The Inspiration Behind the Blog

I was born to be a writer. When I published my first novel Wild Point Island, my orange and white rescued feral tabby Chuck decided he wanted to travel and see the island for himself. Chuck's desire to travel inspired me to begin the blog and take Chuck with me whenever I traveled, which I do frequently. This was not an easy task. First, I had to deflate the poor kid of all air, stuff him in my carry-on bag, remember to bring my portable pump, and when I arrive, I pump him back up. Ouch. He got used to it and always was ready to pull out his passport and go. Now it's Theo's turn. Smart. Curious. And, yes, another rascal.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Blogger Book Fair 2013 February 9 DAY 3



                 BLOGGER BOOK FAIR 2013

                             WELCOME
              
    This year our theme is The World for a Shilling, based on the cost of the entrance fee back in 1851 for the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park, England. 



        
    Six million people or roughly one third of the population of Great Britain visited the exhibition.  


In keeping with the theme of the Great Exhibition of 1851, I’d like to announce a CONTEST and then introduce a fabulous author, her work, and one fabulous blogger:

First, the CONTEST:

Read the blurb of Wild Point Island and leave a one sentence comment with your email.  During each of the four days of the Blogger Book Fair, one reader will win a free Kindle e book  of my newest paranormal romance.  At the end of Day Four, I will pick again from all the readers who have participated.  The prize: $25.00 Amazon gift certificate. 

And, now the author:


Isabella Sinclair





Erotic Romance Author Isabella Sinclair shares her favorite dish Spicy Nights Turkey Enchiladas – Servings 6 (Two shells)



As an author of erotica I LOVE all things spicy! With the Thanksgiving holiday almost upon us, now is the time to start devising ways to use up all that yummy leftover turkey! Sandwiches are great – for the first day or so. If you like to enjoy a good enchilada you will devour this recipe!
You will need…
·       Turkey
·       1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
·       Corn Tortillas
·       8 oz Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
·       8 oz Colby Jack (grated)
·       Reg size container Ricotta Cheese
·       Coconut Oil (cause I like the exotic flavoring over Olive oil)
   First you want to soften your corn shells by heating them in a skillet over med heat using the Coconut Oil. Put a TSP or so of oil in the pan and lay the shell in it. As it heats up it will start change color slightly and/or bubble. Flip the shell over and heat the other side. This will make the stiff shells pliable for filling and wrapping.
   After you have your shells all soft and workable you want to grease your casserole dish with a smidge of oil.
   In a mixing bowl combine the Turkey, Cream of Mushroom soup, Ricotta cheese, and 2/3 of the grated cheese. Use a small amount of this filling to line your baking dish to keep the shells from sticking and to add flavor all the way around.
   Holding the shell in the cup of your palm, scoop approximately two tblsp of filling into the center. Wrap the side together and place in the dish. Using your finger smear a bit of the filling across one edge and overlap the other on top of it. The bit of filling will help keep them sealed together.
   All 12 shells may or may not fit into one dish. Just get a smaller one and use it for the leftovers. After you have stuffed your shells you want to take the remaining filling (if there is any!) and spread it over the enchiladas then top with the remaining shredded cheese.
   You can cover with aluminum foil – or not. I don’t like to so I leave it topless   Bake on 350 degrees for mmmm approximately 30 mins. I cook by smell. If I can smell it – it’s time to take it out! lol You want the top cheese melted and the shells to have a cooked look to them. (edges might be brown and crunchy looking but not overly so)
   If you like them HOT add some Chile sauce to your mixture.
   Pull them out of the oven and let stand only a few minutes. Top with your favorite Salsa and Sour Cream!
   Of course, I can’t eat Spicy Nights Turkey Enchiladas without my fave Mexican beer Dos Equis…because I AM the most interesting woman in the world! 
Enjoy!

Visit with Isabella Sinclair on her Facebook page.

What better way to spend an evening than curling up with Isabella’s Enchiladas and her book OLLY!! (don’t forget the Dos Equis!)

Until then...Enjoy this exerpt from OLLY…

 “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, In secret, between the shadow and the soul."   ~ Pablo Neruda
With my hand resting at the top of my breastbone, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, preparing to exhume several ghosts from a past I had suppressed long ago. I began, “The problem with love is that people often mistake it with several of its closely related cousins.” I paused to gather my scattered thoughts and could see she already had questions, but I held up my hand to keep her from breaking our agreement. “So many people-myself included-mistake lust and obsession for love. While still embodying them, true love is neither of those things, if that makes sense.”
Devin nodded, keeping silent while feverishly jotting down notes.
“In order to appreciate why I fell in love with the man I did, you have to understand how I came to accept the fact that love doesn’t always show up in the most convenient package. Sometimes it pushes all your buttons, makes you doubt yourself and question the core of your beliefs. At a time in my life when love didn’t seem possible, I went hunting for the next best thing….”

About The Author

Isabella is like a fine wine mixed with a little bit of Rock-n-Roll. She began writing erotic stories to entertain her boyfriend and discovered a talent given at birth. Weaving an erotic tale without going overboard is no simple thing and Isabella wouldn't dream of leaving out matters of the heart. After all, what is sex without love? Empty!



Connect with Isabella via:  Facebook  and  Goodreads    
Buy her book OLLY on Amazon and Smashwords


Isabella is offering a Rafflecofter giveaway:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MmQ4NGRlYmIyNTMxMjQzM2EzNzE3NTQxZjE1ZTY0OjI=/ 




And now the blogger:



                     PEREZA MULANAX THOMPSON



    Pereza is a native Texan living in Oklahoma where she works full time as a Medical Coder. When she’s not working, she’s spending time with her daughter, husband and fur babies. In her spare time she enjoys watching horror movies, genealogy and reading.








   Be sure and visit Pereza’s blog Pezz Rambles at 


for book reviews, promos and giveaways! If you’re an author, she’d loved to review your book. Details are available on her blog. 

    You can also find her at:


https://twitter.com/pezztx




DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT.  YOU COULD BE A WINNER!!!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Blogger Book Fair 2013 February 8 DAY 2

                                     


             BLOGGER BOOK FAIR 2013

                             WELCOME

                  BLOGGER BOOK FAIR  - 
            THE WORLD FOR A SHILLING

WHEN:  FEBRUARY 7-10, 2013
WHAT IS IT:  This is the second bi-annual Blogger Book Fair, featuring over 75 authors and bloggers of all genres.
There will be give-aways and free promos. Plus,you can pick up some good deals on some fantastic books.  
COST: Absolutely free to log on and browse. 

                    FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK
                       www.facebook.com/bloggerbookfair 

    This year our theme is The World for a Shilling, based on the cost of the entrance fee back in 1851 for the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park, England. 



        The Great Exhibition was organized by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert and attended by notable writers of the day including Charlotte Bronte (Wuthering Heights), Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist), Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), George Eliot (Silas Marner, Middlemarch), Alfred Lord Tennyson (Ulysses, Lady of Shalott).
     It was meant to be a platform where the countries of the world could display their achievements.  
    A special building called the Crystal Palace was built to house them.
    Six million people or roughly one third of the population of Great Britain visited the exhibition.  


In keeping with the theme of the Great Exhibition of 1851, I’d like to announce a CONTEST and then introduce a fabulous author and his work.

First, the CONTEST:

Read the blurb of Wild Point Island and leave a one sentence comment with your email.  During each of the four days of the Blogger Book Fair, one reader will win a free Kindle e book  of my newest paranormal romance.  At the end of Day Four, I will pick again from all the readers who have participated.  The prize: $25.00 Amazon gift certificate. 

And, now the author:


Dan O'Brien

Dan is a psychologist, author, philosopher, freelance editor, and skeptic. Dan O’Brien has published several novels and currently has many in print, including: The End of the World PlaylistBittenThe JourneyThe Ocean and the HourglassDeviance of TimeThe PortentThe Twins of Devonshire and the Curse of the Widow, and Cerulean Dreams. Follow him on Twitter (@AuthorDanOBrien) or visit his blog at http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com.

He also works as an editor at Empirical, a national magazine with a strong West Coast vibe. Find out more about the magazine at www.empiricalmagazine.com.






Here is an excerpt from Dan's book:

â±·
Fe’rein


T
here was a grand crystallized window along the port side of the vessel––the Harbinger. It afforded a view that overlooked Terra, as the blue planet had been called for the past thousand years. The sun cast a glare over its edges. Had one known what the world had looked like millennia previous, they would have seen the changes. The dark coloration of the seas, the murky, bruised clouds that covered a good portion of the land––save for the hundreds of square miles just beneath Culouth, the world above as it was called by those below.
A figure stood abreast the window; the one-piece jumpsuit was dark black, matching his short-cropped hair. The tight spikes were flushed forward. Hands clasped behind his back, he wore the expression of a military man.
His furrowed brows formed a sinister line over his cold brown eyes; the solitude that encompassed him reflected in his frozen glare. The corridor around him was bathed in shadow. The only light came from the glow of the planet below and faded illuminators that lined far off into the distance.
He was called Marion. Once he had been a respected member of the House of Te’huen, a warrior sect of Culouth that had waged wars against man and rim worlds alike.
He broke from Culouth, a clear distinction being made between those who chose to align themselves with Intelligence: fiber optic enhancements and regenerative replacements and those who opposed these technological interventions.
The clicking of footfalls resonated in the dismal chambers.
Marion did not bother to turn.
His dark eyes watched the slow rotation of Terra. His cheek muscles flexed. “So Kyien would not come himself I see,” Marion spoke with an air of confidence.
Deeper down the hall the lights flickered.
The running lights dimmed and then exploded in a shower of clear sparks. Black boots walked over the carpet of glass as each one shattered in turn. The face was shadowed over; only the stark white pants and the dark boots emerged from the darkness that seemed to surround the being.
“To see you?” responded the shadow man.
Marion lowered his head.
Eyes closed, his hands were still firmly placed behind his back. “A peace must be reached. Even your master must understand this….”
The man snorted indignantly.
He still hid in the shadows. His eyes were now illuminated crimson. Billowing energy flowed freely from his face. “There can be no peace. There will be no peace.”
“Why then did you bother to come here?”
The shadow man paced outside of viewing range, ignoring the question and posing another. “How many refugees are here with you?”
Marion’s surprise showed visibly in the cock of his head, looking back toward the shadowed figure. The twin clouds of energy shone like two animal eyes in the night. “What?”
“How many of your tainted kind walk this hollow home?”
“What is the meaning of this?”
The man emerged from the darkness, his features apparent for the first time. His bald head was tan. A jagged scar ran diagonally across his face, carving a ridge over his eye, nose, and ending just below his lip. A light brown beard covered his chin.
His brown eyes were tainted.
Crimson clouded where white should have been.
He wore a gray suit, fitted around his waist and flared out loosely over his thighs and legs. Marion inhaled sharply upon seeing the man move into the light.
His features darkened, outlining the set of his strong jaw. “He who kills his own kind,” whispered Marion. His words were like a hiss, a curse at the man who stood before him.
“I have no kind.”
“You have tainted the power of Terra, used its energy for the Intelligence. You were once a man, a human not unlike us,” reasoned Marion, his voice wavering.
“How many are here with you?” pressed the warrior with a level, unrelenting glare. A sweep of his hand dismissed Marion’s words.
“I am alone,” responded Marion.
The shadow warrior turned his head and looked toward the corridor wall. His face curled into a cruel grin. Turning back to Marion, the shadow warrior clucked his tongue against his cheek. “You lie,” he spoke with a hint of sarcasm and wagged his finger as if he were doing so to a sullen child.
“No,” called Marion, but it was too late.

Five Star Review from Amazon.com:

Wow! I was blown away. 5 Stars for readability, excitement and character development.

It's a sci-fi allegory of today's society. "Intelligence" runs the show, like the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, where everyone lives in a controlled environment and seems happy because the truth has been hidden from them. And, the closer humanity embraces cybernetic enhancements & technology, the greater hold the Intelligence will have on them.

Although it's a simple plot, the forces of light vs. dark, the story is more complex. It is entertaining and even humorous. You feel as if you really know the characters.

Like the description says, the protagonist will define a realm where evil does not sleep, and neither will you once you start reading it. The book is hard to put down, especially the closer you get to the end.


(Ten reviews - Average 4.5 stars)




Links for Purchase for The Path of the Fallen and other Works by Dan O'Brien: