Welcome! We invite you to travel with us.

 

Whether to exotic locations or our own backyards come on a journey and visit our next destination.

 

Where was this picture taken?

 

 

Join us next Sunday February 12th, as author Morgan Wyatt takes us on a tour. Remember it can be anywhere around the world.

 

Make a guess of the location in the comment section below for a chance to win a $5 gift card to Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Starbucks, your choice.

First correct guess or closest wins.

 

~~~Winner~~~Winner~~~Winner~~~

 

Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

We love receiving

book recommendations from you!

 

A HUGE thank you for all the wonderful books you guys mentioned last month.  We had quite a few and I’ve been busy filling my Kindle just from that one post.  Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with this week.

 

A recap of the books you all loved for January:

 

Don’t Say a Word by Barbara Freethy

Borrowed Scott by Karen Ranney

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Breaking the Rules by Suzanne Brockmann

Heart Surgeon, Hero…Husband? by Susan Carlisle

Endings & Beginnings by Nora Roberts

Still the One by Robin Wells

One Reckless Summer by Toni Blake

Potent Pleasures by Eloisa James

Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton

V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

It Happened One Christmas by Leslie Kelly

Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

Finance Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey

Desperate Betrayal by Hildie McQueen

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Saints Astray by Jacqueline Carey

Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

Hellraisers by Zoe Archer

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Someone Knows my Name by Lawrence Hill

Seal of My Dreams by lots of authors

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen

All Fall Down by Megan Hart

In Death series by JD Robb

Viridis by Calista Taylor

The Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward

Lucky Harbor books by Jill Shalvis

A Sister’s Quest by Jo Ann Ferguson

 

Whew!  That caused a hand cramp.

 

All that from 25 different comments.  You guys rock!!!

 

Using my handy dandy hubby to choose between 0 and 24, he happily chose number 17. 

 

Woohoo!!! Stacie D recommended the book All Fall Down by Megan Hart.  To thank her for stopping by and recommending a book, she will receive a $5 gift card.  Stacie, shoot us an e-mail with your preference of Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million and we will get that sent to you ASAP!!!

 

With all that said, we’d love to see what you guys have in store for us this month.

 

Leave a comment and tell us what you are reading and recommend.  Remember, no book bashing or hating.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

Winner of the February gift card will be chosen March 3rd and posted then.

 

So, what do you have in your reading pile?

Photo Credit http://www.sxc.hu/home

Recently Annie Rayburn’s characters, Teriza and Paul, from her book Bittersweet Obsessions, got together with my (Susan Carlisle) characters Scott and Hannah from Heart Surgeon, Hero …Husband? to answer a few personal questions.  The answers were quite revealing.

Do you sleep in PJs or the buff?

Scott: PJ bottoms only.

Hannah: PJs, of course.

Teriza: I’m with Hannah. There are too many lingerie choices out there not to wear them. Besides, they make me feel even sexier.

Paul: Buff. Read the rest of this entry »

Tall, Dark and Silent, Part 1
by Tammy Schubert

When I was in my mid to late twenties, online dating was just starting. Despite the social stigma associated it, I jumped at the chance to meet new people. The experience was fun, and I met a lot of nice guys—along with some strange ducks.

Let me take you back to one of the more memorable first dates.

Read the rest of this entry »

Getting into Flow
by Barbara White Daille

It’s great to be back here at Petit Fours and Hot Tamales, especially since I have the chance to chat with all you nice, real people.

Let me explain.

I juggle two jobs. Still, I don’t get out much because the main gig—being a writer—takes up most of my time. It keeps me home at the computer, working on one book-in-progress or another.

When I’m really immersed in my story, I get into that state called flow. You know—that can’t-come-up-for-air feeling when you’re caught up in whatever it is you’re doing. That intense concentration that makes the rest of the world disappear.

When I’m in flow, it’s often tough for me to come back to reality—which leads to some very interesting conversations around my house. I’ll share one with you.

My husband comes home from his own 9-to-5, and at supper, after the usual “how was your day?” intro, his questions become more specific:

“What did you have for lunch today?”

Lunch?

“Did you call about the electric bill?”

Oh-h-h…the electric bill…

“When are you going for your haircut?”

Haircut? I need a haircut?

And that’s pretty much how it goes, with my husband struggling to chat and me fighting my way through a fog. Even worse—from his perspective—is when he looks up to find me gazing into dead space without blinking an eye.

The thing is, I’ve spent all day at the computer, in the pages of my book and in the heads of my characters, and though I’ve left them in another room, they’re still talking to me.

And I’m still listening.

Sometimes I even talk back to them. Luckily, when my husband’s the only one around. (smile)

All in all, though, I have to say talking to imaginary people is just one of the perks of being a writer. As for the rest…

I blame it on being in flow. And that can happen to anyone, don’t you think?

What gets you into that state of flow?

While you’re pondering that, here’s something else I’d like to share with you.

Right now, I’m on an Internet blog tour to celebrate the release of my latest book, THE RODEO MAN’S DAUGHTER (February 2012), which has just made its debut. I’d like to introduce you to someone who is on the tour and who has recently spent a lot of time talking to me. (smile)

Here’s Caleb, the rodeo man from the book’s title:

In all the years he’d been gone from this town and with all the miles he’d logged, he should have shoved away everything that bothered him about this place.

He hadn’t forgotten a single one of them.

The gang of kids had moved out of sight behind one of the shacks. A lone boy, eight or nine years old, stayed behind and stood watching him. Dark hair, a dirty face. Torn T-shirt and skinned knees. Could have been Caleb, twenty years ago.

The kid made his way across the road. “Hey,” he said, “whatcha doing?”

“Just looking around.”

“What’s wrong with your leg?”

The boy must have noticed his awkward gait, the stiffness that always hit him after he sat in one position for a while. “I hurt my knee. Getting off a bull.”

“Thought you were supposed to stay on ‘em.”

He shrugged. “That one had other ideas.” Not too bad—in those three quick sentences, he’d managed to bypass two years’ worth of rehab and pain.

The kid looked away and then quickly back again, shuffled his feet and jerked his chin up high. Caleb recognized the mix of pride and false bravado.

“Hey, mister…got a dollar?”

“Sure.” How many times had he asked that question himself? How many times had he sworn he’d never ask it again? He reached into his pocket for his wallet, thumbed it open and plucked out a bill without looking at it. “Here you go.”

“Wow. Gee, thanks. Thanks a lot.”

Caleb grinned. The boy’s grubby fingers clutched a hundred-dollar bill. He turned and raced across the road as if fearing Caleb would change his mind. He wouldn’t. He had plenty of money now.

Folks in town would sure be surprised to see him again, especially when he started spending that cash. When he started showing them just how far he’d come. Maybe then they’d look at him differently than they had years ago.
His grin fading, he shoved the wallet into his pocket and nodded.

Yeah. He’d show them, all right.

About Barbara White Daille

Originally from the East Coast, award-winning author Barbara White Daille now lives with her husband in the warm, sunny Southwest, where they love the lizards in the front yard but could do without the scorpions in the bathroom.

From the time she was a toddler, Barbara found herself fascinated by those things her mom called “books.” Once she learned the words between the covers held the magic of storytelling, she wanted to see her words in print so she could weave that spell for others.

Barbara hopes you will enjoy reading her stories and will find your own storytelling magic in them!

Please stop by and visit Barbara at her website you can also find details about her Blog Tour for THE RODEO MAN’S DAUGHTER.

Look for her on Facebook and Twitter, too.

~~~

Barbara is giving away an autographed copy of A RANCHER’S PRIDE, the first book set in Flagman’s Folly, to one lucky winner who leaves a comment or question here today, Wednesday, February 1st.

By Marilyn Baron

It’s the last day of the month at the beginning of a New Year and this year I’m taking a big risk. I always follow the rules, but this year, my sister, Sharon Goldman, and I have decided to venture into uncharted territory, at least for us, and ride the indie publishing wave with the release of our new eBook, The Edger.

I’ve tried the traditional route, diligently, and of course, would still love for that to happen. I have patiently met with editors and agents, submitted queries, waited for responses, sent in partials, even got promising requests for fulls. And I attended conferences and workshops, entered contests, got feedback and polished the manuscript. In fact, our collaboration, The Edger, won first place in the Suspense Romance category of the 2010 Ignite the Flame Contest, sponsored by Central Ohio Fiction Writers Romance Writers of America chapter.

The Edger, which is set in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, my sister’s hometown, is a humorous women’s fiction about 40-year-old landscape artist Alexandra Newborn’s shocking reunion with her college art professor, Nick Anselmo—once a celebrated Italian artist, now a homeless lawn man—which sows the seeds for murder, mystery and romance. In gratitude for food, art materials and company, Nick, or The Edger, as Alex comes to think of him, drops off a new sketch in front of Alex’s house every week when he comes to do her lawn. Nick’s provocative artwork is the key to revealing a dangerous liaison between Alex’s husband, Mark, and Bitsy Diamond, owner of the gallery where Alex dreams of having a one-woman show. When a deadly hurricane takes a dangerous turn the night of the show opening, Mark’s body washes up behind Bitsy’s beach house, leaving readers to wonder whodunit?

When one editor questioned whether anyone could fall in love with a 50-year-old homeless hero, we knew we had to pursue other options.

Who says 50 can’t be sexy? We’ll put our hunky, homeless lawn man—think George Clooney, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Mark Harmon, or Pierce Brosnan—up against any Hollywood hottie. In a land where the traditional romance hero is 20- or 30-something, we’re writing what we know. We 50++-somethings still have a lot of life left in us and believe there is a vast audience that wants to read fiction that is relevant to them.

The Edger has something for everyone.  While the novel tackles such serious themes as homelessness and unemployment, it also offers a lighter look at a disillusioned housewife who copes with a cheating husband and a crumbling marriage. The heroine’s husband is every man. Readers may recognize some of Mark Newborn’s less than desirable traits in their own husbands. In fact, when my sister and I get irritated at our husbands we sometimes call them “Mark.” But readers will rejoice in the triumph of a heroine who fights for respect and makes her own dreams come true to find her happy ending

Throughout the long submission process, my sister, who is an award-winning Florida artist unfamiliar with the tedious process of getting published, called me almost daily (I am not kidding), asking, “Is it published yet?” And wondered why we weren’t on Oprah. I tried to explain how the process worked, that even if the manuscript was accepted, it would be another year until publication. And because, after all this time, the Oprah show is off the air. But at some point, her impatience and excitement about the project was infectious and, after receiving our last rejection from an editor, we decided, why not invest in ourselves and take a chance to follow our dreams in a project we believed in?

We didn’t go into this process willy-nilly. As a member of the IndieGRW Yahoo Group I had the benefit of learning from my Georgia Romance Writers colleagues who had already made forays into the exciting new world of epublishing. I had the manuscript professionally edited, although, in my day job, I am a writer and an editor. We hired a company to format the novel. I highly recommend the company we used – 52 Novels http://www.52novels.com/, the same eBook design shop used by J.A. Konrath. Another author, James Swain, recommended 52 Novels to us. They were extremely reasonable and easy to work with and were not above hand-holding. They taught me a lot about the process.  They recommended a great cover designer, but my sister created a painting that we used as cover art and she drew some black and white line art and completed another painting that we used in the book. The Edger was a vehicle to highlight both of our creative talents—Visit Sharon’s art gallery at www.sgoldmanart.com and my author page on Facebook.

And because both central characters in the novel are artists, Sharon’s background helped make the book more authentic. Living in two different states did not present a problem since we did all the work via email or the telephone.

While we don’t have any illusions that The Edger will be jump to the #1 bestseller list (well, my sister does) we have enough confidence in our talent and marketing ability that we were going to give this a shot. After all, we’re not getting any younger. Our father, to whom we dedicated the book, passed away a little more than a year ago, and that lesson in the transience of life, taught us we didn’t want to have any regrets.

I’d learned some other lessons along the way last year, launching my Angel Trilogy—humorous, supernatural e-short stories with a small publisher specializing in  science fiction, supernatural, horror and thriller stories  http://www.twbpress.com/achoirofangels.html

And now, when my sister asks, “are we published yet?” I can legitimately answer, “Yes!” And it didn’t take a year. Where do we go from here? We’re collaborating on a play, a musical about Alzheimer’s, and I’m finishing a paranormal romantic suspense and polishing up a WWII mystery.

Was it a gamble going the nontraditional route? Sure. But I feel really good about taking control of my writing career.  It’s very liberating and enormously satisfying.

We hope you’ll give The Edger a try.

The Edger is available at Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook Books and

Smashwords.

ISBN 978-1-4659-7621-5

What are you doing to follow your dream? One commenter will win a FREE PDF copy of The Edger.

Today, we’re so lucky to have the fabulous Pamela Mason in the house. Let’s see what she’s got cooking? Take it away, Pamela!

~~~~~

Jumping the Divide

by Pamela Mason

Happy Birthday Petits Fours and Hot Tamales! It’s an honor to be here as guest chef today.

I tried to cut the ties. I tried to go cold turkey and be clean. Quit my addiction.

If only my addiction would just quit me. Fat chance from the looks of my TBR pile and my melted down, newly replaced Kindle. (Yes, I broke a Kindle. Romance overload? Maybe….)

Seems like only yesterday – well, September to be exact – I was tweeting merrily along with other fans on the hashtag #AMC (and another I won’t name here) when…

BLAM!

Gunshot…. And fade to black.

Who did JR shoot? Or did somebody shoot JR?

Us longtime All My Children (and old Dallas fans) want to know!

But Agnes isn’t telling – she’s as silent as the grave. More so, actually, considering nobody ever really dies on a soap opera – they just return refreshed and renewed, with amnesia and a new haircolor.

If only…. But, nah. Efforts to resuscitate the darling of daytime dramas have failed. Erica will have to be happy with her sole Emmy, Cameron Mathis will hopefully get more facetime on Good Morning America, and we’ll just have to satisfy ourselves with the Facebook pages, the soap opera sites, the fan fic, ezines, DVDs, and print book riffs that the internet will offer those of us who followed Pine Valley’s residents.

Thank you, Digital Media.

The seismic shift Stephanie Bond reported in last week’s blog is happening all over the entertainment industry. From music to books to soap operas to the nightly news report, we’re all straddling the schism, deciding when and where and how to make the leap.

Evolve or die.

Sounds harsh, I know. Maybe I own a different perspective because I’ve lost it all – multiple times – in hurricanes and floods and economic roller coasters.

But to hang on to the past is to be left there, while the rest of the world turns (pun not intended). Soap operas, daytime dramas – they’ll still exist as long as fans create the demand. Many of One Life to Live’s cast members are getting new life (oy) on General Hospital and Nickelodeon has ordered episodes of a new soap based on a popular Mexican telenovela for this summer.

We’re living in a revolutionary age of media, and it’s a time to evaluate, make a plan, and take control if you’re a writer of any genre – romance novels, sci fi or soap operas. Books are going interactive, with first graders publishing their own stories. Ereaders are turning into their own social networks, thanks to JK Rowling’s Pottermore, exclusively found on Sony ereaders. Bulky, backbreaking, too-soon-outdated school textbooks are about to be digitally destroyed, a pet project of the late Steve Jobs.

Tablets have revolutionized online shopping and video conferencing, and more and more computer integrated televisions are letting us to stream our personal entertainment choices via Uverse and Google and others my teens know but I don’t, rather than be at the mercy of the Mob Wives’ Big Ang or the latest Bridezilla.

It’s all a reinvention, a shake up of the past and a look towards the future.

Some soaps have fan fiction sites, others are trying to make a deal to continue their story with online streaming. As long as humans walk the earth, Drama will survive. But only if they adapt to the Information Age’s new world.

I just want to find out who caught JR’s bullet.

I leave you with a quote by Ray Bradbury, a man well ahead of his time:

• “There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”
  - Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, Part 1

Leave a comment and tell me about how you’re going to jump the divide. One random winner will win their choice of ebook or tree book of Leslie Tentler’s newest release, Edge of Midnight (print books mailed to the residents of the continental U.S. only please.)

About Pamela

Pamela Mason is the Jane Jetson of the Information Age in Romance. When she’s not studying the latest in digital publishing and technology just so she can talk to her two teen sons, she writes Southern romance about (and with) Southern spirits – think Jack Daniels in Margaritaville. You can find her at WriterMason.blogspot.com, building worlds with her words.