Most Amazing Follower Award

Look at this pretty award I got just for being a follower of Emma Michaels blog. :)

Beautiful Cover

I just had to share this cover with y'all..I think it's beautiful. The book sounds really good too so it's on my wish list now. :)

Prolific Blogger Award

I received the Prolific Blogger award from Renee @ Blank 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot! Thank you so much Renee!

A Prolific Blogger is one who is intellectually productive… keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content.

1. Every winner of the Prolific Blogger Award has to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers. Spread some love!

2. Each Prolific Blogger must link to the blog from which he/she has received the award.

3. Every Prolific Blogger must link back to This Post, which explains the origins and motivation for the award.

4. Every Prolific Blogger must visit this post and add his/her name in the Mr. Linky, so that we all can get to know the other winners. (Click here for the Mr. Linky page.)

I'm passing this award on to:

Margaret @ Creative Madness that Makes Me Myself
Carmen @ A Sequence of Continuous Delights
Rae @ Caffeine & Romance
Lori @ Some of My Favorite Books
Laura @ Not Just Laura
Katrina @ Callapidder Days
Deborah @ Books, Movies & Chinese Food

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I shall summon Mr. Jones, and you shall make certain there is no doubt in his mind as to the soundness of your mental state. Have I made myself understood?" --Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

The Sheriff's Surrender by Susan Page Davis

I bought The Sheriff's Surrender by Susan Page Davis last month because I had heard a lot of good things about this book. I was not disappointed. :) I really enjoyed it and am so glad that this is the first book in a series. This is more of a mystery than anything else and it had me guessing who the bad guy was until the very good. In The Sheriff's Surrender we get to meet the people of Fergus, Idaho which is a mining town that has gone bust. The sheriff of Fergus has been murder and the ladies of the town don't feel safe so they ask Gert, the sister of the gunsmith in town, to teach them how to shoot. I really enjoyed seeing the town pull together and help solve this case. Well, I don't want to give anything away so I will just say if you like mysteries with a little bit of romance thrown in then I think you will like The Sheriff's Surrender. :) I know I did!

Product description from Christianbook.com:

Gert Dooley can shoot the tail feathers off a jay at a hundred yards, but she wants Ethan Chapman to see she's more than a crack shot with a firearm. When the sheriff of Fergus, Idaho, is murdered and Ethan is named his replacement, Gert decides she has to do whatever she can to help him protect the citizenry. So she starts the Ladies Shooting Club. But when of their numbers is murdered, these ladies are called on for more than target shooting and praying. Can Gert and the ladies of Fergus find the murderer before he strikes again?

Moggy Monday

Well, once again Moggy Monday has gone to the dogs. ;) This week I will introduce to y'all Shelby and Duke. When I moved into my house seven years ago my brother was getting ready to get married and he didn't know what to do with his three dogs. They were going to be moving into an apartment or a rented house or something..I don't remember...all I do remember is my brother coming to me and asking me to keep his dogs for a year. I really didn't want to say yes cause I was looking forward to getting a puppy but I'm a big softie and said okay. Well, as you can guess the year came and went and I still have his dogs. He had three: Angel, Duke and Shelby. I had to put Angel down this past summer. She was the sweetest dog. So now I have Duke and Shelby. Duke is almost 18 years old! Which is extremely old for a dog his size. He's starting to go downhill and I have no idea how to know when it's time to put him down. I mean with Angel she got sick and was in pain so I knew it was time but Duke is really doing okay. His back legs are starting to go but he can still get around, he's not in pain and he LOVES to eat. He's about 119 in people years and he will still get into the trash can! lol I tell him he's too old for that but he seems to disagree. Besides being old Duke is a character, before his back legs started going out he would hop up and down on just his back legs. He loves people food and would eat it 24/7 if I let him.

Once I had put Duke outside and was in the living room watching TV and I don't remember how long it had been but I decided to go see if he wanted to come in. Well, I walk into my bedroom and there is Duke sleeping on my bed! I'm thinking to myself, "Didn't I let him out??" and that it when I notice the door to the backyard is open. I freak out then cause of my cats but thankfully all the cats where okay. But I thought it was funny because he just let himself in and jumped on my bed. After that I made sure the backdoor was locked.

Now Shelby, she is the funniest dog. She loves to chew on the cats, when I say chew I mean like when a dog has fleas they kind of chew on themselves. Does that make sense?? The cats seem to like it though cause they will sit there and let her do it. Here lately Carmel and Shelby have taken up to playing together. Shelby will chase Carmel through the house and then they will start to wrestle..it's really funny to watch. Shelby will also play with Gracie, when they first started playing together Shelby was a lot bigger than Gracie now Gracie is bigger than Shelby. Oh, Shelby is very grumpy when she is sleeping. If Gracie or a cat will lay next to Shelby when she is sleeping she growls something awful.

Friday Fill-In

1. You have a chance to _do something you've never done before.
2. __I could take a nap_ right now!
3. There is a _cat sleeping on my desk_.
4. ___Charge__ and pay later.
5. It's time to __check my email_.
6. _Birds are _ up in the air but _they come down_.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _reading_, tomorrow my plans include _washing clothes , do a little cleaning around the house and getting some reading done and maybe some knitting too__ and Sunday, I want to _take it easy!

Thicker than Blood by C.J. Darlington

TitleTrakk.com Blog Tours Presents:

Thicker than Blood
by C.J. Darlington
Published by Tyndale House

Winner of the
2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel Contest!

Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late?

My Thoughts:

Thicker than Blood is C.J. Darlington's debut novel and all I have to say is I'm going to keep my eye out for her next book. This is a book about two sisters who have went their seperate ways and their journey back to each other. This isn't the type of book I usually pick up but I'm glad that I decided to join this blog tour or else I would have missed out on this amazing debut. This isn't a light read, it deals with some heavy stuff like alcoholism, abortion, and abuse, but it isn't depressing or anything. Even though I couldn't relate to Christy as much as I could with May, I certainly felt for Christy and wanted to see her get her life back on track again. So all in all this was a touching and suspenseful read and one that I recommend.

*I received my free review copy from Tyndale House*

With careful attention to detail, emotion, and scene-setting, C.J. Darlington scores with her debut effort. Here is a special writer you won’t want to miss.
--Jerry B. Jenkins, New York Times best selling author

If you love a good read filled with adventure and ultimately redemption, I encourage you to brew the tea, settle into your favorite chair and pick up the page turner that is C.J. Darlington’s imaginative new novel of a modern day sisterhood that triumphs over separation and the raw challenges of life to find the real endurance of both family ties and God’s amazing grace.
--Rebecca St. James, Grammy award winning Christian singer and bestselling author

With Thicker than Blood, C.J. Darlington proves she's a novelist for the long-haul, a strong new voice in Christian fiction. This book speaks to the heart, from the heart, about the heart. Readers will not soon forget it.
--Sibella Giorello, Christy award-winning author of The Rivers Run Dry & The Clouds Roll Away

Watch the book trailer:

About the Author:
C. J. began writing the story that would become Thicker than Blood (her first novel) when she was a fifteen-year-old homeschool student. She has been in the antiquarian bookselling business for over a decade, scouting for stores similar to the one described in the novel before cofounding her own online bookstore. Thicker than Blood was the winner of the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel.

C. J. co-founded the Christian entertainment Web site TitleTrakk.com with her sister, Tracy, and has been actively promoting Christian fiction through book reviews and author interviews. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her family and their menagerie of dogs and cats. Visit her website www.cjdarlington.com for more info.

QUICK LINKS:

• The 1st chapter of Thicker than Blood
• The "Story Behind the Story" of Thicker than Blood
• More endorsements from Jenny B. Jones, James Scott Bell, Susan Meissner, and more!
• Our interview with C.J. at TitleTrakk.com
  
• Buy Thicker than Blood at Christianbook.com
• Buy Thicker than Blood at Amazon.com
• List of the other 85+ Thicker than Blood blog tour participants!

Moggy Monday

Well, this weeks Moggy Monday is being taken over by the dogs so I guess it's really Doggy Monday. :) This week y'all get to meet my German Shepherd, Gracie, and if you meet her then you have to meet her brother (Doc) and sister (Daisy) too. Doc and Daisy are my dad's dogs but since Gracie goes over to their house almost every day (doggy daycare lol) they are all pretty tight. Okay, so here we go: My dad had a friend who had two German Shepherds and they had babies....12! Our dogs at the wrecker lot had passed away so my dad got two (Doc and Daisy) to keep them at the lot. They were only about three weeks old so my dad had to take them home with him and wean them and well they never stayed at the wrecker lot by themselves. ;) His friend had asked me if I wanted one but at first I said no cause I already had three dogs but I started thinking, "When will I get another chance like this to get a free German Shepherd??" So a couple weeks after my dad got Doc and Daisy I told him I wanted one and so he took me out to his friend's house. So there I am in the room with nine puppies and I have no idea how to pick one so I kind of sit down on the ground and say something to see which ones will come to me...they ALL came running towards me! lol So I said a little prayer that God would help me pick the right dog for me and just started picking up puppies. I pick up one and it's little tail is just going a mile a minute...I can feel it hitting my arm. When my dad saw that he started to laugh and said that he thought that was the one. So I look at the little puppy and say, "You wanna go home with me?" And that little tail starts back up and that is how I ended up with Gracie. :)

Gracie is such a character. She refuses to go outside by herself during the day but once I go to bed she will go out and pretty much stay outside the whole night. She's scared of the windshield wipers so when it's raining she doesn't like to go anywhere. I make her (cause once she's there she is happy) so she will find a place in the car to hide. She will eat the cheese and meat off of a piece a pizza and leave the crust. She loves to play "keep away", she gets a toy and when the other two dogs try to get it from her she runs off.

A little bit about my dad's dogs: Doc is a big goober. You will notice that his ears never stood up but it really suits his personality....very laid back. He's afraid of combs and brushes..lol So trying to groom him can be interesting. Daisy was the runt of the little and she's very timid but very sweet. It took my husband a long time to get her trust so he could pet her. Her nutty fear..cameras. You have to be sneaky to get a good picture of her because once she sees the camera she's gone. They are all crazy but really very good dogs and most of the time they mind really well. :)

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Folks saw her as a self-sufficient. Now she was one small step closer to being safe." The Sheriff's Surrender by Susan Page Davis

Moggy Monday

Well, it's that time of the week once again...Moggy Monday! :) This week y'all get to meet my outside cats. I'm just going to introduce them all at once so here we go:

First it Penny. She basically adopted me. I remember seeing her on the porch one night and then she started showing up during the day. You know me..I started feeding her and letting her stay the night in the shed with Tony. Then one day I came home for work and she had brought her four kittens to the shed! I had no idea she had kittens. I eventually took them to the vet and found them homes and got Penny fixed. She now pretty much stays in the shed because of Milo. He's a big bully to her. Since he isn't really hanging around the house much anymore I'm hoping in the spring she can go outside once again. But right now I don't think she minds the shed..she has three good size windows, lots of soft places to sleep, doesn't have to worry about raccoons eating her food or putting their dirty hands in her water and she has a heater! lol

Now Milo. A couple of years ago I was heading home and was probably about a mile or maybe a half mile from my house when I see this cat and I think, "If you need something to eat just come to my house." That was on a Wednesday or Thursday...on Saturday my husband told me that there was a strange cat in our cat fence. I'm sure you can guess who it was...Milo. So I got our cats inside then I got him out of the cat area and fed him. He's been hanging around ever since except here lately he shows up maybe once a week or so wanting food and then he disappears again. I have no idea where he's going but he looks good so I don't know.

This spring Rosie showed up, she was very skittish (still is really) but she realized I had food so she allows me to feed her. When she's eating I can pet her but she doesn't really trust me 100%. Well, again I had no idea but she had kittens...so I started feeding them too. Bart looks just like her while Harry looks like a Siamese. He has the prettiest blue eyes and he's the sweetest. He lets me pick him up and will sit on my lap when I sit in the swing outside. He's really a sweet cat. Bart lets me pet him but does not like to be picked up and he has no desire to sit on my lap. I somehow managed to get Rosie to the vet to get her fixed and I got Harry fixed but I still need to catch Bart. Need to try and do that next month.

So now you have met all my cats. :) Perhaps next week I'll let the dogs turn Moggy Monday into Doggy Monday. :)

Funny Picture

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Christian Historical Fiction Challenge

I've decided to join this reading challenge and since I love historical Christian fiction this should be a pretty easy challenge for me. Here are the rules/guidelines:

1. The goal is to read and promote Christian Historical Fiction by reading at least 24 titles. That is two per month, but anyone who wants to commit to more or less is welcome to join in on the fun. Anyone can join. You do not need a blog to participate. I have started a CHF Ning to promote discussions as well.

2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, and other formats are all allowed. As long as the book can by purchased it counts.

3. Feel free to list a proposed lists of TBR (to-be-reads) but you can also list them as you go.

4. Duplicates from other reading challenges can also count.

5. Challenge begins January 3rd through December 31st. Books started before count. *wink*;)


Okay here is my list of books I hope to read:

1. Petticoat Ranch by Mary Connealy
2. Calico Canyon by Mary Connealy
3. Gingham Mountain by Mary Connealy
4. Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser
5. Just Jane by Nancy Moser
6. Mozart's Sister by Nancy Moser
7. How Do I Love Thee by Nancy Moser
8. The Captain's Bride by Lisa Tawn Bergren
9. Tomorrow's Treasure by Linda Lee Chaikin
10. Ticket to Tomorrow by Carol Cox
11. Deep In the Heart of Texas by Gilbert Morris
12. A Daughter's Inheritance by Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller
13. A Light to my Path by Lynn Austin
14. From a Distance by Tamera Alexander
15. Becoming Lucy by Martha Rogers
16. The Sheriff's Surrender by Susan Page Davis
17. Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
18. The House in Grosvenor Square by Linore Rose Burkard
19. The Jewel of His Heart by Maggie Brendan
20. Like a River Glorious by Lawana Blackwell
21. The Rose Legacy by Kristen Heitzmann
22. Shadows of the Canyon by Tracie Peterson
23. Fair is the Rose by Liz Curtis Higgs
24. Grace in Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs

This list isn't set in stone but I hope to get most of these read since a lot of them have been sitting on my TBR bookshelf for a loooooong time. But we shall see what happens....

The Country House Courtship Giveaway

If you would like a chance to win a signed copy of The Country House Courtship by Linore Rose Burkard then head on over to Butterfly Blessings to enter.

A Prisoner of Versailles by Golden Keyes Parsons

First, don't you just love the cover? I had bought the first book in this series (Darkness to Light) back in December and loved it and was really wanting to get the next book and so I was very happy when I saw that I could get it on my Kindle. In this series you really have to read the books in order because in A Prisoner of Versailles it references things that happened in the first book (In the Shadow of the Sun King) so you would be a little lost or have a lot of questions. In this book it pretty much picks up where the last book left off and without giving too much away: Madeleine and her oldest son get kidnapped by King Louis XIV and are taken to Versailles. I don't want to say much else for fear I will give something away.

I loved this book! It had lots of action, a little romance, a few twist and turns, and now I can't wait for the third book. So this will come to no surprise to anyone but I highly recommend A Prisoner of Versailles.


Product Description from Amazon.com:

Madeleine's faith puts her at odds with an intimidating rival: King Louis XIV.

Having fled their homeland of France because of the persecution by Louis XIV, the Clavell family seeks refuge in Switzerland. However, the king is not about to let the recently widowed Madeleine, his childhood sweetheart, escape that easily. He sends musketeers to kidnap her and her oldest son, Philippe, holding them captive in his opulent palace. King Louis is suspicious that Philippe could be his son, and he's enraged by the growing affection of one of his courtiers for Madeleine.

Will Madeleine escape the king with her life or lose everything that she's fought so hard to keep?

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

There was no going back now. Christy slouched in the hard pew, already regretting her madness.

Thicker than Blood by C.J. Darlington

Moggy Monday

Today is Monday which means it's time for Moggy Monday...sorry I missed last week. This week y'all are going to meet Sam which will mean you have now met all my indoor kitties! Sam's story starts out pretty exciting...he was found in the mouth of a dog! Yep, he was about to be lunch for one of our dogs at work. An employee rescued him in the nick of time. He was an itty, bitty thing. He's still pretty itty, bitty to be honest. Anyway, I took him home with me and I had him a week or so when we found out he had ringworm. So the poor thing had to live in the bathroom with hardly any contact until it cleared up. I think that is why he's not real affectionate. But occasional he will curl up in a ball and take a nap on your lap. I have no idea how he stays so skinny since he sleeps all the time. But he is older now...I think he's about 14 years old now. So that's Sam: a little stand offish, skinny, and always sleeping. :D