Life with Lucy #8

Lucy trying to get Keegan to play ball. Again.

Greetings! Lucy has this week off, so I get to tell her story of the week. Well, she thinks it’s kind of my story…

If you’ve been following along you know about her trying to get along with the cats. She’s made the most headway with Keegan as you can see.

Our nightly habit has been for me to sit on the sofa and she lies against my leg while the cat sleeps on my lap. He’s a big guy, nineteen pounds, so there’s no extra space. Every night they’ve been getting closer and closer, now they sleep with their heads almost touching.

One night this week Lucy raised her head and sniffed Keegan and he didn’t move right away. The cat just looked at her. Then he got up, turned around so his behind was towards her. She put her head back down, and he takes his tail and starts flicking the tip of it on the dog’s head.

At this point, I’m feeling really mother nature-ish. ‘Look! They’re having a silent conversation! How sweet! I knew they’d be great friends!’ *Sigh* Aren’t I smug?


While petting both of them, I look up to see what the guy with the remote is watching on television. I look back down just as the dogs mouth is getting ready to close around the cats tail.

I did what any girl would do. Made that horrible, “Eeep!!” sound we all hate, yet can’t seem to stop doing when faced with bad surprises and about jumped out of my skin. This action promptly surprised both animals and they leapt to the floor simultaneously. They looked at me, then at each other. If only you could have seen their faces. I realize they are animals, not human, but the, “What’s her problem?” expression still came through loud and clear.

Playing the Maestro with Aubrie Dionne

Today it's my pleasure to host author Aubrie Dionne and review her new release, Playing the Maestro. Welcome, Aubrie! It's great to have you here today.

How Practicing an Instrument is Like Writing.

There’s a quote in music: “The more you practice, the more you want to practice. The less you practice the less you want to practice.” That is so true about writing as well.

A beginner flutist starts by practicing 10-15 minutes a day, which might be like 200-500 words a day. As you improve, you build your muscles to be able to blow longer, hold the flute longer, and play longer pieces of music. You move up to 20-30 minutes a day. Writing is the same way. Your brain is your muscle, and you have to exercise it regularly to increase your word count.

I started with just a few hundred words a day. I remember how hard it was to keep going, and how I’d just keep rereading what I previously wrote instead of coming up with new words. My first book took over 2 and a half years to write. That was over 6 years ago. I slowly increased my word count each year, so now I can sit for an hour and write a thousand words no problem. Last year my goal was 365k or 1k a day all year. I managed to get to 316. This year I’m trying for 2k a day, or as close as I can get. I can write a short novel in two months, and a long one in three. Playing the Maestro took me two.

But, I still have a long way to go if I want to be a professional author and have 4-5 releases a year. Some people can sit down and write 10k in one day! After about 3k my brain goes fuzzy and all that comes out is mush- which means I’m not quite ready for that yet. But, I’m working my way up.

What are you at with your writing? What do you want to expand your writing muscle to?

That's fantastic, Aubrie. You are very inspiring. I'd love to be able to write 2k a day. You've given me something to shoot for. What about the rest of you out there? What are you working toward?

Don't miss this opportunity to win a beautiful necklace from Aubrie. You can enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Now without further ado, let's get a peek at this book's gorgeous cover and the blurb.

Melody Mires has sworn off dating musicians, but when the sexy European conductor Wolf Braun takes over her struggling symphony, her hesitation almost flies out the window with the notes of her flute—until he opens his mouth. Wolf is arrogant, haughty, and seems to have a personal vendetta against Melody. Oh, and he’s her boss. If she wants to keep her job as principal flutist, she’ll have to impress Wolf while simultaneously keeping her undeniable attraction to herself.

Wolf came to America to get as far away from his past as possible, and to recover some of the swagger he had as one of the world’s best maestros. He never imagined being forced to reassess the entire orchestra’s talent—and potentially fire anyone who doesn’t make his cut. Dating the attractive flutist is out of the question, but as their feelings reach a fever pitch, can they risk both their careers for a chance at love?

Here's my review:

Playing the Maestro is a charming love story that captured my attention immediately. My initial engagement came from Ms. Dionne’s choice of setting. I found it refreshing to get a glimpse into the inner workings of an orchestra. The pressure of not only having a seat, but the constant struggle to maintain it, while the characters deal with real life challenges kept the tension high, and me turning the pages.

The chemistry between Melody and Wolf is evident from their first meeting. As they each struggle with trying to overcome personal obstacles as well as those thrown into their path by a crafty set of secondary characters, their relationship deftly builds into an uplifting story that will have you cheering for them to be together. 

If you’re tired of reading the same old sweet romance, I suggest you give this one a try. Its distinctive storyline and engaging cast will keep you thoroughly entertained from the first page to the last.

You can purchase your very own copy here:

http://www.amazon.com/Playing-the-Maestro-ebook/dp/B00BFQDEPG/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/playing-the-maestro-aubrie-dionne/1114502925

I did receive a copy of this book from Entangled Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you very much for being here with us today, Aubrie. Wishing you much success with this fabulous story!!

Life with Lucy #7

It’s Friday. I’m not much of a ‘squee’ girl, but if there’s one thing that makes me happy just by its very existence, it’s Friday. Well, okay, Saturday. And Friday is like Saturday eve. It’s also Lucy’s day here at Fox Tales and she’d like to talk to you about things that make her happy.

The pink squeeky dog goes on lots of trips.

Hello, it’s Lucy time. Do you have things in your life that make you happy? I do. My toys. I love my toys. I carry them around all the time. When I’m not carrying balls, that is. I play with them, and I throw them around. I give them to the nasty cats, but they don’t appreciate the simplicity of my happiness. Mom even lets me take them on car trips!

My dog’s life is good. People could learn from a dog’s life. Do you have toys? Not like yachts, airplanes or race cars, but simple toys. A piece of rope or a stick works too. Get someone to throw it for you. Then run like the wind, all out. Chase it high and low, not worrying about the weather, your boss, or your significant other. I do that with my Mom. She throws the ball or my hedgehog and I run. Simple. Just run. Of course its way more fun to run all out, in circles, around Mom. She laughs. I smile. It’s all good.

Her beloved hedgehog.

Maybe it’s the point in life I’m at, or whatever a therapist would say, but Lucy not only brings me happiness, she’s one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever seen. And it’s not about us, she was that way when we met her. She wags her tail, her body, and you can just see the happiness shining out of her eyes. It’s really made me think about how complicated we make our own life. I’m starting to pay more attention to the little things and how hard I make things. All by myself. Now that I’m aware, it must be time for change.

You go on, now. Have yourself a great weekend. And find some simple toys to play with, would ya. Much love, Lucy and Sutton.

Life with Lucy #6

Happy, Saturday! Thanks for tuning to check up on our dearest, Lucy. To quote a popular dog personality, ‘You don’t get the dog you want; you get the dog you need.’ Well, I’m not sure what that says about us because Lucy fits just right. She’s not perfect, but her shortcomings of which there are few, don’t seem to blow us out of the water or anything.

So here she is to talk about one of her favorite subjects – the ball.

Hi, y’all. It’s me, Lucy. Do you have a ball? I love balls. I carry them around, I chase them, I chew on them, and I play fetch. And keep away, which my Mom is diligently trying to talk me out of. But it’s so fun! I don’t want to stop playing keep away. Balls make me feel good. Yellow, blue, orange with holes, bigger blue with holes, a pink rubbery thing, and my very favorite, tennis balls.



Catz don’t play with balls. At least the catz in my house don’t. Just this morning I brought my very favorite tennis ball to Keegan and dropped it right at his feet. Ask Mom, I don’t do that often. I wagged my tail and sat, waiting for him to throw the ball. He hissed at me. Actually hissed! Catz are just rude.



I’ve got to go. All this thinking about balls has made me want to go outside and play keep away with Mom. See you next week!

 

Here’s our lovely girl with her favorite toy. Wishing each of you a weekend full of love.

K.M. Golland - Temptation

 

 

Welcome to March, my fab readers! Please forgive today's change of schedule, Lucy will be around tomorrow. Today it's my pleasure to promo K.M. Golland's self-published debut novel, Temptation.

Blurb:

Temptation. That is what 35 year old, happily married mother of two, Alexis Summers, finds when she decides it is time to return to work. After being a stay-at-home Mum for the past nine years, Alexis now realizes a complete career change is just what she needs.

She becomes a Concierge Attendant in a prestigious hotel in Melbourne working for the owner of the hotel, Bryce Clark. He resides in the penthouse, is extremely hot, and is a man who always gets what he wants, and what he wants is Alexis. She does a relatively good job resisting Bryce at first, but the undeniable chemistry, sexual tension and playfulness between the two of them is intense. He has copious amounts of money, sex appeal and above all, is a genuinely nice guy. Bryce has been waiting for his one true love to come along, and he is positive that one true love, is Alexis.

There is one problem, she is happily married to Rick, and no matter how strong her feelings are for Bryce, she is adamant she will not cheat. She draws a line in the sand, but finds it increasingly hard not to cross. Will she succumb to Temptation?

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AVYL612/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00AVYL612&linkCode=as2&tag=beyondwordsbookstours-20
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/264382?ref=bestbookslikefiftyshadesofgrey

Author Bio:

K.M. Golland was born and raised in Melbourne Australia. She studied Legal Practice for two years, and worked as a Land Conveyancer for four years before putting her career on hold to raise two beautiful children. She always had a love of reading, and decided rather than returning to the Legal Industry, she would become a Writer, publishing her debut novel Temptation (Book 1 in The Temptation Series).

You Can Find Her Here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/temptationseries
Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6860161.K_M_Golland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyGolly
Giveaway:
The author is giving away an ecopy of Temptation to a single commentor chosen from the tour.

Best of luck to K.M. Golland with her new book and series.