Read an EBook Week Giveaway!

In  honor of this week being Read an eBook Week, I'm holding a contest.

The prize?

An eBook of course!

I'm giving away a copy of my newest release, Seeing for the First Time. It's a paranormal YA short story.

Let's see... how to enter

Must be a follower.
Leave a comment.

Bonus entries:
+1 follow me on twitter
+1 fan my facebook page
+3 blog/tweet/fb/somehow get the word out (leave the link in your comment)

I'll draw the winner on the 15th.

Have you read an ebook this week?

And another contest you all might want to enter (or not so that I have a better chance of winning, lol) Click on the banner for more details.

Editing

I'm busy lurking in my editing cave between edits for Champion of Valor (I hope to have the cover soon!) and my edits for MuseItUp so this lame post is all you get today. Sorry! But be sure tocome back tomorrow.

Here's a hint why - this week is read an ebook week so that just might mean contest time!

Classic Insults

A list of real insults, insults that had meaning instead of four letters or finger gestures.


The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."- John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." Jack E. Leonard

"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt." - Robert Redford (one flash & it's gone. ha)

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." - Thomas Brackett Reed

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

New Release! Seeing for the First Time

Seeing for the First Time is released today from Echelon Press.

Blurb:

For the last ten years, Ana has spent summers with her Gram. With nothing to do, the closest beach two hours away, and Gram, who Ana is convinced is crazy, always in her garden talking to things that aren't there, Ana is bored out of her mind.

One day, Ana sees strange colors floating around Gram as she works in her garden. Gram says they're fairies. She can "See" them, and there are others who can see things. Ana's a Seer, too.

When Gram gives Ana a book that explains about the many different creatures, like selkies, unicorns, vampires, and others, Ana gets curious. She is shocked when she comes across the entry about famous werewolf hunting parents.

Determined to learn where she fits in, Ana's summer gets a lot more exciting as she sets off to find out what she can "see." Only problem is, she's not sure what to do when she finally discovers the truth. And she's not sure she'll live to tell anyone.

Excerpt:

Ana's Gram was crazy. Like certifiably crazy. And she'd spent every summer since she'd turned six at her Gram's, with a front row seat to her Gram's descent into madness.

Year number ten with Gram and she still had nothing to do. Ana exited the small cottage. "Gram, I'm bored. Can I borrow your car?"

No answer. Ana headed to her Gram's favorite location, the garden out back.

Sure enough, she found her mom's mother covered in more dirt than her potted plants. With her long white hair in a tight bun, dressed in a T-shirt and black pants, Gram wore a relaxed as she pulled out weeds. "You're getting lax, Arianna."

Arianna? Who's that? Ana cleared her throat. "Gram, can I go to the beach?"

Gram patted her hands and wiped her forehead, leaving behind a streak of dirt. "You arrived yesterday and spent all day with your friends. Now you want to leave me all alone while you drive the two hours to the beach?"

Ana pouted. "Please, Gram? There's nothing to do here."

Gram sighed. "You could help me with my garden."

Ana grimaced and glanced down at her pale pink tank top and white mini skirt. Hardly working in the dirt clothes. "Can't Arianna help?" Ana muttered so her Gram couldn't hear.

"What's that, dear?" Gram had already gone back to work.

Ana cringed and felt guilty. "Let me change my clothes and then you can tell me what you need help with."

Gram beamed, and Ana felt even guiltier. Just because Gram saw and heard things no one else did, didn't mean Ana shouldn't spend time with her. After all, that's why she'd come to North Carolina while her parents traveled through Europe.

Ana ran into the cottage and changed into a T-shirt and jeans. She stood at the back screen door, wrestling her long curly blonde hair into a ponytail when she saw small red, purple, and blue lights flying around her Gram.

Ana rubbed her eyes and looked again. The lights were still there.

She gulped. Maybe being crazy ran in the family.

Ana opened the door and slowly walked over to Gram.

Gram looked up. "Is something wrong, dear?"

Ana shook her head.

Gram pushed back on her thighs. "Your face says differently. If you really want to go to the beach that badly, go ahead."

A small red speck landed on Gram's hand. Ana stared at it, afraid to speak, not wanting to draw attention to her craziness.

"Oh," Gram said with understanding in her soft voice. Her face broke into a wide smile that eased many wrinkles. "You can see the fairies, too."

Ana shook her head again. "N-no."
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Creature Mondays and Short Story

Credit for picture

Today's creature is the harpy. Yet another offspring from Echidna and Typhon, harpies are usually depicted as ugly, hideous creatures with bird bodies and a woman's face. They suffer from a hunger that can never be satisfied.

According to Greek mythology, Phineas angered Zeus by revealing too much about the future with his gift of prophecy. As his punishment, Phineas was sent to a land where a huge banquet was always set. But whenever he sat down to eat, harpies would swoop down and steal his food and spoil the rest. This continued until Jason and the Argonauts came. Two of the Argonauts could fly as they were sons of Boreas, the North Wind. They chased away the harpies, but did not kill them at the request of their sister Iris the rainbow goddess after she promised that the harpies would not plague Phineas anymore.

Most pictures of the harpies are much uglier than this one, but I liked this one so much that I posted this one.

If you have time, why don't you stop by the Raven and the Writing Desk blog? I wrote a short story for you all to enjoy called Too Much Luck. I hope you enjoy it!