FRIDAY FILLINS

And...here we go!

1. The right word __is never the first out of my mouth__
2. _Go away___ and shut the door quietly, please.
3. Up _in the mountains,they are still getting snow___.
4. _In the kitchen, cooking____ is where you'll find me.
5. Ooh! What is that __Mint Girl Scout Cookies- Yumm!!____?
6. _Going to bed early____ is a good idea.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward
to _BBQ at the fire dept____, tomorrow my plans include _working in the yard_ and Sunday,
I want to pile up and finish  "The Better Part of Darkness"__!


http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/

READING TO YOUR KIDS

I have always loved to read so strived to pass this love on to my kids. I read to them as soon as I could get them to sit still for 10 minutes at a time. One of the series that they loved the most was the "Berenstain Bears". This was because until they started school and learned differently, they knew this story as "The Richards Bear Family" and the main characters were Michael Bear and Kelsey Bear. I read dozens of these books to them using their names for Brother and Sister Bear. The storyline fit our family so well that they had no doubt that the books were about them. There was enough age difference in my kids (6 years or more) that I was able to indulge each of them in this way. We read out loud every night until they were able to read by themselves. My sons were more interested in reading a different book every night whereas my daughter liked the same one over and over before going to a new one. Some of the happiest memories of them are piled up in bed and laughing at the antics of the bears and my personal favorite, the "Amber Brown" series that my daughter loved so much. I still laugh when I think of that awful chewing gum ball that she made from all her used gum, yuck! Now, though my oldest would rather see the action take place on the TV screen, the other two are always reading. This love of reading has led to both of them doing exceptionally well in school and receiving scholarships to college. Never underestimate the value of reading "Go Dog Go" just one more time. This is a love that they will pass on to their children and create yet more lovers of the printed page. Now, I get to read to my granddaughter, who like her dad loves the TV, but also loves to pile up while Nana reads to her. Thank goodness for picture books.

Dead in Dixie (Sookie Stackhouse, Bks 1-3) by Charlaine Harris

Dead in Dixie(Sookie Stackhouse, Bks 1-3)
By : Charlaine Harris
Rating * * * * * 
Review Date: 11/4/2008
Hardcover: 612 pages
Publisher: Science Fiction Book Club(2003)
ISBN-13: 978-0739434710





"Dead Until Dark: Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in 
Bons Temp, Louisiana. You can tell she doesn’t get out much, 
and it’s not because she isn’t pretty. She is. It’s just that, 
well, Sookie has this “disability:” she can read minds. And 
that doesn’t make her too dateable. Then along comes Bill. 
He’s tall, dark, handsome—and Sookie can’t hear a word he’s 
thinking. Just the guy she’s been waiting for all her life. 
But Bill has a disability of his own: he’s a vampire with a 
seriously creepy crowd of friends. So when one of her 
coworkers is killed, Sookie fears she’s next….


Living Dead in Dallas: Sookie is on a streak of bad luck. 
First, she finds a body in the backseat of her car. Then 
she comes face-to-face with a beastly creature that gives 
her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, 
who graciously suck the poison from her veins—like they 
didn’t enjoy it! Point is, they saved her life. So when 
one of them asks for a favor, she complies…and soon Sookie 
finds herself in Dallas, using her telepathic abilities 
to search for a missing vampire. There’s just one condition: 
the vamps must behave, and let the humans involved go 
unharmed. Which is easier said than done….


Club Dead: Sookie’s vampire boyfriend, Bill, has been a 
little distant lately. In another state, distant. He’s 
on a secret assignment for the vampire queen of Louisiana, 
and only his sinister and sexy boss Eric knows where to 
find him. Soon, Sookie is off to Jackson, Mississippi, 
to mingle with the über-underworld at Club Dead—a 
dangerous little haunt where werewolves, shapeshifters 
and vampires go to chill out and suck down some type O. 
But when Sookie finally finds Bill—caught in an act of 
serious betrayal—she’s not sure whether to save him…or
 sharpen some stakes."



I sat down and read this series in two weeks. Could not 
wait to get to the next book. I sat up several nights till 
2 or 3 just to read "one more" chapter. Simply one of 
the best vampire series out there.

Sookie Stackhouse

1. Dead Until Dark (2001)

2. Living Dead in Dallas (2002)

3. Club Dead (2003)

4. Dead to the World (2004)

5. Dead as a Doornail (2005)

6. Definitely Dead (2006)

7. All Together Dead (2007)

8. From Dead to Worse (2008)

9. Dead and Gone (2009)

10. Dead in the Family (2010)

It's Friday! Time for another Book Blogger Hop!!

Come by and check out   Thoughts by Jennifer (Crazy-for-Books)'s invitation.


First things first, I'm sure you noticed the new graphic!!  Don't you just LOVE it?!  I burst out laughing when I first saw it!  Louise from Adori Graphics is such a talented artist and I highly recommend her!!  So, feel free to grab it and use it on your blog!!

Onto the rules.  PLEASE READ THE RULES BEFORE ENTERING YOUR LINK!!!

I don't expect everyone to visit and follow every single blog listed on the Hop MckLinky.  Believe me, my Google Reader is out of control, so I understand!  The Hop isn't just for you to throw your link in there and not visit any other blogs.  It's all about networking and finding new blogs that are of interest.  So, in the spirit of the Hop, try to make some time to visit other blogs and don't post your link if you are not planning on visiting other blogs in the Hop that week.  This is a weekly event, so if you don't have time this week, that's fine!  We'll see you next week!

Welcome New Friends from Scrapbooking for Busy Moms by OutnumberedMama

Happy Monday everyone! I'm so glad that you're here. Please join in! And please make as many rounds as you can. Everyone loves to make friends!

And if you're new, please feel free to join in at any time! You can add yourself to the linky on {aefilkins}
                                                     Spring Edition:
1. Favorite things about Spring: Being able to open the doors and windows
2. What I'm doing for Spring Break: Sitting at the pool reading and pretending it open

3. Favorite Spring flower: Yellow Forsythia. We have a row of these that come all the way down our drive and at this time of the year, they're beautiful.

4. Do you have a garden? Yes
5. If so, what do you grow. Flowers(mostly flowers) and vegetables
6. Do you do Spring cleaning? Not if I can help it(lol). Not like I use to
7. What is your weather *really* like right now? Well, we've had almost two weeks of sun from 60 to 70 degrees during the day but back down to 30's at night. Definitely not to late to get another hard freeze or even snow.
8. Snapped any weather related photos lately?

9. What's your favorite thing to do on a sunny afternoon? Sit at the pool, reading and getting some sun.
10. Favorite TV show right now? Toss up between Castle and the Mentalist
                                                               Happy Sunny Monday!!!

Simon & Schuster’s Urban Fantasy Sampler:

From The Book Smugglers: Smuggling Since 2007 | Reviewing Romance & SF Since 2008

Simon and Schuster have put together a truly AWESOME sampler of
their upcoming spring titles. These include: MASTER OF NONE By
Sonya Bateman, EMBERS By Lauren Bickle, SHADOW BLADE By
Seressia Glass, AMAZON QUEEN By Lori Devoti, SPIDER’S BITE By
Jennifer Estep, WEB OF LIES By Jennifer Estep, BAD TO THE BONE
By Jeri Smith-Ready, NECKING By Chris Salvatore, and DEMON
POSSESSED By Stacia Kane.
The sampler includes sample chapters from each of these books
 and exclusive author and bonus content – and the best part of
 all is that it is completely free.
Intrigued? Want to learn more? You can get your own exclusive
access to the Spring Sampler .

Get it now!

Accidentally Demonic by Dakota Cassidy

Accidentally Demonic (Accidental Friends, Bk 4)
Author: Dakota Cassidy
Rating * * * *
Review Date 3/18/10
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; 2/2/2010
                    ISBN-13: 978-0425232286

When mild-mannered Casey Schwartz wakes up in jail, she has no memory of how she got there.

But after her sister, Wanda, bails her out, Casey has more to deal with than a foggy memory-

like abrupt mood swings and fireballs shooting from her fingertips. But things really head 

south when a vampire shows up on her doorstep...

Vampire Clayton Gunnersson is seriously hot. And seriously taken -- by a demon. In a ritual,

gone wrong, Clayton tried to get rid of his unwanted bond, but spilled some demonic blood on 

Casey, getting her possessed in the process. Now, Casey has to share her body and manage to 

keep her growing attraction to Clayton in check, because falling for her demon's boyfriend 

just might get Casey killed -- from the inside out.

If you like a laugh or snort with your paranormal, you’ve got to read Dakota’s latest addition to her “Accidentally” series. I made myself take at least 2 days to read this as I knew that her next “Accidentally” was 15 months away. May 2011-too long I tell you.

While Casey can hold her own with that whinny bitch Nina, it was hilarious to see the two of them go at it. Nina was always bitchy and it’s a hoot to see someone as mild mannered as Casey go from normal to womp-ass in 3 seconds flat. I’ve never seen the emos swing so much in anyone under 50 that wasn’t going through menopause. Wow! What I’d have given to be able to shoot fire out of my fingertips at that time and singe a little hair.  And when Nina and Casey take on the Double Knit twins, honestly I thought I’d pee in my pants.

While the romance factor in this book didn’t seem as smooth, maybe even a little forced, this book is well worth the time to read. The best parts in my opinion are the three characters from the earlier books. I love how their friendship unites them in a cause but I sure missed the Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics color wheels. :(

And unfortunately (for you), I can't put this book up to swap at PBS as it's autographed by DC so you're going to have to get your copy elsewhere.

Check out Dakota Cassidy at http://www.dakotacassidy.net/ for a list of her other books and where she had this to say:

“And lastly, I got another gig. Yep–those crazy accidentals have another installment in May 2011 titled Accidentally Catty. A vet who turns into a cougar who kinda IS a cougar ’cause she’s 40–HAHAHAHA.”

Accidental Friends

1. Accidental Werewolf (2008)

2. Accidentally Dead (2008)

3. The Accidental Human (2009)

4. Accidentally Demonic (2010)

5. Accidentally Catty (5/2011)

FTC: I won this book in a contest where I got to pick a book.

"and the old fashioned paper books" Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

For the full content of the blog that set me off ,check out the link below but I saw red when seeing the "old fashioned" remark and just had to respond. What about you?

"And yeah, I'm seeing people standing in lines reading their Kindle, their Sony, their Nook. Oh, yes, and the old fashioned paper books. It's a people thing. Whatever floats your boat."


"and the old fashioned paper books" Well, I guess I'm just 
destined to be old fashioned if reading a REAL book is old 
fashioned. Besides the fact that I like holding a book in 
my hands, turning pages, and reading at the pool and in the 
tub, it just doesn't make sense to me to fork out $300-
$400 for a reader to hold ebooks that cost as much as my 
old fashioned paper book, that I'd be afraid to use it at the 
pool or in the tub, that I can't loan to a friend and god 
forbid should I lose it. Then I'm out the price of the 
reader and possibly a thousand dollars worth of books(cause I 
READ lots of books). Thank goodness if I lose my old 
fashioned book, hey so what, I can buy another without having 
to sell my first grandchild. It's not that I'm against 
technology, jeez we got computers, cell phones, large 
screen TVs, I-pods(hell we even use one on the 
motorcycle) and radios in our helmets. We got technology out 
the ying-yang in our life. I just see the outrageous cost 
of whole thing and can't believe that people have been 
suckered into it. I'm not saying I'll never have one but 
besides the cost going to have to drop drastically, there 
will have to be many more technological changes to the 
readers to get me to get one.


http://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=2409

THE STILETTO AWARD!

What is a Stiletto Award??? Check out http://thehusaileybunch.com/you-have-received-the-stiletto-award/ for the full details.
There are thousands of blogs, and there are hundreds of awards. The Stiletto Award is a little different than most!
First, to understand, let us understand the Stiletto… some words that describe it…
Classy – Strong -Exotic – Demure – Extreme – Ultra – Sexy - Bold – Funky

THE RULES!
This blog is meant to be shared, to be given out, to be bestowed upon any and ALL women who exemplify what the stiletto represents.  If you’ve received this award, here’s what you do:

1.  Display your Stiletto Badge of Honor on your sidebar!

2.  BRAG ABOUT IT!  - http://bit.ly/thestilettoaward
3.  SAY THANKS! - include a link to the friend who nominated you for the award.
4.  SHARE THE LOVE!  -nominate 5-10 blogs that you feel deserve the award.  Include links to them in your post -and- leave them a comment to let them know they are nominated.
5.  DO WHAT YOU DO!  -keep at it.  Keep inspiring and encouraging and sharing your life!  We love it and we thank you!!!

Wow, here I am, a very new blogger still learning the ends and outs and only a dozen followers (true I've not exactly sought out followers as I was so inexperienced) but someone over at "The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood" (http://guidetosurvivingmotherhood.blogspot.com/)  thought I deserved the Stiletto award. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Well, I get to nominate some blogs that I feel deserve the award so here goes.


1.Karen @ http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
 2.Dakota @ http://reluctantadults.blogspot.com/
 3.& 4. Candy and Sarah @ http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/
 5. Pamela @Busy Moms Who Love to Read

 These are just a few of the many fabulous blogs I follow and each has welcomed me with open arms. They have made me laugh (often spewing coffee all over my keyboard). And I truly believe laughter is all that gets you through some days when you would  rather just crawl back in the bed and pull the covers tight over your head.  They have also made me stop and reconsider life. Something that after over 30 years of raising the 3 greatest kids in the world, I wasn't sure that I acted in life as much as reacted to life. My baby at 20 is almost done with college and finally my hubby and I will be free(happy dance). No really, I love my kids, but with 8 years between the first two and 7 years between the last two, I thought we'd never get done raising them. It's finally our time and reading blogs and books have helped make the transition smooth. Thanks to all the wonderful and funny bloggers that have added a lift to my step and a smile on my face. I salute you!!

Ellz Readz -Asks Hardback or Paperback in your Favorite Series?

Ellz Readz asks what I consider a VERY important question here---
As you may have seen in the Cover LOVE? post, Rachel Caine's November Morganville release will be in Hardback.  This change not only effects appearances, it will effect the cost. 
 Ghost Town can be preordered at Amazon for $12.23, a BIG change from Kiss of Death (April 2010) of $6.99. 
So my question for you is...When a series suddenly jumps to hardback, do you still buy it when it comes out?  Will you wait for the paperback or the library copy?
Do you predict there will be a drop in sales?



My reply-
They don't lose me as a reader when they go to hardback but they do as a buyer as I'll get the hardback used or wait on the paperback. I hold on to few books so the fact that they are more durable and have a pretty dustcover(which I take off to read as they are annoying as hell)means nada to me.
They only lose me if the writing quality drops or the series jumps the shark. They also lose me as a buyer if they go to the trade sized paperback rather than the MMP. I'm not spending almost twice as much for an oversized book that won't fit in my purse. Sorry for $14.99 I can get two MMP.
I've noticed that many of the "newer" authors use this trade size. Again, these go on the bottom of my wishlist and I never buy them new. People(publishers!)there is a recession going on. Books are a luxury in a lot of homes(although in mine we'd probably cut back on food before books)and you are putting books out of reach of many. If my book budget is $50 a month, that's 2 1/2 hardbacks, 4 trade size, 7 MMP or 9 1/2 on Amazon's buy 4 for 3 deal (for those books that have been out awhile) and if I haven't read it it's new whether released yesterday or last year. I don't know how you count it but 9 is preferable to 2 any day.


Is it just me or does this disregard for the buyers pocketbook totally piss you off? Let Ellz know as I did.