It's very amusing

I said you'd find it diverting, not amusing! (name the movie, hint: it's animated)

Welcome to the party! The Muse Party is today! Hosted by the lovely SARAH FOSTER! Today we are answering some fun questions about our muses (or characters, she's flexible) that we brought to the party!

I first introduced everyone to my Muse Murray four years ago!

Here's a picture of him...

Now for the questions:
1. Who is your muse (or character)? Tell us a little bit about him/her and why you brought them.
I'm surrounded by boys, so it figures my muse is also a guy. Murray is laid back (lazy) but he keeps me busy with wild ideas for new stories all the time. He can be quite distracting. He doesn't seem to realize I need more inspiration to finish the work in progress first!

2. What are you guys wearing? matching plaid pajamas - it's a PJ party, right?

3. It's a potluck! Did you bring something yummy? Chocolate chip cookie/brownies and milk - what else do you bring to a PJ party!

4. Open bar! What are you both drinking (booze or otherwise)? White Russians go with chocolate chip cookie/brownies, right? With the milk.

5. Wallflowers or social butterflies? It depends on who else shows up, but probably social

6. What song(s) will you and your muse sing for karaoke? We will sing Pat Benatar, going old school

7. What's your favorite party game? Apples to Apples

8. Which one of you is more likely to end up dancing on a table top? Both of us, but I will definitely be the more responsible one...

9. Has your muse been a good date and would you ever hang out with them again? Of course. When the story ideas don't flow, we make them happen! We hang out all the time!

Thanks for the fun party blogfest, Sarah! Time to be social and visit some of the other guests!

And here's some news...
I'm so excited I finally finished the first draft of Cradle Rock! (sequel to Broken Branch Falls) Now for the evil, everlasting edits...

In other news...
CHRYS FEY's latest book is now available for 99 cents! WITCH OF DEATH! I've got mine =)

Detective Reid Sanders doesn’t believe in the supernatural, but when he’s faced with a crime scene that defies the laws of nature, he has no other choice but to start believing. And solving a magical murder involves working with a witch.

Liberty Sawyer embodies the look of your classic evil witch, so, it’s no surprise when she uncovers the murderer is a witch that she becomes Reid’s number one suspect. If she can’t convince him otherwise, more people could lose their lives to dark magic, including her.

Amazon US  ***  NOOK  ***  KOBO

Rated R for Radical!

Well, I took my two week break and now I'm back on my weekly posting schedule. Thanks again for all the great comments and encouragement throughout the A to Z challenge. Amazingly, some folks are still winding their way through the massive list with the ROAD TRIP! I'm on the fence for next year, but odds are that I will give in and do it again.




But today is all about the BB&C blogfest hosted by ALEX J CAVANAUGH & HEATHER M GARDNER. I know I'm not alone in talking about the best fit for this fest, the epic fantasy series...

(dun dun, dadadun dun, dadadun dun, dadadun dun...)

Everyone knows how gory and sinful it is - but it's also very captivating, surprising, and riveting. The characters and their twistiness suck you in. At first I ignored the fad, thinking everyone just wanted to gawk. But I needed something to read so I tried the first book, A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE. It was thoroughly confusing and I set it down after a few chapters. But when I watched the first episode with Tyrion Lannister and John Snow and Eddard Stark, I was hooked. Since then, I've devoured the books and have been keeping ahead of the show, always anxious to see how they will continue the convoluted stories.

This season I heard they are straying even farther from the books. Many of the shortcuts they take are to keep from introducing millions of new characters who are probably just going to die anyway, and I understand that. I just hope George keeps the show in check! Not to mention, he's gotta finish that next book!

My favorite characters are Tyrion, Jamie, Bronn, Brianne, and Arya, probably similar to most since they're about the only original characters still alive! To keep it fresh, I'm sharing some awesome mash-up pics I found that many of you may not have seen...Enjoy!

spot on

so awesome!

this is my absolute FAVE!

And to catch everyone back up...

Next Monday (5/25) I'm joining in the Muse Blogfest - no not the band, tho that would be cool! Sarah Foster at the Faux Fountain Pen is hosting a fun fest where we bring and introduce our muses party-style. Join us!

Also going on this month - POP TRAVEL and BROKEN BRANCH FALLS are getting some great press!

TBM's first Monthly Giveaway for MAY is still going on featuring five awesome books, including BBF. And in JUNE she's including POP TRAVEL. She's the best!

Also going on for two and a half more weeks is Sharon Bayliss's huge book blogger giveaway. If you love to review, she's giving away a $50 Amazon GC and several print copies of books to bloggers who'd like to read and review them or pass them on in their own giveaways in features on their blogs - PT is one of the books. I love this idea of hers! Thank you, Sharon!


Lastly, BBF is an AMAZON BIG DEAL this month - the ebook is being highlighted by Amazon for one more week and on sale for 99 cents!

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if you have something you'd like me to give a shout about!

That's a Wrap

Are you a confident writer? Or do you have a few pesky, unwanted insecurities? Well, look no further! You need the Insecure Writer's Support Group!

We writers stick together and encourage each other like no other occupation.

And I'm feeling more secure than insecure lately (thanks to my supportive friends!), so I'll just offer some advice:

Every writer has an audience. Someone out there wants to read what you write. We can't all be a number one best-seller, but we can be SOMEONE's number one author!



It's also time for the A to Z Reflections of 2015.


I can't believe the A to Z Challenge for 2015 is over - did it seem to fly by for you? The month of April sure did! I had a great time reading other blogs and all the great comments I got here, but I always felt so rushed to get my visits in. Eh, I always feel rushed. So I'm glad I'm sitting down for a few minutes to write this recap and reflection post.


Here are the numbers:

Here's how I visited:
Didn't Read - probably couldn't get to the blog or they hadn't posted in a while or at all with the challenge. I also didn't read any (AC) - my wittle eyes are too tender...
Didn't Comment - I just didn't connect with the posts. That's how it goes...
Replies - The low response is not unusual. I don't think some of the bloggers realize what they're getting into and hope everyone will flock to their blog without having to go visit themselves. I'm just happy to find some quality blogs each year and always do!
Stars - I gave stars to blogs whose themes I really liked (highlighted some of them on O day) and I hope to become better acquainted with them as things resume to normal.

Here's the data in pretty bar graphs =)

My Visits vs Visits Back

 Percentages

And here are the main words from most of the blogs I visited:

Then there's my favorite, these are the people who visited me with name size relating to how many times they came by - Thanks so much you guys!!

All in all a fun & educational month!

And if you're a tweeter, we are doing two last A to Z twitter chats on Thursday, May 7 at 1pm and 8pm. It's been a blast! #azchat is the hashtag.

Finally, my friend TB Markinson is starting a new feature giving away a few ebooks a month in a rafflecopter. It's a wonderful idea where she advertises books and authors and someone gets to win them - Win-Win! And I'm featured this month in TBM's May Giveaway along with Lee McKenzie, Chrys Fey, Kourtney Heintz, and Medeia Sharif! Check it out!