It's A Party #GiftCard #Win

Scavenger hunts are so much fun. And now you can play from the comfort of your home. Hey, you don't even have to change out of your jammies. It's a reading scavenger hunt.

And who can't use a $100 Gift Card?

There are two ways to win and it’s easy to play– first read the blurb after clicking on the link below, then answer the question on the first Rafflecopter. You might win a $100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC (along with other prizes). Follow and visit authors’ social media pages on the second Rafflecopter and you’re entered to win another $100 Amazon/BN GC (along with other prizes)!

JOIN THE HUNT HERE!

Living with an Impatient Muse

 MUSE MONDAY

A favorite corner that pleases my muse

My muse has been testy lately. Okay, so I don't have an actual muse that I can point to or introduce to you. She's me, the inside me, that is chomping at the bit to write a new chapter in any one of the books I've put on the back burner for a few days. Which means I'm testy with myself.

I can't blame me for losing patience with me when I'm only doing what I have to do for all those other facets of writing.

First off, I'm a finalist in the Hot Prospects contest with my current manuscript, Southwest of Love and Murder. The judges sent me their comments which I can use to improve my pages before the final judges choose the winner in the Romantic Suspense category. The judges are editors from large publishing houses and I'd really like to impress them with my writing. I'm laboring over the improvements. Tedious and eye-bugging work.

Secondly, on Tuesday Amanda in the Summer starts a run of five free days on Amazon. Just being there isn't enough. I have to spread the word which means I've been writing guest blog after guest blog and reaching out to dozens of sites to mention the free days. If editing and re-editing the pages for the contest is eye-bugging then this sort of promo is doubly so. I'm pretty tired of staring at the computer.

I'm looking at the end of this week like a rabbit would a carrot dangling in front of her nose. But I have the sneaky suspicion that I will no sooner make it to the end when I'll get an email from my editor with the second round of edits for The Art of Love and Murder.

Oh be still my muse, er, me.

Be sure you go to Amazon tomorrow to download a free copy of Amanda in the Summer. http://tinyurl.com/mb5cwly

Sleeping with the Lights On

MUSE MONDAY

Today, on Muse Monday, I want to do a little plug for my very first published book, Sleeping with the Lights On. The Wild Rose Press has reduced the eBook price to $2.99, and I'm excited that some readers might take advantage of a fun read. It's pure entertainment. 

When I wrote Sleeping, I did what the sages tell you to do - write what you know. So I looked to people I knew for inspiration, and I came up with my sister. She was single and at a turning point in her life. And she approached her situation with a good dose of humor, like Sandra. In Sleeping, Sandra is single, her career is stalled and she is still searching for her niche even after years of experience and two marriages. Women like Sandra are inspiring. We’ve all known people who have gotten to a certain point in their lives and realized they aren’t really where they want to be, whether in love or career or experience. This is my favorite kind of discovery story. Sandra figures it out.

Sandra isn’t the typical romance heroine. She’s fifty, twice divorced, but still looking for Mr. Right. And a career. She sees humor in most situations, even when being stalked by a tall, vamp-like redhead. Talk about an optimist!
 

People often say, if I only knew then what I know now. I say, if I’d known as much then, I would’ve avoided way too much and wouldn’t know now what I know. Nor would I have been where I found myself that morning—the object of affection by a man I’d yet to fully discover on a lazy spring morning. I had to believe my future held some good possibilities.

And then there's Carson, the hero of this romance. Who wouldn’t lust over a Las Vegas country crooner with swoon-inducing good looks? Add a Texas drawl and, well, let’s say he knows how to fill out his jeans!

His jeans, tight cowboy style, hugged nice thighs and hips I remembered all too well. I avoided looking at my favorite part. I hoped my face didn’t twitch like my insides. 

And he certainly knows how to sweet-talk a lady, even one like Sandra who was once married to him.

When he lowered his voice, I lost my peripheral vision to the point that we were the only two people in the restaurant. “Sandra, when a gal’s figure fills in the spaces to make it a woman’s body, a man can lose all common sense just lookin’.”

Buy Link for eBook 

Don't forget to join my Quarterly Newsletter Group for a chance to win some Amazon gift cards!
http://www.brendawhiteside.com/contact.html#newsletter 

Good News/Abundance-Bad News/A Flood

Christie geared to fight allergies in the garden

Harvesting continues. With lots of sneezes and wheezing. Neither Christie or I were bothered during the typical spring allergy season that plagued us in Phoenix. But August and September have been miserable if we work too long in the garden. I've started taking allergy meds again,  but Christie can't because of her motherly state. She gears up but still can't last too long. We're seeing the last of the peppers and tomatoes, yet they just keep coming! We still have potatoes and musk mellon. And some carrots. Always forget about them because they can stay in the ground for a while.

We're canning more and freezing less. The freezers are topped out. We sat on the corner out on the main street for a couple of hours a weekend ago - made a big $3. Won't do that again. We gave some of our overflow to a farmers market in Scottsdale and made considerably more. Was even sweeter because we didn't have to man the booth. Maybe next season we'll designate some of our crops just for the valley market. We've also given bags to the food shelter. They loved that.

Xena is fearless

A couple of nights ago we had a thunder storm. Not abnormal but Lance and Christie were gone so poor Gabby felt really insecure. Gabby always shakes when she hears thunder. Christie is her security during those rough times. Between her shaking and drooling, I felt sorry for her but she was inconsolable. Rusty used to pant and fret. Now he just follows me around to keep me within sight. Xena could care less. Nothing shakes Xena.

This morning I woke up to a flooded laundry room spilling over into my bathroom and kitchen. You're not going to believe me, but the washer turned itself on. Actually, I forgot to close the lid. Not usually a problem because it shuts off and sits there. And I'm sure it did because some time in the night or early morning I got up to use the bathroom, and there was no water under my feet. But at 6:00 this morning there was, and it was still running. It had to have turned on or overrode the auto shut off some time in the wee hours. What a mess. Sure hope there's no damage where it ran into the floor vent.

Lance and Christie are on the first part of their mini-honeymoon staying two nights in Laughlin. Hope their having fun - and it's not so bad having the house to ourselves either!

How Does Your Garden Grow? No Cockle Shells...#34

Looking out into the orchard

I picked my first baby carrots. Why I got such a kick out of this, I'm not sure. They are the tiniest of babies because my purpose was to thin out the clusters. Growing from seed, they come up in clusters so they have to be thinned in order for some to grow to normal size. But these tiny carrots will be great in salads.

Rows of carrots

The main objective of our garden this year is experimental but at the same time to feed us. What are we good at growing and what is good to grow here? Eventually, we could take part in some farmer's markets or supply a couple of organic restaurants. That's the goal of head farmer, Lance. I'm hoping there's a financial silver lining.

Cabbage

Peppers

Already, the first relief on the food bill is reality, small but it's something. We are now able to have salad out of our garden. Green salad bowl lettuce, rainbow chard, endive, radish blend, spinach and tomatoes make a really good salad. Tonight we'll be able to add baby carrots to the mix.

The experimental side is evident when you see the list of vegetables we tried this first year. So far, at least they are growing. Some are so very small, it will take time to see if we're successful.

Dill

Rainbow chard

We have okra, Aztec spinach, asparagus, green basil, purple basil, chamomile, zuchini, tomatillo, several kinds of tomatoes, broccoli, three kinds of cabbage, wonder berry, black valentine bean, brussell sprouts, twelve kinds of peppers, cauliflower, parsley, rainbow chard, mustard Chinese tatsoi, dill, black cumin, carrots, radish blind, four kinds of onions, leek, green salad bowl lettuce, spinach, endive, several kinds of squash, potatoes, corn, peas and several kinds of beans. Then don't forget our orchard, strawberries and blackberries.

Salad lettuce and onions

Chamomile

Not everything will produce this year. Boo hoo to the frost that took the apricot, peach, and most of the blackberry flowers. And until everything matures, not sure how much we'll end up with on the table. When the end of harvest comes, we'll sit down and evaluate what worked and what didn't.

Another view of the orchard

If you're a frequent visitor to my blog, I hope you'll join my site so I can know you check in now and then. You'll see the join button in the right hand column.

A note outside the farm news - my book Sleeping with the Lights on is the book of the month for July on iBookBuzz.com. Yea!

It Had to Happen; A Few Bad Days #12

Not that the bad days had anything to do with the lifestyle change or prairie life, but still a dip in the up mood. Thursday morning I woke up after a fitful night, feeling like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. Swollen glands, headache, the whole bit. And Frank couldn't find his hearing aids. He has these super duper ones that the VA gave him because of his hearing disability. The hearing loss, caused by the Army not issuing earplugs at the rifle range, is significant. So we tore the house apart. For two days. It's now been several days and still no sign of them. Frank looked gray with worry for a few days.

My ickys passed by Saturday, but his hearing aids still remain lost. On Friday, he went to the VA in Prescott and they told him they'd replace them but he had to stand in line - expect them in about sixteen months! He called the doctor who tested him and prescribed them (not a VA doc), but he couldn't help. Monday, he'll call the VA in Minnesota where he got them and hopefully they'll have a better solution. Not like we can replace them at $5,000. I'm getting tired of repeating myself and listening to a very loud TV.

Last weekend, we went in search of an arts fair advertised in the local paper. It didn't exist. Probably canceled and no one bothered to change the announcement. Funny small town stuff. On our search, we rounded a corner with a cardboard box advertising a yard sale. I caught some writing on the inside flap - it was one of our boxes we donated to local U-haul. "Bren's Clothes"

Speaking of the local paper - it comes once a week. If we take the daily paper, we'd have to go out to the main highway. At least Rusty gets to collect the paper for us once a week. He loves his chores.

Our numbers are temporarily growing. Looks like we'll have two guests for a month or so. Lance's good friend is also moving to the area but hasn't got a job or a place to live yet. Scott will be moving in when Lance and Christie arrive to stay tomorrow. His cat, Debo has already arrived. Debo has been bunking in the garage since Christie is very allergic. Scott has been helping them move. He's a big, sweet, powerful guy, but he's kind of a bull in a china shop. First day, he's lugging in a mattress alone and knocked a picture off the wall and broke it. Next day, my door wreath met with his finesse. He'll be staying in L&C's half of the house.

Rusty's afraid of Debo. He wants to play, but when Debo romps toward him, Rusty runs for the house. Big tough watch dog? Not.

Next week should be a whirlwind: Lance and Christie arrive for good, two new temporary members and my Virtual Blog Tour to promote Honey On White Bread. There's a grand prize at the end of the week.

My coffee corner. I'll need a lot this next week

Right now, this minute, I'm more consumed with the tour. By the end of next week, I'll have a better idea of how our communal living will work. Fingers crossed.







Click here for blog stops:
http://www.brendawhiteside.com/news.html

That's What On My Carpet? Post #4

Rusty and I left my sister's before the sun showed any inclination to rise. Rusty tried to rebel. Apparently he does not share the same enthusiasm for the drive that I do. He hunkered down and refused to jump into the back of the Explorer until I became cross and woke up half of Sun City.

The sunrise was gorgeous but I had no time to stop and take pictures. I had to meet the carpet cleaner at 8:30 and after a stop to get coffee and another stop to buy Rusty a water dish (I'd forgotten to bring his from my sister's), I had no time left over. I called the guy to let him know I would be there and his response rattled me. "I'm not scheduled for today - that's tomorrow."

Rusty's new yard. "before picture"

I know without a doubt he was scheduled - I remembered the conversation - and after some debate, he decided he could get to me but would be a couple of hours late. That actually worked better for me since I could get the ceiling fans and window sills cleaned that were in the carpeted areas.

After Rusty ran around outside for a while, he plopped down in the middle of the living room and gave me the evil eye. He might be having a rough time figuring out where he should call home. He's a spooky dog anyway so all the back and forth has him rattled.

Our 'orchard'

I could have planted indoor gardens on the fan blades. Then I moved on to baseboards. All I can say is they're clean . And that will be the story for the walls too. I've told Lance and Christie that since they are missing out on all this heavy duty cleaning they will be doing a LOT of painting. I hate to paint. We had to paint every room in our last house so I'm not keen on it.

Laundry room looking into master bath.

At last the carpet guys showed up and started setting up. His first discovery - no water outside. What? How can that be? Luckily he could hook up in the laundry room. He then walked the house and informed me I had multiple doggie spots in several rooms. What? He was a bit perplexed because of the lack of odor. Believe me, if the house had smelled bad I would not have wanted it. I have had dogs and cats and cannot stand the smell of their messes. But I sure as heck don't let my animals use my carpet for their relief. So he pre-treated and made several passes over most of the carpet. I can only hope the spots don't come back but I have my doubts. I'm figuring I need to start a savings for new carpet in two years. What brilliant mind chose white carpet in dusty horse country anyway??! And then let their dogs use it??!

As the carpet guy left, Bob showed up at my back door. Bob is a neighbor. In his ball cap, jean jacket, boots and close-cropped, salt and pepper beard, slow-talking Bob fit my image of the horse owner neighbor. Nice guy too. He was just driving by and thought he'd let me know 'she' has my extra keys and I can get them from 'her'. He pointed to his house as he told me.

Christie and Lance

Back inside, Lance texted me to tell me he and Christie would be there in an hour or two. I jumped in the car and made a run into Chino Valley for a McD salad. I no sooner got in the house when 'she' knocked on my door. Turns out 'she' is his wife Jeannette. As quiet as Bob is, Jeannette is a talker. We walked around in the chilly wind, her dark hair dancing around her shoulders, while she explained the irrigation system of the well. I learned all about the well workings and enough about the neighbors behind me to know there's something unlikeable about them. I do have water outside. The carpet guy didn't give it enough time to start flowing.

I was famished by then, but Jeannette had so much to tell me. It looked like she was winding down when Lance and Christie pulled up. Christie had not seen our place yet so Lance walked her around the two and half acres while Jeannette waited to talk to Lance. Then we went through the well system again. As much as I enjoyed her, I had to finally beg off and go inside to eat before I fainted.

Down the hall is Lance & Christie's space.

Christie was so cute as she checked out the inside, thanking me profusely for doing the cleaning. She and Lance measured and planned how their half of the house would lay out. Then I found out it will be March before they can get out of their current lease in Flagstaff and move to Paulden. On one level, it'll be fun for Frank and I to have the time alone but on another level, I was hoping to begin the communal living adventure. I love Lance and Christie.

Lance, whose idea it was to live under one roof, is nervous. He said he hopes I don't end up hating him! Christie said, "Lance,there's no way your mom would hate you." His reply: "no, but she could hate you." LOL

By the way, my interview is up all week at TBR, and I'm giving away a night at the movies, 1945 style to a commenter. Please hop over there, too! Click here: To Be Read Blog

2012 Here We Go

Started the year with a hike on a gloriously sunny day, mild temp and good company. Then I sleepily arrived back in my temporary home to tackle a mountain of work to kick start my book promotion. I've got two contests beginning today, an article in the January edition of Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine and ten blog appearances in front of me this month. I'll list the links at the bottom for the contests and magazine.

Once our house in Arizona closes mid-month, my plan is to blog about this city lady becoming a country lady at a unique time in my life. And under unique circumstances. I expect this new chapter in my life will be filled with surprises, amusing and otherwise. Author and farmer - that will be me!

I expect 2012 to be tumultuous, both world-wide and personally. Contrary to the fears of some, I think the changes and challenges ahead will signal a positive, new world. I'm okay with out with the old and in with the new as we seek a new age of humanity, a back to basics. Personally, that new chapter on the prairie will help me focus on my writing too. I have so many books in my head, and I plan to dig in and get them all on paper.

So...Happy New Year!

CONTESTS:
Coffee Time Romance and More

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/ContestPage.html

Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway?sort=recently_listed&tab=recently_listed

Cocktails Fiction and Gossip Magazine (page 24)

http://www.wix.com/cocktailsmagazine/fictionandgossip#!issue10

Christmas - Really?!

I know, I know, we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet. I practically boo any neighbors who put up their lights before Thanksgiving. I don't care if they're trying to get the job done before the snows fly. And department stores are the worst offenders.

But I did think about Christmas and decided since it's a great time of year (one of my favorites) that I should do some planning on my gift giving right now. So I decided to have a drawing, a gift giving, on my web site:

I Love Christmas Drawing

My favorite time of year is filled with one of my favorite activities – gift giving. So from me to you – a Virtual Basket of Goodies will be given to one person from my Announce Only Newsletter Group and one person from my Author Facebook Page. I’ll have the drawing for both on December 22, the first day of winter. And like all good gifts, you won’t know what’s in your Virtual Basket of Goodies until you open it, but there will be several great items.

Double your chances of winning – make sure you’re part of both my Announce Only Newsletter Group and my Author Facebook Page.

Go to my Author Page and click on like
Join my Announce Only Newsletter

You can contact me at brenda@brendawhiteside.com if you have questions. Have fun and good luck!