Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Hoppy April!

Hey Gang! Happy Spring time wherever you may be. I love this time of year. The birds are back in force, everything is budding and blooming, and the promise of warmer days has me itching to get out and dig in the dirt.

To celebrate this month, I’m joining forces with a fabulous group of authors on a Blog Hop called Authors in Bloom. How it works is that between April 9th and April 18th, you can visit each author’s blog or website and enter to win an amazing array of prizes. At each stop, you’ll be able to pick up some great gardening tips and wonderful recipes to make your spring that much brighter. You'll also be able to collect phrases at each author's site that will add up to a story. If you collect all the phrases, you can enter to win a Kindle or a Nook loaded with free books! You’ll find all the details and the list of participating authors with links to their sites by clicking here to go to the Authors in Bloom landing page.

Don’t go yet! Here are my phrases to the Authors in Bloom Traveling Story.
Line 4: Nestled together in the garden,
Line 5: they present a lovely palette of beauty; fresh fragrant.


I recommend checking out the details of the contest requirements on the Authors in Bloom site, but if you want to hop right on over to the participating authors and their links to collect your phrases, see their recipes and gardening tips, and enter their individual contests, you can find the links here.

Here's my idea of a Sunny Delight dessert. If you want a great super easy pie recipe that's just perfect for spring and summer, try this:

You'll need one package of vanilla instant pudding mix, 2 cups of cold milk, an 8 oz. package of cream cheese, a graham cracker crust (I buy mine ready made), and a banana. Beat the softened cream cheese with a half cup of the milk until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla pudding mix and the rest of the milk and blend until thickened (3-5 minutes). Slice half the banana onto the bottom of the pie crust and then pour the pudding mixture on top. Top the pie with the rest of the banana slices and add whipped cream if you like. I also add sliced strawberries to both the bottom and top of my pie to add a sweet/tart flavor. Chill and serve. Enjoy! You can make this low fat and sugar free by using lite cream cheese, sugar free pudding mix, and skim or 1% milk.

As for gardening tips, here's one of my favorites. Check out this you-tube video to find out how to make manure tea. Trust me; your plants are going to LOVE it!

My Contest
At the end of the blog hop, I’ll pick one lucky winner to receive this awesome prize pack which includes signed copies of each of my books, a free download of ON THIN ICE, a mug, bookmarks, a pen, a tee shirt, a World Wildlife Fund water bottle, and a national Wildlife Federation tote along with a cute stuffed baby polar bear! Whew…what a giveaway!


So here’s how you enter. Between April 9th and April 18th leave a comment on this blog. That’s all you have to do to be in the running. Make sure you include a valid e-mail address. If you want more chances to win, you can subscribe to my Newsletter by "Joining my mailing list" here, “like” my Face Book page here, follow me on Twitter here, and tweet about the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop (#Authors in Bloom Blog Hop. Enter to win amazing prizes @pjsharon http://www.pjsharonyawriter.blogspot.com ). It’s that easy, and for every effort, you will be rewarded by having your name entered for another chance in the drawing. If you do all of the above, I’ll add your name an extra time. That means you could be entered five times! That has got to up your chances. Just let me know in the comment section what you’ve done to help me spread the word.
Contest is only open to US residents and deadline to enter is midnight on April 18th. Winner will be announced here and also on the Authors in Bloom site on April 21st.

And if that doesn’t get you hopping, I’m joining fifteen other authors on April 19th for a “Give Your Child a Free Book Day (or fifteen)!



That’s right, SAVAGE CINDERELLA will be included in this wonderful opportunity to grab free Kindle books for kids from children’s books, to Middle Grade, to YA. You can check out the amazing lineup here. Just so you don’t miss out, I’m extending my free days to include April 20th and 21st. Awesome, right? Here's the link to Amazon where you'll have three days to get SAVAGE CNDERELLA for free!

Before I forget, a big thank you to Gina Beach for all of her creative "Title ideas" for Book One of the dystopian trilogy I'm working on called the Chronicles of Lilly Carmichael. A few other folks chimed in with suggestions, but I had to go with my gut on this one. Book One will be titled "WANING MOON", Book II will be "WESTERN DESERT" and Book III, "WINTER SUN". So there you have it! Now I just have to write it:-)

Well, that’s all I have for now. It’s going to be an exciting month!

42 comments:

  1. Your recipe sounds yummy :) My family always has picnic get together I will have to try this recipe! Thanks for the chance to win

    brandon_savannah@yahoo.com

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    Replies
    1. Oh, it is Savannah. And it's wicked easy. Enjoy! And good luck with the contest.

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  2. So excited about the blog hop! Thanks for doing it!!!

    tobihelton@gmail.com

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  3. It's going to be a blast. Have fun!

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  4. Your pie sounds delicious. Very summery. :)

    jgbeads(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. Thanks Janel. It's always a big hit at picnics. Your name is now in the running for my prize pack:-)

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  6. I love a new recipe!! Sounds wonderful. Thanks for the reminder about April 15th. I have that bookmarked so that I don't forget. I am always looking for something for my boys.
    Mel
    bournmelissa at hotmail dot com

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    1. I follow via: Twitter: @MelCamino5 and tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/MelCamino5/status/189557886358274050

      I hope you get more traffic. Such wonderful things here.
      Mel

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  7. Thanks Mel, It's early yet, so I'm sure I'll get quite a few more visitors over the next week. Thanks for tweeting and following! Don't forget the book giveaway is the 19th.

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  8. This Blog Hop is awesome! I am discovering new authors!

    swillis413@gmail.com

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  9. I know, Sam. Isn't it great? Thanks for stopping in.

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  10. Love the sounds of that recipe -- no doubt delicious with any berry. My all-time favorite: black raspberries, or what we call blackcaps back home. Hmmm, some manure tea might be just the ticket to make those blackcap canes grow! Have fun on the hop!

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  11. Ooohhh. That sounds good too. I've only ever used bananas and strawberries. I'll have to experiment. Thanks Suze!

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  12. ilove hop and then i love to blog on them you need pin
    i tryed yoru face book and have to re do it again
    desitheblonde on twitter
    desiree reilly on fb

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  13. Your pie sounds delish! I haven't gone to any other sites yet but will.
    I also like that you've included items from WWF. We have to take care of them before they disappear.

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  14. Thanks Donna. You're going to find some amazing giveaways on this hop. I was happy to support the WWF and the NWF, two of my favorite charities.

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  15. Great giveaways. Pie recipe looks perfect for the grandkids, who are learning to cook, to make together. The younger one gathers the ingredients, watches the older measure, then mixes, and they both clean! Lots of fun for all.
    Please enter me in your Authors in Bloom contest-
    cpnclprashe@yahoo.com

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    1. You're entered, Jan. That's how I taught my boys to cook! They love this recipe.

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  16. This is great. I've never heard of such a contest before but I love it!

    queenofcrunk at gmail dot com

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    1. Thanks for entering Queen Bee. Blog hops are the latest in virtual fun. A great way for everyone to win. Readers get tuned in to new authors and great prizes, and authors get to find new readers. Glad you stopped by!

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  17. Great giveaway!
    Follow on Twitter @erencich
    Tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/erencich/status/190203298723274753
    Liked on FB: Emily Rencich
    Joined mailing list under doodlesbookblog at gmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. WOW! Thanks, Emily. What a big help that is. You're name is now entered five times in my drawing. WTG!

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  18. Very cool. Very cool.

    lisalueddecke at yahoo dot com .

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    1. Thank you, Lisa. If you're ever interested in having me as a guest on The Young Adult Connection, feel free to contact me. I'd love to come visit you next time:-)

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  19. I really like this blog hop. Thanks for participating. Please enter me in the contest.

    rachel at thejeepdiva dot com

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  20. sounds yummy!
    thanks for the chance to win!

    catherine0807 at hotmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. Very tasty indeed...

      So glad you entered! Good luck.

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  21. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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  22. Love the banana pie recipe...so easy and sounds delish!

    twitter: books4me2
    FB: Wendy Dee
    tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/BooksForMe2/status/190961873041108992
    Email subscriber:

    books4me67 at ymail dot com

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    1. Thanks for participating, Wendy. I appreciate all your help! You're name will be entered 5 times!

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  23. Hi! I would love to be entered in the giveaway :-)
    I don't have any of the accounts below, but my email is: notdaprfectangel AT gmail DOT com
    I will also follow you on twitter and join your mailing list!! Thanks again :-)

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  24. Love your handle! You're name will be entered three times. Thanks for following me:-)

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  25. Thanks for the giveaway and recipe.

    hrtansoul@gmail.com

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  26. Thank you for doing this blog hop. I've had a lot of fun traveling around to all the author's web sites.Great giveaway,please enter me for a chance to win it.

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  27. Thanks for stopping by and entering.

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  28. Thank you for the fun and awesome hop! :)
    Newsletter subscriber
    Facebook: Shadow Kohler
    Twitter: @LuvToRead09
    Tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/LuvToRead09/status/192762159497871360
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

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  29. WOW! Thanks so much, Shadow. You got in under the wire and are entered 5 times! Good luck. I'll announce the winner on Friday both here and on my FB fan page as well as n the main "Hop" page.

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  30. Thanks for the giveaway.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  31. Hey, BN. You got in under the wire. I haven't picked a winner yet, but I will shortly. You're in!

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