What Day is It?

Wow, I must be getting really set in my ways.  I post on Tuesday instead of Monday and it throws off my whole week.  It's Thursday, right?  Only it's late in the day so you'll probably read this on Friday.

Well, TGIF, gang.

On Tuesday, I helped Maria Zannini celebrate the release of her new book, Mistress of the Stone, by offering a drawing for a free copy.  Everyone who leaves a comment on that post (unless they ask not to be included) will have a chance to win.  To give everyone a chance to enter, I'll keep the giveaway open until 5:00 PM next Thursday, September 6. 

 In fact, if I get 20 entries in the giveaway drawing, I'll give away a copy to two lucky winners.

So if you missed that post, go back and leave a comment here.

 

Looking ahead... on September 5, it will be my pleasure to host author Marilyn Meredith who will be telling us about her latest release, Raging Water.  Marilyn's also got a very special contest for us, so you won't want to miss it.

 

And on September 17, I'll be having fun with Alex Cavanaugh's latest blogfest, Genre Favorites.

Switching from books to TV.  When I was a kid (back in the dark ages), we had the three networks and maybe PBS and one independant channel that mostly showed old movies. New programming was on from fall to early spring. Summer meant reruns.

Then came cable networks. Now some of my favorites are wrapping up their season in the fall and the cliffhangers are everywhere. My favorite favorite? Burn Notice. Mike, Fi, Sam, and Jesse stranded in Panama after Mike's boss at the CIA tried to have them killed. 

How about you? Are you a fan of any summer cable network shows? What's your favorite? Did it end the season in a cliffhanger?

Funny of the Day:  (Someone told me this one today and I've just got to pass it along.)

It's Easter and the pastor has called all the little children, dressed in their Easter finery, to the front of the church to sit around him.

"Today is Easter," he tells them, "and you all look so beautiful. Today we're going to talk about the resurrection. Does anyone know what the resurrection is?"

One little boy raises his hand and the pastor says, "Wonderful.  Will you tell us what the resurrection is?"

The boy answers, "I'm not exactly sure but I know if  you get one lasting more than four hours, you gotta call a doctor."

Mistress of the Stone - Release Day Giveaway

Thanks for coming by on a Tuesday.  Not my usual blogging day but I really wanted to dedicate this post to helping Maria Zaninni celebrate the release day for her latest book, Mistress of the Stone.

Don't you love this cover?



Here's a little something about the story.

Mistress of the Stone

Paranormal-Historical

A young woman at the helm of a pirate ship braves ghouls, ghosts and werewolves to find her father--or avenge his death.

Luísa Tavares has a list of sins the length of the Antilles, but there’s no time to repent for them now. When a pockmarked Frenchman hands her Papa’s ring—still attached to his severed finger—she orders the Coral back to the Caribbean, despite her father’s earlier warning never to return.

It’s Luísa’s luckless fate that the only man who can help her is a blasted Inglés pirate hunter who’s more dead than alive and locked in a curse he doesn’t want lifted. Worse, his feral sensuality sparks a hunger she can’t ignore.

Xander Daltry hadn’t planned on kidnapping this wild woman—or succumbing to his uncontrollable desire for her. But he needs Luísa and the moonstone she wears around her neck to rescind a witch’s spell. His sister, long dead, and others like her have been cursed to remain in the mortal plane for eternity. Only the stone can set them free.

The only way to convince the reluctant pirate queen to help him is to withhold one small bit of the truth. For if she learns who really betrayed her father, the longing in her fiery eyes could easily turn to murderous wrath…

I really enjoyed Mistress of the Stone.  Luisa and Xander are great characters, strong willed and determined, each on mission to save someone they love, but what will they have to sacrifice to succeed? The action was fast paced, with twists and turns and secrets revealed every step of the way. There were characters to love and characters to hate and the steamy love scenes were...oh, my... *fans self*

Okay, these two aren't really characters from Mistress.  They're Maria's Pirate Boys, Tank and Iko, but they look so cute, I had to include them.

You can buy Mistress of the Stone from Samhain Publishing here.
Or from Amazon here.
Or from Barnes and Noble here.
And you can visit Maria Zannini here.

Or even better, you can leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy.  Just make sure to leave your e-mail address (if it's not in your profile) so I can contact you.

When the last time you read a good swashbuckling pirate story?


Quote of the Day:  Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates”  ~ Mark Twain