Saturday, November 24, 2012

BBB Thanks for Great Books Blog Hop


Welcome to the Beach Book Blast Thanks for Great Books blog hop happening November 25-26th. So glad you stopped by to chat about the thing that ties us all together—good books, fabulous authors, and amazing characters. Please feel free to share your favorites down in the comments section. To show you how much I appreciate you sharing your precious time with me, I’m giving away a signed copy of each of my first three books to random commentors. Yes, that’s a signed paperback copy of Heaven is for Heroes, On Thin Ice, and Savage Cinderella to three people who leave a comment with a valid e-mail address below. No worries, your e-mail address will not be used for any future promotions.

If you want to stay in touch and get all the updated info about upcoming releases, contests, and appearances, you can sign up for my newsletter here, or stop by the calendar page of my website. I also post my activities monthly, here at my blogspot. I’d love it if you followed me by clicking on the "join this site" button to the right. You can also find me on Facebook or Twitter.


When you’re all done here, be sure to hop on over to the other WG2E Street team member’s sites and check out their new releases and see what they have for prizes. For your convenience, I've listed them below. The grand prize is a $25 and a $10 gift certificate to Olive Garden. You can enter to win on our BBB main page by filling out the Rafflecopter in the right hand sidebar. The more you help us spread the word about our books, the more chances you have to win. So now, onto the reason we're all here. The theme for this blog hop is giving thanks for great books, authors, or characters who have inspired us to write.


I have tons of authors I love, but if I had to narrow it down to just one, I’d have to say that Diana Gabaldon is one of those authors whose work I find enthralling. Her Outlander series is amazing. The seven or eight brick-sized books about a time traveling nurse from 1945 England who gets thrown back to 1700’s Scotland and falls in love with a red-headed highlander named Jamie Fraser has to be the best series I’ve ever read. Gabaldon’s prose are poetic perfection and the dynamic love story between Claire and Jamie has captivated the hearts of millions of readers over the past twenty years. There is action, intrigue, a complexly woven cast of interesting and well developed characters, and an epic journey through time that leaves me breathless after each book.

My only complaint is that it takes Ms. Gabaldon three years to write her masterpieces. But then again, I’m willing to wait since she gets the research just right and I’m never disappointed in which direction the characters take me. I also have to say that as far as inspirational characters, Jamie Fraser is the BEST hero ever! He is as “stubborn as a rock” but willing to fight for what’s right at all cost. We love his sensitivity, his intelligence, his wisdom, and most of all his devotion to the equally stubborn and brilliant Claire. The dialogue in these books is real and heartwarming and the love scenes are the most organic and naturally steamy scenes I’ve ever read. I hope you’ll give this incredible series a try if you haven’t read it already.

Okay, readers, who/what is your favorite author, character or book?

After you leave a comment, stop by these other sites and see what great books have influenced these other wonderful authors. You'll find some fun prizes along the way!

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
Janice Lane Palko @ http://www.thewritinglane.blogspot.com
Lily Silver @ http://romancinghistorylove.blogspot.com/
Tamara Ward @ http://www.authortamaraward.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

November is NaNoWriMo and a Celebration of Great Books


So hard to believe November is already half over. I’ve been happily buried in writing Book Two in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, WESTERN DESERT. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I, as well as 300,000 writers worldwide, have committed to writing 50,000 words this month.

60,000 words is almost a completed first draft for me, so even if I don’t quite make the 1667 words per day or 12,500 words per week, I suspect I’ll be pretty close to my target. The downside is that to write quickly and consistently like this, the work is much less polished and I imagine will need considerable revision. I’m just going with the flow and trying to enjoy the new process. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll keep you posted on my Facebook page.

In addition to writing my little fingers off, I’ll be taking part in the New Fall Book Release and the Thanks for Great Books Blog Hop with nine of my WG2E Street Team buddies on November 25-26.
(The site will go live Nov. 24th).




To see a listing of the fabulous new books from a cornucopia of authors and genres, hop on over to http://www.BeachBookBlast.blogspot.com and browse through the "Fall e-book releases" and "Fall event authors" tabs.

And speaking of hopping, I’ll be participating in a blog hop right here with giveaways, prizes, and an up close and personal look at what book, author, or character inspired me to write. I hope you'll come by on Nov. 25 or the 26th to share your thoughts and enter to win prizes. From my site here you'll be able to hop on over to the other participating writers. It’s an opportunity for readers to get to know us authors a little better and share with us about your favorites and what great books you’re thankful for. Each author will have prizes and a blog post for you to enjoy. I hope you’ll join us on Thanksgiving weekend and please help spread the word.

If you want to tweet about it, cut and paste this:

#NewFallBookReleases from #WG2E StreetTeam members and Blog Hop with prizes @ http://tinyurl.com/a9d2q4d Nov. 25-26 #kindlebooks #Nook

Thanks for your help! See you right after Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful and safe Holiday!