Brighton – Books – Baby Goats – Brenda Novak Auction :: What do these things have in common?

They are some of my favorite things…and…this Saturday 5/4 at 9pm eastern (6pm pacific) I’ll be hanging out with the Brighton folks on their Facebook page for a BRIGHTON LIVING May Issue Facebook party talking about all of those things and anything else on your mind. I hope you’ll join us. Details on how the Facebook party works are at the very bottom of this post so you can print them out if you like. We’ll be giving away prizes to lucky posters … books, my new Adams Grove scented candle from Shining Sol candles and adorable wedding cake charms from Brighton. YAY!

You don’t have to wait to check out the article though. You can do that now by going to https://www.facebook.com/BrightonCollectibles?fref=ts and clicking on the BRIGHTON LIVING tab just under the banner. Then you’ll see the cover of the issue and the READ STORY button for the article “Heart in the Write Place“. Take a read and leave a comment. And don’t forget to LIKE the Brighton page. I personally think they should have a LOVE button…but that’s just me.

ALSO—don’t forget the Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes is in full swing. There are some amazing donations. I’m the category captain for the READ. RELAX. REPEAT. category, but I also was able to get a pair of tickets and meet and greet passes to see Bret Michaels…that, my friends, we posted under the ONCE IN A LIFETIME category! Sweet! Visit the auction today. It runs through the end of May and their are items in every price range. Even a little adds up to a lot, and together…we’ll make a difference.

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FACEBOOK PARTY GUIDELINES – SAT 6p PT / 9p ET

1) If you don’t have a Facebook account, you need to create one. Go to http://www.facebook.com/ to sign up.

2) Once you’ve signed up (or logged in if you already have an account), go to www.facebook.com/brightoncollectibles at 6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET on May 4th .

3) ‘Like’ our page if you haven’t already done so. The ‘Like’ button is located under our timeline cover picture, on the right side. Just click it.

4) Look for the post about Brighton Living. You can’t miss it. We will have just put it up, so it will be the most recent post on the page, in the left column, with a photo of our May magazine cover.

5) At the bottom of that entry, underneath the magazine cover photo, you’ll see ‘Like’ ‘Comment’ ‘Share’ – You can click any of these buttons to reach the newsfeeds/tickers of your FB friends.

6) To contribute a comment, write something in the field that appears beneath the post’s magazine cover photo.

7) To update, so you see other people’s comments, just refresh the page. The refresh button is F5 on a PC or just click the circular arrow that’s on the top of your page, on the right side of your address bar.

8) If you see someone’s comment, and want to respond directly to that person, begin your message with @ and the person’s Facebook name.

A Facebook party is just like a live chat. People should feel free to chime in. We’ll be on the page to help if anyone has difficulties.

Thanks for coming to the party! Look forward to ‘seeing’ you.

FORWARD….MARCH…

Hi Friends,

We turned the clocks and did the SPRING FORWARD thing this weekend and I bet you all are just as antsy as I am for spring to get here. Well, today I have a special treat for you. A great book that will put you right in the swing of things.

My author friend, Tracy March, has her debut release today. The book is called THE PRACTICE PROPOSAL. It’s a sweet contemporary with small town connections and a hot baseball player as the hero. I had the great honor of reading this book prior to release. I loved the story so much that I did the cover blurb.

Don’t take my word for it….jump on over to Amazon.com and order your own copy. You’ll be swept away by Liza and Cole and if you’re like me … you’ll be anxiously awaiting the next Bliss book from Tracy later this year.

You can follow Tracy on facebook and twitter via @Tracy_March.

Let me know what you think! And if you love it … please take just a moment and leave a sweet review on Amazon. It’s one of the best gifts you can give an author

Hugs and happy reading~

Nancy

PS — Tracy is a Virginia girl, too!!

Together ~ we can make a difference!

Sometimes a task seems so big ~ and when it’s helping someone who is battling a disease ~ finding a way to help can feel impossible.

Take heart in knowing that together, even tiny contributions, when combined with others do make a difference. I ran across this saying on facebook this morning, and it aligned perfectly with what I wanted to share with you today.

My cousin, Jenn, is married to her childhood sweetheart, Greg, and is the mother of two pre-teen boys.  In 2009, she was diagnosed with a type of colorectal cancer and she’s been through several treatment plans since. You can read about her journey and the latest updates at http://jenniferpmcmanus.wordpress.com/my-story/. I’m mentioning her today, because she’s  just started a new treatment, and as if the treatments alone are not hard enough, she’s having to travel from Carolina down to Florida for them.

Finances are a roadblock in being able to get her boys and family members to  her during this journey and I’m hopeful we can join together to make a difference. Even $1 adds to the bounty and will help. There’s a fund already setup and you can contribute online through paypal, or if you’re like me and prefer a paper trail — Crossroads Publishing House, LLC will be routing funds to her.

CROSSROADS PUBLISHING HOUSE ~ PO BOX 723 ~ EMPORIA, VA 23847  (Make your check to Crossroads Publishing House – Friends of Jenn)

or directly through paypal to: gmjm0906@me.com  (Gregory and Jenn McManus)

…and seriously, every dollar counts.

I’m a true believer in teaming up with others to make a difference. You might recall my posts on facebook about the Cancer Relay For Life in Norfolk earlier this year, and that I was a category captain for Brenda Novak’s Online Auction to Find a Cure for Diabetes. We raised a final total of $2600 contribution for the diabetes auction and I’m working hard to come up with good ideas to raise the bar for my category next year. If you have any suggestions, please share them!

What will you do to make a difference in someone else’s life this week?

Virginia is for Lovers (& Romance Writers, Too!)

Hey friends,
Thought I’d share with you that there’s a group of authors from here in Virginia that have started blogging. Words, Women, Wisdom (W3) just kicked off this month. Each month there’s a new theme. For example, July is Summer Vacation month. They even created cute little avatars for each of us. Here’s mine.

Each author brings her attitude and style to the topic of the month on her blog day. My slant is “Southern State of Mind”, but some of the others are spicy, paranormal, historical, food related, book related … and it’s alot of fun. I hope you’ll stop by and visit – heck subscribe to get the updates from this diverse set of Virginians and join in the fun.

The blog is located at: http://wordswomenwisdomw3.blogspot.com/p/author-page.html

I blog the last Monday of each month. See ya there.
Nancy

National Penuche Fudge Day

I’ll admit it. I’d never heard of Penuche Fudge or Penuche Frosting until I met my husband’s family. It’s a mexican candy and in his family they use it as a cake frosting over spice cake. Once you’ve had a slice, you’ll know why it’s a favorite.

It used to be a real labor of love to make because your arm practically goes numb and feels like it’ll drop off by the time it’s complete, but I’ve gotten smart and use the bread beaters on my fancy mixer and now I don’t mind whipping up this family favorite for my husband or my step-daughter (It’s both their favs!)

So on National Penuche Day, I thought I’d share our family recipe for this treat so you can try it out on your family. If you care to share a favorite recipe of yours — that would be fun, too!
Hugs and happy sweet treats~

PENUCHE FUDGE/ICING RECIPE
In saucepan melt ……………….. 1 cup butter
Stir in………………………… 2 cups light brown sugar packed
Continue cooking over low heat for 2 minutes stirring constantly – in one direction.
Stir in………………………… 1/2 cup milk
Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring contantly. Keep that full rolling boil for about a minute as it turns to a syrup, then set the pan in cold water. When you can hold your hand on the bottom of the pan the syrup is cool enough.

**You can continue in your cooking pot if you’re making the penuche by hand start to finish — but if you’re going to leverage your fancy mixer with the bread beaters — transfer the syrup to the mixing bowl now.
Now, stir in …………………… 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups of SIFTED confectioners sugar.
Add the confectioners sugar and beat, continuing until thick enough to spread. That’s going to be very thick. Like stand your spoon up in it thick.
If too thin – keep adding confectioners sugar.
If too thick – add a litle hot water – that’s easy to fix.
ENJOY!!

Suspense…Any Way You Like It

For those of you that helped me raise over $1400 to find a cure for diabetes in the Brenda Novak Annual Online Auction — you’ve heard the phrase, Suspense…Any Way You Like It. I named my category after it this year.

If you take a click over to http://www.RomanceANDSuspense.com you find our landing page. This saying came about when four writer made friends at an RWA conference. We all write very different stories, the one common denomintor — suspense.

Adrienne Giordano writes fantastic contemporary romantic suspense with hot heroes that’ll stick with you (and invade your dreams!) Her Private Protector series has done really well and I dare say that if you read the first one, you’ll order the rest.

Tracey Devlyn's debut novel came out this spring. A Lady's Revenge is categorized as an historical thriller, but let me tell you – don't let historical keep you from picking up this book. This ain't your momma's historical. A Lady's Revenge just happens to be set back then, but this story is dark, adventurous and has romance that'll sizzle you silly. Her next book, Check Mate, My Lord will be out in early 2013 and I can't wait!

Tracy March writes big city thrillers. Her debut novel, Girl Three, snapped up quite a few awards on the path to publication and you'll get to read it for yourself early 2013. Keep her on your watch list. She’s got two other books on the horizon, too.

Then there's me with my small town love stories. Of course, you know that.

So there you have it — Suspense…any way you like it.
You can get to all of our websites from the RomanceandSuspense.com site.
Hugs and happy reading~
Nancy

New Title for Out of Focus? What’s the Scoop?

Hey Friends,
Here’s the scoop. You probably remember that I signed a 4 book deal with Amazon Publishing earlier this year for my Adams Grove series. My editors and I have been re-working/revising the first two books, Sweet Tea and Serets and Out of Focus. I’m really excited about them, and I can’t wait for the new versions to get into readers hands. Since book three is Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes we want to find Out of Focus a new name that fits the story and the series.

With your help, I know we can find the perfect match! So, let’s see what we can come up with.

This story, if you haven’t read the original version, is about a commercial photographer, Kasey Phillips, who thinks her biggest problem is deciding whether to photograph Cody Tuggle’s honky-tonkin’ tour, until an accident on Route 58 claims the life of her husband.

In a desperate race against time as a hurricane threatens the eastern seaboard, they search for her three-year-old son who is missing from the wreckage.

A community and friends rally to help, but someone knows more than they are telling.

Some of the suggestions we’ve received so far are:
“Biscuits and Beaux” or “Biscuits and Bows”
Cornbread and Comfort
F-stops and heart drops
Country Songs and Hurricane Gone
Family Time and Country Line
Photographs and Lies
Mint Juleps and Justice
Country Songs and Hope Belongs
Camera Lens and Dead Ends
Bread Pudding and Promise
Porch Swings and Promises
Honeysuckle and Heartache
Pecan Pie and Alibis

Do any of those float your boat? Or can you do better?
________ AND _________.
Leave a comment with your entry or vote. Whoever comes up with the winning title will get a $25 Amazon gift card.

We brainstormed to help get you going.

Thanks y'all!

Booklovers Unite!

UPDATES TO THE LIST
So much of what we do anymore seems to be online and these in-person events put personality into those later online interactions. My favorite events are those focused on readers AND authors.

For that reason, I’m starting a list of reader/author events across the nation.
Help me build this list — we’ll keep it updated with new entries, and don’t forget to leave a note about your experience at these events so others will know if it’s the right fit for them next time!

2012

JUNE – 6/20-24/2012 ROMFest – Gatlinburg, TN
JUNE – 6/21-24/2012 ROMCon - Denver, CO
AUGUST – 8/12th 1-4pm FREE  Adirondack Reader ~ Reader Author’s Fair - Inlet, NY
OCTOBER – 10/14 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Buns & Roses Romance for Literary Tea Renaissance Hotel in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, TX.
NOVEMBER – 11/3/2012 Southern Magic Romance Readers Luncheon - Birmingham, AL
NOVEMBER – 11/9-11/2012 Readers & ‘ritas -  Allen, TX
NOVEMBER – 11/10/2012 Heart of Louisiana’s Annual Romance Readers Luncheon

2013

JANUARY – 1/17-20/2013 Girlfriend Weekend - Jefferson, TX
APRIL  -  4/27/2013  Barbara Vey Reader Author Luncheon – Milwaukee, WI (*I’ll be at this one!)
MAY – date tbd Heart of Dixie Annual Reader Luncheon – Alabama
MAY – 5/31 – 6/1/2013 Arizona Dreamin’ Romance Reader Event - Chandler, AZ
JUNE – 2013 date not announed yet  Lori Foster Reader Author Get Together - Cincinnati, OH (*I’ll be at this one!)

Thoughout the year – http://www.bookyourlunch.com/ Greenville, SC – a series of author lunches at The Lazy Goat

I’m a Montlake Girl

Hi, Friends,

I’ve got exciting news. I just signed a 4-book deal with Amazon Publishing – Montlake Romance line for my Adams Grove series. I’m so excited to have the dream team led by Kelli Martin (editor) in my corner.

I was running around singing, “I’m an Amazon Girl.” But my momma, being the southern lady that she is, quickly educated me that “Amazon Girl” may not be the most flattering image. With her help, Mom’s a songwriter you know, we revised the words to my new celebration song to “I’m a Montlake Girl.” Yippeee.

Both Sweet Tea and Secrets and Out of Focus will be re-released with some fabulous revisions and new covers soon. Then in 2013, Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes will take you back to join in the festivities at Jill and Garrett’s wedding and so much more. Followed by Cody Tuggle’s story in Out of Frame in the second half of the year(which is going to be here before we know it if the months keep flying by like they have!! Can you believe it’s almost April!)

Of course, the titles could change and I’m sure there’ll be lots of fun along the way, so I’ll keep you posted. I can’t wait to get a sneak peek of the new covers and if you want to be the first to see them…be sure to sign up for my free newsletter on my website www.nancynaigle.com/ncont.htm

Hugs and high 5~

Celebrate International Women’s Day

March 8th is International Women’s Day and according to 123Greetings.com ::

It’s almost always that women have the strongest yet quietest influence on us. Through different roles they so ably perform, as mom, teacher, wife, grandma, friend or sister, they are always there with a smile, support or strength. Reach out to all the special women that you know with our warm ecards on International Women’s Day.

In honor of International Women’s Day my first Adams Grove Novel – Sweet Tea and Secrets - is FREE through Amazon for your Kindle (or the kindle app on your computer!!).   http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Secrets-Adams-Grove-ebook/dp/B005C14XD2/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330868647&sr=1-1 If you’ve already enjoyed the book, leave a review on Amazon today and tell one of your favorite gals about the opportunity - if you haven’t read it, I hope you’ll take advantage of the FREE offer and celebrate women with wonderful examples in this story like:

•  Pearl Clemmons – best known for her award winning chocolate pecan pie and the best darned unsolicited advice in Adams Grove. The unspoken matriarch of the small town.
•  Millie – Pearl’s very best friend and just as fiesty as Pearl.
• Jill Clemmons – Pearl’s granddaughter who has come back to Adams Grove. Kind-hearted and capable of anything.
• Carolanne – Carolanne is a lawyer now working in the big apple. Carolanne and Jill have been best friends since grade school. Distance or time – neither one can break their bond.
• Macy - The gal who was “all that” in high school is back in Adams Grove after her marriage went kapoot. She’s still fearless and making lemonade out of any pile of lemons set in her path.
  You might find another favorite woman among the dynamic gals of Adams Grove.

You can meet even more of them in my novel OUT OF FOCUS (also available in print and digital).

Tell me about the wonderful women you celebrate today.
Hugs and happy reading — and a high 5 wonderful woman!
Nancy