Clean, Organize & Reviews-Not For Faint of Heart
Last weekend was clean, organize and as it turned out reviews. First up carpet cleaning, scrubbing the stairs is the worst! Wouldn’t you know it, the pump on the carpet cleaner quit. The darn thing was only 13 years old. Previous years, my husband had replaced the motor, belts and spin heads. This time, it was DOA without hope of resurrection. Should have been a great excuse to go to the next task on my to-do list, but the stairs were soaked with pre-cleaner. A quick search on the internet, I found the exact make and model I wanted. Even better it was on sale in a store located close to my neighborhood. Armed with the new cleaner, we knocked the stairs out in no time, leaving the last two rooms for this week.
Then cleaning and organizing my inventory of books and swag for 2018 appearances. I inherited a wonderful large Lane cedar chest and decided it was perfect for consolidating my book inventory in one place. As I finished up, hidden among the books I’d written was a book that I had not written but enjoyed reading. It had a sticky note on it “Review due April 16, 2018”. Oh crap, somehow I’d forgotten to review the book I read a few weeks ago. Reviews are so important to authors because: Writing and sharing a book review is a benefit for the writing and reading community. You help like-minded readers discover a great book and you help the author by providing valuable feedback. Also your words are as important to an author as an author’s words are to you. How so you ask? Those words may seem counterintuitive to you if you are a reader, but in our data-driven age, book reviews left by readers on Amazon.com and Goodreads can 
make a huge difference in the success of an author, especially emerging and mid-list authors like me who aren’t getting their books reviewed in The New York Times. Yet. LOL
Reasons why reader’s reviews really help authors. In fact they are vital! Author Lauren Faulkenberry breaks it down like this:
- The number of reviews helps authors get into promotional gold mines like the Bookbub Newsletter who has all but said, you must have so many Amazon reviews or we won’t even consider listing your book. I’ve no idea why this is the case, but that’s the way it is.
- Word on the street is that reviews help push our rankings on Amazon. Visibility, so important.
- Reviews make it easier for authors to get their books into indie bookstores. (Did you know local bookstores or libraries stocking your book is hardly ever a given?)
So now you know why authors are asking politely for your review. Your review doesn’t have to be long, a few words like “great book” and a 4 or 5 star rating. If you don’t like the book, don’t leave a review, ’nuff said. Putting my soapbox back under the bed.
Click on cover to read more or purchase
Okay, time for a shameless plug for one of my favorite books. A VAMPIRE’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCE–Not what you’ve come to expect from a Vampire Tale! Leave your ordinary world behind, be swept away into a Romantic fantasy with Brandy and Stefan add just a touch of mystery and suspense for your Monday. Grab your copy today! http://a.co/gwldy2P
Friday an interview with Melody Johnson Author of Day Reaper will grace these pages. You don’t want to miss it!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Authors, fantasy, fiction, Nonfiction, Paranormal, Readers, Reviews, Romance by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.
Judy Ann Davis Author of Four White Roses
Happy New Year Everyone! Give a warm welcome to Judy Ann Davis, author of Four White Roses, now on sale for 99 cents! Grab your copy today!
Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Judy and her Four White Roses.
Judy Ann Davis is a cross-genre (western, mystery and romance) novelist who loves to write about family dynamics, often using humorous dialogue to make the story believable and enjoyable. Her latest novel, Four White Roses, has a touch of paranormal—a wily old ghost. Her love for writing is only overshadowed by her love for her first grandson, now only a month old, born in snowy Alaska. Guess where she’s going this summer?
ALASKA! That was easy. Now for the Speed Round!
Speed Round (one word only answer with a couple exceptions): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>
Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing
Favorite book: Morning Glory, LaVyrle Spencer
Last book read: Manhattan Beach
Favorite color: green
Stilettos or flipflops: neither
Coffee or tea: coffee
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: eBook
Pencil or pen: pen
Favorite song: I’d Really Love to See You Tonight
(England Dan and John Ford Coley)
Streak or not: steak
Favorite dessert: vanilla ice cream
Favorite junk food: chocolate
Favorite thing to do to relax: read
Champagne or gin: rum
Paranormal or Historical: both
Wonder Woman or Top Model: Are you kidding me? WONDER WOMAN!
Favorite TV show: Blue Bloods
Hot or cold: hot
POV: third person
I’d die if I don’t have: chocolate
Review or Not: Review
Whew, wasn’t that fun?
A Little about Four White Roses.
When widower Rich Redman returns to Pennsylvania with his young daughter to sell his deceased grandmother’s house, he discovers Grandmother Gertie’s final request was for him to find a missing relative and a stash of WWI jewels.
Torrie Larson, single mom, is trying to make her landscape center and flower arranging business succeed while attempting to save the lineage of a rare white rose brought from Austria in the 1900s.
Together, the rich Texas lawyer and poor landscape owner team up to rescue the last rose and fulfill a dead woman’s wishes. But in their search to discover answers to the mysteries plaguing them, will Rich and Torrie also discover love in each other’s arms? Or will a meddling ghost, a pompous banker, and an elusive stray cat get in their way?
Let’s Peek Between the Pages of Four White Roses.
“Okay, the blue shirt with the gray slacks doesn’t make you look as stiff and lawyerly-looking as the white shirt does,” Marlene, Rich’s assistant, said. “Too bad you don’t have any softer-colored shirts.” She dangled three other ties in her hand she had brought along to show him.
Rich glowered at her. “Lawyerly-looking? Softer colored? Are they even words? All I want to do is not look like an affluent stuffy lawyer with a stick up—”
He stopped and looked over at his small daughter, then continued in an irritated voice. “I want to look dressy, but not straitlaced or smug. You know what I mean.”
“But you are a stuffy lawyer, and it’s no secret your bank accounts won’t bounce, you dolt,” Lulu said with a huff. “I thought you and Torrie were going out as friends.”
He looked at the elderly housekeeper. “We are. But I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable, and I want to feel casual, but well-dressed.” He picked up a blue and white striped tie and held it to his chest. All three females groaned. He chose a darker blue one and the groans grew louder. He glared at them. “I’ll have you know some of these ties are pure Italian silk and cost a fortune. To some people, neckties are a symbol of success and authority.”
“Then send them back to Rome and let the Pope bury the lifeless-looking things.” Lulu rose. “They look like they should be on a corpse.”
Rich looked at Marlene. “Can you believe I’m paying her to insult me?”
Lulu snorted. “No, Perry Mason, you’re paying me to feed you, do your laundry, and oversee the household. The advice is free.” She headed for the door. “I’m going home, kids. See you in the morning.”
“I can’t wait,” Rich muttered and followed it with a dismal shake of his head.
Lulu paused and offered him a don’t-you-dare-tangle-with-me stare, then looked at Estella with a tender, warm, grandmotherly smile. “Your daddy doesn’t realize the only reason I take his grief is because I love to be with you, doll face. Tomorrow we’re making brownies and Perry Mason here is getting zip, zero, none, nichts, nada.” She headed out the door.
“Stop calling me Perry Mason!” Rich shouted at her retreating back. He heard her cackling laugh as she hustled toward the stairs.
“Okay, Sunshine.”
A Little About the Author:
Writing Romance with a touch of mystery!
With a degree in Journalism, Award-winning Author Judy Ann Davis began her career as a copy and continuity writer for radio and television in Scranton, PA. Throughout her career, Davis has written for both industry and education.
You can reach her at the sites listed below:
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyAnnDavis4
Twitter ID: JudyAnnDavis4
Blog Link: “A Writer’s Revelations” ~ http://judyanndavis.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.judyanndavis.com/
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4353662.Judy_Ann_Davis
Yahoo Groups: wrppromo@yahoogroups.com and ahachat@yahoogroups.com and pennwriters@yahoogroups.com
It was wonderful having you with us today. Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with your 99 cent sale on Four White Roses!
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Four White Roses, Judy Ann Davis, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance by Tena Stetler with 25 comments.
Elves Christmas Celebration in the Red Barn
Welcome to the Highway Cafe Christmas Blog Tour. Come celebrate each day from December 4-8, visit new blogs along the tour for fun, prizes, recipes, and holiday tales.
It’s rumored that Santa has given the elves a night off before the big day to reward their hard work. To verify these speculations we scramble up the ladder outside the big red barn, climb into the hay loft to peer down. Sure enough the elves have gathered to party the night away beneath the white snowflake lights that cast a magical aura over the celebration.
We spy Twinkle Bright elf settled in a chair, her feet tucked in fuzzy red otter slippers propped on a large hay bale. She’s dressed in red jeans and green Christmas sweater with the words “Santa’s Team” 
emblazoned across the front. Her hands are wrapped around a large mug of steaming hot chocolate (her own secret recipe), overflowing with whipped cream and marshmallows as she sings Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer at the top of her lungs. Several elves are dancing around the huge Christmas tree which is decorated with strings of popcorn and cranberries. Bubble lights bubble merrily beside the twinkling lights and shiny baubles on the tree. Brightly colored packages, tied with ribbons and bows are stacked under the evergreen.
Just as Twinkle Bright set her mug on the floor, another elf rushes over and grabs her hand and tugs her to her feet.
“Lets dance.”
The plate with a piece of Fantasy Fudge flys off Twinkle Bright’s lap and crashes to the floor. “Look what you’ve done,” she squeals.
“Sorry.” The elf waves his hand in the direction of the mess, the dish repairs itself, the fudge returns to the plate and hovers in the air in front of Twinkle Bright’s face. “Okay the five second rule applies.” A wide grin spread across his face.
“Not even.” Twinkle Bright narrowed her eyes at him. “New piece of fudge (her famous recipe) on a clean plate.” She snapped her fingers.
“Yeah, yeah… after the dance.” He spun her onto the dance area the reflection from the white snowflake lights shimmer in her copper hair. Her red/green elf hat with twinkling multicolored lights sprinkled on it, bells on the tip flew across the room and smacked Goth Elf in the face. Strains of the Jingle Bell Rock shook the barn. After the dance, Twinkle Bright retrieved her hat as her elfin partner brought over two pieces of Fantasy Fudge on a festive holiday plate. She bit into a piece and closed her eyes. “Hmmmmm.”
“This is a great reward for a job well done.” Her elfin friend commented.
Twinkle Bright nodded in agreement. “Best job in the world.”
Recipe for Fantasy Fudge.
3 cups white sugar
3/4 cup margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add all ingredients to list
Directions
- Grease a 9×13-inch pan.
- Mix sugar, margarine, and evaporated milk in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring mixture to a full boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and thoroughly combined. Beat in marshmallow creme, add nuts if you like, and vanilla extract. Pour fudge mixture into the prepared pan and let cool before cutting into squares.
Leave a comment here, like my author facebook page and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a $10.00 Amazon gift card, to be awarded at the end of the tour., December 11th. If you’re a fan of paranormal romance, sign up for my quarterly newsletter.
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Click on the cover to read more or buy.
Just in time for Christmas: A VAMPIRE’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCE–Not what you’ve come to expect from a Vampire Tale! Exciting romantic fantasy where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries work together for the survival of man and magic kind alike. But will their intervention be too late? Just in time for Christmas.
A little more about A Vampire’s Unlikely Alliance – Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until…
Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.
Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unravelling secrets and returning the magic? And even more importantly, will their love survive the trip?
Available at: Amazon Amazon UK , Amazon AU, itunes, The Wild Rose Press and Barnes & Noble.
For more fun Christmas tales, recipes and giveaways follow the rest of the tour listed below:
December 4
Holland Rae – https://hollandrae.com/
Susanne Matthews – https://mhsusannematthews.wordpress.com/
Sorchia DuBois – www.sorchiadubois.com
Mariah Lynne –
December 5
Tena Stetler – https://www.tenastetler.com/category/my-say-what-blog/
Maureen Bonatch – http://www.maureenbonatch.com/blog/
Peggy Jaeger – https://peggyjaeger.com/
Barbara Burke – https://barbaraburkeauthor.wordpress.com/
December 6
Kelly Kalmanson – http://kkweil.blogspot.com
M.S. Spencer – http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com
Hywela Lyn – www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com
Reggi Allder – https://reggiallder.blogspot.com/
December 7
Denyse Bridger – http://www.fantasypages.ca
Clair de Lune – https://clairdelunebooks.co.uk/
Karen Blake-Hall – https://kaydenclaremont.wordpress.com/
Casi McLean – http://casimclean.com/a-christmas-to-remember/
December 8
Darlene Fredette – http://findingthewritewords.blogspot.com
Daryl Devore – http://daryldevore.blogspot.ca
Gini Rifkin – http://ginirifkin.blogspot.com
Linda Carroll-Bradd – http://blog.lindacarroll-bradd.com
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged A Vampire's Unlikely Alliance, Christmas, Elves, Highway Cafe Blog Hop, Highway Cafe Christmas Tour 2017, magic, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Twinkle Bright by Tena Stetler with 23 comments.
Interview Anna-Marie Abell – Holy Crap! The World is Ending!
Happy holidays to all! Give a big welcome to Anna-Marie Abell, author of Holy Crap! The World is Ending! How a Trip to the Bookstore
Led to Sex with an Alien and the Destruction of Earth – The Anunnaki Chronicles, Book One. A humorous paranormal romance.
Anna-Marie, Do you see yourself in your characters?I am 100% the main character in the Anunnaki Chronicles, strange eating habits and all. In fact, friends all tell me they are picturing me as they are reading. I always get a little flushed when they say this and tell them, “Please don’t think of me during the more ‘intimate’ scenes, or it could get awkward.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
Curiosity about our ancient past and an open mind about the possibility of other life in the universe. There is way more to the story of the origins of the human race than we have been led to believe. The universe is also teaming with life, and NASA is finally starting to admit that. Proof of life out there could potentially change how we behave as a human race. It was Reagan that said: “Perhaps we need some outside universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.” I think if we stop seeing the differences in each other, and realize we are all one and the same, the human race, this world would change for the better. Finding out we are just a blip on the cosmic life radar might bring the minuscule variations of our species into perspective.
Where do your story ideas come from? If they come to you in the middle of the night, do you get up and write them all down?
I have no control over when they come, but I have to say, my best ideas come in the shower. I don’t know why, but that seems to be common among creative types. I have a waterproof tablet I keep with me for the shower. I also have a lighted tablet I keep in my car and by my bed. I have learned that if I think of an idea, I need to write it immediately or I will forget it (and it is getting worse as I get older). I also find that the best inspiration comes from real life. It’s true when they say “you just can’t make that up” about real-life events. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction, and makes for an awesome story.
You’ve got a time machine, a cloak of invisibility, and one hour. Where would you go, and what eavesdropping would you do?
Oh, man! So I research the Sumerian culture and they have a very different version of how man was created. The cuneiform tablets state that the human race was created by the Sumerian gods (the Anunnaki) as workers to help them in the mines. I would go back to when the Sumerian “gods” created the human race so I could see just how they did it. Based on their texts, it is eerily similar to in vitro fertilization. It would change everything if I could prove we were created by an advanced race of beings.
A Peek Between the Pages of Holy Crap! The World is Ending! How a Trip to the Bookstore Led to Sex with an Alien and the Destruction of Earth.
What if…
Ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by the unimaginable. I used to gaze at the night sky and contemplate a series of what ifs. But I’m not talking about the boring typical what ifs such as:
What if I won the lotto?
What if I quit my job and moved to Tanzania?
I’m talking about those outlandish ones:
What if I ran across a herd of three-inch pigmy cows capable of producing solid gold milk, but each ounce I extracted took a month off my life? Would I still do it?
What if we could suddenly have intellectual conversations with all animals? Would we continue to eat them?
What if the whole world went blind and deaf all at the same time? Would we survive as a species?
Another favorite childhood pastime of mine was observing ants clambering atop one another to locate food or gather leaves, like inhabitants of a metropolis bustling to work. Ants are innately oblivious to the threat of a gargantuan foot looming over them. I’ve often wondered if humans would behave the same way if the tables were turned.
What if a jumbo foot came down on us and squashed a city block on a regular basis? After a while, would we just shrug it off and alter course to go around it like ants do?
Some people go out of their way to squish any and all bugs that come across their path. Not me. I have a strict “no kill” policy with every type of animal.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I have an exception for animals I buy in a grocery store. I know: this is incredibly hypocritical. But dammit, I love me some cow. Perhaps I should define my “no kill” policy as “not slaying a creature simply because it annoys you—or simply because you can.”
For example, I can’t help but wonder:
What if I were reincarnated as a fly in my next life? Would I appreciate getting stuck on a glue trap?
Put yourself in the fly’s place. You’re ambling along, minding your own business, when out of nowhere the glorious aroma of In-N-Out Burger wafts in your direction. Those freshly cooked fries and juicy burgers fill your senses with food ecstasy. Just when you can’t take it anymore, a sign pops up out of thin air that reads: All You Can Eat! Free In-N-Out Burgers All Day.
Salivating, you charge toward the smell all excited. Then—BAM!—you step onto a glue pad, unable to break free. Not only are you doomed to a lengthy, torturous death of dehydration and starvation, but your last days are filled with the constant aroma of those heavenly cheeseburgers you can never have.
Not the way I’d want to kick the bucket, that’s for sure.
My fixation over these what ifs is why I was so into UFOs, ancient aliens, near-death experiences, ghosts, and really, anything paranormal. Truth be told, I’m not sure if deep down I believed in all these things, or if I just wanted them to be real, so I’d have something to hope for beyond the monotony of human life. I mean, think about it. What would be more entertaining: cleaning a toilet, or cleaning a toilet haunted by a ghost? (Well, a friendly one. It might get messy if your bowl were possessed by a demon.) Phantom commodes win hands down.
I’ll never forget the day this whole obsession got started. When I was six, I asked my mom what life was going to be like when I grew up. She was always one for blunt honesty, and she said, “Well, you’ll go to school for a really long time, marry a guy who will lose all his hair, get a job you’ll probably hate, have kids, get old, poop your pants, and then die.”
I broke down in tears.
My mom ended up regretting having told me all that, because at the age of seven, I convinced myself that those things wouldn’t happen to me, and that it was my destiny to one day rescue the planet. I am talking about a Will Smith in Independence Day style rescue (except I imagined myself with a breadstick in my mouth instead of a cigar). In one childhood fantasy, I used a butter knife and my badass Barbie Mobile to defend the residents of my neighborhood from a rampaging, genetically mutated, alien-giraffe hybrid that had escaped from a secret government lab. (Kids, if you ever want your mom to get fired as the president of the PTA so she doesn’t embarrass you in front of your class, simply splatter your shirt with ketchup and burst into the annual Teacher Appreciation Luncheon with a spork screaming about man-eating giraffes. Trust me, it works like a charm.)
This desire to be the hero had me hooked on stories where people discover they’re part of an amazing new reality—a world where the impossible becomes possible. If I waited long enough, I thought, maybe Hagrid and his flying motorcycle would come crashing into my bathroom as I sat on the toilet and proclaim, “You’re a wizard, Autumn!”
But it’s one thing to dream it, and an entirely different thing to live it. Had I been smart and heeded the advice of the Pussycat Dolls when they warned us to “Be careful what you wish for, ’cause you just might get it,” then maybe things would have played out differently.
I wished it.
I got it.
And now I’m about to die.
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Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged Alien, Anna-Marie Abell, Holy Crap! The World is Ending!, Humorous, Paranormal, Romance by Tena Stetler with 4 comments.
