Please join us today in welcoming this week’s Guest Chef, Debut Author, Donnell Bell!   Author Intrusion—when writing steer clear   Hello, Petitfoursandhottamales.  Thanks for inviting me to chat with you today. In real life, one of the things I detest is someone with a foul mouth.  I grew up in a family that didn’t use profanity, and the times someone did sent shockwaves through the house.  Seismologists in Boulder thought it was an earthquake—no, it was just someone in my house using an expletive.   So if I have this mindset, why on earth did I paint my protagonist in THE [...]

By Debbie Kaufman Tis’ the season.  Okay, I can say that now that Thanksgiving is officially over.  Typically I refuse to think of any other holiday until the turkey is a vague memory.  But, once the last slice of pumpkin pie has hit my thighs, I start in on my Christmas gift-giving list.  This year I’m slow off the mark since it is my release month and somebody still expected dinner and all the trimings.  Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, you’re probably like me and tasked with a lot of the buying.  Every year I struggle [...]

By Tami Brothers   From Dictionary.Com…   e·val·u·a·tion – an act or instance of evaluating or appraising.   re·e·val·u·a·tion – the evaluation of something a second time (or more)       What the heck was I thinking???   December 2010 I sat down with a writing exercise.  I was to make a list of things that could be different in my life. This exploded into a year of changes that have had a profound impact on mine and my family’s lives.   The biggest surprise was my family’s participation. Honestly, I never expected either Hubby or The Kid to [...]

The Comforts of Home By Jodi Thomas http://www.jodithomas.com/ Publisher: Berkeley ISBN-10: 0425244482 ISBN-13: 978-0425244487 Release Date: November 1, 2011 In her third Harmony novel, Jodi Thomas pieces together the stories of characters encountered in the earlier novels and adds the stories of new characters like a master art quilter stitching together varying shapes and colors to create a picture of this Texas town and its people. Funeral director Tyler Wright has high hopes that Major Kate Cummings, the army arson expert who has moved in and out of his life, is finally ready for their relationship to move beyond friendship. [...]

I just love the holidays. There’s all the food and family and garlands you can hang yourself with. I was told recently that my deeply embedded hatred for Christmas music stems from not having grown up with proper holiday traditions. To that end, I say: Did so grow up with proper holiday traditions And Rudolph still sucks Anyway, I know several families that go out shopping together on Black Friday, which is supposed to be one of their traditions. My family would rather dig our eyes out with spoons. Black Friday is not us, but we do have Estate Sales. [...]

by Elaine Burroughs As today is Thanksgiving in the good ole USA, I thought I would gear my blog post toward that theme. Sorry for any of you who want turkey recipes or great ways to make that cobbler—alas, I am not a great cook when it comes to traditional meals. (Give me some Cajun recipes, however, and I’ll go to town!) Today, I am thinking about the things I am thankful for. But with a twist. Not just the things in the past or present, which is typically how we view our lives. I’m talking about being thankful—and hopeful—for [...]

  Happy Thanksgiving!