Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Cover Reveal- Cutlass by Ashley Nixon




Publication Release Date: April 23, 2014
Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy

Blurb:

Notorious pirate Barren Reed has one thing on his mind: Revenge against the man who killed his father. So kidnapping his enemy's fiancĂ© seems a perfect plan…until he actually does it. 



Larkin Lee is more than a pretty face and fiancĂ© to a powerful man. Her fierce personality is enough to make any pirate want to push her overboard. 



But when the King of the Orient comes to Barren with a task—to find the Bloodstone, a powerful gem thought only to exist in legend, Barren sees another opportunity to destroy his enemy. Together, Barren, Larkin and a crew of pirates set off to find the stone, only to discover it caused the death of Barren’s own mother and Larkin’s, too. As his strongest allies turn into his greatest enemies, and the life of the girl he kidnapped becomes more important than he ever dreamed, Barren’s quest for revenge becomes a fight to save the Orient.

Links:

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5199530.Ashley_Nixon
Goodreads (book page):https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18755539-cutlass

Ashley Nixon

Monday, December 9, 2013

One More Thing to Add to My Holiday List of Fun!

Before I disappear in the craziness of the season and skip out on blogging until January, I thought I would add one more thing to my Holiday List of Fun!


This one falls under books and new traditions!


When the Taylor boys put their minds to something, they go all out! 

There’s a Christmas Eve tradition in the Taylor household. While the boys take baths, Santa’s elves drop new pajamas outside their bathroom door. The PJ elves are sly and quick, but this year they’re in for a surprise—Ben and Jack are on a mission to catch one of them! The traps the brothers set sure look promising, but the unexpected can happen when you least expect it! 


This is a great book to read with kids and...what a fun new tradition!


A note from Judy and Karen about their Christmas Tradition...

The Pajama Program: A Perfect Donation Choice for ‘The Great PJ Elf Chase’ Authors
One Million Pairs of Pajamas, One Million Books


 “The Great PJ Elf Chase: A Christmas Eve Tradition,” is a children’s picture book we recently wrote and published. It is the story of two brothers, Ben and Jack Taylor, who want desperately to catch one of the PJ elves who drop pajamas outside their bathroom door each Christmas Eve.


We were fortunate enough to grow up in a loving, secure household, but we know that all children aren’t so lucky. Right from the start, we decided that, if we succeeded in publishing our children’s picture book, we would designate a portion of the proceeds to new pajamas for needy children. After all, at the very least, every child deserves a comfy pair of pajamas at bedtime, yet some wear street clothes – or nothing at all – when they go to bed.

We chose to make our first donation to the “Pajama Program.” We checked them out and found that they received the highest ranking from the Better Business Bureau’s charity standards and a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, the largest independent evaluator of charities. The Pajama Program touches our hearts because its mission is to provide cozy, new pajamas and brand new books to needy children from 0 to 18 years old. These children have often been neglected or abandoned. Many live in foster homes or shelters or with parents who can’t manage on incomes below the poverty level. It’s hard for us to think about all the children who have no mom or dad to tuck them in at night and read them a bedtime story.

The not-for-profit Pajama Program was established in 2001 by Genevieve Pitturo, a professional speaker and blogger for The Huffington Post. The Pajama Program now has over 60 chapters across 34 states. Pitturo is also a founding board member of the Spirit of Hope Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit inspired by Pajama Program, which offers college scholarships to high school seniors living in foster care.

The Pajama Program launched One Million Good Nights in October. Their goal is to collect one million new pairs of pajamas, one million new books and the resources to get them into the hands of needy children across the nation by December 31, 2015. Their major partners in this effort are Carter’s, Inc., Scholastic, Inc. and Sprout, but the Pajama Program also depends on sponsors, dedicated volunteers, event holders and individual donations of pajamas and books. Anyone who wants to help can find out more about the organization on their website, www.PajamaProgram.org. They make every effort to use the donations in the state or chapter in which they were donated.

Wouldn’t it be great if one million more children and adolescents could feel loved and safe at bedtime? We hope some of them are in their brand new pajamas reading and enjoying “The Great PJ Elf Chase.”

Judy Voigt and Karen LoBello, authors, “The Great PJ Elf Chase: A Christmas Eve Tradition”




What are is on your list of Holiday fun???


Have a wonderful Holiday season!!!

Best to all,
Becca

Friday, December 6, 2013

My Holiday List of Fun

Happy Holidays to all!

I've been laying low lately, trying hard to catch up with everything I got behind on last month and all the things that are quickly getting added to the "To Do" list this month. 

And with the anticipated craziness that always comes with this time of month, I am planning on staying with my trend of not blogging much throughout the month of December. But don't worry- I'll be back in January! 

Until then- enjoy the season! Don't let it pass by too quickly without taking the time to savor everything it has to offer! And be safe!

But before I go...here is my list of super holiday fun!

Movies:
My favorite 'must-see' movies of the season...

Christmas Vacation
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (dvd) Overview
One Magic Christmas (I think this is by far my favorite Christmas movie)
 

A Christmas Carol (with George C Scott)
 

I am also a huge fan of all of those "Made-for-TV" Christmas movies. I get sucked into everyone of them. 


Books:

Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol is my must read every year!

I am also planning on catching up on other reading, including a friends MS and some Walking Dead the graphic novels. (Sadly no more new episodes of Walking Dead until February) I am also planning on reading Ask the Passengers by A.S. King and a few books by David Levithan because they are coming to the Colorado Teen Literature conference in April where I will be on the local author's panel.

Cookies:

My favorite cookies- all gluten and grain free...

Grain-free/Gluten-free Sugar Cookie Cut-outs



Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookies


Grain-free/Gluten-free Snowballs (Walnut/Pecan Sandies)




Crafts:

I love to knit and it is a perfect thing to do while watching movies and staying warm by the fireplace. 

I also love to paint and do other holiday crafts with my boys.

Traditions:

Holiday parties with friends and neighbors

Christmas tree cutting with family

A holiday party in downtown Denver


Some pictures







What is on your list of holiday fun???


Have a wonderful Holiday season!
Enjoy

Best to all!
Becca