Monday, July 28, 2014
Booksigning Fun!
I am thrilled and so grateful to report that my very first bookstore book signing was a HUGE success. I mean, according to Chapters Indigo Bookstore, it is unprecedented for an independently published author to completely sell out of books... within the first hour of a signing! Crazy! I felt a strange mix of regret for those who didn't get a copy and delight that they all sold and so quickly. Just as well it was busy, what with being located so dangerously close to the Starbucks and all. ;) But I barely had time to sip the White Mocha Latte my darling hubby bought for me.
Of course for me the exciting part was meeting all of the wonderful people who came by! So grateful to all of my readers, old and new, and I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to connect with everyone!!!
Thank you all for helping to make this event so much FUN!!!
Until next time, enjoy the photos!!!
Friday, July 25, 2014
GOT INK? Prepping for my first BOOK SIGNING!!!
Whoot Whoot, have to say I'm more than just a little excited!!! I'm prepping and pen-testing for my first book signing tomorrow at Indigo/Chaters Bookstore. Hope to see you there!
Monday, June 2, 2014
A Mini Update and a Sneak Peek
So it's been a while, but I wanted to stop in to say I've been terribly busy finishing off edits for Bittersweet, (book 2 of the Fire & Ice trilogy) Yes, I know I've been editing forever, yes I know I promised it would be done before now, no I'm not going to commit to a firm deadline, but I do promise it will be this summer. :) So in the meantime heres a peek at the back cover blurb from Bittersweet. Hopefully that will keep me from being stoned. ;) Truly though, I am so grateful for your patience. And if its any consolation, these books are so long it's really like getting two at once.
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BITTERSWEET
Faerie Song Trilogy book 2
To save the Faery world and her mother’s life, Lorelei sacrificed everything, and the dangerous bargain she made in Nevermore had lasting repercussions. Now safely back in her own world, Lorelei seems the same to her highschool friends and her supernatural boyfriend. Yet love across dimensions is complicated, especially when an invisible Veil between the two worlds—the only bridge that links the pair, is sealing, threatening to separate Lorelei and Adrius forever.
Determined to find a solution, Lorelei resorts to using her new found powers. But when her friends succumb to the same mysterious illness that nearly took her mother’s life, Lorelei can’t help but wonder if her own dark magic is responsible.
Still, the nightmares from Nevermore continue their icy hold. Someone from Adrius’s past arrives, determined to destroy Lorelei’s world starting with those closest to her, and Lorelei is forced to choose between her family and friends and a love that was ill-fated from the start.
********
Stay tuned!!
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Saturday, April 26, 2014
Reasons to Dance in the Rain
It's raining.
Again.
Another dull and dreary wet wet day. Another chance for the grass and trees to take another step closer to green and further from white (remember all of that snow!?) So what is it about rainy days that makes them feel so blah sometimes? Maybe its perspective. I find that if I let my mood be swayed by the passing clouds and color of the sky, its easy to fall into a state of ennui... feeling melancholic or even lethargic. Which is fine some of the time... I'm all in favour of chill-days. But in spring when we have more rainy days than sunny ones, well there has to be an out or I'd never get anything accomplished. My solution; I've decided to look for all of the wonderful things about rain, and then look for all of the wonderful things about what I do, and then all of the things I love about my life, and before long I'm on a whole different path and feeling a sense of gratitude for the fresh April showers. That was exactly what I did this morning as I drew the curtains to greet a pale grey sky. And low and behold, as I sipped my latte and counted my blessings, the skies began to clear.... coincidence?? ;).
Then I clicked open my email to discover more to brighten my day. My novel Fire & Ice has been nominated for a RONE Award by InD'Tale Magazine!!! It made it to the final voting round to be presented during the RNC in Las Vegas this summer!
So exciting! Any excuse to get dolled up and attend a formal awards banquet... I'm so there! And of course I'm super grateful to everyone who votes and who loves Fire & Ice!
I wonder what other surprises today has in store. Have you looked for them yet? I highly recommend it.
The rain has stopped. The skies are clearing. The trees look happier and so am I. And now, I can share their enthusiasm and let it inspire me back into productivity with the final round of edits for BITTERSWEET, book 2 of Fire & Ice. I just added a scene where Adrius and Lorelei dance in the rain... super romantic.
And while I'm not the most patient person in the world, I've been holding on to some extra exciting news... have to hold it for a little while longer I'm afraid, but I promise to reveal jut as soon as I get the green light!
Have an inspired day today and if you get the chance, remember to dance in the rain! Or at least find reasons to! ;)
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Fabulous Author Spotlight- SPARK OF A FEUDLING by Wendy Knight
Whoot whoot, its finally here! The fabulous Wendy Knight's new release in her FEUDLING Saga.... Spark of a Feudling!! I got to meet Wendy at in person at RNC (Romance Novel Convention) last year and she is as wonderful as her books!
Keep reading to learn more about Wendy Knight and her latest release SPARK OF A FEUDLING series and then click the BUY link (or the book cover) because you are definitely going to want to read this one!!!
Enjoy the teaser excerpt!
Keep reading to learn more about Wendy Knight and her latest release SPARK OF A FEUDLING series and then click the BUY link (or the book cover) because you are definitely going to want to read this one!!!
Enjoy the teaser excerpt!
Hate can start a war, but a shattered heart can fuel it for centuries.
Everything Ada does is wrong. She’s the daughter of a Duke but she isn’t proper or formal. She prefers the company of her servants—particularly Christian, the boy she’s loved since she was six years old, and his sister, Charity, Ada’s very best friend in the entire world.
Ada isn’t just the daughter of a Duke. No, she’s the daughter of one of the most powerful Edren sorcerers alive, and no matter how strong she is, it isn’t strong enough. Ada will give up almost everything to earn her father’s pride.
Christian has loved Ada since the day his mother became her governess. But two societies are determined to keep them apart—the aristocracy who say a groom will never be good enough for a Duke’s beautiful daughter, and the sorcerers who say a Carules and an Edren can never be together. Christian will do anything to make Ada his—even drive himself to madness.
When Ada suspects her father of hurting Charity and Christian in his quest for knowledge, she is torn between loyalty to him, and a fierce determination to protect them. The division tears her soul and breaks her heart.
The pieces of her broken heart will start a war that can only be stopped by the death of the most powerful warrior alive by the hand of the boy who loves her.
****
**Bonus Story –Feudlings in Peace**Join Ari, Shane, Ada, Christian and everyone they
love as they chase their happily ever after.
Excerpt:
He sprinted down the path, into
the forest, leaping over huge rocks and tree roots and through streams he
couldn’t see but his magic told him were there. He had no idea where he was
going, but there seemed to be a tether from his heart to hers — he always knew
where Ada was. He ran straight to them, nearly colliding with her father’s
guards as he raced through the thick trees.
“What happened to her?” he
bellowed, jerking Ada out of Davis’s bloodstained arms.
“She was hit, saving me,”
Harrison answered. “Can you help her?”
If there had been time, any
time at all, Christian would have paused at that. How exactly had his tiny
little Ada saved the giant Harrison? But there wasn’t time. He laid her on the
thick grass, searching for the wound. But there was so much blood.
“There!” Davis snapped, jabbing
the air above her stomach.
Flames roiled across
Christian’s hands and he held them above her, letting the flames soothe the
skin before he tried to touch it. They swirled through the air, seeping and
mending the broken, charred skin.
“Does she breathe?” Harrison
asked, crouching close to put his face next to her mouth.
Christian ignored him. He
didn’t care if she breathed or not.
She
would breathe, or he would die with her.
“She does.” Harrison sat back,
relieved.
“Can you not heal at all? Stop
the blood flow from her shoulder!” Christian snapped.
Harrison gaped at him. “We’re
Edren. We don’t heal.”
“I’m Carules and I can throw a lirik
if need be,” Christian muttered under his breath, but he couldn’t argue
with them now.
She moaned.
They all froze in shock, and
then redoubled their efforts. Davis jerked his shirt off and held it to her
shoulder while Christian’s blue flames leaped and danced from his hands,
fighting the poison eating through her body.
“Christian. I knew—” she
whispered as her skin healed, leaving only pink burns behind.
“Shhh. Don’t speak. You’re
still very weak.” He moved from her stomach to her shoulder, pushing Davis’
shirt out of the way. It was stiff with dried blood and she shrieked when he
ripped it from the wound. “Forgive me, dear one,” he whispered, his mouth near
her temple, kissing the pain away. “Forgive me.”
“I knew… you would come. I knew
you… could heal me.” Her eyes fluttered open, dazed with pain, dark orbs barely
reflecting the moonlight.
“Always,
Ada. Forever.”
*****
All about Wendy Knight and where to Buy her Books:
Author BIO
Wendy Knight is the bestselling author of the young adult
series Fate on Fire and Riders of Paradesos. She was born and raised in Utah by
a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she
spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no
water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call, no touching the
knives…you get the idea). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids,
playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big—her
family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the
U.S.
You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby,
wearing ridiculously high heels for whatever the occasion. And if everything
works out just right, she will also be writing.
Get Connected, you'll be so glad you did!
Social Media Links:
Blog: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyKnight
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wjk8099
Instagram: http://instagram.com/wendyjo99
Blog: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyKnight
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wjk8099
Instagram: http://instagram.com/wendyjo99
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Monday, February 17, 2014
Pampering Yourself
I admit this post may seem a little off topic.... if there even is a topic for my blog, but bear with me here. Now that January is behind me, I've been feeling a little more excited about the arrival of spring. Okay, so it's still a coupe of months a way in my area of the world, but it seems like a good time for self care. Perhaps its the after effects of Valentine's Day and showing those you love a ton of extra love.... but something got me thinking...how much extra love do we show ourselves?
We've made a commitment to do some self-loving things in our family, like eating healthier whole foods, exercising more, juicing and making smoothies, eliminating GMO's and choosing organic food when possible. So this long weekend found me wanting to take things a little further. With the amount of typing and sculpting I do in a week, my hands, as you can imagine can take quite a beating. Plus I naturally have really dry skin. So off I went to Pinterest (my guilty pleasure addiction, second only to chocolate) to find some really cool ideas. What did I find... recipes for luscious body butters, and nourishing solid cream bars and fantastic lips balms. Which did I decide to make... well true Libran that I am, I eliminated the need to make a choice and made all three. After reading several blends I came up with my own recipes and they all turned out wonderfully. YAY! In case you want to pamper your hands, feet, body and soul a this February, I'm sharing my recipes below.
Now back to work, but with softer, smoother, happier hands!
Have a great February! <3
P.S. Did I mention exciting news regarding my Fire & Ice book series is coming? Im terrible at keeping secrets, but it will be just a little longer (I hope) before I can spill the beans!1 ;D
*************
DECADENT BODY BUTTER
1/2 cup shea butter
1/2 cup coconut oil (organic unrefined)
1/4 cup almond oil or olive oil
2 tsp grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles
Optional: add mixed tocopherol Vitamin E oil and organic essential oils for fragrance and to preserve. (I used a teaspoon of Borage oil for my dry sensitive skin and added several drops of Rosemary essential oil)
Stir over low heat (or in a glass bowl in the microwave) until melted. Remove from heat and add essential oils if desired. Let it cool completely and harden.Then using a hand mixer, whip the mixture, but be careful not to let it get too warm. Then scoop it into jars. (I used cute little glass jars from the dollar store) You could also add herbs or essential oils if you want, choosing whichever scent you like.
Voila, it's ready to use and super healthy for your skin!
*********
BLISSFUL BODY LOTION BARS
(similar to the ones they sell at LUSH)
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter (or a mix of all three equal to 1 part)
1 cup beeswax (can add a little extra if you want a harder bar that leaves less lotion on your skin when used)
Optional: Vitamin E oil or Rosemary oil to preserve. And any essential oil fragrance you'd like to add. I added 1 tsp of Borage oil for several drops of Rosemary oil which I really love as you can tell by now) The next batch I'm making with citrus oils.
Combine all ingredients (except essential oils) in a glass microwavable bowl (or use a double boiler, or a glass bowl over a smaller saucepan with 1 inch of water in it.)
Stir ingredients constantly until they are melted and smooth. Remove from heat, add the essential oils and stir.
Carefully pour into molds (you can use silicone molds, muffin tins, small plastic bowls, pretty much anything will work) I used silicone baking mold.
Allow the lotion bars to cool fully before you pop them out of the molds. Put them into a large glass jar or individual containers or even little bags. They last for ages and feel really great on the skin.
***************
LUSCIOUS LIP BALM
(very similar to Burt's Bees)
1 part beeswax (1 tablespoon)
2 parts shea, cocoa or mango butter OR 2 parts olive oil, almond oil or vitamin E oil (2 tablespoons)
2 parts coconut oil (example-2 tablespoons)
20 drops of essential oil of choice (or more or less to your preference) I use 15 drops of Wintermint essential oil and 5 drops of Rosemary oil (give or take)
(You could also add colour or flavour for something really fun)
Again, in a glass bowl, melt and stir everything together except essential oils. One melted, add essential and pour into containers. I used both lip balm tubes and little round containers both plastic and metal ones. Use whatever you'd like. Let it harden fully before using.
Soft kissable lips in flash! How does it get better than that!?
**************
Have fun pampering your body this winter! I'm heading back to my writing cave.... umm... probably to write the next kissing scene! ;)
Oh, and here's a link to a couple of suppliers for ingredients and containers: (though check your local health food stores first)
https://www.voyageursoapandcandle.com
https://www.thesage.com/index.html
If you make these wonderful body creams, or anything like them, let me know how they turn out. What ingredients & oils did you use?
https://www.voyageursoapandcandle.com
https://www.thesage.com/index.html
If you make these wonderful body creams, or anything like them, let me know how they turn out. What ingredients & oils did you use?
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Monday, January 27, 2014
Shaking the January Blues
Christmas is wonderful.
January... not so much.
For me it's typically a time to get cozy and hibernate, doing lots of writing and sculpting and whatever other creative pursuits catch my attention. While finished off the edits for Bittersweet (I know, I've been promising its release for ages it seems, and it it is coming soon, honest) and revising an New Adult series called Daring Magic, I've been looking and watching for little things that come along to brighten the winter blahs. Tons of snow and super cold, that's been our winter so far. Short of a trip south, I've had to get creative with the things that bring me joy and add a little sunshine. Here are a few things I've stumbled upon along the way:
Receiving a shipment of my book in paperback: Very exciting!
The first person I've seen holding a paperback version of my book Fire & Ice. Sooo exciting to get that photo!
An awesome fan video for Fire & Ice made by the incredible Natasha Vahora who also helps manage my Facebook fan page! :)
Okay, what else... well there's the collaboration with a company exploring the possibility of producing a toy line with my doll sculptures.... very exciting!
And some other potentially SUPER-exciting news, that I can't share with the world just yet. ;)
Winning a contest to submit my latest manuscript to Entangled Publishing! Whoot whoot!
Rocking a new hair style that everyone compliments me on. :) Love that!
Hiring a personal assistant to help take care of some of the social media tasks for me. Someone to manage my Facebook street team... Golden! Thanks so much Sheri Vidal from Author Accomplice!
Somedays its as simple as having my hubby or son surprise me with a latte in the mornings.
Or receiving a lovely note or positive review from a satisfied reader.
I guarantee that by the mere act of looking, you're sure to find!
Here's to shaking the January blues.
Happy hunting everyone!
xo
January... not so much.
For me it's typically a time to get cozy and hibernate, doing lots of writing and sculpting and whatever other creative pursuits catch my attention. While finished off the edits for Bittersweet (I know, I've been promising its release for ages it seems, and it it is coming soon, honest) and revising an New Adult series called Daring Magic, I've been looking and watching for little things that come along to brighten the winter blahs. Tons of snow and super cold, that's been our winter so far. Short of a trip south, I've had to get creative with the things that bring me joy and add a little sunshine. Here are a few things I've stumbled upon along the way:
Receiving a shipment of my book in paperback: Very exciting!
The first person I've seen holding a paperback version of my book Fire & Ice. Sooo exciting to get that photo!
An awesome fan video for Fire & Ice made by the incredible Natasha Vahora who also helps manage my Facebook fan page! :)
Okay, what else... well there's the collaboration with a company exploring the possibility of producing a toy line with my doll sculptures.... very exciting!
And some other potentially SUPER-exciting news, that I can't share with the world just yet. ;)
Winning a contest to submit my latest manuscript to Entangled Publishing! Whoot whoot!
Rocking a new hair style that everyone compliments me on. :) Love that!
Or receiving a lovely note or positive review from a satisfied reader.
I guess the point is that there are little gifts to make us smile all around if we're willing to look for them. So now it's your turn... tell me, what are you looking for to brighten your day or that makes you smile? No winter blues to deal with, all the better... you get to find things just for the sheer delight of it!
I guarantee that by the mere act of looking, you're sure to find!
Here's to shaking the January blues.
Happy hunting everyone!
xo
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