Blog Tour - Dearly Departed by Tristi Pinkston

Ida Mae
Babbitt rides again!
Ida Mae Babbitt may be a reformed woman, but trouble just can't stay away.
Follow the blog tour for Dearly Departed by Tristi Pinkston and learn
about Ida Mae's latest adventure.

This is the second book in Tristi Pinkston's Secret Sisters Series, and if you loved the first you'll love this one too. If you haven't read the first you can just pick up on the story with Dearly Departed. One of my favorite things about Dearly Departed was that Tristi gave Eden, Ida Mae's friend's granddaughter, a more essential role. I spoke to Tristi about that last weekend and she told me she was surprised by Eden as well. While Ida Mae works the inside of the Care Center, Eden investigates the crime from the outside. They made a great team. Not to mention having Kevin's help. I do love a little romance!

One thing's for sure. If, when I'm a little elderly woman, I ever break a leg and arm and am left completely helpless, I wouldn't mind checking into a place like Shady Aspen Retirement Center. Well, except for the whole murdering of residents thing.

Check out Dearly Departed for a fun light read that will give you ideas for how to spend your retirement years!

Walnut Springs Press will be giving away THREE copies of Dearly Departed . One
GRAND PRIZE winner will win this fun
scrap booking pack.


It's easy to enter.
1. Visit the fabulous reviews and leave a comment letting us know why
you're excited to read Dearly
Departed. Remember to include your email address.
2. For an additional entry become a follower of Walnut Springs Press blog,
Tristi's blog, or any of the fabulous reviews blog. Leave a comment letting
us know who's blog you now follow.
3. If you tweet about the blog tour, or post about it on your blog or
facebook, leave the link in the comments section and you'll receive an
additional entry for each post.

Good Luck! Entries close at midnight (MST) on March 6th.

***
Ida Mae Babbitt has done her community service and is a reformed
woman - no more law-breaking for her. But when Arlette's granddaughter
Eden discovers a mystery in a fancy nursing home, Ida Mae - with the
perfect excuse of a broken wrist and a broken ankle - checks herself into
the place. After all, it is for the greater good. Soon she's buzzing
around in her motorized wheelchair, questioning the residents and swiping
files from the office. She's bound and determined to get to the bottom of
this case. But can she solve the mystery before she becomes the next
victim?

****
February 16th
Starcrossed book
reviews (Nichole Giles)

Febraury 17
Inksplasher (Karlene Browning)

February 18
Heather Justensen

February 21
Elizabeth Mueller

February 22
LDS Women's Book Review (Shanda
Cottam)

February 23
Rachelle Writes
(Rachelle Christensen)
Sometimes
Hard But Oh So Worth It (Kimberly Coates)

February 24
Fire and Ice (Heather
Gardner)

February 28
Cheryl's Book Nook
(Cheryl Koch)

March 1
JDP News (Joyce DiPastena)

March 2
Teri Rodeman

March 3
Why Not? Because I Said
So (Sheila Stayley)

Off to LTUE!

Tomorrow morning I'm headed to the BYU Conference Center in Provo for the annual writer's workshop:

Life, the Universe and Everything

(LTUE)

But I won't see you in any of the workshops. 

Why?

Because I'll be there as a vendor!

That's right, I bought a vendors table.

And I'll be there selling (hopefully selling) my writing planners.

You've heard about them...

You've wanted one...

You've put it off ordering one for unknown reasons...

Now's your chance! 

If you're going to be at LTUE, come find me in the vendors hall. 

You can see them in person. Touch them. Smell them. Drool on them. Buy them...

Who doesn't love a little organization?

Who doesn't love to have one place to write down all your writing goals?

Who doesn't love motivating writing quotes to keep you going?

And now, here's the writing quote pulled directly from this week's page:

"Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, 

we lose the excitement of possibilities. 

Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning."

-Gloria Steinem

If you have any questions, send me an email or check out my website!

I'll be there Thursday, Friday and Saturday!

I hope to see you soon...

Seamless Storytelling

My dad is a storyteller. He can entertain with his words and make otherwise average stories funny. When I listen to him tell a story, my mind does not drift away to my To-do list or what I'm going to eat next.  Okay, sometimes I still think about food (chocolate), but you know what I mean.

He also likes to tell jokes. Only he tells them as stories, and you never know until he's done if he's building up to a story ending or a punch line. Most of the time it's a punch line.

Me, on the other hand? I'm not so good with the jokes. Never have been. Usually I can't keep a straight face. They usually go something like this:

"Wanna hear a joke? (no subtlety there!) Okay, there were three guys that walked into a bar. Or was is two guys and a girl? Um, I can't remember. Anyway, three people walk into a bar. I don't think it matters if they're guys or girls. One says to another... Oh, I can't remember how he said it. Maybe the girl said something first. Crap! I can't remember. But it was funny! You'll just have to trust me."

I know.  Lame.

Lucky for me, I'm the writing kind of storyteller, not the sit-around-the-table-chatting kind of storyteller. I can revise and change my story until it actually makes sense. At least that's the idea. I haven't actually got there yet...  :)

And now for my weekly writing quote:

"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."

-Hannah Arendt

* * * * *

Today's writing quote was taken from The Write Planner, my day planner designed for writers. To learn more about The Write Planner, click here

Book Launch and Give-a-way

It's a book launch and give-a-way!

Hooray!

Sarah M. Eden's newest book, The Kiss of a Stranger, has just been released. I'm currently reading it, and I love it! I'm going back to it as soon as I'm done with this post.

Sarah is joining two other authors, Jennifer K. Clark and Stephonie K. Williams, who co-wrote the book Mark of Royalty, for a book launch.

Saturday, February 12th

11am - 1pm

Provo Deseret Book

989 South University Ave

There are going to be lots of door prizes, including one of my very own writing planners: 

The Write Planner.

Check out Sarah's website for more information, and to see the other prizes.

Happy Groundhog Day

It's Groundhog Day! That means it's also
MY BIRTHDAY!!

And Mr. Punxsutawney Phil has given me the best birthday present ever. He predicted an 
Early Spring!

I don't think I've been warm for the last three months. But there may be an end in sight.

Of course, not today. It's 8 degrees outside right now.

I'm ready for Spring. I'm ready to Spring Clean. I'm ready to do yard work. I'm ready to send the kids out in the back yard to play.

Of course all of those things will be happening in a new house. As long as everything goes smoothly anyway. Our house is under contract, and we're house hunting. I've even found a house I'm very interested in. The next month will bring lots of changes.

Bring them on!

And since I've been behind on everything this week, my weekly writers quote is late. But without further delay I present:

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."
-Mark Twain

Can you use that for houses to? The difference between the right house and the almost right house is the difference between...what? Your entire future? There's a lot of pressure in that, isn't there. Where you live will have major impacts on your life. Not to mention on the lives of your children.

I hope I will choose the right words, as well as the right house!

* * * * *

Today's writing quote was taken from The Write Planner, my day planner designed for writers. To learn more about The Write Planner, click here