Friday, April 27, 2012

TIME FOR DESSERT!

Here are some of my favorite desserts! No calories if you enjoy them online.

APPLE PIE!














BANANA SPLIT
(HOLD THE BANANAS, I'M
ALLERGIC!)











KEY LIME PIE
















CHOCOLATE CAKE


















COCONUT CAKE









 COOKIES!









 PUMPKIN PIE!





 CANNOLIS!











CUPCAKE SUNDAE!




















CREME BRULEE


CUPCAKES!



















CHERRY PIE!














BROWNIES!















WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DESSERT???????
 Click here for my website

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Sweet Saturday Sample of April's Kiss in the Moonlight

Here's my sweet Saturday sample, a never-before-published excerpt. Gavin is a firefighter in the small town of Pine Grove. The rest speaks for itself. Click here for Sweet Saturday Samples.



 “Sorry, Miss. You can‟t go in there,” the firefighter said, releasing her.
“Who‟s injured?”
“Don‟t know. Two guys there,” the ambulance driver said.
“Who?” April asked.
“Gavin and Bobby, I think.”
She gasped and tried to get closer. One fireman watching the barn from the outside held a walkie talkie to his mouth and was speaking to someone inside.
“Can you see him?” the fireman said.
Silence, as he listened to the response which sounded like static to April.
“Where?”
Again, static.
“Is he breathing?”
April felt her throat tighten and her pulse race, pounding in her ears.
Again, static.
“Bring him out. Yeah. EMT‟s here,” the fireman said and turned off the walkie talkie, “They‟re coming out.”
The EMT‟s were ready. April‟s skin prickled with the tension in the air.
“They‟re coming out, stand back.”
Shirley joined April, who took the older woman‟s hand and squeezed it, then. Shirley put her arm around April‟s shoulder.
“Here they come,” the fireman said, as a shadowy figure approached the barn door.
One man was carrying another. April strained her eyes but couldn‟t make out who was walking through the thick smoke. It wasn‟t long before she saw it was Gavin walking out with Bobby slung over his shoulder. Bobby was limp. The EMT crew raced up as Gavin laid Bobby down gently on the ground a safe distance from the barn. The rescuers went to work on Bobby immediately as he was unconscious. One worker gave Gavin a face mask attached to oxygen. Gavin coughed a few times and held the mask to his face.
“Gavin!” April shouted and waved before pushing past the other firefighters and running over to him.
He looked up at her and smiled. Before he could take more than a few breaths, she flew into his arms, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Whoa, April! You‟re going to get full of smoke...what are you doing here?” He asked, folding his arms around her and smiling.
„Shirley and Hal told me—” She gasped for breath “…Told me the ambulance was probably for a fireman...and I thought it was you.”
“It‟s okay, Springtime,” he whispered, “I‟m okay.”
She closed her eyes, letting him hold her close, resting her cheek on his chest.
When she calmed down, she stepped back and saw his eyes shining at her through his soot-streaked face.
“Your clothes may be ruined,” he said.
She looked down to see smoke stains on her T-shirt and shorts.
“I don‟t care.”
“You thought I was hurt, eh? Came running over here, for…a friend?” He asked, staring into her eyes.
She backed away and dropped her gaze.
“Because I don‟t want you to get hurt doesn‟t...mean anything.”
He laughed. “Convince yourself, April, because you won‟t convince me,” he said, draping his arm around her shoulders as he walked over to the captain.

Available in ebook and Paperback!
Only $2.99 for ebook, less than $9.00 for paperback.
A little bit about he book:
Fresh from graduate school, April McKenna, beautiful and brilliant vows to strike out on a new path rather than return to San Francisco to take a job with her father’s firm. She meets Rusty and sets off for an escapade that ends in tragedy. Injured and alone she is taken in by Sunny Davis, a friend of her mother’s who lives in a small town in the Catskill Mountains in New York.
During her recovery, April resolves to carve out an exotic life of travel and adventure. But she didn’t count on a sexy fireman upsetting her plans. Gavin Dailey has dated practically every woman in the county, but when he meets April, he knows he’s finally found the one he wants.  Only a stubborn man like Gavin wouldn’t let April’s resistance to his charm and his small town change his plans. Determined to win her, he pulls out all the stops until he encounters one stumbling block he didn’t count on. Only a near-tragedy resurrected from the past gives April the tenacity she needs to make the right decision for her life in April’s Kiss in the Moonlight.
This is a sweet contemporary romance with no explicit sex or bad language.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

TEN REASONS TO HAVE DESSERT!

 Andee and Chuck Bram and I  came up with this list one day over the recent holiday. Wanted to share it with you.

1. If you eat standing up, the calories don't count.


2. If you split dessert with someone, since you're eating half, the calories don't count.

3. If you eat dessert first, you eat less of the main course, reducing your calorie intake.


4. Life is uncertain.





5. Calories don't count if the dog licked it first.

6. If it has a paw print on it the calories don't count.

 7. If the cat refused to eat it, the calories don't count.

 8. If you drink water first, the calories don't count.

9. If you lick the bowl while baking dessert, those calories don't count.


10. If you make a face and say it tastes terrible, the calories don't count.

Add your reasons in a comment.
 SO EAT AND ENJOY!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Dawne Prochilo On the Bad Book Review - Career-Deflator or Just Another Bump in the Writing Life?


Welcome, Dawne Prochilo! Dawne is sharing her insight into dealing with a bad reviews with us today.   
 We, as authors, have all been there. We painstakingly put our heart and souls into a book, create the characters' lives, bring forth their connection and after weeks and months -- the acceptance. Then we move onto editing and galleys, and our book is now out there to buy, read and review.

The review can be a moment of celebration, a moment of backbone building or the forced rant. Good reviews are cause for celebration. Mediocre reviews build character (no, not your hero or antagonist) and bad reviews campaign a rant, some sign language and quite possibly, the need to re-evaluate our career choice as an author.

How do potential fans and readers view negative reviews? It can go either way honestly. If a book has all four and five star reviews, the reader may think it to be unrealistic. Add in a mediocre, or even a bad, review and the reader may take note and wonder why one, or more, bad reviews are there with all those good ones.

On the flip side, another reader may see one or two bad reviews and consider it a warning.

So what is the defining line? There is no graph, chart, survey or known reason.

I had twelve books published before I received my first not-so-good review. All the others were positive and raved about my writing style, the characters and their connection and the love for the premise of the stories. So why the negative one? I did some investigating into the reviewer. 
 THE FACTS-
This book was classified as a contemporary romance with a touch of young adult. It even stated that in the 'tags'.

The reviewers main genre of reviews was paranormal. He/she said they found my story/plot unbelievable. But yet, she finds werewolves, vampires, etc believable. Personal choice? The need to download a free book and criticize even though it wasn't his or her normal reading choice? So should reviewers do that? Be competent to review books that aren't categorize in their natural genre? Not sure.

I checked further into the reviewers past reviews. All contemporary romance without a paranormal twist were free downloads and also received negative reviews. Belief is in the eye of the beholder here.

I didn't invest too much time into this aspect of my review. I spent maybe ten minutes, took the review with a grain of salt and moved on. Did I rant online? No. Did I respond to the reviewer? No. What did I do? I moved on. One negative review is NOT going to make me stop writing. One bad review is NOT going to make me crumble in the fetal position and sob.

 More of Dawne's Books
Crape Myrtle- June 2009
On Her Own- July 2009

Sex Sells- Feb 2011

Room 11- Feb 2011




CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL DAWNE'S BOOKS ON AMAZON.COM

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Hoppy Easter Blog Hop! Leave a Comment and I'll Donate to St. Jude's!

 HOORAY! I donated $35 to St. Jude's and here are the names of the winners! I will be contacting you for your choice of book:
 JULIE LYNN HAYES
ANNE
LINDA HENDERSON
SEAWITCH
Z
MELISSA NEAL
CONGRATULATIONS, WINNERS!
Dear Jean Joachim,

Thank you for helping the children of St. Jude

On behalf of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and especially on behalf of the children and their families, thank you for your generosity.

If you have any questions, please call us at 1-800-805-5856 or email us at donors@stjude.org.

Your donation information:

Confirmation number: 1714445
Date: April 09, 2012   4:41 PM
Payment method:
Bill to: Jean Joachim

New York, NY
US 10024
Email address: sunnydaysbook@gmail.com
Donation amount: $ 35.00

Welcome! Happy holiday! I'm celebrating children. FOR EVERY COMMENT, I'LL MAKE A $1.00 DONATION TO ST. JUDE'S CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL.    GIVEAWAY -- unscramble any ONE of the scrambled words listed below from these snippets of my books & be eligible to win 1 of my books (your choice). 5 winners will be chosen, so leave a COMMENT, 1 UNCRAMBLED WORD and YOUR EMAIL ADDY, to be entered and to donate to the wonderful work at St. Jude's. So come read favorite snippets from my books, relax and smile at the kid pix.
*****************************
This is my son, Steve. He's 20 now. This excerpt is from NOW AND FOREVER 1, A LOVE STORY:
Mac felt his attraction to Callie growing, pulling him to her. He couldn‘t take his eyes off
her lovely face or her beautiful breasts. He knew he shouldn‘t stare at her chest and he tried, but
when she came into his office wearing a low-cut blouse and bent over to put papers on his desk,
he was mesmerized. He looked away before she noticed, he thought, but sometimes it was a
close call. Still he felt she had a painful secret. While her beauty drew him, her quiet pain made
him cautious.

***************************
This excerpt is from NOW AND FOREVER 2, THE BOOK OF DANNY:
Her hands stopped, he closed his fingers around hers and she lifted her eyes to his.
“You’re right,” she said, hunger evident in her gaze.
“You deserve a man who can send you to the moon,” he murmured. He gazed at her face,
lovely in the candle glow. He focused on her delicate mouth and inviting lips. He couldn’t keep his eyes from traveling
over her body. His fingertips tingled when his gaze lit on her breasts, wondering how they would feel, anxious to find out but afraid to rush her.


*************************************************
 This excerpt is from  THE MARRIAGE LIST:
“So…is this a job interview for a wife?” She persisted.
He took a sip from his wine glass.
“Getting to know you, that’s all. I take a keen interest in all my dates,” he said, sidestepping the question.
She eyed him suspiciously when the waiter arrived with their food.
“All your dates? And am I one of many…hundreds…thousands?” she teased.
He laughed. “Right now, you’re the one and only.” He put down his glass and his gaze met hers.
Good and let’s keep it that way. She grinned at him.


**********************
This is my son, David. He's 24 now. Here is an excerpt from THE LOVE LIST sequel to The Marriage List:
With his light brown hair falling in his eyes, he reminded her of a large puppy with his tail between his legs, and her heart lurched. Grey slipped one arm around her waist and drew her to him. His other arm went around her shoulders and he tightened his grip.
Carrie melted into his arms, resting her forehead against his chest
and sobbed. He stroked her hair.
“I’m so sorry I hurt you. I love you so much. Say you’ll never
leave me, no matter what stupid thing I say or do.”
*************************************************
Here is an excerpt from SUNNY DAYS, MOONLIT NIGHTS:
“I don’t know when I’ve had so much fun. Thanks,” she said, looking up at the half moon shining above.
“Me, too. You have a great voice. Draws, paints and sings. A Renaissance woman,” he said, smiling into her eyes.
“You guys are amazing. I can’t sing a cappella like that.”
“Have you tried? Don’t know till you try,” he said, watching the moonbeams catch the glow of her hair.
“No, I haven’t. There are so many things I haven’t tried yet…” she sighed.
“Here’s one you can take off the list,” he said, leaning over and kissing her.

***************************************************

 Here is a pic of my kids at Halloween and a snippet from APRIL'S KISS IN THE MOONLIGHT:
The dogs took off, running. April tried to run but pain stopped her and she stood still; feeling his gaze, she turned to look at him. Gavin’s eyes met hers, his breath stopping for a moment before he went back to work. April’s fingers raked her hair as she turned away from the house.
He winced when he saw her doubled over from the pain. He wanted to fold her in his arms, soothe her with kisses until each bruise disappeared. A slight heat crept into his cheeks when he remembered the engagement ring she wore. Never before had he wanted another man’s woman; this was the first time.
************************************************** UNSCRAMBLE ANY 1 OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS TAKEN FROM THE EXCERPTS ABOVE:
Now and Forever 1, a Love Story - SCETH
Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny -ONOM
The Marriage List - STADE
The Love List -  SPUDIT
Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights - SWARD
April's Kiss in the Moonlight - VINGA
LEAVE A COMMENT TO DONATE TO ST. JUDE'S! DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDY!
Winners will be posted after 9pm on Sunday, April 8.
 ***************************************************
All my books are available on AMAZON  and Barnes & Noble
The Now and Forever books are on Secret Cravings website, too.
Find more about my books on my  WEBSITE.

 Click HERE to go back to the bloghop.