We have... TWO winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered the "Name the Author Event" contest. We presented our favorites to the Borders event planner this week, and ended up combining two entries and then tweaking them some more. We liked Becca's "Border's Inspired", and we like Janneke's "Chocolate, murder, and promises." So ladies, you both get copies of all three books!

Currently the title is: "Borders Inspirational: Promises, chocolate... and murder," with a few small changes still possible.

Speaking of the event, mark your calendars now. October 12, Borders in Goleta, CA, 7 pm. There will be author readings, free samples from the Borders cafe, and of course... CHOCOLATE! Hope to see you there.

My first review!

Jim Hart, the fabulous internet marketing manager of Bethany House, just forwarded me the first ever review of my book. This one left me crying like a baby (a baby who can't believe she's been so blessed). You can read it here. I've never met the reviewer, but I'd love to extend her a great big cyber-hug.

Crying again, have to go.

PS- Don't forget about the "Name the Event" contest, still going strong. (See yesterday's post).

Name the Event contest

On October 12, fellow authors Julie Carobini (Chocolate Beach) and James Scott Bell (Try Dying) will join me, Katie (A Promise to Remember), in Santa Barbara for a book signing / author chat at Borders in Goleta. The event director for Borders has asked us to come up with a "catchy title" for the event. Between the three of us-- we've got nothing. So we're asking for your help. Submit your cathcy title via comment here or at Julie's blog. The person who submits the best title, as determined by the authors, and ultimately the Borders event planner, will receive a signed copy of all three books. Enter now, enter often, tell your friends. Thanks for the help!

A Happy Ending

About an hour ago (72 hours after Popcorn's disappearance) I was talking on the phone to my mother-in-law. I looked out the window, and there stood our turtle on the retaining wall in the back yard. I started screaming "Turtle, turtle, turtle on the back wall." Needless to say, my mother-in-law is now deaf, but my kids are very happy--as is Popcorn the turtle, who has eaten an unbelievable amount of food.

Snowing in CA

Okay, not snow really. Ash. But it's falling like snow here--has been for a couple of days now. My husband spent a couple of hours hosing off the back deck and deck furniture last night, today they're covered in a layer of small gray flakes again. There's a fire just over the mountains. If it's like this here, I can only imagine what the firefighters must be breathing!

In other news- Popcorn the turtle is still on the lam, in spite of drastic search measures. Things are starting to look a bit bleak for the old girl.

T - 47 and a T + 1

T - 47. That's right. Only 47 days left until A Promise to Remember officially hits the shelves. For me, it's still one of those "I'll believe it when I actually see it" sort of things, as this has been a dream for so long. It should actually be less than 47 days, as the book prints on August 28th (13 days, but who's counting?) and will start shipping out soon thereafter. Woo hoo!

T + 1: While cleaning out the turtle tank yesterday, we put our red-eared slider in her outdoor tank (large Rubbermaid container) as usual. Somehow, she managed to climb up and over the walls, and has disappeared into the jungle that is our back yard. We live in southern California, so our back yard is roughly the size of a postage stamp. But... it's all bushes, ferns, and such, where a turtle can easily disappear and never be seen again. She's been missing for almost 24 hours now, in spite of intense searching. We're running the sprinklers often to make certain she doesn't dry out, but hope is starting to fade. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for stopping by my very first blog post!!