Fat Mints

Last week I posted a simple question about the enduring thin mint: freezer or cupboard? This is unverified, but I think I received more replies from that post than from any other that came before it. (Including book giveaways. Go figure.)

Some of these yumsters did, eventually, make it to the freezer. But considering they had to get past me first, not too many. As I said on Facebook, #thisiswhyIjog

Blue Ferry ...

Freebie Weekend - My friend, Suzy, was so tickled that I gave away her book, At the End of the Ferry, that she sent 4 more copies. How fun is that? I decided to throw in an equal amount of my novel, Fade to Blue, so if you want to win the pair please head on over to my FACEBOOK PAGE so you can enter.

Happy Three Day Weekend!

Dreaming of the central coast ...

I wrote the Otter Bay Novels:

a) To explore ensemble casts
b) To introduce more drama and relationship struggles into my novels (you know, like real life!)
c) to take a bunch of road trips up the coast under the guise of "research ..."

Okay, so that last one was the best reason - next up, Italy! (Right, honey? :))

Anyway, a few days ago my publisher, B&H, delivered some fun news: Until Friday, the 15th - the day after Valentine's - the first two books in the series, Sweet Waters and A Shore Thing (NOT Snookie's tale) are available on Kindle and Nook for $2.99.

Consider this a summertime warm up ... three months and counting - woo!

If you're interested in loading them into your e-reader, here are some links:
Sweet Waters - Kindle
Sweet Waters - Nook
A Shore Thing - Kindle
A Shore Thing - Nook

Have a beachy week, my friends ... wherever you are ...

Inspiring minds

Some people play music for inspiration ... others show movies made from classic British novels in the background ...

Hey, we all have our vices =)

I've been helping out a new friend as he creates a website for a ministry that has been burning within him for years. I've got some final touches to put on what I've written so far, so naturally, I popped in a DVD of P&P for inspiration.

I'm sure purists will wither at my choice of this more recent version - I'd be remiss not to admit my own affection for Colin Firth as the smoldering Mr. Darcy in the PBS version - but I actually enjoy Keira in the role of Jane. She's smart and conflicted and able to deliver killer lines with ease.

Kind of like me. Not. Ha ha ha. 

Back to those inspiring lines, all spoken in very proper British accents ... a writer's gotta do, what she's gotta do ...

Birds of a feather ...

These big guys have been flying overhead at the beach for days. That means: There's good eatin' in these waters. They fly so low and circle so long that Charlie the Dog and I often find ourselves ducking when they're overhead during our runs.

Okay, so, maybe I'm the one doing the ducking, mainly since Charlie's often more interested in searching under cars for cats.

Oh, but these birds are just sooo gorgeous. And with their wings spread, they're massive. Normal people would probably be scared off by their bravado, but I'm awed by them. So is my Dan. Today we stood watching them, pointing our cameras toward the water, then up in the air, then spinning around as we both tried to get the perfect shot, no doubt looking quite mental in the process.

Afterward, Dan watched the Super Bowl, while Teen Girl and I headed north to visit some of our bffs in Montecito. Such a very good day ...

Have a beachy week, my friends ~ wherever you are ...

Chocolate Beach, recipe edition - FREE Today

My first novel "baby" ~ Chocolate Beach ~ is FREE today only on Kindle. And the e-book version has recipes :)

Don't have a Kindle? Neither do I ... but I have the app on both my iPhone and my laptop. I've read many Kindle books via these apps and you can too. Here's how:

1. Download the Kindle app from your iPhone App Store
-OR-
2. Go to this link and download the Kindle reader for your PC.

Happy reading, and have a beachy weekend, my friends ~ wherever you are!