6 Months of Insanity: Rental Property & a Grandbaby

My preggo daughter!

Hello, my wonderful readers! I've missed you all tremendously & and been tweaking hard for some writing time. Soooo, I'm going to jump in and give you guys an update on the insanity that has become my life the last six months.

#1.  The hubby & I have been remodeling our rental house since July 2019. This started out as something "simple" and "necessary," but quickly escalated into a massive overhaul project before we knew it. The entire house was torn down to bare subfloors and some rooms were down to wall studs. We tore out old, dark, wood paneling and found good sheetrock behind it. We had to patch holes, replace some and re-rock the entire bathroom (which was the worst room in the house). We replaced flooring, carpets, lights, tore out the entire kitchen and started from scratch. And a million other little things too exhausting to recount. And to this day, we still have to lay flooring in the living room/dining room area and put down baseboards before cleaning it all.

All of this for reason number 2.........

#2.  Our middle daughter is making us grandparents for the first time! She is due in late May 2020 and we are all preparing for this little one's arrival. Aside from the house remodel, I'm also shopping for the baby, planning the massive baby shower, and attending ultrasound appointment to see my new grandbaby every chance I get. We are just a few days away from finding out if it's a boy or girl. And then the shopping spree really begins! Oh, and since I'm far too young to be a Granny or Mamaw, I've decided to be Gammie. So, Gammie's baby will be wildly spoiled once he or she makes their arrival in a few months.

And during all of this insanity I even jumped in and....

#3. I am now a Master Certified Life Coach! This has been something I enjoy and when the opportunity to become certified fell in my lap I certainly couldn't pass it up. I spent several months working on courses and exams before I finally celebrated the certification. I work online and off, with an office to work out of at my day job. If you're curious, feel free to check it out at TailgateLifeCoaching.com

In the meantime, I've been working that day job I enjoy, running the household, enjoying holidays and birthday, all while working on that dang house that I'm extremely sick of. My Army daughter came home for Christmas. I had her for two weeks and it was wonderful. The holidays were fun and peaceful. Nothing crazy at all (thank goodness!)

Now that the new year is here, it's time to celebrate two more birthdays: my youngest is turning 15 & I'll be 43. I'm slowly getting back to my book writing and plan to release the next Liz Baker book in 2020. Stay tuned for future updates.

Happy New Year & wish me luck! :)

I finally found a title!

Deciding on a title for your book can sometimes be as trying a task as writing the back cover blurb for said book (it's hell!). You wouldn't think it would be so difficult, but it's like getting a teenager to come out of her room!

I had a running list of random words that *might* go together in some form or fashion to create an understandable title. Multiple Post-It notes with words, and lines through them, and frowning faces, and scribbles because I got distracted and hated everything I wrote stuck to my desk, laptop, and marker board. I even went so far as to have my 14 year old daughter on one computer while I was on another so she could look up synonyms for words as I searched on Amazon to make sure that title idea didn't already exist. All of that after I sat here and explained to her what the entire story is about.

It was bad! Trust me.

This went on for days and days, with NOTHING appealing to me. I even asked poor Mr. Silvers and his only question was, "Well, what's the story about?" I shook my head and replied, "No, I'm not going through that again!" I thrust a piece of paper toward him and demanded, "Tell me which one goes with the series!" And then he started asking me more questions, so I took the paper back and shooed him out of my office.

Wanna know what happened for me to finally come up with a title after many days of torment (because I can't get a cover created without a title!)? Are you ready for this?  Here you go................................................................................... 

I WENT TO BED!

Yep, you read that correctly.  I went to bed.  As I tried to fall asleep, and struggling due to all the nonsense in my head, the title slapped me in the face and just came to me. I had to immediately grab my phone and type it into the notepad app for fear of falling asleep and forgetting it forever. I've had that happen before. Whew!

Sooooo, staying with the theme of my Liz Baker series, book seven's title is: 

DEATH'S SEDUCTION

I also have a release date and just contacted my Liz Baker cover designer to start the ball rolling on all of that. But those are posts for another day. :D  Right now I'm just excited to give this project a name and be one step closer to releasing it to the public.

See you next time!

January Observances: Clean Up Your Computer Month

Time for another issue of January Observances! This week I want to share with you that January is Clean Up Your Computer Month. Have you cleaned your computer lately? I know I haven't. I do have it on my To-Do list for this month though.

As a writer, I really need to back up my WIPs (work-in-progress) regularly and in several locations. I learned a long time ago to never depend on a single draft in my laptop, and I learned that the hard way. Talk about a stressful 2 weeks while I waited for my laptop to return from the warranty department at Dell. I was on pins and needles waiting to see if they had erased all my data, or if my book file was still intact. I thanked the heavens above as I booted up my laptop and all my files were still there. Whew! Thus my learning experience that taught me to save my stuff in numerous locations, both online and off.

Sooooo, time to clean things up, update my antivirus program, clear out all those old files, upload photos, backup my current WIP to a flash drive, and make sure my online storage is up to date. While I'm at it, I guess I should clean up my phone too.

Let this be a reminder to all of my wonderful readers: Clean Up Your Computer! :)

Have a great week and I'll see you next time.

It's my birthday! Here's a gift for you!

Image by Maria Luisa Gutierrez

Today I celebrate my 42nd birthday. I can't believe I'm now "established" in my 40's. LOL! It's a weird feeling. I remember when my parents were this age and I couldn't imagine being in my 40's, and yet here I am. Weird!

Anyway, to celebrate another year of writing, I'm offering all my readers a special 1 day only BOGO deal.

Buy any of my eBooks on your favorite site, send me a copy of your receipt showing today's date, and I'll personally email you back a PDF copy of any 1 of my other books. For example: You buy Time for Death (Liz Baker, bk 1) on Amazon, send me the receipt, and I'll send you back Kill Me Next Week (Liz Baker, bk 2) for FREE. Well, if that's the book you requested. :D

The only exception to this deal is Alex & Fiona Forever. Since that is the complete Alex & Fiona series, I will not be including this one in the free book selection. However, you CAN use this one as your purchased book to receive another book for free.

Now, I have one request with all this... BE PATIENT. I work a day job and won't be able to respond to any emails until this evening, after I've picked my daughter up from school and made it home for the day.

To recap:

• 1.  Buy any of my eBooks on your favorite site.
• 2.  Email me a copy of your receipt with today's date.
• 3.  Include your requested free book of choice.
• 4.  Be patient while I reply with a PDF copy of the free book you requested.

If the link above doesn't work, send emails to authorchristiesilvers @ gmail.com  (no spaces).

I hope you all have a lovely Thursday. <3

January Observances: National Oatmeal Month

Image from Yaroslav B

It's National Oatmeal Month! How do you like your oatmeal? 

Lately, I've been trying out a ton of "overnight oats" recipes (thank you, Pinterest!) and it's a lot different than cooked oats. After eating hot oatmeal all my life it's a little weird to eat them cold, but not bad if you find the right combination of goodness to add to it. My newest favorite is a brown sugar and cinnamon combination and then I throw in a tablespoon full of a tropical trail mix. The pineapple and bananas kind of soften after being in the fridge overnight, and the coconut gives it a nice flavor.

The overnight oats make it easy for me to grab the jar out of the fridge, throw it in my lunch bag with a protein shake and my lunch, before heading to the gym early in the morning. After a good workout I can sit anywhere and peacefully eat my breakfast and drink my shake without having to worry about finding a microwave. And then it's off to the day job!

Granted, you can do a lot more with oatmeal than eat it for breakfast. Cookies and breads are quite popular, but for me it will always be a healthy breakfast.

What do you put in your oatmeal?

January Observances: Hot Tea Month

Photo from Willie Cloete

Every day of the year seems to be dedicated to something extra, and while it's fun to celebrate Hamburger Day or Whipped Cream Day, I've decided to focus on months instead of days.

January has several observances, however, I picked just four I like and I'll be sharing them with you every Monday this month.

Today, I'm going to share Hot Tea Month with you!

As a born and raised Southerner, it took me a while to become a fan of hot tea. My experimentation with numerous tea blends and sweeteners, bags or loose leaf, and even different kettles led me to some delicious, healthy, and warming teas that I drink regularly during the cold winter months.

Some of my favorite blends include apples and citrus fruits. I have one I like for daily use to get me started in the mornings called Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy from Yogi Teas. This is my "start the day" tea that I sip while waking up at 5:30am every weekday.

I also enjoy their Kava Stress Relief for nighttime use. Since I have such a difficult time settling down in the evening (don't we all have a million things left to do at bedtime?) it helps me relax and sleep better. Mr. Silvers uses it to fall asleep in the mornings because he works nights and it's hard for him to sleep in the daytime.

I like having blends that are meant for particular reasons, such as the ones I pick for cold & flu season, mental clarity, and relaxation. I also enjoy scrolling through the pages of Adagio Teas for coconut, candy apple, peach, and cherry flavors. They always have good sized "sample" packets. I can go for months at a time with sample packets.

You may see my characters sipping a cup of tea in the stories I write from time to time. If you notice this, you'll know I was most likely writing that scene on a cold winter day with my own steamy cup sitting to the right of my laptop fueling me forward throughout the day.

Do you have a tea you love? Share it with me! I'm always looking for a new flavor to try.

Happy Tea Month!

NaNoWriMo has arrived, again!

Here it is, ladies and gents! National Novel Writing Month has arrived yet again. Every year thousands of authors, would-be authors, and interested parties join the masses in an attempt to crank out at least 50,000 words in only 30 days. They don't have to be good words, nor do they have to ever see the light of day, but you are supposed to have 50,000 of them before December 1st rears its ugly head.

Even with everything going on in my life right now (i.e. Cancer Sucks!!), I have great intentions to make that 50K mark by the end of the month. I've done it several times over the years and I know I can do it again. Not to mention, I really need to get this novel's first draft done before the end of the year. It's driving me crazy that I haven't been able to finish it already and I refuse to let 2015 go by without a finished book under my metaphorical belt (I rarely wear belts).

If you're on NaNoWriMo and would like to connect, here's my page link: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/christiesilvers

Feel free to add me as a friend & maybe we can keep each other cheered on. Though it's unlikely you'll hear much cheering while everyone is banging their heads on keyboards trying to remember what a sentence is.

My WIP for this month is Bloody Sorrow (tentatively titled), and is the first book in the new series I'm working on. I'm not very far into it so adding another 50,000 words will definitely help the situation... A LOT!

Fingers crossed & high fives to everyone participating. Remember that there are no losers when you're actually writing. And that's what this month is all about... writing 'til your fingers bleed and your brain has turned to mush. LOL.  Oh, and you only need 1,667 words a day to reach the 50K mark. I know you can do it!


P.S. I adjusted the word count bar on the right of the page to reflect the words I've already written and added them to the 50K I have left to write.   ------->>>>

20th Anniversary Giveaway

Happy April 9th! Today is probably just another Wednesday for you, but for me it marks my 20th anniversary. On the day my hubby and I married it was bright, sunny, and extremely windy! We were only 17 years old (the same age as our oldest daughter) and thought we knew it all. The difference between us and the majority of the teens who married the same time we did... We're still together 20 years later! :)

What a difference the years make. We've had lots of trials and tribulations, ups and downs, happiness and sadness, but I wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world. And we created such lovely daughters, too!

In sight of all the craziness 20 years of marriage brings, I'm welcoming all of you to celebrate with us. Check out the Rafflecopter below for numerous ways to enter the anniversary giveaway. Prizes include books, goodies, and gift cards. Entries will be taken for the next week and winners will be announced on April 17, 2014.

Prizes:

1 - Spring Goodie Box

2 - $5 Amazon Gift Cards

1 - Autographed Time for Death (Liz Baker, bk 1)

1 - Liz Baker eBook (winner's choice)

3 - Time for Death key chains

1 - Nail Polish Collection

3 - Book mark Collections

One part of the entries is for you to leave a blog comment, so I ask you this:

Name one thing that first attracted you to your mate. If you're single, name something you'd like to see in a future mate.  :)





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book 'Em 2014 was a blast!

Last weekend I attended the 2014 Book 'Em NC Authors Conference & Book Fair. This was my third year attending and I'm already signed up for next year. I had a great time.

Friday night was the author meet & greet. I meet up with old friends, and met a few new ones. I missed some authors who weren't able to make it this year, too. Overall, it was a fun evening with lots of food, drinks, and conversation.

The next morning we were up and at 'em early. The fair didn't open to the public until 9:30am, but all the authors filed in early to set up our tables, browse, and chit-chat with others. Here's a pic of my table set-up. I was supposed to share a table with my best author friend, Robin Renee Ray, but she wasn't able to make it all the way from New Mexico. Therefore, I ended up with a table to all to myself (and with 5 books to sell it was needed).

By the end of the day I had shaken so many hands, told so many people about my vampires, sold several books to new readers (and a few to old fans), and even turned down the offer of a new publisher. I was exhausted! It was a blast, but I'm always glad when it's over and I can get back home to my own bed, and back to writing the next book.

Here are a couple more pictures from the big day. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, said hello, and/or purchased a Liz Baker book. I hope to see you all next year!

My self-proclaimed #1 NC fan, Geri Turner. <3

Three Weeks 'Til Book 'Em NC

For the last few years, every February I make the trek from the north Georgia mountains to a small town in North Carolina called Lumberton for a massive, ever-growing writer's conference and book fair called Book 'Em North Carolina. I have such a great time during this one day event that I always immediately agree to come back the next year.


So here we are, a mere three weeks from the big day. I can't wait! I'll be there with bells on (*Remember to buy bells*) ready to meet and greet new readers and old with handfuls of chocolates, lots of smiles and conversation, and dozens of copies of the Liz Baker series.


If you'll be anywhere near Lumberton on February 22nd please, please, please stop by and say hello. The even is free to the public. With over 75 authors, publishers, and literary agents signing books and giving panel talks, you're bound to find something of interest.


Here are all the details:


When: February 22, 2014
Where: Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC
Hours: 9:30am to 5:00pm


Check out the website for directions and hotel information, as well as a list of authors, talk schedules, and author seating. My table will be down the first hallway you come to as you pass the cash registers. But don't worry, the entire set up is one big circle. You'll come around to my table at some point.  :D

Sunshine Award

A big thank you to P.M Terrell. She sent me this blog award a little while ago and I greatly appreciate it. Stop by and check her out at www.pmterrell.blogspot.com

As a recipient, I am required to answer the following questions for all of you:

Favorite Color - Depends on my mood and time of the year. Right now, it's red.

Favorite Animal - Cats (even though I don't have any right now).

Favorite Number - 25. I have no idea why.

Favorite Non-alcoholic Drink - Is there such a thing as a favorite non-alcoholic drink?! Geez, if I have to choose I guess it would be Diet Mountain Dew.

Facebook or Twitter - I have both, but I like Facebook better. I think it's easier to connect with other people on Facebook.

Your Passion - My passion is my children. I do everything in my power to make sure they will grow up to be happy, healthy, and twisted adults.  ;) You should see my teens bedroom. Eek! 

Giving or getting present - I love giving gifts! I find more joy in giving than receiving. Maybe it's because no on ever tries to surprise me when I get a gift. I like happy surprises.

Favorite Day - Friday

Favorite Flowers - Anything that smells good.

The Sunshine Award and it's given to "those who creatively and positively inspire others in the blogosphere." Next week (April 24th) check out these wonderful authors who inspire me:

Robin Renee Ray
Amy Brantley

My Favorite Things: Electronics

http://www.roku.com/meet-roku

In the spirit of oversharing, today I want to talk about some of my favorite things in electronics.

We live in an electronic world; there's no getting around it. And in the spirit of that amazingly unique revelation (NOT!), here are a few things I don't think I could live without.

 

• Wi-Fi -- Though not really and electronic thing, a girl has to have Wi-Fi to run all the other good stuff.  Duh!
• Dell Inspiron Laptop -- Yep, it's my electronic drug of choice. My computer, my filing system, my database of useless knowledge, my friends from all over the world live inside of it. I go into panic fits at the thoughts of losing my computer and everything in it. Eek! My old Dell had to be sent back to Dell because it wouldn't come on and I attached a frantic note to it begging the tech department to NOT format my harddrive.  Nooooo!  At that point I had half  book written and stupidly didn't have it backed up anywhere else.  Trust me, I learned from that experience and now I back up everything in at least three locations.
• Kindle 2 -- Yes, it's older, bigger, heavier, and probably not as cool as the newer models, but my Kindle 2 has been with me for a few years now and it holds 99% of my library. On any given day I have the ability to pick it up and start reading a new book. Or even snag an old classic I enjoyed as a teen. If it weren't for Wi-Fi and my laptop, the Kindle 2 would be top on my list.
• Kindle Fire -- While I don't use it very often, I do enjoy my Kindle Fire. I take it along when I go out of town overnight (anything longer requires my laptop). I use it to entertain my kids at doctor appointments or other "boring" events/tasks in life. While I don't use it for reading (I don't like the glare), I appreciate that I can pull up any of my library at any time and pick up where I left off on the Kindle 2.
• Roku -- Some of you may not know what this is, so let me just say that it's the best thing for television since SyFy came into existence. LOL!  I'm just sayin'...  My family enjoys the ease of Roku that we actually have three boxes in the house. When given the choice between a cable box or a Roku box for her bedroom, my teenager chose the Roku. All of them are linked to my Netflix account and you can pretty much watch whatever you want at any time of day.
• Netflix -- Yep, I'm back into the "not an electronic" territory, but give a girl a break. I've been a Netflix subscriber for about 5 years now and have enjoyed it tremendously. Aside from getting movies in my mailbox all the time, I really love the streaming aspect of the service. If  get bored I can just turn it on (on my Roku box) and watch movies and tv shows I've never seen. Works for me!

 

What are some of your favorite electronic items?

My Favorite Things: Movies

Since I'm trying to get back into the flow of blogging regularly, I'm starting a new blog series titled My Favorite Things. These will be monthly and will range from today's topic of movies to books, nail polish, authors, electronics, and many more. There's no telling what I'll decide is a favorite thing to share with all of you.  ;)

Let's jump into today's post. Here is a list of my favorite movies (thus far), in no particular order or genre.

• Underworld series
• Queen of the Damned
• Skinwalkers (Not for the acting, but for the actor Jason Behr)
• Resident Evil series
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• Wanderlust
• Fright Night
• The Adjustment Bureau
• Dogma
• Skyline
• Inception
• Lost Boys
• An American Werewolf in Paris
• Anything with Brenden Fraser ;)

Are we seeing a pattern here? Eek! :D  I do enjoy vampires, werewolves, ghosts, aliens, and any other monster. I'm also big on murder horrors: The Cabin in the Woods, Midnight Meat Train, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Ferryman, and many more.

What movies on are your favorites list?

Heading to Lumberton, NC

As many of you already know, I'll be an attending author at the Book 'Em NC Writers Conference & Book Fair on Saturday in Lumberton, North Carolina. Since I live in Georgia, it'll take almost 7 hours to get there. Sooooo, I'm leaving in the morning and will arrive at my hotel around 3pm - 4pm tomorrow afternoon.

Friday evening there will be an author meet and greet. They'll feed us, give us drinks, and in turn all of us (and our guests) will chat it up and have a good ole time seeing old friends and making new ones. At least that's how it was last year. ;)  I had a great time in a room full of like-minded folk.

Then on Saturday morning we'll head to the college hosting the conference to set up our tables, chit-chat some more, and wait for the doors to open to the public at 9:30am. For the next 6 1/2 hours I'll meet lots of old, new, and potential readers, while doing my best to ply them with chocolates, bookmarks, business cards, and autographed copies of the Liz Baker series.

Since I know many of my readers can't or aren't able to attend, be on the look out next week for one of my goodie giveaways. I don't like people to feel left out.  :D  *Smooches*

If you're able to visit us in Lumberton be sure to stop by my table and say hello. I'll be on the 1st floor. 

WHEN: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
WHERE: ROBESON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
LUMBERTON, NORTH CAROLINA
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
http://www.bookemnc.org/

Upcoming Event: Book 'Em NC 2013

Last year, I attended a conference-slash-book fair in Lumberton, North Carolina. I had a great time meeting other authors and trying my best to entice new readers. Not to mention, meeting a couple of online friends face-to-face for the first time. It was so much fun that I immediately agreed to come back in 2013.

And now it's 2013! Wow! Where did 2012 go? No biggie, though. Let's just move on and start enjoying 2013. :)

Back to Book 'Em NC 2013...

I will be in attendance at Book 'Em NC on February 23, 2013. The night before is the author meet-n-greet with the actual conference & book fair the next morning. It's an all-day event (9:30am - 4pm) that's open to the public free of charge. There will be author talks, books for sale, authors on hand to autograph your books (even when our hands cramp from signing so many)... I think they're even having food stations this year. 

Oh, and lest I forget, there's a big children's section upstairs. Last year, they had face painting and people dressed up as storybook characters. All the kids in attendance looked quite happy. Then again, that could have been all the candy I had on my table when they came by. LOL. For a moment I actually wished we'd brought our own kids to enjoy it... and then I came to my senses. ;)

This is such a big event and it benefits the local area there in Lumberton that I don't know anyone who would pass up the chance to help out, or even stop by to check it all out.  Here's the description of the Book 'Em purpose from the website:

"The purpose of The Book 'Em Foundation and this event is to raise public awareness of the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. Proceeds from the Book 'Em North Carolina book fairs go directly to increasing literacy in Robeson County, North Carolina and to reducing crime in the area."

Last year, there were over 2,000 people in attendance, with 75 authors, and they raised over $9,000 in only 6 hours for the community.

If you're anywhere near Lumberton on Feb. 23rd please stop by, even just for a moment, to check it out. You might even find yourself leaving with dozens of new books. I know I saw many people walking around with arm loads that day... several even left with some of mine. :D

For more details and directions, visit http://www.bookemnc.org .  And hey, if you stop by be sure to find my table and say hello. I love conversation with fellow book lovers.

ARVLFC Undead Con & Wolf Gift Ball

Well, I didn't get around to writing this post last week like I intended, but never fear, rambling is here!  ;)

The trip was long (a 9 hr drive from Georgia), but I had a pretty good time.  New Orleans wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It wasn't bad, but not as great as everyone had built it up to be.  Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the zoo, aquarium, cemeteries, Steamboat Natchez, French Market, Harrah's Casino, and the Wolf Gift Ball, but we did all of that in three days. I couldn't imagine staying longer than that. Our fourth day was spent asking, "What should we do now?"

Anyway, the Wolf Gift Ball was a BLAST!  I had more fun at that than anything else the entire trip.  I enjoyed seeing all the costumes; hung with my good friend and fellow author, Robin Renee Ray, for the first time (as well as several other people I've only spoken with online); and ended up quite tipsy by the time our taxi took us back to the hotel at 2am.  LOL!  It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. :)

The Undead Con wasn't as big as I expected it to be...being in New Orleans and all.  The conference I attend in Lumberton, NC seems to have spoiled me with a large turn out.  There weren't as many attendees as I thought there would be.  I guess most people only come for the balls, and not the conference.

Though I was a participant in this years Undead Con (merely an attendee), I did get a bit of a shout out from my wonderful Robin. I sat in the audience and watched as she spoke on a panel, not knowing she planned to call me out.  TWICE!  I felt the blush creeping up my face as she declared she wouldn't be the writer she is today without Christie Silvers...and she points straight at me!  LMAO!  I wish I had a video of it!

I love you, Robin!!!!!

Okay, enough rambling. Onto the pictures.....

Hubby & me at the aquarium.

 Robin Renee Ray & lil ole me.

 My sister tried her best to get a picture of us with the wolfman. LOL.

 I don't know what her name is, but we thought she was beautiful.

 For a bigger collection of images stop by my Facebook page and check them out. There are a lot of them. You've been warned!  :D

Halloween Giveaway 2012

It's that time of the year, again. Time for my annual Halloween Giveaway and my favorite time of the year! This year it's going to be a little different than in previous years, so be sure to read the following closely.

This year the giveaway will run from October 15th through October 31st. Each person will be able to collect multiple entries simply by completing a small list of "tasks". However, the main aspect of the giveaway will be the number of new fans we can bring over to the Facebook page. The more fans brought over, the more goodies at the end of the giveaway.

Starting on day 1, each day we can bring over at least 10 new fans to the Facebook page one more item will be added to the giveaway box. I'm starting the giveaway with the first three books of the Liz Baker series, in paperback form, autographed. On day 2 (after 10 more new fans) I'll add an Ambrosiacs coffee mug. On day 3, I'll add an Amazon gift certificate. Day 4, a bottle of nail polish. Day 5, candies. And on and on until Halloween!

And if we get 10 new fans for every single day of the giveaway, I'll add one more bonus goodie...bringing the grand total a whopping 20 items in the box!

The amount of goodies in the giveaway box on Halloween will be completely up to how many people participate in bringing new and potential Ambrosiacs over to the Facebook page. There could be 3 books or 20 items at the end. Let's see what you guys and gals can do! I hope I'm giving away 20 items instead of just 3.  ;) I'll keep a list of current goodies below.

Winner will be announced on November 2, 2012.

To enter, start completing tasks through the Rafflecopter below!

Good luck!

Current Items in Giveaway Box:
3 Liz Baker books
$10 Amazon gift card




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pick That Drink Contest

Who would like to win an e-copy of Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1) and have their name immortalized in my next Liz Baker book?  How might you accomplish this?  Well, it's quite easy, actually.

Starting tomorrow, for the next seven days, I'll be taking entries via drink ideas in the comments section of this blog post.  Simply comment below with your idea on what the first drink served in book 4 should be. 

As we know, Liz Baker is the owner and bartender of her small town bar Athena's Ambrosia.  She serves anything and everything her patrons ask for.  Most of the country guys just want a Budweiser, but there are the occasional orders for Strawberry Daquaris and Fuzzy Nipples.  You just never know what someone will want.

Well.... now you CAN know what the first drink served will be.

The winner will be drawn via Random.org to receive an e-copy of Time for Death and have their name included on the Acknowledgements page of book 4.

Date(s): July 15th - July 21st
How:  Comment below.
What:  Post your suggestion for the first drink served in book 4.
When: Winner will be drawn & announced on July 22nd.
Goodies: Winner receives e-copy of Time for Death & their name in book 4.

Blog Tour Schedule

Starting June 1st, I'll be on a 21-day blog tour to promote the Liz Baker series, with main focus on Time for Death (book 1).  There will be several reviews, several interviews, and a few guest posts.  And at the end I'll be giving away a 3-book print set of the series and two e-book copies of Time for Death.

Here's the tour schedule:

1st: Jennifer Malone Wright www.jenniferwrightauthor.com
2nd:  Paranormal Reads http://paranormalreadsreviews.blogspot.com/
3rd:  Mad Sheep Reading http://madsheepno1.blogspot.co.uk/
4th:  Tsk Tsk What To Read www.tsktskwhattoread2.blogspot.com 
5th:  Angel Haze http://www.angelhaze.com/
6th:  Jenn’s Book Review’s http://addicted2bookreviews.blogspot.com/
7th:  All Things Books www.allthingsaboutbooks.com
8th:  Lovetiggi’s Blog http://lovetiggisblog.blogspot.com/
9th:  Ponderings, Politics and Prose http://ponderings.lucindagunnin.com/
10th:  Books, Reviews, Movies, Oh My! http://writesthoughts.blogspot.com/
11th:  Starry Night Book Reviews http://starrynightbookreviews.blogspot.com/
12th:  Book Mews and Tattle Tails http://tattlet.blogspot.com/
13th:  Andie’s Book Reviews http://andisbookreviews.blogspot.com/
14th:  Storytime Book Reviews  http://storytimebookreviews.blogspot.com/
15th:  The Book Hoard http://www.thebookhoard.com/
16th:  Delphina Reads Too Much http://www.delphinareadstoomuch.com/
17th:  The Cover and Everything in Between http://thecoverbybrittany.blogspot.com/
18th:  A Little Bit of R&R http://www.alittlebitofrnrreviews.com/
19th: Robin Renee Ray http://www.robinreneeray.blogspot.com/
20th:  Phenomenal Paranormal Reads http://jennswiger.blogspot.com/
21st:  The Bunny’s Review http://bunnysreview.com/

There will be a RaffleCopter at the bottom of each blog post for you to enter into the book giveaway.  I've never used one, but I hear it's a great way to handle blog giveaways.  :)

I hope to see you there!

Check 'Em Out!

Happy Friday! Whew! I didn't think this week would ever end. I'm so looking forward to sleeping in this weekend, especially since I've been up at 5:30am every day for two weeks now. Yuck. However, it was all worth it in the end due to the wonderful people I've met and the fun I had.

As promised, today I'm going to share some of the authors I met. Keep in mind that I met a LOT of people and writers, and I can't possibly share them all. These are few of the people I talked to most and really enjoyed the time we had together.

If you read about my candy pushing method yesterday you'll remember my neighbor in candy crime. Hawk MacKinney was the funny author who wouldn't let people pass without taking candy. Hawk is a retired Navy man who teaches and writes. At Book 'Em he displayed his book Moccasin Trace. If you enjoy Civil War stories definitely check his out.

My neighbor to the left was the lovely Suzanne Adair. She's a friendly soul who smiles easily and has joked on Twitter about my candy pushing this week. I hope to see her again next year. Suzanne writes fiction set during the Revolutionary War. She says that her son calls her books stories about kick-ass women in history.

Suspense and thriller writers Michael Palmer and his son Daniel Palmer were both interesting, pleasant, and an enjoyment to be around. Daniel is hilarious and we all got a kick out of his thoughts on adding a companion dog to a story. Apparently dogs can fix any flawed manuscript. LOL!

Oh, and I can't forget the beautiful E. Marie Sanders! She is a doll. I enjoyed listening to her speak during one of the conference talks, and talking to her when she came around to my table earlier in the day. Since then we have connected online and I hope to talk with her more in the future. E. Marie writes Christian fiction. Yes, yes, definitely not my type of stories, but if you enjoy those you should check her out. :)

Last, but certainly not least, is the wonderful, talented, and super busy Trish Terrell (P.M. Terrell). Not only can this woman write, but she is the friendliest of all people I've ever met. Trish is a co-founder of the Book 'Em Foundation and, boy, did she do the work for it. The event couldn't have happened without her. Trish writes suspense novels.

There were so many other wonderful people, too many to mention, that I met over the weekend. I hope to see them all again next year!