Cover Contest Results

The results of Cover Cafe's 2007 Cover Contest have been announced. Click HERE to see the nominees and the winners. There are some incredible covers there. Or in the case of the 'worst' category some not-so-great covers.

The Winner Is…

I received approximately 40 entries for my July contest. A huge thanks to everyone who entered!

I had my hubby draw a name out of the hat, and the winner of a download of my novella, Finding Passion, is....Linda S. from Australia.

Congrats, Linda! Please check your email--I need to know what format you prefer.

Check my website and blog the beginning of August for information about my next contest.

July Contest (ends 07/20/08)

The winner of my July contest will receive a download of my novella, Finding Passion.

To be entered into the drawing, just send me an email with the subject line "July Contest" and answer this question about the book: Why are Nathan and Susan stranded together for the weekend? (the answer can be found on my website)

The contest will run through July 20th. One entry per person please. A winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries received.

Click HERE to visit my website for more information.

Note: Due to the adult content of this book, you must be 18 or older to enter the contest.

Good luck!

Something To Make You Smile

National Rose Month

June is National Rose Month!

If you’re considering sending some roses to your loved ones in celebration, here’s a guide to rose color meaning:

Red: Symbolizes love and romance
Pink: Symbolizes admiration, appreciation, gratitude
Yellow: Symbolizes joy and friendship
White: Symbolizes innocence, purity, new beginnings
Orange: Symbolizes passion, excitement, enthusiasm
Lavender: Symbolizes enchantment, often used to express feelings of love at first sight

Personally, I doubt I’ll be sending any roses, but since I’m always looking for an excuse to buy flowers—because I love having a big vase of flowers sitting on the table—I may celebrate by buying some to decorate my home. Of course, it would be a lot cheaper if I could grow my own, but that’s not an option for me--apparently I have a black thumb when it comes to growing flowers :(

Current And Recent Reads

Here’s what I’m currently reading, and it is yummy!

Exclusive by Eden Bradley, Jaci Burton, and Lisa Renee Jones




Here’s what I previously read:

Mrs. Cooney is Loony! by Dan Gutman



Yes, it’s a children’s book. I read it with my niece when she was visiting this month, and I loved it. My niece liked it too :) If you have children in the 6-10 year age range, you should check it out. It’s part of the My Weird School Series.

Visiting Washington, DC

Another place we visited while my mom and niece were here was Washington, DC. We’ve been to DC several times because we live fairly close (4-5 hours away), but my niece had never been and the last time my mother visited was when she was a small girl.

This was the first time we ever visited in the summer. We've always gone in the fall or spring. And we won’t ever go again in the summer because it was much more crowded (I guess I should have expected that, eh?).

If you ever have the opportunity to visit DC, you should. There’s lots to see. But here’s some advice for you:

1) Do not go in the summer, it’s too hot and too crowded!
2) Be aware that the traffic is awful and the parking is even worse. We were there on a weekend and there were still traffic jams and it took us almost an hour to find a parking space.
3) Wear comfortable clothes and shoes and be prepared to walk and walk and walk.

We were all exhausted by the time we left.

Is My Fear Now An Actual Phobia?

As I’ve mentioned before, heights make me very uneasy. They always have, for as long as I can remember. But I think it might now be entering the range of an actual phobia.

Acrophobia (an irrational fear of heights) has traditionally been thought to be caused by a traumatic experience involving heights. So, did I have a traumatic experience involving heights? Well, actually...

When my youngest son was about 5, we went hiking on Chimney Rock in the North Carolina mountains. It’s absolutely beautiful there (that’s where The Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day-Lewis was filmed, by the way). Youngest son refused to hold my hand, because he thought he was too big for that. It had been raining earlier, and I had just said, "Son, be careful, the ground is wet and you’ll slip." No sooner had the words left my mouth than he slipped and fell...right down the side of the mountain. I managed to grab him--barely--by one arm. I’m very proud to say that as he dangled off the side of the mountain with me hanging on to him by one arm, I did not panic. Well, not too much anyway. I pulled him up, I chastised him (strongly!) for not listening/not being more careful, and then I cried.

We’ve been back to the mountains since then, but we stayed far away from any cliffs. This month was the first time back on a cliff. The only reason we were there is because my mom and niece were visiting from out-of-state, they’d never been to the mountains, and they wanted to go.

We went to the top of Grandfather Mountain (our first time there). When I got a glimpse over the side (and no, I didn’t intentionally look over the side, it just happened) my heart started racing, I got dizzy, I got sick to my stomach, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I could feel myself starting to panic and I was desperately fighting it (hey, Mom has to try to maintain some semblance of control!). I’ve never had a reaction that intense. I could not wait to get down off that mountain. And I can assure you that I will not be going back!

So, maybe I have my son to thank for my now intense fear of heights. I’ll just add it to the list of other things I have to thank him for like those gray hairs that started appearing when he hit his teenage years.

A Special Birthday Present

My birthday was earlier this month. My family is not real big on celebrating birthdays. Some years I don’t even remember/realize that it’s my own birthday until someone brings it up. And frankly, after 29 I didn’t want to remember them! But this year I got a very special birthday present... on my birthday my oldest son graduated high school. Pretty cool gift, eh?

The Winners Are....

I had 75 entries in my June (Stock Up On Summer Reading Material) contest. A huge thanks to everyone who participated!

I had my youngest son draw two names out of the hat, and the winners are:

Prize #1 (includes books by Lena Matthews, Gena Showalter, and Rhonda Nelson): Ashley A. from Wisconsin

Prize #2 (includes books by Jodi Lynn Copeland, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Leslie Kelly): Carol M. from Pennsylvania

Congrats, ladies! Happy reading!

Please remember to check my website and blog the beginning of July for information about my next contest.

2nd Annual ‘Stock Up On Summer Reading Material’ Contest (ends 6/20/08)

Last June I ran a 'Stock Up On Summer Reading Material' contest, and it was so successful, I’ve decided to make it a yearly event. This is a contest where I help YOU stock on reading material for those times that you’re lazing by the poolside, en route to your vacation destination, etc.

There will be two winners, and each winner will receive multiple books.

Prize #1:
Stripped Bare by Lena Matthews (Samhain Publishing)
Catch A Mate by Gena Showalter (Harlequin)
The Loner by Rhonda Nelson (Harlequin Blaze)

Prize #2:
Operation g-spot by Jodi Lynn Copeland (Aphrodisia)
Dream A Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Avon)
Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly (Harlequin Blaze)

Entry requires reading a short excerpt from my novella Finding Passion and answering a question. Visit my website HERE for all the details.

The last date for entry is June 20th.

Please note that you must be 18 or older to enter the contest!

Good luck!

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning, And I’m Exhausted!

#1 son graduates from high school next week. Well, we hope anyway, he still has to pass those end-of-course tests, but assuming he passes them (and he feels confident!), he graduates on my birthday! How cool is that?

My mom and niece are flying up for the ceremony. This is only the 5th time in 19 years that Mom's come to visit us...usually we go to visit her. So, I’ve been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

I’m exhausted! And sadly, I’m still not done.

But at least I'm not only one who's exhausted. Last weekend, hubby and the kiddos got to clean the garage and paint the deck. They don't know it yet, but this weekend, they get to do yard work :)

What I’m Reading

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin



I bought this book for #2 son, because he had to read it for English class. I’d never read it before. It was on the kitchen counter, so when I was cooking dinner one night—waiting for my chicken to brown—I picked it up and read a few pages. And then I kept reading. It’s a really good book. If you haven’t read it yet, you should check it out. You can read more about it by clicking HERE.

Happy Memorial Day

"Most of those who died in defense of our country were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives - the one they were living, and the one they would have lived. They gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up everything for their country ... for us. And all we can do is remember." -- Ronald Reagan

I Hate Windows Vista!

A few months ago my laptop got a nasty, nasty virus. After spending days trying to fix the problem and getting nowhere, computer-expert hubby decided to reformat and rebuild. Since I was--thankfully!--able to save my files, that wasn’t a problem.

Then we talked about what operating system to install. I had Windows XP. I was happy with Windows XP. But since I’d heard that it was going to become obsolete in the relatively near future, with Microsoft no longer selling or supporting it, I reluctantly gave the go-head to install Windows Vista.

I HATE IT! Now my laptop is sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow as molasses.

I am not a happy camper.

Why do companies do this? They discontinue products customers like for 'new and improved' and a big majority of the time it’s not improved at all. If you’re lucky the new product is 'just as good'. If you’re not lucky, like in the case of Vista, it’s inferior.

International Jazz Day

Living with a saxophonist (#1 son), a trumpeter (#2 son), and a drummer (hubby), jazz is very prevalent in our home. Today is International Jazz Day, and in honor of that, I’m posting a video of "In The Mood" (one of my favorite swing-jazz songs) performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Enjoy!

Something To Make You Smile

The things kids say...

*********************************

One day a first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class. She came to the part where Chicken Little warns the farmer "The sky is falling!" The teacher then asked the class, "And what do you think that farmer said?"

One little girl raised her hand and said, "I think he said Holy shit! A talking chicken!"

*********************************

An exasperated mother whose son was always getting into mischief, finally asked him, "How do you expect to get into Heaven?"

The boy thought it over and said, "Well, I’ll run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door until St. Peter says, For Heaven’s sake, come in or stay out!"

*********************************

A small boy was sent to bed by his father.

Five minutes later:
"Da-aaad!"
"What?"
"I’m thirsty. Can you bring me a drink of water?"
"No. You had your chance. Go to sleep."

Five minutes later:
"Da-aaad!"
"What?"
"I’m thirsty. Can I have a drink of water?"
"I told you no. If you ask again, I’ll have to spank you!"

Five minutes later:
"Da-aaad! When you come in to spank me, can you bring a drink of water?"

*********************************

A four-year-old child came into the bedroom as her mother was undressing to get in the shower. Mom was six months pregnant.

"Mommy, you’re getting fat!" the little girl said.

"Yes, honey, remember Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy."

"I know," her daughter replied, "but what’s growing in your butt?"

Prize Winners--May Contest & NCP Spring Scavenger Hunt

A huge thanks to everyone who participated in my May contest! I had my husband draw a name out of the hat, and the winner is...Sharon W. from Minnesota. Sharon won a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble (her choice from either Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, or Borders Books). Congrats, Sharon!

I’d also like to announce that Rhonda B. from Ohio and Sara W. from Virginia each won a download of my book Her Protector in the NCP Spring Scavenger Hunt. I hope you enjoy the book, ladies!

Please remember to check my website and blog the beginning of June for information about my next contest. It’s going to be something special, so you will not want to miss it!

May Contest (ends 05/20/08)--Win a Gift Card

The winner of my May contest will receive a $10 gift card to either Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, or Borders Books (winner’s choice).

Click HERE to visit my website for all the details of the contest. The last date for entry is May 20, 2008.

Whispers Publishing Free Giveaways For Our Readers!

On May 1, 2008, Whispers Publishing will begin sponsoring bi-weekly giveaways for readers participating in and posting to our Yahoo Group. To join simply visit HERE.

Additionally, by joining our Bebo Page HERE as a friend and commenting, you can earn additional chances at winning.

The more times you post and participate, the more chances you have to win.

If you're wondering what we'll be giving away, take a look at the list below!
Egyptian Perfume Bottles (made in Egypt and ordered from Egypt)
Papyrus Bookmarks from Egypt
Engraved silver bracelets handmade in Peru
Chinese silver charms
And even more bracelets!

You don't want to miss out on your chance to win one of these beautiful prizes.

Want to increase your chances even more? Tell a friend about our group! When they join, just have them send an e-mail to the group saying who invited them.

There is no limit to the number of times you can win, and every other week we'll be giving away a different prize.