Blog Hop Winners!

Congratulations to the following blog hop winners:

Desiree D., winner of the No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop

and 

Joy F., winner of the Back to the Future Giveaway Hop

Desiree and Joy have each won a copy of my sweet medieval romance, Dangerous Favor.

Summary Sunday

This week involved a lot of revision that included slicing and dicing of already existing sentences and paragraphs, but here are a few brand new sentences that I added to the mix from The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: The fellow met Strode’s eyes briefly in the light of the torch held by one of his companions, his face as unreadable as it had been in the hall, save for that one ill-judged grin he had cast at the Lady Marguerite.

Tuesday: He would have to cool her temper before she would grant him the heat of her passion.

Wednesday: Illusion was everything between lovers, as it was at times between subject and king.

Thursday: She did not care that she had only been a child, that it was unreasonable to expect him to see in a seventeen-year-old woman the ten-year-old girl who had helped him all those years ago.

Friday: She had heard them sung merry, melancholy, sardonic, and bitter, but never in such fluid tones as his, or to a melody so plaintive that it hung shivering in the air, a poignant reminiscence, for moments after his voice had ceased.

Saturday: “But one kiss—just one!—I would cherish to the end of my days.”

Back to the Future Giveaway Hop Across Time

Welcome to the Back to the Future Giveaway Hop, sponsored by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Book Haven Extraordinaire. All the books being given away in this blog hop are either set in the past or the future, none in the present. Mine, of course, is set in the past...the medieval past, to be precise. I am giving away a copy of my sweet medieval romance, Dangerous Favor, winner's choice of Kindle, Nook, or print copy.

This blog hop ends at 11:59 PM on January 28. The winner will be announced on January 29. Unless you are able to download a Kindle or Nook e-version, USA entries only this time, please.

OFFICIAL RULES: NO PURCHASE NECESSSARY. Entrants must be 18 years or older. Winners will be selected on January 29, 2013 and have 48 hours to respond to an email notifying them of their win. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



All entered? Then hop along for some more great Back to the Future prizes!

Summary Sunday

As with most things in life, some writing days were better than others this week. I missed Tuesday entirely because I was gone all day and went to a lecture on Catherine the Great that night (loved it!), but I got all the other days in, in spite of a rapidly developing head cold. Here's a sampling of what I accomplished.

Monday: “I am not a slackwit, lady, whatever your father came to think of me after that mischief-making churchman turned his mind against me.”

Tuesday:

Wednesday: She had racked her brains for hours for some way to smuggle word to Northumberland, but every possibility seemed bolted fast against her.

Thursday: Richard had been her father’s page and his lively, cheerful mischief had proved a happier distraction from the dismayingly ill-tempered man who called himself her father than had the pretty, soft-faced mother who coddled her one moment, and the next left her with strange servants to run eagerly off to attend Valette’s every whim.

Friday: He must have seen the defiance in her eyes, for his own gleamed a challenge in return.

Saturday: Almost immediately his face sobered again and his eyes darted away; his quick fingers did not drop not so much a beat on the strings as he sang on as though nothing had passed between them.

No Strings Attached Blog Hop

Welcome to the No Strings Attached Blog Hop, sponsored by I Am a Reader Not a Writer. No hoops to jump through for this one. No "follows", no "likes", just enter via the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win a copy of my sweet medieval romance, Dangerous Favor. The winner can have her choice of print, Kindle, or Nook version.

The hop ends at 11:59 January 21. Winner will be drawn on January 22. Open to US and International entries. (An international winner may receive a print copy through Book Depository.)

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Entrants must be 18 years or older. Winner will be selected on January 22, 2013. Winners have 48 hours to respond to an email notifying them of their win. Sponsor name and contact info: Joyce DiPastena, jdipastena@yahoo.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All entered? Then hop along for some more string free prizes below!

Summary Sunday

I've enjoyed spending time with Rob and Marguerite again. It feels good to be back to writing! Here are a few new sentences from The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: The Lady Marguerite’s sweet countenance flowed into his mind as distinctly as Agnes’s faded vaguely away.

Tuesday: If there was one thing Robert’s proud heart abhorred more than all the rest, it was pity.

Wednesday: “I mean I’ve seen that kindlin’ in yer eyes before and it always bodes trouble for someone.”

Thursday: But Robert realized now the baron had dealt his villein an unwitting favor, for Lucy had clearly brought a light to William’s life he would never have found on Beck Manor.

Friday: Not one day had passed in the last seven years that she had not recalled their meeting, the look of wild despair in his gaze when her footfall had whirled him around on the edge of the river’s bank, and then at her offer, a gratitude so fervent it had consumed the fears that had driven her to try to flee from the man she loved most in all the world.

Saturday: She should have trusted Grandfather to listen to her fears rather than trying to run away . . . but if she had, she would never have met the handsome young man by the river.

Summary Sunday

My writing took a break while I moved into a new house over the holidays (and had a plumbing crisis...click here for pictures), but with the New Year, I hope to get back on track with this important part of my life. The Lady and the Minstrel has been calling to me again. I was actually thinking about changing the name of this book, but friends on Facebook voted me down. They want me to keep it, so for now I guess I will. 

Here are some new sentences I wrote for it this week, beginning on New Year's Day:

Tuesday: “Are those your only clothes, man?”

Wednesday: “Aye,” William said with a snap to his voice that betrayed to Robert how sorely his playful obtuseness provoked his friend, “Robert the Harper, Robert of the Road, even Robert of Wiltshire would mean nothing to Beckford’s ears. But a Robert Marcel on his Dorset manor?"

Thursday: He spoke softly, and knew from William’s face that his friend understood every deathly quiet syllable.

Friday: "The saints forgive me, but when Beckford sent me away to Enford, I missed ye more than I missed my own kin."

Saturday: When he had recovered from his final debacle with Kit, it had been with a foreign coldness inside him, a coldness that had warred ever since with the fiery blood of his birth.

Books I Read in 2012

For 2012 I set a goal of reading at least 4 old favorites and 2 non-fiction books, as well as new titles that caught my fancy. Here is my yearly report. Books marked 2 **s in blue signify old favorites. Books marked in green were non-fiction. As you'll see, I surpassed my non-fiction goal by 3 books, but failed my old favorites goal by 1.

My favorite "new" book of 2012 is marked with 3 ***s in red.

My Fair Godmother, by Janette Rallison (fiction)

Killing Lincoln, by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard (non-fiction)

Letters in the Jade Dragon Box, by Gale Sears (fiction)***

Fires of Jerusalem, by Marilyn Brown (fiction)

Isabelle Webb: The Pharaoh's Daughter, by N.C. Allen (fiction)

Miss Delacourt Has Her Day, by Heidi Ashworth (fiction)

Daughter of Helaman, by Misty Moncur (fiction)

Dead Running, by Cami Checketts (fiction)

A Mormon in the White House: Ten Things Every Conservative Should Know About Mitt Romney, by Hugh Hewitt (non-fiction)

The Conquering Family, by Thomas B. Costain (non-fiction)** (this book fell into 2 categories, non-fiction and old favorite, so I used both colors)

Taking Advantage, by Larry Hammersley (fiction)

Zenobia: the Birth of a Legend, by Russ Wallace (fiction)

A Lady by Any Other Name, by Jennifer Kitchens (fiction)

Black Ships Before Troy, by Rosemary Sutcliff (fiction)

The Wanderings of Odysseus, by Rosemary Sutcliff (fiction)

Cousin Kate, by Georgette Heyer (fiction)**

The Nonesuch, by Georgette Heyer (fiction)**

A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection 2012,various authors (fiction)

Mistletoe Magic: A Short Regency Romance, by Donna Hatch (fiction)

Frontier Wolf, by Rosemary Sutcliff (fiction)

During my move to Mesa I found myself having trouble focusing on a full-length novel, so each night I browsed a little book called Medieval Ghost Stories, compiled and edited by Andrew Joynes. I didn't read it from cover to cover, though, so I can't add it to my list. I also began a re-read of a favorite book from my childhood, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, by Margaret Sidney, so I guess technically I've read 3.5 old favorites, but I haven't finished it yet, so it, too, can't go on my official list.

I decided to add my scripture reading report this year, since I read those, too!

Pearl of Great Price: Moses 4 - Articles of Faith 1-13

Old Testament: Genesis - Psalms 40

New Testament: Luke 1-24 (with my yearly chocolate advent calendar)

Goal for 2013: In addition to new reads, 4 old favorites and 2 non-fiction books.