I WON A LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD!!

LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD

The rules of the Liebster Blog Award are as follows:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you;

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions

for your nominees;

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs have 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (No tag backs)

4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog.

A very special Thank You to Stacy at Literary Mania Reviews and Sandy at Boyfriend Book Review for nominating me for this special award. I am so honored! I have only been blogging for a couple of weeks and it has been such an overwhelming experience. I love every bit of it!

11 QUESTIONS FROM MY NOMINATORS: (Literary Mania Reviews)

1. What is your absolute Top Favorite book above all others?

I would have to say To Kill A Mockingbird. It is an all time classic book that   has stuck with me throughout my life. It's one that I can go back to time and time again. And being a child from the south and having parents that grew up during this time in our country's history, it's a story that never disappoints. How we need to love our fellow man, no matter what their race (or religion or sexual preference).

2. What was the book that began your reading obsession?

Well, like everyone else, my sister gave me 50 Shades of Gray. But then we went on a road trip to Los Angeles (from Houston, TX) and so I downloaded a bunch of books for the trip. The first books that I bought were all of R.L. Mathewson's books - The Neighbor from Hell Series, EMT Series, Hollywood Series and Pyte/Sentinal Series...8 books in all and I read them all in 32 hours. I was HOOKED!

3. What is your favorite thing to do besides read?

I am a very creative person, always have been. My all time favorite thing is editing film. I went to school for Music and Video Business and spend most of my college years and a few years beyond working in the Film and Radio Business. I like to  entertainer and I love love love photography and filming. I am so glad I can incorporate it all into my blog :)

4. Who are your favorite authors?

There are so many! More and more get added to the list daily. Raine Miller, R.L. Mathewson, Abbi Glines, Colleen Hoover, Jillian Dodd, Molly McAdams, E.L. Montes Kristen Proby, Katie Ashley, Gail McHugh, but this list could go on and on and on....

5. What social networks do you use?

I use Facebook and Twitter. Although I am new to Twitter and am still trying to get the whole gist of it. I am a talker so it's hard to get it all in, in 140 words!

6. Which of those social networks is your favorite?

Facebook! I love the instant interaction that can take place. I am glued to it! It also helps me stick close to my friends who are all over the country. It's so bad that my 6 year old, any time she does something - she asks "Are you putting that on Facebook?"

7. What is your favorite holiday?

As a kid is was Thanksgiving. I have a HUGE family and so Thanksgiving was the time for us all to get together. Plus my birthday was always around that holiday too, so that meant presents for me from everyone! As an adult, I love Christmas. I love buying gifts for my kids and others. I don't want anything in return. I just love to give, give give.

8. Who is your favorite BBF?

Without a doubt - Ethan Blackstone (Naked and All In: The Blackstone Affair by Raine Miller) I TOTALLY FanGirl over Ethan and even Admin a Fan Page on Facebook for Ethan (https://www.facebook.com/groups/EthanBlackstone/) Come and join us! 

9. Who would you cast as that BBF?

There is no one but DAVID GANDY for the role of Ethan Blackstone!

10. What authors have you met & gotten books signed by?

I have not had the chance to meet any authors in person. But I have been able to chat quite a bit with two very special women in my life - Raine Miller and Emmy Montes. They mean the world to me and have really supported me in my launch of my blog. I have signed books though from Emmy, Jamie McGuire and soon Abbi Glines. And as soon as Raine gets her books in print - they will be on my bookshelf!

11. What made you decide that you wanted to start a Bookblog?

I wanted to use my creativity to help out those authors that didn't have publishing companies to throw money at them for promotions. I have a skill set and was just looking for someplace to use it and have fun. My blog is more of a FanGirl Blog for Indi-Authors. My husband just laughs at me, when he sees how excited I become for a book, author or character. He knows of my extreme love for Ethan and just rolls his eyes. Like he said, he has never seen me happier. I am doing what I love, meeting some awesome new friends and sharing the love!

11 QUESTIONS FROM MY NOMINATORS: (Book Boyfriend Reviews)

1. First book that swept you into a whole new world?

There were probably two books (I know I know...that's cheating) but I read both of these books in the same week. Talk about book hangovers! Taking Chances by Molly McAdams and Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. My husband thought he was going to have to put me on medication after that week! Both of these stories moved me so much. It was the first time since I was a teen, that a book had moved me to tears. BOTH OF THEM. I did the total ugly cry with Taking Chances. I was reading it in the middle of the night and was sobbing uncontrollably! My husband woke up to a start and just held me...thinking someone had called and given me bad news. I couldn't tell him what was wrong because I was crying so hard. When I finally got it out, I thought he was going to kill me! LOL. Beautiful Disaster was unlike any book I had read up to that point. I had just started back reading after a 20 year break. I just loved it so much! For a month after reading them, I told every person I met about them. I bought them for my friends, my sister. I just couldn't say enough about them!

2. Name a book you have re-read at least 3 times?

Slammed and Point of Retreat. Such a beautiful love story! I can't get enough of them. I think Hopeless is going to be joining the ranks with them soon. I love Colleen Hoover and will buy anything she puts out... no questions. Just buy. And I have read both of the Blackstone Affair books 3 times and I am sure I will read them even more.

3. What genre do you prefer to read and why?

I am a hopeless romantic. But I like for the stories to be around this time period. So I love Contemporary Romance and I am also a sucker for Young Adult Romance. I like stories to have humor and most CR and YA are just that. Coming of age. I have been known to read some Paranormal (Like R.L. Mathewson's Sentinal/Pyte Series, which I loved) but I most stick with the other.

4. If you had a choice between a real book and an e-reader which one would you choose?

That is tough because I love both. But the e-reader would have to be my first choice. It totally changed my life. I am a busy mom to two and during the week I take on 4 other kids of my friends. So I am constantly on the move. I can read in the car pool line, at the soccer field, music practice, ballet class. And I can take more than one book with me at a time. That amazes me. Although now I carry around a nook, a kindle and sometimes my iPad. So my purse is getting heavy!

5. If you could meet any author who would it be?

I would love to meet Raine Miller in person. Hopefully I will get to meet her this Summer in Vegas at the Naughty Mafia Event.  My inviting her to my little fan group for Ethan Blackstone was the best decision I ever made! She has been the person who has been the most encouraging to me in this process of starting my blog. I chat with her several times a week and I just adore her more and more - each time we talk.

6. Best quote from a book that always stays with you?

I could quote the whole book of Hopeless. Colleen writes some profound stuff:

“All marriages have a time limit if you enter them for the wrong reasons. Marriage doesn't get easier...it only gets harder. If you marry someone hoping it will improve things, you might as well set your timer the second you say, 'I do.”  - Holder

― Colleen Hoover, Hopeless

“Holder: "I thought Mormon's weren't allowed to have caffeine?" 

Breckin: "I decided to break that rule the morning I woke up gay.” 

― Colleen Hoover, Hopeless

Now I miss Holder and Sky...See now I am going to have to re-read Hopeless again.

7. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

I love to travel, so this is hard for me...I will be going to Italy and Greece with my cousins in a couple of years. But I think for all out beauty, I would love to go to New Zealand. It just seems to have it all. Beaches, Mountains, Forrest!

8. Favorite place to read?

In bed at night, after my kids and husband are asleep. All the lights are down low and the glow of my Nook keeps me company. 

9. What is the best thing about being a blogger?

All the fabulous people I get to meet. Authors, fellow bloggers and even fans. The blog lets me use my creative outlets (video production, art, imagination). My blog is a little different in the way that I like to explore books more. I don't really like to review. I will tell someone my opinion if asked, but I like to take the journey myself. Not have someone else tell me what the journey is. I like to have fun and let the fans know more about the authors they love and what inspires them. Things that I would love to know more about an author or a character. I have bonded with some great ladies who indulge me. Raine Miller, Emmy Montes and Gail McHugh...and the list gets larger every day!

10. What other blogger would you like to meet?

I had my first fangirl in Christine from Shh Moms Reading. She is my BBF (Best Blogger Friend) and I just have to find a way to meet her. Plus I would love to meet Kim Person from Stick Girl Book Blog. Holly at I Love Indie Books and Smitten  from SmittenBook Blog. They all just seem like a lot of fun and people I would click with.

11. Favorite food?

I could eat Tex-Mex everyday for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy!

11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

1.  My husband, Gene and I met at work. We have been married for 15 years.

2. I absolutely LOVE being a mom, but it is the toughest job I have ever had in my life. I love my son Carter 10 and my daughter Emmy 6 and am so super proud of them!

3. I moved around a lot as a child and even as an adult. I have lived in 10 states and when I graduated from High School I went to 23 schools.

4. I love reading...A LOT. Because we moved so much - I never took Grammar. I always had Literature. So if I have bad grammar or a lot of misspelled words...now you know why ;-)

5. Really enjoying blogging and meeting all these great authors and characters!

6. I'd like to get healthy and have lost 48 pounds this past year. I want to loose another 50!

7. I love to travel and have been to 48 states and 5 countries.

8. I feel so loved by other bloggers and Indi-Authors. I just walk around with a constant smile.

9. I'm super excited about this award and can't wait to pick my 11 

    bloggers to pass this recognition on to ;)

10. I am an electronic junkie! Who needs jewelry - I want a terabit hard drive!

11. I am not shy. So if you see me at an event - come over and introduce yourself! I would love to meet you!

MY NOMINATIONS:

Little Black Book Bloggers

Stick Girl Book Reviews

Word
Indie Addict
A Broom with a View
Bitchy Book Blog
Three Chicks and Their Books
The Boyfriend Bookmark
Sweet Book Review
Limitless Library

MY QUESTIONS:

 1. Tell me ONE book, you just could not live without.

 2. Who would you cast as your favorite book character.

 3. If you could meet any one author, who would it be.

 4. What were your TOP 5 Books of 2012?

 5. Why do you blog?

 6. Best quote from a book that has stayed with you?

 7. What social media could you not live without?

 8. If you have a degree, what it is?

 9. Where is the one place you want to go in the World?

10. eReader or Paperbacks? Which do you prefer?

11. What is the one thing you can not live without (can be a food, person, place, thing...)

I had fun doing this and hope that my nominations have fun too! :-)

300 Likes on FB - This calls for a Giveaway!

My Facebook Page has hit 300 likes! And so to celebrate, I am giving away some of my favorite books (so far) from this year to one lucky fan! You can enter here too, but if you haven't checked out my FB page - What are you waiting for?

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My Experience: Forever My Girl Plus Extras

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. 

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile. 

And now I’m going back. 

After ten years. 

I hope I can explain that after all this time. 

I still want her to be my forever girl.

I had heard many great things about this book. Several of my friends had suggested it. It's about a rock-star and his quest for his forever love. OK so there are a lot of tattoo rock-star bad boys out on the "market" right now and before starting this book I figured I would be taking a road that was once traveled before. BOY, WAS I WRONG!! This book was so much more. As with any good rock-star there is drama, but the way Liam handles it made me fall in love with him from the start.

“I know she hates me. I hate me.

I ruined her life. That is what her voice message said. The one I've saved for the past ten years. The one I've transferred from phone to phone just so I could hear her voice when I’m at my lowest. I can recite every hateful word she said to me when I was too busy to answer and never found the time to call her back. 

Never found one second to call and explain to her what I had done to us. She was my best friend and I let her slip through my fingers just to save myself from the heartache of hearing she didn't want me anymore.

I had dreams too.

And my dreams included her, but she would never have gone for it. I’m not living her American Dream. I'm living my own. My decision destroyed everything.” 

Josie was heart-broken when the love of her life all of a sudden leaves to follow his dreams. A future and dreams that she thought included her. So when Liam shows back up in Beaumount 10 years later, she doesn't know what to think. She has a secret that she prayed she would never have to share with him. She moved on...or had she? Just like Liam, she tried to cover up the hurt and betrayal she felt. She is engaged to the town Pediatrician and has a successful business along with a son she adores.

“Her tear-streaked face is beautiful. I want to wipe away her tears. I want to take the last ten years and erase them. I want to start over.” 

This book is not what I would consider a "steamy" read, but the insane amount of love that Liam feels for Josie will make you swoon like no other. And I was totally LOVED that. The remorse that channels from Liam and his determination to prove to Josie that he still loves her and her son is sweet and alluring.

“I only have eyes for one woman, period … When I saw you, I knew I had made a mistake. I should have never left or at least come back for you. My life is better with you in it, Josie. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize that.” 

I think I needed this book.., it was so honest and beautiful. After reading so many books full of angst, it reminded me that books can make you feel really good and happy, without having to have your heart ripped out in the process. Liam and Josie were real, not over the top, people who are struggling to find their own truths. I loved Josie and Liam's grand love story SO much! 

Courtesy of SMITTEN BOOK BLOG

Want to know what the note from Nick said to Josie? 

Click HERE to see it.

Author Inspiration: Heidi McLaughlin

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. And with some authors, like Heidi McLaughlin, one picture can launch an idea for more than a thousand words. Sometimes more like a novel worth of words. With social networks and the ability to access them just about anywhere. Inspiration is all around us. Today we are highlighting Heidi McLaughlin's inspirations. 

Music is a huge part of who I am. I always have my iPod or iTunes turned on and I’m constantly looking for new music. One of my best friends is a musician, so he’s always introducing me to new music. He’s also my sounding board when I find someone I like.

I have a playlist for everything with some songs making it on multiple lists. My music taste varies. While I’m not a country fan, I do enjoy some of the artists and will buy their music. I do tend to like Top 40 or this “new” alternative.

Painkillers by Eric Heatherly – This is a song that Liam “writes” to Josie, hoping to explain who he was without her in his life. Unfortunately, at this time, there isn’t a video. However, this song is a huge part of Forever My Girl. You can hear a sample of the song here on Eric Heartherly's webpage. ~ Heidi McLaughlin.

You can check out the rest of Heidi's playlist by selecting the banner:

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest - She has them all!

Make sure to check out Heidi's website for more information on The Beaumont Series and other up and coming projects she is working on. Click the Author Website Banner above to be re-directed to her site.

Welcome Author Heidi McLaughlin

I am so excited and honored to Welcome Heidi McLaughlin to my blog! I just finished reading Forever My Girl this weekend and absolutely loved it. My thoughts on the book will be posted on the blog later this week. 

B: Heidi, thank you for stopping by my blog. Tell us a little about yourself. When did you figure out you wanted to be a writer?

H: I’m married with two daughters. Both are active athletes and my husband coaches high school football. I've always wanted to be a writer – I love the creation that comes with it. It wasn't until recently that I was encouraged to put my work out there.

  

B: How did you come up with the concept of Forever My Girl and did it take you a long time to write it?

H: I saw a picture and had this story just flash before my eyes… A man who was looking for forgiveness and determined to win his lost love back. It didn't take long at all. Everything flowed so easily I couldn't write everything down fast enough.

Heidi McLaughlin

B: What is the hardest part of writing for you?

H: Time. Working full-time and having two active kids… time is my enemy.

B: What projects are you currently working on?

H: I’m currently working on a standalone New Adult novel and the second book in the Beaumont Series.

B: Do you envision a certain "real" person as the character before you actually "create" him/her for the story?

H: No, just the opposite. I plot out the story and add the “faces” later.

B: So being from Texas – When I read Beaumont – I immediately thought of Beaumont, TX. Is that were this story takes place?

H: When I wrote Forever My Girl I wanted it to take place everywhere. I wanted readers to think that Liam existed in their hometowns. I purposely didn't pick a location because of the amount of research that would have to go into it. I don’t like it when an author uses either my hometown or current state and doesn't get things right. So when people read Forever My Girl, I want them to think this could’ve been them.

The short answer – no, the story doesn't take place in Texas.

B: So I guess it worked, because I totally saw it as being my Beaumont Texas!  

How did you get involved with Bandit Publishing (Jillian Dodd’s Publishing Company)?

H: Jillian is a very good friend. Before I published we had started talking about her starting her own boutique company. I didn't want some generic label, so we decided that Forever My Girl would be the first non-Jillian book published under Bandit.

 

B: What book are you reading now?

H: I’m about to start Fragments by Dan Wells.

B: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

H: I started off as a reviewer and reading three books a week didn’t really allow me to pick a favorite.

There are series that I like a lot; The Body Finder, Under the Never Sky, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Slammed, That Boy           

Forever My Girl Collage by Smitten Book Blog

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. 

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile. 

And now I’m going back. 

After ten years. 

I hope I can explain that after all this time. 

I still want her to be my forever girl.

Thank you Heidi for stopping by and answering a few questions. you can also check out Heidi's website for more information on her upcoming projects:  http://heidimclaughlin.com. Tomorrow on the blog, we will be taking a look at some of the inspirations Heidi had when writing Forever My Girl. Now who is ready to win some books!

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