I've been sick...with Oscar madness (plus, my predictions)

Edited 2/25/13 to include the actual winners. Headers in orange are my correctly guessed (one way or the other) picks!

Yes, yes, I know. I have an entire manuscript that needs serious revisions, another that is a few chapters shy of being finished, critiques I owe to friends, workshop assignments to complete, and...I don't even know what else. And (whispers shamefully) I've done hardly any of it for a couple of weeks. This is the point where you should yell, "For the love of Cheetos, Angie! What have you been doing?!? What is WRONG with you?!?"

Oscar madness. Plain and simple. Stupid Oscar madness.

My best friend and I always say we're going to watch every single movie that has been nominated, and every year, we watch maybe four or five, tops. Last year we made it halfway through the handy-dandy Oscar nominees list available on the official Oscars website. This year, we made a vow. We were gonna get serious about it. We were going to do our darnedest to watch Every. Single. One. Some how, some way, in between the pesky day job, sleep, eating, and editing and writing...I challenged myself to do it! And kudos to my best friend, who came down with a vision problem in December and watched these with impaired eyesight.

So did we succeed? of course not.

I'm now thoroughly convinced you can only watch all of the nominees if you are a member of the Academy. I am not a member of the Academy, and I don't think anyone who is actually a member watches every nominated project. I mean, we're talking hours and hours in front of a TV or movie screen. At some point, your eyes start to twitch and your mind wanders and questions, "Why am I doing this again? Oh yeah. Cause I'm going for my merit badge in weird. That's why." Plus, you know, I really love movies.

Out of the 53 films nominated, my friend and I have seen 41. That means we haven't seen 12 of the nominees. (I think. I'm horrible at math, so that could be off by a few numbers, but still). Gah! So close. If only we had another week!

However, I thought I'd put down my predictions here in case, by some miracle, I actually know what I'm talking about. In which case, it will be preserved for posterity's sake. And because I'm also procrastinating on the above list of to-do items...

Best Picture:
Who I think will win: Lincoln
Who I think SHOULD win: Silver Linings Playbook
(Both were great movies, but SLP truly was better, in my opinion)
WINNER: Argo

Best Actress:
Who I think will win: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Who I think SHOULD win: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
(I'm a big JLaw fan, but Ms. Riva was amazing in this incredibly depressing foreign film. AMAZING.)
WINNER: Jennifer Lawrence

Best Actor:
Who I think will win: Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
Who I think SHOULD win: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
(No offense to Mr. Lewis, who was great, but I was never a Bradley Cooper fan until SLP. I actually did not like Bradley Cooper until SLP. He showed a range I've never seen from him before, so I think he honestly deserves it. Also, why wasn't John Hawkes nominated for The Sessions? Biggest oversight in all the categories, if you ask me).
WINNER: Daniel Day Lewis

Best Supporting Actress:
Who I think will win: Anne Hathaway, Les Mesirables
Who I think SHOULD win: Anne Hathaway, Les Mesirables
(Enough said)
WINNER: Anne Hathaway

Best Supporting Actor:
Who I think will win: Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Who I think SHOULD win: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
(This is a tough category, cause I like them all, but Mr. Waltz truly stole the screen in Django)
WINNER: Christoph Waltz

Best Director:
Who I think will win: Steven Spielburg, Lincoln
Who I think SHOULD win: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
(In case you can't tell, I really liked SLP)
WINNER: Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Best Original Screenplay:
Who I think will win: Zero Dark Thirty
Who I think SHOULD win: Zero Dark Thirty
WINNER: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Who I think will win: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Who I think SHOULD win: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
WINNER: Argo

Best Animated Feature:
Who I think will win: Brave
Who I think SHOULD win: Wreck-It-Ralph 
(I loved Wreck-It-Ralph more than I should probably admit :)
WINNER: Brave

Best Foreign Film:
Who I think will win: Amour
Who I think SHOULD win: Amour - but only because I haven't seen the other nominees!
Winner: Amour

Best Cinematography:
Who I think will win: Lincoln
Who I think SHOULD win: Lincoln or Skyfall
Winner: Life of Pi

Best Costume Design:
Who I think will win: Les Miserables
Who I think SHOULD win: Lincoln
Winner: Anna Karenina

Best Production Design:
Who I think will win: Lincoln
Who I think SHOULD win: Anna Karenina
WINNER: Lincoln

Best Documentary Feature:
Who I think will win: 5 Broken Cameras
Who I think SHOULD win: The Invisible War
(Seriously, you should watch The Invisible War on Netflix. Wow. Just wow.)
WINNER: Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short:
Who I think will win: Open Heart
Who I think SHOULD win: Mondays at Racine or King's Point or Open Heart
(Oh my crackers, this was a tough category. All great entries)
WINNER: Inocente

Best Film Editing:
Who I think will win: Argo
Who I think SHOULD win: Zero Dark Thirty
WINNER: Argo

Best Makeup:
Who I think will win: The Hobbit
Who I think SHOULD win: Les Miserables
(In fairness, I didn't see Hitchcock or The Hobbit. I'm totally guessing on this one)
WINNER: Les Miserables

Best Original Score:
Who I think will win: Life of Pi
Who I think SHOULD win: Life of Pi
WINNER: Life of Pi

Best Original Song:
Who I think will win: Les Miserables
Who I think SHOULD win: Les Miserables
WINNER: Skyfall

Best Animated Short:
Who I think will win: Paperman
Who I think SHOULD win: Paperman or Adam and Dog
WINNER: Paperman

Best Live-Action Short:
Who I think will win: Assad
Who I think SHOULD win: Curfew or Henry or Death of a Shadow
(Oh my crackers, this was another tough category. Mostly great entries)
WINNER: Curfew

Best Sound Editing:
Who I think will win: Life of Pi
Who I think SHOULD win: Life of Pi
WINNER: Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall

Best Sound Mixing:
Who I think will win: Life of Pi
Who I think SHOULD win: Skyfall
WINNER: Les Miserables

Best Visual Effects:
Who I think will win: Life of Pi
Who I think SHOULD win: The Avengers
WINNER: Life of Pi

That said, my favorite films nominated this year were Silver Linings Playbook, Argo, Lincoln, and Wreck-It-Ralph, oh, and The Avengers, of course. But honestly, I can count on three fingers the number of nominees I saw and absolutely did not like. The rest were...pretty darn good!

See you on the red carpet in my living room!

Fun Friday Q&A: Shawna Thomas revisits!

I'm really happy to host one of my favorite new (well, sort of new) authors today...again. Okay, truth. Shawna's debut book completely won me over last year, so she's been here before. I'm also sure I stalk follow her more on social media than she'd probably like, especially when you consider how crazy busy her schedule is. I seriously doubt she has time for stalker-types. Even so and since she has a new book out—the first in a new series!—I invited her to revisit my blog and catch up. And since I have already read this book, I can tell you that you're in for another treat.

Book one of the Triune Stones
After her grandfather's death, Sara inherits an ancient pendant and a near-impossible quest—master the mysterious pendant's source of magic. Driven to do so, she must find the other two stones of power, long considered lost, while preventing an unknown enemy from finding her first.

Unprepared and alone, she travels to where the keepers of the stones, the Siobani, were last seen. Along the way she meets Tobar, leader of the nomadic Heleini tribe. As Sara wrestles with feelings for this intriguing man, she is also invigorated with her grandfather's passion to find the ancient Siobani race.

After a rival tribe kidnaps Tobar's son and heir, Sara must harness the stone's healing magic to unite the tribes and save the boy. But as the dark power stalking her gains ground, will she continue on her quest to reach the Siobani or risk everything to save the warring tribes from eliminating each other?

Shawna Thomas

ANGELA: Welcome to my blog again, Shawna! It’s been almost a year since you were last here. Your book ALTERED DESTINY, which I loved loved loved won the RT Reviewers Choice Award for 2011 and you signed a three-book contract with Carina Press. You also had a baby! Congratulations! Sounds like you’ve had a busy year! How do you juggle it all and manage to keep writing? Seriously, I feel like an underachiever compared to you.

SHAWNA: Ah, thank you and thank you so much for having me on your blog, Angela! Sometimes I get discouraged because I’m not as prolific as I’d like to be. So no need to feel like an underachiever! I fall in to that same pit from time to time. I couldn’t juggle any of it without help. For instance, right now my husband has taken over baby duty so I can talk to you. I can hear him singing to her in the living room. There are times the laundry piles up and my room is a cluttered mess, but I’m learning to prioritize. Oh, Carina exercised their option on the fourth book in the Triune Series so there will be four!

ANGELA: Four books! That's fantastic! Tell us about JOURNEY OF AWAKENING and the Triune Stones series. Where did the idea for the story come from?

SHAWNA: The idea for this book originated as a dream. I dreamed about a woman named Ilythra and a prince. I’ve looked up the name and I’m pretty sure it’s original to my imagination. Ilythra wouldn’t leave me alone. She haunted me; the feeling of the dream haunted me—the world she lived in. Images and snatches of conversation followed me around. Finally I started writing everything long hand on the back of a piece of paper. (I still have it somewhere.) I suppose, looking back, it was my journey of awakening to the fact I was, and am, a writer. Yes, I’m a little bit corny, too. ; )

ANGELA: Aren't we all? ;) Tell us about your heroine in this one, Sara. Is she as awesome as Selia from ALTERED DESTINY was? 

SHAWNA: I’m glad you think Selia is awesome. I’m kinda fond of her, too. Sara is a different kind of awesome. Selia was bad ass from day one. Sara is much more reserved, a little naïve, and has a lot to learn. However, she shares Selia’s I-can-do-it-so-get-out-of-the-way attitude. Sara has had a burden on her shoulders since the day she was born. She lived, breathed and studied to accomplish a task given to her by her grandfather. Eventually she has to decide if the task is something her grandfather wanted for her, or something she wants for herself.

ANGELA: I know book 1 is just being released, but any teases about what book 2 in the series is about? When can we expect that one? 

SHAWNA: Book 2, Journey of Dominion, will release in May of 2013. If book one is the awakening of a legend, book 2 is the fall of a legend. LOL Enough said. Book 3 will be out in August.

ANGELA: What are you working on next, and when can we read it? 

SHAWNA: I am currently working on book four in the Triune Stone series. I believe it will be out early 2014, but I don’t have a date yet.

ANGELA: Let’s get to know Shawna the person with these questions. I know you love to cook (and especially bake), so what’s your favorite comfort food? 

SHAWNA: Believe it or not, it’s hash: cubed fried potatoes and crumbled ground beef mixed together. I eat it with ketchup and wrap it in a tortilla. It’s fast and easy and takes me back to my childhood. Second to that would be roast beef and mashed potatoes. I may love to experiment with fancy dishes but it’s the simple ones that comfort me.

ANGELA: Which five people (real, fictional, historical) would you invite to dinner and why? 

SHAWNA: Stephen King—although I can’t read his books because they give me nightmares, I admire him immensely; Nathan from Altered Destiny—I’d really like to get to know this character better so I can tell his story; Nora Roberts—I think she’d be as witty as she is talented; Carlos Guzman—It might sound sentimental, but I honestly couldn’t think of this dinner without my other half; Crystal Posey—because she’d kill me if I didn’t invite her to any dinner in which Nora Roberts was in attendance and it might just take that to get the woman to fly to California. She’s afraid of earthquakes.

ANGELA: What’s the last book you read? 

SHAWNA: Steele’s Edge by Ilona Andrews. Love everything by Ilona Andrews. The couple making up Ilona Andrews was on the short list for a dinner invitation above.

ANGELA: Celebrity crush? 

SHAWNA: I pondered this aloud and my husband says it’s Johnny Depp. Who am I to argue with him. ; )

ANGELA: I would like to thank Shawna for visiting with me today! She's such a nice gal, she's giving away prizes! She's giving this beautiful blue pendant away to someone who comments on one of her blog posts (including this one) from Feb. 4 to March 4. You can also comment at her blog and the Carina Press blog.

You can learn more about Shawna Thomas online at www.shawnathomas.com.

Still here. Wait. Why is there a cat on my head?

It's nice to think some of you check this blog regularly and have been wondering if my absence meant I was abducted by aliens, but sadly, no. No aliens. Unless we're talking Alien-type aliens here, and then it's GLADLY, no. See, I was imagining E.T. to begin with, and—

Nevermind.

This proves a point though. Lately, my mind has been more scattered than the plot of Battleship. I've been pulled in so many different directions, it's a miracle I've gotten anything accomplished. Work. Family drama. Friendship obligations. You know, life stuff. And my cat, who thwarts my every effort to get any serious writing done. Seriously, y'all, she's a pest. Last night she laid on my head while I was on the laptop writing, and when that didn't work, she decided to just plant herself on my chest instead. See that half-a-face underneath her fat butt? Yeah, that's me. I mentioned it was bedtime, right? Don't judge.

But, I'm back now and determined to be productive, pesky cats and all. I've been furiously revising a manuscript with the hopes of sending it out into the world of publishing again. I've signed up to take Angela James' famous BEFORE YOU HIT SEND workshop to polish it before I do so. Wish me luck.

Point is, I'm still here. Still writing. There's probably still a cat on my head, too. No aliens though.

I'm thinking that's a good thing.

Doctor Who: I finally get it

So I have a new nerd badge to add to my collection. (As if I needed another nerd badge to add to my collection) I am now a Whovian.

Wikipedia tells me this is mostly an American term for fans of the British show DOCTOR WHO and since I am, indeed, an American, I'll own it. It's all Dragon*con's fault. I saw a lot of DOCTOR WHO cosplayers at last year’s Dragon*con and finally added the show to my Netflix cue to see what all the fuss was about. Before Christmas, I took the plunge and started watching it. The new series, that is.

Total Whovian now. In my head, I'm talking British. Entire conversations with myself, in British. Every now and then, mostly when I'm mad, I'll do Dalek speak and find myself saying over and over "ex-term-i-nate! ex-term-i-nate!" As if I weren't already weird enough.

Gotta admit I thought the show was "cute" and "quirky" the first season, but once David Tennant stepped into the Doctor's sneakers, I became obsessed!

David Tennant as the Doctor

I get it. I get what the fuss is all about. The Doctor is freaking awesome!

Warning to all non-DOCTOR WHO viewers: The following passage will sound like the ramblings of a totally demented person. It all makes perfect sense if you watch the show. Just go with it.

I just finished “The End of Time” episodes and am trying to move beyond being devastated (yes, I sobbed. I actually sobbed a lot. Don't judge) because actor David Tennant is no longer playing the Doctor. I mean, I teared up when Christopher Eccleston left as the Doctor. Sure, I cried a little when Rose left as the Doctor's companion, too. I was a little—okay, well, I was fine when Martha left—but I had to get out the Kleenex when Donna Noble seemed to be leaving the show. However, I full-on cried my eyes out and screamed "No, don't go!" and scared my cat by snatching her close for comfort when David Tennant's Doctor began to regenerate on my TV. Then I got angry. Really angry. You-wouldn’t-like-me-when-I’m-angry angry. Darn you, Tennant! Why did you leave?!?! Whhhhhyyyyyy?!?

I know from the cosplayers I saw that the new Doctor wears a bowtie and brown jacket, and I have no doubt I’ll like him once I bring myself to start watching his episodes. But I’m still mourning David Tennant’s departure. For legions of fans, he's been gone for years. But he and I only parted ways last night. I need time before I can move on. Maybe, like, an entire week. Yeah, I’m not sure I can stop watching for longer than that. Truth. Don't judge.

I think I'm going to have to work on a time-travel story when I finish my current manuscript. Or is that lame? I've already decided my hero will be British. And wears a trenchcoat and pin-striped suit and sneakers and...oh, wait. Yeah, I totally need to work on my hero, don't I? 

Fun Friday Q&A: Author Liz Flaherty

Liz Flaherty

I hope your New Year’s resolutions included reading more books because I have a great-sounding one to tell you about today. I should put a disclaimer on this by saying I’m pretty confidant this book is going to be great because I read Liz Flaherty’s ONE MORE SUMMER last year, and It. Was. Amazing. A real tear-jerker and ride on the emotional roller coaster, but a great book worth the tissues in the end. Trust me, if you like contemporary romances, that's a great one to load onto your e-reader. I haven't had a chance to read JAR OF DREAMS yet because it releases Jan. 14, but I've already got it preordered on my Kindle. Being a super nice person, Liz agreed to be my guest today for a Q&A to talk about her new release, JAR OF DREAMS. Please welcome Liz with hoots and hollers and comments below (don’t worry: you can win stuff, too).

JAR OF DREAMS (from Carina Press)

For as long as she can remember, Lucy Dolan has been jotting down her hopes on slips of paper and saving them in a pickle jar—her jar of dreams. It was the first thing she saved when the beloved family diner went up in flames, and it’s safely buckled in her beat-up minivan when she lands in Taft, Indiana, to start over. She rents a room and goes into business with her landlady, but then Gert’s nephew comes charging in to “rescue” his aunt.  

Boone Brennan will be damned if he’ll let Lucy take advantage of Aunt Gert, who raised him and his sister. Believing that she’s just passing through, he’s deeply suspicious of her—despite the sparks that fly between them.

Just as Boone and Lucy are starting to open up to each other, a series of fires throws Lucy under suspicion. Boone wants to trust her and his feelings, but with the whole town against her, will he stay by her side? Or will Lucy move on and find another place to make her dreams come true?

ANGELA: I have to start out by repeating again what a great book ONE MORE SUMMER was, even though you made me cry multiple times while reading It (darn you). Will I cry reading JAR OF DREAMS?

LIZ: Maybe a sniffle here and there, but JAR isn’t quite the emotional onslaught that ONE MORE SUMMER is—although I must admit I’m too close to my own stories to be sure about that. Boone and Lucy have both known some pain and they’re working their way out of it. I did suffer some with them, so the reader might, too.

ANGELA: Tell us about JAR OF DREAMS. Where did the idea for the story come from?

LIZ: I always get people first, so I wasn’t surprised when Lucy showed up in her rusty van, followed by Boone coming to her doubtful rescue—I thought maybe I had a road story coming on, which sounded fun to me. But then Aunt Gert and her beautiful old Victorian house came into the mix and things changed. Lucy had a lifetime of restaurant experience and Gert wasn’t ready to be retired. Before any of us knew what was happening, Tea on Twilight was open and serving delicious stuff. I love tearooms and Victorian houses, so I don’t know why I was so surprised!

ANGELA: Do you have your own jar of dreams? What would we find on the pieces of paper inside your jar if you had one?

LIZ: I don’t have a “jar of dreams” anymore—most of mine came true in the shapes of kids, grandkids, and Duane, my own hero, but I am a fan of the bucket list! It was parasailing in 2012 and I’m thinking zipline for this year.

ANGELA: What are you working on next, and when can we read it?

LIZ: I’m working on another story from Peacock, the setting of ONE MORE SUMMER, and I hate to say too much about it because every time I think I know where it’s going, it moves! I do have another book, A SOFT PLACE TO FALL, that will be out sometime in 2013.

ANGELA: Let’s get to know Liz the person with these questions. Are you a diehard member of any TV show/film/book fandoms? (If so, which ones and why?)

LIZ: Ah, I love THE WEST WING. I have all the seasons on DVD and go on binges where I sew and watch President Bartlett in action for hours at a time, particularly the first four years. Because the people on that show were so flawed yet so right. And because I just really like looking at Rob Lowe.

ANGELA: Who doesn't? That is one purty man. So, what’s the last book you read?

LIZ: Oops, let me check my Kindle…oh, yes, THE LADY’S COMPANION by Carla Kelly. I highly recommend it—or anything else Ms. Kelly writes, up to and including her grocery list and everything else we write on the backs of envelopes and stuff into our purses.

ANGELA: If you could spend one day as any fictional character, which one and why?

LIZ: Jo March from LITTLE WOMEN, because she came to know herself so well and lived exactly the life she wanted without ever hurting anyone. Only I’d want to be with her as opposed to being her. She’d be fun to go ziplining with.

ANGELA: Celebrity crush?

LIZ: I want to look like Susan Sarandon—does that count? And Sam Elliot’s voice is the stuff my dreams are made of—I mention it in most of my books (although sometimes it gets edited out). And Tim McGraw can wear a cowboy hat in a way that no one else can, plus I love Alan Jackson and George Strait’s voices. And Daniel Day Lewis won my heart forever when he portrayed Mr. Lincoln. Not to mention, can you believe Sally Field? She was stupendous! Politics aside, I admire Hilary Clinton and Barbara Bush tremendously. And—

No. No, I don’t have any crushes. Thanks for asking.

ANGELA: Ha! Me either. Snort. Hobbies?

LIZ: I sew. I make lots of gowns and blankets and other things for area hospitals and the children’s hospital. When I retired from the postal service, the first thing on my aforementioned bucket list was making bed-size quilts for each of my grandkids (the Magnificent Seven) and I am on the seventh one. My daughter-in-law suggested that when I finish that, I should start making quilts for the grandkids’ parents, so I think I will. I love sewing. It soothes when my heart and soul are stewing about things they can’t control.

Thanks so much for having me here today, Angie. I’d like to offer commenters a chance at winning a teacup and saucer. All they have to do—aside from leaving their email address—is answer the following question: What soothes you best and fastest when life is smacking you around?

Visit me at www.lizflaherty.com or at http://wordwranglers.blogspot.com/ 

JAR OF DREAMS is available for pre-sale at Amazon or Carina Press. I hope you enjoy it. Have a great 2013!

Fun Fridays: My It’s-Not-The-End-of-the-World Blog Party! We’re all still here! Let’s celebrate!

First of all, I should note I’m writing and scheduling this post on Dec. 20, 2012, so I suppose there’s a chance it could go up to a completely not-there audience when Friday rolls around in the Eastern time zone. But, I’m fairly optimistic that 12-21-12 is not the end of the world. Yesterday was 12-21-12 in New Zealand, China and Australia, and they survived. What? Would the Mayans really discriminate and save a fiery meteor shower for North Americans? Mexicans?

Snort.

So, if you’re reading this with me on 12-21-12, congratulations! We survived the fake Mayan Apocalypse in a totally non bad-Syfy movie kind of way! Yes! Do a fist pump with me. We can all celebrate a new year next week. Eat ice cream again. Do Snoopy dances. Watch TV. Go to work. (Groaning) Aw, man, I have to go to work Monday. Dang it.

Best of all (for me), there’s still hope my next novel might get published! That right there is all kinds of awesome (for me).

To celebrate the fact we're all, well, still alive, I thought I’d invite you each to leave a comment below and tell me: Now that you’ve survived the end of the world (again), what three things do you most hope to check off your bucket list before the next end-of-the-world scare? It can be serious. It can be funny. I want to hear them all. Let’s celebrate!

While we all ponder this question, here. Have one of these delicious, calorie-free, completely imaginary cupcakes I didn't really bake and help yourself to some imaginary punch while you’re at it. It’s over there in the corner of my imaginary ballroom in my imaginary mansion. Help yourself.

Don't judge. I’m a writer. Eh.

Now, answers.

I'll go first. The three things I'd most like to cross off my bucket list are: 1. Buy a nice house (not an imaginary one). My current living arrangements are pathetic, although I'm very, very, very glad to have a roof over my head. I'd just like a nicer roof. Okay? 2. Teach my cat how to fetch. It'll never happen, I know, but a girl can dream. I'll say it again: Don't judge. 3. Read all of the books on my Kindle. Read 1/4 of the books on my Kindle. Hey, it could happen!

Your turn. Go on. Post below.

I’d also like to announce the winner of my Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop giveaway since we're all still here. Congratulations, Sherry Johnson! Not only did you survive the Mayan Apocalypse, you racked up on my prizes! High five.

Thank you to all of my new followers and friends. I know I'm poking fun at this date, but in all seriousness, let's make a vow as human beings to be more kind to one another. Hug your parents/husband/wife/children/siblings/cat/dog/whatever and be grateful for your blessings. It's been a difficult past few months for most, with unrest in the Middle East, Hurricane Sandy and the Sandy Hook tragedy affecting most of us in one way or another. That's not even mentioning the personal burdens we each might be facing. My philosophy is that sometimes humor can make things a little easier to deal with. I promise I’m not always this goofy (much). I’m just so darn happy to still be alive today, I can’t help but acting a lil silly.

Care to join me?

Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop 2012

Dusti, my lil furball, is a jolly gal.

That’s right. It’s December again, and time for the Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop 2012! First and foremost, I’d like to say Happy Holidays to you from me and my feline companion, Dusti — actually, she just says “Mreow!” which I’m pretty sure means “Hey. I hope Santa is really nice to you this year, and also brings me lots of tuna on his way to your house.”

Anywho, thanks for stopping by my site on your blog tour! I know you’ve got lots of other stops to make along the way, so I’ll keep this simple.

You can enter below to win a $10 gift card to Amazon and a free audiobook copy of my book, CRY WOLF, from Audible.com.

What the heck is CRY WOLF, you ask? Well, to keep you from searching, here's a short blurb.

Andrea Lockhart's job as a reporter for cheesy tabloid The Naked Truth isn't exactly where she thought her journalism career would end up. She's determined to make the best of it, but when her editor sends her to Woodbine, South Carolina, to investigate a werewolf sighting, Andrea decides the ridiculous assignment will be her last. Until she meets Sean Hunter.

The last time she saw Sean, he had just beat her out for the position of editor of their college newspaper, and told her she'd never make it as a reporter. Given his grand ambitions, she's shocked to find him editing the Woodbine Weekly. Once they start competing for leads on the werewolf, Andrea becomes determined to break the story first—she can't let Sean beat her again.

As they each get closer to finding the source of the rumors, the only thing more surprising than the truth are the feelings Sean is able to stir in her, feelings she thought she had left behind... 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



There are lots more prizes to be won! Don't forget to visit the other sites on the tour by clicking the links on the list here: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=211362 or go enter for the main prize of a Kindle Fire here.