Monday, August 31, 2015

It's Over!

Can you believe it's the last day of August? Tomorrow is the first of September, it's nearly fall, and not far behind...Halloween.

Quickly followed by...Uh, huh.
 But enough of that. What did you do over the weekend?
We went to see No Escape. OMG. It was the most intense movie I can remember seeing. First twenty minutes or so, nothing unusual then BAM! From that point on there's no relaxing back in your seat until the movie is over. I can't say I liked or I didn't like it. It was a bit too violent and too intense for my taste, but it certainly held my interest. Pierce Brosnan did a great job. It wasn't the usual suave role he normally plays.Owen Wilson more than held his own, as did  Lake Bell. Unfortunately, I can't see her without thinking of the 'other wife' role she played in It's Complicated. Anyhoo...have you seen it? Did you like it?


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Weird Facts Day



President George W. Bush was a cheerleader during high school and at university.

The chances of you dying on the way to get your lottery ticket is great than your chances of winning. (I'll never convince the hh of this.)

 Smelling bananas or green apples (smelling not eating) can help you lose weight. (This one sounds a bit like buying swamp land in Florida to me.)

More Monopoly money is printed in a year than real money throughout the world.

In Quitman, Georgia, it is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.

When you look at someone you love your pupils dilate. They do the same when you look at someone you hate. 

Men who kiss their wives in the morning live five years longer than those who don't.

Bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers were all invented by women.

In France it is legal to marry a dead person.

The most children born to one woman was 69, she was a peasant who lived a 40 year life, she had 16 twins, 7 triplets and 4 quadruplets. (This must be where the Old Woman in a Shoe nursery rhyme came from.)

From FUNFACTZ.COM






Monday, August 24, 2015

It's Monday.....

Or a cuppa for the blogsters that don't partake in java

Welcome back blogsters. How was your weekend? On this end, no big gambling junkets or wild parties but we did get to see the grands and for the first time they said Mimi and Grandpa. Yes, it was a Kodak moment. Unfortunately, the hh didn't hear it:(
How about you? Was it exciting? Relaxing? Or business as usual? Your buds want to know.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Free E-Books

What's your view on free E books for promotional purposes?
My thoughts are of the oxymoron variety, and please don't place too much emphasis on the moron. grin. Honestly, I've been reading them all summer. If I like the author, I leave a review and buy more.  If it doesn't appeal, I just move on to the next book and author.
On the oxy side of the equation: an author bud of mine wrote an article on her blog that really gave me food for thought. She's against giving free E books. All her negative reviews have come from freebies. As she points out, if the first review you get is negative, it's the kiss of death and whatever readership might have been out there is gone.
If you are interested in reading the post, here's the link: http://sherryink.blogspot.com/2015/08/trashed-by-readers.html
On this point, I agree with Sherry. Almost all my reviews that have been less than I liked have been from free E's.
Right now a reader could probably read a new book every day for a year or more and not pay a penny. I.E. The market is saturated, not only with E books but with free E books. Even so I wonder what makes some readers prone to give out not just negative, but hurtful reviews. One of my pet peeves is people that use the excuse, I-tell-it-like-it-is to say something deliberately cruel. I just don't get it. But back on topic. Maybe when you pay for a book regardless if it's ninety-nine cents or fourteen ninety-nine, you take the time to make sure its a book you really want before you plunk down any money. On the other hand...there are a lot of freebies on the top kindle one hundred list.  It's a quandary.
What do you think? Do you feel free E's have helped or hurt you?

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Bizarre And the Tragic

We have had both tragic and bizarre in our area recently. And they are extreme events.
A father got drunk and shot and killed his little boys. Horrific does not begin to cover that sort of tragedy. I'm not sure if anything is more ghastly than when the protector turns into the predator.
On a more bizarre note one of the county seniors got busted for drug trafficking. And when I say seniors, I mean a serious senior, the man is eighty-seven. I don't know whether to be appalled or laud the fact that he's still a feisty entrepreneur. Don't get me wrong, drug trafficking is wrong, wrong, wrong, but eighty-seven? I'm still reeling from that one.
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Monday, August 17, 2015

Man From U.N.C.L.E.



Have you seen Man From U.N.C.L.E. yet?  We saw it this weekend and both really enjoyed it. It was like watching a softened version of James Bond.  The film is so sixties. Mini skirts, over-sized sunglasses and go-go boots. It's a fun movie that doesn't take itself too seriously.


Thursday, August 13, 2015

Common Homophones, Homographs and Homonyms

These little suckers can be very confusing. They can look alike and/or sound alike but have entirely different meanings.

Homophone: 'A word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning whether spelled the same way or not. Ex: heir/air.'

Homograph: 'A word of the same written form as another but of different meaning. Ex: Bear/carry, Bear/animal.'

Homonym: 'A word that is both a homophone and homograph, that is exactly, the same as another in sound and spelling, but different in meaning. Ex: Chase/pursue, Chase/ornament metal.'
~ Dictionary.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Skinny Jeans

You may remember on an early blog, I mentioned the HH and I both fast twice a week? Well, he's gone down two pant sizes. The other day he caught someone checking him out and he asked me--tongue in cheek--if I thought he should get skinny jeans. Thinking that was pretty funny, I sent it out to the fam and my brother sent back this trailer asking if he was at this point yet.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Stephanie Faris Is Having A Cover Reveal



Piper Morgan Joins the Circus
By Stephanie Faris


Blurb:
When Piper Morgan has to move to a new town, she is sad to leave behind her friends, but excited for a new adventure. She is determined to have fun, be brave and find new friends.
And after learning her mom’s new job will be with the Big Top Circus, Piper can’t wait to learn all about life under the big top, see all the cool animals, and meet the Little Explorers, the other kids who travel with the show. She’s even more excited to learn that she gets to be a part of the Little Explorers and help them end each show with a routine to get the audience on their feet and dancing along!
But during Piper’s grand debut, her high kicks and pointed toes don't go quite as planned. After causing a dance disaster, she has to prove to everyone--especially queen of the Little Explorers, Lexie--that she belongs in the spotlight.


Bio:
Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.

Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive. 

Links:
 Congrats to Stephanie on her cover reveal day.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

IWSG Wednesday Memes




The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling. 

Today I'm going to chat about MEMES for Insecure Writers. 

With the exception of a few strong, healthy-minded souls most of us at different points in time face insecurity and self-doubts.  My challenge to you this month is to make yourself an Insecure Writer's meme designed especially for you to pull out whenever you need it. Got a great review? Words of encouragement? That and a picture you are fond of is all it takes.  
I don't have a special software package like Photo Shop so I use Paint.  
I used a picture from a past vacation that I felt was peaceful and serene, words from a friend and created this:
 Hope to see your meme soon.
Now here's my meme from Kensington for Love, Lattes and Danger released yesterday.



Tuesday, August 4, 2015

It's Release Day



Released today

LOVE, LATTES, AND DANGER



Blurb: It’s a dirty job, but some mutant’s got to do it…

Joel Eisler is a mutant with special talents. He can detect an oil leak in the ocean simply by tasting the water. Because of this unique ability, he’s been purchased by a large oil company, along with his dolph sister, Amy. The upside of spending his days and nights in the ocean is that it gives him the opportunity to save the lives of his brother dolphins. The downsides are life as a closely monitored slave—and that he can’t be with Piper, the dolph-girl he loves…
To make matters worse, Joel discovers the lab he grew up in has extracted his sperm and Piper’s egg and created a baby, and his handler, Craven, is plotting to kidnap Amy for more experiments. Now Joel must rescue the infant, bring her to Piper, and find a way to save Amy. And if that’s not enough of a challenge, he needs to convince Piper she belongs with him instead of her all-too-human boyfriend—if Craven doesn’t get to them first…

Warning: Contains mutants, friendly dolphins, a crazed scientist, a mutant-hating bigot, and a dolph that has a propensity for danger.

 Links: