life to be one of them. I was hungry, looking down on the city. If I was going to live, the hunger would have to be enough, for now. But I would sink my teeth into him, sooner or later. I would do that for Haley, and for myself, and then maybe it would be my turn to see if I could fly.
I stepped back from the edge. – Chapter 1I paused to look at Simon and Teru, wishing there were some way to avoid it. I said, “The village we went back to on that second day was Laui Kalay.”
Neither of them reacted at first.
Then Teru said, “Oh no.”
Simon rose and carried his teacup to a sink. I watched as he carefully washed out the cup with a soapy cloth. He rinsed the cup, then placed it on a wooden rack beside the sink. When that was done, he didn’t return to the table. He stood still, looking down into the sink.
Teru said, “You were there? When they cut off all those fingers and knocked out all those teeth? You were really there?”
I said, “The court-martial found me guilty.”
“But I remember that video like it was yesterday. That marine with the knife, chopping off the corpses’ fingers for their rings. The others breaking out dead people’s teeth for gold. All those marines cracking jokes. They must have showed it a thousand times on television.” Teru looked at me. “You weren’t in it.”
Still staring down into the sink, Simon said, “If memory serves, the sergeant in command was convicted of filming the unpleasantness with his cell phone, so of course he was not shown in the video.”
“Holy mother of God,” said Teru. “You’re that guy?” – Chapter 8Olivia screamed again, and a vision overwhelmed my thoughts. Suddenly, instead of the shack with its glowing window, I saw Haley’s face contorted with terror in the darkness up above, Haley screaming at a mirror on the wall in her trailer, Haley screaming that she saw Satan, Haley screaming out for Jesus as she slammed her fists against the mirror, breaking it, bloodying her hands and yet slamming on and on. I heard the screams and saw Haley in her final moments and knew that what I saw wasn’t a madman’s fantasy but was instead my true and final memory of our last moments together.
I shook my head. I wiped rain from my eyes. I told myself to think of what was noble, good, and true. The vision faded, but the screams remained. I had to stop the screams this time. I started up the trail, and with my first step out into the open, a strange sense of peace descended. This was what I had been created to do. This was who I was and who I would continue to be in whatever time was left to me without Haley. It wasn’t about a death wish. On the contrary, life at last had regained meaning, even if the end of life was imminent. Climbing that path, knowing bullets might slam into me at any instant, I was happy for the first time since I lost my wife. I still had a purpose, after all. I was useful. It felt like I was going home. 




The AuthorA master of profound suspense. Athol Dickson's mystery, suspense, and literary novels have won three Christy Awards and an Audie Award. Suspense fans who enjoyed Athol's They Shall See God will love his latest novel, January Justice, the first installment in a new mystery series called The Malcolm Cutter Memoirs. The second and third novels in the series, Free Fall in February, and A March Murder, are coming in 2013.Critics have favorably compared Athol's work to such diverse authors as Octavia Butler (Publisher's Weekly), Hermann Hesse (The New York Journal of Books) and Flannery O'Connor (The New York Times). Athol lives with his wife in southern California.Find more about Athol Dickson at: http://www.atholdickson.com




FOLLOW THE TOUR:
Tour Schedule First Part of the tour:March 18: Black Lion Tour Blog: Introduction.March 19: Cheryl's Book Nook: Guest Post.
March 20: Tina's Book Reviews: Guest Post.                 Lindsay's Scribblings: Guest Post.
March 22: A Writer's Life: Caroline Clemmons: Guest Post
March 23: Laurie's Non Paranormal thoughts and Reviews: Interview.
March 24: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest PostMarch 26: I know that Book: Interview
March 27: My Devotional Thoughts: Review.
March 28: MK McClintock Blog: InterviewSecond Part of the tour: April 3: Deal Sharing Aunt: Review.
April 4: Libby's Library: Review.
April 6: Books, Books the Magical Fruit: Guest Post.
April 7: Kimberly Lewis Blog: Guest Post.April 9: Marketing Cafe': Guest PostApril 12: Pure Jonel Blog: Review and Guest Post.April 13: Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer: Guest Post.April 14: BK Walker Books Etc.: InterviewApril 15: Bookworm Babblings: Review.April 16: Bunny Reviews: Guest Post.April 17: Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap- Up.
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Tour Stop! "Vain" by Jilly Hughey

Today it's my pleasure to host author Jill Hughey on her tour for Vain! Jill is joining us with a guest post about her writing habits. Enjoy!


A Guest Post from Jill Hughey
Thanks for having me at your blog today! I’ve just released my fourth historical romance. After four long books, you’d think I’d have broken all my bad writing habits, but, alas, I still have a few that I will tell you about right after I give you my short blurb. The book is called Vain. In it, a tailor’s abandoned daughter fashions a vain nobleman’s tunic, finding passion between the neckline and hem as misfortune forces her into his precarious aristocratic world.Now, on to my bad writing habits:
1.                          Writing scenes out of order. When I began my first novel a decade ago, I wrote the scenes I was most excited about first. I’ve learned it is not always easy to cobble a book together with all those randomly generated scenes, so I don’t let myself do that any more, though I still tend to write one or two of the pivotal moments. They give me the goal I am writing toward – this is where these characters are going.2.                          Snacking. Sitting at the computer for hours on end requires oral stimulation. Coffee and carbs. I’ve gotten to the point that I try to limit myself to certain times of the day I am allowed to get something, and otherwise I stick to water. If I ever become successful enough to be a full-time writer, I will probably gain fifty pounds. Right now, even as I write this, I am talking myself out of a horribly sugary General Foods International Coffee.3.                          Lack of commas. I wish I had counted the number of commas my editor added to Vain.There must have been a thousand.4.                          Overuse of “but.” I tend to make sentences more complex than they need to be.5.                          Oblivion. If I have something else I need to do on a writing day, I’d better do it first. Once I start writing, the time flies. Suddenly it is 5 o’clock, I have kids to pick up at practice and no dinner started.
There you have it. The bad and ugly side of my writing life! I hope you’ll check out my new book Vainat Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, or most other online vendors. You can visit me on my blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter @jillhughey.Thanks for letting me visit today.


Today we welcome author Jill Hughey and her book "VAIN". An amazing  historical romance set in Charlemagne's empire in the 830s. And the third instalment in the "Evolution Series"


Book Synopsis Lily had her life planned, neat and tidy as thread on a spindle, until her mother died and her father snipped at the seams of her future by abandoning Lily in their shop. A nobleman unexpectedly gives her hope when he brings fabric for a special garment. Lily survives on his first payment, and immerses herself in sewing and embroidering an incomparable garment for him, as her tidy plan continues to unravel.Theophilus, Lord of Ribeauville, takes his responsibility to his townspeople seriously and, therefore, does not dally with local women. Desire wars with duty when Lily glances up at him while adjusting the hem on his Easter tunic. As her deteriorating circumstances push them together, Theo and Lily learn that the path to his heart just might be through his wardrobe, though the exquisite outfit she creates is the only part of her that fits in his precarious aristocratic world.

PRAISES FOR "VAIN":It seems to me that the first review usually gives a synopsis, but that is not my style.

After getting the first book in The Evolution Series, Unbidden, for free when it was offered, I immediately bought, and loved, the next two. The entire series is excellent, but this is the best (however, much more enjoyable if you read the first book that laid the foundation for Theo's character.)
The characters were so rich and believable in this book, one of the best aspects of Jill Hughey's books. They struggle, they learn lessons, and of course are perfect for each other and fall in love.
This book made me laugh out loud several times. It lacks the violent aspects of the first two books but is oh so fitting for Theo, who while being a warrior is more of a politician and aristocrat. This book will also shock you. Theo can be a genuine bastard at times. It can also touch your heart, engage your sympathies and be uplifted.
The historical references are superb, the pacing wonderful, with perfect attention paid to foreshadowing, plot turns and human growth.
I love it! I have no idea how this author has remained independent, the publishing world is missing out on one of it's greatest diamonds. 
- M. Palmer (Amazon)-

Quick FactsRelease Date: March 14, 2013.
Genre: Romance, historical, medievalFormats: Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, iTunes, Kobo

GET IT HERE:
AMAZON SMASHWORDS KOBO

ExcerptLily did not know what had changed. For just a moment, her lord had appeared angry, and now he jerked at the tunic like it did not fit properly when, in fact, she had done admirably well. “Please, my lord,” she interjected when the pins and threads tacking the tops of the shoulder became visible between the pieces of fabric. “You do not have to decide now. You also do not have to destroy it. I will fix whatever has displeased you.”He froze. His hazel eyes, heated instead of droopy with kindness, flicked onto her. “Will you?”
She retreated another step, unsure of his meaning. The distrust on his face oddly combined with sudden, intense interest. This fitting had become very strange. Her insides had sparkled when she touched him. Could he have sensed that? “My lord, if you are satisfied with the general fit, I will have plenty of work to do. You can decide about the sleeves and hem another day.”
He straightened, finally letting the hem drop, but kept his narrowed eyes on her. “I like the sleeve where you have it. I am undecided on the hem,” he finally intoned with careful enunciation.
She lifted her hand to indicate his arm. “Can I just mark it, sir? The roll will come undone when you take the tunic off.” His eyes narrowed even further. He nodded curtly. She scurried to find her chalk and made one quick streak of white on the sleeve. “Should I help you?” she asked, trying to recover their professional manner of dealing with one another.
“No. Wait outside while I change,” he ordered.
Oh, dear. She rushed out the door, flustered. What had happened? Everything had been fine until she’d begun making adjustments to his hem. That had felt horribly awkward to her. Had it bothered him too? She had been trying to do her job briskly, just as her father had always done. Maybe a man did not mind another man touching his hem but very much minded a woman doing so. Lily sighed, pressing her back against the wall, then resting her head there, as well. Even though she occupied the same world she always had, every day brought unforeseen and unfamiliar questions and challenges. She did her best to guess and fool her way through it all. In truth, the only time she felt comfortable in her own skin was when she worked on the lord’s tunic. Or at least she felt comfortable when her lord was not in the tunic as she worked on it.
She sighed. If only her father had returned. He would have that hem rolled and marked in a thrice. He would explain Riculf. He would talk to Cluny and set her life on the right course again.
Her lord emerged, once again smartly attired in the green tunic and mantle she had sewn last spring about this time. He did not know she had sewn it. Her father had done the fitting. She had made every cut and stitch. “Father is never coming back, is he?” she blurted.
The question did not surprise him. He stood straight and proud and confident in his own comfortable life. “Not soon enough,” he said.
At first she did not understand the answer. Then it clicked. Not soon enough to help you. Not soon enough to manage Riculf or Cluny. Not soon enough to return you to normalcy or even respectability. “He lives with a woman?” she asked, eager to familiarize herself with all the ugliness at once.
Her lord cursed softly under his breath. “Yes. He misses your mother desperately.”
Her hand flew up, and she pressed the back of it to her mouth, stifling an unwanted sob of distress. She turned away to compose herself. “It must be very difficult for him,” she observed with the feeling of seeing things from a great distance.
“I did try, Lily. I reminded him of his duty to you. I reminded him of your mother. I tried every argument.”
Unwarranted resentment boiled up in her. Who was this Theophilus to involve himself in her life? Why should she feel gratitude when he stood so calmly to tell her how bad things were? Why should he be allowed to make her uncomfortable in her own shop? How dare he? She bit the inside of her cheek against the angry, unfair slander she wished to shout at him. “Thank you, my lord,” she gritted as meekly as she could manage. “I appreciate your efforts today. I am sure you have pleasanter plans for tomorrow. Now, I must continue my work.”
She forced herself stiffly through the door. She did not close it until she heard her lord’s retreating footsteps. The tunic waited, lovingly spread on the worktable. Her strange, quick anger receded, replaced with the more sane and familiar despair. Her fingertip traced across the slightly overlarge shoulder to the clever neckline. This neckline was the only perfect thing left in the entire world, as near as she could tell. Tonight, she would rework the shoulders. Tomorrow, she would sew the pleats and join the body pieces and sleeves. Soon, she promised herself, she would make tiny invisible stitches around this neckline, and that would be one right thing. And she must consider the embroidery. She must devote some time to the pattern.
Blessedly immersed in her work, she did not let herself think about Father anymore.

The Author Jill Hughey has loved historical romance since sneaking peeks at her mother’s library years ago. She has enjoyed writing just as long.  She prides herself on deep character development, and settings that take her readers on long, satisfying journeys to places they have probably never been in a book before.Jill lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons. Her hobby is singing lessons, in which she studies classical soprano and some lighthearted works.Learn more about the author at: http://jillhughey.blogspot.com

GIVEAWAY:
Tour Wide Giveaways:

Prizes:


3 winners: - Paperback Copy (U.S only)                 - E-copy (International)                 - $15 Amazon Gift Card (U.S/International)


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CHECK HER TOUR!
Tour Schedule 
April 2: Black Lion Tour Blog: Introduction.April 3: Laurie's Non Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews: Interview.April 4: Love in a Book: Review and Top Ten List.April 5: A Writer's Life: Caroline Clemmons: Interview.             Kimberly Lewis Blog: Guest Post.April 6: Bunny's Reviews Blog: Guest Post.April 7: A Novel Idea Live: Live Interview.April 8: Deal Sharing Aunt: Review and Guest Post.              A Novel Idea Live Blog : PromoApril 12: My Devotional Thoughts: Review and Guest Post. April 13: Tina's Book Reviews: Guest Post. April 15: Pure Jonel: Review and Guest Post. April 16: A Book Lover's Library: Guest Post. April 17: Black Lion Tour Blog: Wrap-up.

Tour Stop! "Ice Country" by David Estes

Ice Country (The Country Saga #2)
by David Estes.
Book Synopsis
Dazz, a hard-edged, fun-loving Icer, likes fighting, particularly while at his favorite watering hole. However, while recovering from a particularly bad break up, his decision to engage in a brutal pubroom brawl leads to a series of events that thrust him into a dark and mysterious scandal involving King Goff, the ice country ruler.When his seven-year-old sister is abducted in the dark of night, Dazz pledges to do whatever it takes to get her back, embarking on a quest that threatens to rip apart the very fabric that's barely holding his shattered family together.
Along the way he meets a group of unlikely allies in the form of a travelling group of fire country natives. Can Dazz, when joined with his best friend, Buff, and new tan-skinned friends, defeat the King and his guards before it's too late for his sister?





PRAISE FOR "ICE COUNTRY":
-"5 stars! David Estes creates captivating and original worlds that you love to get lost in!" Alexandria Theodosopoulos- Goodreads
-"Richly filled with new characters and story without leaving the old behind...a seamless transition into another side of a fantastic world." Kerri Hughes- Goodreads




Quick FactsRelease Date: April 4th,2013.

Genre: YA Dystopian.
Formats Available for Purchase: Paperback (only at Amazon) Kindle, epub and Smashwords.



ExcerptIt all starts with a girl. Nay, more like a witch. An evil witch, disguised as a young seventeen-year-old princess, complete with a cute button nose, full red lips, long dark eyelashes, and deep, mesmerizing baby blues. Not a real, magic-wielding witch, but a witch just the same.
Oh yah, and a really good throwing arm. “Get out!” she screams, flinging yet another ceramic vase in my general direction.
I duck and it rebounds off the wall, not shattering until it hits the shiny marble floor. Thousands of vase-crumbles crunch under my feet as I scramble for the door. I fling it open and slip through, slamming it hard behind me. Just in time, too, as I hear the thud of something heavy on the other side. Evidently she’s taken to throwing something new, maybe boots or perhaps herself.
Luckily, her father’s not home, or he’d probably be throwing things too. After all, he warned his daughter about Brown District boys.
Taking a deep breath, I cringe as a spout of obscenities shrieks through the painted-red door and whirls around my head, stinging me in a dozen places. You’d think I was the one who ran around with a four-toed eighteen-year-old womanizer named LaRoy. (That’s LaRoy with a “La”, as he likes to say.) As it turns out, I think LaRoy has softer hands than she does.
As I slink away from the witch’s upscale residence licking my wounds, I try to figure out where the chill I went wrong. Despite her constant insults, narrow-mindedness, and niggling reminders of how I am nothing more than a lazy, liquid-ice-drinking, no-good scoundrel, I think I managed to treat her pretty well. I was faithful, always there for her—not once was I employed while courting her—and known on occasion to show up at her door with gifts, like snowflake flowers or frosty delights from Gobbler’s Bakery down the road. She said the flowers made her feel inadequate, on account of them being too beautiful—as if there was such a thing—and the frosty’s, well, she said I gave them to her to make her fat.
She was my first ever girlfriend from the White District. I should’ve listened to my best friend, Buff, when he said it would end in disaster.


The Author: David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife and soul mate, Adele, who he’s now been happily married to for more than two years.
A reader all his life, David began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and has completed 14 novels, 12 of which have been published. In June of 2012, David became a fulltime writer and is now travelling the world with Adele while he writes books, and she writes and takes photographs.
David gleans inspiration from all sorts of crazy places, like watching random people do entertaining things, dreams (which he jots copious notes about immediately after waking up), and even from thin air sometimes!
David’s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, an obsessive Goodreads group member, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table. He loves responding to e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets, blog comments, and Goodreads comments from his readers, all of whom he considers to be his friends.

Learn more about the author at: http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com



Tour Giveaway
Tour Wide giveaway: 5 e-copies of "Fire Country" (The Country Saga #1) and 2 e-copies of "Ice Country" (The Country Saga #2).
Rules:


There will be 7 winners.The giveaway is open internationally.Winners have 48hs to claim their prize since the moment they receive the email.Do not cheat! :P



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Remember to check BOOK 1 in "The Country Saga": Fire Country.

Synopsis:


In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely. 

Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.

Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with. 

As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.



AMAZON
SMASHWORDS




FOLLOW THE TOUR:

April 4:

Teen Blurb: Promo.
The Cover Contessa: Review.
Witchy contessa: Review.
Bookaroo- Ju: Promo.
I read and Tell: Guest Post.
Fandom Fanatic: Promo.
Julia Baby Jen's Reading Room: Promo.
Ohana Day Academy: Promo.
Mythical Books: Promo.
Sab The Book Eater: Promo.
Author Roxanne Kade: Promo.A Goddess of Literature: Review.Librarian's Pick: Promo.2013 Bring Out the New Me: Promo.Me, you and my Shelf: Promo.I am a reader not a Writer: Promo.

April 5:

Lola's Reviews: Review.
Mallory Heart Reviews: Promo.
Recent Reads: Promo.Kahlolily's Reads: Promo.Fundimental: Promo.My Own Stuff: Promo.Books, Books and More Books: Promo.Kimberly Lewis Novels: Promo.I know that Book: Interview and Promo.

April 6:

Happy Indulgence: Interview.Bookworm Lisa: Guest Post.Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews: Promo.Vanilla Moon: Promo.Second Book to the Right: Promo.That Girl Reads: Promo.Think Books: PromoRenee's Library: PromoHappy Tails and Tales: Review.Sapphyria's Book Reviews: Promo.

April 7:

Words to Dreams: Review and Guest Post.Bunny's Review: Guest Post.The Stuff of Success; Promo.My Devotional Thoughts: Promo.