Thrilling Results!

This was a stupendous blogfest! I enjoyed each and every entry. So much so that I had to give you a little blurb about each one. It was tough to pick winners, but here they are:

Christine Rains - First dollar story! - Won a copy of Heather's Maguire's Corner

Huntress - Magic secret exposed - Won an ARC of Tara's Pop Travel

C. M. Brown - Life after an alien apocalypse - Won a $20 gift card from Heather

The Beveled Edge - A thrilling love poem - Won a graphic from Tara

And I was going to list honorable mention, but they were all so good, I won't leave anyone out! Outstanding entries! Thanks, everyone, for participating!!

Angela Brown in the Pursuit of Publishness - A romantic save

Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh - Mini Alex's First Concert!

Heather M. Gardner - Steamy "almost kiss" scene

Stephen Tremp - Finished the third book in his series

Father Dragon Writes - Family to the rescue!

Queendsheena - A world of music loses its only hope for peace

Elizabeth Seckman - Sex talk!

Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne - Never give up!

Michelle @ Writer~In~Transit - Preparations for a dangerous safari

Sydney Aaliyah Michelle - Love scene with a taste of peppermint

Carrie-Anne's Magick Theatre - Fire!

For Science! Dr. Faerie Godmother - The sun goes out!

Writing Off the Edge - Haphazard teleportating ability discovered

Tyrean's Writing Spot - Exciting snorkeling experience

Mary Pax - Super moon and gangsta cows!

Donna Hole - Love twists

Suzi's Ice Box Art - Heather's Mom!

DAILY DRAMA OF AN ASPIRING WRITER - Writing and blogging achievements

Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts - Riveting exorcism excerpt

ClareDugmoreWrites - Model encounter!

Writing on the Wall - Horse shows and speech coaching

Writeful Melodies - Confession of having two lovers

PepperWords (M Pepper Langlinais) - Confirmation of writing talent

I also wanted to share pictures from my "Swag Bag Stuffing Party!" I had a few friends over this week to help me get ready for my real life launch party. We stuck stickers, stuffed bags, and made crafty bracelets and centerpieces. And then we had more than a few laughs!

a few drinks...

a few snacks...

a lotta work!

a lotta fun!

pretty QV bracelets! (smart, holographic, watch-phone replicas from the book!)

I am the luckiest girl!!! I have awesome friends everywhere! Thank you!!

a thrilling weekend with a happy ending

Today is the day! I am so excited to read your thrills!

I wasn't planning to write anything, but I have to tell you about my thrilling weekend, a totally high/low time - just like a rollercoaster.

The losing started Thursday evening. My poor little guy's team is good, but since we won our division last year, we were forced to play up. We're not that good, so the other teams have been beating us and it SUCKS! Luckily, the boys get over it quickly with an ice cream or a swim. So, from Thurs to Sat we lost four games. My oldest team is very good, but I got the privilege to watch them lose their first two tournament games, as well.

But the lows continued. Little things kept going wrong. I spilled my coffee, slammed my finger, and then there was, The Hotel. An older specimen with a slow elevator and printed warning signs all over the place, a broken window here, one slow elevator that broke (yes, we were on the third floor), and to top it all off, one of the moms found a bed bug. We checked out.

In a deep depression at all the loss and bad luck, I went home to my dog, had a drink, and watched a movie - The Silver Linings Playbook. That was so SWEET! And in the morning, I wrote. That helped! I even finished my rough draft of Simulation! The rest goes like this:

• HIGH - got a call the boys won their morning game and would play for championship!
• TORN - am I a jinx? should I stay home? No! I should go back! I'm NOT a jinx, that's rubbish!
• LOW - fifteen minutes into hour drive, accident ahead causes standstill, for THIRTY minutes.
• HIGH - arrive on time and see boys play and have great attitudes!
• LOW - for my son's first at bat, he gets hit in the eye with a ball!
• HIGH - THEY GO ON TO WIN 7-6!!! 14 YO STATE CHAMPS!!
• LOW - my car is dead from middle son sitting in it the whole game without turning it all the way on...
• Praise God! It finally starts with jumper cables and we make it home...

This is real life thrills, folks. Emotional ups and downs. A thrill a minute! Wasn't planning on spouting today, just reading! But I had to share. And the good, though less in quantity, outweighs the bad in quality! We won! I finished! And so much to look forward to ahead!

Still time to whip up a story or tell a truth!

Waaaa?

One of my favorite lines from Despicable Me. Love those minions!

And I say it now because I can't believe how many friends are publishing books these days! Here are just a few I am celebrating today (with Vikki's weekly Celebrate the Small Things)

Cherie Riech!

This fantasy short story collection features five men from the Kingdom of Foxwick.

A blind teen seeks a place in the kingdom. A dragon seer journeys to Wintermill to spy on the queen. A sword master’s worst fear comes true when he fails to protect the royal family. A king falls in love with an herb witch, but will she feel the same way? A hunter will rise to the challenge to hunt down a man-eating monster.

Here's how you can get MEN OF FOXWICK for $0.99!

Angela Brown!

What harm can come from a kiss?

Caine Fordham knows the danger all too well.

As the Kill Circuit’s top lady-killer, business is good. Yet Caine knows the life of an assassin isn’t meant to last forever, just as love is impossible for him. Who could love a man with poison lacing his veins and a kiss that kills?

When Caine decides to take one last job, deal out one last kiss, he discovers there’s more to life than death, and more to love than pain.

Here's how to buy ATONE on Amazon!

and soon to be released by
Peggy Eddleman!

12 year old Hope lives in White Rock, a town struggling to recover from the green bombs of World War III. The bombs destroyed almost everything that came before, so the skill that matters most in White Rock—sometimes it feels like the only thing that matters—is the ability to invent so that the world can regain some of what it’s lost.

But Hope is terrible at inventing and would much rather sneak off to cliff dive into the Bomb's Breath— the deadly band of air that covers the crater the town lives in— than fail at yet another invention.

When bandits discover that White Rock has invented priceless antibiotics, they invade. The town must choose whether to hand over the medicine and die from disease in the coming months or to die fighting the bandits now. Hope and her friends, Aaren and Brock, might be the only ones who can escape through the Bomb’s Breath and make the dangerous trek over the snow-covered mountain to get help. For once, inventing isn't the answer, but the daring and risk-taking that usually gets Hope into trouble might just save them all.

Put SKY JUMPERS on your Goodreads want to read list!

Don't those sound great!
And yesterday, I got the best surprise from my wonderful friend, C.D. Coffelt, aka Huntress. She wrote (and then tweeted about) the best post promoting Pop Travel! She wrote a super fresh blurb and made me wanna cry, it was so good! I can't wait for her to get a cover for her soon to be released book so I can show it off!

She also advertised Heather and my blog hop coming up on Monday...
The Thrill of It All!
Still time to sign up and tell us what thrills you!
Prizes to be awarded Friday, June 28.