Pop, pop, fizz, fizz

Do you all remember the commercial I borrowed this from? Ha!

Happy Celebrations Friday - join the fun with Vikki!
Here's what I'm celebrating:
My friend, Heather's book is now available in paperback!
I made it through my first day as a long term sub and already got a compliment from a student =)
My shopping party and book signing is only a week away!

On Monday, I mentioned football - I have 2 sons that play (4th grader and 8th grader) plus, to help out I work at the Varsity home games, so that's several games a week I'm watching. But in the comments, several mentioned pro teams and I was asked which was my fave - Patriots! I also like the Steelers and Dolphins. All representing my roots! But I like watching college better. College is where it's at - Go Gators!

And to round out this lovely Fall Friday - An Award
A while back Bev gave me a Sunshine Award - I just went back through my emails and discovered I hadn't taken care of this. No time like a Friday! So here goes:

Here are the rules:
1.Include the award’s logo in a post or on your blog. (CHECK)
2.Link to the person who nominated you. (CHECK)
3.Answer 10 questions about yourself. (CHECK)
4.Nominate 10 bloggers. (CHECK)
5.Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have been nominated. (CHECK)

Thank you for thinking of me, Bev! It's been a while since I did an award =)

Here are the 10 questions:
Fave color: purple (used to have a purple pen collection in HS)
Fave animal: doggie
Fave number: 2
Fave non-alcoholic drink: Coke!
Fave alcoholic drink: Cosmo =P
Facebook or Twitter: Facebook. Does that make me old? Twitter is too random, unless you plan to meet for a conversation...
Passions: Family, Church, Writing, Teaching
Prefer giving or getting presents? Neither, I stress about giving and would rather just get stuff for myself - that definitely makes me old and set in my ways... but I do like a good surprise or party
Fave city? Atlanta
Fave TV Shows: Amazing Race, Big Bang Theory, Regular Show... I don't watch much TV, I'd rather write or read!

And here are ten nominees... but if you'd like to do this meme for fun, by all means, have a go!

SK Anthony          Christine Rains          Emily Ann Girdner

Yolanda Renee          Sheena Kay          Nicole Singer
Kelly Polark          Cathrina Constantine           Lexa Cain
Rhonda Albom

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Hop on Pop!

Did you have a great weekend? I did! Wearing myself out with all the life enriching goodness and experiencing everything I can. Highs and lows. Wins and losses. Joy and pain. Football season has it all. Thankful for our wins, sad for the losses, and praying for several who've been injured this past week. These players are giving it their all. It's hard to watch sometimes, but they love it.

Now, Happy Monday!

read by all the
smart gnomes!

I'm super happy to be taking my Pop Travel Blog Tour to Heather's place! I had the privilege of being interviewed by Stormy. Hope you can check it out.

Heather recently published a fantastic romantic thriller, Maguire's Corner, and she is steadily working on a second. I'm anxious to read it, but that's why the Waiting is the Hardest Part!




MAGUIRE'S CORNER in one sentence -
Spunky Maggie finds herself in the middle of a murder case that throws her into the arms of the irritatingly handsome, new Police Chief, Jack, who must find the killer before the killer finds them.


Sounds awesome, right? I promise you will love it!

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A Pop Up Storm!

No, it isn't a thunder storm, it's a Cassa Storm! Everyone who is anyone has seen, posted, or heard about Captain Ninja Rockstar Alex J. Cavanaugh and his best-selling, crazy good, action-packed, space trilogy! And now that trilogy is complete!

To do something different, Mr. Cavanaugh is participating in a mass interview, answering one question each from dozens of us who volunteered to ask. Be sure to stop by his place to check out some of the other bloggers who asked questions. Here's mine (of course it has to do with TRAVEL!)

Where would you like to visit or vacation?
I’d want to visit New Zealand and trek around to all the spots where LOTR was filmed. Plus it’s just a beautiful country. Who wouldn’t want to visit it?

I love this answer because my wonderful friend, Rhonda, lives in New Zealand and I want to visit her! Excellent choice, Alex! And congratulations on such a successful series!

Here are some blurbs about these awesome books:
CassaStar: Does talented Byron have what it takes to pilot a Cosbolt fighter and win the fight of his life?

CassaFire: With Byron's fighter pilot days behind him, can he handle the new challenges of an alien invasion, and worse, training a woman!?

CassaStorm: The final episode of Byron's exciting life culminates in protecting not only the civil warring galaxy, but his son, who seems
to have a twisted connection to the brewing invasion of the aliens
who won't give up!

Find CassaStorm:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Amazon Kindle

Goodreads | Book trailer

Find Alex:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads 

This has been quite a month for cover reveals and new releases! And my extended Pop Travel Blog Tour has a stop today, too - at Tyrean's Writing Spot! Since Tyrean read Pop Travel, she had some juicy interview questions that reveal some tidbits about it. Take a peek if you have time!

And one last thing. I have a HUGE celebration (I'm early for Vikki's weekly hop, since this is my only post for the week!)

My publisher has accepted my MG Fantasy, 

Broken Branch Falls!!! 

Cue the Snoopy music and happy dance!

Hope everyone is having a great week! I sure am!

Ugh! How will I ever get people to sign up for my giveaway if I keep forgetting to post it!!
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Beware the Poppies!

That's the best pop I could think of to scare up some readers for Christine Rains'...

The 13th Floor Complete Series Cover Reveal!!!

"I absolutely love this series! Every story is full of spine-tingling excitement and tempting, sweet romantic tension between hot, yet deep, characters - all with secret burdens to hide! Once you take a bite, you'll want to devour the whole lot!" - Tara Tyler, author of Pop Travel

Title: The 13th Floor Complete Collection
Author: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: October 13th, 2013

Six supernatural tenants
Living in a haunted apartment building
On a floor that doesn't exist.
Six novellas telling their tales.

A retired demon acquires a price on his head. 
A werewolf is hunted by her pack.
A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.
A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.
A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find. 
A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.
And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all. 

All the stories take place at the same time, intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

And lucky me, Unicorn Bell is featuring my query as a successful example today!
They are some sweet & smart writers over there. You should check them out!

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH!!

Sheena's popping out of the cake!

So excited for Sheena!! It's cover reveal day!
Be amazed...

Sacrifice HER by Sheena-kay Graham

Release Date: December 2013 

Goodreads: Sacrifice HER 

When a city is at stake, is the life of one sixteen-year old girl worth saving thousands? Deidra Moore goes on the run after escaping from a group of human sacrifices for Bane: God of War. She doesn't believe he exists and sees uncertainty in the scorching desert as a better alternative to death.

But Faux City isn't finished with her and their leader Lord Brinn is ordered by Bane to bring her back or face dire consequences. In the desert, Deidra meets a wanderer named Kane and as feelings spark they search for a safe place to lead a new life before Lord Brinn and his soldiers catch up with them. Yet the question remains. Does Bane really exist and if he does what will happen if either side succeeds or fails?

Told in alternating perspectives of both the runaway servant girl and the blonde strong willed leader.

About the Author:
Sheena-kay Graham was never meant for a traditional job behind a desk. Her childhood career plans included becoming a ballerina, actress, or someone who helped people. So naturally she decided to be a writer who writes from her bed. Yes, no desk for this Jamaican book lover. No matter if it’s reading, writing or using the computer....you get the gist. The love of the written word has always been with her leading to stories, novels, poetry and way too much fan fiction. This Christian woman can be found trolling Amazon online, in local book bookstores, watching movies on the big screen, or in her bed, or reading/writing/on the laptop...again in her bed. Mainly writes YA fiction and is ready to unleash her creativity to wow the masses.

Links

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Cover Design: 

Image of woman with flowing hair (purchased): © Transfuchsian | Dreamstime.com

Cover Designer:  Langao @ http://fiverr.com/langao

And for a final bit of wow factor. Look at what she got for free without asking.

And two more things on this special day...

AND

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

Popping Down Under to Disney!

I know, that would be taking the long way. But today I am taking the Pop Travel extended Blog Tour to Trisha's place W O R D S + S T U F F, talking about Disney, and she is from Australia. I hope you have a chance to stop by!

When I asked what she was up to, Trisha said, oh, you know, working on some WIPs. But she's also in a BAND! And they just released their debut album!

Here are the links:

Woody's a Girl

Listen!

and here's an interview the bandmates conducted

(love the word, bandmates!)

Congrats, Trisha! And thanks for having me for a post today!

And this just in! (because I just discovered it!)

Cassie Mae's How to Date a Nerd is coming out Sept 24 and she's hosting a totally nerdy blog hop! She has some great nerd alert prizes! You know you want one. Go check it out!

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pop goes the release! (now, with cute pic!)

I am celebrating several friends and their good news in September! (through Vikki's weekly hop - celebrate the small things!)

Today (well, yesterday) Elizabeth Arroyo released the second book in her Second Sign series, The Second Shadow! (That's alotta seconds!) So excited for her! She is hosting giveaways and trivia on facebook, too!

THE SECOND SHADOW by Elizabeth Arroyo
Dark YA Paranormal Romance

Jake thought being demon meant a shredded humanity, stripped of all human emotion. Chaos and self-preservation dominates a demon’s instincts. But Jake feels every ounce of pain and despair around him.

And it’s driving him deeper into Hell.

Gabby’s choice to save him last summer left a fissure in Hell’s gate that released a malevolent evil. When Jake’s given a mission by the demons to shadow a human girl who may know the whereabouts of an ethereal weapon, he doesn’t expect to see Gabby. But Fate has her own agenda. Jake and Gabby are thrown together on a camping trip with a group of delinquent teens, forcing Jake to grapple with the haunting choices he made in the past. Then the evil finds them, and the group begins to battle for their lives, alliances are made, and truths revealed. As the evil influences Jake, he questions his link to the demons, his purpose, and his love for Gabby. But the answers to those questions are only found in Hell. And it may cost him his soul.

Buy Links:       Amazon         B&N

In other news, I'm also celebrating:

• Some great reviews - thanks again, Jamie!! And the latest Nathan Yocum - wow. just wow.
• Today is my last day as a long term sub (can't believe 3 wks are over already!) Sure was fun! Glad it's done. I'm tired! And now I'll have more time to get some major editing done (yeah, right!)
• The high school is putting my book in the library!
• And the best part is, one of my students is anxious to check it out!

And thanks for visiting all my extra blog tour posts this week - today Sharon Bayliss and I are sharing an interview we did with each other - so crazy!

Welcome, to the second half of Sharon Bayliss's and my two-way interview! Sharon and I are interviewing each other on our blogs, half here and half at her place... Listen in as we conclude our chat! (Cute picture at the end!) For the first half and a cute pic of my boys, please visit Sharon!

Lena is definitely a strong woman! That's how they grow 'em in Texas, right?

Cooper comes across as quiet and reserved at first, not a good match for me. But when you get to know him, he's smart and witty and full of guts. And I'd say that's like me, except maybe the guts. He's a pilot and I don't care for flying....

How do you fit writing into your schedule? Your baby is adorable, by the way! How many little ones do you have?

Not very well....

I have two boys, 1 and 3. Honestly, since my second child has been born it's been extremely difficult. I take care of my kids during the day and work at night, but sometimes I can find time to write on the weekends when everyone is asleep. It's very frustrating because I'm trying to write the sequel to The Charge! It's been slow going, but I'm trying.

What about you? Have you found the secret for how to have kids, a day job, and a writing career? Do tell.

Darn! I was hoping you had some kind of secret weapon!

I have three boys who love sports. And even though they become more self-sufficient as they get older, they also need a lot of carting around! As a teacher, I was able to write, then type up a rough draft of my second Cooper book over the summer, but it needs a lot of work - I'm always go, go, go and light on details - kind of like life! So, I'm trying to feel the scenes!

It's all good! Even if it's a little at a time! Sounds like we could use a writer's getaway.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our two-way interview! Here'a a pic of Sharon's cuties!!

awwww!

And you all go on and have a lovely weekend! 

popsicle break

Happy 2nd Anniversary, everyone! The Insecure Writers Support Group is two years old! And all hail our founding father, Super Ninja Rock Star Alex!

As for me, I'm crazy - totally nutso! I like this pace, but sometimes I do feel the pressure. I like volunteering and I can say no, but I also like to do things and make them fit. I'm actually doing very well with my balancing act, just don't nudge me or all the spinning plates will crash to the floor. Limit is reached. Then, fate says, sorry, hon, your garage door needs to be fixed - sproing went the spring! Nudge. Crash. Ah well - yay for hub who got it fixed toot sweet! It's always something, isn't it? The biggest lament I have this month is not connecting as much as I'd like with my blog friends - especially hard this week with CQ setting up such a great mini-tour this week. I really appreciate all the support! And I'm with everyone in spirit, trying to catch up as often as I can. Don't give up on me!

Now, a few items for your listening pleasure...

A while back I was interviewed by Andrew Buckley on his regular podcast show Write Out Loud. Totally forgot to mention it! Silly me! And I sound silly in it =P

And what reminded me of it, is my sweet romantic friend also did a radio interview! Heather was on the Romance Hour! Give her a listen!

And Donna Weaver's book A Change of Plans came out in audio format - I will toot her horn because she said the actress who read it, requested to do it! That's cool!

Excited to hear what changes Alex has for the future of IWSG! Check it out with me. Hope your writing is more up than down!

And just in case you have time, here is the schedule of my CQ week blog tour... I sincerely appreciate it!

9/1 - S.M. Boyce <-> 9/2 Jamie Ayres <-> 9/3 -Krystal Wade <-> 9/4 - Mara Valderran <-> 9/5 -Nathan Yocum <-> 9/6 - Sharon Bayliss <-> 9/7 -Katy Sovaeza

Pop Til You Drop

Yay!! Extra excited today, because I get to pop over the big pond to London and visit with my totally awesome crit partner, VIKKI! Hope you have a chance to stop by - I'll be talking about future technology.

Vikki writes innovative YA and adult thrillers. I know I will hear about a deal for her soon! Keep writing, my friend! Fridays are busy at Vikki's blog, as she hosts Celebrate the Small Things. Her particpation list has grown substantially! And she also contributes to the Writer Diaries - group of writers who give advice, share reviews, and support the writing community. You should check them out! And double me shivering timbers, here's Vikki's sparkling review of Pop Travel there! Thanks again, Vikki!!!

AND!

My supercalifragilisticexpialidocious publisher, Curiosity Quills, has put together a week long blog tour for me! My friend and fellow author, Jamie Ayres is putting a review up on her blog today! (I'm sure you all are sick of me and my Pop Travel... but the job requires us to be a squeaky wheel - squeak, squeak.) The week of scheduling is above.

On with other news, important bits, & shoutouts! (because I also get sick of talking about myself!):

It's September!! So I have winners for my August giveaway!! Congrats to:

Rhonda Albom
won a signed copy of Pop Travel

Gwen Gardner
won the Pop Travel goodie bag

Elizabeth Seckman
won a $25 GC to Barnes & Noble

I was also a winner recently! I won Cinder by Marissa Meyer in a giveaway at Nutschell's - thanks, Nutschell!

And Thursday, Robin dedicated a song to me - "Me Time." She's just awesome like that. I feel so special! She heard my plea and it struck a chord! ha! Thanks, Robin!!

Don't forget IWSG on Wednesday - It's the group's 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Can you believe it? And Super Alex (because he's my blogging hero) said he had something special in store, so make sure you stop by his place. Exciting!

Lastly, I thought you all could use a chuckle. I'm sending a copy of my book, with cover letter and press release, to a Hollywood agency! Hey, it can't hurt!! I crack myself up =D (I think Kate Hudson would be a killer Geri Harper! Spunktastic!)

Happy Monday! Tell me some good news with you!

And did I mention to go stop by Vikki's and Jamie's? (hee hee)

Oh, yeah! Since it's Sept - time for my Sept giveaway!

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mini pop

This week I'm doing tweet-sized posts between big posts because Curiosity Quills put together a week long Pop Travel blog tour - to coincide with my extended blog tour!

Today I'm talking about writing smaller - when your novel is bogging you down or stressing you out - at

S.M. Boyce!

In it, I suggest Janet Reid's flash fiction contests - one of which I recently entered and got honorable mention! woot!