BYOC (bring your own chocolate)

Anyone else noticed that there's more traffic on the road...and less on the Internet? Apparently the American people have hit the highways and byways for the much-anticipated vacation. At the moment, I'm sitting here waiting for our vacation to arrive. That would be our bro-in-law, niece and nephew from Ohio. They touch down in just a few, and we'll be celebrating. Ya-hoo!

Speaking of celebrating, I found Truffles by the Sea way early on Amazon. No blurb, no cover, but still there in all its ISBN glory.

So to celebrate these two mah-velous events, how about a free book? Yep, I'm in a giving mood, so leave me a comment and I'll have one of our guests pick a name from a box on Sunday (because I rarely wear hats these days), then I'll sign a copy of Chocolate Beach and send it on to the winner. If you've already got a book--a thousand blessings on you!!! Feel free to send your friends on over instead :)

Chocolate and hope

Happy Friday! Through the magic of DVR--and just how did we survive without one of those for so long--I re-watched Idol from the other night. Remember the cousins? The one whose rendition of Amazing Grace nearly put the judges to sleep, and then the other one who knocked it out with Let's Get it On? Hilarious. Thanks Jamie for reminding me about them.

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So it's supposed to rain in So Cal this weekend? We won't let that get in the way of our chocolate-eating habits. If you're a local, and you didn't make it to my launch party last week--you know who you are, lol--then you have another chance. I'll be signing books at the Gold Coast Chocolate Festival tomorrow from 1-3, Booth #3 in San Nicolas Hall at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. It's a benefit for the Restoring Hope Foundation which sends doctors regularly to the Chernobyl region, so accordingly, a portion of my book's proceeds will be donated to the cause.

Whatcha reading?

38 degrees this morning! It's been Down coat-wearing weather in So Cal lately, so I've dug out the scarves and gloves and told my kids to zip up (as opposed to zip it :-)

On to warmer thoughts...As I mentioned the other day, Chocolate Beach has been making its way into stores and into readers hands a little early. If you're a writer and you've never read Anne Lamott's, Bird by Bird, then you must. go. get. a. copy. Don't miss the chapter on Publication, because it'll have you spurting coffee through your nose. Unless, of course, you'd rather not have hot liquid spurting through your crevices.

I especially enjoyed Anne's mention of early reviews: "I have gotten prepub reviews that said I was a treadmark on the underpants of life. Perhaps this is not exactly what they said, but by reading between the lines, I coud see that this is what they were implying." pg. 212, Bird by Bird

Oh my. That's pretty, isn't it? To get that image out of your mind, I invite you to check out Vintage Wine's comments about Chocolate Beach here.

Here's to warmer days, good chocolate, and happy reading...!