Live in California?

If you’re anywhere near Turlock, CA, this weekend, be sure to stop by the Borders in Turlock to meet paranormal author Kitty Keswick:

Wow! In the News…

Leap Books has been getting lots of notice. How cool is that?? The most recent was an interview in the Examiner.

Freaksville by Kitty Keswick

Author Kitty Keswick talks about her upcoming book, Freaksville. Plenty of teens and adults are eagerly awaiting this exciting debut novel. Watch for it on January 8, 2010.

For a fun sneak peek, you can check it out on YouTube or TeacherTube.

And for more about Kitty, you can read her blog, Wolfy Chicks, with author Judith Graves, whose book Under My Skin will be out in March 2010.

Freaksvillle is Book One of an exciting new series featuring werewolves, ghosts, Valkyries, and otherworldly creatures. In this book four teens trapped in a haunted theater on the night of the full moon battle ghosts and werewolves to survive.

If you love werewolves, vamps, and ghosts, you’ll love this series by Kitty Keswick.

Surprise!

When I checked my mail recently, I found a lovely surprise. Blogger Keli Gwyn, who had hosted me at  Romance Writers on the Journey sent me a thank-you gift. How thoughtful is that??!! A darling little tablet in its own case and refrigerator magnet. But best of all, they were personalized with my initial, so I know she picked it out just for me. I’ve never had anyone give me a gift for being a guest blogger, so I was doubly thrilled.

Even better was the experience I had when Keli interviewed me. She’s very professional and super organized. The questions arrived a month before the blogging date. She asked that I choose 8 of her very extensive and thought-provoking questions and return them a week before the interview. Then she added her comments, edited the blog, and sent it to me for approval before it was posted. What a great way to insure that the blog is error free! And it’s a testament to her organizational skills and efficiency. She was a dream to work with. Bloggers who are interviewing authors could take a page from Keli’s book. Who knows, you might even find the author will end up blogging about YOU.

Butterfly by Clare Austin

Tomorrow I have a special guest–Clare Austin. Thought I’d take today to post her book cover and excerpt to whet your appetite. Then stop back tomorrow for her special post. Isn’t this cover absolutely gorgeous??

And here’s the blurb:

Flannery Sloane is a free spirited bohemian with a soul blessed by Irish musical tradition. She doesn’t give a care for where she’s going or how she’ll get there. Joy and passion are her only map. And, though she’s not interested in falling in love, she wouldn’t mind a little fun with a fine looking man. Hunter Kincade looks like he could fill that bill and have a bit of change left over.

Flannery never wears a watch. She’s late for everything but the downbeat of a fiddle tune. She’s happy serving pints in the pub and playing for tips and smiles. Hunter thrives on punctuality. He is in the music business with his focus on the bottom line. The pretty fiddle player with the bright green eyes would make his next production worth the price of a CD.

Their only common ground is the belief that falling in love is a danger to health and sanity.

Will it take more than Irish magic to pull a man like Hunter into the spell of a woman like Flannery? They are all wrong for each other…and they are so right.

And, even better, an excerpt that should get you hooked:

He lost sight of the fiddler in the mobs of tourists enjoying the April sunshine.

No sooner had he decided to give up on his quest than he heard hands clapping in rhythm with the beat of the now familiar Irish drum.

Then he saw her.

She lifted her instrument and, with the surety of a bird’s wing slipping through the air, bow was laid to strings and life was breathed into melody.

He moved to the edge of the gathering where he could have an unobstructed view of the musicians. She looked up, and he thought she recognized him for an instant. Then her eyes turned and followed another. She smiled and nodded.

Cade had never thought of himself as the jealous type, but he did feel cheated out of that smile.

As soon as the last vibration of strings quieted, a man Cade recognized from O’Fallon’s came up behind the fiddler and, with disturbing familiarity, spoke in her ear. She responded with a hug and an adoring look in her eyes.

Cade had been raised to be competitive, in sports as well as in business, and the appearance of a rival on the field made him want to draw blood. He wanted the fiddler in his studio, and if she ended up in his bed, that might be as nice.

He stood and listened until the sun set and the air held a chill that thinned the throng. The musicians were packing it in.

He hadn’t realized he was staring, until she walked up to him and stood so

close he could smell the scent of her warm skin in the cool evening air. Her approach to introduction took Cade completely by surprise.

“Are you lookin’ at me or waitin’ for a bus?” she said, one hand on her hip and a sassy smile on her lips.

Intriguing, right? Stop back tomorrow to meet Clare and hear more about her latest release, Butterfly.

Wow! Another Great Review!

Just got a fab review for my story,  “Summer Storms,” in the Wild Rose Press anthology, Summer Lovin’. The reviewer discussed each story individually–how cool is that? Here are a few excerpts from the LASR review:

Summer Storms by Laurie J. Edwards

I’ve never read anything by Ms. Edwards, but I have to say after reading this story that I plan to read some more from this talented author. Summer Storms was my favorite of the anthology…

A heart touching story…I could feel the urgency and emotions of these characters caught in a possibly deadly situation. Outstanding.

Check out the review for more about the stories by the other authors:

Dara Edmondson, Mona Ingram, Kimberlee R. Mendoza, Sydney Shay, and June Sproat

http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-lovin-by-dara-edmondson-laurie-j.html

Dream Time

Are you running in frantic circles? Have too much to do and not enough time? While you’re here, I hope you’ll take a deep breath and calm your racing heart. Ask yourself: If I wanted to be supremely happy at the end of the day, what three things should I accomplish?

Examine your to-do list. How many items are expectations others put on you? How many items are on there because of your guilty conscience? How many because you want to please other people? Cross off as many of those things as you can–without doing them. Don’t you feel lighter, less burdened, happier?

Count how many things on your list will lead you to your dreams. Focus on where you want to go, what you want to be, and how you’d like to get there. But make sure each day your list has at least one thing, however small, that moves you in the direction of your dreams.

Living your dreams takes courage. If you need more courage, see Finding Courage (below). And always schedule some time to rest, to daydream. Just as your body needs sleep for renewal, your mind and spirit need time to rest, to daydream, to be creative, to learn new things.

I hope you’ll also take some time to smell the roses. Twenty Wild Rose Press authors have banded together to present you with a bouquet of beautiful flowers. A special interlude for you to relax and enjoy.

You can mosey to all the blogs, meandering from one to the other in an hour or so. Or you can stretch it out over the twenty-four hours. Either way, if you leave a comment at each one, you’ll have a chance to win 20 different prizes.
www.amberleighwilliams.blogspot.com
www.authorsstudio.blogspot.com
www.bettyhanawa.blogspot.com
www.christineclemetson.blogspot.com
www.findagreatromance.blogspot.com
www.freewebs.com/lesmora
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www.grgiall.blogspot.com
www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com
www.jennfrancesca.blogspot.com
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www.LindaHopeLee.blogspot.com
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www.noveltrails.blogspot.com
www.plotsandthoughts.blogspot.com
www.tanyahanson.blogspot.com
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www.traveltheages.blogspot.com
www.willtravelforromance.blogspot.com