Celebration of Life

At 1:29 this morning, my  14th grandchild entered the world, weighing in at seven pounds ten ounces and nineteen and half inches long. One would thing having that many grandchildren I wouldn't be excited, but they'd be wrong. I was as excited with this grandchild as I was with my first.
Holding the little guy - who isn't so little by the way - I was shocked at how chubby even his little legs were - I got a lump in my throat. What a miracle God has bestowed upon us. I couldn't wait to share the news with all my friends and family. And share it, I did. I would have shouted it from the rooftops if I could have.
Life is good and God has blessed me with six healthy, beautiful children, fourteen beautiful, healthy grandchildren and one beautiful, healthy great grandchild.
This will be my last grandchild - bestowed on me by his father - my baby, who now has four beautiful children. They decided their family is large enough and all the others have been done for a long time. So now it's time for my grandchildren to take over and provide us with new babies in the family. I read a saying once, Babies are proof that God wants his world to go on. I like that saying.

Welcome, Marsha Moore

1: Thank you so much for being here, Marsha, First up is the obligatory question. When did you first begin writing?


Thanks lots for inviting me to be your guest today.
I began writing as an English minor in college. For many years following, I wrote music reviews. About five years ago, I began writing fiction, short stories and novels.

2: What inspired you to write?

Writing for me has always been a creative release, necessary for me to feel balanced. I also paint and draw for the same reason.


3: What do you like the most and least about writing?

What I like most about writing fiction is being able to breathe life into an imaginary world. I write fantasy romance/soft erotica. Word building is pure joy for me. I see fantasy settings everywhere in nature and love spending hours doing research for details to enrich those worlds. Then, bringing three-dimensional characters into those new worlds never fails to amaze me.
What I like least would be not having enough hours in the day to complete all I want to accomplish with my writing. Also, writing keeps me indoors more than I’d like, so I’m working on ways to be more mobile. I still hand write an occasional chapter in order to be outside. I just purchased a netbook to get out onto our patio/lanai more often.

4: What do you for fun and relaxation when not writing?

I do yoga or cycling daily. I also enjoy painting, drawing, knitting, reading, hiking, and rock/metal music.


5: Which authors do you like to read?

I read a lot of classics. My favorites include Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Hardy, James Fenimore Cooper, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I also confess to being a JK Rowling fan.
6: What’s the one thing you’d most like people to know about you?

Being able to share my writing fulfills a tremendous personal goal. Having others enjoy what I’ve shared is simply a wonder.
7: Tell me about your current novel, where I can find it and your website/blog.

My next book to be released, February 1st from MuseItHot Publishing, is entitled Tears on a Tranquil Lake.
Blurb:

What a surprise for a young woman, to find herself suddenly transformed into a mermaid.
Ciel’s first thought – track down the merman who changed her and make him reverse his magic. Unable to find him, survival in her new world becomes paramount. She eagerly accepts help from a dashing pirate captain who takes a fancy to her, lavishing her with finery.
When her merman does show up, he competes for her affection. One look into his eyes makes her life more complex -- he is her soul mate.
Which man will she choose – pirate captain or merman? Which life – human or mermaid? Caribbean adventures and dangers chase Ciel as she searches for decisions and the key to her happiness.
Warning: This book contains Haitian vodou, sultry wenches, foul-mouthed scalliwag pirates, overindulgence of fine Caribbean rum, and amorous encounters on deserted beaches.

You can find more information on my website at http://www.marshaamoore.com/ and at http://museithotpublishing.com/


8: Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

Have all your social media operating before you attempt to publish a novel length piece of fiction. You won’t have time after.

9: Do you base your characters on real-life people?

Absolutely, but most often a combination of several personalities. Physical appearances of characters usually are more imaginary, although my heroes tend to look a lot like Johnny Depp!


10: Where do you get your ideas and what inspired you to write this book?

Tears on a Tranquil Lake was based upon my initial impressions of living in Florida. I helped my mother get settled the year before I moved my own household there. Staying with her, those months were filled with much exploration, reacting to exotic tropical wonders, and lots of daydreaming. Especially here in Tampa, with the yearly Gasparilla festival focused on the legend of the famed pirate Jose Gaspar, I indulged in learning the local legends. My book is about a love triangle between a mermaid, a merman, and a pirate captain – certainly a Floridian fantasy.

11: What are you currently working on?

I am currently working hard on the first book of a five-part fantasy erotic romance series called The Enchanted Bookstore: Seeking a Scribe.




Excerpt:

On deck, a conga drummer joined the musicians from two nights ago, entertaining us with some lively salsa tunes. The deck hands sang and shouted, rhythmically pulling at the rigging on the halyards, raising and lowering sails that propelled the ship out of the Bay.

With so many distractions onboard I failed to pay attention to sights the ship passed. Only when a large rock formation came astern on the portside did I see Meris seated on its peak, level with the schooner’s deck. He looked regal with his muscular flipper draped across the rocks and his emerald green tail fin fanned out wide, glistening in the sunlight.

I held out an arm and he lifted his open palm up to me. I bent far over the gunwale, wanting desperately to bridge the short distance. Forgetting everything except my desire to be with him I leaned farther, somehow believing I could swim through the air to reach him.

“No, Ciel! Stop!” Meris shouted.

Immediately, arms grasped me tight at my waist and pulled me back behind the railing, and then I perceived the dangers below. I would have fallen perilously near the hull, or crashed upon rocks in the narrow passageway. I glanced behind to see Black Sam holding me.

“No, lass, ye can’t dive here.”

Undaunted, I turned my attention back to Meris, whose position passed away from me as the schooner progressed. I squirmed free from Sam, and moved aft as quickly as I could, using the gunwale for support. Our bond throbbed within my heart.

Welcome Icy Snow Blackstone

A Devil of a Sequel

By Icy Snow Blackstone

Back in the Dark Ages when I was still writing novels for my own benefit because I couldn’t afford to buy them, I wrote a little ditty called Bargain with Lucifer. Starting out small and getting more outrageous as it went along, it concerned a young Creole named Lucifer Deveraux who makes a marriage of convenience to gain a fortune, falls in love with his wife, and ends up accidentally killing an ex-girlfriend to save that marriage. Throughout the story, try as I might, Luc was definitely not a nice person. Though handsome and sexy, he was, by turns, cruel, arrogant, and violent. As critic Margaret Marr points out, “There’s no way that I’d let a man treat me the way he treats Julie; he’d be out on his butt with a broken nose in no time flat!”(http://www.nightsandweekends.com/articles/10/NW1000098.php) In fact, in some places, he almost seemed to have two personalities, and eventually actually questions his own sanity. In the end, he decides he’s just so undisciplined and accustomed to having his way that he’s not crazy, but spoiled. Nevertheless, a good session with a psychologist is definitely in order. The story ends with Luc heading back to Dallas where everything started, to begin psychotherapy, leaving his wife to wait for his return as the husband and father she’d want in her life.

I was now burdened with some left-over plot lines and some unanswered questions: what about Michel, the younger brother, whose wife Luc accidentally killed; what about the child she had before she died, which may or may not be Luc’s; what’s Julie going to do all this time her husband’s away playing with Dr. Freud?
The answers to those questions came in Brother Devil, Michel’s story. Like its older brother, it started out small and then ran wild. Michel begins as a repressed widower, starved for affection by the treacherous wife who actually loved his brother. Discovering himself suddenly free of the chains binding himself to his cruel, unfaithful spouse, he responds like the frustrated, sexually-deprived male that he is…he runs amok. One woman after another falls to Michel’s suddenly awakened male charms and while his sister-in-law worries about him and his brother offers advice via Skype from Dallas, Michel the Angel finds himself fluttering in a downward spiral of sex and violence…and the sad part of the whole thing? Michel never wanted any of that…all he wants is someone who’ll love him for himself alone, a fact that is pointed out in an even more shocking climax when he meets Laurel Duncan, his wife’s cousin and look-alike…
Wonder what Margaret Marr will think of that? I can’t wait to find out!
Bargain with Lucifer and Brother Devil are available as e-books and print from Class Act Books, www.classactbooks.com. Trailers can be seen at www.youtube.com/icsnow14

REVIEW FOR DESIGNED FOR DESTINY

Check out the review of Designed by Destiny  by Ginger Simpson at Examiner.com
http://tinyurl.com/2ablccm

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Don't Blink

The title of one of my favorite songs, but it's so true. Where does the time go? Here it is the middle of August. Kids will be returning to school soon and I'm still looking for June and July. Of course it doesn't help that this has probably been one of the hottest summers on record. If it hasn't I bet it runs a close second.
I love Spring and Summer. They're my favorite seasons. But I don't like the 90 degree temps that often come with them.
Usually in this part of the country, we only see a few days, maybe a week of 90s. I can tolerate that. But the day after day after day and the high humidity even when it's not 90, that I don't handle too well. I hate being locked up with the air on and no windows open. It may as well be winter. The only difference I don't have to pile on a ton of clothes to go out. Unfortunately, I can't remove any either, at least without getting arrested. Besides, I know everyone enjoys a good laugh, but not at my expense - thank you very much.
So I guess I'll just stay inside and grin and bear it. Besides I know what comes next and I'm not looking forward to it. I love the Fall colors, but to me it's a sad time of year. All the leaves fall off the trees and they look so barren and dead. Give me Spring and fresh new buds - Spring signifies new life to me.
That being said, back to the time passes so quickly - I think back to the early days, getting married, having my first child, life was simpler than. At least it was in a lot of respects, although I didn't think so back then. But as I look back,  I realize how simple life really was.
Of course, there's many new inventions since then to make our life easier. Heck, I started out with a wringer washer, no dryer and cloth diapers. Fortunately, I was able to afford an automatic washer and dryer by time my third child was born. Talk about a relief, especially since I had two in diapers. Back then we didn't have disposable diapers and even if we had, I wouldn't have been able to afford them. I think they had them when my sixth child was born, but I only used them when we visited or went places. Didn't have to tote dirty diapers back home, but daily use was still cloth. With my fifth child someone gave me the gift of diaper service. Talk about living in the lap of luxury. It was almost as good as disposable, although we still had to rinse them. Later they didn't even have to do that.
And of course the micro wave came into being. I never used mine much except to make popcorn or to heat meals for hubby. I still have one, but its sitting on a shelf in my basement. I'm tempted to bring it up once in the while for popcorn, but decided it taking up the much needed space wasn't worth the trade off. I pop corn the old fashioned way - on the stove. For as seldom as I eat it, having the bulky microwave take up a good part of my counter top isn't worth it.
Finally came computers and best of all the Internet. I can't imagine living without it. Hubby and I stayed at a cabin once and it wasn't Internet accessible. Talk about withdrawal. I kept making him go into town so I could check my email. On a vacation in Williamsburg, we had to pay for it extra. I was upset and refused to do it, for two days that is. I thought it was highway robbery to charge 9.95/day for Internet service.
So as life passes us by and more and more changes come into being, I can't help but think of my 95 year old father in law and all he's seen in his life. I mean really, think of everything that has come about in those years. He recently wrote his memoirs and I had the privilege of typing the. I was fascinated reading about his life as a young boy and early adulthood. We made copies for each of his children, stepchildren, and grandchildren. My kids were glued to the book when we gave it to them. How wonderful that they were able to learn more of their grandfather. I often think I should start writing mine. In fact, I have written down a few things while I was teaching a class on writing memoirs for our local college. I probably should get back to it. I think my children and grandchildren would enjoy it some day.
I guess I'll get back to it someday, because as the song says, Don't Blink, a hundred years goes faster than you think.

My newest cover

From MuseItUp Publishing. http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/

Delilah does such great work.


Two murders, two men, one with five-year old twin daughters, complicate life for Kate Wesley. When the identical twin sister of one of the murder victims arrives in town more confusion erupts. Can Kate sort through this mess that has suddenly become her life?

Wendy Seidel visits Rose Asbury

Hi Rose, I hope you don’t mind that I stopped in to visit.


Not at all. Wendy, I love visitors. So what’s on your mind?

I just thought I’d stop by and tell you a little about Designed by Destiny.

 Great, I was wondering about that book. Where can we find it?

From Red Rose Publishing, just like your story, Time to Live Again.

When is the release date?

It’s due to be released August 5th,

Wonderful, so tell me a little about your story.

Wow, where to start. Okay, first off I’m Wendy Seidel, but of course you already knew that.

True, but the readers didn’t. So go on.

Okay, well as you also know I’m an interior designer. My boss requested, uh more like ordered, me to come to Florida to meet with a client.

Wow, Florida, you’re lucky.

Well I didn’t think so. It was right before New Year’s Eve and I had plans. But, that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, my flight was cancelled, and I was stranded in a snow storm at the airport. Blizzard better describes it. I tried to get a cab but roads were closed and none were running. So there I was stuck. I don’t mind telling you I didn’t relish the idea of staying in the airport overnight, but I was lucky enough to get a room for the night.

Oh that is lucky.

That’s what I thought until I found out I had to share it. Oh, I forgot to mention this guy knocked me over while he was rushing to catch his plane. To make matters worse, I found out he was on my flight and, can you believe it, in the seat next to me.

My goodness that is a co-incidence.

That’s what I thought, but it gets worse. Somehow, the hotel booked both of us for the same room.

Oh my gosh, you’re kidding; you had to share a hotel room with him? How did you handle that?

I won’t go into that, suffice it to say, I worked it out. Anyway the next morning the flights were back on schedule and we flew to Florida, minus our luggage of course.

Oh no, this sounds horrible. No clothes, nothing. What did you do?

I had to shop for new. I wasn’t crazy about the idea. To top it all off this guy and I ended up in the same hotel. Different rooms this time, but what were the chances?

Was this guy stalking you?

Believe me that thought ran through my mind. But no, I honestly think it was a coincidence. Anyway, my boss made a pass at me at lunch and to get out of it, I told him I was engaged and my fiancé was traveling with me.

So did that stop him?

Now that, you’re going to have to read the book to find out.

Can we at least have a sneak peek?

Sure.

She slid into the seat, glad now she wore the Capri pants. She didn’t care much for the way Nick looked at her like he wanted to consume her. Something didn’t feel right. This didn’t feel like a business dinner.

“Is Mrs. Gilmore going to meet us at the restaurant?”

Nick opened the car door and got into the driver’s side. “No, she isn’t.”

Wendy didn’t like this. Nope not even a little. “So what’s going on? I thought the living room was all set. I already ordered the fabric for the drapes and chairs. What kind of changes does she want now?”

Mrs. Gilmore had the reputation for changing her mind. Wendy remembered the last room she designed for her, the master bedroom. Gladys Gilmore changed her mind about the drapes and bedding three times before she made a final decision. Heck, she changed her mind four times on the living room already.

“We’ll discuss that with her tomorrow. Can’t you forget about work for one night?”

Uh-oh, Wendy didn’t like the sound of this. “I thought that’s what you wanted to discuss.”

“Tonight I just want to relax and enjoy your company.” Nick reached over and touched her arm.

Wendy stiffened under his touch. Nothing at all like Bill’s. “I’d really like to know what’s going on with Mrs. Gilmore.” Bring it back to business. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Besides, he was her boss, and she never mixed business with pleasure.

Nick took his hand away. “Don’t you ever have fun? Can’t you forget about business for one night?” He parked the car in the lot next to Joe’s Crab Shack, turned off the ignition and looked at her.

Her cheeks burned. How was she going to handle this? “Look, Nick, just so there’s no misunderstanding, I’m involved with someone. I came here on business, not for pleasure.”