The Tree

I love going to get our family Christmas Tree. I've blogged about it at various points. It's a whole production from the day after Thanksgiving and we leave that bad boy up until right after New Years Day. I make a big stink about cutting it down, decorating it and admiring it nightly as I sit by the fire place. Apparently I'm not the only Christmas Tree Freak out there.

It's been a long time since I've seen a video on Youtube that made me laugh until I cried. The other day a friend of mine at work sent me a good one. John Roberts is a very funny comedian who spoofs his Mom regularly through Youtube videos. I just had to repost this one for all of my fellow Christmas Tree Freaks.

The Redemption of Mr. Romance

**Below is a blog post from none other than Charles Paz! Charles was crowned "Mr. Romance" at the Romantic Times Convention 2009. I am so excited Charles agreed to write a piece for my blog! Thanks Charles....Ladies...Enjoy!**

(BTW...that lucky lady in this picture is not me. ;)

"You have to fall, Before you can Rise....."

Redemption. An act of redeeming or the state of being redeemed. Deliverance. Salvation. In one time or another, we all have gone through this in our lives. We fault. We fail. We fall. We then realize what we could do to make things better. To right our wrongs. To redeem ourselves. We then proceed to take that path to success. To prove to ourselves just what we can accomplish. And to silence the nay-sayers. No matter how many obstacles come our way, we are fueled by the desire to break through those barriers in our quest for greatness. This is just one example. This is just one story. This is my Road to Redemption......

Lets begin this at the 2009 RT convention. When most of you last saw me, I was onstage. Flashing lights. Holding trophies and having the biggest smile on my face. Not only winning the Mr. Romance title, but also winning the Readers Choice Award. I have never won anything in my life! I was very grateful and humbled by the events that took place not only that day, but the whole week as well. It truly was an awesome moment of triumph in my life. Even afterward--it was great. People coming to me and saying they would love to have me on their book covers. Authors wanting to do interviews with me for their web-sites. Even had "Agents" tell me all the things they wanted to do for me and how to market me and basically, make me a Star. I was on cloud nine to say the least. But, like a cloud, I had no idea this feeling of greatness would soon slowly evaporate and disappear.

Fast Forward to end of June. The time had come to where I got to shoot for Dorchester’s cover. New York here I come. I was very excited. Had the plane ride and got picked up at the Airport. I felt like a Star! Things were great. I met the wonderful People at Dorchester Publishing's before the photo shoot. Awesome. Then came time for the shoot. Some people from RT were also gonna be at the shoot and do a 'behind the scenes' sorta story about it. "Wow, this is really cool ", I'm thinking. I had a blast during the shoot. The model was gorgeous. Atmosphere was great and I was still on that Cloud Nine that I was at the RT convention. I stayed in NY for a few days. Saw some old friends and did some shoots in Long Island and Brooklyn. I finally got to work with one of my favorite photographers 'DeVores Vison' and felt like nothing can stop me now. I could not have been any more wrong.

Before booking my flight back home to California, my "Agent" convinced me that I must fly to Florida first and shoot for an Author and other projects that will be Good for Me and it will Make Me Look Better in the Readers Eyes.

I was at such a financial struggle at the time and barely scraped up enough money to afford the plane ticket there. I got on the plane and didn't even have enough money in the bank to pull out a $20 from the ATM. I thought to myself…It’s OK… It’s an Investment and these people will not steer me wrong. It will be for the best and work itself out in the end.

So, I arrive in Florida, and it was the beginning of the end. The story that RT did about the 'behind the scenes of a cover shoot' got picked up by some on line blog site. Pretty mainstream I guess, with lots of readers. I could only stare at the screen when I was reading some of the comments being left by people. What a Joke read one of them, Looks like Mr. Romance should be called Mr.Doughnut, read another. Pathetic. Lame. Fat. Worthless. The list went on and on. Reality was driving an 18-wheeler, and blind-sided me from the back. I had so much confidence for once and I actually felt good about myself and who I am…at least…up until that point. I then started to question my achievements and thought, Did I really deserve this?

The doubt grew greater while I was shooting in Florida. My "AGENT" kept telling me… maybe when you are in a big budget studio and actually do a real photo shoot, then maybe you could be somebody. It was solidified when the comment also came out that... if it wasn't for them…I would be nothing and that I wouldn't have been chosen as Mr.Romance back in April.
The plane ride back home to Cali was a very long one. With thoughts of self-doubt consuming me as I sat there in seat 22E between the Mother with her crying Baby and the businessman looking over papers. It’s bad enough to have total stranger tell me I'm nothing while hiding behind a computer screen, but to have the people who I trusted with my career and actually cared for in real life tell me I am worthless is a whole different story. Where do I go from here?

The following few days were hard. I was reminded of a Time to where it was an accomplishment just to wake up in the morning. I spent most of the day looking at the ceiling while I lay on the floor in my bedroom. The concerned knocks at my door from my Mother seeing if I was OK. She knows what her son was going through. She has seen this before. That lost look in his face. That look of despair and uncertainty. It hurt her more knowing that this was something that she could not fix, like every mother who cares about their children, hopelessness was the feeling that she had. But she also knew that as low of a point in my life as I was, this was not the worst I have been and that look of sadness in her face turned into a grin. Your planning your next move aren't you? she asked. I looked at her and grinned. Of course I am. And I know exactly what I'm gonna do.

Everyday was a struggle in itself. I would always call walking on the stair mill breakfast. People in the sport of Bodybuilding know that the last week is the most critical. Everything you have worked hard for can be lost within the last few days and in an instant, you can go from first place to not even finish over night. At the beginning of the last week, I weighed 220lbs. By Friday, I was down to about 207. Come morning of the show, I was down to 193. I dropped fourteen pounds overnight! I was dehydrated and struggling. It finally came time to walk onstage with my group. Every step was agony. Each pose I hit also drew a smile from my face. Why you ask? The answer is simple. I was onstage. I achieved my goal. All the people who doubted my potential and wanted to see me fail could not take that moment away from me.

The Redemption of Mr.Romance was fueled by all the negative things that were thrown at me and from the critics. I'm learning now that it’s not about the looks, or the trophies, or proving people wrong. It’s about being who I am because in the end that is what matters most. I find myself now not necessarily trying to become a man of much success, but rather, trying to become a man of value to the people I surround myself with.

Thanks so much for sharing your story with us Charles!

Want to Friend Charles on Facebook??

http://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?id=100000492620331&ref=ts

The Chance to Make a Difference.

**The note below is from my Dad, Charlie Taney. This is a great story and a fantastic chance to make a difference in the life of an outstanding young man. I, for one, will be contributing. I hope you'll want to take the chance to make a difference in this fantastic young man's life.**

I want you to know about a special project I have undertaken and give you the opportunity to join me in making a difference in one person's life.

Here's the story:Kareem Cope and I got to know each other when he volunteered for the high school internship program at SoundWaters. Kareem was attending Wright Tech in Stamford. His dream is to go to college. I offered to help and he took me up on it. With his parent's support, I became Kareem's advocate. Testing revealed that Kareem is several grade levels behind, and has some learning disabilities. We focused on finding an independent school that could prepare Kareem for college. We zeroed in on the Forman School in Litchfield, CT, the leading independent school for students with learning disabilities (now called "learning differences").

was accepted and started in September, repeating his Junior year. He is one excited young man! (picture attached).

You can see the whole story, and meet Kareem through his short video, at our blog; http://kareemcopes.blogspot.com/

But Forman costs $55,250 per year. The school has given Kareem $25,000 in aid. I have taken personal responsibility for raising the $30,250 balance. Kareem's parents have committed $2,000, a huge amount for them. Carol and I have also committed $2,000. I’m reaching out to friends and associates and have raised over $14,000 so far.

I hope you'll consider a donation in the $25, $50, $100 range. You can donate online at http://charlieco.com/kareemOr, you can make your check payable to The Forman School, note Kareem Cope on the check, and mail it to me at 9 Outer Road, Norwalk, CT 06854.

I realize this is a lot to ask, and whether or not you can help, I very much appreciate your consideration. I have hesitated reaching out to you but decided that, in the end, many of you would want to know about this and have the opportunity to participate. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or would like to discuss any aspect of my work with Kareem. If you know of anyone who might like to help, please pass this along.

**PASS IT ON**

Rachael Ray Rocks

Okay. I can admit it. I am not a good cook. I have several talents...cooking isn't one of 'em. My husband and children can attest to the sad truth of it. In fact, when I bake cookies the first thing my kids do is look at the bottom to see if they're burnt. Nice.

In an effort to improve my culinary abilities I have tried various cook books and recipes. I think I have Cooking ADD. None of them could hold my attention long enough for me to execute them properly OR they had several ingredients I don't have on hand at home.

The other day, in one final effort, I picked up a copy of Rachel Ray's magazine. "Everyday with Rachael Ray". I was skeptical. I thought this would be another wasted cookbook type purchase. Well---I couldn't have been more wrong. This magazine is AWESOME! For the first time one of these mags actually delivers what it claims.

There are shopping lists for the recipes, the ingredients are pretty straight forward, and they take very little time. The best part is many of them are kid friendly. So the time came for the true test. My kids. I let them pick out a few of the meal ideas they liked. I hit the grocery store for the fresh herbs...let's be honest....with four little boys that's not tops on my normal shopping list. Next stop--the kitchen.

Her 30 minute meals? Guess what? They really are done in less than 30 minutes. I couldn't believe it! And...the food I made actually looked like the picture in the mag. Okay...maybe not exactly like it but really close. Even better? The boys loved it!

So now when people ask me if I can cook I simply say, "Yes. As long as it's one of Rachael Ray's recipes. Other than that...I'm toast."

For her great recipe ideas, her magazine and all the other good stuff. Check out her website.

Guest Blogger--Nicole from HowlingGoodBooks.com

Well, hello again all! Sara has welcomed me back! W00t! So I thought I would turn her graciousness on everyone! Welcome to Sara’s Blog! And my return to answer any questions you may have! Ask away and I will answer! Whatever the question! Whether about this post, my site- HowlingGoodBooks.com, or being a reviewer!

And Happy October! What a wonderful month! A month when we get to dress up as anything that our imaginations can dream up and not be looked at funny! And since it is dress up as wacky as you can dream of month I thought we could discuss our favorite creatures that go bump in the night and how we came to read paranormal or Science Fiction!

My mom started me out! I will be honest, my mom much preferred for me to read than watch TV! “Books,” she said,” will make the imagination soar. Anything is possible in them!” When I was in middle school I came across her Greek mythology college text book and begged to read it. She allowed me to, knowing that I had exhausted all the books in my school’s library. I ate it up! After that I soared through Stephen King’s novels, skulked through Dean Kootnz’s books, and “learned” how to make magical mistakes with Piers Anthony.

As I grew into adulthood my fascination with the strange and unusual grew with me. I kept finding new authors to help me with my….. er, book addiction, lol. Or would that be helped my addiction continue? But whichever way you put it, my love of books, and reading, grew exponentially. I found new authors by the quotes they left on the authors’ books that I read already. And as my addiction became out of control so did my stash of books, much to my husband’s dismay! ;)

So what is my favorite paranormal creature? Magician? Vampire? Were animal? Alien? Well, it is not a space creature. Although they are intriguing, I love Earth! Magician? While I love magic and all the possibilities it opens up, that is not my fave! Blood sucking vamp? Nope! I would end up being the anal retentive, blood-o-phobe! Imagine a vamp having to be fed through an IV! I would be the shame of every vampire alive…. Er,dead… er undead lol. I would end up being staked by my maker! If you said Were you were right! I have always had a soft spot for animals, wolves in particular- and it simply carried over!

A Witch’s life may be glamorous with all the magic at one’s fingertips, but the responsibility! And all the things you give up to be a vampire! Sunrises, sunsets, chocolate! (Although I love how Michele Bardsley fixes that one!) But as a Were! High metabolism! So you can eat whatever you want! Great hair! And with that (at least) once a month change you don’t have to worry about if you get a bad haircut! You can go out ANYTIME! With no daylight restriction! What could be better? Hmmm, maybe a succubus? Having men panting after you! Being the being all men desire… But I would hate to leave a string of corpses behind! Nope! Weres it is! But don’t ask me to pick just one Were! I would love to be a true shape shifter, to be whatever I choose. That way if I am feeling catty I could grow claws and hiss! Or …. A bit of the canine female, well you get the picture!

But what about you? How did you come to love the paranormal? What brought you over to our “dark side” so to speak? What are YOUR favorite paranormal beings? And why? Share with us! We would love to hear what YOU like!

Welcome Guest Author--E.Jamie!

Thanks so much, Sara for letting me have a guest spot on your blog today. I think I'll share a blurb and excerpt from my novel Till Death Do Us Part with all your lovely readers!

Now available From Amira Press Till Death Do Us Part in both ebook and

print:http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=222

Sara loved Connor, but he was from the wrong side of the tracks. They eloped and her father had him mudered or so she thought. Pregnant and desperate to escape an arranged marriage Sara married Connor's best friend, Aaron. When Connor returns very much alive, Sara is forced to choose between her first love and the new love she's found.Here's a wee excerpt to whet your apetite!

“You got a minute?”

“I made time,” Sara said with a slow nod, her mouth dry.“Thanks.”She forced herself to focus on what she had to say to him. “I have something I need to say to you first.” She stepped behind her desk glad for the small measure of comfort it provided.

“Okay,” he said, taking the pale blue-cushioned seat across from her.

“I owe you an apology for what I did the night of Aaron’s accident.”

“No you don’t. You were right. It was my fault he left the house angry and crashed his car,” Connor reminded her.

“No more than it was mine,” Sara said firmly.

“Sara—”

“Connor, please, let me finish. What I said to you was unforgivable, not to mention untrue. I don’t hate you. I never could. If I hated you, we never would’ve gone through what we have this past year. I hurt you so, so badly,” Sara said, her eyes filling with tears. She lowered her head.

Connor stood up and pulled her to her feet.

“I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you,” she said.

He cupped her face with his hands. “I love you so much, Sara. I’ll love you going to my grave, again,” he added with a smirk making Sara laugh through her tears. Then he grew serious. “I’ve just recently learned what really loving you meant. When I came back and demanded that you leave Aaron, you were right when you called me a selfish bastard. I was. I wanted you back, and I didn’t care what that meant for you.”

Sara trembled and tried to get a hold of her emotions. She placed her hands over his and stroked the fair blond hair at his wrists. “I wanted to come back to you, Connor. I wanted everything to be the way it was, but it can’t be. I’ve grown up. I’m not the same woman you married. I have so many responsibilities to other people. I don’t just mean as Aaron’s wife but as Nathan’s mother. I created this family for him, something so wonderful for him. He adores you, Connor. Never doubt that.”

“You’re wrong when you say you’re not the woman I married. She’s still there, inside. I’ve seen her every time you’ve been pissed off at me lately, but you’re right when you say you’ve grown up. So have I finally. I saw what my selfishness was doing to you, and I remember a vow I made on our wedding night after we made love for the first time.”

“I don’t remember you saying anything.”

“I made it while you were sleeping. I was watching you. Your face was so soft, and you looked so beautiful my heart felt like it was gonna explode into a million pieces. I knew I had probably hurt you that first time, and I felt horrible about it. Then in your sleep, you turned and slipped your arm around my waist. You trusted me when I said I wouldn’t hurt you again. Even though I had meant physically at the time, feeling your arm come around me showed me you trusted me not to hurt your heart, too. I promised you I would never hurt you in any way. I broke that promise the day you married Aaron, and I walked away. I broke it again when I came back and made you choose. I put you through hell this past year, and I regret that more than you could ever imagine. I’m here to make it right. I’m promising never to bring you another day of pain. So I’m going to do the right thing.” He wiped the tears streaming off his face and handed her an envelope.

“What?” Sara asked.

“I’m leaving. Not sure to where yet. But I’m going to let you go.”

Sara’s breath was knocked out of her. She felt ill. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She had made her choice, and it was Aaron so why did it feel like her very soul was being ripped from her body? Fresh tears fell from her eyes. She shook her head. “This is so wrong. This wasn’t supposed to be us. Never us.”

“No it wasn’t,” Connor agreed.

“This feels so wrong.” She began to tremble.

“I know, but it’s the right thing to do, for everybody, but especially for you. I never want to bring you any more pain.”

Sara wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. “I love you, Connor Nolan. With my heart and with my soul, I love you.” She pulled back, and he handed her an envelope containing what she learned was also a petition for joint custody of Nathan. “Of course,” she agreed, pulling up the sleeves of her white suit jacket and pulling open the middle slim drawer of her desk to look for a pen.

“I’m gonna be leaving town, so we’re going to have to work something out,” Connor said and blew his nose.She nodded again, still in disbelief. “We were so beautiful, weren’t we?” Their love had been something so amazing. Had been? No. Was. Would always be. “I’ll go to my grave loving you, Connor.”

Connor smiled. “We’re even good at breaking up.” He grew serious again. “There’s one thing I want before we file those papers.”

“What?” Sara asked, bewildered.

“One night with you.”

Swing on by my website at http://www.ejamie.net/ to get a peek at my other books, trailers and great contests!

Book Signing up at Borders near Fort Drum!

What a pretty time of year to take a drive up to Watertown, NY! It was a wonderful signing event at Borders in The Salmon Run Mall near Fort Drum. I had the distinct privilege of meeting several members of our military and their families. It was a beautiful Saturday but the mall was hopping!

My signing liaison, Stephanie ( a proud military wife) did an unbelievable job promoting our event--and as a result we sold tons of books!!

She posted in online and had it put in the area newspapers as well.

Way to go!!

Unfortunately her kiddies were sick and she couldn't make it....so I took lots of pics so she could see how all her hard work paid off.

The people up in Watertown are incredibly friendly and the staff was awesome! My last signing in this tour is coming up at my Alma mater--Marist College--during Alumni Weekend.

Guest Blog -- Nicole from"Howling Good Books" Review Site

Hi Sara! Thanks for having me! Wow what an honor!....And now for the awkward silence… J Just Kidding, as if I could ever run out of things to say about books or my review site! Ok so start from the beginning I suppose. Well, about me… Hmm.

Once upon a time there was a woman named Nicole, and she had a dream of one day making it big! She published poetry, and had a collection of books so big she had to buy an extra house just to have a place to put them all! When one day the beauteous ladies husband said to her- “You have enough books to start your own bookstore!” an even better idea struck! Why sell all of her books? Why get rid of all her dear friends that helped her deal with the real world by escaping it? Why not SHARE her obsession? Help the world be a better place but introducing people to her love of other worlds and living vicariously through others? And at the same time share all the worldly wisdom she has gained through her many travels in those hollowed pages? Why not start……. A REVIEW SITE!

Nah, that isn’t how it happened, but it sounded good huh? Lol, What really happened was I was trolling the Internet while chatting with a friend when I came across a review site. It intrigued me. Who would have thunk it? I always wondered how those witty quotes ended up on book covers! How could I get my words on those beautiful glossy covers? How could I get my name out there? So I emailed the site, ok I used the “Contact Us” page, but hey it counts! I asked them how I could become one of their reviewers ( see me begging and pleading on my knees in cyberspace). So for a few years I reviewed. I read my little heart out, and my eyes blind, but OH JOY the free books! And then I started seeing MY name out there! My name and witty bantering were on the covers of books! And I had another thought! Why not start MY OWN review site?!?!? Thus the idea to birth HowlingGoodBooks.com!

I got together with my husband and best friend Joann(and Co-Author) and discussed the possibility of such a thing; aka if we had the gumption to pull it off. My husband bought the domain for Mother’s Day- “So you can’t back out”, and Joann and I came up with the name. Then months of hard work ensued. We planned, mapped out how we wanted the site to run, found a wonderful artist for our logo, I worked on getting publishers, and anytime I got worried, down, or started second guessing myself I turned to my family, old friends, and the new friends that I had made. If it weren’t for my slave laboring husband (just ask him, he’ll tell you what a slave driver I am! ;) ), Joann, Kayla Weeks, Jen Allen and all my author friends who suffered with me- Leonard D. Hilley II, Celis T. Rono, Mima, or Christine and Ethan Rose; HowlingGoodBooks.com would have not have been given birth! So thanks guys for all of the support and belief that you have given to me and HGB! And to all the friends that I have made since; Mina Carter, Sara( but of course), Lex Valentine, Melinda Barron, and Dakota Cassidy just to name a few! You guys have helped keep it, and me, going!

But it is a FAR cry from over! In fact we have just begun! We are covering all genres, and currently have over 10 publishers working with us, as well as authors themselves sending us work! We are always on the lookout for new reviewers, especially as we are always looking for new publishers! We are taking applications for reviewers! If you are interested the link is here: http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=43 . And if the directions aren’t clear enough here is a review I did myself for you to go by: http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=114 . (Wink) Did I mention that is the review for Sara’s first book in the Amoveo series, The Amoveo Legacy? Not only is Sara gracious enough to have me here, but she is talented as well! Well, I guess that is all, for now! I must get going! But I will stop in and see if there are any questions out there! I hope you all have a blessed day! Thanks again Sara! And Hurry up on An Amoveo Heart!

Book Signing in The Big Easy!

Had a great time at the Borders Book Signing in New Orleans. The entire staff was incredibly helpful and set us up in a great area. This Borders is on St. Charles Street and pre-Katrina it was a Funeral Home. Cool huh?

I have to give major props to my Signing Liaison Kelly! She had already read "The Amoveo Legacy" and volunteered to be my Liaison when she heard I was coming down to NOLA. She did an awesome job! She even brought her daughter and a friend along. So a HUGE Thank You to Kelly!! What a great lady.

I also got to meet several other folks while I was there. Stephanie & her hubby David came by to say hello and pick up a book or two. We connected on Twitter and I was thrilled that they showed up!!

Our stay in New Orleans was such fun and I can't wait to go back. Book 2 in my shifter series actually takes place in NOLA so it was also a great opportunity to do some research....and have some fun :)

Next stop.....Borders in Watertown, NY....right by Fort Drum!

SOLD OUT Signing at Barnes & Noble in Yonkers!

What a fantastic event at B&N here in Westchester!! It was so much fun to meet new readers and terrific to have some familiar faces stop by as well. Martie, the CRM at this location, ran a fantastic event. Her staff was friendly, knowledgeable and extremely helpful.

I met some great girls from the area and posted their pictures here. It's always such a thrill for me to meet young women and hear about their dreams and goals for the future. I always tell them that this is my first published book and I'm going to be 40 this year. It's never too late to follow your dreams....with enough hard work, tenacity and belief in yourself.....anything can happen.