Category Archives: Lilly Gayle

Book Covers & Cover Model, Caroline Kelly

13 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in Book Cover, Book Covers, historical romance, Lilly Gayle, romance, romance author, romance novel, Time Travel

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When an author signs with a publisher, he or she has little or no control over the book’s cover. In self-publishing, the author has full control. The author can hire a designer or download images from sites such as http://123rf.com or http://fotolia.com to create a cover using Photoshop or some other photo editing software. There are also sites such as Jimmie Thomas’ http://romancenovelcovers.com where an author can buy individual images or a pre-made cover.

The only problem with these sites is that thousands of authors and the smaller publishing houses use the same images to create their covers.

But I wanted something unique for the cover of my time travel romance, Winds of Time. So, when my friend, Jennifer, suggested I use her daughter on the cover, I jumped at the chance.

Caroline has recently gotten into modeling and acting. She has blond hair and blue eyes and can pass for a young woman of sixteen to twenty-five, depending on her hair, makeup, and clothes. In Winds of Time, Selena Tillman is a twenty-five year old posing as her twenty-year-old ancestor, and like Caroline, she has blond hair. (See book details following Caroline’s interview.)

My brother is a graphic designer with an impressive portfolio (agwvisual.myportfolio.com) and he agreed to make my cover. He used one of the dozens of pictures Jennifer sent of Caroline dressed the way Selena was dressed in Chapter One, the tornado  and locket images I purchased from Fotolia, and a Photoshopped picture of my son-in-law, who’s one quarter Lumbee Indian.

 

 

Once my brother manipulated the images, he added the title in a cool, wind-blown font and my name. Then he sent me the proof, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s one of my favorite covers. And Caroline Kelly is definitely my favorite cover model. She’s also the only one I personally know, so I could be biased. She helped with marketing and promotion, and her mom, Jennifer, taught me how to use Instagram.

 

 

Both before and after the book’s release, Caroline promoted it on  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/clkblue21 and Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cross promotion was an added bonus I wasn’t expecting. She even agreed to answer a few interview questions, posted below.

Caroline Kelly Interview

 How do you like the cover? Did it meet your expectations? 

I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I love how it turned out. I can honestly say I don’t know anyone that is on a book cover, and to see myself as a book cover model is surreal. 

Tell me about some of your recent modeling jobs.

It’s been an exciting year for me. I’ve been in a couple of fashion shows in Charlotte NC. I have also had an opportunity to be an extra in a couple movies and a cable show. 

What can you tell me about the modeling gig you have coming up in the next couple of weeks?

I’m going to be in the Charlotte Summer Seen Fashion Show representing a swimsuit designer.

Swimsuit in picture is NOT from the Charlotte show or the designer.

What types of acting roles have you had?

I haven’t had any speaking roles yet. I have been a church extra several times for It’s Supernatural a religious cable show. I was a softball extra in a movie this past Spring that was filmed in Charleston SC. My most recent movie set experience was a cheerleader extra in a Clint Eastwood movie filmed in Atlanta GA. I really hope that scene doesn’t get cut 

What did you think of your experience with the film industry, and would you do it again?

Definitely. I love being on the movie set, and the experience I’ve gained as an extra has been amazing. I hope one day, it will lead to something bigger.

Would you like to be on another book cover?

Absolutely. Being part of this book cover has been a fantastic experience and is something I would love to do again. I have a real interest in doing print work, especially formal wear and wedding dresses.

How can other authors contact you if they’d like to discuss using you on their covers?clkblue21@gmail.com or https://www.instagram.com/clkblue21

Thanks so much to you and your mom for working with me on the cover and making Winds of Time my favorite book cover.

Winds of Time

Release Date: June 21, 2018

Tagline:

The past is her future, the future, her past, but can she save an innocent man’s life before history repeats itself? 

Blurb:

As long as Selena Tillman dreams of her ancestor, Mary, who disappeared without a trace in 1871, she’ll never find peace. As long as she dreams of the half-Native American army scout accused of killing Mary, she’ll never find love. Hoping to end the dreams and learn the truth, Selena goes to Texas where Mary and the scout died and sees more than ghosts. She sees a tornado kill Mary in real time before it jumps to the twenty-first century to pull Selena into its vortex and send her back to the nineteenth century. Selena believes she’s fated to prove Dylan’s innocence and save his life, but Dylan isn’t just the man of her dreams; he’s her destiny.

Fed up with the army, bigotry, and women—especially white women, Captain Dylan Casey dedicates himself to solving the mystery of Mary’s disappearance, proving his innocence, and trying to stop a war between the whites and the Indians. Then Mary’s cousin shows up, claiming a tornado killed Mary. Dylan doesn’t trust Selena, but she’s his only ally in Canyon Creek. Yet despite their common goal, growing mutual attraction, and a Comanche shaman’s prophecy of a white woman who will change his destiny and foretell the fate of the Indian Nation, Dylan refuses to take a chance on another spoiled, white woman—until fate changes his mind.

Excerpt:

Captain Casey stepped closer and raked his eyes over her, taking in her disheveled appearance. With surprising gentleness, he swept her hair from her forehead. When his fingers touched her flesh, her breath froze in her lungs, and every muscle in her body coiled. Shocked by the electricity in that brief touch, her knees buckled, and she sank back down to the sofa. When he hunkered down in front of her and took her chin in his strong hand, her breath caught in her throat.

“You really are hurt. What happened?” The deep timbre of his softly spoken question was like the man himself—sexy.

She met his probing gaze before lowering her eyes to the floor. “My horse threw me and ran off. I don’t know what spooked him, and I don’t know where he is.”

He rose to his feet and curled his lip. “Where are your trunks?”

“They’re due to arrive from Pecos later this week,” she said, unable to meet his gaze.

“Why would you leave your trunks in Pecos and travel alone on horseback? Why not wait at the hotel for the next stage to Canyon Creek?”

She was nervous enough without him towering over her, so she rose to her feet and forced herself to hold his intimidating gaze. “I felt a lot safer taking my chances on the road dressed as a man than I did staying in some skeezy hotel in Pecos where everyone knew I was a woman traveling alone.”

It was a reasonable explanation. She was wearing jeans in a time when women didn’t even wear slacks, and she had just shown up without taking the stage. He might have actually believed her if it hadn’t been for her modern vernacular.

He raked his eyes over her with a quirked mouth and skeptical lift of his brows. “You couldn’t fool a blind man in those clothes, and no man would wear an undershirt that color. You even smell like a woman,” he added, sniffing the air around her neck. When his nose grazed the tender flesh behind her ear, goose bumps raced down her arms.

Pages: 250

Print ISBN: 978-1-7323904-1-6

Digital ISBN: 978-1-7323904-0-9

ASIN: B07D989VQJ

Buy Links:

 Universal buy link: https://www.books2read.com/b/mvKKwX

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D989VQJ/ref

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winds-of-time-lilly-gayle/1128772241;jsessionid

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1388810657

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/winds-of-time-7

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lilly_Gayle_Winds_of_Time?id=BAJeDwAAQBAJ

Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40207097-winds-of-time?from_search=true

Contact Information:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram| The Wild Rose Press | Amazon

Look for all my books online and in print at your favorite online retailer.

Historical Romances:e

Wholesale Husband

Slightly Tarnished

Slightly Noble

Helpless Hearts

Wilder Hearts

Winds of Time

Paranormal romances:

Out of the Darkness

Embrace the Darkness

Winds of Time

ETD is on sale until June!

04 Saturday May 2013

Posted by in Amazon, e-books, EMBRACE THE DARKNESS, Kindle books, Lilly Gayle, OUT OF THE DARKNESS, The Darkness Series, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 1 Comment

If you missed your chance to get a free copy of Embrace the Darkness from Amazon, it’s not too late to get it at a discount. From now until its official release on June 21, 2013 Amazon is selling Embrace the Darkness
for only $2.99. After June 21, the price goes up to $5.99.


And while you’re checking out ETD, why not pick up a copy of the first book in my Darkness Series? Out of the Darkness is on sale now for $2.99 as well. So check it out on Amazon and own the two book set. Hoping there’s a third or even a fourth book in the future. 🙂

Snippet Sunday

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in Black Rose. Lilly Gayle, EMBRACE THE DARKNESS, Lilly Gayle, paranormal romance, Snippet Sunday, The Wild Rose Press, tweets, TWRP, vampires

≈ 11 Comments

Snippet Sunday

Well, don’t know how long I’ll stick to this, lol! But I’m participating in a Facebook/Twitter project. Snippet Sunday. Writer’s post an eight sentence snippet from a book or WIP on his/her blog, add the blog link to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/401643826588474/ and then Tweet the link and/or post it on his/her author Facebook page.

Got the idea?

If you’re in the market for a new author or exciting book and mine doesn’t appeal to you, go to the Facebook link above, check out the other author’s pages, and see if you can find a snippet that sounds like a book you’d like to read.

The snippet below is from my paranormal romance, Embrace the Darkness, the second book in my Darkness Series.

Blurb: An experimental vaccine gives vampire Gerard Delaroche hope for the first time in two centuries–until two people are brutally murdered, and he suspects a conspiracy between vampires and mortals. To solve the crime, he must put his trust in a beautiful detective. But is former soldier and MP turned detective, Amber Buckley, a threat to his existence? Or the answer to his prayers?

Amber Buckley and her partner are assigned to do follow up interviews in the Lifeblood of America slayings. Amber believes she and Reid are just new eyes on a cold case. That is, until she meets Gerard Delaroche. Something about him teases long-buried memories Amber would rather not chase. However, the two join together, falling into more than resolution of a murder case. It seems Amber has some dark secrets of her own.

To find their way into the light, Amber and Gerard must first EMBRACE THE DARKNESS.
Setup: Gerard is about to confess he’s a vampire.

“Go home, Delaroche. Let the police handle this. If
you have information you’d like to share, Detective
Sheridan and I will talk to you tomorrow.”

“But I need to talk to you now. Alone. Tonight.”
He stepped forward.

She slipped her hand back inside her jacket. Her
fingers never touched her Glock. Fear—or something
else—held her immobile.

Good Friday

29 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in Easter, Good Friday, Lilly Gayle, Passover, romance author

≈ 2 Comments

On the day Jesus was crucified, darkness covered the land for hours—symbolic of the dark deed committed

against Christ. Christians believe the darkness was a miracle, fulfilling a prophecy. Non-believers and the scientific world believe an eclipse is responsible for the darkness. But why can’t it be both?

God doesn’t perform magic. He uses the science and laws of physics he created to perform miracles. Otherwise, it would be an almost unbelievable coincidence that an eclipse just happened to occur on the day Jesus was crucified, thus fulfilling a prophecy.

God created science and He can manipulate it. And scientist and astronomers can use science to help solve biblical mysteries.

If the crucifixion eclipse was either, a solar or a lunar eclipse, then based on details of the gospel, the Crucifixion of Jesus occurred on  a Friday. “There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.” KJV: John 19:42.

Two different groups estimate the year of the Crucifixion as AD 33,  although, Sir Isaac Newton—a scientist—estimated the date to be  AD 34 based on the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon. Using an astronomical approach based on a lunar eclipse model consistent with Apostle Peter: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come” KJV Acts 2:20, then, Friday, April 3, AD 33 is the date of the Crucifixion.

Give or take a year in either direction, Christ died around the age of 33 on a Friday—a day Christians call Good Friday to commemorate His sacrifice. Good Friday precedes Easter Sunday, the day Christians commemorate His resurrection and God’s promise of eternal life. Good Friday is observed during Holy Week and often coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover.

Passover commemorates the liberation of Jewish slaves in ancient Egypt and their birth as a nation under Moses’s leadership. The book of Exodus tells how God helped the Children of Israel escape from slavery by inflicting ten plagues on Egypt, which forced the Pharaoh to release them. The tenth plague was the death of the first-born.

So that the plague would pass over Jewish homes, the Israelites were instructed to mark their doorframes with the blood of a slaughtered lamb. No firstborn in any home with this mark died. Today, the event is celebrated on Passover.

Although it’s traditionally a Jewish holiday, Christians remember this day as well as Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter—all dates of significance during Holy Week.  And Easter is celebrated each year in the spring.

An explanation as to why we celebrate Easter on different days each year can be found on a previous blog post. http://lillygayleromance.blogspot.com/2011/04/when-is-easter-again.html

Lines from Folks I Know

01 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in Amazon, ebooks, EMBRACE THE DARKNESS, Lilly Gayle, paranormal romantic suspense, paranormal vampire romance, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 2 Comments

As part of my short promo posts for Embrace the Darkness, I’d like to add another line used by one of my characters taken directly from someone I know in “real” life.

Set up: Amber Buckley and her partner, Reid are investigating the Lifeblood of America murders. Reid thinks he has a lead, but Amber fears there’s something darker and more sinister behind the brutal murders.

 Reid was on a roll. She could see the
excitement in his eyes—hear the exhilaration in his
voice. He was vibrating with it. If she didn’t say or do
something to slow him down, he’d leap before seeing
where the evidence led.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not going to espouse
my theories to Captain Stratford or anyone else. I don’t
want this case going to the Feds or to narcotics. This is
our baby and we’re going to rock it.”
The knot in her stomach tightened. This case was
going to end badly. She sensed it as surely as she’d
sensed impending disaster in Iraq.

I hope you enjoyed this brief excerpt from Embrace the Darkness, my paranormal romantic suspense available now on Amazon.  This line was brought to you by GMC imaging co-worker and friend, Selena. Thanks, Selena!

It’s Ground Hog Day!

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in Bill Murray, Groundhog Day, Lilly Gayle, Punxsutawney, Punxsutawney Phil

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The Pennsylvania German call Groundhog Day Grundsaudaag Murmeltiertag celebrated on February 2 each year. According to folklore, the groundhog is a predictor of weather. If it’s cloudy when the groundhog comes out of his burrow, spring will come early. If it’s sunny and the groundhog sees his shadow, he’ll run back into his hole and winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day is a celebrated event and Punxsutawney Phil is the most famous ground hog in the world….altough, I don’t imagine the Punxsutawney Phill who comes out of his burrow today is the same Phil whose been “forecasting” spring all these years.

Here in north central North Carolina, groundhogs are more adventurous  The one who lives in my drainage ditch has been around all winter, just hanging out.

In fact, he’s been hanging around since 2006. My daughters have even named him.

One suggested Butner Bill–after Punxsutawney Phill and Bill Murray from the movie, Groundhog Day. The other suggested Phill Murray–after the same. After much debate, we settled on Bill Phill Murray. And I just saw him yesterday. He was across the road, running through the pasture.

According to the news, Punxsutaney Phil saw his shadow and predicted an early spring. I haven’t seen Bill Phil Murray yet, but if I do, I’ll let you know what he says about the weather.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

04 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Brenda Gayle, EMBRACE THE DARKNESS, Jenna Black, Jessica Biel, John Cena, Lilly Gayle, OUT OF THE DARKNESS, romance authors, The Next Big Thing Blog Tour, The Wild Rose Press

≈ 10 Comments

Thanks to my adorable but snarky critique partner, Andris Bear, I’ve been “tagged” in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. And this thing is BIG. Big as the moon big! I’m not sure how long it’s been going on, but you can back track through the blogs and see what all your favorite authors have been up to lately. And maybe even meet some new authors.

But be warned, this thing is exponential. Because whoever started it, tagged more than one author, who in turn, tagged several others.

Each author answers ten questions about their latest project, whether it’s a new release, a work in progress, or in my case, a soon-to-be released paranormal romance from The Black Rose line of The Wild Rose Press.

Simple. Huh? And loads of fun. So here goes!

1. What is the working title of your book? Embrace the Darkness. It’s more than a “working” title. The book just went to galley, which means a proof copy is being created to send to review sites. It means, I’ll soon have a release date. It means, I already have a fabulous cover by the wonderful and talented Angela Anderson.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

Embrace the Darkness is the sequel to my 2010 paranormal vampire romance, Out of the Darkness. As soon as I introduced Gerard Delaroche in OTD, I knew he’d have to have his own book. So, this is his story. There also some new characters as well as several “appearances” from old characters.

3. What is the genre of the book?

Both ETD and OTD are paranormal romances.

4.Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Easy. Wrestler/actor, John Cena would be perfect for Gerard Delaroche. I even mention his name in my book. And Jessica Biel could play former MP turned detective Amber Buckley. Yea, having even one of my books turned into a movie would definitely be a dream come true!

5.What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

 To find their way into the light, Amber and Gerard must first EMBRACE THE DARKNESS.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency/publisher?

It’s being published by The Wild Rose Press.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

 It took a little over three years from start to finish. I received the offer to publish Out of The Darkness on Mother’s Day 2009. The book came out almost exactly a year to the date in May 2010. I started writing Embrace the Darkness (which was originally called Into the Light–thanks Andris Bear for suggesting the new title!) as soon as I completed the galleys for OTD. It was the first book in which I used a plot chart. But, when I got to chapter 10, I realized the story wasn’t going to work. There were major plot holes and I had a problem with the heroine. So, I gave Gerard a different love interest and started over. From scratch. But I couldn’t give the manuscript the attention it needed because between OTD and ETD, I published 3 other books. So, it’s taken a bit longer than I’d planned.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’d like to think I have an original voice and there’s no comparison. lol! To be honest, the last vampire series I read was Jenna Black‘s Guardians of the Night series. Jenna was my critique partner for Out of the Darkness, but we have different styles/voices. But being compared to her would totally make my day.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I thought about doing a sequel to Out of the Darkness while writing it. But family, friends, and my co-workers at Granville Medical Center kept after me to “just do it.” So, I did. And while researching ancient vampire legends, I came up with a working plot for Embrace the Darkness.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Vampirsm is a virus–a possibly curable virus. But will a cure for the condition lead to a war between mortals and immortals? I guess I’ll have to write book three in the series to find out. lol!

Next author up? None other than Brenda Gayle. And no, we’re not related, but don’t you just love her last name? lol! Check back to see when Brenda’s blog goes live and follow the tour!

The Long Night Moon

28 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Christmas Moon, Full Cold Moon, Lilly Gayle, Long Night Moon, paranormal romance, vampires, werewolves, Winter Circle

≈ 8 Comments

Humans have been naming the phases of the moon since there were people. Even before the Native Americans assigned names and meanings to the full moons, the Celtics did it as did the ancient Chinese.
The last full moon of 2012 began last night (Thursday 12/27/12) and peaked at 5:21 am this morning, but it will still be visible tonight. Last night and again tonight, the full moon will follow the sun’s path, rising around sunset and setting around sunrise on Saturday. Around midnight, the moon will be in a similar position as the sun during the summer solstice.

In areas where the sky is clear, the moon will be visible from dusk until dawn all over the world. It will be a full moon on a long night in the Northern Hemisphere and will ride low in the sky like the sun in winter in the Southern Hemisphere. North and South of the Arctic Circle where the sun stays below the horizon or there is no sun at all, the moon will mimic the position of the summer sun, hovering just above or below the horizon.

NThe December full moon shines in the center of a star formation known as the Winter Circle, a promise of where the sun will reside six months from now—a promise of longer days and warmer temperatures—a moon for wishes and dreams.

Each year, the Winter Circle is visible around the time of the Winter solstice. But this year, Jupiter is also visible near the star circle. It should be visible near the lower left of the full moon. It will be brighter than Sirius, the brightest star of the nighttime sky.

Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, this is the closest full moon to the December solstice, the longest night of the year. The Native Americans who lived in the United States named the recurring full moons to keep track of the seasons. Colonial Americans called December’s full moon The Christmas Moon while others followed Native American customs, calling it the Full Cold Moon or more commonly, the Long Night Moon.

The Long Night Moon was so named because it falls soon after the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. It was a great night to attack the enemy. And if you believe in the supernatural, a great night for werewolves, shape shifters, and vampires.

The Long Night Moon shines longer than any other full Moon of the year, brightening the sky as clearly as the sun for those with supernatural vision. And the further north one lives in the Northern Hemisphere, the more dramatic  the moon will be. In some areas, there will be three hours and 45 minutes more moonlight than sunlight. So beware! It will be a perfect evening for creatures of the night.

Hectic and Surprising Holidays

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in 12/21/12, Christmas, lightening strike, Lilly Gayle, Mayan Calendar, paranormal romance, Thanksgiving, The Wild Rose Press, TWRP, western historical romance

≈ 10 Comments

The holidays are such a busy time of year. For me, this year is especially hectic. My self-pubbed book, Helpless Hearts was just released in October, and I’m finding it harder to promote than the books I’ve published with The Wild Rose Press. I don’t have a “support group” with my self-published title.

http://www.amazon.com/Helpless-Hearts-ebook/dp/B009PSQ4MQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354290014&sr=8-1&keywords=helpless+hearts

About the same time Helpless Hearts came out, my youngest daughter, Lauren, moved into her own apartment. There was the move and then the clean up of her old room following the move. Then, I signed a contract with TWRP for Embrace the Darkness , the long-awaited sequel to Out of the Darkness. http://www.amazon.com/Out-of-the-Darkness-ebook/dp/B003O86NR4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1354290131&sr=8-5&keywords=lilly+gayle

I was working on those edits when my youngest daughter elected me to have Thanksgiving at my house.

I wasn’t all that keen on the idea. I had a book to promote, another to edit, and I wanted to get the house decorated for Christmas before my oldest daughter and her soldier husband came home for the holidays.

Mike’s in the army and stationed in Germany. He and  Jennifer haven’t been home for Christmas since 2008. And Jennifer hasn’t been home for Thanksgiving since 2005. Jennifer told me they were flying home just before Christmas. And Lauren’s room was still purple. So, after Lauren drafted me to host Thanksgiving, she got her boyfriend to paint her old bedroom.

It’s now a soothing color called “beach.”

Lauren even promised to come over to help clean the morning before or family Thanksgiving luncheon, but she overslept…or so she said.

No problem. I got the house cleaned, got the food cooked, and was ready for my guests when Lauren called to say she was running late–not at all unusual for my youngest. She’s always running late.

The rest of my family arrived on time and were sitting in the living room talking when I saw Lauren’s car pull up in the front yard. I figured the driveway was too packed for her to park in her usual place. So,I went to the front door to open it before she knocked. I figured she’d have her hands full with the food she was bringing for our Thanksgiving feast. But when I opened the door, I found my oldest daughter, Jennifer. The daughter who was supposed to still be in Germany until December 23.

Lauren had been hiding her away in her apartment for three days.

I’ve never been so surprised in my life.” target=”_blank”>

my beautiful daughters

But now Thanksgiving is over and Jen is still here. I love having her, and her husband will be joining us a couple of days before Christmas. But visiting with her put me behind on my edits. Which, I finally completed late last night. Now, I’m patiently waiting for the art department to create the cover for Embrace the Darkness. And I’m trying to get ready for Christmas.

Then there’s the day job. I work as a mammographer in a local hospital and everyone wants to get everything done before the end of the year when their deductibles start over. So, I’ve worked late almost every night since Jennifer’s been home.

Life is hectic right now. And expensive. Besides holiday shopping, I had to spend over $500 on my car when it stranded us at a gas station as we were heading home from visiting my husband’s family for Thanksgiving. Luckily, I have towing on my insurance policy and Lauren’s boyfriend had driven separately so he could go to a race after church. The race was just a 1/2 hour drive from where my car stranded us. So, we didn’t have to wait long to get rescued and we had bathrooms and coffee. Everything I needed for a cold November night stuck in a car with my husband and 2 grown daughters. We even played Monopoly on Jennifer’s I-phone while we waited.

And now, the plumber is at my house, fixing a leak under my sink. There goes another couple hundred bucks! But I don’t want to get so caught up with money, or the lack there of, that I can’t give people meaningful gifts–even if I have to spend a little less this year. And I don’t want to get so caught up in making holiday plans that I forget to enjoy the season.

Christmas shouldn’t be so stressful. Hectic yes. Stressful, no. So I just need to slow down, take time to smell the Christmas tree (even if it is fake!) and enjoy my daughters’ company. Life is too short. And Christmas 2013 will be here before you know it…unless the Mayans are right and the world ends on 12/21/12.

Then, none of us will be here for this Christmas. So, why am I even stressing? Time to enjoy the most hectic, chaotic, wonderful time of the year.

So, before the world ends, share your most surprising holiday story for a chance to win an e-book of Helpless Hearts.

Have You Voted?

02 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Book Covers, Cover Contest, Helpless Hearts, historical romance, Lilly Gayle, Sizzling Hot Book Reviews, western historical romance, western romance

≈ Comments Off on Have You Voted?

Have you cast your vote today? Oh not for the presidential elections. I voted in the early elections last week. (Though if you haven’t voted, I encourage you to do so. It’s your civic duty.) But what I’m talking about today is the Sizzling Hot Book Reviews Cover contest. The voting starts today and ends on Saturday. And my newest release, Helpless Hearts is up for cover of the month this month. How cool is that?

Helpless Hearts is my first Indie published book and the one with the awesome cover designed by my very talented younger brother. I’d love to win the contest, but I’m up against some fierce competition from some of my favorite Wild Rose Press authors. So, if you get a chance, stop by http://www.amazon.com/Lilly-Gayle/e/B003O5OC6G/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1351858992&sr=8-1 and vote for Helpless Hearts.

The “poll” is on the far right hand side of the page. Just click the box by my book title and name and then scroll down to click “vote.”

Thanks in advance for your vote!