tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87242452214641096152024-03-05T03:29:19.401-08:00Carmen CookWriting, Reading, Working...and avoiding Cleaning. My life with boys.
Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-30996410640213601522016-11-21T07:10:00.002-08:002016-11-21T07:15:41.703-08:00Coming in Hot, Passport to Romance Cover Contest Winner! and CONTESTI'm thrilled to let you know that <i>Coming In Hot</i> won the Passport to Romance Cover Contest!<br />
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HUGE thanks to everyone who came out in the wind storm that wasn't (thanks for that news people) and voted.</div>
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Right now the book is in edits, so I'm hoping for a February release. I'll be sure to let you all know when that happens.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExFH2BugLjUIM0FDVhZzBzuaeXgCxqCHbXkoQf3oBEdp6KlZ4Al51YEXzg3Iv9qD7TD2R6UNCtaFFz6pCyNT8PX0m_kLvAYIHgzTS7fUd30ah1eILOYZybZrzUcufDMiY6IjGI9ZrvSc/s1600/IMG_5864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExFH2BugLjUIM0FDVhZzBzuaeXgCxqCHbXkoQf3oBEdp6KlZ4Al51YEXzg3Iv9qD7TD2R6UNCtaFFz6pCyNT8PX0m_kLvAYIHgzTS7fUd30ah1eILOYZybZrzUcufDMiY6IjGI9ZrvSc/s200/IMG_5864.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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In the meantime I participated in an author event at Crucible Winery over the weekend with authors Gina Fluharty, Clare McKay & Anna Alexander. We had a ton of fun and I wound up winning the raffle basket. Which means YOU wound up winning.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgilKm-pqsAF7gf34BM5VKZu7a-Uj8pMRLEfCtufzmTD5r62Lw1h4j3oHWHs8HtcHNBa7cr_F55OPtuRms158juMUryVDIqLfkE_uabPrFlXoVQax2dTut6uBJyHAvhh264CvAagvIwU/s1600/IMG_5884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgilKm-pqsAF7gf34BM5VKZu7a-Uj8pMRLEfCtufzmTD5r62Lw1h4j3oHWHs8HtcHNBa7cr_F55OPtuRms158juMUryVDIqLfkE_uabPrFlXoVQax2dTut6uBJyHAvhh264CvAagvIwU/s200/IMG_5884.JPG" width="200" /></a>Just comment below that you'd like to win the prizes (including the House of Rosenorn canvas bag, Theo chocolate bars, books and more) and tell me what your favorite type of wine is. Don't forget to sign up for my <a href="http://bit.ly/29Y2IjU" target="_blank">newsletter</a> too. That's it! I'll have one of the kiddos pick a winner on Thursday.</div>
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Have a wonderful week!</div>
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Carmen</div>
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Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-37120697930851516232016-07-09T10:57:00.000-07:002016-07-09T10:57:29.610-07:00News! Some now, some later, but we're moving forward!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Be sure to stay turned for more information!! I can't wait to share it with you all!</div>
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Thanks for taking this crazy journey with me.</div>
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Carmen</div>
<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-45581284247282804722016-03-11T08:20:00.003-08:002016-03-11T08:20:34.932-08:00The balancing act<br />
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Hi Everyone!</div>
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I know I've been terrible about updating the blog, which is okay. I think I mentioned here that I was working on creating a better balance. To stop trying to be all things for all people and figure out what I could do for me. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? But it's not. At least not for me.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have a tendency to say YES! To volunteer any time I see an open position. And this isn't a bad thing when it's done in moderation. It's led to some amazing experiences and I've met some really fabulous people. </div>
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But, time to find balance. </div>
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So, in that effort, I've been working out & eating better. I've gone back to the basics on my writing, really figuring out what was tripping me up so I can fix it. (I'll go into that another time. It's been really interesting!) And, I've accepted a promotion at the day job that has led to more opportunities and responsibilities. Some of that completely counters my attempt at balance, but that's part of the process, right? Part of being able to grow as a person.</div>
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Yesterday I was in a meeting and for the first time in a long time, I felt under dressed. I'm sure I looked fine in my black & white striped pencil skirt and my black sweater. No one made me feel this way but myself. So, I came home and told Hubby that I need to invest in a suit. Not for everyday wear, but for the days I have these meetings with men who are older than me and all give me the side eye when I walk in. (Yes, it still happens. It's obnoxious.) I live in very casual Seattle. I think having a suit to wear in these situations (which, admittedly, don't happen more than once a quarter) will help. If nothing else, it'll help me.</div>
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Hubby's response was, "What type of suit?" Huh. I don't know. I was thinking about a skirt and blazer. Skirts because I feel very comfortable in them over trousers. A blazer because...isn't that what makes up a suit?</div>
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Apparently I've been living under a rock when it comes to suit options. </div>
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So, I ask you, what type of suits should I look for? </div>
Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-38424381378910858922016-01-11T07:26:00.003-08:002016-01-11T07:26:49.120-08:00Notes from my walkThis isn't a "New Year, New Me" type of thing. I think I mentioned before that 2016 is a big birthday year for me, so I decided at my last birthday that I needed to step up my game.<br />
Part of that is actually walking the dog more often. He'll be happier, which will make me happier, which will make everyone else happier...see where this is going?<br />
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Well, since we live so far North we have about 6 hours of daylight at this time of year. All of those hours are during the day job, so I'm walking the dog in the dark. (Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit about the number of hours of sunlight, but not about walking in the dark.) I've been noticing a few things while we're out walking.<br />
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1. High schoolers go to school REALLY early. Good grief. Those kids are barely upright before their loving parents are shoving them out the door so they can catch their bus. Plus, most of them don't appear to drink coffee yet, which is a double shame. If you have to be up that early, you should at least get the benefit of coffee.<br />
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2. Some people are afraid of dogs. Typically they send out a warning sign of some type; they'll cross the street, start walking in traffic to avoid the dog, or they'll simply yell for me to keep my ferocious beast who is peeing on everything that will stand still long enough away from them. (Now that I think about it, I wonder if they're really afraid of the dog, or just of being peed on...) Those are all fine ways to let me know, and I'll respect your wishes. The woman this morning did none of those things. She was bundled up as though she was about to do the Iditarod, looking straight ahead and walking at a pretty fast clip. When I said good morning she didn't respond at all. I figured somewhere under all those layers she had ear buds in and didn't think about it. But, when she got up next to Taz she pulled some fancy side-stepping dance move and squeaked like a mouse.<br />
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3. Our neighbor, the odd ones that are nice enough, but if the FBI ever showed up and said they had a freezer full of human bodies in their basement we'd all probably nod our heads and say things like, "Makes sense." like to clean at oh dark thirty in the morning. They were scrubbing their windows. This in itself wouldn't be so bad, but I'm pretty sure she was naked (yes, standing in a lit room, scrubbing the windows). I need to attempt to bleach my brain to unsee what I saw before I whipped my head around to look anywhere BUT there.<br />
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Thankfully, I'm safely back in my house, with the my coffee. The dog is resting at my feet having successfully scared the mouse-woman and I'm going to pretend I never saw anything.<br />
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I hope you all have a fabulous morning!!<br />
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CarmenCarmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-46179775496760378802015-12-21T08:55:00.002-08:002015-12-21T08:55:24.865-08:00It's the most...craziest...time of the year!I hope things are going well for all of you during this crazy time of the year.<br />
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<br />Around here, I figured I'd take this week off from the day job in order to get things ready for our holiday. And by take the week off, that, of course means that I've answered several day job emails so far and have two meetings scheduled for tomorrow. *insert unimpressed look here*<br />
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<br />But, aside from all the craziness, I'm really looking forward to when things grind to a halt with the outside demands and we all take some time to hang out and enjoy just being able to spend time with one another.<br />
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So, here's me, wishing you and yours a very relaxing (as relaxing as it can be) rest of the year. I hope your holiday celebrations, whatever they are, bring a ton of joy and laughter.<br />
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It's almost time for New Years Resolutions. Have you given those any thoughts yet?Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-65228610447336927542015-08-09T08:17:00.000-07:002015-08-09T08:17:55.790-07:00I've been quiet...sort of.It's been much longer than intended since I've updated the blog. And now I'm sitting here in front of the dreaded blank screen wondering where to start.<br />
My Spring and Summer (so far) have been packed full with all sorts of adventures and planning for the next one. We've been doing the typical suburban parent thing of running the kids everywhere--side note, do think other parents would get behind me if I signed up as an Uber care and charged them to transport their darlings all over the place? And would that mean I could keep my own kids allowance money to pay for their trips? Hmmm....<br />
I'm kidding. Mostly.<br />
Hubs built me an amazing garden set up which has quickly taken over everything. I'm loving all the fresh veggies! The oldest kid is in football (of course) the youngest is swimming and I discovered I turned the Stud in my novel into a Dud.<br />
*deep sigh*<br />
It took a lot of hair pulling, teeth gnashing and more than a little wine to get me to admit it, even to myself. But my wonderful Hero is now a Beta-man with absolutely nothing interesting about him. He was playing it too safe to get the girl. When I was speaking to an editor about what I'd done she looked me dead in the eye (with her husband sitting on the other side of her, I might add) and said, "Here's the thing. All men are assholes. You can't get rid of it."<br />
So, I'm re-writing. A lot.<br />
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That's why I've been so quiet lately. What have you been up to?<br />
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And, since it's National Book Lover's Day, I'd like to be the first to officially invite you all to the Emerald City Writers' Conference Reader Appreciation Event! It'll be held October 17 from 6-8pm in the Bellevue (Washington) Westin Hotel grand ballroom (on the 3rd floor).<br />
We're working on the official flyers for the event, but in the meantime, this is the program ad. Isn't it pretty?<br />
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Hope to see you all there!Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-53567173640749018892015-04-12T10:19:00.000-07:002015-04-12T10:19:01.893-07:00Taking the time for yourselfHi all,<br />
I've been taking a little break from blogging (as you've probably noticed) and this past week I called a time out on pretty much everything else. Like most of us, I've been burning the candle at both ends and really needed to regroup. I was burning out due to the increased demands of the day job, the kids constant requests, the feeling that I needed to write more and more and move up my timeline for publication. Toss in the fact that any goofing off I was doing on social media was filled with the hard selling "Buy my book! Look at my book! Review my book!" type posts and I needed to step back.<br />
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The past several days have been filled with family & friends. No writing, no social media (except for what had already been scheduled) and no pressure. I helped my Hubs & kids load wood from the 150-ish foot tree we had cut down. It may not sound like fun, but we were together, laughing while we worked. (And I'm still sore from doing it...I need to work out more) We headed North to the tulip fields, one of my favorite things to do. My boys are getting to the age where they no longer find it quite so fun to tromp through the fields while I take all the photos I can, but they were pretty good sports about it all. We went out to eat, drank quite a bit and laughed.<br />
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These are the moments I've been missing. The moments that I've stuffed so full of everything that I was forgetting to enjoy.<br />
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No more.<br />
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Now I'm back. I may not blog every week, but I'm back to doing what I want to do and having fun while I do it.<br />
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I hope you all have had a great Spring Break (if you get one) and get a chance to take a few moments for yourself too.<br />
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If you want to steal a few minutes on FB, I'm featuring 25 Days of Cowboys over on my FB page. Stop by and say high. I'd love to see you. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorcarmencook" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/authorcarmencook</a><br />
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CarmenCarmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-39165883779381918202015-02-13T07:07:00.000-08:002015-02-13T07:48:16.439-08:00Flowers, romance and the 'oh my!' factor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier this week a few of the local romance writers (members of Greater Seattle RWA) were asked to judge at the NW Flower and Garden show. Anna Alexander, Olivia Waite and I were thrilled to agree--once we got over the initial shock of being asked. I mean, a garden show? really? My master-gardener mother-in-law had a much harder time accepting that this is something I would be asked to do because of my writing, but we were excited. We were to judge the displays before the show opened to the public to help pick which of the displays spoke to the theme of "Romance Blossoms."<br />
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We were given our clipboards and set to work...and quickly realized that while we might not be master gardeners or landscape artists, we were very critical when it came to the subtleties of the displays telling a story. We spent a lot of time checking out the details, reading the descriptions and discussing if the various display lived up to their promises.<br />
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And, as a person who loved to dabble in the garden myself, I felt incredibly humbled by some of these displays. The gardens were gorgeous, all across the board. We wished we could have awarded them all something, just for the sheer amount of time and effort all the artists put into each display.<br />
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Overall, it was so much fun and we loved every minute of it. Rather than try to narrate my way through all the photos, I'll share bits and pieces...<br />
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This steampunk inspired garden captured all of our imaginations. It was a spectacular display. We later discovered it was a first time designer who put this together. My cell phone photos doesn't do justice to the level of details in this display (or any of them really).<br />
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This rustic cabin display really captured our imaginations. It wasn't until our second pass through that we discovered the very subtle nod towards the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. (When we mentioned it to the coordinator she hadn't realized the tie in at all. At the time, we were the only ones to see it.) Ultimately, we all decided we'd love to spend a weekend here.<br />
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I called this one my "happily-ever-after" garden. And, again, my cell phone photo doesn't do it justice. There were so many really wonderful things happening in this display, with an assortment of textures, mediums and levels. I would love to have this garden in my back yard. (There's a Valentines Day gift idea! LOL)<br />
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There were so many really wonderful details in the various gardens:<br />
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I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into the garden show. Which is your favorite so far?</div>
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And lastly, I'll show you one more really spectacular garden. This one was huge, but every angle you looked at it you discovered more really wonderful details:</div>
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<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-6269115223957709582014-12-29T12:05:00.004-08:002014-12-29T12:05:41.602-08:00Resolutions-time to make 'emI've been down and out with a nasty bug this week (yeah, I know, Merry Christmas to me!) so this is going to be short and sweet.<br />
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It's that time of year where we all start thinking out resolutions. The good, the bad, the ugly...they come back every year. And typically the same ones: I'm going to grow 6 inches so my weight matches my height. I'm going to work out every day. I'm going to eat right, get a promotion, go on a fabulous trip...something. Something wonderful.<br />
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Well, this year I decided on a resolution as I was digging through the thousands of photos I've taken looking for a family pic to use on our Christmas card. I found one. ONE. That's it.<br />
Pathetic.<br />
How about a pic with just me and the Hubs? Again, one. Ok, there were about a zillion pics of that one pose thanks to my friend holding down the shutter button on the camera, but what equated to one picture.<br />
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So, this year, I'm vowing to get more family photos and more pics of me with my guys. Essentially, I will be in more pictures.<br />
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How about you? Any resolutions, no matter how small?<br />
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I wish you all a fabulous New Year!!Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-3228167466366065492014-12-22T11:59:00.003-08:002014-12-22T11:59:57.581-08:00Christmas prep in full swing!<div style="text-align: center;">
I don't know about all of you, but Christmas prep is in full swing at my house. And by that I mean I've cut back on a lot of what I typically do to decorate because, "How is it already the week of Christmas?!" has hit me big time.</div>
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So, the basics...the tree is up:</div>
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I'm doing what I can to keep the cat out of the tree:</div>
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And I've baked some cookies. Mine don't look nearly this nice.</div>
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But, when it all comes down to it, I just can't wait to spend some quality time with my guys later this week.</div>
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How about you? Are you all ready for the holiday celebrations? Or are you still circling the mall looking for parking?</div>
<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-12286705096757428242014-12-14T18:50:00.001-08:002014-12-14T18:50:18.344-08:00Remember When?Do you remember the first time you saw things in public that you were<i> sure </i>your mom would flip out about, but she didn't?<br />
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I remember giggling over the National Geographic magazine showing the tribal people of some distant land, painted, pierced and delightfully, disgustingly, nude. Then having that same magazine arrive at our house in the mail. I kept waiting for my mother to throw her hands in the air and declare the whole thing dreadful before tossing that publication in the trash bin, muttering about decency and propriety the whole while.<br />
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Much to my surprise, she didn't. Instead she read the whole thing and even discussed parts of it with my father. Over <i>dinner</i>! (Oh the horror)<br />
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Well, this weekend, my youngest son had such an experience. Hubs and I took the boys to Buca di Beppo after finishing the last of our shopping. Anyone who has been to Buca knows of their over the top Italian decor and I didn't think anything of it.<br />
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Right up until Alex motioned me to his side, eyes wide as saucers. I was a bit concerned that he'd hurt himself somehow, so was woefully unprepared when his stage whisper of, "That statue has <i>privates</i>!!" reached my ears. I turned and spotted a small replica of The David tucked in an alcove behind me. Turning back I assured him it was supposed to be like that. "But why?" Because it's art.<br />
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And I completely lost it when he muttered, completely disgruntled, "Well, it's art when you tell me to put my shorts back on too."<br />
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I've really got to get him to a museum.<br />
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<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-42274307521593222962014-12-12T13:15:00.001-08:002014-12-12T13:15:31.069-08:00WINNER of the Angel Nicholas giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4IuXANpKU3Si2cL0Vpx6Qk6EqQql1BndxDELwqb1GvavZRHUVt1QCGaAAy3qNXqLMsIrYAMk5pV5oZFWi2xMKxigOPHcZ0v74m54lvm0mPjgdc_VxDuT-7bCmL2xmSntn8YrYPZi4Iw/s1600/Giveaway-Winner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4IuXANpKU3Si2cL0Vpx6Qk6EqQql1BndxDELwqb1GvavZRHUVt1QCGaAAy3qNXqLMsIrYAMk5pV5oZFWi2xMKxigOPHcZ0v74m54lvm0mPjgdc_VxDuT-7bCmL2xmSntn8YrYPZi4Iw/s1600/Giveaway-Winner.png" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Congratulations to ALISON, the winner (drawn from random name picker thing) of </div>
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SWEET DECEPTION!</div>
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Thank you so much to everyone to stopped by to comment. Don't forget that you can purchase the book at all major retailers now.</div>
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Thanks again Angel and Congratulations ALISON!! </div>
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Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-12375327614668528582014-12-08T05:56:00.000-08:002014-12-08T05:56:33.150-08:00Introducing Angel Nicholas and her debut novel SWEET DECEPTION and GIVEAWAY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-q0Zk_ew0Vp32EB2yoJwwNS_EzbRX61wxq10Xr2UveMu0Pd_IbDvFZGsh4lefGwaFWGSNOKlzFMEcyhN3KGXFGKv1UPWwkBxoljn1n7hsfAX3sWKsMOfLQP0D4r_cdqKqc5bW-XnvOkI/s1600/1166297135_boudoir00002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-q0Zk_ew0Vp32EB2yoJwwNS_EzbRX61wxq10Xr2UveMu0Pd_IbDvFZGsh4lefGwaFWGSNOKlzFMEcyhN3KGXFGKv1UPWwkBxoljn1n7hsfAX3sWKsMOfLQP0D4r_cdqKqc5bW-XnvOkI/s1600/1166297135_boudoir00002.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I'd like everyone to meet Angel. We met a couple of years ago through Facebook believe it or not. I can't exactly remember the details, but before I knew it I'd connected with a kindred spirit from the next state over. Isn't the internet fun?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I am THRILLED to announce her debut release SWEET DECEPTION, which is available now. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I've asked Angel to stop by and answer some FAQ so everyone can get to know her and get a taste of her new book. One lucky person will be gifted a copy of SWEET DECEPTION, to be drawn on Friday, December 12 at 12:30pm PST. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now to be all official....</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">The only
girl in the midst of four brothers, Angel Nicholas spent her childhood hiding
behind romance novels. Now the mother of four overly-energetic children, a
Whimsy kitty and slobber-flinging Great Dane, fiction is still her refuge.
Excessive caffeine fuels her typing, stiletto heels maintain her sass, and the
splendors of Idaho alongside its gregarious people inspire her muse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Find
Angel on </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorangelnicholas"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.twitter.com/_AngelNicholas"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.google.com/+AngelNicholas"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Google+</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4674230-angel-nicholas"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Goodreads</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, and on her </span><a href="http://angelnicholas.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">website</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">! You can also
favorite her </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/author/angelnicholas"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amazon Author Page</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> to receive emails
when new books are available!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here's the back copy blurb for the book:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ally
Thompson’s life is perfect. Calm, quiet, some might even say boring. The sole
survivor of a tragic accident, she’s not the adventurous type—something she’s
decided to change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
roller-coaster ride… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
murder and a detective in disguise shatter Ally’s first attempt at “fun.”
Detective Greg Marsing is everything Ally knows better than to want. The
gun-totting, tattooed scumbags trying to kill her are almost a welcome
distraction from her pointless attraction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Blows
her world wide open… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
contract on Ally has every lowlife for miles gunning for her. Sparks fly while
she and her unlikely hero scramble to unravel clues. As the deadly game
escalates, Greg has to decide if self-preservation rates higher than a love
worth dying for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><b>FAQ by Angel:</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Have you always been a writer, or is there
a pivotal moment that started you on your journey?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve
been a writer for as long as I can remember. Writing was how I expressed all my
teenage angst. I have a folder full of dark prose and weepy poetry! There was a
long period where I set it aside, however. Instead of pursuing my dream of
becoming a freelance photojournalist after high school, I pursued life.
Children came along. Who knew the little darlings were so distracting? I found
hobby after hobby to occupy myself with as they grew—in number and years. Then
one night I had a dream so vivid that it would not leave me alone. So I sat
down at the computer I used to maintain my then husband’s business and began
writing. And wrote and wrote and wrote. I was like a woman obsessed. It started
out horrid and was writing completely wrong, but I kept writing. I finished
that story, and moved on to another. Then another. In the process, I educated
myself about writing and the publishing industry. I’ve always believed that
anything worth doing is worth doing right. Four and a half years later, here I
am. I must have done one or two things right, don’t you think? ;-)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What is your favorite thing about being a
writer?</span></b></div>
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<b><o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
marabou slippers, feather boas, bon bons, and pink champagne of course,
dahling!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh,
you were being serious? Hmm… I have always enjoyed the ability to create
something from nothing, whether I was doing heirloom sewing or knitting or
anything else. Writing is an extension of that. You sit down to a blank screen
and you weave this intricate story. You create real people out of thin air,
breathe life into them, and send them on this incredible journey that gives
them even more depth. Then you send it out into the world, and pray it moves
people just a little. It’s truly the most incredible thing I’ve ever done,
aside from giving birth to and raising my munchkins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you prefer dogs, cats, or none of the
above?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ha!
More like ALL of the above! I’m an animal lover to the core. I currently have
three cats, which was unintentional, I swear. I’m no longer allowed anywhere
near the Humane Society for fear I’ll come home with more. Home feels wrong
without a dog though! Rental properties are oddly against their renters owning
170 pound Great Danes. I think it’s an unfair restriction, personally. An
ill-behaved dog is destructive no matter their size. So the Dane is still with
the ex-husband at the ex-house. I miss him desperately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last question: Do you have any shameless
addictions—Starbucks, shoes, sunglasses, coins, books?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">*snort*
Everyone who knows me is well-aware of my addictions! Coffee, ridiculously high
heels, and books. I’m not the least bit shy about indulging or sharing. I’m
less vocal about things like my enjoyment of excellent food and fine weaponry
of any kind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thank
you so much for having me on your blog today, Carmen! You’re a doll! If you don’t
mind, I’ll say farewell by giving your readers a taste of my new release, Sweet
Deception. Hugs & kisses!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Excerpt<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh,
God! He was shooting at her. Actually shooting. In broad daylight. In her
neighbor’s backyard. Didn’t they have rules about that sort of stuff?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nerves
shredded, Ally gritted her teeth. Three more feet. Two. Another crunch. She
swore the heat of the bullet singed her shoulder. Arms extended, she jumped for
all she was worth. Up, braced her arms and pushed off. She landed with an oomph
on the other side, followed by another crunch and a hole in the wood fence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For a
split-second, she crouched panting, staring in disbelief at the fence towering
over her head. Had she really done that? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cursing
from the other side got her up and moving again. Squealing tires and a revving
engine brought her head around. A car tore into the alley and raced toward her.
More bad guys? Had he called in reinforcements? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ally
froze. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Did I do something horrible in a past life
to deserve this? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Truly, I’ll help the poor. Serve food at
the soup kitchen. Go to church every Sunday. Donate money to the shelter. I’ll
even babysit my friend’s bratty kids. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Just please, please, please get me out of
this alive.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
shiny black Camaro careened to a stop with the driver’s side door facing her.
Heavily tinted windows revealed nothing. In a last desperate bid for freedom,
she darted past the door. Strong arms encircled her waist and dragged her back
toward the idling car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No!”
Ally screamed like a banshee, flinging out her arms and legs, scrabbling for
purchase. Hard hands sent her flying across the front seat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Ally.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Let
me go!” She dove for the door handle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Ally!”
He grabbed her elbow and pulled her back, away from the passenger door. “Damn
woman, you are way more trouble than you’re worth.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Almost
blind with panic, she twisted around and crouched on the seat, prepared to draw
blood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shocked
hazel clashed with furious aqua. Her mouth fell open. Muttering under his
breath, Detective Marsing threw the car into gear and spun out of the alleyway.
She whipped her head around in time to see a blocky head pop up over the
privacy fence as they disappeared around the corner. She’d done it. Escaped.
Stayed alive. Like an atomic bomb, the events of the past hours and the
emotions she’d worked so hard to control mushroomed up, exploding inside. Tears
stung. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Can’t
you stay out of trouble for five minutes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">BUY
LINKS: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Deception-HarperImpulse-Romantic-Suspense-ebook/dp/B00P5V58O2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417398165&sr=8-1&keywords=sweet+deception+angel+nicholas"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-deception-angel-nicholas/1120677829?ean=9780008126254"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Barnes &
Nobles</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Angel_Nicholas_Sweet_Deception_HarperImpulse_Roman?id=1iZOBQAAQBAJ"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Google play</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/sweet-deception-harperimpulse-romantic-suspense/HxQtSOsDzkyM0_ctD9KZIg?MixID=HxQtSOsDzkyM0_ctD9KZIg&PageNumber=1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kobo</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sweet-deception/id936850350?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4">iTunes</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-82557755448706248132014-11-22T09:26:00.000-08:002014-11-22T09:26:06.549-08:00Prepping for our Thanksgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The US is celebrating Thanksgiving next week, which in my house means two things. Food & Football. </div>
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I grew up in a pretty traditional family full of girls, so there was no football. Just a lot of fancy table settings and us being expected to <i>behave like ladies</i> and remember our <i>social graces</i>. I can hear my sister groaning from here as I type those two phrases.</div>
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I still like a nice table setting...but not so full that there's nowhere for the food to go. I mean, where's the food?? How can you pass the potatoes if they're still in the kitchen? But, I admit, it looks lovely.</div>
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And then there's the food. Enough to feed the neighborhood--or the addition of the random single guy Hubs works with that doesn't have family in the area that finds his way to our table--and have some left overs as well. Because there's nothing better than Thanksgiving left overs. </div>
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But now that the boys are old enough to voice their opinions, they've let me know they don't like green bean casseroles. (My mother-in-law still refuses to believe this.) They also aren't big fans of pie. (Go ahead, I'll wait while you all gasp in horror.) So this year when I was making the menu I made sure I had the traditional basics of turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, along with some of the non-traditional favorites of my family: butternut squash risotto, roasted carrots and parsnips and for dessert, strawberry shortcakes.</div>
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There will be plenty of laughter while we run around the yard playing our own version of touch football while we wait for the food to finish cooking and after we come back in I'm sure the guys will be cheering on their favorite NFL teams in their games. </div>
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We have a small family, but it's rich with our own special traditions and I love the fact that my boys look forward to this holiday every year. </div>
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What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions? Do you do it up big, with a huge extended family gathering, or keep it simple? And, since we won't have pie this year...tell me your favorite. I'll be living vicariously through you all.</div>
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<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-28041021684536947262014-11-03T07:07:00.001-08:002014-11-03T07:07:03.573-08:00Movie MarathonsI had planned a different post for this morning but changed my mind at the last minute.<br />
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My boys had a movie marathon this week. It was fabulous.<br />
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Much better than the movie marathons from a few years ago.<br />
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Although I never mind when Hubs puts on the movies of his choice either.<br />
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So, how about you? If you are sitting down for a movie marathon, what would you pick?Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-14605108094439562762014-10-26T11:50:00.001-07:002014-10-26T11:50:06.284-07:00More Swag for the Bag 2014We've talked about the challenge on finding swag ideas that will catch the eye. And, with more and more conferences going toward "paper-less" swag, it's becoming increasingly challenging to continue to come up with new ideas.<br />
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Last week I attended the Emerald City Writers' Conference, sponsored by the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America--my home chapter of RWA. For the past 4-5 years we've had a paperless swag policy for our bags. We still offer a place (typically a table in the writer's lounge, then a table outside the ballroom during the book fair, when we invite the public to come join us for fun), to put out the paper swag items. (By paper I mean book marks, cover flats, business cards, etc.) The exception to our paperless rule are things like bound book excerpts, a postcard that offers a free book download or discount...it pretty much has to be more than just the paper product.<br />
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When I arrived home from ECWC I received a box from the wonderful Cora Cade, so sent me some of the swag items she's been collecting at various conferences and reader events over the year. When I set everything out to go through the loot, I knew I had to create another blog post, because this group of items was much different than the last. Very few paper products and a lot of really great ideas! <br />
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So, let's dive in.<br />
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Again, just like last time, I set everything out on the coffee table and just went through grabbing items that caught my eye. It was obvious, right from the start, that it probably wouldn't be financially feasible to offer some of these things by the hundreds for the swag bags at various conferences. But, as ideas for street teams or some VIP readers (selected however you wish) there are some very very cool items.<br />
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After I took this group photo I realized that some of the items on the table are actually a couple of my birthday gifts, so I didn't photograph them up close. If you see something that you want more info on that I didn't highlight, let me know and I'll be happy to share the item with you.<br />
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So, there's the loot. Notice anything different about this selection? First off, it's much less cluttered than the last time I did this. Hardly any paper. I love it.<br />
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Since there are so few paper items I went to those things first: Two calendars. For full disclosure, only one was in our swag bag, the other I received at the Killion Group workshop -after a mock photo shoot with model Harvey, so I had to have him autograph it for me.<br />
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These are really great, fun ideas. They include various covers on each month. You could easily get together with a few author friends (depending on how many months you want to 'own' for the calendar) and put something like this together for cross promotion too and be able to offer it on a wider audience with the shared cost. I fully admit that I haven't checked out the cost of these things, but I also wonder about doing smaller pocket/purse calendars. Similar idea, but smaller size might make it more cost effective or easier to ship.<br />
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RT Magazine sent ECWC enough copies to fill the bag, which is a fun filler and there weren't that many booklets offered this year. It's always hard to know who is doing what, but offering these excerpt booklets are a great way to offer readers a chance to try out a new author. And, like with the calendars, you don't have to do it on your own. You can join forces with a few other authors you know to help with cross promotion. AND, if you are a e-book author (whether indie or small pub, whatever) and want to participate in book fairs or reader event but aren't comfortable sitting at a table without any product, these are GREAT ways to engage and hook new readers.<br />
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Always the most popular items in any swag bags are books. Always. Don't be afraid to ask your publisher to send your books for the bags of various conferences you are attending or than you plan to attend but want a presence. They may not send enough to have one in every bag, but chances are they will be more than happy to send some of your books.<br />
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Or, if you have left over books from various promotions or author copies, whatever. Check the RWR to see if there are any conferences coming up that you want to send your items to.<br />
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Since we're still on the paper-ish items, I'll point out the coupon for a local restaurant near the conference hotel and the notebooks that were in the bags. Nothing too earth shattering, but cute, fun items that will get your name in front of the attendees. But, I'll point out that the only author name I see here is Erin Nicholas. At first glance, I couldn't tell you who offered up the other two notebooks. The black one is now in my purse and the cupcake one has been claimed by my kid, so I doubt I'll find out. Don't be afraid to put your name on things. If you're buying up some generic over the counter items, try to figure out a way to get your name on them, whether by a sticker or some other way. I want to know your name so when I meet you at the conference I can thank you. Seriously.<br />
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Some of the goodies at ECWC this year were necklaces that were given to conference volunteers. Nicolette Reed has hers in the bags for everyone. Let me tell you, it was SO FUN to see attendees wearing these items along with their lanyards and name badges all weekend. How much fun would it be to see your book cover on one of these? Or if you have a tagline that your die hard readers identify with?<br />
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And, speaking of lanyards...check out what the wonderful Merien Grey made for the committee members of ECWC. As I was looking at them I realized, they probably didn't take a ton of time to make and they really can set a group apart. Is your street team planning on attending RT? How about investing a little time to make them a lanyard so they'll be instantly recognizable?<br />
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Or what about giving these out to people who make a purchase of your books at a book fair? I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Readers like to feel special. Heck, everyone likes to feel special. Offering a nice one of a kind type item is a great way to win someone over. If you don't have the skill set to make this yourself, I'd bet money that you know someone who would be willing to help you out for a nominal fee or advanced read or something (depending on their role in your world).<br />
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This post is going to be really long, so I'm going to start throwing things out there a little faster without offering quite so much commentary. Or I'm going to try...we'll see how it goes:<br />
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Pens and pencils</div>
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A great, inexpensive cup with a clear brand. This is awesome and is sitting on my desk holding pens and pencils, so I'll be looking at it every day.</div>
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A magnetic clip. Again, clearly marked with the author's name, so I don't have any question who offered it up and I'll be seeing her name regularly as I use this. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can never seem to have enough of these clips on my fridge holding kid's art, notices from the school, reminders, etc.</div>
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Chapstick, again clearly marked. I admit that I'm always hesitant to use the chapstick and things that I get in swag bags, but I know there are several people that really love them. The exception I will make is if it is very obviously sealed.</div>
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Another example of sharing some of the swag is this cozy. Each author had their information on one side of the cozy. Just by looking at them I can tell both write Westerns, but that's about all I know for sure. The fact that both websites are clearly marked and the style of each side is similar makes this look very professional. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmss9YoJr9ArdkyJn6pgqqfiTfiPuRQayzfwTA1YbvswMfNhryaURMY2uwaOx0-eS8NZ7NryREgw7Pe-uW6FBWzjz6c3UnFk_3ovbliFUQ5WxIxpy1unnnY0ifWj5a21qRkpzBnfvJ6a0/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-20+021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmss9YoJr9ArdkyJn6pgqqfiTfiPuRQayzfwTA1YbvswMfNhryaURMY2uwaOx0-eS8NZ7NryREgw7Pe-uW6FBWzjz6c3UnFk_3ovbliFUQ5WxIxpy1unnnY0ifWj5a21qRkpzBnfvJ6a0/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-20+021.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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There were a couple of very cool items in this group of swag that I need to highlight:</div>
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This cup & spoon from Crista McHugh is awesome. It has her tagline, which isn't so series or romance specific that my husband wouldn't use the mug, which is a good thing because it's the one item that he zeroed right in on and claimed for himself. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwxzcvNrlDYr6Lyv5XEai_v2_m0ZL1Tlj5hdx8RIlMY9AyNPEcFzqnEtxjSSmaAUPQlJRekRNSdtRbydEdZHd3QUeps7vP98gdMJDU80yqvh61LpLyGymegHM9BO4EEMQTqnAc_nxihM/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-20+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwxzcvNrlDYr6Lyv5XEai_v2_m0ZL1Tlj5hdx8RIlMY9AyNPEcFzqnEtxjSSmaAUPQlJRekRNSdtRbydEdZHd3QUeps7vP98gdMJDU80yqvh61LpLyGymegHM9BO4EEMQTqnAc_nxihM/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-20+027.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another is this little grooming kit. At first, I had no idea what it was and called my ten-year-old over to open it while I continued to photograph the other items waiting for attention. When he got it open he exclaimed how cool it was and I have to agree. It's a keychain, so I can put it on my keys if I want, or just put it in the car or my purse. </div>
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That's the bulk of what I have this time. What do you think? Anything strike inspiration for you? Something you want to get a closer look at?</div>
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I need to give a very special shout out to Cora Cade for sending me some swag to highlight...and I'm going to show her items here:</div>
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There are a few more days of this sale if you're interested. </div>
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And, I'm so thrilled to recieve this item and will be using it. A lot! This would be another fabulous </div>
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idea for street teams:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSiPvV-nYHYjDcCuR-2-3jBaJMTZMNWTyCyYRg8M3uuTnszZu5fxBEdRS1LG5Nll6I_8KVUImELCSPwAgMgmYqhBvsQ48ea9whqTDr1hYhknjjJbxassPFX9PTYImGRqodFYKfurJdjc/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-20+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSiPvV-nYHYjDcCuR-2-3jBaJMTZMNWTyCyYRg8M3uuTnszZu5fxBEdRS1LG5Nll6I_8KVUImELCSPwAgMgmYqhBvsQ48ea9whqTDr1hYhknjjJbxassPFX9PTYImGRqodFYKfurJdjc/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-20+034.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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And, now I'll show you my swag, which I gave away at my workshop at ECWC. Since my books aren't out yet, I'm not really selling anything but getting my name out there and in front of people. I so appreciated everyone who came out to the workshop and hope you all had as much fun as I did and that you like the goodies. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jFRfRYUHItMDbVwi0yiNEEmU7DnHWZ0MhrmhteaSlVb9V378RSA421Qpqegor5TwfbKJ6rvTbXbmHrSvbfRz-PDOZg80Sl74vGXHABURvGwbJ2jM4UI7LA_679a65ZRCRuQmuJtlHrc/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-11+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jFRfRYUHItMDbVwi0yiNEEmU7DnHWZ0MhrmhteaSlVb9V378RSA421Qpqegor5TwfbKJ6rvTbXbmHrSvbfRz-PDOZg80Sl74vGXHABURvGwbJ2jM4UI7LA_679a65ZRCRuQmuJtlHrc/s1600/Phone+photos+2014-10-11+001.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you see anything on the table I didn't highlight, please let me know, I'll be happy to dig it out and give it a shout. But, really, this was so much fun to go through and get more ideas for possible swag items. I hope it sparks a bit of inspiration for all of you! Thanks for stopping by!</div>
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Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-88801892149506100492014-10-13T07:12:00.000-07:002014-10-13T07:12:04.733-07:00Conference game plan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm prepping for the Emerald City Writers' Conference, which will be happening this weekend at the Westin in Bellevue Washington. Last year I was the conference chair, so ran around quite a bit putting out fires and managing little details with the hope that none of the attendees would noting any of the snags we encountered.<br />
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This year I'll be giving a workshop. Get Out of Your Own Way: An Introverts Guide to Interpersonal Relationships. It's a crazy huge title, but basically I'm going to be breaking down the various interpersonal relationships that you, as a writer, want to develop and assist in making a plan in how to do it. To start, there are professional contacts, fellow writers, bloggers, and readers. And there are all sorts of ways that you can encounter these people. One of the areas I'll be focusing on is conferences. Sort of makes sense since we'll be at one, right?<br />
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Last year I had several people approach me to tell me they could 'never' do what I did. That getting up and talking in front of three hundred attendees would send them into vapors. That speaking to their favorite author is terrifying. Forget sitting with an acquiring editor at dinner. We're not supposed to pitch to them, so what would we talk about? eek!<br />
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First, take a deep breath. Next, straighten your spine and dive in. I know that's not the hand holding, flowers and rainbows advice that some people want, but it's what you have to do. You can help yourself by preparing. Hone your elevator pitch--you know, that small, thirty second bit you can rattle off any time someone asks you what you write? That. Because the first time someone asked me what I wrote, I froze. Seriously, what did they mean? I'm at a writing conference. A ROMANCE writing conference at that, so that can't possibly be what they mean, right? So, the first thing that came to me? "I write words. On a good day, lots of them."<br />
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*forehead smack*<br />
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But, the ice was broken. So, my first bit of unsolicited advice is to prepare. Work on your small talk, practice your pitch and prepare your game face. Because when it comes to conference, you have to be social to a degree.<br />
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If you'll be at ECWC this year, I'd love to see you. Please be sure to stop by and say hello. And if you'd like more tips, be sure to attend my workshop, Friday afternoon.<br />
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Hope to see you all there!Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-74463158230075853152014-10-05T17:09:00.000-07:002014-10-05T17:09:28.276-07:00October, my favorite month of the year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCd23kyNX-ONGiBPMkqJ50YYcmtFmjfm3xeVVxQ7J4M1yX2GKssJFWQE1uHZ4KXduvmDdNDhA0eUvyJpIpQWOx5c893qFv5iP3hGebGdgemorT3Efsvwca-EfvqPejEDM1mbr5RUjNrjw/s1600/hello+october.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCd23kyNX-ONGiBPMkqJ50YYcmtFmjfm3xeVVxQ7J4M1yX2GKssJFWQE1uHZ4KXduvmDdNDhA0eUvyJpIpQWOx5c893qFv5iP3hGebGdgemorT3Efsvwca-EfvqPejEDM1mbr5RUjNrjw/s1600/hello+october.jpg" height="344" width="640" /></a></div>
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October is my favorite month of the year. It always has been.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGTGo6D2jB5KQqC-vnlDdYsAijoTIgp3awgLEbUcosRdi14_uDIGmTS6pj-PWu4XNHTdwctEVA-nhejjvxpyCeJLDG-0uu8V4Xw-Ir-OyWiuTz_Uqkmaczqv9jzbN4UKV2_ViKTcSmqM/s1600/Fall-Foliage-1-Large.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGTGo6D2jB5KQqC-vnlDdYsAijoTIgp3awgLEbUcosRdi14_uDIGmTS6pj-PWu4XNHTdwctEVA-nhejjvxpyCeJLDG-0uu8V4Xw-Ir-OyWiuTz_Uqkmaczqv9jzbN4UKV2_ViKTcSmqM/s1600/Fall-Foliage-1-Large.jpeg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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It could be because of the amazing fall colors:Chances are, even if you don't live in an area where the foliage turn, at some point, someone dragged you somewhere to go look at the leaves. I considered it insanely dull at the time, but now I love watching the maple trees (in particular) turn to vibrant oranges and reds.</div>
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Another reason: It's my birthday month. Those who know me know I'm a birthday fiend, constantly reminding them of my birthday. It's to the point that if I don't, they search me out to find out what's going on and why I'm not bugging them about it. I love that they know me well enough to know it's a big deal to me any why. </div>
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Emerald City Writers' Conference is also held each October. This year I'll be giving a workshop for the first time. (If you're going to be in attendance, I'd love to see you!) Last year I was the conference chair, so I plan on kicking back and catching up with everyone that I was too busy to do more than wave at as I raced past.</div>
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And, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention Halloween. Now that I have kids, it means something a bit different than it used to, but I always look forward to seeing all the costumes. </div>
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Tell me, what's your favorite month? Are you a die hard for October, like I am?</div>
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Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-58363309315325445752014-09-28T10:32:00.000-07:002014-09-28T10:32:43.474-07:00Cats or Dogs<div style="text-align: center;">
You know the saying, never work with animals or children? Well, in my current book I've got both. I don't know why other than my life is a current cycle of the kids and the animals needing something, so that's trickling over.</div>
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But, it's time to answer the age-old question;</div>
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Cats?</div>
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Dogs?</div>
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Take another look:</div>
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I'm torn. I think I want them all. ;-)</div>
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What do you think?</div>
Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-45404310197611908702014-09-21T19:49:00.000-07:002014-09-21T19:49:22.340-07:00Gearing up for the new TV seasonI don't know about all of you, but every year I eagerly anticipate the new television season. I set up the DVR to record the shows I'm sure I'm going to love...and most of the time I never watch them.<br />
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This year is no different, but I'm sure to watch at least one of the shows I'm waiting for.<br />
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In no particular order:<br />
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I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of them, but...what are you eagerly anticipating?</div>
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And, I have to say, I don't get Starz. It's killing me waiting for Outlander to arrive on Netflix or Prime or any of the other sites. Anyone know if there's any plans for that to happen before the second season? Or should I suck it up and order Starz?</div>
<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-49790919896107146172014-09-17T12:02:00.002-07:002014-09-17T12:02:16.917-07:00What'cha Reading Wednesday<div style="text-align: center;">
I love finding new authors and series. LOVE it. So, I'm going to start popping up occasionally and ask what everyone is reading. I won't do it every week, but when I think of it. And feel free to shoot me a note telling me when you want to pimp out a book or author and I'll do a post.</div>
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For me, I'm re-reading <a href="http://jillshalvis.com/" target="_blank">Jill Shalvis</a>' Animal Attraction. My sister had been in a reading slump, so I rec'd the series to her. </div>
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And then I started reading it again. Love when that happens. </div>
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So, what are you guys reading? What are you looking forward to?</div>
Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-86898408572852611362014-09-15T07:20:00.002-07:002014-09-15T07:20:18.301-07:00Back to the Grindstone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, the kids are back to school (YAY!) and we've dealt with the typical not wanting to go to school, I'm so tired, I don't feel well, excuses. All in the first week! Lucky us! (Careful, don't let the sarcasm drip on you...) But for all the love I was professing to routine and schedules, I haven't accomplished anything since the kids went back. I mean, the house is still standing, clothes are-relatively-clean and everyone gets fed daily. That's something, right? But that's about it so far.<br />
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So, now it's time to set some goals for me. Or really get down to business with reshaping those items I let slide in the craziness of the summer.<br />
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First, writing time. Every day. No excuses. No brain being too tired to even try. That's all bunk. I will write EVERY SINGLE DAY.<br />
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Next, that whole diet and exercise thing. I've been doing better with the food choices lately (trying hard to pretend those sunflower seeds are just as good as the Almond Joy staring at me from the candy dish at work), but I need to start doing the whole exercise thing. EVERY DAY.<br />
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Yeah, notice a trend here? Too often I'm letting everyone else's schedule push mine off track, so I'm going to take that back. That's going to mean getting back in the habit of us at 5am (yawn) in order to accomplish things, but it's going to happen.<br />
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Tell me what the last thing you did for yourself was! We can encourage each other.<br />
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<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-46604389537172228272014-08-30T16:00:00.006-07:002014-08-30T16:00:51.398-07:00Back to School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, I know other parts of the country have been back to school for a few weeks already, but around here the kids are enjoying one last hurrah this weekend before heading back into class next week.<br />
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My dining room table is covered with school supplies, which makes my heart sing. Is there anything more fun than all that brand new stuff? The boys aren't quite as impressed with it all as I am, but they humor me each time I ask, "Isn't it cool?"<br />
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I admit, I love the routine of the school year. The definite start time, end time. The knowledge that everyone is on the same page (or supposed to be) in terms of what they're studying and where they need to be.<br />
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What are you doing to celebrate the return to school? Or the last weekend of freedom as my children have dubbed it. (so dramatic...I wonder where they get that?)Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-29208455687116876562014-08-25T07:43:00.002-07:002014-08-25T07:43:55.714-07:00Beauty of the Bundle: Spotlight on Sabrina York and Brought To His KneesThe bundles are loved. The bundles are hated. But, either way, the bundles are landing authors on some big lists and for that reason alone, it doesn't appear that they'll be going anywhere soon. They remind me of the anthologies that were so popular a few years ago...but with more punch. More pizzazz.<br />
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I decided to chat with friend, author Sabrina York about her newest bundle...we were going to talk about bundles in more general terms, but that conversation got much too long to put on the blog. Maybe someday we'll get there. :-) Tell me what you think about box sets in the comments and be entered to win this bundle!<br />
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But, here's what she had to say about Brought to His Knees, along with a excerpt of her story, Whipped.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Who
Doesn’t Want a Man Brought to His Knees by Love? Eleven Scorching Stories for
99¢</span></b><span style="font-family: "MS Shell Dlg 2","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I was thrilled when
my latest venture, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Alpha-SEALs-Military-Romance-ebook/dp/B00LBFVNQS">Hot
Alpha SEALs Megaset</a>, hit the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists and
I am very excited about my next release, a collection of steamy stories about
men brought to their knees by love. Check out a taste of my story, and read on
for more teasers from the collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Brought
to his Knees Box Set<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Alpha male.
Strong. In control. Letting no one and nothing rule him…until he
meets the one, and all bets are off. The world tilts, the bed rocks,
and suddenly that tough guy finds himself Brought to His Knees—in more ways
than one. This collection of ten hot to erotic novellas and one short erotic
novel will take you on journeys of lust, love, and adventure, leave you
breathless and quite possibly in need of a cold shower. Enter with
anticipation. Finish satisfied…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="Chapter">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">Whipped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";">By Sabrina York<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Dane Coulter is mourning the loss of
his best friend, fellow Special Ops buddy, Cody. Oh, Cody didn’t die. It’s
worse. He’s getting<i> married</i>. Cody is, in Dane’s opinion,<i> </i>whipped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Dane swears he will never suffer the
same fate. But when he meets a woman who can take all his dominant loving and
beg for more, he realizes he may have met his match. It’s a damn shame she’s
the one woman in the world his man-code
deems untouchable…his best friend’s sister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA">Read an
Excerpt (18+ Only, Please—this is steamy stuff)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">He was bigger than he’d been in high
school. Bigger, taller and just…more. His muscles, lacquered by a tight black
tee shirt, bulged. Tattoos danced over his biceps. The planes of his face were
angled. High cheekbones, dark brows, long blade of a nose all the same, but
sharper. His eyes hadn’t had those shadows back then either, that predatory
glint. His hair—his thick mop of curls—was gone, shaved off, revealing the
perfect shape of his head. His chin, however, wasn’t shaved. It was covered by
a smattering of dark fuzz. A scar on his cheek, rather than detracting from his
looks, made him even more fascinating, dangerous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">And he smelled…delicious. As he moved, his
cologne, a clean enticing scent, enveloped her in a cloud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Oh, he was dangerous all right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">She didn’t care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The slight buzz from the margaritas at the
bachelorette party, the sexual sizzle ignited by the strippers who’d burst in
on their party wearing camo fatigues with rip-away crotches, all contributed to
her bravado.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">In real life she would never hook arms
with some random guy and sashay by his side to his room. But hell. This was <i>Dane</i>. <i>The</i> man of her fantasies. And, judging from the hunger in his
expression as he looked down at her, the heat that passed between them where
they touched, he wanted her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Thank God she wasn’t still the dorky teen
with braces she’d been when they’d last met.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">She looked amazing tonight. He happened to
wander by and notice her. No one else was around. And he wanted her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">It was as though, somehow, magically, all
the stars had aligned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">There was no way—<i>no way</i>—she would miss this opportunity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Excitement danced low in her gut as he
swiped his room key and led her into his suite. It was a nice suite—not as
sumptuous as Angie’s, but nice all the same—with a small sitting area and an
enormous king bed. The windows looked out on the sparkling lights of the City
that Never Slept. Or one of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“Can I get you a drink?” he asked, taking
off his watch and dropping it on the table by the door. It drew her attention
to his forearms, thick and muscled and sprinkled with dark hairs. They were
roped with thick veins. She’d always had a thing for bulky forearms. And she’d
always had a thing for Dane. The combination was irresistible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">She tipped her head to the side and blew a
bubble with her gum. “Margarita?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">He waved at the glossy wood armoire
against the wall. “I have a mini bar. It’ll have to be shots. What’s your
poison?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“Tequila then.” Might as well keep a good
thing going.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">He hunkered down and searched through the
fridge, pulling out a tiny bottle of tequila for her and whiskey for him. He
cracked them open and dumped them unceremoniously into two glasses and handed
her hers. No ice or anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Good thing it didn’t matter to her, or
she’d be pissed at his cavalier attitude. The drink was lubricant, a time
filler. They were dancing around a seduction, and they both knew it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Or…not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Apparently seduction was not necessary.
Because Dane took a swig of his drink and said, with no preface whatsoever, “So
do you have any no-nos?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">She gaped at him. “No-nos?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“Anything you won’t do? Because I’ll be
frank. I like a little kink.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA">Holy God.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">First of all, the heat scorching her was
mind-numbing. Literally. Mind. Numbing. Those brash words from Dane’s gorgeous
lips and she nearly lost her balance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Second of all—he liked kink.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">So, in fact, did she. Nothing super dark,
but a little slap and tickle for sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“Um…” She took a sip of her drink. She
shuddered as the harsh bite of liquor burned through her. It clashed with the
flavor of her gum. “What kind of kink are we talking about?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">He strode to his suitcase and fished
around, pulling out a long leather strap with two loops on the ends. Her eyes
fixated on it. She shuddered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“I want to tie you up,” he said, his voice
low, taunting, as though he expected her to squeak like a mouse and scuttle
from the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">The. Fuck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“Hmm. I think I can handle that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“I’ll probably smack your bottom.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Also good. She tried not to flinch in
anticipation. His hand on her ass? <i>Gawd.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“I won’t hurt you, though. I’m not into
that. And of course, I’ll use protection.” He held up a pack of condoms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Well <i>da-ham</i>.
He’d come prepared. A smile curled on her lips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">“Billy said your fee’s been paid.” His
brow quirked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">The smile froze on Tina’s face. A
combination of horror and rage and something else altogether snarled through
her, as she realized how right she’d been. Not only did he <i>not</i> recognize her—after knowing her her entire life, for pity
sake—he thought she was a <i>hooker</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Granted, she did kind of look like a
hooker, with makeup plastered on as if with a trowel. But still…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">She glanced at him from beneath the
impossibly long lashes <i>The Master</i> had
glued to her lids. Not her style, but she liked the way they looked. The way
they made her feel…like someone else. Someone sultry and daring. Someone Dane
would want.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">To tie up and spank.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Aside from that, the temptation to have
him, taste him, fuck him, ran rampant in her. For years she’d fantasized about
her older brother’s best friend. All through puberty and long after that. Every
man she’d met, dated or been with had been gauged against Dane Coulter. None of
them had measured up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Ah yes, the temptation to have him was
overwhelming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Not to mention how much fun it would be
watching him shit a brick tomorrow, when he realized who she really was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Too delicious to pass up, really. The
whole package.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">He stood there in the middle of the room,
holding the strap in one hand and the condoms in the other, waiting for her
reply. Though he was all Dom, she couldn’t help but notice a hint of tension in
him, as though he was, on some level, afraid she’d say no and waltz away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">He <i>wanted</i>
her. And he wanted her <i>bad</i>. It was
the heat in his eyes that gave him away, the way they flicked over her and
burned with hunger. Yeah. Irresistible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Sure. She could be a hooker for the
evening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
To learn more about the other stories of BTHK visit <a href="http://www%2Csabrinayork.com/" target="_blank">Sabrina</a>'s website.<br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by!<br />
<br />Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724245221464109615.post-53137675967850898232014-08-18T06:41:00.003-07:002014-08-18T06:41:59.134-07:00Brushes with FameYesterday I was attending a kid's birthday party with my youngest. It was held by a group of people that I know and am friends with, but I don't know them all really well, if that makes any sense. The birthday mom was a friend's sister, with a lot of her family there. It was a very fun relaxed environment with the kids running around trying to save the universe Avengers style.<br />
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Toward the end of the party I found myself hanging out in the living room, chatting with all the adults. People started talking about Chris Pratt and his Guardians of the Galaxy role. But, not in a way that most people talk about him. They were talking about recognizing his voice, and how funny it was to see him on the screen. My confusion must have shown on my face because a friend leaned over to explain that "they [waving her hand] all went to high school with him."<br />
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Huh. Very cool.<br />
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It reminded me of listening to Jane Porter speak once and she mentioned that one of her characters physically resembled Mariska Hargitay...because they know each other. They were bridesmaids in a the same wedding.<br />
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Can you imagine how awesome that wedding album must be?<br />
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So, I started wondering, do you have any "I knew them when" stories? Or brushes with fame?Carmen Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16457285855672132291noreply@blogger.com6