FEEL THE HEAT - DAY 2

Hi Readers!

Yesterday we touched on true love and Valentine’s Day when we were discussing St. Anne’s Day.  In the book, Anne suffers a big disappointment in the love department, which got me to thinking about those times when we aren’t “lucky in love.” 

Without giving too much away, here is an excerpt from the book where an embarrassed Anne is forced to tell Gerry, the man she is beginning to fall for, that she has not gotten engaged after she’d bragged to him that she would soon be getting married:

“Oops, you OK?” Gerry said as he grabbed her to prevent her from falling.  His fingers were strong and firm on her shoulders. 

“Oh sorry, Gerry.”  She tucked a curl behind her ear.  “I didn’t see you.”

“Delirious with love, no doubt.”

“I couldn’t find my keys.”

“I thought maybe you were blinded by the sparkle of your engagement ring.”  He took her purse. 

“Watch, your cut.” 

“I’ve got a bandage on it.  It’ll be OK.”  He grabbed her left hand.  “Let’s have a look.” 

She cast her eyes toward the tin ceiling and tapped her toe impatiently.  “Hard to be dazzled by something that’s not there,” she said sarcastically.

“He asks you to get married and doesn’t buy you a ring?  Oh what a romantic!  Have him call me.  I’ll give this rookie some pointers on how to woo a woman.”

“No need to.  I’m not engaged, Gerry.”  She tried to pull her hand away, but Gerry, looking stunned, held it tightly. 

“He didn’t ask you to get married?”

“He did and he didn’t.”

Whether you have been lucky in love or not, you will be a winner when you read St. Anne’s Day.  I hope you enjoy it and will follow my blog, sign up for my newsletter.  Don’t forget to register to win the Starbucks gift card.  

Also, I'm offering a free download of my Christmas romance A Shepherd's Song for those signing up for my newsletter.  When I receive your subscription, I will send you the code.  

Thanks for stopping by.  

Keep warm and keep on reading!

Holiday EBook Extravaganza for you Happeners!

Hi Readers:

I'm happy to be part of the Holiday Ebook Extravaganza.  Last night I attended a lovely Christmas dinner hosted by my husband's cousin for all the women in the family.  Someone suggested that everyone there take a turn and tell a tradition that they do in their family to celebrate Christmas.  

One of the cousins said she buys a special ornament for the women in her family who do things to make Christmas special.  Her mother-in-law, my husband's deceased  aunt, started doing that for her when she joined the family, telling her that "Christmas doesn't just happen.  Women make it happen."  Other relatives there confirmed that it wasn't my husband's aunt who started this tradition with her daughter-in-law, but my aunt's mother, my husband's grandmother, who has been dead for more than 50 years.  She used to put a silver dollar under the plate of those women who worked hard to prepare for Christmas.  What a lovely tradition, and it's now being carried on into a third generation.    

This time of year can be quite hectic for women who "make Christmas happen" for those they love.  I wish I could give all you "Happeners" a special ornament or silver dollar for all that you do to make the season merry and bright, but I can't.  But I can give you my thanks for making the world a much better and beautiful place in which to live and to offer you some advice:  Sometimes while doing all that needs to be done for the holidays, it's easy to misplace your Christmas spirit.  Please take some time for yourself this season.  One way is to sit and read a great Christmas story.  There are many featured in this extravaganza. My Christmas romance, A Shepherd's Song is guaranteed to help you reclaim the spirit.  Enjoy

Thanks for Great Books Blog Hop

Hi Regular Readers and First Time Visitors,

Welcome.  I'm glad you found your way to my site.  I'm participating in the Beach Book Blast taking place on Nov. 25-26 Thanks for Great Books Blog Hop and Fall Ebook Release Event! Nine authors are showcasing our new books at the Beach Book Blast website and at our sister site at the RG2E. My new Christmas novel, A Shepherd's Song is featured.  We've got something for everyone—from romantic suspense, to a sweet holiday romance, to a YA Dystopian and a few mysteries. 

To make the event even more fun, we’ve added prizes (a larger one at the Beach Book Blast site and smaller ones at some of the authors’ sites) and a blog hop where readers can connect to their favorite authors and learn what great books, characters, or authors have inspired them.

More About A Shepherd's Song

Tom Shepherd is anything but a hero.  A senior physics major at Three Rivers University in Pittsburgh, he just wants to make some easy cash for a trip during the coming spring break. On the last Sunday in November, he arrives at Holy Redeemer church in Perrysville to sell the Christmas season’s hottest toy, So Big Sammy, for three times its retail price to a buyer, but a snafu lands him in the middle of a bone marrow drive benefiting four-year-old Christo Davidson, who has leukemia.  When everyone there—including the media covering the event—assumes that Tom has come to give the toy to the sick boy, Tom has no choice but to give it away. 

Lauded by the media as a hero and bestowed with the nickname "The Good Shepherd," Tom finds himself an overnight celebrity.  As a toy scalper and liar, he knows he’s unworthy of the honor, but when Gloria Davidson, a fellow student and Christo’s relative, seeks out Tom to thank him for being kind so kind to her little cousin, Tom, bewitched by her beauty, embellishes his character and lies to further impress Gloria.  Tom asks Gloria out, beginning a relationship that will lead him to examine everything he believes. 

On Christmas Eve, Tom finds himself facing choices that will affect not only himself but also Gloria and Christo.  Tom must choose between sacrifice and honor, love and loneliness, life and death. 

 
Enter the Raffle

I'm so thankful to all of you who have read St. Anne's Day and have already started to read A Shepherd's Song, I wanted to show my appreciation.  Since this time of year can be stressful, particularly for women, with all the cleaning, cooking, baking, shopping, wrapping, etc., I wanted to help you to find a way to relax.  I like to relax with a good book, and I also find the scents of the holiday season put me in a good mood.  Therefore, I'm raffling a $15 gift certificate to Bath & Body Works.  Maybe you will find time to sit by the Christmas tree with A Shepherd's Song, enjoying a twisted peppermint candle or maybe you will be able to read it in a warm vanilla sugar bubble bath.   One can hope! Be sure to enter the raffle at the right.

Buy A Shepherd's Song

Amazon 

Kindle

Barnes & Noble 

Smashwords 

Be Sure to Visit the Other Sites of those Participating

Click here to visit the Beach Book Blast website to enter the drawing for the $25 and $10 Olive Garden gift certificates, or click below to visit another Beach Blast author's blog.


Fabio Bueno @ http://www.fabiobueno.com
Debra Burroughs @ http://www.DebraBurroughsBooks.com
L.C. Giroux @ http://www.lcgiroux.com/thoughts
Stacy Green @ http://stacygreenauthor.com/
Stacey Joy Netzel @ http://staceyjoynetzel.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanks-for-great-books-blog-hopfall.html
PJ Sharon @ http://www.pjsharonyawriter.blogspot.com
Lily Silver @ http://romancinghistorylove.blogspot.com/

Beach Book Blast - Day 2

Surf's Up, Beach Book Blasters!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Beach Book Blast.  I hope you are having as much fun as I am.  Be sure to mark your calendar to drop by the Facebook party tonight which starts at 8.  All of the authors participating in the BBB will be there.   I'll be on a from 9-9:10, and I'm looking forward to meeting you in real time.  We are also giving away goodies!  So pour yourself a cold one, slather on the sunscreen, and move your beach chair over to the party tonight--best thing is no hangovers!

Nothing goes better with the beach than romance.  So let's talk some love!  This is an excerpt from St. Anne's Day when Peg asks Anne if she believes in true love.

Peg grabbed her arm, her grip surprisingly strong. “Don’t laugh. Say the prayer. Your day will come, Anne. Just wait. You’ll see. You’ll find your true love.” 

“True love? I think that went out of style years ago.” 

“Oh, no. It never goes out of style. What does St. Paul say—‘Love never fails.’” 

Anne wished she could be as sure as Peg, but she’d seen and experienced too much to believe in fairy tales anymore. 

“You believe in true love, don’t you, Honey?” 

She thought of her parents and how they seemed made for each other. “I guess I believe it can happen for some people. But today . . . I don’t know. Times have changed. It seems rather old-fashioned.” 

Like Peg, I have some questions for you:  Do you believe in true love?   If so, do you know of any examples?

See you at the FB party tonight, and don't forget to enter the raffle at the main BBB site, where we have a tidal wave of prizes, and to the right where you can register to win the St. Anne T-shirt.  

Remember, When it's St. Anne's Day, it's your day too!

Beach Book Blast - Day 1

Welcome Beach Bunnies!

The Beach Book Blast is a great way to wring the summer of all its fun before we head into fall. I'm happy to share my romantic comedy, St. Anne's Day, with you.  I've been writing for a while, but St. Anne's Day is the first book that I've released.  I've already had some readers tell me that this is a great beach book.  So I hope you take advantage of the reduced price and select St. Anne' Day to read while you sink your toes in the sand and soak up those last rays of sunshine.   Links are to the right and will take you directly to either Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Smashwords to purchase it. Also, be sure to check out the other books featured at the Beach Blast too. 

A little bit about the title.  The inspiration for it and for the book comes from something that happened while I was in high school.  I went to an all-girls, Catholic high school, and when it came time for the prom, some of my classmates still needed dates.  When our social studies teacher heard us discussing who we could get to take them (brothers, male cousins and friends were targeted species), Sister suggested they say the St. Anne prayer.  We had never heard of it, but it goes like this:

Dear St. Anne, get me a man as fast as you can!

Well, we said this every day before class and every girl who wanted a date for the prom got one.   This must be one powerful prayer.  Recently, one of the readers I found on Twitter who volunteered to preview this book for me before I released it emailed me to tell me that she started to say the St. Anne prayer and has since found herself in a very happy relationship. 

In that vein, I would like to know if you have ever used any "secret weapon"--your world famous cookie recipe, that seductive perfume, padded bra?--to snag a significant other?   

******Also, don't forget to enter my raffle to win a St. Anne's Day T-shirt*****

Be sure to visit the Beach Book Blast site and those of my fellow authors, where the fun continues! 

  Remember, When it's St. Anne's Day, it's your day too!