Christie Silvers - Paranormal Fiction Author

New Time for Death, Second Edition

2012-01-25T07:52:00.003-05:00

Good morning, everyone. I hope the week is treating you kindly. I'm currently working on the Liz Baker short story, Death Reflected, and waiting on my Federal tax refund to show up. We'll be working on home improvements over the next few weeks with that money. As well as knocking some away into savings.

Speaking of improvements, I'm releasing a second edition of Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1) just in time for the Book 'Em NC Conference & Book Fair. Something eye-catching and up to date with books 2 and 3.

This new cover looks even more gorgeous in print than it does on the computer screen. Once again, due to the incredible talents of my cover designer Kelly Shorten. Thank you, Kelly!

The first edition of Time for Death is on the road to retirement and over the next several weeks will be replaced in book databases by this new edition. I know the Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords editions are already up-dated, but it will take a bit longer for the print copies to change over.

And as always, if you want a signed copy for yourself, or for gift giving, they are always available straight from me via ChristieSilvers.com.

Now I'm off to do the whole wife/mother thing with laundry, dishes, housecleaning, before jumping into today's writing. Have a good one!

Just another day?

2012-01-17T08:34:00.003-05:00

Nope! Today's my birthday. Woohoo! Today I turn the big 3-5.

I've received a lot of sweet birthday wishes across social media sites today, and with thousands of friends, fans, and followers it's simply impossible for me to respond to each and every one of them. So thank you, all of you. You're lovely sentiment makes me smile and warms my heart. :)

I'm spending this morning doing some laundry, watching a horror movie, I'll make FIL's breakfast in a bit, and then later I'm having lunch with my mommy. After that it's back into Mommy mode myself for school pick up time, homework, dinner, etc. It'll be a good day, especially if the rain holds off while I'm out and about.

I know tradition dictates people give me gifts today, but instead I'm going to give you all a birthday gift! Yep, you read that right. I'm giving you a gift today.

For today only, if your purchase one of my books in e-book form from any bookseller, I'll send you another on of my books, of your choice, for free. Just e-mail (authorchristiesilvers@gmail.com) me a copy of your purchase receipt and tell me which book you want.

Now keep in mind that I'll be in and out all day, and I'll be sending each book individually, so don't fret when the free book doesn't arrive automatically. ;)

You can find book details, purchase links, and series information on my website: http://www.christiesilvers.com .

Have a great day!

Learner's Permit: Valium Requested!

2012-01-09T07:58:00.003-05:00

Sooooo, I've taken on the parenting task of teaching my oldest daughter how to drive. Tim isn't as secure in his ability to remain calm and reassuring when it comes to this task. Therefore, it has fallen to me.

I'm trying. Very hard. Trying to get through this parenting trial with the kind of grace that I've been able to hold on to throughout all other parenting obstacles. I laugh, encourage, smile, trying to make it light heartened and enjoyable, all the while not showing my teen the real turbulence inside. . .

Heart tightening, stomach clenching, breath gasping, FEAR!

Is it a Capricorn mother's reluctance to relinquish control of a dangerous motorized vehicle into the hands of her clumsy 15 year old daughter? Or is it that the aforementioned teenage daughter is a terrible driver?

I'm going to have to go with the first option!

She's actually performing very well. I'm very proud of her. She listens to my instructions, and doesn't even beg and plead to drive on an hourly basis. She has only driven over a curb in the high school parking lot once (inducing one of those stomach clenching moments). However, I'm kicking myself right now for never buying her a go-carts, or some other small "vehicle" when she was younger. LOL! Eek!

Anyway, this mommy is having a harder time than her teenager is with the learner's permit. I certainly hope it gets easier on my nerves as she improves in her driving skills. I have no doubt she'll glide right through her driver's test when the big day arrives, but will I have more wrinkles, an extensive amount of gray to cover up, and a minuscule amount of patience left when this is over?

Wish me luck! And if any of you out there who've been through this have any advice, I'd love to hear it. :)

*Image Credit: arinas74 @ Sxc.hu*

Holidays, 2012, Learner's Permits

2012-01-08T15:03:00.004-05:00

I survived.

"What did you survive?" you may ask.

Well, I survived the holidays, my oldest daughter's 15th birthday, New Year's, illnesses, and even the teenager getting her learner's permit! Eek!

The holidays were a rush of my teen in my cousin's wedding, my mother's birthday, FIL in the hospital, hosting Christmas Eve, hosting Christmas Day, hosting the teen's 15th birthday, celebrating New Year's Eve, kids being home from school for two solid weeks, and then dealing with colds, ear infections, sinus infections, and being sick myself. Lastly, I took the teen on January 3rd, 2012 and she successfully passed the test to gain her learner's permit to drive.

So yes, I say... I survived!! Woohoo! I can't believe it's all finally over. Well, almost over. A week from today is my youngest daughter's 7th birthday. After that it's smooth sailing until April.

Yeah, yeah, smooth sailing... Bwahaha! I girl can be delusional at times, can't she?

I have a busy 2012 planned, but then again, aren't all my years busy? ;) I'll be attending the Book 'Em NC conference in a short 47 days from today. I have three stories to write and put out in 2012. Lots of home projects, including the addition of goats to our family in the spring. And all the normal work, family, friends stuff that I enjoy throughout the year. :)

Celebrating the new year is more than just saying "Hooray" when the clock strikes midnight. It's a celebration of surviving another year with my sanity intact (at least the majority of it anyway) and being able to enjoy the fresh start that each January 1st allows us.

Happy New Year to all of you! I wish you a happy and prosperous 2012!

Killer Intentions available today.

2011-12-21T12:42:00.004-05:00

The big day has finally arrived. Killer Intentions (Liz Baker, book 3) is now available for all who want to enjoy the next installment of Liz's wild world. This time you find her trying to take a break on the Georgia island of Tybee, outside of Savannah. Unfortunately, things never seem to go as Liz plans. And this time isn't any different.

Not only has the book released on Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, and Smashwords, but I have a special offer for anyone who purchases a copy.

From today until December 31, 2011 at 11:59PM EST, anyone who purchases Killer Intentions and sends me a copy of their purchase receipt will receive a free copy of both books 1 and 2. Now you don't have to worry about missing out on the first two stories! That's all three books in the Liz Baker series for the price of one. Not a bad way to end the year, and it'll add a few new books to all those new e-readers under the Christmas tree. ;)

Simply forward a copy of your purchase receipt to authorchristiesilvers@gmail.com and I'll reply with the codes to receive your free books. Easy peasy!

Happy holidays and I hope you enjoy Killer Intentions. BTW, the print edition will be available on Amazon in a few weeks. However, it's already available on the website's ORDER page for autographed copies directly from me.

Killer Intentions cover unveiled!

2011-12-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

In just a few short weeks the third book in the Liz Baker series will make its debut. However, today is all about the cover. The red and green play beautifully off each other. And even though the book is set in August, it certainly brings in the colors of Christmas. Just in time for its release! :)

Description:

Saddled with the knowledge that she's not only a half-vampire, but also expected to be some kind of supernatural warrior to battle evil, Liz Baker--34 year old small town bar owner--would rather life went back to normal, choosing to ignore her destiny instead.

She survived murdering a vampire lover, being possessed by a spirit of her ancestor in order to destroy a wendigo, and even finding out that her ghostly mother is in love with the attorney in charge of her newly acquired fortune. But will she survive finding out that she has eleven half-vampire brothers and sisters?

Even with Chad at her back, and an ex-military werewolf pilot giving them defensive pointers, Liz simply wants to go back to normal. What ever normal is now. How will she ever find normal again though, what with a demon haunting her waking hours and a vampire trying to pull her into his paranormal army of offspring?

"Chad didn't understand, nor would he. He didn't have this damn inner demon telling him things he shouldn't know, telling him to do things that he desired to do, but knew he should never do. She'd told me at the last second not to kill Gregory. The other children needed him. But was it true? Or just another guise in an attempt to lull me into complacency?

The demon side of me only wanted more evil, more control over my mind, my body, my actions. She had killer intentions, the kinds of intentions that would push me away from all the people I cared about and into the arms of a father I never wanted."

Edits, edits, and even more edits.

2011-11-29T08:20:00.000-05:00

Look into my crystal ball... What do you see? Yep, that's me... I'm in the land of Editsville this week. The first draft of Killer Intentions is done, but that only means the real works begins. I'll be running through at least three sessions of edits and rewrites myself:

1. A run through of computer file from beginning to end
2. A printed version with the infamous red ink pen.
3. Then another run through of the computer file with all the changes previously recorded, looking for errors.

After all that, the file will be in the hands of my beloved editor. When her final edits are complete, I'll run through it all one more time to make sure there's nothing else to change or fix.

Whew! It's a lot of work, but it's oh so much fun. :)

All in all, everything is still on schedule for a mid- to late December release for the newest installment from Liz's weirdly captivating life of paranormal monsters. She's still fighting against her destiny, but I believe she'll slowly come to accept it, and possibly embrace it enough to enjoy the ride.

Oh, and I *should* have a new cover to share with everyone very soon. I can't wait to see it!

*Image from: aleheredia*

Cyber Monday: 30% off

2011-11-28T08:00:00.003-05:00

Black Friday is over, which means it's time for Cyber Monday. Woohoo! More shopping!

Over the weekend I offered Liz Baker e-books for only $0.99 each. Today I'm giving you 30% off any of my paperback and hardcover books.

If you're looking to grab a few books for Christmas, there's no better time than now. This offer is only for today, ending at 11:59 PST tonight. Here's how you do it:

1. Use this link to see all of the books available.

2. Add your chosen books to the shopping cart. Make sure you're adding physical books & not e-books.

3. Use this code during checkout: CYBERMONDAY305

Lulu's bookstore accepts PayPal and all major credit cards. Happy shopping!

Black Friday & I have a sale for you.

2011-11-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

It's Black Friday! Time to get that holiday shopping under way (if you haven't already) and take advantage of all the sales and discounts businesses are offering. Watch out for the people pushing and shoving over that last $5 Barbie though. They can be blood-thirsty monsters full of vicious intent! You don't wanna get knocked to the floor and trampled on by that granny in search of the best deal on pajamas. Whew! It's dangerous out there!

Instead of battling the warzone known as Wal-mart, or the mall, stay home and take advantage of some online deals. Specifically, my Liz Baker Black Friday sale!

For this weekend only, you can snag both books 1 and 2, in e-book formats, for the low price of only $0.99 each. Not only will these books keep you entertained, but you'll be up to speed for when book 3, Killer Intentions, comes out next month. How's that for a deal? :)

Here are the links to take you directly to your format of choice:

Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1)

Amazon Kindle: $0.99
B&N Nook: $0.99
Smashwords: $0.99 -- use coupon code VA44F

Kill Me Next Week (Liz Baker, book 2)

Amazon Kindle: $0.99
B&N Nook: $0.99
Smashwords: $0.99 -- use coupon code BZ22X

Happy Black Friday. If you honor your life, stay home and read a book!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

As you read this, I'm on my way out of town for a day trip with Tim and our girls. We had the family Thanksgiving get-together last Saturday, freeing us up to do what ever we wanted today. With Tim off work and the girls out of school this week, what better time to take a trip?

Today we will spend the day in Pigeon Forge, TN. I have reservations for a late lunch and a show at Dixie Stampede at 1pm. When Tim & I saw the Christmas show there last year we knew we had to bring the kids back for it. And the best part: It's a Thanksgiving meal I don't have to cook or clean up after! Woohoo!

After our meal and show, we'll go spend some time shopping and visiting Gatlinburg before heading back home in the evening.

This is family togetherness at its best!

I hope you're having a beautiful day with the ones you love!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Who do I write for?

2011-11-14T07:49:00.008-05:00

One of the hardest things for an author to realize is that not everyone will enjoy your writings. Why would anyone not like my stuff, you wonder. I worked so hard on it. It's a great story. I don't understand.

It may take a while, but there comes a point in a writer's life where you finally, ultimately, shrug your shoulders and declare that your story isn't for everyone. Just as most people have a preferred genre they enjoy reading, many people have a preferred author, writing style, age limit, etc. Your story might fit a genre, but not fit the writing style. It's a dice game. You roll the dice and see what happens.

Out of dozens, hundreds, or more positive reviews across the world, there will always be that one who downrates a book/author with rants and nitpicking. You want to shout, comment back about why the rater is ignorant, etc. But what's the best thing to do?

Ignore it!

That's right, ignore the downrater, the hater of your book. If you have numerous people who enjoy your book, and this one person hates it, then ignore them. Your story just isn't for them. You don't like everything you read, and you can't expect everyone in the world to enjoy your story.

I write for the people who enjoy my stories. My time and writing energy is spent hoping to entertain those who like my work. The people who don't like it aren't worth the time I already don't have enough of. I write for the fans who take time out of their own busy schedules to let me know how much they enjoy my books. I write for the readers who don't have time to say hello, but still manage to snag my next new release.

I love my readers and I'm always working to set up the next fun thing, the next new release, the next goodie giveaway. . . anything that will make my fans happy and let them know I appreciate each and every one of them.

If you're reading this, most likely I write for you. :)

With all that being said, I'm still working on Killer Intentions (Liz Baker, book 3) and on the ball for a December release. The cover artist is hard at work on the new cover and we're hoping to release it for all to see on December 1st. Also, my editor is on stand-by as soon as I'm ready for her. I'm thinking (hoping) I'll have the file in her hands by Thanksgiving. There will be several rounds of edits and rewrites, and then the big release day will be here!

In the meantime, be on the look out for a Black Friday sale on the first two Liz Baker books, in preparation for the big release.

Thank you to all who read and enjoy my books. I'll keep writing the just for you. :)

*Image from: nkzs on Sxc.hu*

Win a free copy of Kill Me Next Week (Liz Baker, book 2)

2011-10-26T10:43:00.004-04:00

Happy Wednesday, everyone. As you all know, I'm busy at work on getting Killer Intentions (Liz Baker, book 3) finished and ready for its December release. So what better time to give away an autographed copy of book 2?

Stop by and check out my interview with The Hellfire Herald. Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win an autographed copy of Kill Me Next Week (Liz Baker, book 2) straight from lil ole me.

It's really that easy. :) So snap to it!

Back to work I go now. . .

Dönence coming soon!

2011-10-12T11:01:00.005-04:00

Monday morning I woke to an e-mail from my Turkish editor from ARVO Publishing. She let me know that A Birth at Dawn (Alex & Fiona, book 2) had completed translation and was currently in edits. In Turkey, it will be called Dönence, which means: A circle of life.

She also included the cover for me. As you can see, it's a lovely cover. However, my name is misspelled. Oops! It'll be okay though. They'll get it fixed like last time. It is funny though. Last time my last name was misspelled and this time it's my first name. Oh well, it'll probably be another month before it's released anyway, and I have no doubt it'll be fixed very soon. :)

In the meantime, while we're waiting for the big Dönence release day in Turkey, I finally have links to where people can purchase Book 1, Balans.

Idefix ~ Kitapyurdu ~ Dunya Kitap ~ Okuoku

These are the links Hulya (Turkish editor) sent me to share with everyone. Soooo, if you're a Turkish speaker/reader and would like to jump into the world of Alex & Fiona with book 1, here's your chance. :)

Writing for Liz & Family Projects

2011-10-11T20:21:00.004-04:00

Hello, friends. I hope everyone is having a pleasant October so far. I'm still getting it on with Killer Intentions (Liz Baker, book 3). Liz is currently leaving the beach and heading back to Adele's estate. Gregory is hot on her heels & Chad is just plain ole HOT!

I have some big plans for Liz and her cohorts during this book and over the next two or three (at least) books to come. Of course I also have the short stories to dish out as soon as Killer Intentions is finished.

If you've been on my Facebook page you've seen what else has been keeping me busy. We did a bedroom make-over for my little girls' shared room. I got some good deals at yard sales & put some elbow grease into refinishing a dresser for them. Their room got a paint job, turning it from pale purple to bright blue. We added a loft bed & the room turned out lot more spacious than before. There were several pictures of the process, including before, during and afters of the dresser, on my Facebook page.

This week I heard from my Turkish editor at ARVO. The second book in my Alex & Fiona series--A Birth at Dawn--has now been translated & is in edits. It also has a very nice cover, but they misspelled my name . . . again. For the last book they misspelled my last name and this time it's my first name. Sooooooo, when that has been corrected I'll share the new cover with all of you.

Speaking of my Turkish books . . . I now have a few links to Turkish book sellers for Balans (A Midnight Infatuation) to share with you. I'll put them up for anyone interested by the end of the week. :)

An update on my world.

2011-10-05T08:36:00.002-04:00

As you may have noticed, the time between my blog postings has stretched. I'm currently in a rush to finish up Killer Intentions (Liz Baker, book 3) in order to get it into editing and production as soon as possible. The book is scheduled for a December release, but will probably be toward the end of December.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet to work that the kids being back in school has afforded me. Not only that, but Tim has been working the day shift every other week here lately. That makes for very nice writing days.

I do all of my housework from the time I drop the kids at school until 9 A.M. After that I write from 9 to 1 P.M. and then a quick lunch before leaving to run errands and pick the kids up from school. I'm home between 3:30 & 4 P.M., when it's time to help with homework for three children, cook dinner, get everyone into showers/baths and then start bedtimes at 7:30 P.M. At which time, Tim makes it home from work (or is just leaving if he's on night shift) and it's time for me to stop for the day to relax. I watch about 2 hours of television--depending on the night--and then bedtime for me so I can do it all over again the next day.

Whew! Makes me tired just typing all that out. And that's just the week days. On the weekends I'm doing home projects (working on the little girls' bedroom right now), tending to my animals, and enjoying the time with my family.

So basically, what I'm trying to say is, you may not see too much of me online for the next few weeks. I'll be around, and will always answer e-mails/messages, but please be patient as I attempt to get Liz where she wants to be and still deal with family obligations. As soon as the story is in the hands of my editor I'll be back around. Until then, e-mail me if you need me. :)

The loss of innocence.

2011-09-27T08:25:00.004-04:00

At some point in a child's life they are no longer as innocent as they were the day before. It could be the death of a grandparent, a violent act against them or someone they love, or even just finding out the truth of Santa. As parents we do everything in our powers to keep this loss from happening, at least until they are much, much older . . . preferably after they're grown and out of our house. Unfortunately, that's not always possible.

Last Sunday, September 18, 2011 at approximately 10 P.M., my fourteen year old daughter lost a bit of her innocence. We were informed that her best friend, one of the sweetest girls I've ever met, had been murdered the day before. The following week was a hard one. Lots of tears and used Kleenex rained down upon our lives.

Last night, we attended the memorial service for this beautiful and talented girl. It was a lovely service and quite befitting such a child. The world is a better place having known her. Unfortunately, her life was cut so short that the world will never know what she could have done.

Rest in peace, sweet girl. You will always be remembered.

And to my own daughter: I'm so sorry that you had to lose your innocence at such a young age. If I could have prevented that I most definitely would have. Keep her in your heart, thoughts, actions and she'll always be with you.

A proper Balans translation.

2011-09-13T06:21:00.003-04:00

A little while back I posted the cover description of Balans, the Turkish translation of A Midnight Infatuation. Since I don't read or speak Turkish, I relied on Google Translator to help. Of course, we all know that Google Translator can't translate things 100% correctly. Maybe not even 90% correct. LOL.

The other day I received an e-mail from a kind person from Turkey--one who actually speaks and reads Turkey--and they were kind enough to provide me with a more proper translation.

So I figured I'd share it with all of you. :)

-------------------------------------------------

Laws, tules, traditions... You either marry one in your gang or accept the battle!

Fiona as a rebel wolf must be punished because of disobeying the rules of the gang. To run away? She can't do. To submit? Never! Revenge? Maybe...

She committed the ultimate sin, falling in love with a vampire. The price of the betrayal will be harsh. This price will not only hurt Fiona. Innocent ones will also taste their part.

A brand new journey to the world of werewolves and vampires, full of contrivance.
Sometimes passion, sometimes ambition.
Sometimes past will be lived in the future!
And sometimes your breath will be taken away.Ve an gelecek soluğunuz kesilecek!
There is no way without a way back; but souls weak for struggling.

-------------------------------------------------

From what I've been told, some things may still be incorrect because some words are more difficult to translate than others. Still, I find it interesting to see the different way things are worded for different cultures and languages. :)

Where to post reviews.

2011-09-12T11:17:00.004-04:00

I recently received an e-mail from one of my "#1 fans" asking where I'd like her to leave a review for Dark Promises, so I thought it would be a good time to blog about it. :)

I have three favorite places for book reviews/ratings. I always read the reviews left on these three sites, as I frequent them often for my personal reading list.

Amazon.com

B & N

GoodReads

Shelfari -- I like this site, but not there often.

Now, these aren't the only places for readers to share what they thought of a book, but they are my faves. :)

Back to school celebration!

2011-09-06T07:00:00.002-04:00

It's the first day back to school! Time for the 2011-2012 school year to begin. I hear the cheers of gleeful parents pushing their kids out of the house and cars with smiles on their faces and excitement in their hearts. "Have a good day, dear. I love you." Then they throw their hands to the heavens and scream, "WOOHOO!"

Or maybe that's just me. . .

After three months of summer vacation, several weeks of school preparation, and four school visits to two different schools last week, it's finally time for me to get back to MY work year. That's one of the best things about being a writer and stay-at-home mom; I can take off when my kids are out of school. However, I get antsy when I'm not creating on a regular basis. I miss my writing schedules, the worlds I work within, and conversing with my characters. That makes a new school year a time to celebrate. :)

So what do I have planned for my new work year?

The third Liz Baker novel

A new erotic novella

A short Liz Baker story that will be given away on the website for free

Preparing for & attending Book 'Em NC Conference & Book Fair in February

Staying on top of the Turkish book releases

All of that on top of my regular mommy & wife duties: housekeeping, animal care, errand running, family member helping, school volunteer, and the many other things that I do on a regular basis. I also have some home improvements planned, but not yet scheduled.

If you're a parent with kids heading back to school, I celebrate with you! We all have different reasons for being excited, but that doesn't mean the excitement is any less. And if your kids are anything like mine, they're just as excited to be heading back.

Here's an exciting new school year for us all!

Official cover for Balans

2011-08-26T12:22:00.006-04:00

It seems to have taken forever, but really it's only been a little over 2 months since I signed the contract to sell the Turkish translation rights to five of my books. And since they will be releasing them in Turkey in the order they were released here in the US, A Midnight Infatuation is first out of the gate.

Balans, the Turkish edition of A Midnight Infatuation, was suppose to be released in July, but we all know how the publishing world is full of pushed deadlines, late release dates, and downright frustrations. This was no different. I still don't have a solid release date (and this frustrates the hell out of me), but at least the cover is finally done.

I was sent the cover for Balans a couple of weeks ago, but my name was misspelled (missing the last "i" in Christie). I didn't think it would take too long to add that itty bitty letter, but I was wrong. Anyway, here's the completed front and back cover for BALANS.

I think it turned out amazing and was ultimately worth the wait. Next up is the big release date, which of course I'll let you all know about when I find out. :)

My Wall-of-Covers

2011-08-19T10:23:00.000-04:00

Each time I have a new book release I order a mini-poster of the cover, frame it, and then hang it on my family-dubbed Wall-of-Covers. I hope that one of these days I'll have a private office filled with framed covers, but for now I just have a wall. ;)

Last weekend I'd finally gotten around to framing the posters for Dark Promises and Alex & Fiona Forever. So Tim and I thought it would be a good time to take all the others down, dust them, and rehang them. Tim grabbed his laser level and we went to work.

So here's a little glimpse into my wild world. As you can see, there's plenty of space for another row of covers. ;)

Newsletters Need Love Too

2011-08-06T13:19:00.005-04:00

Some of you may recall that in previous years I had a monthly newsletter. However, finding the time to get a monthly newsletter out each month without simply regurgitating stuff that was already on the website and/or all the social networks became more of a chore than I was able to keep up with. So, I informed the subscribers that the newsletter would cease. Some were quite upset and let me know that they'd miss it dearly.

That brings us to the present. A newsletter is a huge benefit to any author and their fan base, so I've started a new one. This newsletter will only be for big announcements, new book releases, appearances, contests and giveaways. Basically, the big stuff. It will go out 3 - 6 times a year, as need dictates to share new developments with everyone.

I decided to make this decision immediately when one of my regular readers, a lady who buys each and every book I release, didn't know about Dark Promises until it had been out for two months. Eek! That was the quencher!

If you're a regular follower, or even just someone interested in knowing where I might pop up next (Book 'Em NC in February!), then please stop by and join. With the newsletters only going out 3 -6 times a year you won't have to worry about a full inbox from lil ole me. :)

Come on, sign up today! You know you want to. :)

Turkish release of A Midnight Infatuation

2011-08-04T08:34:00.001-04:00

Just a little update on the Turkish release of A Midnight Infatuation (Alex & Fiona, book 1):

Yes, it was suppose to release in July, but that's how the publishing world goes. Looks like it'll be an August release instead. My editor assures me that all is well and the book will be out soon. She let me know that the Turkish title is BALANS, which means "balance" and is apparently a very popular word in Turkey.

She also sent me the back cover summary. I don't know Turkish, so I used Google Translator on it, and we all know how that goes. Makes for some funny translations. Anyway, here's the Turkish version with the English translation: BALANS plot summary.

Now I'm waiting to see some cover art and then it should all be set for release in Turkey. Once that's complete I'll share purchase links for this newly translated edition. :)

Chickens and Novels

2011-08-03T13:31:00.005-04:00

No, I haven't lost my mind. Yes, I know you're thinking that chickens and novels have nothing in common. However, I've come to realize that raising chickens and writing a novel do, in fact, have a lot in common.

Two weeks ago one of my hens laid her first egg. I wasn't expecting any of them to start laying until mid- to late August, but there it was, our first egg. It took her a few days after that before she started laying one perfect egg each day. Now we just wait on the other two hens to catch up with her.

So what does that have to do with novels?

You raise these little fluffy chicks, putting all your care and attention into them, making sure they have all the ingredients they need to become healthy and productive egg layers, and then you toss them out into the world hoping for the best. Just biding your time, waiting for your payback in return for all you've given.

And then the big day arrives! Your first egg(s)! All the care you've put into your chickens has now paid off. And if you're anything like me, you coo and praise your girls each morning as you collect the lovely little gifts they've left for you.

Still not getting how it's like a novel? Well, let me see.

You put your heart and soul into writing your story. You make sure your characters behave (or don't) according to plan. Their perilous journey makes everyone life difficult, but eventually it comes to completion and the story is over. You edit, and edit, and edit, and then you have someone else edit, before you edit again. You pay attention to every little detail, putting all your care and attention into it, making sure it has all the ingredients needed for a healthy and productive future on the book market.

Sound familiar?

In the end, you just have to let it fly and wait to see if all your hard work is going to pay off. And when it does, you coo and praise it for all the lovely little gifts it leaves for you in the shape of loyal readers and royalty checks each month.

Pictured above are the first four eggs my hen left for me. We made a pancake and eggs breakfast with them, and they tasted better than any eggs I've ever had. :)

Digital Autographs

2011-07-28T14:22:00.004-04:00

There has been much discussion over the years about how an author can't autograph an e-book. Many technically savvy people have thrown around ideas and programs from time to time in an attempt to remedy this problem, but this is the first time I've seen one that I like the looks of.

Yesterday I discovered Kindlegraph. This is a site where people can search for the books they like, send the author an autograph request, and the receive the autograph directly to their Kindle. It's quite interesting.

It only took a few minutes for me to add all of my available books to the site, and now anyone can request a digital autograph for their copies. I've already sent a few and look forward to sending more.

You simply log in using your Twitter account, update your account information to include your Kindle's e-mail address (there are instructions for that), and then start requesting digital autographs. I've heard that some people are making separate folders in their Kindles just for all the autographs they're collecting.

All in all, I find this website intriguing and quite useful. I'll be sharing the link with everyone who stops by my table at Book 'Em NC in February as well. :)

Life is crazy, but oh-so-fun!

2011-07-25T11:45:00.003-04:00

Whew! It's hectic around here. July has been filled with appointments, birthdays, parties, surprises and dealines. It's no wonder I feel like I haven't slept all month and have a nonstop headache since June ended. Yeah, I think I need to hit the thesaurus for a stronger word than hectic.

So let's see . . . In the past week I've celebrated 2 birthdays, discovered that one of our chickens laid our first egg (albeit in the wrong place), hosted a pool party, and am rushing against a deadline. Most of my days are running wel past 1 A.M. each night, an my to-do list seems to be growing instead of shrinking.

Even with all the craziness, we've had a lot of fun. The party was a blast, even though I'm glad it's over. The deadline will pay off when the new book is out there in the world for all to enjoy. The headaches and sleepless nights will subside when the kids start back to school in September and I can work during the days again. Until then, I'm dosing with Excedrin Migraine, a can of Coke and working between loads of laundry and arguments between children.

Is it September yet?

Plans for the week

2011-07-12T15:45:00.003-04:00

Last week was a bust, what with Tim being off work and the kids home for summer break. Everyone was here and no one wanted to get along. There was more than one occasion where I threw my hands up in the air and declared an end to my day. Yep, it wasn't pleasant.

This week Tim goes back to work and the fighting between the children seems to have slowed down. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get some actual work completed. At least I have a list showing me what all I want to complete this week.

That's not to say nothing was completed last week. Oh no, there was definitely a good bit marked off my list. However, most of that was household stuff and not book stuff. Yeah, I'm happy about the household stuff, but I'd rather have the peace, quiet and alone time to complete my book stuff. I get frustrated when my writing time is decreased.

So, here I am, typing up my plans for the week for all to see.

Complete edits on a three book project

Discuss the new cover of Alex & Fiona Forever with my beloved designer

Work on Liz Baker, book 3--which is still untitled

Remind everyone that TIME FOR DEATH (Liz Baker, book 1) is still on sale for only $0.99 on Kindle and Nook

Continue working on the list of goodies I need to order for the Book 'Em NC event in February

Take my children to the library on Friday

Finish reading DEAD IF I DO by Tate Hallaway so I can take it back to the library

And still be the perfect wife & mother with the clean house, clean laundry and three meals a day on the table.

Whew! That's a lot to do in only 7 days. Well, I guess it's technically 6 days since today's Tuesday. It's no damn wonder I never feel like there's enough hours in the day. And here I am distracted from all this proposed work with wondering what color to paint my nails next.

InkPop and Teen Writers

2011-07-04T20:29:00.002-04:00

I don't normally advertise for other companies, but I was contacted by an employee of Harper Collins wanting me to check out the site called InkPop.com and possibly mention something about it here on the blog. Even that isn't usually a good enough reason for me to share stuff I don't use or like

However... this site is very cool for the teen writer! InkPop focuses mainly on YA and teen writers, and as I don't write YA and certainly not a teen writer any longer, I had my teenager check it out as well. She's 14 (almost 15, she says) and loves reading and writing. Her words were, "It's cool, Mom. I like it and will definitely use it."

From what she told me, the only thing she didn't like is how difficult they have the password section of registration. It has a specific requirement on how your password should be. Something like 6 letters, 1 has to be a number and 1 has to be capitalized... or some such nonsense. She made it through though and moved on into using the site.

Anyway, the site seems to appeal to teens with ways to earn "badges" during your time there by doing things like writing short stories, writing poetry, helping out with critiques, writing fiction and even just trying out everything once. There are 25 badges in total, so there's plenty for the aspiring teen writer to try their hand at.

If you have a teen that enjoys writing, send them this way. They'll find lots of other people who enjoy the same things they do and possibly lead the way to a lifelong enjoyment of the written word. As an author, I like to encourage others to give it a try. I know my teen is.

Get Time for Death for only $0.99!

2011-07-01T07:45:00.041-04:00

Good morning friends. Welcome to July! Can you believe June is already over? I know I can't. July will be a busy month for me, but I wanted to do something for my beloved readers.

If you're interested in picking up a copy of Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1) now is definitely the time to do so. During the month of July you can pick up Time for Death on Kindle or Nook for only $0.99.

Here are a few of the nice things that have been said about Liz Baker:

"The main character, Liz, is a strong, independant woman with just the right amount of vulnerability. Her male friends are sweet yet uber-sexy. Christie keeps you on the edge of your seat, always wanting to know what happens next." -- Sherie Anderson -- Amazon

"I loved Liz, she is a great character, just enough sass, strength, and a touch of baggage." -- Bryan Curry, Hellmouth Podcast

"Her entire world is rolling in the onslaught of twisted circumstances that keeps you on the sharpened edge of that dangerous blade of anticipation." -- Robin Renee Ray

"Ms. Silvers has outdone herself yet again." -- Mind Fog Reviews

You can read the complete reviews on the Liz Baker page.

Now, get on over there and pick up your copy while the gettin's good. ;)

Alex & Fiona Forever

2011-06-29T07:45:00.003-04:00

As is common knowledge amongst my readers, I'm working on book 3 of the Liz Baker series. Liz is getting busy down in Savannah for right now. However, I'm also working on another project: a re-release of all three Alex & Fiona books in one hardcover edition.

Yep, all three Alex & Fiona stories in one easy-to-carry hardcover book. With the Turkish translations moving right along for these three books I thought it would be something nice to do for the English readers that have enjoyed these two characters for many years now.

We're working on formatting right now, and then I'll see if my lovely cover designer has anything up her sleeve that will do justice to the three covers we already have (I love those covers!). I'm looking forward to holding these three stories in one hardcover copy. It'll be a big one, but should be cheaper to purchase like this than in the three separate books.

This new edition *should* be available in the next month, or so. I will, of course, let everyone know when the time comes.

Now I should go get some family stuff done and then start my writing for the day. I hope you have a lovely Wednesday. :)

Event: Book 'Em North Carolina

2011-06-22T19:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was invited to attend the Book 'Em North Carolina event on February 25, 2012. Today I agreed to attend!

This will be my first event outside the local area and most definitely outside the state. It will take over 14 hours of driving (to & from) and 2 nights in a hotel, but it sounds like a lot of fun. There are said to be about 75 authors and over 1,000+ members of the public in attendance. Attendance is FREE, so I hope to meet many new people.

Details:
Date: Saturday, February 25, 2012
Where: Robeson Community College Lumberton, North Carolina
Time: 9:30 am - 4:00 pm

For more details, visit http://www.bookemnc.org/ and click on the "Attendees" button. To see a list of participating authors use the "authors" button.

I'll be signing and selling Liz Baker books. A percentage of all books sold will go toward the Lumberton community to help with increased literacy and decreased crime rates. If you come see me while I'm there I'll have a variety of goodies to share with you. I'm even considering making Tim take pictures for me so I can email everyone their own copies when I get home. I'll post more details about the goodies when we're closer to the event date.

I hope to see you there!

Writing a Liz Baker story.

2011-06-21T10:21:00.000-04:00

My character, Liz Baker, is currently my favorite character to work with. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't say that out loud. Will it make my other characters jealous? Should I treat all my characters equally? Nah! Liz is my favorite!

That being said, she sure as hell can be a difficult character to work with. She's stubborn, demanding, hates to be set on the sidelines when I just don't have the time to deal with her, and she gloats terribly when I come crawling back apologizing for not finding time to work with her. Yeah, she's difficult, but ultimately that's what makes her fun.

I have a routine when it comes to writing a Liz story. I require quiet, no distractions, and loud music. Sounds contradictory doesn't it? Quiet and loud music. LOL! Well, basically I need other people to be quiet and my music to be loud. It's so difficult to stay in a scene when people are roaming around or trying to talk to me. This is why I work when the children are asleep, not here, or playing outside.

I keep saying that one of these days I'll have an office, with a door that locks. And then once my music is on I won't hear anyone. Then I remember that by the time I have that office my kids will be moved out into the world themselves and there won't be anyone to distract me. LOL. Oh well, you deal with what you have and move on.

Anyway, back to Liz. She's my favorite and I plan to work with her for many more books to come. I'm currently working on book three in her series, and already have plans for two more. I see several adventures in her future.

I hope those of you who enjoy Liz and her world aren't suffering too much with the lack of a new story. I'm *planning* on book 3 being ready or very close to ready for release by the end of the year. Now if I could find the right title for it... Any suggestions?

Camping w/ casualties

2011-06-20T13:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday! Time to start a brand new week. We spent most of last week in a camper up in Pigeon Forge, TN. The days went by fast, but everyone came home exhausted and suntanned (or burned). So I'd have to say it was a successful mini-vacation. There are a few pictures of the trip in the photo gallery.

We went up Wednesday morning and got there around lunch time. Tim had enough time to set the camper up and I fed the children their lunch before the rain started. It didn't end until well after dark. Day 1, no good. Grumpy kids couped up in a 29 foot camper isn't a pleasant way to spend your time. Trust me on that one.

As for the casualty, well, the storm brought high winds, hail, booming thunder that shook everything, and lots of lightning. There were eight campers in the campground that lost their awnings that night, and we just so happened to be one of them. Tim was extremely upset, but I assured him that everything is repairable. Once he found out we weren't the only ones his mood improved. LOL. Men!

After that first night everything went better. The sun came out; we did a lot of swimming; the kids enjoyed trips to the arcade, coming home with lots of little goodies; and we even tried two restaurants we'd never eaten at. Oh, and of course there was shopping to be done--most of it window shopping, but shopping nonetheless.

All in all, it was a fun trip. We're hoping to take another one toward the end of August, but that's just a consideration right now. We'll see how July goes first. LOL!

I hope you all had a nice weekend and a belated Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

Reading a book series in order

2011-06-13T08:35:00.006-04:00

I love reading books that are in a series. I like being able to get a more detailed knowledge about the characters and their world with each additional book. And of course I like writing series books.

My question is: Do you expect a book in the middle of the series to explain, in detail, things that happened in all th book that came before it? Or are you good with passing mentions of previous events as it pertains to the book you're currently reading?

The reason I ask is that I noticed some bad reviews on the book I'm currently reading only because it didn't explain past events in the series and "expected" the reader to already know their details.

Personally, I find this ridiculous. I'm on book 3 in this series and I know all about the previous events because...now this is a doozy...I READ THE TWO BEFORE IT! OMG! Yes, you're suppose to read books in order when they're in a series. I thought everyone knew this little tidbit of information. So why in the world would someone give a book a bad review because it didn't tell you what you should already know before you started reading the book? Sheesh!

Now, if anyone out there thinks this way, and want to try their hand at reading my series books, just don't do it out of order. I don't write that way. I will mention past things/people/events as it pertains to the current story and will NOT explain it in full detail. Liz will say something like, "Marcus, my ex vampire lover who I just so happen to have stacked and burned his body in a mountain cabin." She will NOT go into greater detail talking about how Marcus murdered so & so, or how he said this and that, or how the cabin smelled/looked before she burned it down. Why? Because none of that pertains to the current story. If you want to know all that then you should have read book 1 before reading book 3.

To me, it just makes sense.

I don't get the bad reviews about this nonsense. Seriously, have some people gotten this lazy in their reading habits? *Shakes head in amazement*

WIP & My Happiness

2011-06-09T08:38:00.016-04:00

WIP is what writers call their most recent work in progress. If you're on Twitter or Facebook you've probably seen someone comment on their WIP from time to time. Well, that is if you're following any writers to begin with.

The other day I was complaining about not being able to get any work done on my current WIP: Liz Baker, book 3. However, yesterday I managed to crank out a good bit of work in it. YAY! I was definitely feeling like a happy camper when I was finished. How did I manage any work? Well, I had to do a bad mommy thing and sit the two younger girls in front of the television to watch a dvd movie. I got an whole 1 hour and 18 minutes of writing time. I won't say it was uninterrupted time though, as I had to stop halfway through to break up a screaming argument between the two of them. That's always fun.

Anyway, yesterday was a good writing day, leaving me feeling happy and relieved. There's something about the kind of release only writing allows me. I don't know if it's the same for all writers, but for me writing is something my mind craves, and without it I ended up feeling frustrated and disheveled. Even these blog entries aren't enough to satisfy the requirement. It's my outlet.

Before I started writing on a regular basis I had other things to occupy my desire for productivity. I bet you didn't know that I owned two different homemade bath supply companies before jumping into writing as a career. During those days when I became frustrated I'd go to my workshop and experiment with new soap fragrances and designs. create new bath salt combinations, order supplies I was running low on, or take pictures of new products for the website. It kept me pretty busy, especially during the holiday seasons.

But even all that didn't keep me satisfied. Only writing does that, and when I can't get the time to write I get frustrated...as you all witnessed the other day. Eek!

Anyway, Liz is well into her next adventure and I'm feeling light and shiny today. I'm off to do my weekly grocery shopping trip, visit with my mother and grandmother, go by the library, and stop by the post office. If I get it all done fast enough I *might* get the chance to scrap out another thousand words, or so. Fingers Crossed!

Week Two: Insanity Sets In

2011-06-07T10:16:00.001-04:00

Summer Break: Week Two

This week isn't starting off the way I had hoped. Saturday went okay, but it all started down hill on Sunday morning. Yep, that's when the insanity started to grow. I knew things weren't going to go as easily this week as they did last week.

Sunday we had a family reunion to go to for Tim's mother's side of the family. We stopped down at FIL's house to see if he was ready; he was as far from it as he could be. FIL was having trouble breathing and I ended up calling 911 to take him to the hospital. That set it up with Tim going to the hospital with FIL and me taking the kids up the mountain to the reunion.

The day was beautiful for an outside family gathering, if only there had been family there. Yep, there were only 10 of us by the time I left, two hours after the scheduled time. Some were sick, the majority had a funeral to attend, and others just didn't show up. The kids were disappointed that their favorite cousins (and the only ones their ages) didn't arrive either.

At least we came back down off the mountain with full tummies and plates of food for later that evening. No cooking for Mommy--other than the more than two dozen homemade dinner rolls I made the night before and half were brought home due to no one being there to eat them.

There was a hospital visit with FIL (he has pneumonia, again) and then finally home for the evening.

That brings us to Monday. I won't even go into how screwed up that day was. Ugh! And it doesn't look like today will be any better.

I miss Liz. I miss my quiet days. I hate having to shush the kids all day so Tim can sleep. Now I remember why I'm always so relieved when school starts back. My fingers miss flying across the keyboard (which is probably why this entry is too damn long).

Whatever, I suppose. I'm now off to get dressed so I can run numerous errands, listen to whining children, and take more stuff to FIL in the hospital. Oh, and while we're there I get the enjoyment of making the children share the elevator button pushing responsibilities.

Mental Writing for the masses.

2011-06-04T08:20:00.008-04:00

The other day I complained to Tim that I hadn't gotten any book work done this week other than mentally. He laughed and asked, "What the heck is 'mental' book work?" Duh! Geez, some people...

Those of you who are writers know exactly what mental writing is, but for those of you who don't, it's what we writers do when we don't have the time to sit down and actually type/write our stories or articles. Most writers write in their heads from the time they wake up 'til the moment their brains close down for the night. And some of us (myself included) continue "writing" in our sleep. Dreams come in handy when writing fiction.

When the kids are screaming about some sibling unfairness I'm wondering how Liz will tolerate me putting her in a swimsuit. When Tim is texting me from work because he's bored, I'm contemplating the color of Liz's hotel room comforter. As I'm fighting with my pillow and trying my damnedest to fall asleep, I'm being hit with the most perfect solution to tie the next Liz Baker book together with a planned short story I'll be offering for free here in the future.

Do you get it now? It's mental writing!

It helps to know that even when I can't seem to find the quiet time to put fingers to keyboard in my current book file I always have the time to work ideas out in my head, and my notebook and ink pen is never far away.

The end to a busy week.

2011-06-03T08:41:00.007-04:00

On one hand I can't believe how fast this week went by, but on the other it was such a busy week that I'm surprised it's not a new week already. However, I feel that I provided the children with an enjoyable first week of summer vacation and put the next three months into a good groove.

Speaking of the children, yesterday the teen and I got some great news. Back a few weeks ago we went to a school assembly that discussed the kids going into high school and allowed them to sign up for classes. My teen took the plunge and signed up for four AP/Honors classes. I didn't expect her to get them all, but really hoped she'd get into the English class. Yesterday her AP English teacher called to let me know she had! Yay!!

Teen and I were so pleased we cheered and did a little happy dance around her bedroom. Woohoo! I have to go this afternoon to pick up her summer reading list and take her to the library to get a jump on them.

Not only is she getting a class she wanted, but it's a class I had at her age and enjoyed immensely (duh! writer here). Also, if we have any hopes of her getting the HOPE scholarship for college she has to have at least 2 AP classes during her 4 years of high school. She's halfway there now. And now we wait to se if she gets any of the other three she requested. *Fingers Crossed*

And to top the week off, the kids will spend tonight with my mother. Tim and I are going out for dinner and then home to watch movies. Should be a pleasant evening and the perfect ending to this insane week.

Here I come, Turkey!

2011-06-01T08:45:00.001-04:00

It has happened! I'm going to be an internationally published author next month! Yay! Though, considering my books are also available on Amazon UK and Amazon Germany, I may already be considered internationally published. LOL!

Anyway, this will be the first time my books are sold in a language other than English.

Yesterday I signed the contract with ARVO, a Turkish publishing house, for the translation rights to all five of my current novels. That's all three Alex & Fiona books and both current Liz Baker books. As the contract states, A Midnight Infatuation (Alex & Fiona, book 1) is due to be released in Turkey in July. All the books will be translated and have brand new covers to suit the Turkish readers. Even though I won't be able to read a single word of it, I'm excited to see the books in their Turkish forms.

This foreign rights stuff is all new to me, so I was a bit anxious at first. However, after speaking with other authors who have worked with or currently are working with ARVO I decided to just jump in and go for it. To quote Nike, sometimes we have to Just Do It! So I did. Fingers crossed for success and happiness to come.

If all works out, they may want future books when the time comes. We'll have to wait and see how it goes.

Animas in stories.

2011-05-31T13:01:00.000-04:00

This morning I was doing a little research on my chickens. I do this when I have a specific thought or question regarding their raising and health. I like to know that all is going the way its suppose to be. Yes, I'm a bit OCD about knowing things, but isn't that what makes a writer a writer?

Anyway, this research brought me to the thought of putting a passing mention of chickens into my next story. Maybe someone Liz knows will have chickens, give her a batch of fresh eggs, or have an escaped chick. I don't think there are enough chickens that aren't being sacrificed in urban fantasy. LOL! All this research has to be good for something besides boring articles.

What do you think about animals in stories? Do you think the main character's beloved pet adds to the story? Or do you just skim over mentions of a Liz's bitchy cat, Tara, and get to the good stuff? Do you think caring for pets makes the heros/heroines more realistic?

I think animals add another level to any story. It doesn't matter if the main character is annoyed by morning bird songs or turning into a bird themselves. Animals bring something more primal, natural, into a story.

Anyway, enough animal rambling for today. The day is flying by and I still have more work to do in preparation for the next chapter I'm working on. Have a great one! I hope you've recovered from your Memorial Day

School's out for summer!

2011-05-30T14:25:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day ladies and gents. How is your day going? Mine has been pretty uneventful...just the way I like it. The kids even worked through their new summer chore charts without a hitch. I highly doubt their gusto for the new chores will last the entire summer though.

So school has been out for four days now and I'll be damned if my eyes haven't popped open every single morning at 6 am. Of course if school was still in 6am would be considered running late at my house. But still, how fair is that? Sheesh! I hope my internal clock starts running a little later over the next few days. Now, that's not saying that I'm actually getting out of bed at 6 am. No way in hell! Nope, I just roll over and go back to sleep for another two hours. Then again, after I've had a few days of laziness I may just take advantage of the 6am wake up call and get some writing work done before the kids wake up for the day. We'll see.

Though it's not technically summer yet, it certainly feels like it here in Georgia. We've had highs in the 90s already. We even filled the kiddie pool for the little girls yesterday. It's going to be a hot one when summer actually arrives. In my opinion it's better to have a hot summer than a bitterly cold and wet winter.

On the work front, it looks like I'll soon be an "Internationally Published Author". I've agreed to the contract from the Turkish publishing house ARVO and my books will be released in Turkey, starting with A Midnight Infatuation (Alex & Fiona, book 1) in July. All other books will follow in the months after, all the way to February 2012. I'm looking forward to this new endeavor and hope they are a great success with the Turkish readers. More to come as I have updates to share.

Before I go, be sure to pop over to the Facebook page and check out a special Manly Monday in honor of Memorial Day. It's definitely worth the click.

Making a change.

2010-05-17T08:26:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday morning to you all. It was a crazy weekend around here, but then again, when isn't it a crazy weekend around here? LOL.

Before I start rambling and then have to delete it, I'd like to announce that I've officially started the moving of this blog off of Blogger and over to the website. I've already copied the last three entries over there, along with NetworkBlogs and Feedburner. Therefore, this will be the last entry on this Blogger page and all the new stuff will be over at http://www.christiesilvers.com/apps/blog/

If you're following here on Blogger, feel free to delete this site from your following list and add the link above. I've already tested it and know that it works. :)

I look forward to seeing you there!

Saturday.

2010-05-15T09:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Saturday morning to everyone. What will you be up to this weekend? I have laundry to tend to today, but other than that there won't be too much else on the agenda. We'll be winging it.

It was suppose to rain yesterday, but ended up quite a lovely day. There was some thunder after dark last night, yet not a drop of rain fell. It didn't really matter much though, as I had so much to do yesterday that didn't involve relaxing outside.

I went with Tim and FIL to take care of all the will mess. We had to hang out at probate court for a while. After all was said and done, FIL surprised me by instructing me that I needed to start looking for a new van because...

He's going to buy my one!! *Shock* I assured him that he didn't have to do such a thing, but he insisted that yes, he will be doing it and I need to start looking. LOL! It won't be brand new--since I don't buy brand new no matter who's paying the bill--but it will be newer than my '97 Dodge Caravan.

Now to just find something I like well enough to put down someone else's money on. ;-) I'll start the search next week while the kids are in school. Father-in-law is an absolute doll. He always has been. *Love*

In the meantime, I'm still looking for a buyer on the old van. I put out a new ad and have already gotten some phone calls. However, they came in during the time we were in court yesterday and now I've gotta listen to their voicemail messages again and call them back. Maybe I can get the van sold before a new one arrives. :-)

Well, now I'm off to start laundry. I typed this while sitting out on the front porch. The temperature is perfect right now, but here in Georgia that won't last long. By lunchtime it'll be too hot to stay out for long. Therefore, I'm going to throw in a load of laundry and then come back out to make my phone calls.

I hope you all have a lovely day. :-)

Writing outside.

2010-05-14T07:23:00.029-04:00

Yay, it's Friday! Unfortunately, it's suppose to be a rainy Friday. Tim is on his way home right now, and after he gets a shower we have to go out with his dad. Father-in-law has decided to update his will now that Mother-in-law is gone, and Tim needs to go with him to the lawyer's office to sign the papers to be beneficiary. FIL knows that it'll be me taking care of all that mess when the time comes though. LOL.

After all that is finished, I'll bring Tim back home to crash in bed for the day. Poor guy is exhausted from his first week of night shift in over five years. But, he'll get into the swing of things soon enough.

Since today is suppose to be rainy, I'm glad that I spent most of yesterday outside. It was cool and comfy until well into the afternoon--when it became stiflingly hot--so I took the 5 year old and Rex the Super Pup outside. They played while I sat in the shade and worked. It was quite relaxing and productive all at the same time.

Sitting out in the brightness of a beautiful spring day made me think about the normality of night scenes in urban fantasy. And in that, Ive decided that we need more battles in the daylight--unless a vampire is required for the scene, obviously. Therefore, the last battle scene in Kill Me Next Week will be in the sunshine. Yep, sunshine can be helpful when you need to kill an enemy, don't you think?

Obviously I'm not to the last battle scene in the story yet, but that's not to say I don't already know how it's going to play out. As a matter of fact, I started writing A Midnight Infatuation knowing the ending and having to create a world where the characters could reach that ending. Same goes for Time For Death. The other two, well, not so much. You never know how a story is going to play out until you begin it.

Speaking of characters, I guess I better get going. Tim is about to pull up in the driveway and a very busy Friday is about to begin. I hope you have a nice one. :-)

*Photo: A beautiful blue, spring sky as viewed from my front porch yesterday.*

Aliens, Vampires & Conferences

2010-05-13T07:30:00.004-04:00

Morning, morning. This has been an interesting week for me. There's the new schedule of Tim working nights to start with. However, more than that, I've been on an "old" tv show kick.

Tuesday night I discovered that Netflix has all three seasons of Farscape in Instant Play. Woohoo! I love Farscape! I used that opportunity to share my favorite aliens with the teenager. She has such similar taste in tv, movies, and music with me that I knew she'd enjoy it. And I was right!

Then, Wednesday I found all the Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows in Instant Play too! Yay! I had to share those with the teenager too. She was ecstatic when I showed them to her. So much so that she was begging to stay up half an hour past her bedtime to watch another episode. I, of course, agreed. ;-)

Now that we've covered the aliens and vampires...

This week I'm attending a publishing conference. Luckily, it's an online conference and I don't have to worry about the cash or time away from the family for it. One of these days I will find the time and money to go to one of the big New York conferences. Maybe after the kids are grown...

Oh, have you noticed the new banner over there? ---->

If you're a writer and would like to join in, click on the banner and it'll take you where you need to go to lean all about it and to sign up for yourself. We should all be proud of our writing no matter what your skill level and chosen topic. :-)

Here at home this morning I'm ready for a few hours of writing. There is no laundry to wash, the kitchen is already clean, the living room has been vacuumed, and the 5 year old is being quite cooperative. Here's hoping I can knock out a few hundred words in Kill Me Next Week before she tires of being cooperative and starts wanting to play cards. If the day is sunny I may just take the laptop outside and work while she plays with the puppies.

Well, I'm off. Tim is about to arrive home from work and he may need to be tucked into bed after his shower. ;-)

Survival!

2010-05-12T08:06:00.036-04:00

Yep, I'm here. I survived my first night alone. It took a while to get to sleep, but I didn't wake up too much more than I usually do. I did have a bout of tears from the 5 year old when her bedtime rolled around because she didn't get to kiss her daddy good-night. Poor little one.

Tim came home pretty exhausted this morning, but we turned the bedroom into a cave by blocking all sunlight. He should sleep pretty well today. It'll take some time, but he'll get use to the night shift again.

Last night the winner of my Time For Death giveaway shared that she'd received the goodies. Here's what she had to say about it. Yay, I won – Thank you Christie! From Karlyn

I enjoy giving goodies to deserving fans. I'm always thinking about new ways to accomplish just that. However, due to time constraints and family responsibilities, I can only do it a few times a year. I don't know when the next one will be, but there WILL be a next one. :-)

Today I'm working on laundry. It's not pleasant, but it has to be done. The kids have a tendency to let their hamper get over full before they bring it to me. When that happens it takes a lot longer to finish it all.

While all the laundry is doing its thing, I'm going to work on a couple of articles to get the writing juices flowing and then I'll jump into Kill Me Next week. Only two more weeks until school ends and I'll be able to do my best writing in the dark of night. Darkness is much more conducive to writing about supernatural beings. Oh, and sex scenes flow faster in the night. ;-)

Until then, I'll be working on small daylight scenes and editing. Every little bit helps to move the process forward, even if only at a snail's pace.

Okay, I'm off. Have a great Hump Day!

Sparkles & Fur

2010-05-11T09:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Tuesday morning. It's a cloudy, windy day here.

I've already had a busy day and it's not even 9 a.m. yet. Most of my work has been online, but then again, that is where my work world lives. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I quite enjoy the online world and all the wonderful people I've met over the years.

Some of those people have been over on the Facebook Fan Page entertaining me with their ideas on sparkling vampires and hairy werewolves.

It appears that more people would prefer being lovers with a vampire than a werewolf, with the #1 reason being that werewolves are too hairy. Oh, and dog allergies. LOL! Though some prefer werewolves due to their higher body temperature, and you know how us women always have frozen feet. ;-)

Then I threw out the question of whether or not real vampires sparkle. That one was funny! According to the answers, the majority don't agree with sparkling vampires. One friend made the point that it would be quite difficult to sneak up on someone for a feed if you sparkled. A very good point indeed.

It's a lot of fun hearing other people's thoughts on the subjects I love.

I suppose I must be going now. Tim starts night work tonight & has gone back to bed for a few hours. I have more work to get done before he wakes up, pick-up time gets here, the kids come home, and I have to make a quick dinner before dashing off to Science Night at the elementary school. Eek! Where do the days go?

Have a good one!

Errands never stop.

2010-05-10T07:56:00.000-04:00

Monday, Monday, Monday. Time to start another new week. Are you awake yet?

Mother's Day was very nice. My teenager was quite determined that I know how much she loves me. After visiting FIL we came home and I was going to clean the kitchen. She said, "No!" and she cleaned the kitchen herself. Then when it came to dinnertime, Tim grilled steaks and the teenager made the baked potatoes. While dinner was cooking, she then went to the little girls' room and made sure they cleaned it. LOL! She was very helpful and showing her sweet side. Awww!

You never know when the teenage attitude will sneak back in though. You gotta take when you can get it. ;-)

I have more errands to run today. They never seem to end. The school year is coming to an end and I go into crazy mode to get it all done before I have three kids tagging along. Once school is out, most of my daytime errands will involve fun things with the kids to keep them out of the house while Tim sleeps.

Today I have to go buy groceries. That in itself will take up most of the morning. This is my one big shopping trip for the month and it always takes a while. The rest of the month will consist of small trips for staples.

I want to share the first Amazon review on Time For Death! It was posted on May 1st, but I didn't see it until yesterday. Stop by and check out what Sherie Anderson had to say in "Her best yet!"

It makes me happy when someone shares that they enjoy the books. I'm guilty of this myself, but it's hard to get people to leave feedback for books on Amazon, so it's extra special when someone does.

Before I go, be sure to stop by the Facebook Fan Page. We've been discussing werewolf movies, Supernatural, and romancing vampires and werewolves. I love reading all the answers! Some of them crack me up!

Okay, I'm off for today. Time to head out and get things done. Tim starts night shift this week and this will be the only day I'll have him awake in the daylight hours. I better get as much out of him as I can. LOL!

Have a great Monday. :-)

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T09:16:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms out there. I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable day, no matter what the day has in store for you. :-)

My girls bought roses for me yesterday. Three roses for each of my three kiddos. Awww!

Yesterday we went with FIL to help him smooth out MIL's grave and check on the flowers. We put some Mother's Day flowers on her grave too. I do believe it will be a rough day for FIL, but hopefully our regular Sunday visit will help him. He loves to spend time with the girls.

Tim and I had a great night out Friday. We saw an early showing of Iron Man 2 and then went to Red Lobster for dinner. It was quite nice & we both walked away stuffed. I told you we'd get out of there cheap due to the free movie tickets and high dollar Red Lobster coupons, and we did! After the coupons, I tossed a $20 on the table and that was that. That included the tip too!

Talk about a cheap date. Woohoo! We even made it home in time for Tim to watch the Nascar race. LOL. Not bad at all.

Well, I better get off of here before all the kids wake up. I have no idea what they have planned for the day, but hopefully it will include less arguing from them. ;-)

Escaping...

2010-05-07T07:45:00.000-04:00

Tim is home this morning. Yesterday was his last day of day shift. Starting next Tuesday he'll be working nights, and I'll have to learn to sleep alone for 3 days out of the week. Luckily, once the kids are out of school I won't have to worry about going to bed at a decent hour in order to wake up at 6am.

Years ago when Tim was working nights, I discovered that my most favorite time of day to write was actually when he was at work and everyone in the house was fast asleep. The silence of midnight is golden when you're trying to write a vampire sex scene. I'd stay up and work until 2 a.m., knocking out 2-3 chapters a night, and then sleep until 9 a.m., when the kids would finally demand some sort of morning nourishment. I loved those nights!

Unfortunately, my writing day yesterday wasn't as successful as I'd hoped it would be. The 5yr old did not comprehend the part about me actually working. What's funny is that most of her demands were for me to spell words for her. When they're this age and interested in the spelling of words, well, you just gotta do it.

On the upside, I did manage to edit a few chapters, even if I couldn't find any quiet time to write a few chapters. Editing sucks at times, but at other times it actually helps to keep you in the story. Especially when you're not writing regularly and need to be reminded of what you wrote previously.

There are only three weeks of school left until I can get into late night writing. THEN, the 5yr old will go to school with her sisters when September arrives. YAY! I love my time with them, but mommy needs her escapes on a regular basis.

Speaking of escapes...

Tonight is date night! I'll be taking the girls over to my mom's as soon as they get out of school and then Tim and I are going out. I have free movie tickets to go see Iron Man 2 and some high dollar discount coupon for dinner at Red Lobster afterwards. We should be able to get away with spending less than $20 on dinner and a movie tonight. Not bad in my book!

Before I go, I promised a picture of our freshly bathed puppies from last night before a couple of them headed off to new homes. Unfortunately, the new owner of the white & brown puppy arrived hours before was expecting. I hadn't even thought about giving them baths yet when he showed up. LOL. Oh well, he simply got a head start on getting to know his new owner.

In the meantime, here are the other puppies after their bath. The second couple did arrive and adopted the other boy pup. Here's hoping both boys have long, happy lives. :-)

Okay, I must be going now. Time to get some housework done before the day gets away from me. Have a great Friday and weekend ahead. :-)

A day of freedom.

2010-05-06T07:22:00.035-04:00

Thursdays are so close to the end of the week it's like a little bit of the weekend seeps in around the edges. Today's Tim's last day of work for the week. He's done well and is starting to settle into his new position. I don't think it's a bad gig to be able to work three days a week and always have a four-day weekend. Not bad at all.

I have absolutely no errands planned for today. Not a single load of laundry needs to be washed either. I have a full day of freedom to WRITE! Some people make think I'm crazy considering that writing is my job. What? You don't like your job? I love my job!

Writing is freedom for me. Freedom to do my own thing, create a new world, convince characters to do what I want them to do (though sometimes they have other plans). Writing makes me happy, gleeful, creative, and at the end of a good writing day I'm relaxed and feeling like a new person. So, today I'm looking forward to ending the day with a smile and feeling of accomplishment.

Now to make it happen! :-)

Speaking of the end of the day...

I have some families coming this evening to take some lovely, cuddly puppies to their new forever homes. Yay! One gentleman is coming for the brown & white male, and the other couple wants the other male with the possibility of taking one of the females too. If everything works out, 2-3 of our sweet babies will be going home with new owners.

After the kids are home from school we'll be giving all the pups a nice bath and brushing in preparation of meeting their new puppy parents. It should be a fun moment for the kids and the pups. I'll take a picture of all the clean, fluffy pups before anyone leaves and post it tomorrow.

That's it this morning. Time for me to go start my work day. I have my Kill Me Next Week file open and waiting right behind this window. I hear Liz telling me to get the f**k back to her story. She's bored with waiting around. ;-)

Have a great Thursday! Make it the best one you can.

Character Dictionary & Twitter Backgrounds.

2010-05-05T09:28:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone. How has your week been? I've had a good one. Tim started his new job yesterday. He's working days this week for training(even though it's a job he's done for 16yrs, lol) and then next week he'll be on night shift--which is what he was hired for. So this week I'm enjoying not having to keep the 5yr old quiet while he's sleeping all day.

I was asked earlier what I would do with my hours all alone today. I've already started filling them cooking, cleaning, errands, laundry, and book work. Not only that, but I've found an acceptable home for one of the puppies, and another couple has shown interest in one of the others. With them eating solids, we go through a 50lb bag of dog food VERY quickly.

Nonetheless, my days are always full whether Tim is home or not. I'll just have less distractions while he's at work and be able to get more done in the hours I'm given. :-)

Speaking of work, last week I put the finishing touches on the Character Dictionary update on the website. You can now see all of the characters in Time For Death at one glance. I started it as an interesting addition to the website and people liked it. I plan to update it for each and every future book, as well.

Speaking of Time For Death, was approached yesterday by a podcast host who wants to do a book review on Time For Death for his show. Woohoo! Well, actually he wanted to do A Birth at Dawn, but didn't realize it was part of a series. Then I suggested he do Time For Death since it's the new book and needs the publicity. He agreed and that was that.

I'm excited as this will be the first time any of my stuff has been on a podcast, that I know of anyway. LOL. I'll be sure to post the podcast link when/if it goes live. :-) Fingers crossed that he likes it as much as others have.

Okay, one more thing before I go. In my time on the 'net I've met lots of super great people. I'm always talking to talented people who are the kindest, most interesting folks. That's the fun on socializing online!

During last week's author chat and goodie bag giveaway I met another person. She came to chat with me and then ended up being the winner of the goodie bag the next morning. After that I roamed around her website and discovered her talent for creating Twitter backgrounds. I'd been meaning to have someone make me one for a while now, but never got around to it.

So I ordered one from her! And it turned out awesome! Stop by my Twitter page at http://www.twitter.com/christiesilvers to check it out. And if you want one of your own, stop by Karlyn's page at http://www.karlyns.com/ . She does great work and is more affordable that I've seen anywhere for such quality. Oh, and she does other things aside from the Twitter backgrounds too. She's is very talented and such a nice lady.

All right, that's it from me this morning. I have to go get to work before the hours slip away from me. I gotta make the best use of the few hours I have before school is over. The days seem to fly by lately.

Have a great Wednesday and Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Normality is subjective.

2010-05-03T07:55:00.000-04:00

We woke up to wet and sogginess this morning. It stormed all night, but has stopped at the moment. Some may think that doesn't bode well for the new week ahead, but I'd rather have rain during the week than over the weekend. And we did enjoy our dry weekend. :-)

With no funerals, no book releases, no goodie giveaways, nothing special planned for this week, I'm hoping we'll be able to get back to normal around here. However, as I tell people often, normality is subjective. Everyone has their own "normal" and mine will have Tim going back to work tomorrow!

I have plans for this week that include a trip to the post office, lots of writing, and my regularly scheduled work-outs. Throw in domestic chores, mommy duties, and errands, and well, my week is packed. I enjoy a busy, productive week as long as it's within MY realm of normality. The occasional surprise dinner invitation, trip, or gift are perfectly acceptable variations on my normal week though.

Sooo, I'm off to have some breakfast and get my day started. Here's to everyone having their own normal week with only good surprises!

And the winner is...

2010-05-01T10:43:00.000-04:00

Last night's chat was a blast. I had so much fun talking to everyone about all sorts of stuff. It's fun talking to people in real-time that I know online.

I do believe this was my most successful release day and goodie giveaway. Sales, both pre-orders and yesterday, were super nice and we had over 600 entries into the giveaway for last night. After all of that, I drew the name of one lucky winner first thing this morning.

Congratulations to Karlyn C.! I hope you enjoy all the goodies. :-)

I'm a happy author this morning and closing out a highly successful month. April was a great one. Here's to making May one, as well.

Now I'm off to mow the lawn before rain comes in. It's petty dark and cloudy out there, but the yard needs it terribly. Have a lovely weekend.

Happy release day!

2010-04-30T07:39:00.000-04:00

Amazon -- Kindle edition -- Autographed copies -- Excerpt

Time For Death has been born! Welcome to the birthday of a brand new book series. I'm so proud and overjoyed. :-) I have a lot to share with you this morning.

First off, the Release Day Celebration has begun with the first reader review. I was happy to receive an e-mail late last night from a pre-orderer (is that even a word?) letting me know that she LOVED the book and can't wait for book 2. I thanked her, and we discussed the ending a bit (no, I won't tell you), before she popped over to the Facebook Fan Page to leave a little note. I'm thrilled to hear from her, and as a reader who has read all of my books, I hope to hear from her in the future.

I greatly enjoy when readers want to talk about actual events in the books. It means people are reading and thinking about what I've written. I especially enjoy the statements of love for the characters. It's really all about them in the end. :-)

One other thing that jump started the celebration today was when I checked the Amazon rankings and found that the Kindle edition is already selling. Yay! I don't know who ordered, or when, but I hope you enjoy it.
As I've mentioned numerous times, the Author Chat will be tonight at 9pm EST. I always plan for at least 1 hour, but we tend to still be chatting up a storm when that tie arrives. The chatroom link has been added to the website, and here it is for the blog. Release Day Author Chat &Giveaway I hope to see you there!

Remember, by making an appearance at the chat you'll gain another entry in the goodie bag giveaway. There is only 1 person who has already collected all 4 of the previous ways to enter and she plans to try to pop in at the chat for her 5th entry. However, keep in mind that someone with only 1 entry can have their name drawn just as well as someone with 5 entries--though the more entries, the better chance.

Next up, I was surprised the other day with an article by M.J. Joachim. I didn't even know she was going to write about me. Stop by and check it out. :-) "Christie Silvers, Author of Vampire Books"

Now, as a side note, and before I go, today is the last day to receive free shipping on any of the Alex & Fiona books. Stop by the Contests, Giveaways, Discounts page for details.

I think that's it. That's enough though, isn't it? LOL. I'm off to take care of some domestic responsibilities before tonight. Have a great day and I hope to see you at the chat.

Time For Death excerpt

2010-04-29T07:26:00.022-04:00

Tomorrow's the big day. If you haven't already started collecting entries into the goodie bag giveaway, now is definitely the time to do so. Tomorrow is chat night. I can't wait and always have a fun time chatting with all of you. :-)

Since it's excerpt day, I'll just get right into it.

CHAPTER 1

“Come on, Liz. You know it’ll be a blast. We always have fun when we go out to Fosters Cemetery,” Rick begged while straddling a bar stool in front of me as I poured long-time patron and mother-figure, Adele, another shot of Jack Daniels.

Rick’s green eyes sparkled with the thoughts of our previous romps around the county’s supposed haunted graveyard. Not that I blame him, we do always have a good time out there. I resisted the urge to swipe his blonde hair away from his face--it would just provoke him further--and started wiping down the bar counter top instead.

I’ve known Rick ever since high school. He was the small, skinny, geeky guy friend that most girls have. He hung around like a lost puppy, trying to include himself in any activity I was involved in, until I finally had to give in and notice him. He’s been one of my best 6

friends ever since, even though he has wanted more than that ever since.

Two years ago, a drunken, lonely evening turned us into a little more than friends. He’d always had his women, as I’ve had my men, but we also had each other when things went sour in our other relationships, as it always does. I suppose it was just natural that we would finally gravitate toward one another after all these years. Not that we were technically dating, or linked together by any other means, but everyone who knew us referred to us as “Rick and Liz”.

“Not right now, Rick. You can see how busy it is tonight,” waving my hand around to acknowledge the large crowd waiting in line for drinks. “Susan didn’t show up for her shift and Chad has no idea how to mix drinks.”

Susan, my longtime waitress, has trouble remember to come to work sometimes. I often wonder why I keep her around. Chad, well, Chad may be smoking’ hot, but he was only trained as the bar’s bouncer.

“Please, Liz,” Rick pleaded. “Just for a little while?” He batted his eyelashes and stuck out his bottom lip in his favorite pouty expression.

I couldn’t help smiling at his persistence. I knew that I was the only girl who would go romping through the graveyard with him. His eagerness was showing, and the begging was distracting me from my duties behind the bar.

Shouting over the roar of the blender mixing yet another strawberry margarita for the petite red-head in the corner, I conceded, “Okay, go away and I’ll meet you after I close up.”

He flashed his bright smile at me and hopped off the bar stool instantly. “Victory!” he shouted with arms raised in triumph. I rolled my eyes, switching off the blender and pouring the icy mixture into the awaiting glass. “I’ll see you later then,” he smiled, with a quick peck on my lips and a dash for the door.

I knew that I shouldn’t, but I glanced over at Adele. She was grinning like a loon, and even though she hadn’t spoken yet, I knew what she was thinking. “Don’t say it, Adele,” I pleaded.

But she did anyway.

“That boy has the hots for you more than you realize, Liz. When will you put him out of his misery and just marry the guy?” she asked with a sincerity that I imagine my mother would have if she were still alive.

“Ah, Adele. I don’t know about that. Rick enjoys having a willing fuck-buddy, but I doubt he’s the marrying type,” I replied with a wink and a smile, before mixing a Long Island Iced Tea for the next customer in line.

Welcome to Wednesday

2010-04-28T08:31:00.001-04:00

Happy Hump Day! This has already been a very productive week around here, and I hope that the rest of the week will be, as well. Productivity makes me happy. I like having something to show for my week when it draws to a close.

Tim is off to his second day of orientation at his new job this morning. This week he's "at work" during the day, but next week when his actual job begins he'll be working nights. It has been five years since I've had to sleep alone. Luckily, this time it'll only be for 3 nights a week. However, the hardest part about him working nights isn't the sleeping alone, it's having to keep the kids quiet during the day when he's sleeping.

Nonetheless, I'm thrilled that he has a new job and I know he'll be quite happy having something to do now. He mentions often that he misses his last job. In particular, the locomotive he use to drive a few times a week. While he won't be driving a locomotive at this job, hopefully it'll keep him busy. LOL.

This morning I'm doing some laundry while watching a movie from Netflix. Once it's over & the laundry is put away, I'll be able to jump into some book work. Time to get back into the routine of writing every day. I've missed it so, but it's quite difficult to work when Tim's home vying for my every moment of attention. Now I'll have three days a week of uninterrupted work time. Woohoo!

Before I go today, I wanted to let you know that tomorrow I'll post an excerpt from Time For Death. With its release on Friday it seems like the perfect time. :-) Now, off I go to check on laundry and jump into Kill Me Next Week.

Going red for Liz!

2010-04-27T08:09:00.026-04:00

As you can tell, the blog has gone red for the week. The website has also gone a nice shade of crimson in honor of Time For Death. The release is only days away. How exciting!

I noticed yesterday that Amazon already has the book loaded into its system, with its own page and everything. Woohoo! It's a few days early, and I don't mind. :-) The Kindle version isn't available yet, but it should be all set by Friday as well. In the meantime, I've updated the ordering links on the website.

As promised, here are some pictures of the bag of goodies I'll be giving away Friday night. There are still several ways to enter into the giveaway if you haven't already. I'll recap those after the pictures.

Goodie Bag Goodies
Alex & Fiona bookmark, ChristieSilvers.com Ink Pen, Wheel of Being key chain from Breath of the Dragon, Autographed collage poster, Time For Death notebook, and lastly, the winner will also receive an e-book copy of Time For Death.

I think this is the most I've given away in a long time, and it's a lot of great stuff. Hell, I liked the ink pen so much that I got one for myself. I wanted to have some Time For Death bookmarks by giveaway time also, but they won't arrive in time. :-( With the stress and sadness of last week, I'm forced to give up on perfection.

Before I go, here's a recap on how you can gain entries into the goodie bag giveaway.

Be a member of the Facebook Fan Page.
Share the fan page with others on Facebook (be sure to let me know when & where you've done this).
Give me a shout out on Twitter by adding @christiesilvers to any of your posts.
Lastly, there will be a chat April 30th at 9pm EST. Join in and you'll receive a bonus entry.

The chat link will be posted Friday morning here on the blog, both Facebook pages, Twitter, and the website.

Okay, that's it for today. Tim has left for orientation at his new job and I'm hoping to get a good bit of writing done before he comes home. I'm looking forward to getting back into a normal work routine, even if it has to be at night starting next week. :-)

Have a good day!

Life returns to normal.

2010-04-26T07:06:00.002-04:00

I'm back! After the stress, sadness, exhaustion of last week, I'm finally back in motion this week. Here's a quick recap for those who aren't connected with me through Facebook (cause I post everything on Facebook).

-- Tuesday morning: Tim had his second interview.
-- Tuesday night: Ambulance was called to the in-laws' house. MIL passed away.
-- Wednesday: Tim is sick as a dog... vomiting, fever, chills, didn't get out of bed all day.
-- Wednesday: I went with FIL to make sure all the funeral arrangements were made.
-- Thursday: Spent most of the day at the funeral home. Tim feeling better (thank goodness). We're working on very little sleep for the week. Oh, and Tim got the call we'd been waiting on... HE GOT THE JOB!
-- Friday: Took the kids to Mom's for the night. Tim & I were at the funeral home until 10pm.
-- Saturday morning: Woke up to rain. MIL's burial will not be graveside due to it. Was at the funeral home for almost 6 hours before picking the kids up and spending another 4 hours at FIL's house.
-- Sunday: Visited with and had lunch with FIL before taking the girls to the cemetery.

After all that, we finally made it home. Exhaustion took over and we all crashed.

Here we are on Monday. Whew!

We'll be getting back to normal this week. I have a lot of work to catch up on after a week of no work. Especially considering that Time For Death releases at the end of the week! Yay!! Tim starts his new job on Tuesday. This week he just has orientation and paperwork and all that jazz. Next week he starts the actual job.

Tim's new job will be Tues, Wed, Thurs at 12 hours a day. He'll be working nights (again, boo, hiss!) from 7pm to 7am, but at least it's only three days a week, and he gets a 4-day weekend every week. Not too bad for someone who hasn't worked in almost 9 months.

Okay, I just wanted to let everyone know we survived a week of hell and came out the other side into a new week. Hopefully this week will be much better. Tomorrow I'll be posting pictures of all the release day goodie bag stuff and we'll get into all those details for Friday. I'm excited that the world is about to meet Liz Baker. She's a lot of fun! :)

Have a happy Monday.

A sad day for my family.

2010-04-21T09:53:00.000-04:00

First off let me start by saying that Tim's second interview went very well yesterday. Unfortunately, we won't know if he has the job until sometime over the next three days. It does sound promising though.

Last night ended very roughly for us. An ambulance was called and his mother passed away a little after 9pm last night. She'd been very sickly for the last two years, requiring breathing treatments and oxygen tanks. Last night she took her last breath and couldn't be revived.

Tim didn't make it home until 2am and has been sick ever since. He can't keep anything down and hasn't slept more than 30 mins here and there. I don't know how long it'll take him, but I'm taking care of things until he can.

The girls were heartbroken when they woke up this morning. I gave them the option of going to school or not. They chose not until about 7:50am and then they wanted to go. I signed them into school 30 minutes tardy. The oldest said she just couldn't sit at home all day. I don't blame her.

Since Tim can't do it, I'll be heading to the funeral home with FIL in a few minutes. He and MIL had already made their final preparations last year sometime, but he needs to make sure everything is confirmed and get the details finalized. I sat with him for about an hour this morning helping him get paperwork together and making sure he had everything. Then back home to check on Tim before I head out again.

It's going to be a difficult next few days.

Keeps those fingers crossed!

2010-04-20T07:13:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone. :-)

Tim's birthday went well yesterday. I baked him a cake and the girls and I gave a loud rendition of "Happy Birthday" right before he blew out 14 melting candles (that's all I had). After the way those 14 melted so quickly, I do believe that if I'd actually had 34 candles it would've been considered a fire hazard.

It's back to normal today. He has his second interview from the one he interviewed with last week. Hopefully we'll find out one way or another today if he has the job. *Fingers Crossed* Please send happy thoughts, if you're so inclined to do so.

In other news, the Facebook Fan Page reached 500 members yesterday. Yay! And congratulations to Timi Harris-Rutter for being chosen as the e-book winner. She won her own copy of A Midnight Infatuation. I hope you enjoy it, Timi.

Not only is Timi the winner of this giveaway, but she, and all her fellow fan page members, already have entries in the Time For Death Release Day Celebration. There are five ways to gain entries before I give away the goodie bag, so don't forget to try your hand at it. The key chain from Breathe of the Dragon arrived yesterday and it looks great.

Now I'm off to get a shower and start my day. I have writing to do in Kill Me Next Week (Liz Baker, book 2) and all the normal household stuff. I should get a decent amount done while Tim's gone for his interview. That is, if I'm not waiting on pins and needles to hear from him. LOL.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Happy birthday, baby!

2010-04-19T09:38:00.004-04:00

Welcome to a brand new week. It's not so bad, especially when you have a birthday to celebrate right at the beginning!

Today is my honey's 34th birthday. Yesterday we went out for lunch with his parents to celebrate with them. Today we're planning a cook-out here at home. He swore he didn't want a birthday cake, but I got the stuff to bake him one anyway. We'll grill out and have cake this evening.

I--very slowly and Marilyn Monroe-like--sang him "Happy Birthday" this morning, but I'll be required to do the shouting/screaming/off-pitch singing with the kids this evening. LOL. It's all fun though.

This morning I've already dried & put away three loads of laundry, ran to the post office to drop off a package and buy stamps, and then over to the grocery store for hamburger buns (whole wheat since Tim's older now, LOL). Since I went by my lonesome, I got a taste of how quickly errands will go when the youngest is in school and Tim is back to work. That was quite odd! What will I ever do with myself when the house is empty all day and I have to (get to) go to town all alone?

I can't wait to find out! :)

Well, that's it today. I'm off to do some writing while Tim's playing Xbox and then all attention is on him for the day. Have a good one!

Simple Saturday

2010-04-17T14:48:00.000-04:00

Today has no plans, no expectations, no nothing. We did run out for a not-so-quick trip to Lowe's for wire and house wash. Unfortunately, we didn't leave Lowe's with anything we went for. LOL!

Tim did manage to get some house wash at Ace Hardware and sprayed the house down as soon as we got home. Oh, did I mention that he also got the a/c unit fixed? Yay! The house is staying a comfortable 74 degrees now. And it only cost us $48 for a new breaker. Whew! That was much better than what the a/c guy would have charged.

This morning I woke up to the sounds and smells of Tim making breakfast. It was 8:30 and he'd let me sleep in. I was quite surprised. When asked what made him decide to cook, he replied, "I just felt like it." I don't eat a big breakfast very often (mainly because I don't want to cook it), but when he cooks for me I'm all too happy to enjoy it. :-)
Speaking of the hubby... His job interview Thursday went very well. He now has a 2nd interview scheduled for Tuesday morning. Hopefully that'll be the day we find out one way or another if he has the job. Fingers and toes are crossed that he does! Oh, and this job pays more than his minimum salary requirement, too!

Since this seems to be the day for updates, I updated the website this morning. While doing that (adding the Twitter widget, updating the contests page, etc.) it hit me that I need to work on the Character Dictionary next week. Time For Death is almost here and I need to add all of its residents to the dictionary. It takes a couple of days to get all the info together, and then I'll have it ready to add to the site. I'll post when it's done.

Before I go today, the Facebook fan page is now only 9 members away from reaching 500. At 500 I'll be giving away an e-book to 1 lucky winner. I share all kinds of stuff on that page, and absolutely love talking to all the members. If you'd like to join, pop on over! Feel free to say hello, the wall is open to all. :-)

Want free shipping?

2010-04-16T09:06:00.001-04:00

By using the links below to order, and entering the code FREEMAIL305 at checkout, you'll receive a $3.99 credit toward your shipping. This code lasts until 5/1/2010!

Order by using these links:

A Midnight Infatuation

A Birth at Dawn

A Twilight Abduction

Time For Death celebration details.

2010-04-16T07:50:00.079-04:00

Good morning everyone. We're now at two weeks away from Time For Death's release day, and I decided that today would be the perfect day to share all the details of the big day.

First off, the giveaway goodie bag is currently stuffed with the following (with the possibility of more stuff added before the drawing):

Autographed collage poster of all my urban fantasy books - Time For Death, A Midnight Infatuation, A Birth at Dawn, A Twilight Abduction
Ink pen personalized with my actual business card
Notebook with the cover of Time For Death on the front
Bookmarks
Wheel of Being keychain (this symbol has big meaning for Liz in book 2)

As you can probably guess, I'm big on both reading and writing. That's why I added a notebook and ink pen. I have always felt that everyone should write down their thoughts on a daily basis (or near-daily, at least). You may not blog, write, or even leave notes behind, but I hope whoever wins the goodie bag will enjoy using them, and think of me when you do. :)

Anyway, here are the details on entering to win the goodies. There are multiple ways to gain entries into the giveaway. You can only do each item once for 1 entry, for a grand total of 5 entries per person.

Be a member of the Facebook Fan Page.
Share the fan page with others on Facebook (be sure to let me know when & where you've done this).
Give me a shout out on Twitter by adding @christiesilvers to any of your posts.
Readers who pre-ordered* their copy of Time For Death have already received a surprise entry! Didn't know about that one? Duh, that's why it's a surprise entry. ;)
Lastly, there will be a chat April 30th at 9pm EST. Join in and you'll receive a bonus entry.

Keep in mind that a name with one entry can be drawn, but if you have five entries you'll have a better shot. This is all for fun and I hope everyone will enjoy it as such. I'm looking forward to giving these goodies away and hope who ever wins them will enjoy them. I may be adding more to the list of stuff, so you never know what'll arrive.

All right, that's it for today. You may now commence collecting entries You have until the April 30th chat ends at 10pm EST to get your entries in. I'll draw a name and announce the winner the morning of May 1st. Have fun!

*Pre-orders will stop being taken on April 23, 2010. You still have time to get your order in for an extra entry.

Errand Thursday.

2010-04-15T07:25:00.028-04:00

Morning everyone! I made it through the heat last night and woke up to a much cooler house. Luckily my sister loaned me her favorite oscillating fan yesterday and it worked like a charm. I haven't even owned a room fan since we built the house. Now I'm feeling like it may be a good idea to have one around, just in case.

Today is my weekly errand day. I've already paid some online bills this morning, but in a bit I have to get dressed and head out. Today's list of errands consists of dropping books by the library, buying groceries, filling the car with gas for next week, making a bank deposit, a trip to Lowe's, and lastly, a stop by the local tag office to buy the new car sticker (we have to get it before Tim's birthday on Monday). I have so many places to go that I've made a list so I don't forget one.

Oh, and Tim has another job interview today. Woohoo! My fingers and toes are soooo crossed for this one. It's not as close as the one he interviewed for last week, but it's closer than his last job that was an hour away. Plus I know a bit more about this company than the one from last week, and this one shouldn't have any problems offering him enough pay. I still don't understand that one from last week not even paying enough to match what he draws in unemployment each week, much less more. Geez!

Anyway, today's interview is at 2pm, while I'm parked in the school pick-up line waiting. He'll call me as soon as he's done there to let me know how it went. *Fingers Crossed* I'll update the my personal Facebook page as soon as I hear from him.

Okay, I'm off. Time to get started with my day. Here's hoping it all goes smoothly and Tim has a job offer by the end of the day. But if he doesn't I know that something good is right around the corner. We just gotta wait and see which one arrives first. :-)

Have a great Thursday and be sure to stop by tomorrow for details on my Time For Death release day celebration.

A hint at the summer to come.

2010-04-14T21:13:00.006-04:00

Here in Georgia it tends to get quite warm fairly early in the spring. This year is no different. The mornings are brisk and jeans are usually a good idea before 10am. However, after lunchtime the heat zooms up and it's tank top and shorts weather.

With the temp changes you need heat in the morning to knock the chill off (no more than 45 minutes of heat) and then around dinnertime the A/C is required to keep you comfortable while cooking. Unfortunately, Tuesday morning I woke up to a strange smell. After that our heat & air unit no longer worked. Ugh!

We built the house while I was pregnant with the oldest in 1996. The heat/air unit has been a pain ever since. Every couple of years we have to have a guy come out to fix something on it, and every time it costs us a couple of hundred dollars, most just in labor. This time, Tim's going to see what he can do for it... since he has no job, and we can't afford the heat/air guy.

He has decided that he "thinks" he found the problem. We'll pick up a small part tomorrow so he can see if he's correct. I hope, hope, hope he's right and gets it fixed. Our house stays pretty cool all day long, until about 6pm when it's hotter in here than it is outside. Sweltering is the word that comes to mind.

If the part doesn't work then I guess we can only do one of two things... call the a/c guy, or buy a window unit, or two. At this point I really don't give a damn as long as I can cook dinner without having a heat stroke.

Anyway, this Georgia heat is just a small hint of the heat summer has in store for us.

Thrilling Tuesday

2010-04-13T07:40:00.000-04:00

Monday's over, Tuesday begins.

Today will be the busiest day of the week. I have articles to work on, books to write, school to run back & forth to, the oldest has an orthodontist appointment right after school, and then we have to rush back after that for Open House. Tim asked me last night what we'd be having for dinner tonight and I shared that I hadn't gotten that far in my ultimate plan yet. Then he reminded me that we wouldn't even be home for dinnertime tonight. Oops!

Not only that, but I think he's suppose to go help his dad with some things today, so I may be handling all the craziness alone with all the kids. Fun.

No matter what happens I'll make it through fairly unscathed. I work best by moving from one task to the next in sequential order. Finish one before beginning the next and go from there. Don't worry about the next task until you've completed the current one. However that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep and eye on the clock. I'm a stickler for being on time, or better yet, at least 5 minutes (preferably 10) early to every appointment.
In the meantime, this morning will go much more smoothly than the rest of the day will. At this very moment, the older girls are already gone to school, the youngest is quietly eating Go-gurt and watching Blue's Clues, and Tim has jumped back in bed for a little while. The only sound in this room is the sound of my fingers dancing across the keyboard of my purple laptop. That's the kind of peace a writer can only dream of on most days. And dream I have!

It won't last. She'll finish her yogurt or get bored with Blue's Clues. He'll grumble and growl his way back out of bed when his back starts to ache from being in bed too long. The phone will ring. The dog will bark. An e-mail will chime its entrance into my in-box. And then we'll go about our day...

But at this moment I'll simply finish this entry while enjoying the silence that surrounds me. It won't be long until it's an every day occurrence and I may miss the noise. :-)

*No fingernails were painted for the making of this blog*

Manic Monday, or maybe it should be Maniac Monday.

2010-04-12T06:50:00.001-04:00

Monday. *Yawn* It's Monday. The first day back from Spring Break. Did I mention *yawn*?

Tim just drove off to take the older girl to school, and the youngest is still sleeping--though that won't last much longer. At this very moment everything in my world is quiet. That won't last much longer either.

This will be a very busy week for me. Not only do I have the normal weekly stuff (house cleaning, back & forth to school, writing work, etc.), but there's more. Tuesday the oldest has an orthodontist appointment right after school, and then we have to come back to school for Open House. Wednesday she'll have Quiz Bowl & I'll be running some errands. Thursday she has a talent show. Friday I have to get all the left over errands done and buy groceries. Then Saturday we're loading the car up and heading to Fairburn, GA for this year's Georgia Renaissance Festival.

All of this on top of the already short enough days filled with my every day normal "stuff".

Oh, oh, and please, for all that's good in the world, please do not let me forget that Tim's birthday is next Monday and I'll need to bake him a cake sometime before then.

Now, before I have a panic attack thinking about the week ahead of me, I'll take a nice deep breath and move forward. I'm now off to enjoy the last few minutes of quiet this morning will allow me before the 5yr old wakes up and Tim comes back home.
Have a great week!

Happy Saturday.

2010-04-10T12:49:00.000-04:00

Saturdays are full of fun, laziness, sunshine, warm temperatures, and just an all-around good time. Or at least that's how they're suppose to be.

Luckily, for me, today is just that! Well, minus the warm temperatures since I woke up to a very chilly house. The sun is shining, the house is spotless, peace and quiet is abound, and I'm spending the day with my one and only.

Yesterday the kids ran off to have a weekend of fun with my sister and mom. This gave Tim and I a weekend of fun all alone for our anniversary. So far it has been lots of fun. Of course we would've liked to be out of town like we planned, but this is good too. :)

The anniversary sale went out without a hitch yesterday. I'm thoroughly pleased with the number of e-books that found their way to new homes. I hope everyone that took advantage of the sale will enjoy their new purchases. I even heard from a few last night that had already dove into the stories and had nothing but good things to say. Nothing makes me happier than to hear that.

Due to the sale yesterday, someone asked if they could get all three Alex & Fiona paperback books at one time, or if they'd have to order them individually. Because of that question, the 3-book Alex & Fiona set can now be purchase from the webstore on ChristieSilvers.com! Nothing like catering to my beloved readers. *Smooches*

The next big thing will be when Time For Death (Liz Baker, book 1) releases on April 30th. I'm still planning a celebration, and goodies for the giveaway keep arriving in the mail. I'll be posting a picture of the goodies and sharing all the celebration details when we get a bit closer to the date. I love a good party!

Well, I'm out for today. Tim's playing the Xbox and I have nothing to do in the house. Thinking I'll go outside and enjoy the sunshine with a good book. Have a good one!

My anniversary means a sale for you!

2010-04-09T06:56:00.040-04:00

Happy anniversary to me. Happy anniversary to me. Happy anniversary to meeeeeee! Happy anniversary to me!

Those of you who receive the monthly newsletter already know about today's celebration. For those who don't, here it is...

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary. To commemorate our special day, I'm having an e-book sale on my website today. You can pick up A Midnight Infatuation, A Birth at Dawn, and A Twilight Abduction for only $2.50 each. You can pick up the entire series for a grand total of $7.50!

This sale is only through the e-book links on my website under the "Available Books" page, or use the links below, and only lasts for 12 hours... April 9, 2010, 9am-9pm EST.

Shop Now

A Midnight Infatuation -- $2.50 E-BOOK SALE!

A Birth at Dawn -- $2.50 E-BOOK SALE!

A Twilight Abduction -- $2.50 E-BOOK SALE

Now, I'm off for the day. We're getting an early start because I need to buy groceries, run a few errands, and then it's party time!

My mom and sister are taking the kids tonight and tomorrow so we were going to run off to Gatlinburg, TN. But we decided to take care of some bills instead and will now we celebrating here at home. Like I told Tim, "It's not where you are, it's who you're with that matters." We can "celebrate" (wink, wink) just fine in our own house.

We're thinking about going to see "Clash of the Titans" and then home for a seafood dinner by candlelight. Then tomorrow we're going flea marketing. I'm still in search of a writing desk for the bedroom--one of these days I'll find just the right one. :-)

Have a great Friday and be sure to grab your own copies of the Alex & Fiona series.

Whole days are missing!

2010-04-08T08:54:00.002-04:00

Where have the days gone this week? I can't believe it's already Thursday. I remember posting Monday morning about Easter and then *BOOM* the days shot by like a cannon ball.

Let me see here. It all started Monday afternoon when my sister told me about a job opening for Tim. I found the company and e-mailed them his resume. Within 20 minutes his phone rang and they wanted him to come in Tuesday morning at 9:30am for an interview.

I was giddy with excitement and hoped this would be the one for him. However, we'd planned to take the children to the TN Aquarium Tuesday morning. Luckily, with no real schedule time limits during Spring Break, it wouldn't be a problem to go a bit later.

Tuesday morning came and Tim headed out for his interview. By 10am he was calling me to say he was on his way home. All in all, he had the job in the bag until the discussed wages. I find it appalling that companies will offer LESS than he draws from unemployment... and then STILL have taxes and insurance coming out of that. We know how much he needs to make per hour--which is less than what he made at his last job--in order for him to support his family, and this job was not offering it.

So we were both disappointed, but moved on and took the kids to the aquarium (which was packed with more people than we expected). The rest of the day was fine and fun. We took the kids for ice cream & ran a few errands before coming home and whipping up some homemade pizzas for dinner.

Then yesterday... We spent all day Wednesday at my sister's house because she had heating and air guys coming out to put a new unit in and she had to work. She told me it'd be an hour or two... Turned out to be 6 1/2 hours and we were still there when she got home from work. LOL. Oh well, so much for Wednesday. The time was passed playing with her Wii. Turns out I'm a pro bowler! At least in the Wii world. ;-)

Today. Today is Thursday. I can't believe it's Thursday, but it is. I have two things planned for today: 1. pay the power bill, and 2. take the kids to the library. That's it. That's all. Nothing else. Now if that turns out to be all, well, that remains to be seen.

Before I go, the newsletter went out yesterday, and I hope everyone enjoyed it. Just a reminder that my anniversary is tomorrow and so is the big e-book sale. I hope you'll stop by and take advantage of it. :-)

Have a good Thursday!

How was your Easter?

2010-04-05T08:29:00.037-04:00

Morning all!

We're still on Spring Break in the Silvers household. The kids are having a good time so far and not driving me to batty... yet.

We had a very nice Easter yesterday, even though it all started on Friday when we had dinner at my sister's house. By the time yesterday rolled around we were all a bit "over it" with Easter. That didn't stop us from having fun out in the sun. Eggs were hidden and hunted. Chocolates were eaten and eaten and eaten. Kids later on crashed from sugar highs and were easily put to bed a bit earlier than is usual for a school vacation. LOL. It was quite nice.

Then we came home, change out of our nice clothes, and got to work around the house. Tim washed the car. I mowed the lawn. The oldest racked leaves. The two younger girls played with the dogs, helped wash the car, and ran around. After all that I curled up in the hammock with my honey.

Today there aren't any plans to leave the house. All child entertainment will be done right here in the backyard today. There will be puppy playtime, finger painting, bike riding, and even some Moon Sand sculptures. I have to make some phone calls, thus the outside playtime for the children. Then tomorrow we'll be spending the day at the Tennessee Aquarium.

I haven't decided on Wednesday and Thursday activities yet, and Friday will be hectically busy. All in all, we'll all be having a nice Spring Break week. I might even get some work done... I said might.

Before I go for today, my newsletter will be going out on Wednesday. You don't wanna miss this one! Use the link in the upper left to subscribe. Then there will be a fun, money-saving announcement on Friday. All details will be in the newsletter.
Have a great Monday!

Spring Break has begun.

2010-04-01T11:15:00.001-04:00

Today is the last day of school for the older girls. Starting tomorrow they'll be on Spring Break for ten days. Now, this means I won't have to listen to the blasted, infernal, irritating alarm clock at 5:50am for ten days. However, that also means that I need to listen to my own advice on surviving Spring Break as a SAHM.

SAHM: Surviving Spring Break with Your Sanity Intact

Or maybe I'll just go ahead and have them help me work on our yearly vegetable garden.....

SAHM: Growing a Family Garden with Your Children

Yes, yes, that was blatant self-promotion on my part. LOL! I do so love those monthly pageview payments I get from my article readers though. I love you all, so stop by and give my newest articles some love. :-)

Okay, now that's out of the way. Time for me to relish in the loveliness of today. It is a glorious spring day outside my open windows. The sun is shining brightly, the temperature is perfect, birds are chirping loudly from their perches high in the trees, and there is a slight breeze blowing through my house. I can't wait 'til all the trees have their leaves and greeness explodes all around. I love spring!

This morning I went grocery shopping and picked up some gladiola bulbs for my front flower bed. Shopping needed to be done while the kids were still in school (shopping with all of them is unbearable) and I want to plant the glad bulbs tomorrow when all the kids will be here to help.

You may not hear too much from me over the next week due to the house full of kiddos. We'll be spending a lot of time outside, and we have a trip to the aquarium planned. Then next Friday is my 16th wedding anniversary and Tim's wanting to run away for a night or two. We'll see how that works out over the next couple of days.

However, those of you who received my March newsletter know that I have a special planned for April 9th to share my happiness with all of you. If you weren't a subscriber then, rest assured that I'll also have the details in my April issue next week. :-)

I have a growling tummy, so I'll be off now to fix myself some lunch. I hope you have as lovely a day as I am.

One happy momma!

2010-03-30T07:14:00.040-04:00

Yesterday my oldest came home full of excitement. She'd been invited to attend the Billy Lancaster Forestry Youth Camp. Turns out that only two students from her entire school are invited each year, and she was one of them. How can a proud mommy say no to that? Ultimately, I filled out the paperwork and wrote the check. LOL.
This will be her first summer camp away from home... four nights away! But, she's a teenager now and she's very excited about it.

On the note of excitement, this is my 600th blog entry! When I started this blog I never would've imagined I'd reach 600 entries. Much less have enough to talk about to fill 600 entries. LOL. Sure, many of my posts are simply rambling family stuff (which has been pointed out to me recently that others do enjoy reading), but in reality I wanted people to see the real me.

There are so many authors out there who only write blog entries when they have book information to share. While that's good and fine, I like to see more from my favorites. I think a reader can feel more connected with an author when they can see that your day to day life is just as hectic as theirs.

We aren't confined to a little room cranking out sentence after sentence (though some of us would like to be). *Raises Hand* Nope, we have families, spouses, children, pets, other obligations, errands, bills, trials and tribulations just like everyone else. Heck, sometimes I find myself envying the writers who CAN lock themselves away for hours at a time to work, with no interruptions. But I wouldn't trade the time with my kiddos for anything in the world. Soon enough I'll be able to work how I want to, and then I'll probably miss being interrupted by little ones. :-)

Okay, before this rambling entry ends I want to let everyone know that if you aren't a member of my Facebook Fan Page now is the time to join. When the page reaches 500 members I'll be giving away 1 of my Alex & Fiona e-books (winner's choice).

Oh, and I uploaded more pictures of our puppies to my Facebook album yesterday. They're now 2wks old and have eyes. LOL. Check out the Fudge's Puppies album for some lovable cuteness that'll make you go, "Awwwwwwww!"

Good news when you least expect it.

2010-03-29T08:04:00.000-04:00

Morning, morning! Time for another new week. Can you believe it'll be April in a few days? Spring really is here to stay.

The weekend was a busy one and definitely went by far too quickly because of it. But now it's time for a new week, new work, new plans, new exhaustions. However, the kids only have four days of school this week and then they're out for Spring Break. Ten day of not having to hear the alarm clock, not waking up before the sun rises, and spending time with the kiddos without having to rush around to and from school.

I'm thinking we'll take them to the aquarium (since we have a family membership) and if the weather permits we'll go for a mountain drive and picnic. And I'll use that time to take our spring pictures. Here's our family shot from last year:

It was a nice day in the mountains last year. Hopefully this year will be just as nice.

Oh yeah, the good news part! I received some great news yesterday about my second Liz Baker book (Kill Me Next Week). You never know when something happy and exciting will come your way when you least expect it. Kill Me Next Week is aiming for an end of the year release, so it looks like I better get on the ball with finishing it up.

Of course, in the meantime we gotta get Time For Death released and out to the masses. Only a few more weeks before Liz is introduced. I hope my Alex & Fiona fans will enjoy Liz and her sassy attitude. She's quite spunky when she wants to be.

Another event coming up in April would have to be the celebration of my marriage to the man who rocks my world, and who makes a great research partner for certain book scenes. ;-) Our 16th anniversary will be rolling around on April 9th. I haven't decided how we'll celebrate yet, but my mother will have the kids that night... Hmmmm...

Okay, I'm off to get some work done. Have a wonderful Monday and week ahead!

Disappointment is never fun.

2010-03-26T07:58:00.001-04:00

Morning everyone! Did you know that it's Friday? Woohoo! I love when the weekend finally arrives. I get to sleep until the sun is actually up on the weekends. Not only that, but the kids only have four days of school next week and then they'll be out for Spring Break. I'll get ten days of no alarm clock! Yay!

Yesterday was Kindie Sign-Up Day and the youngest did fabulously. She passed her kindergarten assessment test with flying colors and is all signed up and ready for school to start in September. It was a lot of paperwork and time spent standing in line, but it's all done. She's now telling everyone that she's a kindergartener now. :-)

Okay, onto the part about disappointment.

As many of you know, Tim and I have been planning to have a vow renewal ceremony on the beach of Tybee Island, Georgia for our 17th wedding anniversary, next year. Well, our 16th anniversary will be here in only two weeks, and Tim still doesn't have a new job. When he does get a new job, he won't be there long enough to have vacation time by the time our anniversary week rolls around next year.

Soooooo...

I've had to cancel our renewal. :-( It makes me sad, and I waited as long as I could before calling it off, but in the end I had to make the call and just do it. I'm very disappointed, and hate that the economy has gotten this bad, but you gotta do what you gotta do when you have a family to support.

Hopefully he'll have a new job soon and we'll at least get to go to the island for our summer vacation, but even that is all based on him getting a new job first. In the meantime, my next goal is to put enough of my article money aside for us to do a few small trips while the kids are out for summer this year. We can only plan for the here and now right now.

Anyway, I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend. We have a birthday party to attend on Saturday evening and Auntie Amanda (my sister) is planning to take the kids to see "How to Train Your Dragon" Saturday morning. They should have a great time.

It's that day already?!

2010-03-25T07:13:00.001-04:00

Today is a big day in my household. It's only Thursday to most of you out there, but for us it's Kindergarten Sign-Up Day! Our youngest is so excited for today to finally be here. She turned 5 in January and is in such a rush to start school like her sisters. I, on the other hand, simply can't believe my baby is old enough for kindergarten already. Yet, I'm finding myself a bit giddy about her going to school as well.

When she starts school, and with fate's good graces in Tim's job department, I'll be home all alone during the day! Six hours of uninterrupted writing! Ahhh, imagine all the work I'll be able to get completed each day. I'll actually be ready to end the work day when school pick-up time rolls around. I'm quite a bit excited for that prospect.

Now I just gotta wait 'til September gets here. :-)

Anyway, I have to take her to school at noon, with a folder full of papers to prove who we are and where we live (even though 95% of the school employees know who I am and who my kids are, lol) to fill out page after page of paperwork while she takes her kindergarten assessment test. The last time I did this was five years ago, right after she was born, with daughter #2. At least this time I won't have a baby in a sling strapped to me while juggling everything else.

By the time the youngest is out of this school, I'll have been a parent of a student there for 13 years! Wow!

Okay, that's enough rambling this morning. I hear Tim pulling up from taking the big kids to school, and the little one will be awake soon toocount down the next few hours. You have a fantastic Thursday and remember that the weekend is just around the corner. I'll be daydreaming about five months from now. ;-)

The love of books started early.

2010-03-24T07:24:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm a writer so, technically, I'm suppose to have a love of books. But you'd be surprised at how many writers don't read. I'd assume it'd be quite difficult to enjoy the written word if you don't actually read it. Nonetheless, my love of books started at a very young age. Even further back than I can remember.

I always had a book on hand when I was a child. There are even old school teachers who remember me as "the girl who was always reading." I kid you not! I remember specifically in middle school when I got the "privilege" of being office runner for the day (a boring privilege to say the least) and one of the teachers came in and said, "Every time I see you you have a book in your hands."

It wasn't a bad thing at all. Goodness no! I always took it as a compliment. Don't know why, but I did.

When I was a bit older, I'd save my babysitting money for a trip to the mall. Back then that was where the only bookstore in town was. I'd save and save until I have enough money to buy several new books at once. We didn't go to the mall often and I wanted to make sure I'd have enough books to last a while. Of course they never lasted long enough.

By the time I got a job I was splitting my earnings between music, books, and gas for my car. LOL. Even then, I had quite the list of books to read, but I'd also been able to go to the library as often as I liked (since I drove myself then). I remember the day I got my library card... Awww!

As I said, my love of books started very early. I just didn't realize exactly how early until I came across the very first book I'd written. No, it didn't have to do with toddlers or vampires. It was written in crayon; bound and covered with green construction paper and yarn; and had a title page that said, "Written by Author Christie Grant."

It had been packed away for years in a stack of old school papers my mom kept. She'd given me the papers years ago, but they got pushed to the back of my closet and ignored. That is, until the other week when I decided to start organizing my paper clutter. That's when I found the story about a little Indian girl whose parents gave her all sorts of gifts and goodies.

I suppose I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when this "book" was written, but the discovery of that little project proves that my love of books started much younger than I remember. And I'm so glad it did! :-)

Luckily, my own children are following on the same track, however, I can tell them exactly when their love of books started... At birth! I've read to them since they were born. All three love going to the library; they devour new books; and I only have one left that even requires my reading services any longer (and she starts school in the fall).
So there! I love books! And I'm happy to say that my children do as well. Life is more exciting when you have a good book to fall into. :-)

Have a great Wednesday, and go pick up something new to read.

Hoping for a calmer week.

2010-03-22T06:50:00.001-04:00

Last week was one crazy, busy week. Let's do a little recap....

Monday: Puppies born, Announced Time For Death's release, Started the Facebook fan page.
Tuesday: Introduced Liz Baker to the world.
Wednesday: Shared Time For Death's intriguing cover. Had the oldest's Quiz Bowl meet.
Thursday: Bought Tim new field fencing to get him out of my hair. That backfired & ended up making more work for myself.
Friday: Let everyone know about the goodies I'll be giving away on April 30th. Worked on the field fencing. Went out with Tim for a date night that ended up being more stressful that we bargained for.
Saturday: Finished up the field fencing work (yay!). The middle daughter had a sleepover. Turns out 9yr olds are MUCH louder than 13yr olds during sleepovers. I didn't get in bed until after midnight.
Sunday: Woke up, got numerous kids fed. Sent the guests home with their parents. Nursed a headache the rest of the day while just being lazy on a rainy Sunday.

Whew! I think I'm tired all over again just from reading that. Not only that, but I missed getting any writing done all week. I miss my story worlds.

The only thing on the schedule for this week is kindergarten registration on Thursday. I can't believe our baby is already old enough for kindergarten. Sure, we have until September, but still. I got to hold a 3 month old baby yesterday. Awwww! How is it that our baby is so much bigger than that now? The years sure do fly.

On the upside, I only have 5 more months until all three kids are in school and I can work without kiddly interruptions. Hopefully I'll also be able to work without husbandly interruptions as well. *Fingers Crossed*

Well, I'm off to fix some breakfast and start my day. Thinking it'll be a good day to plug my ears with music and work while pretending I'm so into it that I don't notice Tim or the youngest talking to me. Yep, that sounds like a plan! Tremmel Crossing here I come! (<--- Where Liz Baker lives)

Have a great Monday!

How will I celebrate Time For Death?

2010-03-19T07:40:00.000-04:00

I'll celebrate Time For Death by giving YOU something!

On April 30, 2010 my new series will debut with book 1, Time For Death. This book has been a longtime coming and I want to celebrate it's arrival into the Book World. In order to do that, I'll be holding one of my online chats and giving away some goodies to one luck attendant.

I'm sure you've seen other giveaways that require an exorbitant amount of your time to enter: Post this on your Twitter for an entry, bring five other people for an entry, sign off the rights to your firstborn for an entry..... And while I'd love for you to do those (well, not the children. I have plenty of my own, lol), it's not necessary to be entered into the giveaway. You simply have to show up for the chat!

The last time I did a chat was for Christmas. It was a lot of fun and many people showed up. I'm hoping this time will be just as fun with even more people showing up.

Okay, okay. You're probably wondering what I'm giving away this time. It took me a few days to figure that out myself, but it has finally hit me. As a writer I like to promote other people getting into the spirit of writing down their own words, thoughts, ideas. Not only that, but I want to share the love I have for all of my books and their lovely covers. Sooooo....

I'm giving away:

1 - personalized ink pen (I even ordered one for myself because I loved the way it looked)
1 - notebook with Time For Death on the cover
1 - autographed 11x14 collage poster of all my book covers

I thought about a coffee mug too--you could drink your coffee while writing--but after receiving a broken mug from AC, I changed my mine about that. I'll stick with stuff that won't break in the mail. LOL.

When it gets closer to time for the chat I'll post pictures of everything.

When: April 30, 2010

Time: 8pm - 9pm EST

Where: Christie's Chatroom (link will be posted at a later date)

Why: To celebrate & give away goodies!

I hope you'll make note of the event and stop by to celebrate with me and for your chance to win. I'll be sending event invites on Facebook and numerous other social networking sites. :-)

The washing machine just buzzed; I suppose that's my signal to get off here and get some housework done. Have a wonderful day!

After the death.

2010-03-18T07:40:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone. It's nearly the weekend... finally! I don't know about you, but this has been a long week for me.

Aside from all of my normal weekly stuff, I've had all the book release information to handle and dish out and the oldest had a Quiz Bowl meet last night. This was their last one and we left the younger girls with the in-laws so we coul watch the meet in peace. Unfortunately, our school didn't win, but the kids looked like they were having a lot of fun. That's all that really matters in the end.

When the sun finally comes up this morning I have to head out to Lowe's with Tim and pick up two new rolls of field fencing and posts. I'm hoping this job will keep him busy for about three days. I'd love to have some quiet time to work.

Speaking of work, how did everyone like the cover for Time For Death? I've heard good things from the few who saw it before the debut.

I know that this is Time For Death week, and it's still a month from releasing (unless you're lucky enough to pe-order), but I want to talk a little about book two. This is the Liz Baker series, after all.

In book 1 we meet Liz, her friends, and some of her eccentric ways. She learns about her true parentage, secrets that had been kept from her all her life. Not to mention, the truth about vampires... They exist!

In book 2, Kill Me Next Week, Liz finds that she really doesn't know as much about her world as she thought. More secrets from the past are thrown her way. More supernatural creatures reveal. And don't forget about the smokin' hot men and healthy love life.

Ah yes, Liz has a lot to learn about the world outside her small town and the walls of her bar when she travels to the gates of hell... ATLANTA! Someone who seemingly needs her help turns out to be a master of disguise, and a murderer out to use Liz's powers against her.

Kill Me Next Week is the second book in this series and I have plans for at least three more. Liz will meet new people, monsters, creatures, and all of them residing right here in the south. You never know what you'll find around the next corner! Evil truly exists, and Liz will have to fight it in ways she never imagine.

Okay, that's it for today. I need to have a little breakfast before getting changed and heading out. The 5yr old is still sleeping and I'm taking full advantage of it. Have a wonderful day!

The first look at Time For Death.

2010-03-17T07:04:00.003-04:00

Click to see a larger version of the cover.
Good morning everyone! Happy St. Patrick's Day. Are you wearing your green? It's the middle of the week and I have a goodie to show you.

<-------------- Isn't it lovely?! Click on cover to see it larger.

I think it realy symbolizes the turmoil Liz is going through during the story. The monstrous, swirling storm clouds as red as blood, along with the darkened cabin make 100% sense when you read the story.

I received my proof copy of Time For Death yesterday. I've been expecting it, and even though I have the computer file of the cover, I wanted to wait until I saw it in print, in my hands, to make sure it looked as good in reality as it does on the computer screen. That's why I planned this blog entry for today instead of Monday.
With this approval of the cover, Time For Death is just one step closer to its April 30th release date. The biggest excitement to come will be when the book gets its listing page on Amazon. That tends to take several weeks because Amazon only updates book information once or twice a month. Now we just wait.

I have added a Pre-Order option to the website. All pre-ordered books will be shipped before the April 30th release date. How's that for an incentive to pre-order? LOL.

Now, before I go for today I want to introduce you to the newest members of our family. Our outside dog, who we adopted as a stray when she was a teeny little puppy over 3yrs ago, just surprised us with four little rats.....

There are three dark brown ones and a single white with brown patches. Fudge (our girl dog) is quite protective of her new babies and we've respected her privacy... other than a once a day check on them all with praise, petting and treats for the mommy.

And here's the mommy when we brought her home.

Awww, that was so long ago. She's a big dog now. :-)

Okay, that's it from me today. Be sure to come back tomorrow when I discuss Kill Me Next Week. What'll happen with Liz in book 2?

Alex & Fiona e-books on sale.

2010-03-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that all three Alex & Fiona books are now only $3.99 in their e-book formats on Amazon. "But I don't have a Kindle," you say. No worries! Did you know that Amazon offers a FREE Kindle for PC? Yep, you can enjoy e-books just like everyone else.

If you'd like to purchase your own e-book copy, here are the books in order and linked to their Amazon pages:

A Midnight Infatuation (Alex & Fiona, book 1)

A Birth at Dawn (Alex & Fiona, book 2)

A Twilight Abduction (Alex & Fiona, book 3)

Come back tomorrow to see first public display of the cover of my upcoming release, Time For Death.

Liz Baker revealed.

2010-03-16T07:13:00.006-04:00

Today's blog entry is all about the heroine in my new Liz Baker series. Before I start a new book I like to do a character interview. It helps to decide how the main character should act, feel, their likes, dislikes, interests, etc. Here are a few of the questions and answers from my interview with Liz. She's quite the rambunctious one!

Name: Lizabeth May Baker (but my friends call me Liz) And yes, my mother left the E off on purpose.
Age: 32
Friends: Old best friend from school (is married/divorced with kids), fuck buddy, current best friend (too busy with her internet business), employees are friends, but still employees.
Family: Mom deceased, Father a drunken pot smoker, sister lives in Savannah, GA with her hubby and three sons.
Job: Owner and bartender of a bar in a small Georgia town. Use to be a partner in successful internet company.
Location: Tremmel Crossing, Georgia
What foods do you like? I use to really enjoy chocolate fudge. It was smooth, sweet, and just so good. But with fudge, you can't really eat a lot of it: it's just too sweet. I also love a nice shot of coconut rum. It's great when you need to get through those last few hours of working with drunks and lunatics.
Listen to Music? Music! Ah, I love music! I listen to it all the time. I have a jukebox in the bar and it's always on. If no one is feeding quarters into it, then I'm over there turning it on myself. Music is a must-have in a world as crazy as this one.
Dislikes: Nosy people, Cigarettes, Drunks, tomatoes, bad breath
What Kind of Man She Likes: Strong, flirty, easy to talk to, can make her laugh, at least one tattoo is a must (shows that they can take some pain), doesn't mind spending money on her, doesn't smoke--at least not around Liz or in her house.
What Kind of Man She Dislikes: prejudices of any kind, straight as an arrow, thinks women are possessions, thinks he's in charge, clingy, too much facial hair (that stuff is so uncomfortable to kiss), drunks, drug users.
How deadly are you? Liz knows how to fight. She has a hefty attitude that usually prevents her from actually having to land any blows. But if the need arises, Liz is right there busting heads and bruising egos.
Do you have any artistic skills to speak of? Art? No. But she makes the best pina coloda in the county!

These are just a small portion of the interview that Liz participated in. She gets bored very quickly, so it was like pulling teeth just to get what information I did get out of her. Maybe I'll eventually get her to agree to another one... just to see how the changes in her life after Time For Death have affected her thoughts on such things. Even fictional characters must evolve when life gets hectic.

Here's a little something that I posted a few months back about Liz...

What Liz Would Do

Liz would tell someone to get out of her damn bar just for sitting on her expensive pool table.
Liz would have sex in a graveyard in the middle of the night.
Liz would wear a sexy Halloween costume out in public without caring what others thought.
Liz would be able to pull off that sexy Halloween costume because she doesn't give a damn what other people think.
Liz would tell someone to fuck off if they looked at her with even a hint of disrespect.
Liz would sacrifice her entire world for the people she loves.
Liz would happily stare at a sexy, shirtless man, letting her mind wander to naughtier things, even in the most inappropriate of moments.
Liz would call her cat a spoiled brat while still rubbing its tummy & enjoying its purring.
Liz would buy everyone in her a bar a round of drinks just because she's having a good day.
Liz would happily rule the world with a gentle touch, but an iron attitude when needed.

That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit about Liz. She's definitely a fun character to work with. She can be quite stubborn at times, but in the end she's just being herself.

Remember to pop back in tomorrow for your first glimpse at the Time For Death book cover.

Time For Death releases.

2010-03-15T07:09:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone! This is going to be one busy week. Not only that, but have some exciting news to share with you this week. Every day I will be sharing something new. Here's your news for today.

My new series will debut with book one, Time For Death, on April 30, 2010! Woohoo! I'm very excited and happy that Liz Baker will finally be sent out into the world. I even have some beta readers who are excited about the release, and they've already read the book. LOL!

Here is the description from the back of the book:

Liz Baker, a 32 year old small town bar owner, thought it would be a normal evening of sex in a cemetery with her longtime beau, until she spotted someone in the distance, and all normality in her world ceased to exist.

After several murders in her small town of Tremmel Crossing, Georgia, Liz comes to the realization that the murderer is coming after her, and he’s more dangerous than any human could possibly be.

With the help of her dead mother, bar bouncer, and cemetery lover, Liz learns that the murdering vampire was sent by her biological father to claim her as his own. Only then does she discover her real parentage and underlying special powers.

However, the vampire sent to claim her has powers of his own, most importantly the power to control her mind, emotions and desires. She wants him, needs him, her entire body aches for him, but she soon finds out that she must fight back to save the lives of her friends and loved ones. Only death will release her from Marcus’s powerful hold, but who will die first?

Every day this week I will be sharing something about this new series, ending on Friday with some special Release Day details. Be sure to come back tomorrow for "Liz Baker revealed!" You'll get to learn a little bit about Liz, her likes, dislikes, quirkiness, and much more. Then Wednesday I'll be sharing the first glimpse at what Time For Death looks like. Thursday will be "After the death." And Friday is all about celebrating!

I hope to see you back here tomorrow, and every day this week. Now I'm off to get today's work started & planning for the big day.

Highlights of the week.

2010-03-12T08:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday morning. It's cloudy with rain coming in soon, but the week turned out quite fabulously.

Here are a few of the highlights....

1. I was told I looked "slim".
2. I found out that I'm "sooo cool!"
3. Got a new filing cabinet for paperwork organization. Woohoo!
4. Finished the book edits... again.
5. Tim helped clean the house without being asked.
6. I finally received a phone call that I'd been waiting a week for.
7. Tonight is the kids' night at Mom's.
Today will be a pretty simple day. With all the work I've been doing this week there's nothing left on my to-do list for today. Of course I'm sure I'll find something that needs to be done. LOL. That's just how I roll.

Positivity has been very helpful in my mood this week. Then again, it could have been those several days of sunshine and warm temps last weekend that jolted my system. Either way, I've a great, highly productive week and planning for the same next week.

Speaking of next week. I will be sharing the cover for Time For Death next week. I think it's spectacular and represents the story quite well. It definitely shows the turmoil in Liz's world. One of my beta readers for the story has already declared that she thinks it's "f--king awesome!" LOL.

Okay, I'm off for now. Hoping your weekend is wonderful!

So far, so good.

2010-03-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

Thursday morning has arrived with the knowlege that this week has been a productive and surprisingly satisfying week for me.

Not only have I accomplished everything on my to-do list for the entire week--leaving nothing for tomorrow--but even more than that has been completed. And, if that's not good enough, Tim helped clean the house every day. Woohoo! I think he's realizing that his days at home are numbered. I'm pushing him to do something with his time until a job is procured.

Yesterday, another step in the publishing process was completed; putting Time For Death a little bit closer to a release date. Hopefully it won't be much longer until I can show you the cover art. I'm thinking maybe the end of next week. *Fingers Crossed*

I'm excited to finally have this story on its way to the world. Soon I'll be able to shift my focus solely to book 2. I have several books planned in this series and can't wait to get moving. The future is open and full of promise!

This morning we've been doing a bit of pre-Spring cleaning. I started cleaning the kitchen, but Tim came in and took over (not that I'm complaining). Then I moved to cleaning out the coat closet, so Tim came and put the big winter coats away for me. Then I moved to cleaning the fireplace. You guessed it, Tim came along and took my place. LOL. He was definitely in a cleaning mood.

Anyway, the house is pretty much spotless and I have two loads of laundry to fold and put away. Think I can get him to do that? LOL.

Now that the housework is finished, it's time for me to head out to pick up some postage stamps and take a bag of trash off.

I hope you have fantastic day! See you back here tomorrow for a recap of the week.

It's all gone.

2010-03-10T08:32:00.000-05:00

Morning all. Welcome to Hump Day. Well, it's done it. The last four days of nice weather are all gone. Rain moved in overnight and isn't suppose to be out of here until next week. Boooo! Hisssss! Shoooo!

Oh well, I have enjoyed the nice spring-like days and I'm looking forward to many more of them.

Nonetheless, I still have a busy day, even if it's not brightened by sunshine. I've been determined to make this week a good one, and so far it has been. Monday and Tuesday went well, with everything getting marked off my daily to-do lists. Today's list is a bit shorter--most of the work has been done already.

For the most part, today will be centered around getting more edits done. I have a goal of being finished by the end of the week, and if things go like I've planned that won't be a problem. Liz is being quite cooperative this time around. Of course, that's probably because this is like the sixth edit on this book and there's not as much left to fix or change by now. LOL!

I suppose it's time I get to work. I hope you're having as nice a week as I am. Hopefully the sun will decide not to wait until next week to reappear. *Fingers Crossed*

Tuesday: A continuation of a good week.

2010-03-09T07:18:00.000-05:00

Morning, morning, morning! Yes, I'm up and chipper on this lovely Tuesday morning. I told you yesterday that I am determined to have a good week, and therefore will have a good week.

Yesterday was great. I finished everything on my daily to-do list and more. The day turned out beautiful and we even spent several hours outside, and ended up having a late dinner because of it. Today is suppose to be just is nice (though rain is in the forecast fo the rest of the week).

Okay, so it is Tuesday, and some of you may be lagging this morning. If so, pop over to author Paige Tyler's blog for a weekly pick-me-up on her Tasty Tuesday entry! She'll definitely perk your mood right up with her weekly show-n-tell moment. ;-) And if you think her blog is steamy, you should really pick up one of her e-books. Oohhhh-La-La! I've read Librarian By Day and it's HOT!

So, this morning I have to head out for some grocery buying and to pick up a new filing cabinet. You know all of those papers you're suppose to keep for like 7 years... Forever! Well, I've decided to get out of the cardboard box that annoys me anytime I need to search through it for something and organize everything into a new filing cabinet. I separated everything by year on Sunday, and now I have stacks of papers all over the dining room table, just waiting for a new home. LOL. This will make it much easier & help me on my household organization path (like we're ever off that path).

After I get home it'll be back to book work. I finished editing 9 chapters yesterday and plan for just as many today. I've gained a newfound excitement toward this story and I'm so looking forward to finally saying it's complete and moving onto finishing book 2. Determination is key! Be determined to get something done and it will get done. At least it does for me. LOL.

Now that I've shared a half-naked man, my disorganized paper box secret, and a bit of chipper-ness with you, it's time for me to head out. Have a fabulous Tuesday and I'll see you back here tomorrow. :-)

What do you have planned for the week?

2010-03-08T08:48:00.000-05:00

Good morning. Looks like it's time to start another new week. At least it's starting out the right way here... sunny! Unfortunately, that won't last with the rest of the week's forecast calling for rain. Gotta take it when you get it. :-)

The weekend was just lovely for us. Both days had bright sunshine, warmer temperatures, and a happy family. We spent most of Saturday working outside. I managed to clear away fallen leaves from the few plants that are starting to peek from the ground. I cleaned out the front flower bed and readied it for spring planting. All I have left is to add some dirt from my compost bin and plant fresh flowers.

Yesterday I decided to make sure this new week is a good one. I've always been one determined girl, and when I decide to make something go the way I want it to, it usually does just that. I'm not saying it doesn't take work (cause it definitely does), but when I make up my mind that's the way things will go.

I made myself a day-by-day list of the necessary items that need to get completed each day. I've already marked off three things for today. Then I include things I'd like to get to, if everything else gets done in a timely manner. When I work like this I generally complete everything by the end of the week. It's when I just go random, willy-nilly that things don't get finished.

Anyway, things are planned, things will get completed, Tim will probably end up frustrated with my schedule, but I'll be a happy mommy and writer when the week ends. ;-) I'm sure all you moms out there know the saying, "When Mom isn't happy, no one is happy." That's exactly how it'll be this week.

So, it appears that I need to get started on my big projects for today. If you get the big ones done first you'll have plenty of time to get the smaller things completed. Then again, sometimes you just want to finish all the smaller tasks before jumping into the one that'll take longer.

Have a lovely day! Be determined to have a good/productive week and you'll be surprised. It just takes a bit of happy thought, organization, and determination.

Thursday morning around here.

2010-03-04T07:50:00.018-05:00

Good morning all you lovely people. It's nearly the weekend, again. The week has been a busy one, yet going by very quickly.

This week my time has been occupied with book work, discussions about book cover designs, formatting, and numerous other tasks that involve a book's release. Plans are moving along slowly, but steadily. It takes time, and persistence, but hopefully in the next few months I'll have another story for you to enjoy! *Fingers Crossed*

This new series of books is a bit different from my Alex & Fiona books. Sure, there are the supernatural aspects of the story (i.e. vampires), yet this time our main character is a sullen, smart ass, southern girl while won't take shit off no one. She knows what she likes, knows what she doesn't, and even the best, most mind-blowing sex she's ever had can't relinquish her hold on her senses. She'll ultimately do what's right--what's expected of her--even if she hates every minute of it.

Within the next few weeks I'm hoping to share a cover design with everyone. From there, it's just a matter of time 'til the release. :-)

In the meantime, those of you who received my newsletter yesterday morning already know about this... The rest of you, here's the fun announcement I promised. Just for those of you who haven't yet found your way into Alex & Fiona's life together. :-)

Anniversary Celebration in April

Next month Tim and I will be celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. To commemorate our special day, I will be holding a special e-book sale on April 9th. My e-book prices will be cut in half for 12 hours.

You'll be able to pick up A Midnight Infatuation, A Birth at Dawn & A Twilight Abduction for only $2.50 each. You'll be able to get all three for a grand total of $7.50!

This sale will only be through the e-book links on my website and will only be for 12 hours... April 9, 2010, 9am-9pm.

I will, of course, post about this on my blog and send out a reminder in my April newsletter so no one will miss the big day. I wanted you wonderful newsletter subscribers to know about it first.
I hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity to own all three Alex & Fiona books.

Well, that's it from me today. I have to go out for groceries, and then back home to make some phone calls. After that it'll be more book work until pick-up time at school. My other "worlds" must be interrupted and put on hold when the children need me. That's the suffering of a mommy who just happens to be a writer.

As much as I'd like to lock myself away and write all day, I'll happily wait until the youngest has gone to school to enjoy that privilege. They're only small for so long, you know. :-)

I wasn't expecting that today.

2010-03-02T14:40:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon everyone. I've had one busy day so far, and I wasn't really expecting it to turn out that way.

First off, the oldest had an orthodontist appointment this morning. Tim took the big girls off to school with a light rain falling. As soon as daylight arrived the rain started mixing with snow. Within the next hour it was a full blown heavy snow falling, with flakes about the size of half dollars. They were huge!

By 9am the ground was covered.My phone started ringing... family members wondering about school, the oldest asking if she could go home with great-grandmother because said great-grandmother was there picking up a cousin, and others asking if I knew how much snow we were suppose to get. Then I got the call that schools were closing.

We were already dressed due to the upcoming orthodontist appointment, so we rushed off to pick up the middle daughter from elementary school and the oldest from great-grandmother's house. It was still an hour and a half until the ortho appointment though. We stopped by the pediatrician's office for my youngest daughter's vaccination records (their computers were down when we were there last week) for kindie sign up in a few weeks; went to the bank to make a deposit; and then with 45 minutes left we took the kids to spend 30 mins in the library.

Finally,we made it to the orthodontist's office and the oldest had her check-up.

After all that, everyone had grumbling tummies and we decided to eat lunch out.

NOW, we're home. Whew! I was planning on the ortho appointment, but not the rest. The day certainly got away from me when snow showed up. Of course, now the snow has stopped and everything that was on the ground has melted away. And school wouldn't even be out yet if they hadn't called it off. LOL.

Anyway, that's my craziness for the day. Time for me to attempt to get some book work done (yeah right, with everyone home). Before I go, remember that my monthly newsletter goes out tomorrow. It has a fun announcement in it, especially for anyone who has been wanting to order any of my Alex & Fiona books but hasn't gotten around to it. Be sure to sign up today so you don't miss it. :-)

Happy Tuesday!

Want a discount on Alex & Fiona?

2010-03-01T19:45:00.005-05:00

During the month of March, readers can receive 10% off purchases of my Alex & Fiona series. All you have to do is shop through this link and use code IDES during checkout. Offer expires March 31, 2010 at 11:59 PM EDT It's that easy!

Welcome to March.

2010-03-01T07:28:00.042-05:00

Good morning! Here we are entering yet another new month that happens to line up on a Monday. I've always thought of that as a great way to start a month. Get the first Monday out of the way and move on. Of course, it could be that I like months beginning on Mondays because payday on the second Wednesday of the month comes even quicker. LOL.

I spent the weekend working and spending time with the family. Tim & I had Friday night to ourselves with the girls at my mom's house. We spent it at home making dinner, watching movies, drinking, and having a great time together. We even slept until 9am the next morning. Talk about nice!

Saturday we cleaned house, did laundry, cleaned the car, and spent the day with the kids.

Sunday, boy, Sunday was interesting. The in-laws were out of town for the weekend, meaning we didn't have to go anywhere. I spent most of the day working on formatting Time For Death. Decisions have been made, plans are being worked through, and I'm feeling quite optimistic about this new book series. I know Liz will be glad that I'm moving forward with her life. LOL.

Speaking of good new. My March newsletter will go out to al subscribers on Wednesday morning. I'll be making a fun announcement in it that I hope may people will take advantage of. Don't miss it! (Click here to sign up)

As a way to prepare for new things, I did a little updating to the website over the weekend. Mainly just some organization and moving things around. During the work, I was thinking about moving this blog over to the website. What do you think? It would take me some time to get it set up, but at least then the blog would be right where everything else is at. Let me know what you think ----> (Survey link)

All right, time for me to get going. Tim took the kids to school, I've already fed the youngest and folded two loads of laundry, and it's time for my breakfast before getting back to work for Liz. She's quite demanding at times, and now that I'm ready to finish her first story she's even more demanding. LOL!

Have a great Monday!

Thursdays are good days.

2010-02-25T08:08:00.000-05:00

How can a Thursday be anything but a good day? The worst of the week is over and the weekend starts tomorrow. Thursdays have to be good days; they don't know how to be anything else!

Yesterday turned out to be one hectic day around here. I had a lot to do to start with, and then life threw in more curve balls than I'm normally use to. I survived though. Looks like I'll be stuck in Tim's car longer than expected... indefinitely, as a matter of fact. The van's going to cost more money than expected to fix and, well, I've put it up for sale. Maybe someone else will be able to put the money into it, or part it out for a profit. Either way, I suppose I'm van-less for good right now.

On the upside, I'm loving my new Kindle. I didn't have as much time to play with it yesterday, but I did manage to finish going over the owners manual. The operations are easy peasy, but I'm a thorough girl and like to read the owner's manual on things like this. I have 6 or 7 books already on there and will be a happy reader all the time now. :-)

We managed to get the youngest to her doctor's office yesterday for that last vaccination. Remember how she swore she wasn't going to throw a hissy fit this time? Remember how I knew better and was prepared for the worse? Welllllllll....

She threw a hissy fit and we had to hold her down for that last shot in the leg. LOL! Poor thing. At least this time she's not limping around claiming her leg is broke. Taking the band-aid off today will be just as bad.

I must be off now. I have three loads of laundry to do (just the kids' hamper), a shower to take, an older story to dig up, dust off, and submit to an anthology contest, and then other writing work to do. We'll see just how much of that actually gets done before Tim decides he's bored and wants my attention. *Slaps forehead*

Oh, before I go, here's a little poll for you.

What's your favorite book format?

Click here to take survey

All righty, that's it for today. I'm off to work on next week's newsletter. I have some exciting news to share with all of my subscribers, so if you're not already, now is definitely the time to subscribe. :-)

Wonderful Wednesday

2010-02-24T08:25:00.017-05:00

Morning everyone! I've decided that today will be one wonderful Wednesday. Yesterday was a good day, but today will be wonderful.

I got my Kindle yesterday! The UPS man decided to draw my day out and not show up until 5 p.m. I was pacing the floors. LOL. Tim kept teasing me by saying, "He's not coming. No Kindle for you!" I'd just stick out my bottom lip and give him the pouty face.

I had ordered a few books for the Kindle before it even arrived. What? I needed to have some on there the first time I turned it on. Sheesh! Can't a girl enjoy a new book on her new Kindle the moment she pulls it out of the cardboard box that she shredded like a wild animal trying to get at a raw slab of beef? Is that so much to ask? Geez.

Anyway, I'm loving it and can't wait to see how long it takes me to fill it up. Yes, that'll be my goal... fill my Kindle up with as any books as possible in the shortest amount of time. Oh, wait! Maybe my goal should be to also read all of those books. LOL!

Today I need to run a few errands. Then, this afternoon I have to take the 5yr old for that one little vaccination that the pediatrician's office was out of when the girls had their check-ups last month. Here's hoping I won't have to hold her down this time (but knowing I'll have to anyway).

Okay, I'm off. Tim's back from taking the older girls to school, and the youngest wants breakfast. I have some e-book files to transfer from the laptop to my new "Precious". I'll be having a wonderful Wednesday, and hope you will too. :-)

Getting back to business.

2010-02-22T07:10:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone! I was graced with three days of beautiful sunshine and warmer temps this past weekend. That left me in a gloriously wonderful mood yesterday, which has flowed into today even though it rained all night and the sky is promising to be an ugly shade of gray. Oh well, what can you do. I'm just thankful for the hint of spring I was able to enjoy.

As most of you know, I spent all of last week on vacation with the family. We had a blast the entire week! We visited places we hadn't been before, did new things, tried new things and simply had a great vacation. Aside from the plagiarism interruption, there were no disappointments during the trip. The mountains were gorgeous with all the snow on them. It was a lot of fun.

We got home Friday. After throwing one of the six loads of laundry into the washer, we had to run right back out to do some end of the week errands (groceries, bills, etc.). Saturday was filled with chores, cleaning, and then the kids went to spend the night with Tim's parents. We took that chance to have our late Valentine's Day night. Dinner out, drinks, shopping... Then much more once we returned home. ;-) It was a lovely night.

Now it's Monday and I must be getting back to business.

Tim just took the older girls to school and the youngest is waiting for me to make her some breakfast. I have work to do, phone calls to make, paperwork from last year to dig up, novels to both query and work on, and numerous other chores to tend to. Tim has to call the mechanic about my van as we haven't heard anything from him yet. I was hoping to have it back by now. No such luck I suppose.

Speaking of luck, I had a touch of it over the weekend. I spent $7 on some lottery tickets and ended up making $23 back. Now that's the kind of return I like. I didn't wake up a millionaire, but at least I had some extra cash in my wallet. :-)

Ooohhh, and I ordered my Kindle yesterday!!! Woohoo! It'll be here on Tuesday. I'm so excited! Now I can have the library I always wanted, without the constraints of bookshelf space. Yay! I can't wait for it to get here.

Okay, I must be going. The youngest has tolerated my nonchalant attitude toward breakfast for as long as she's going to. "Mommyyyyyyy, I'm hungry!" LOL. I guess my time's up.

Have a great day!

Don't steal entries.

2010-02-16T19:09:00.001-05:00

It has come to my attention that one of my blog entries has been stolen, copied and then pasted in its entirety on another blog. Don't do this people. It's stealing, copyright infringement and simply WRONG. If you want to share my entries with your friends, or on your blog, please do so correctly.

Don't know the correct way? Well, it's easy... Don't share the whole thing! The best way is to simply link to my blog. That's a great way to do it! If you need to intrigue your readers, choose a small portion (no more than a paragraph or two) to post on your blog and then include my name and the entry link for people to follow and read the rest.

If you really MUST share my entire entry, ASK PERMISSION FIRST! I don't turn down much, so more than likely you would get my permission. But if I find that you've stolen my words without asking, well, let me just say that there is legal action to be taken when it comes to plagiarism.

My book excerpts are fine to share however you'd like, but the personal stuff at the beginning and end of my blog entries should not be included.

It's really not that difficult, and I'm hoping that the person who has committed this crime just doesn't know any better. Just because it's a blog doesn't mean that you can take it. The same rules apply with photography and artwork. Just because it's online doesn't means it's free for you to use however you want without permission.

Now, I'll get back to my vacation.

Excerpt Day: A Twilight Abduction

2010-02-16T08:03:00.027-05:00

Good morning ladies and gents. Yep, I'm out of town this week, but that doesn't mean I can't take the time to share information about my books (like I'd ever stay somewhere that doesn't have Wi-Fi). I think A Twilight Abduction was my most favorite of the Alex & Fiona stories. Things came together just perfectly (IMO) for this extraordinary couple and their little one.

Since Valentine's Day was two days ago, today's excerpt is all about love.
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“It’ll be all right, my love,” I cajoled with a smile as bright as I could muster at the moment. I gently kissed his lips and ran my fingers through his hair. I wanted more from him than his self-pity. I’d missed my husband and selfishly wanted his focus all on me.

His eyes were a deep chasm of emotion. I lightly stroked his chest and any resistance he might have been feeling, instantly melted away. His hands slid to my face and pulled my mouth to his. His kiss was fierce, demanding, and passionate enough to take what it wanted.

I wasn’t about to put up a fight. I wanted everything and anything he could throw at me. I wanted someone focused on me–not my powers, my child, or my impending doom.

Passion rose between our souls. Everything around us faded away into the darkness. All I could see, feel, need was Alex. And nothing else mattered.

I slowly climbed on top of him. I straddled his lap while he continued to kiss me with as much longing and passion as I felt for him. His hands caressed the small of my back. Fingertips, as light as feathers slid under my shirt, moving slowly up my back, until they discovered the clasp of my bra. The clasp quickly gave way under his knowing fingertips.

My spine shivered as his fingers moved back down my back. They caught the bottom seam of my top and quickly pulled upward, exposing me to the man in charge. A deep sigh of pleasure escaped my lips as the shirt slid across the floor on the other side of the room, and we were left chest to chest.

His mouth soon abandoned mine in search of a more sensual location on my neck. It teased, licked, and nipped at just the right spot as my head fell back to allow more. I became lightheaded, digging my nails into his back to keep my balance. This is the kind of moment that people use to describe swooning. And boy was I swooning!

A moan escaped from Alex’s throat as I performed a bit of my own neck playing. My fangs made an appearance, as they begged and pleaded for me to take just a little. But it wasn’t time for that, just yet.

My nails scratched down his back and a groan of pleasure whispered in my ear. His hands slid down the back of my jeans and kneaded the rounded flesh. I could feel warmth spreading throughout my body with the core of it located south of the waistline.

Alex’s body writhed beneath me. The only thing holding us back from a full-blown explosion was the pair of denim jeans still in place. Urgency was building. The need to be as one was overtaking. The lust between us was controlling our actions.

Alex’s hands turned their attention to my bare breasts. His mouth swiftly joined in on the action. Teeth nipping, tongue wagging, mouth sucking; all pulling me further down into the depths of ecstasy.

If you're interested in picking up your own copy of A Twilight Abduction, stop by my website, Amazon, or any of your favorite bookstores.

ChristieSilvers.com, Amazon book page, Kindle book page