Midweek Mayhem: Convicts and Assassins and Votes, Oh my! And random pix too! #WinnerAnnouncement #YAPNR

Working it out…

• (Update) My dearest darlings, there has been a slight change in plans...due to circumstances beyond my control, I won't be signing in the YA Alley at the RT Booklovers Convention. I was pretty bummed at first, but I truly believe that everything happens for a reason...so, on the bright-side, I shall be signing at the Expo on Thursday, 2 May instead! Check it out here!
• (NEW) I've been kidnapped by the Gremlin slayer herself ~~~~> Liza O'Connor! Come check it out here! Liza is a hilarious kidnapper! And you'll never guess who rescues me ;)

• (Breena and I need you!) Witch Way to Turn was nominated for the 10th Annual CAPA award--poll closes Friday!! Best Young Adult!! Cast your vote here! (Get it?? Like a spell! teeheehee) Thank you to everyone who has already voted! Y'all rock! 

• (Be our hero again??) Witch Way to Turn is entered in the Judge A Book By Its Cover contest! Vote #33 in the Young Adult category! Click here... Muah!

Cover art by Danielle Fine

• (Vote for SciFi) My lovely friend, Pippa Jay is also in the Judge A Book By Its Cover contest! Her book Terms & Conditions Apply needs you!! Hugs!! Check the gorgeous cover and then click here to vote! 

• Squee!!! Witch Way to Turn WON Sizzling BEST YA read of 2012!! :D Thank y'all for your votes!!! ♥  

Now, drum-roll, please. The WINNER of the Young Adult Blog Hop is…

• Katie Mahnken *throws confetti and poofs from one room to the next with excitement--she'll get that after she reads it* She has won a copy of Witch Way to Turn in either e-book or print... Her choice!!!
• A BIG thank you to everyone who tweeted/shared about the hop! I had nearly 400 people enter! That rocked my world! :D

Hearing voices…

Cover art by Danielle Fine

• My dark and gritty work-in-progress, titled Becoming, (a new adult urban fantasy with cursed dragon shifters) is currently with my amazing editor!!! So excited to make this story sparkle and then pitch it at RT and RWA in a few months! Agents, you're gonna want this story...like super bad! Just sayin' ;D
• Check out my stunning cover inspiration (right side above this paragraph) designed by my talented editor Danielle Fine!!! 
• Here's an unedited teaser for you (one of the two heroine's POV--Zoe Moore, the raven-haired beauty with lots of neuroses).
• Zoe sat in the parking lot of the hospital, staring at the sliding glass doors of death. Nothing about being here felt right. She gripped the wheel and squeezed her eyes shut. This was it. Breaking and entering. Yes, she was about to do that. It didn’t seem exactly right, but she’d asked the hospital a gazillion times and they wouldn’t give her the information. Damn them. She needed to know. Besides, if she waited and did this with Aiden she’d feel the same way. At least now she didn’t have to feel like she owed someone too.
• (Update) While I wait for edits on Becoming, I'm back in Rhodhiss, baby! Okay, not literally, but I am working on revisions to Witch Way to Turn book #2!! Right now I've rewritten the opening and am on page 13 of 263 in revisions...

Cover art by Danielle Fine

Waiting game...

• On week #36 of waiting to hear back from a lovely agent who is reading Running From Shadows.*continues to keep fingers and toes crossed* Erm, this may not happen. LOL :P *keeps querying*
• (Update) I've heard back on the Full request and now some decisions need to be made...will keep you posted. That was kinda cryptic, huh? How I roll :P

Reading...

• Currently I am beta-reading for a fantastic friend and writer... Katheryn! Hooray for grim reapers!!
  
• Currently reading Shifting Pride by Laura Diamond! Absolutely love the heroine's voice! Nickie is so snarky! Add this awesome werecat, YA paranormal romance to your Goodreads list here!
• Looking for book recommendations and reviews for your 2013 TBR List? Check out The Perks of Being a Book Nerd!

Bonus material... 
*(NEW) I've signed up for Weekend Writing Warriors! This will replace Six Sentence Sunday, which will allow you even more steamy goodness with Pax and Greta... You'll get 8 sentences from Running From Shadows instead of 6!!! For more info, click here! 

*Beautiful cover art for Becoming and Running From Shadows and Witch Way to Turn book trailer by the awesomely talented Danielle Fine... Check her website for more cover art, editing, book trailer and NOW web design services. Fantastic example: Vince Considine's site here! 

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Random Alert! Alert. Alert. Alert...

I can't stand resetting my password at work! >_< Seriously, why is this necessary??? So, I took a picture of the screen. My therapy :P

Um, something you will never hear me say... Work's coffee is the BEST.

Hubs and I went here on Saturday! This is the most awesome little tea shop. They have so many to choose from. It's not like a coffee shop, so you don't actually go there to drink tea. They make custom blends too. I bought the cinnamon-blueberry and it's uber yummy! Ohh and if you're wondering what that blur is in the right-hand bottom corner...yeah, my finger. I was too lazy to find a different pic that didn't have a finger in it...

Can you guess where I took this pic? Made me think of Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast, and the little baby cup...Chip! Awww :) Anywho, my fave was on the left-hand side, second row, in the middle. <3 Someone can buy it for me if they'd like! teehee (Ahhhh! I swear I didn't plan on that laugh being a pun, but it was!! I kill me :P)

And for your weekly dose of completely random... Rusty pup wearing one of his daddy's workout t-shirts. You can tell he loves it, right? ;)

5 STAR Review for Terms & Conditions Apply by Pippa Jay!! #bookreview #Goodreads

Cover art by Danielle Fine

Terms & Conditions Apply by Pippa Jay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Terms & Conditions Apply was a fun and sexy short story with an excellent twist ending! Marie, the heroine, is stranded on a pleasure planet after her boyfriend never shows up for their romantic weekend getaway. She’s beyond ticked off. Waiting for the next transport home, she’s approached by an android. Soren, the hero, might not be human but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings, dreams and emotions. He approaches Marie—sees how alone and sad she is—and is determined to fulfill her dreams. She’s hesitant to take him up on his offer to stay on the planet, not only because of being dumped but he’s not a real man. Despite being beyond gorgeous, how can a robot make her feel loved and wanted?

In a world where any fantasy can be reality…sometimes love has a price.

If you’re looking for a quick sci-fi read with a romantic element, this is the book for you! Loved how the heroine grew and changed throughout the story. And the ending… Wow! Definitely took me by surprise. Having read several of Pippa’s works, I love the way she blends science fiction with romance to create memorable characters that keep you turning the pages. A fantastic story!

A few of my favorite lines…

What business was it of theirs what she did? Freedom of choice was supposed to be the station’s credo.

Hades forbid anyone should ask her what was wrong.

For Marie, it was like someone carving out her heart with a blunt instrument.

Oh, please, she told herself, it’s not as if it’s a real man. Just a copy of one!

Why did she keep treating him like a prostitute instead of the man she believed she could see?

For a moment she forgot what he was. He felt human and alive. 

****

Buy links! Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Add Terms & Conditions Apply to your to be read list here! 

Edited by: Danielle Fine

Cover art by: Danielle Fine

View all my reviews

My Midweek Mayhem, News, Book Reviews and Random Picture Goodness!! #YAPNR #werecats #scifi #contemporary

Working it out…   

•  (NEW) Looky! Pretty :) Witch Way To Turn is featured on Night Owl Reviews' homepage! (here)
• Witch Way To Turn is up for Sizzling Read of the Year! THE YEAR!! Squee!! Breena and I need your help...vote here! Monday is the LAST day! Hugs and smooches!! ;)
• (NEW) What do Christmas and Witch Way To Turn have in common?? (Find out here!)
• (NEW) Ohhhhh, Witch Way To Turn is only $1.25! Better grab your eBook today cos it ends on December 31st! (here) 

Hearing voices…

• Currently working on my dark and gritty work-in-progress (a new adult urban fantasy with cursed dragon shifters and is unlike anything I've ever written)! Am a little over 55k!!
• Read last week's snippet here :)   
• This is an unedited teaser for you (one of the two heroine's POV--Taylor, the "blonde goddess," is kind of like a female Dexter). This snippet is right after Taylor has read a text from her love interest..

Warmth spread inside of her. The thought of seeing her love made her smile. Those were hard to come by. All too soon her joy shattered as the beast inside of her began to whisper tauntingly. Always with the still small voice to begin with. Then suddenly the murmur would turn into a roar. Not stopping until appeased.

She squeezed her eyes shut, gripped the steering wheel and tried to concentrate on the flood of warmth coming from the vents. Even with her eyes closed, the beast’s need grew more urgent. Couldn’t she have just this one happiness? A moment to enjoy and remember without it being corrupted by murderous temptation.

For the past six months the hunger had intensified. Her father’s list of acceptable victims dwindled from the rate at which the beast forced her to kill.

The crescendo of her anxiety peaked as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony began to play. She peeled open her eyes and answered her phone.

Waiting game…

Cover Art by Danielle Fine

• On week #29 of waiting to hear back from a lovely agent who is reading Running From Shadows.*continues to keep fingers and toes crossed and keeps querying*
• On week #21 of waiting to hear back from the editor I pitched to at the RWA conference in July. *also continues to keep all possible body parts crossed*

Reading...

• Currently I am beta-reading for an awesome friend and writer... Katheryn!
• 75% into New Pride by Laura Diamond!! A young adult short story with werecats! 
• 5 Star Review for Terms & Conditions Apply by Pippa Jay! (here)
• 5 Star Review for Winter Fairy by Lola Karns (here) 

Bonus material...
*Tune back in for SSS on Sunday for more steamy goodness with Pax and Greta from Running From Shadows!

*Watch the awesome Witch Way to Turn book trailer here!!

*Let me know you've Liked my Facebook Author Page and I'll gladly Like you back! :) Click here!

*Beautiful cover art for Running From Shadows and Witch Way to Turn book trailer by the awesome Danielle Fine... Check her website for more cover art, editing and book trailer services.

Random Alert! Alert. Alert. Alert...

This is picture hanging on the wall in the hallway upstairs drives me insane!! It constantly tilts to the right, so I'm always adjusting it EVERY time I walk by it. Rawr :P

This is the Clean/Dirty magnet for the dishwasher. Yup, those are zombies! I so LOVE it! It has changed the way I do dishes. Now, I never have to wonder... Are these dishes clean?? It's a Christmas miracle!

My Charlie Brown Christmas tree at work :) And my blue jay paperweight. I am obsessed with paperweights!

My lovely friend, Jenna Jaxon, signed a copy of her novel Only Scandal Will Do for my mother-in-law! Isn't it beautiful! It was the first one of that book she's ever signed!!! Next I'm gonna have her sign my Kindle cover! Fangirl moment!! It was a super hawt historical read!