Food and More Food

Christmas in Norway lasts forever, especially if you are working in the restaurant business. Since the middle of November I have been cooking Christmas dinner for hundreds of guests. Just look at all this food, and this is just the cold food. There are desserts and warm food as well. This has been a busy month for me, so sorry if I have been absent. The Christmas Buffet at the hotel where I work is a popular destination for businesses, families and friends. By the time Christmas is here I will have had my fill of food!

Not everything has been about food. If you remember from my last post, my daughter was expecting the birth of her first child. Guess what I did this Thanksgiving? I met my grand-daughter for the first time. Introducing Victoria, I think I will call her Tory. Both mother and child are doing well. Enjoy the rest of your week! I hope to get around to visiting my blogging friends soon.

Hope for the future

Here in the southern armpit of Norway called Larvik the weather has been surprisingly mild and there is still no sign of snow. The sun made a rare appearance today and nodded its head quickly before dissapearing once again behind the dark clouds stuffed with the promise of rain. It is a perfect day for contemplating--- for just sitting and staring into space, which is something that I find myself doing alot of lately.

As my mother falls deeper into a childlike state and I find myself her sole caretaker, my daughter awaits the birth of her first child which could happen any day now. Although I have two grandchilden in the states, this will be the first one born here in Norway and I look forward to having the chance to be a grandmother who is present-----not just the mythical grandmother that lives in a far off land and sends presents in the mail.

My daughter and future mother to be

As my friends in the states prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, (a holiday I truely miss) I can not help but contemplate the things that I am thankful for and there are many. This grandchild who is about to be born is a reminder that there is hope for the future and that the tree of life continues to bare fruit. As one seed withers and dies, another is born.

What are you grateful for?

Unfortunetly unexpected costs cut into my postage budjet so for those of you that are awaiting my book or other prizes that were won during my blog tour, I am late sending these out. I promise to get everything off in the mail this week. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful week-end!

Oh how I miss you!

Oh, how I miss you blogfest is hosted by Andrew Leon, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and Matthew MacNish make sure to stop by their blogs and say hello!

This blogfest is all about the bloggers we really miss…and the ones we would really miss!

Do you have a couple blogger buddies who aren’t posting as often? Those who’ve pulled back and seem absent from the blogging world? Do you have blogger buddies you are grateful they are still around and would miss if they vanished? Now is your chance to show your appreciation and spotlight them! Just list one to three bloggers you really miss and one to three bloggers you would miss if they stopped blogging. Then go leave a comment on those blogs.

Our blogger friends are special – time to let them know!

Melynda Fluery had a blog called Crazy World. Her world was crazy, chaotic, fun and full of humor. She was one of my first blogging friends and my first critique partner. Unfortunatley after she lost her eyesight, the struggle of maintaining a blog became too much for her and she had to stop. Melynda, if you happen to trip over this post, I MISS YOU!

It goes without saying that everyone would miss Alex if he stopped blogging. There are two special men  that I would miss terribly if they stopped. One is my cyber brother Michael Di Gesu and the other is my spirit brother Roland Yeomans. I hope neither of you ever stop blogging, but if you do, I know you will be my friend forever no matter what. If you haven't already checked out these incredibly talented writers you will find them IN TIME and WRITING IN THE CROSSHAIRS!

So who would you miss? Hope everyone has a fantastic week-end!

IWSG-Pot of Gold

The first Wednesday of the month and time for the Insecure Writers Support Group, the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, everyone's super ninja friend. Please go to his blog to find out details on how to join, or just to say hi! All writers need support, insecure or not this is the perfect group for encouragement and lasting friendships.

Not many writers publish their work expecting to find a pot of gold, riches, fame or fortune. I know that I didn't. I just like to tell stories and share them with others. Hoping to put a smile on someones face or touch someones heart was good enough for me, but after publishing three short stories and one book I still have no idea how many people I have reached. All profits from my short stories went to charity and I am still waiting to here from my publishing company for a sales report on my book.

It is frustrating to wait and I wonder if I can really call myself an author, when I have spent alot of money and time writing but have not earned one single cent. Writing is a lonely business isn't it? I doubt there will ever be a pot of gold but I still would like to know that I am being heard. Can you hear me?

November is a dark, stormy, cold time of year and this year is especially hard for me. My writing has to wait for now, as with most everything else in my life. I face my mother's slow disappearance into dementia and I fight the health system alone. It is very hard to live on the other side of the world from the rest of your family when this kind of thing happens.

Pot of gold? I would settle for just a little sunshine.

Come back on Friday for the Oh, How I miss you Blogfest. Until then my friends, give your mother a kiss while she still remembers who you are!

Some Trolls do Eat Children and a Cover Reveal!

 Today is the cover reveal of Ribbon of Darkness. There are little tidbits about elves or Christmas on each cover reveal post. Check out Summer Ross's site My Inner Fairy for more details.



Short book blurb for Ribbon of Darkness: 

An old family secret draws Ribbon into an Elven world while Draven is forced to find a way to drag her back home to save Christmas magic. Don't you just love this cover!

Book information:

Ribbon of Darkness (erotica) is set to release December 13^th 2013

Sign up for the newsletter to be notified of publications:

http://eepurl.com/FDtsL

Find out more about the author, Decadent Kane:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DecadentKane

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DecadentKane

Blog: http://decadentkane.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23398789-decadent-kane

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Here are some Troll tidbits about eating children from an excerpt of my book Secrets of the Ash Tree:

       The journey down the mountain was much different from my journey up, and when we finally arrived at the bottom, we took a different path than the one I had taken before. We traveled the path of the trolls, and toward the end of the day, we headed straight into a forest that was full of them. The Brising brothers assured us that it would be safe and that we would get to where we were going much faster. I confess though, since I was a well-known troll hunter, his words gave me little comfort, and I was nervous. Some trolls are known for their taste in babies as well, and I did not want my daughter to be on any troll’s dinner menu.

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      The cottage was much larger up close, and as we reached the door, eleven small troll children came running out from behind to great us. They fought each other to get closer to Runah who held our baby even tighter as they hopped up and down trying to catch a peek at the small bundle.

      “Is it true what the lady goddess said?” asked one of the small trolls. “Is that a real goddess troll baby?” They giggled as they waited for us to answer. Freya came out from behind the children together with a rather large female troll covered in baking flour, wooden spoon in hand. Thor and I stepped in front of Runah as she brushed her children aside and demanded to see the baby.

      “You’ve nothing to fear from us. We don’t have a hankering for any kind of baby meals in this house. You’re all welcome to find a spot on the floor for the night.” The troll mother raised her voice an octave and asked while she tried to look over my shoulder, “Does she have a tail?”

      Runah smiled and approached the other mother. “No tail, she looks quite human . . . See?”

Gently, she folded back the blanket and uncovered a smiling Liv who showed no fear at all toward the huge troll women standing over her. The other children gathered around to have a look as well. They all agreed that the baby didn’t look special at all, and slightly disappointed, they ran off to play.

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Hope everyone has a wonderful week-end!

 

Happy Halloween Blogfest and BOO!

Happy Halloween everyone! We don't celebrate it here in Norway but it was always one of my favorite days growing up in the states. Not sure if it was mostly the chance to get dressed up or the candy. Probably the candy! 

Today is Roland Yeomans  Happy Halloween Blog fest!

Roland wants to know the book that scared you the most growing up and the one that scared you the most as an adult. Click HERE for details and to find more about his new series, Lucifer's Orphan.

The book that scared me the most growing up and still scares me as an adult is "IT" by the master story teller of horror himself, Stephen King. I have always hated clowns but this book took that hatred to a new level of fear! Good luck with your blogfest Roland and your new series!

A Halloween Treat for you.

Boo...

Ghosts do not bleed so Boo was not afraid of the giant candy apple with sharp teeth that snapped at thin air as it chased her into the haunted castle. "Boo, Boo!" the candy apple shouted. "Do you want to play a game of bob for the Boo, or would rather play bite and slurp? We need fresh victims, come on let’s gather the rest and go haunting!”

    They packed the cat and headed out for a night of fright. However, they forgot it was Halloween, and soon they encountered hordes of pink-bedecked ballerinas with zombie faces, followed by tall skinny witch doctors wearing Scream masks that sprinkled glitter everywhere they went! And so they went breaking into houses scaring people to death and stealing all their Halloween candy. It was almost midnight before they got back home, ate too much candy, and got stomach aches but a good puking made room for more, so Boo grabbed the biggest piece of candy she could find  ...it turned into a gas that was so explosive that the glitter turned into bombs that blew up the entire crowd of zombie faced ballerinas and skinny witch doctors.

The cat sat on the steps of the haunted castle together with the candy apple and Boo, he smiled a wicked grin as he licked his lips of some sticky candy and asked, “Who’s next?”

Story invented by Minnie and her friends! To find out who contributed click Here.

Sorry if I am not around as much lately as I would like to be. There are family problems that I am trying to deal with. Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween! Anyone watching American Horror Story? I love this season!

Boo!

Minnie is in Halloween Garb

Happy Friday everyone! It is the last Friday of the month and Minnie is here once again to play some Gibberish with you. Don't know how? It's easy, just continue the story with a sentence or two after the last comment that was made and don't worry because gibberish does not have to make sence! Minnie will make sence of your gibberish at the end of the game. Want to play? Let's have some fun and see where our creative minds takes us.

Boo...

Ghosts do not bleed so Boo was not afraid of the giant candy apple with sharp teeth that snapped at thin air as it chased her into... 

 (Your Turn!)

Enjoy your week-end everyone and come back Next week to see what happens to Boo.

Troll Party With Minnie

Here we go Minnie fans! Finally she gives up looking for more gamers and ends the story on her own. This is how she and her loyal friends made a story about a lonely troll.

The Troll

 

The troll wiped the snot from his smiling face. He flung it at the mushrooms growing out of the walls of his tiny cave and stormed towards the exit, hoping they would follow him to the movie theater--- Maybe if they saw the dancing mushrooms in Fantasia, they would also start to dance. But the mushrooms had other ideas. they didn't appear to want to dance, in fact they didn't seem to want to do anything remotely fun. 

"You ain't no fungi!" the troll sniffed. "I'm going to squash you into the ground with my club." 

The troll raised his trunk-like club, swung, and missed the mushrooms as they flared into bright green hulk sized terror with snapping jaws that quickly approached him. The troll laughed, he had another plan as he threw down his club and dug in his nose for some more snot. He threw it against the far side of the cave and the music began to play, colored lights filled the once dark space around them, the magic snot made Sponge Bob appeared and the mushrooms couldn't help themselves but want to dance.

Finally the lonely troll had company for a party!

Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh, Suzanne Furness, and Michael Di Gesu for playing!

 

This is Gibberish, come back on the last friday of this month if you want to play!

Time for Travel!

When I found out that my brother was planning on taking a trip to Paris without me knowing I was upset! Oslo and Paris are not so far apart and after living in europe for over 20 years I still have not been to Paris!

I said something like this to him:

"Now I have been waiting years to sip wine at a french bistro on the Champs-Élysées and travel the halls of the Louvre, but little brother Castles are a must. Whether you like it or not I am meeting you in Paris and we are going to spend some time at the Grand Palais.

Now you may think you are sneeky, but I got a hold of your travel plans ...yes, I have inside sources... and I have a treat for you! We are having dinner with the president of France, Marie François Sadi Carnot, so make sure you pack something nice to wear! It's not every day you get to travel back in time!"

There was a lot of static on the phone line. He wouldn't leave without me...would he?

Michael.....You There?

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Today is the big cover reveal and blog hop celebration for PK HREZO'S New book!

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated

We are a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. Family-owned and operated, we offer clients one hundred years of time travel experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend a special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?

You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do apply

Conference us directly from our Website. Our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.

We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.  

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So, the question is, if YOU could walk into Butterman Travel, Inc. and book a time trip, where and when would you book it to? Now, in the story, there are rules and regulations--you can't just book a trip anywhere/anytime, which is why you need a certified time-craft pilot and trip guide. There are paradox factors and parallel shifts to consider, and if the government catches you in a violation, you better believe you'll be in some deep doo-doo. 

But for the purpose of this blogfest,PK set those rules aside so everyone can be free to have some fun. To learn more about how commercial time travel operates, and how the government wants to have full control of it, pick up your copy of Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. when it launches on 

                            November 12, 2013
                      

Here's the list of all those participating in today's theme. Hop around and see where they'd pick their time trip to. Should be very interesting and loads of fun!

Norse Gods Giveaway Winners and more

This is the first time I tried a giveaway and I must confess that I am rather dissapointed in the turnout. There were very few who participated so the same few names kept coming up as I pushed the pick a winner button. Here are the winners of my giveaway:

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now I am wondering why there were so few entries. Do you think that giveaways have overflooded the market? Are people getting tired of Rafflecopters? Anyways, congratulations to the winners! 

A reminder that anyone who bought my book during the blogfest can email me a copy of their amazon order receipt and I will send them a signed copy of the Freya illustration done by my talented daughter.

Any thoughts you would like to share with me regarding my blog tour? Did you like the interviews with the gods? Did you like my book trailer for Secrets of the Ash Tree?

 ***

E.J. Wesley has revealed his cover for the fourth book in his Moonsong series, Dragon's Game.

It will 'officially' go on sale October 22nd at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Jenny Moonsong recently inherited the title of "monster hunter" and an ancient tribal journal/how-to manual passed down by her Apache ancestors. She has already faced a werewolf, witches, and a troll. But nothing could prepare her for her latest confrontation...

Dragon's Game, Moonsongs Book 4, finds Jenny out of her rural West Texas element, searching for an evil witch in an urban Houston nightclub. After attempting to help a handsome and mysterious stranger out of a jam, she finds herself on the run from a ruthless gang who are even more dangerous than they initially appear.

Forced into a twisted game of life and death, Jenny must navigate the complexity of a budding relationship, and somehow survive a night filled with unexpected horror and paranormal mystery.

Dragon's Game is approximately 14,000 words or 45 pages, and is the fourth volume of the Moonsongs Books, an ongoing series of New Adult, speculative / urban fantasy novelettes by author E.J. Wesley.

(These stories contain language and content better suited for readers 17+)

New Adult Fall Fling Deal: Also for a limited time you can catch up on the entire Moonsongs series as well as other great books for just .99 cents (regularly $2.99)!

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On another note, this is October and preparations for Halloween are underway. Well, not so much here in Norway, but I have always loved Halloween! Roland Yeomans is having a Happy Halloween Blogfest and I have signed up to have some spooky fun. Check out his blog for more details!
 

--- "You have from October 1st to Halloween to post about the book which scared you the most as a young reader and the book which scared you the most as an adult."