EYE SPY GOOGLE SPIDERS!

Have you ever watched some of those TV shows like American Idol, So you think you can dance, or any other show that asks the public to vote for their favorite? Do you ever check your blogger stats and find yourself amazed at the results? Eye Spy's Pink Panther has been on the prowl again and he has found out some interessting things. Go ahead, look at your stats and let me know if you found anything surprising!

This is what he found out:

The countries that visit me most are in order: The United States, Russia and the United Kingdom. Lately for some reason Russia has moved to number one and France has replaced the United Kingdom. Norway is always trailing behind as number four; fighting for this position with Sweden…..I would have never guessed…

The blog post most visited all time is THOR…No surprise, followed by the Games Blogfest  hosted by Alex Cavanaugh….Lately the post that has been getting the most hits is one made by Minnie, she seems to have gone viral, it is a post for The Insecure WritersSupport Group made almost a year ago! It seems that Alex, being the Ninja that he is, has boosted my blogger search results. Make sure you visit the Insecure Writers Support Group next Wednesday, maybe you will get the most votes from whatever spider is lurking in the mighty Google search engine!

For some more news, go visit Michael Di Gesu’s blog. He has some exciting news today so go to his blog and wish him some of your good luck! Minnie is also sitting around watching the sunset disappear. She needs some help finding it so please pay her a visit!

What has your stats revealed? Do you love my new book illustration by the talented Michael Di Gesu? What about poor Minnie, should she continue with Gibberish stories or is she a lost cause?

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Eye Spy is on the RUN!

Eye Spy for today has my little pink panther running in another game of tag. I don’t care much for these games but since Yolanda Renee at Defending the Pen was such a good sport, I can at least do the same. 

First though I would like to mention that my friend Roland Yeomans has another great read out there for your enjoyment. Ghost of a Chance is on my bedside table now and although I have just started reading it, I can tell this is going to be another great one by Roland. Who does not love a great ghost story, especially when it involves some of the great legends of all time and a most unusual murder? You can pick it up Here. 

So here are the questions from this game of tag.

—What is the working title of your book?

Actually I am still undecided but I am going under the working title Gods and Fairy Tales. I believe that this is going to be a series of three books. The first one entitled Secrets of the Ash Tree.

—Where did the idea come from for the book?

My fascination for the culture of the country I am living in.  Norse Gods are evident through old Viking relics which surround the landscape. Folklore is also a big part of Norwegian tradition so I decided to combine the two. Also I think Trolls are misrepresented and they have a different story to tell.

—What genre does your book fall under?

Young Adult/Fantasy

—Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ones that could act, actually I have not given it a thought.

—What is the one sentence short synopsis of your book?

A young woman discovers her father’s secrets which cast her into a world full of dangerous creatures, mighty Norse warriors and perils beyond her belief.

—Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am considering both options.

—How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Been working on it for a year and it is still a work in progress.

—What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Besides the Mythology and Folk lore this is a story about self-discovery, sacrifice and survival. The story is based on two different worlds, and what happens to one person when these two worlds collide. Sometimes turning everything upside down is the only way anything makes sense and this story does so by questioning what is real and what is not.

And Tag! You’re It! Why did I pick you? Because I want to hear more about your writing. This is the game and I’m just following the rules! Link back to my blog, answer the questions, tag three more and let them know.

Gwen Gardner

Susan at Susan Says

Cecilia Roberts

Have a great hump day and come back on Friday to see what I have in store for you.

If you have something you want to share on my Eye Spy posts each Wednesday let me know!

Eye Spy News

My Eye Spy post this week is going to be a bit unusual. Before I point out some of the things I have seen around the blogging scene I want to talk about change, specifically some changes in my life.

I just love this picture and the message it shares

The world keeps changing. Some of these changes are good and others not so good. Sometimes I find myself fighting change, even when I know some of those changes are good for me. Afterall, I am very stubborn and I do not like being told what to do. This year I have decided to make one of the biggest changes in my life. I am going to stop fooling myself and let go of a very dear friend who has been with me for over 35 years. Over the years this friend has left me several times, but has always returned as a big thorn in my side. I have become a slave and an addict. It has gotten to the point where I have to take this friend with me every where, and if my friend is not welcome where I am going, then I prefer not to go. My friend stinks, costs a fortune to entertain, has become anti-social and is literally making me sick. I have forgotten all the reasons why we had become friends in the first place, except for the fact that all the cool kids hung around the same crowd. I know that I have not stuck around out of loyality or misguided trust. I am just afraid as most addicts are. Afraid of the changes and afraid that living in a world without, I will wake up and no longer know who I am. It is time for me to stop being afraid and to let go. If you have ever been an addict than you know what I am talking about. Realising that this so called friend has never been anything but an enemy is the first step. I have to kill this ex-friend before it kills me. I am talking about NICOTINE. 

I have decided to quit smoking and I am going to briefly share my progress with you every Wednesday. Your support is needed, because believe me, this is not an easy thing to do! My body can not handle cold turkey so I have changed my smoking habits, and cut way down. Next week I am going over to patches, the next step towards freedom.  Having faith in myself and the will to succeed, I start a new journey towards a healthier and richer life.Wish me luck!

Now on to some other things. Do not forget the upcoming blogfest and bookfair to support Diabetes on Labor Day week-end, check it out Here and get your copy of Open Doors for free. My first short story called Secrets of the Ash Tree is being published in this anthology along with other great stories.



Ciara Knight has a new book release,  Weighted. It is all over the internett these days. Congrats Ciara!

"BREAKTHROUGH: THE ADVENTURES OF CHASE MANHATTAN by Stephen Tremp will be free for (2) days on Amazon Aug 22-23rd. Be sure to grab your copy by visiting his website!


Roland Yeomans has a new collection of short stories you have to check out!
Angela Orlowski-Peart has revealed her new book cover and  make sure to come back on Monday to join E.J.Wesley's big book cover reveal party. 

For all of you who are starting school this week and next, I wish you luck....AND to my blogging buddy who has also quite smoking I wish her the best of luck. Go ahead guys, hop on over to her blog and give her some words of encouragement, she won't bite... don't think so anyways.........LINK TO A CRAZY WORLD

Do you have an addiction or know someone that does? How do you battle it? 

Do you think I can get him to quite once I do?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Eye Spy True Nonsense and more

Eye Spy has been making the rounds this week and has discovered some interesting news. Melynda Fluery, "Queen of Nonsense" is coming out with a new book in her series of nonsense. This one is called True Nonsense and if it is anything like her first two books you should be in for some good laughter. Check out her Crazy World HERE

As many of you probably know, Christine Rains is hosting a blogfest to celebrate the release of her book “Fearless.” Creepy childhood monsters are the theme of this blogfest which you can still enter. Check it out HERE and be prepared to have your skin crawl. You can read my entry HERE.

Karen J. Gowen’s new book “Lighting Candles in the Snow” is coming out next month. This is a special book for Karen and unlike her previous works, Candles is not autobiographical.  You can find out more by visiting her blog, “Coming down the Mountain.”

That's all my pink panther friend has for you now. Come back on Friday to see what's for dinner.

Eye Spy "End of Days"

Eye Spy is on a rather unusual journey today. Feeling a bit out of place as a panther suited in pink instead of black, Eye Spy finds itself in a strange world full of magical and often dark places.

 

Roland Yeomans has once again spun a tale that takes the reader on an amazing journey full of adventure, mystery, and lore through the love/hate and friendships we feel through his characters.

 END OF DAYS was first published as BEST OF ENEMIES on May 12, 2012 but the cover and title were soon changed after complaints that the cover to BEST OF ENEMIES was insulting and demeaning to women, which was never the authors intent. Ever heard the saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover!" We all know that the cover and title to a book is VERY important. Still, no matter what cover or title Roland uses, I am a huge fan of his and of his work. His strange, off the wall characters have spell bound me once again. 

This time Roland takes us to a unusual school run by the Sidhe in the hurricane Katrina devastated french quarter of New Orleans. It is up to Alice Wentworth, a Victorian ghoul, a group of misfit students and human teachers to stop the "End of Days." Mythology and Folklore set in the Gothic stained pages of this book is a true pleasure to read. To find out more and to get your copy GO HERE

To quote a line from the book, "A dreamer is one who only finds her way by moonlight, and her punishment is that she sees the dawn before the rest of the world." Roland Yeomans is a dreamer who writes for other dreamers such as myself.

Have you read any of Roland's books? Have you been to his blog? If you would like to get a visit from Eye Spy's Pink Panther let me know.

Surrender

Today Eye Spy is wearing a pink panther suit and a smile while creeping around the Blogger-sphere and sharing intimate secrets.

There is a blogfest to celebrate the release of Elana Johnson's second book in a series, SURRENDER, which came out June 5, 2012. Check out her blog and her book HERE.

So all I have to do for this blogfest is blog about a time that I did not surrender. That was not as easy as I thought it would be. Thinking about what I should write I discovered that my whole life has been mostly about surrendering. There I am the first in line, waving a white flag in order to keep peace. Surrender and sacrifice seem to go hand in hand as I reflect through the choices I have made in my life. 

As a young girl and the oldest of siblings, I made sure my brother and sisters were taken care of when my parents could not. My father was always out traveling and my mother did the best she could in a world she did not belong in. Sports, music, drama were all things I loved in school but gave up quickly when I found out they had no room in my life. Besides, we moved around so much that I always ended up starting over again. As a teen-age girl I ended up pregnant and giving my baby up for adoption. Another form of surrender and sacrifice because I was convinced his life would be better off with someone else. My first marriage failed and once again I waved the white flag. I didn’t fight through the custody battle for my daughter; instead I believed she would be better off with her father. I went on vacation to Norway and never went back.  There have been times in my life that I have surrendered to drugs, to alcohol, to food, and to any overindulgent thing I could find in order to escape one thing or another. I have been a gambler, a workaholic, and I have exercised every muscle in my body through excessive training. I have even gone from one church to another looking for God. Music, art, and writing have always been another form of surrender, overindulgence and sacrifice. These things move like waves through my life. One form of creative expression washes ashore and another takes its place. I surrender to each one.

This blogfest is about sharing the times you did not surrender, but maybe surrendering is not always a bad thing. Maybe sometimes we have to surrender in order to move on.

“Like a tiny boat on the sea

Waves just keep crashing over me

I can fight to make the shore

Or ride the waves and fight no more.”

Don't get me wrong. I admire people who endure and against all odds keep fighting with the same spirit as William Wallace in "Brave Heart."  Sometimes we are just not faced with a simple option to a simple choice. Sometimes surrender will still get us where we were meant to be without the fight of getting there, sometimes not. Believing in something strong enough and most of all believing in yourself is a start. 

 What do I know, after all I am wearing a pink panther suit. So do you think I am a quitter now ? Far from it, I just choose carefully when to fight. I finished my education in a foreign language at the age of 40, regained my two lost children, and have had two more children, been married for over 20 years, ran a successful business, survived a fire on a cruise boat as part of the crew, have a short story that will be published this fall and I am still writing my book. So many stories! Do you have a story about surrender you would like to share? Never surrender, or surrender, do you believe there is a right time for both?

Check out some of these amazing stories from the "Never Surrender" blogfest.

Eye Spy on the run with bubbles

Eye Spy is on the run today with a guest post at A-Z blogging challenge. Social networking is an amazing thing and if you want to find out how it changed my life forever and the lives of others, pop on over there and read about it. Many of you have already heard the story, but I never get tired of telling it. After all, it is one of those happy endings!

 Since it is the first Wednesday of the month it is also time for The Insecure Writers Support Group. No matter how many books you have written or how famous you are, there is always room for encouragement and support. That is what this group is all about, and if you are a writer you must have felt insecure at one time or another. My focus today is time and the lack of it. How do you choose to prioritize? Setting goals and keeping them is easier said than done. Something always seems to come along to change my plans especially if I am in the middle of a creative thought (or two). Change of plans and starting over is something I have gotten used to. There are not enough hours in the day and sometimes I have to make a choice. We all do because even though many of us would like to live in a little “Writing Bubble,” most of us do not. So for all my blogging /writing friends that I have not managed to get around to as much as I would have liked to…I am so sorry, time just keeps popping holes in my bubble. My priorities are first family, then book, short stories, and lastly blogging. What are yours? Do you also suffer from bubble holes?

Have a great day, and don’t forget to come back on Friday to see what Mom is cooking for dinner! If you want the pink panther to come around and do an official---EYE SPY---Let me know.

EYE SPY GHOSTS

Minnies Ghost is returning after a long holiday

Hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day Week-end. Here is your little story from Norway that I should have posted for you on Monday, but was too tired. Norwegians celebrated the week-end a bit different. Most of them just got off the party bus yesterday because holidays usually last two days.  Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Twelve apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31.[2] For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described as the "Birthday of the Church."  I had to look this up because I only know the holiday referred to by its Norwegian name, which is Pinse. There are many holidays in Norway during the month of May and to honest with you, I have a hard time keeping up with them.  Labor Day, Constitution Day, Liberation Day, Women’s Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and White Monday are all holidays celebrated this month. Although many of these days are religiously connected to Easter, most Norwegians do not celebrate time in church. There is a lot of talk these days about the church and state being separated from each other. Since I am not very religious or political, I have no outspoken views to come with regarding that matter. I am just tired of all these holidays, not to mention the birthdays that happen this month as well! You have probably figured out by now that May is a crazy month for me. You can read about some of that HERE on My Gutsy Story. If you want to vote for "My" Gutsy Story, voting starts May 31st.

My spying skills are also a bit off because someone hid my pink panther suit. Don’t worry, I found it and after a few repairs and a good wash it is perfectly wearable. You should all be aware that my Eye Spy posts might change during the day...depending on what I find and when I find it. Here is what I found first, Knights of MicroFiction is back.  On the 15th of every month you can take up your writing sword and become a knight with Kathy Mckendry and Jess. Something definitely worth checking out and you can read about it at Imagine Today. I also spy Minnie who is aching for some gibberish fun, and that game starts on Friday. I have no idea what my little band of "Patriots of Standard Word Abuse" will come up once Minne gets them started! Fun, guaranteed!

You can look HERE for past games.

Minnies Fan Club-Frida, Einar and Bert

Let me know if there are places you want the Pink Panther to visit. Any news you want to share? Will you be another Knight of Microfiction, or how about playing with Minnies crazy gang? 

Here is something more for you to check out! CHRISTI GODDARD Has just released her book Four in the morning. This one looks like a great read!

http://www.christigoddard.com/2012/05/bit-of-news.html

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084P70J2

Leaving you with some love for the day...

Eye Spy!

 

Do not write your posts in Blogger, because if you have a stupid computer like mine you might just hit the wrong button and lose everything you wrote. Yes that just happened to me, as a writer you would know how frustrating that is! Kind of want to get off that horse, give up and crawl into a hole? 

Not so very long ago I made soup for 120 people. Potato soup, the best I have ever tasted. It was magnificent, magical, and the crown jewel to an ending of a convention that I was helping my son with. What can I say; I was eager and spoiled the whole thing by warming it up to early. Sour, it turned sour and my heart fell. I wanted to go home, to crawl in a hole and die. I didn’t, I made grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza out of leftovers instead. Doing this without a recipe is hard. There is no recipe for writing; you lose if you do not save. Sometimes getting back on that horse is not easy; the train of thought can be gone. So I get back on that horse and tell you what my Pink Panther found today. Funny actually, because “it” is a book about mind reading. Susan has written another book worth checking out, the sequel to a mind jacktrilogy. My mind is totally jacked, need I say more? At least I got back on that horse again. You can too.

Eye Spy a Spider and...

On my to read books, this one you can not pass up!

 

Time to put on my pink panther suit, creep around the internet and find something interesting to share with you. I try to find blogs, ideas, books, or anything else  that catches my fancy, and could use an extra boost. This week I am focusing on Flash Fiction challenges and Michael Offutts new book Slipstream. I know I am a bit late on his blog tour, but hop on over to his blog and check out his book AND HIS SPIDER! It is not to late to get on the tour bus, today he is making a stop over at my secret or not so secret bro, Michael Di Gesu...In Time, as always.

There are many blogs that offer flash fiction challenges. I find them good writing exercises and a lot of fun. Here is one that I recently found and would like to share with you.

Julia's place features  weekly something called 100WCGU. You have 100 words (or the number that have been set for that week) plus the prompt to write a creative piece. The idea behind these types of challenges is to meet new friends, help build the blogging community and practice your writing skills. Minnie gets bored waiting for the last Friday of every month to come along so she can play Gibberish with you. Maybe this challenge will keep her happy for awhile. Go check it out, I guarantee that even if you do not want to play, there is a lot of fun to be had in reading what others come up with. Telling a story in just a few words is not an easy task. Here is this weeks latest challenge and my contribution using these words:
 

LIBERTY    EMPIRE    APPLE    YELLOW    ENORMOUS

Tomorrow is Norway’s Independence Day. Norwegians celebrate their liberty with as much enthusiasm as Americans celebrate their 4^th of July. Baseball, enormous parades and apple pie are typical American trademarks, yet we carry the same colors of red, white and blue. Both countries are an empire built by the struggles of ordinary men and women with dreams of a better life and hopes for a better future. My flag will be one among thousands that line the streets of Norway tomorrow, and if I am lucky… a yellow sun will warm my face as well...

Join me on Friday for "What's for Dinner Mom" and I will share my 17th of May celebration with you.

 If you have or know of something worth spying on, send me an email or post it here in the comments. Have a fantastic day!

Eye Spy

You might have noticed some changes to my side bar, and you might even remember that I have promised some changes to my blog. I am going to try and commit to at least three days a week, each with a theme. Mondays will be story day. Sometimes my posts will be on Norse mythology, Norwegian culture, fairytales or just gibberish, whatever strikes my fancy. Wednesdays are Eye Spy...Something or someone out there is worth spying on so I will let you know each Wednesday what or who that is. Fridays are all about food and family, so back from popular demand; I will let you into my kitchen and answer my childrens favorite question, "What's for dinner Mom?" Don't let this question fool you, my family has a huge appetite and often there is much more on the table than food. Minnie will still be playing gibberish on the last Friday of every month, with her finished story on the following Monday. Now like I said, I am going to give this a try and see how it goes. Maybe having more structure in my blogging will allow me more time to work on my book.

A couple of months ago my blog had its one year anniversary and to celebrate I had a blogfest. The prize I was giving away if I had reached my goal was a troll and some Norwegian chocolate. The troll is still here, but I ate the chocolate. Maybe someday I will try another blogfest, but the few times I have tried have not been very successful. It isn’t much fun to throw a party when hardly anyone bothers to come. Oh well, more chocolate for me.

Today I am turning my spying eye to Hart Johnson who has been writing in her bathtub again to bring us her first ever “Cozy Mystery” book which is being released on June 5^th.  The name of her book is The Azalea Attack, and she is celebrating together with her friend and mentor Elizabeth Spann Craig. Elisabeth is also releasing on the same day, her first book in a new series called, Quilt or Innocence ... Both books are “Cozy Mysteries”... Check out their CrazyCozy Blogfest and join the fun!

If you know of anyone or something worth spying on, let me know so I can put on my spy gear and sneak around. I do so love being a sneaky spy. So what do you think about my new blogging schedule and themes? Do you think it will help me to focus more on my book? Do you like to sneak around too? It drives my husband crazy but keeps him on his toes.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Lions and Tigers and Dragons?...OH MY! In true Dorothy fashion E.C. Stilson takes us to another world in her new book, "The Sword of Seneck." Written as a form of grief therapy to help her children understand the loss of her first child, this story is anything but sad. Full of adventure and page turning excitement, it is the perfect story to share with your children, your grandchildren or the kid next door. Here is a teaser from her book:

"Aliya Fisher knows nothing about her true heritage until a vindictive sorceress kidnaps her brother and sister. The young adventurer must take up her birthright, battle strange creatures, and find the Sword of Senack if she hopes to best the witch. But even if Aliya finds the famed weapon and survives the perilous oceanic journey, the enchantress is far more than she appears. How does one defeat an immortal who lusts for revenge?"

To purchase this book please go here:

The Sword of Senack (The Mer-son Cycle)

 

To  find out more about the author visit her blog The Crazy Life of a Writing Mom , you are sure to fall in love with her, laugh and cry with her and discover something about yourself along the way.

 

Come back again tomorrow for more tales about the Norse Gods. Who is your favorite and why?

 

Looking for Fairies?

 

The fairy realm is not as far away as you would think. We can catch a glimpse of it in flickering lights around plants or shadowy faces in the trees, through snow crystals on a sunny day, fresh morning dew, or ripples in a pool of water. We hear it in the whispers of the trees as a breeze brushes through them, a running creek, or from music that seems to appear from nowhere. We can often feel it as a cold chill on a warm day, the way shivers run through us, or goose bumps fly over our skin. We can smell the fairy realm through the fragrance of a flower or a warm summer rain. 

Some say that fairies stimulate inspiration, intuition, creativity, and artistic energies. If that is the case than Rachel Morgan must have firsthand knowledge of this realm and the fairies in it. Have you been looking for fairies? Join me in reading her book and let’s travel there together. Like I said, the fairy realm is not as far away as you would think. Here is the link to her site and some information on her new book release which is today:

 Rachel Morgan Writes



Today the Creepy Hollow series kicks off with the release of the first story, GUARDIAN!!

GUARDIAN introduces readers to the magical world of Creepy Hollow, a realm where fae creatures — both safe and definitely-not-so-safe — dwell. Things are cool as long as the fae stick to their own realm. It's when they find their way into the human world that things start going wrong...





1. Receive assignment.

2. Save a life.

3. Sleep.

4. Repeat.

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until one of her assignments—a human boy who shouldn’t even be able to see her—follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? But Nate and Vi are about to land themselves in even bigger trouble—and it’ll take all Vi’s training to get them out alive.

Buy from Amazon US

Buy from Amazon UK

Buy from Smashwords

The Creepy Hollow Series

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Book Trailer

Author Info

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+

To find out more about the series, the author, and the characters, check out the blog tour that’s happening over the next two weeks.

Click here for the blog tour schedule

And there is a GIVEAWAY going on at Rachel's blog!