Celebrate the Small Things and Piper Morgan Book Blast

It's Friday. Are you ready to celebrate? Let's give a big shout-out to our host, Lexa Cain, who would swim through a tsunami to get internet service, and her co-hosts, L.G. Keltner and Tonya Drecker!

Here we go!

Image: Vassilis

1. On Thursday, my older daughter auditioned for her middle school play. She had separate song and dance try-outs for Mary Poppins. I've never seen Mary Poppins, but I now have the song "Anything Can Happen" stuck in my head on permanent replay. It's insidious. Really. But I wish my girl all the luck and I'm super impressed with all the hard work she put into this audition. Now, please dear Lord, get this tune out of my head. Gahhh!!!

The fabulous Mr. Mistoffelees

2. We're a little cat crazy here. When a beautiful stray started coming around when we moved in, we first built him an outdoor house and eventually got him to come inside. Now Mr. M sleeps on my chest. (Can't breathe...)

Image: Martin Kleppe (not our new stray, but close)

This summer, another beautiful stray started showing up and so we did what any responsible pet owner would--we built another house. I spied the new kitty exiting it this week. So yeah. The word is out. We're a cat-HAirbnb! Possums and raccoons allowed. Dinner served around the clock. Severe finger shaking if found fighting.

Image: Kevin Baird

3. This was my last full week of blissful writing days. The kidlets will have most of next week off for Thanksgiving, and the week after that there are days off for parent-teacher conferences. Despite the interruptions in my work schedule, I'm celebrating the fact I don't have to travel for this particular holiday. No airport lines until Christmas!

________

And now for Stephanie Faris's newest Piper Morgan book!

Piper Morgan To The Rescue

Blurb:

Piper helps some four-legged friends find the perfect home in the third book of the brand-new Piper Morgan series.

Piper is super excited to help out at Bark Street, a local animal shelter in town. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by adorable puppies and dogs all day? And when Piper sees Taffy, the cutest dog she has ever seen, Piper is determined to find a way to bring Taffy home. But it won’t be easy—especially when she finds out someone else wants to make Taffy a part of their family, too!

Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.

Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive.

Links:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Stephanie also has a Rafflecopter giveaway if you'd like to win a copy of Piper Morgan To The Rescue.

___________

Have you seen Mary Poppins? Love cats? Have big plans for Thanksgiving?

Crystal Collier Gets Medieval On Our Funny Bones

Welcome Crystal Collier here today to share her new book and some medieval funnies!

In 1771, Alexia had everything: the man of her dreams, reconciliation with her father, even a child on the way. But she was never meant to stay. It broke her heart, but Alexia heeded destiny and traveled five hundred years back to stop the Soulless from becoming.

In the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Church has ordered the Knights Templar to exterminate the Passionate, her bloodline. As Alexia fights this new threat—along with an unfathomable evil and her own heart—the Soulless genesis nears. But none of her hard-won battles may matter if she dies in childbirth before completing her mission.

Can Alexia escape her own clock?

BUY: Amazon | B&N

GUEST POST

Thank you Tamara for having me here today!

"Good, clean fun." What comes to mind when you hear that? One of the many things that makes me think about is "clean reads." I admit, I'm a bit of a wuss. I want limited language, palpable abuses, and PG-13 (or less) love scenes in my reading. The brain is a funny thing and it tends to cling to everything we put in it. It also sputters out what we put in it at the most inconvenient times. Warning to us all, eh? Best to put the kinds of things in your brain you'd like to see regurgitated. (Yikes. That sounds a little gross eh?)

So being a mom, my goal is to write books I wouldn't be embarrassed having my daughters (or sons) read. TIMELESS, despite having a good deal of romance, is like that. (As are the first two books in the Maiden of Time series.) (Knights, battles, time travel, an epic love story, and special powers...WHAT?!) So what do you say to some good clean fun?

The chore that never ends.

And what did Snow White ALWAYS do? (Ahem, the answer is clean.)

All else fails, throw the trash in the closet.

Cleaning really isn't torture, I promise.

I hope you laughed or at least smiled. And now while you're in a good mood, go buy my books!

And have a nice day.

What is your favorite/least favorite chore? Do you like clean reads? Don't care?

Crystal Collier is an eclectic author who pens clean fantasy/sci-fi, historical, and romance stories with the occasional touch of humor, horror, or inspiration. She practices her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, four littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese. You can find her on her online HERE.

(Email address is required for awarding prizes.)

Celebrate the Small Things

It's time to once again celebrate the small victories and accomplishments for the week with our host, Lexa Cain, and her co-hosts, L.G. Keltner and Tonya Drecker!

Image: Tony Fischer

1. I voted. My candidate lost, but I did exercise my constitutional rights. I live in Rochester, NY and you may have heard that there was a long line to place your "I voted" sticker on the grave of Susan B. Anthony, which is kind of cool and kind of sad at the same time. Like many people, I'm still in shock, a little scared, and wondering if a dystopian future like those so popular in fiction these days might come to pass. Hopefully not.

Image: Jennifer Morton

On the brighter side, I think someone should install several cats throughout the White House this coming January, just in case you-know-who gets grabby. Cough, cough. I mean crabby. There's nothing like a purring kitten to calm you down. What did you think I meant?

Image: Clintus

2. My younger daughter hurt her ankle and foot at a trampoline park and has been limping since Sunday. Why celebrate? Because the x-ray we got on Tuesday shows it's not fractured. Since she hurt her back at the same place a few months earlier, I want to ban her from ever going back. Unfortunately, it seems to be the go-to venue for birthday parties this year. Ironically, her class read an article about the growing number of injuries resulting from visits to these places about a month ago.

Image: Ian Southwell

3. I've been rereading my historical novel in what will hopefully be the final edit. Of course, the idea of getting back on the query train is about as appealing as eating a bowl full of mealworms. 

How are you handling the election results? Do you let your kids play on trampolines?