#sweetsat – About that favor…

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Samples!

Another snippet from CEOs Don’t Cry, about the favor the Ladies owe Tara.

Minnie passed the binoculars to Edith.  “See, I told you it would work,” she said, pointing to Mark’s window.

Edith removed her glasses and propped the binoculars against her nose.  She peered out the side window of the parked car.   “We’re still at one hundred percent.”

Dinah grabbed the binoculars from the backseat.  “We never fail.”

“Let me look.”  Yvonne squinted through the binoculars. “I can barely see a thing.  The windows are steamed up, but I guess that proves it.  One hundred percent.”

They all stared up at the figures of Mark and Leslie silhouetted against the window.

“Perhaps, we should give them some privacy,” Edith said, reaching for the keys in the ignition.  “Let’s celebrate with some punch.”

“They can’t see us anyway.”  Minnie slapped her hand away and grabbed for the binoculars again.  “Next time we need to check for confirmation, we take your Yvonne’s minivan.  There are just too many of us in here.  Who should we work on next?” she asked, focusing the glasses.

“I’m available!”  Tara piped up.

Check out the other Sweet Saturday Samples.

If you liked this snippet, check out my books at http://amazon.com/author/joselynvaughn. Have a great day!

Fuel Your Creativity with Tanya Eavenson

Tanya is back to share another avenue of creativity she has discovered – a very special one.

 

When you think of being creative, what do you think of? I thought being creative meant making something. Something tangible you can hold on to, but that thought changed when I found out my six-year-old is legally blind with vision of 20/200 in both eyes.

The first day she came home from school with her glasses, she jumped out of the van and headed straight for a weed in the yard. She knelt and stared at that pink patch on the ground for who knows how long before she turned to me and asked, “Can I put this in my room?”

 

I bit back tears because the weed to her was the most beautiful flower she’d ever seen. This is what fueled my creativity, and that same idea took on a whole new meaning with one question.

How can I help my youngest see the things she’d missed?

For the last two weeks, I’ve dragged out old scrapbooks, pouring through them so she can see family members who live in other states. We’ve pinched leaves off bushes, played in the dirt, caught lizards, toads—yes, I caught a toad! Never thought I’d try to go toad hunting before, but it was so worth it by how fascinated she was with the bumps on its back. I’d catch toads any day for her.

Right now we are waiting on a referral to see a specialist, because her vision is decreasing so rapidly. But until then, this mom is finding ways to show the world to her daughter one day at a time.

Don’t forget to check out Tanya’s book Unconditional. 
He will fight for her at any cost…

Elizabeth Roberts can’t remember her past, and the present is too painful. She turns to nightclubs and drinking to forget her infant daughter’s death, her husband’s affair.

When his wife’s coma wiped out the memory of their marriage, Chris Roberts found comfort elsewhere. He can’t erase his betrayal, but with God’s help he’s determined to fight for Elizabeth at any cost.

She wants to forget. He wants to save his marriage. Can they trust God with their future and find a love that’s unconditional?

Get your copy at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Unconditional-ebook/dp/B00AZL8F5G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1357883999&sr=1-1

Barnes and Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/Unconditional%2FTanya-Eavenson/1114108760?ean=2940016066837

ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unconditional/id592895859?mt=11C:\Users\Tanya\Documents\Add-in%20Express

Here are the links to connect with me:

Website: http://www.tanyaeavenson.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/@Tan_eave

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tanya-Eavenson/129609683872033

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6913760.Tanya_Eavenson

Google +:  https://plus.google.com/111621198804346509165#111621198804346509165/posts

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Unconditional-ebook/dp/B00AZL8F5G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1357883999&sr=1-1

Barnes and Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/Unconditional%2FTanya-Eavenson/1114108760?ean=2940016066837

ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unconditional/id592895859?mt=11C:\Users\Tanya\Documents\Add-in%20Express

RACHEL ROCKS blog hop!

May 15 through May 19

Congratulations to Rachel Van Dyken on her NEW YORK contract for her self-published books, The Bet and The Elite!

It is something every writer dreams about and Rachel’s books are great. I have a bunch of them on my to be read pile, but my favorite of the ones I’ve read is one of her first, Every Girl Does It. The characters were so cute I wanted them for my friends. I’m sure these books are just as lovable.

About The Bet:

“I have a proposition for you…”
Kacey should have run the minute those words left Seattle millionaire Jake Titus’s mouth. Instead, she made a deal with the devil in hopes of putting her past behind her once and for all.
Four days.
She could do four days!
But she wasn’t counting on Jake’s older brother Travis being there to witness their farce of an engagement.
One thing is for certain.
One brother is right for her.
One wants a lifetime.
And one is in league with the devil.
She should have gotten Jake’s signature in blood.

 

I wish her all the best with these latest books.
My next book comes out on May 21. It is called Climbing Heartbreak Hill.

Professional runner, Ryan Grant, blows out his knee training for another attempt at the Boston marathon and the dreaded Heartbreak Hill. Ryan retreats home, not looking for anything more than a fast recovery, but he finds solace in the arms of his tax preparer, Tara Mansfield.

Tara’s cheerleading career ended abruptly and she faces an upward climb beating the stereotype as dumb blonde in her new calling as an accountant. Framed with defrauding the IRS during the last weeks of the tax season, Tara’s tentative confidence is shaken, but Ryan coaches her in ensnaring the true perpetrator. She cheers him on in discovering his identity as a coach rather than an athlete.

With the help of the junkyard king and a mechanical bull, can Tara and Ryan find the courage to climb Heartbreak Hill together?

*** A portion of my proceeds from Climbing Heartbreak Hill will be donated to the One Fund Boston to help those injured at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. https://secure.onefundboston.org/page/contribute/default

Check back here on May 21 to see the cover (and see where to get your copy.). It’s awesome.

Climbing Heartbreak Hill continues the shenanigans of Minnie and the Library Ladies /Ladies Night out from CEOs Don’t Cry, Sucker for a Hot Rod, and Hauntings of the Heart.

If you would like a chance to win a hard cover copy of CEOs Don’t Cry (the story where we first meet Tara), leave a comment below.  The winner will be announced on May 20. 

Check out the rest of the celebration for more great prizes.

Fuel Your Creativity with Jean Joachim

Jean Joachim is here to tell that origami is not just about paper cranes. I love that there are practical uses too. And so many cute papers… too tempting.

PRACTICAL ORIGAMI

Origami is more than just pretty little animals. It can be used to create practical things.  my dear friend, Tricia Tait is an origami specialist, an artist. She got my curiosity up when I saw her whip out an origami wallet and credit card holder.

Of course I had to know how to do it. So she showed me and that was it! I was entranced by the seductive art of paper folding. I have always dabbled in art, since I was a child when I yearned for the big box of crayons to draw paperdoll clothes. Working with fabulous papers to create something practical was a natural hobby for me. So I jumped in.

Paper folding could replace Prozac for lifting spirits and relaxing you. I find it very therapeutic and then you have something you can use as well. While the wallets are fun, I got sucked into folding credit card holders.

Now I was lying in wait for the school kids who sell wrapping paper, searching for as much two-sided paper as I could find. I even coaxed a paint store into giving me an old book of wallpaper samples, which I promptly cut up. Some of those are plastic coated and make very sturdy card holders.

I cranked out hundreds and gave them away to promote donations to pug rescue. People stopped and remarked about how clever the design was. While I couldn’t take credit for the construction, the paper choices were all mine.

I plan to make some to give out at Lori Foster’s
Find out more about Jean at www.jeanjoachimbooks.com. Get Together this year. You can fold while watching TV. Pardon the unprofessional pictures. My newest hobby, photography, is mostly about nature photos, not product shots.

 

Check out Jean’s latest book, Under the Midnight Moon:

Can attending a wedding and a funeral on the same day change your life? 

Mindy Winslow’s life was altered forever when she met gorgeous lawyer, Drew Armstrong, and found out about her inheritance of a ramshackle old building from her mentor, Lou. His directive to create a dinner theater on the property would fulfill her lifelong dreams.

 

Bucking the will of her family and the hardship of trying to make it in New York theater, Mindy had lost hope until she was embraced by the townsfolk at the wedding of her college roommate. With the help of friends, new and old, Mindy forged ahead to make her goal a reality in tiny Pine Grove. But the exposure of a promise made then broken secretly, destroyed her dream. Will she be forced to face “I told you so” from her father or will love find a way to resurrect hope from the ashes?

Get your copies at:

PAPERBACK – https://www.createspace.com/4262078

 http://www.amazon.com/Under-the-Midnight-Moon-ebook/dp/B00B73K3D8/

 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-midnight-moon-jean-c-joachim/1114255191?ean=2940015972108

 http://store.sweetcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=123

 https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-underthemidnightmoon-1049823-148.html

 BOOKSTRAND: http://www.bookstrand.com/under-the-midnight-moon

The Little One’s Clothes

My children have always been very particular about what they wear. At eighteen months, the twins would throw temper tantrums and rip off their clothes if I attempted to wrestle them into something they didn’t like. Sadly, there were many cute outfits that were worn for less than a minute.

The Little One has taken a bit longer to grow into this finickiness, but, alas, it has reared it’s ugly head. For awhile, it was simply wanting to wear shirts and pants with hearts on them. She had multiple options for this, including a Sunday dress, so we could work with that. (Her older sister would wear all stripes–striped pants, striped shirt, striped socks, preferably in non-coordinating colors.) Unfortunately her condition has progressed. She prefers one pair of pjs and no other pair out of the dozen she has will do. That would be okay — it saves laundry — but she doesn’t want to take them off at appropriate times. And by that I mean in any place that we will find the pjs again before bedtime. She’ll get dressed partially in the living room, partially in the dining room, and partially in the entry way (because we are trying to get everyone else to school in time).

She had also become particular about her shirts or shirt. Her favorite is pink with a ruffle or skirt around the bottom and a monkey on the front (go figure.). She also has a tendency to use her sleeves as napkins, so wearing the shirt more than one day between laundry days is not preferable.

Don’t even get me started on underwear (don’t ever want to change them) and socks (changes them fifteen times a day).

Maybe someday this will work in my favor. Right now it does save a bit of laundry. I suppose a mother’s and daughter’s fashion choices never jive. But I do have a sure-fire way to get my oldest out of bed in the morning. Just threaten to pick out her clothes for her.

#sweetsat – Leslie’s first impression of Tara

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Samples!

Since Climbing Heartbreak Hill is coming out in a few weeks, I thought I’d give you a little snippet of when Tara and Leslie first met. This is an excerpt from my first book, CEOs Don’t Cry.

 

Leslie grabbed her purse and hurried down the hall to the restroom before she and Mark left. As she emerged from the stall to wash her hands, another woman with long blonde hair, tight jeans with Playboy bunny silhouettes on the rear pockets and a T-shirt that fit like second skin stood in front of the mirror fussing with her hair.  Leslie pumped the antiseptic soap into her palm and turned on the faucet.

“Are you here with Mark Schultz?” the blonde asked, adjusting her bra and her T-shirt so a full three inches of skin showed in the deep v-neck.

Leslie twisted the knobs closed and dried her hands under the air drier. “Yes.  Do you know him?”

“We went to high school together.” The woman dug in her purse for a lipstick and upon finding it, coated her lips in a glossy red. “I’m Tara.”  She flashed a super red smile at Leslie.

“Leslie.”  Leslie held out her hands and Tara grabbed it with both hands.

“It’s great to meet you.  I haven’t seen Mark in forever,” Tara said as if she were doing a cheer at a football game. “Are you guys married?”

Leslie tucked her purse under her arm.  “We’re friends.”

“Oh.  You won’t mind if I say ‘hi’ then,” Tara squealed as they walked back to the tables.

Leslie watched Mark’s eyes snap to Tara like magnets to metal.  Suddenly she felt like mist in the wind.  Mark had forgotten about her. He completely focused on Tara and her push up bra.

“Tara?”  He asked, looking stunned.

Leslie wondered how he recognized her; he had barely spared a glance at Tara’s face.

“Yeah. It’s me.” She threw her arms around his neck.

Would she spell her name out, too? Leslie thought. She probably had a cheer for it. ‘Give me a T!’ Kick to the side. ‘Give me an A!’ Jump in the air. And a grand finish with a wide spread-eagle toe-touching jump.  Leslie rolled her eyes.

“You look great,” he said as Tara stepped back.

Tara slid her hands down his arms.  “You’ve been working out.” She giggled.

Mark got a goofy grin on his face.  “Yeah,” he shrugged. “Some. What are you up to? You back in town?”

Check out the other Sweet Saturday Samples.

If you liked this snippet, check out my books at http://amazon.com/author/joselynvaughn. Have a great day!

Fuel Your Creativity with Lynn Spangler

Do you collect jewelry? I tend to find a couple things I like and then wear them all the time. Lynn creates her own jewelry.

I would like the thank Joselyn for having me on her blog today.

In my spare time, I like to read but I also like to make beaded jewelry. Earrings are a favorite of mine to make. I love being able to match my jewelry to any outfit that I choose to wear. My jewelry is simplistic in design. I like to use both glass beads as well as semi-precious beads such as amethyst and onyx.

The process of making jewelry can be tedious but I find it relaxing. Taking an idea from my mind and making into wearable art is very gratifying. From start to finish, a pair of earrings can take any where from five minutes to a half hour to make. The tools of my trade are wire cutters and jeweler’s pliers. They vary from traditional pliers because they are rounded making it easy to turn a loop in a headpin which resembles a pin used in sewing except for the lack of a pointed end.