A Bride of Honor

If anyone's interested in reading an interview of me, head on over to author Lena Nelson Dooley's blog and look at Monday's post http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/
You still have a chance to win a copy of A Bride of Honor if you leave a comment.

Enter To Win!

Regency Author Linore Rose Burkard is combining a book promotion with an opportunity for writers:
Here's a chance for you to get your manuscript before the eyes of a published author, AND a critque or edit to boot!

PROMOTION FOR WRITERS
ENDS SEPTEMBER 15:
Anyone who sends me (via email) proof of purchase for one of my books from Amazon or Christianbook.com, (or any other online bookseller) will be entered in a drawing to win a free edit/critique of their manuscript, up to 300 pages. The receipt must be dated from today through September 15th to qualify.

If you purchase more than one book, you will be entered more than once.
Each purchase is an entry.

My books are "Inspirational Romance for the Jane Austen Soul,"
(Regency Romance) and include
Before the Season Ends,
The House in Grosvenor Square,
and the upcoming release, The Country House Courtship,
all published with Harvest House Publishers.

I have attached the links to Amazon, but you may purchase the books
from any online seller and still enter the contest (with receipt).

YOU MAY ALSO ENTER by asking your friends or family to get a book. If they are not writers, you can enter with their receipt. Just state that you are doing so, with their permission. Or have THEM send me the email receipt with your name and email as the entering writer.

Likewise, you can enter FOR a writer you know! If you win, you get the pleasure of giving them the gift of a free edit or critique of their manuscript.

NO ONE LOSES. IF NOTHING ELSE, YOU GET A BOOK THAT HAS GARNERED MANY, MANY WONDERFUL REVIEWS,
and makes great escape reading.

You do not need to write romance to enter this contest. I can critique or edit any manuscript with the following exceptions:
NO gore, no horror, no hard-core sexuality.

SEND ALL RECEIPTS/ENTRIES TO:
Linore (@) LinoreRoseBurkard (dot) com

Thanks and GOOD LUCK!--

The new member of the family

Just three months ago, my daughter and I visited the local shelter and adopted two grown cats. One, Alley Anna, had been at the shelter the longest, about 4 years, so my heart went out to her. She is a very sweet cat, about 6 years old, a dark tiger with beautiful emerald green eyes (I should have changed her name to Cleopatra since it looks like she has heavy black eyeliner on the way pictures of Cleopatra do). The other is a gorgeous cream point Siamese mix with powder blue eyes (slightly cross-eyed). He'd only been at the shelter a few months and is about a year and a half old.
Well, it took them a while to settle into our house. They were very scared and hid in my closet together most of the time. But a couple of months later, my daughter and I were driving out of the supermarket parking lot when she pointed out something in front of her in the middle of the lot. A small, dark thing. A huge black crow was hovering above it. Well, it was a tiny kitten, shaking with fear and meowing piteously. So, we scooped it up and brought it home. He became "Oreo," as you can see in the photo, because of his coloring. He is the most loveable, cuddly kitten imaginable and is already about 3x the size he started out.

Western Head

If you'd like to read all about my family's recent adoption of two cats from our local animal shelter, head on over to fellow writer, Roxanne Rustand's blog, All Things Bright and Beautiful, http://roxannerustand.blogspot.com

Here are two photos of my lovely neck of the woods. On a clear day, Western Head hiking trail offers breathtaking views of Grand Manan Channel and Grand Manan Is., Canada. The day before yesterday was such a day. No fog on the horizon.

This is why we put up with the long winters...

May Flowers in a Teacup

Aaahhh! The scent of lilacs. They truly signal May. Over the years I've planted several colors in our yard. This white bush is the first to blossom this year.

Mid-May in Downeast May. Spring comes late, but one day you look out and everything is transformed into green. Here is a lovely sight outside my writing window. The daffs have just passed but others, a pale yellow, are going to blossom soon. The bluets and violets are carpeting many areas.
Slugs are attacking the pansies I put out. Every morning I have to do a slug search and destroy. Also on the young flower seedlings my daughter just planted out back in the flower bed bordering our deck.

My new book hits the shelves today!

Just a reminder that my latest regency romance, A Bride of Honor, is released today. It is the sequel to last year's The Making of a Gentleman. But never fear, you don't have to read the first to enjoy the second. Both stories stand alone.

If your bookstore doesn't carry A Bride of Honor, make sure you request it. Only when bookstore managers see interest in a title will they begin to stock it on a regular basis.

A Must Read!

I finished reading The Shack a few weeks ago and have only now gotten around to posting some comments about it.
Now, I understand what all the hype is about. An awesome story, one that will appeal to Christians and non-Christians--and non-traditional Christians alike. No wonder it's selling like hotcakes. It's the kind of book that hooks you from the beginning and wrings your emotions. As soon as you finish you want to share it with friends and strangers.
I'm not going to summarize it b/c that's been done enough already. Just want to encourage you to read it!

MY NEXT BOOK

I just found the cover for my next book on Amazon. It's always exciting to see the cover of one's story--to see what an artist has come up with for one's characters. Are they anything like one imagined? Usually, the artist doesn't read the book, but they get detailed descriptions of the characters, as well as the story line, from the author and editorial team.

I have to say I like this one. It has a pretty lavender color scheme, and the placement of the hero and heroine matches that of its sister book: The Making of a Gentleman, my Aug. '08 book. For those who read that story about Florence, this is her brother, Damien, the parson's story. The costume (the white "preaching bands" collar) is historically accurate for the regency period). I just wish they'd made the waistline of the heroine's gown a trifle higher to be more in line with the empire waists of the regency period. The same goes for Florence's gown on the cover of The Making of a Gentleman; it should have been a little higher. Waistlines didn't start dropping until almost 1820 as the fashion styles transitioned into the romantic period of the 1830's.
But other than that, I really like this cover. I kind of like the "headless covers," so a reader can imagine the hero & heroine's face themselves. Usually, the artist's models are not exactly the people I've envisioned.