The Sunshine Award

The Sunshine Award is a lovely sunny flower that bloggers give to other “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere”.

Thanks to Dana Mason, the amazing author/blogger who passed the award to me. Check out her blog post here: http://danamasonromance.com/blog/

As with most awards, the Sunshine Award comes with a few simple rules:

(1) Thank the person who gave you the award in your blog post.
(2) Do the Q&A below
(3) Pass on the award to deserving and inspiring bloggers, inform them and link to their blogs.

Here are my answers to the questions:

Favorite Color:  Green – the color of all growing things. 

Favorite Animal: My kitties Bella and Maya. Maya just turned 19 last month and Bella will turn 20 in July. They are mere images of themselves in the earlier years, but precious and lovable even still.  

Favorite Number: Hum… How about 10. As in $10.00!

Favorite Non-alcoholic Drink: Hot tea (Earl Grey, if you please) and good ol’ water!

Facebook or Twitter: I just signed up for twitter and am still getting familiar with it. Looks like a lot of work to keep up with, but I’ll keep plugging away at it. I spend WAY TOO MUCH time on Facebook. 

Your Passion: My eight grandkids (the oldest and the youngest not in the picture)

my garden,

and my writing!

Giving or getting presents: With eight grandkids, there are a lot of presents to buy! It’s fun figuring out the best gift for each one. I love surprising my husband, too. And yep, I love receiving presents!

Favorite Day: Since I’m retired, EVERY day is a great day!

Favorite Flowers: Some of my favorite flowers are clematis, roses, delphiniums,  lupine, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, peonies, and dahlias, all of which are in my garden.

Finally, these are a few fantastic bloggers I’m tagging for this award. They have each taught me invaluable lessons and inspired me to keep writing.

Gabriela Pereira  http://diymfa.com/

Cheryl  http://papercutscreams.blogspot.com/

Kelly  http://markandkelley.com/

Carol Riggs   http://carolriggs.blogspot.com/

Peanut  http://peanutberanski.com/

Paula  http://frenchgirlchic.blogspot.com/

Julie Larson  http://www.storystar.com/

 

Excited to share Dana Mason's new book release - "Precious Embrace" on July 11th

I got to be a beta reader for this book, her second in the series (Dangerous Embrace was the first) and I loved it. A great love story with an edge. Check it out!!

 “A new love, a missing child, a family found.”

Synopsis:

A second divorce and a new baby wasn’t the vision Alison Hayes had for her future. Now a single mother with two young boys, she wants to focus on her kids and what’s left of her stagnant career.

When Detective Johnny Rhay Bennett breezes into her life with his country-boy accent, she wants to run. She doesn’t need another man in her life, or another reason to make people talk. But when her worst nightmare becomes a reality, Johnny is the only person who can pull Ali out of her despair, forcing her to stay strong and not give up hope of finding her missing child.

~~~

Who falls in love after a one-night stand? Johnny Rhay doesn’t believe it’s possible until it happens to him. With Nashville in his rear-view mirror, he’s determined to convince Alison she loves him too, even if it means moving to the West Coast.

Ali’s not easy, and she’s living on just this side of bitter after her divorce, but Johnny doesn’t care. He’s up for the challenge. At least, he believes he’s up for it until baby Micah is stolen right out from under his nose. Now Johnny has to keep it together and get that sweet little boy home safe before his dreams of having a family vanish too.

Author info:

Dana Mason starting writing to prove to her computer geek husband and her math & science geek kids that she actually has a brain; it’s just a right functioning brain instead of a left. She’s lived all over the country and uses that experience in her writing and character studies. Her debut novel, Dangerous Embrace is the first in a contemporary romance series about a group of friends from Northern California who learn just how short life can be when you don’t hold on to what’s important.

When not writing, Dana specializes in professional development and training. She’s also a board member on the local Art’s Council and does what she can to support the art community.

Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17731156-precious-embrace

Cover Designer: Okay Creations http://www.okaycreations.com/

 

Author Links:

Website: http://danamasonromance.com/

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/danamasonromance

Twitter: https://twitter.com/danamason06

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Dana-Mason/e/B009MDSGH0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Publisher Author Page: http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/danamason

The Next Big Thing - Counterfeit Chemistry

Author Natasha Alexander tagged me to answer the following questions about my work in progress as part of The Next Big Thing meme. Be sure to read Natasha's answers about her novel, Moon Beach Magic, here: http://natasha.edcentric.org/2013/03/22/the-next-big-thing/
 
What is the working title of your next book?  
Counterfeit Chemistry Where did the idea come from for the book?
Two years ago, I wrote a short story from a writing prompt about Jessie, a young divorced mother. She stayed in my mind until I figured out how to expand her story. I meshed her search for love with something that I wanted to alert readers about, and came up with Jessie inadvertently stumbling into the middle of a counterfeit drug operation in a small town.

What genre does your book fall under?
Mystery/suspense with a romantic subplot – a good story to immerse yourself in for a mini-vacation.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
A young Meg Ryan for Jessie. The gorgeous chef would be Orlando Bloom. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? The story of a young divorced woman who suspects that a local pharmacy, owned by her mother’s boyfriend, is not only purchasing drugs from the grey marked, but is selling them on the street, and when she sets out to prove it, finds her life and the lives of her mother and her six-year-old son in danger.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’ll pitch it to agents when it’s done, and hope to entice one into taking it on. (Well, a girl can dream!) If not, the self-published route would work, as an e-book and/or paperback.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the story?                                                  I
I started this manuscript in November last year and am at the half-way point now, about 44,000 words, so have a ways to go.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Nora Roberts, Debbie Macomber, and Susan Wiggs all have authored books with a heroine looking for love but somehow getting herself caught up in a mystery that pushes her into dangerous territory. The outcome of my story shows her which man is worthy of her trust. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
As a pharmacist, I wanted to show the dangers of buying medication through the internet or the grey-market. I read the book Dangerous Doses by Katherine Eban and knew I wanted to incorporate that theme into my story. Plus, I’m a romantic at heart, so a love struggle was a must.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?                                                       
Many US citizens purchase their prescription medications off the internet where integrity cannot be validated and the drugs they receive can be deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity, purity, and/or source. The FDA estimates that counterfeit drugs make up more than 10% of the global medicines market and this number in increasing.