Wreader Fun

Using Random.org, I've picked a winner from those people commenting on my Beach and Boardwalk Giveaway post whether they commented on my personal blog, on Facebook, or on my eharlequin blog. And the winner of a copy of Jillian Hart's A McKaslin Homecoming is . . . Patti Lacy who commented on my personal blog. Yay! Congrats, Patti. Thank you everyone who stopped in for a visit. Today's photo is not for the squeamish. So, if you have a soft stomach, don't look! Here's the background... When we went to Orlando, I didn't think we left any fruit out in the open. When we got back after a week's absence, I found a soft banana on the counter. Here's the yucky part - the end of the banana had fallen off and little white maggots were having a feast. I promptly threw it out. However, we now had fruit flies dancing around the room. They were flying out of everywhere! After a few days, I was ready for battle. I remembered a fly trap which works on the principle th...

I'm in my cave this week working on the final edits to Emma's Outlaw . It's going well and I'm getting excited. But today, I had to drive into the city for a slew of appts with the boys and it's too late to get into my manuscript, so I thought I'd post some more photos of my Orlando trip. I filed these in a Beach and Boardwalk folder since they're all taken looking toward the beach and/or Boardwalk Resort. Behind me would be the Stormaway Bay waterpark but those photos will be in my next Orlando post. This first photo is an example of my camera lens fogging up when I stepped outside around 7 am. I'd quickly use my shirt or thumb to clear the lens and digital viewing area. Sometimes it cleared quickly, sometimes it didn't. I kind of like the effect in this photo. I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what bird is sitting atop that post. On the mornings the RWA conference did not provide breakfast, I'd take my muffin and coffee and sit on a ...

I've collected the names from all those who left a comment on my Disney Vacation post, whether it was posted here, on Facebook, or on my eharlequin blog. And the winner of Jillian McKaslin's Love Inspired book, A McKaslin HomeComing is... FakeFrenchie from my eharl blog. Yay! I'll be posting more photos with another book giveaway tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm blogging at Inkwell Inspirations today about the time I experienced Gold Fever and went in search of a ghost town called Granite City. Photo Credit:  www.ourbc.com

His Holiday Heart (The McKaslin Clan) by Jillian Hart Love Inspired 469 Nov 08 This is the McKaslin Clan book I’ve been waiting for! The author has dangled the stories of each sister before me while holding their lone brother’s aloft. Each time I caught a glimpse of surly Spencer only whet my appetite for his story. And then, the day came when I rec’d His Holiday Heart in my eharlequin box and I panicked. Surely, Ms Hart had an extraordinary tale awaiting me after all the build-up...right?...right? YES! His Holiday Heart is an excellent book and worthy of a spot on my 2008 Top Ten List. I became intrigued on page 1 when one of Spence’s sisters hinted she knew his secret and he became paralyzed at the thought. Ms Hart has created a wonderfully refreshing hero in this book. Spence has always been responsible for his sisters and is happy they are happily married but after he saw his mother take his youngest sister and walk away from the rest of the family, he doesn’t trust women. Marriage...

Her Perfect Man (The McKaslin Clan) by Jillian Hart Love Inspired 455 Aug 08 This great book is about the final McKaslin sister in this series. The author gets down to the nitty gritty with this one because the heroine is being harassed by her ex-boyfriend which means it’s not as light reading as some of them, but it certainly isn’t as heart-wrenching as the previous McKaslin book. Rebecca McKaslin has finally broken up with her long-standing boyfriend much to the relief of the rest of the McKaslin clan. And, she’s gone one step further and said she’s had enough of men. Wouldn’t you know it...Chad Lawson, the perfect man moves in next door, ready to rescue Rebecca whenever the ex shows up. But after all these years, Rebecca doesn’t want to be rescued. She wants to handle it herself without help from anyone...especially someone who’s too handsome for his own good, regularly attends church and challenges her man policy. Heat Level: Affectionate My Rating: Great – 4 stars See the rest of ...

Her Wedding Wish (The McKaslin Clan) by Jillian Hart Love Inspired 447 Jun 08 I absolutely loved this book. 2008 Top 10 list – no question. Of all the dozen or so McKaslin Clan books I’ve read, this has been the most heart-wrenching emotion-filled one to date. We were first introduced to Danielle McKaslin Lowell and her husband Jonas a few books back. Then, 2 books back, we found out that Danielle said goodbye to her police officer husband one morning and waved him off to work. It was the last time she ever see the man she married. A few hours later, Danelle was told that her husband, Jonas, had been shot in the line of duty. Now, Jonas is back but he has no memory of Danielle, their kids, or the life they led. And, the doctors say his memory isn’t coming back because that’s the side of his brain that was shot. Damaged nerves on his left side still present a problem from his legs to his face. He needs a walker to get around and has just re-learned how to do the most basic of tasks. But...

A McKaslin Homecoming (The McKaslin Clan) by Jillian Hart Love Inspired 403 July 07 If you read enough books, sooner or later, you’ll come across one with circumstances that mirror your own. This is the case in this book. I related to the heroine in a big way because of our backgrounds. The main difference, I suppose is that when the heroine went back as an adult, over the weeks that followed, they talked about her childhood. At 2 yrs old, Lauren McKaslin’s mother took her far away from her siblings and her father under the premise they didn’t love her anymore. Lauren never rec’d a gift or card or anything to say they even thought about her. She grew up as a lonely child, with a destructive mother, in basement apartments with bars on the windows. It seemed her own mother didn’t even want her. But now she’s an adult, almost finished college, and out of the blue, a letter arrives from her grandmother saying it was time to go back. Although filled with trepidation, Lauren wants to meet h...

Every Kind of Heaven (The McKaslin Clan) by Jillian Hart Love Inspired 387 – Mar 07 This great book was a fun read. It’s the first time I ran into the McKaslin Clan’s ‘no-man policy’ which you’ll find in almost every book in this series. The author really let her humour shine in this book not only with the hero and heroine but also with the heroine’s twin who is so much a part of her life. I liked the interactions in this book especially on Ava’s part since she’s a lovable walking disaster. Ava McKaslin is your basic screw-up in everything except her baking. No one can top Ava’s baking. It’s divine. All she wants to do is devote her time to her brand spanking new bakery. She’s fed up with men and their two-faced morals. However, when her new contractor, Brice Donovan comes calling, he remembers her from high school, and invites her out for coffee, Ava mistakens him for a groom and calls him all sorts of names. Of course, she soon realizes that he’s a very eligible bachelor, but by tha...

I’ve had 2 requests (one from Kelly here, and one on my eharlequin blog) for more information about the Love Inspired series by Jillian Hart: The McKaslin Clan. On Jillian Hart’s website at http://www.jillianhart.net/mckaslin.html you can see the complete series with book covers and blurbs but here’s a break down for you: Series One - The original McKaslin sisters with the setting of Manhattan, Montana 1 – Jul 02 – His Hometown Girl – Karen 2 – Mar 04 – The Sweetest Gift – Kirby 3 – May 04 – Heart and Soul – Michelle 4 – Jul 04 – Almost heaven – Kendra 5 – Oct 04 – Holiday Homecoming – Kristin I liked this series because although these sisters had their own lives and troubles, they put a high priority on family time and regularly got together for a girl’s only night out for a rousing game of Monopoly and catching up. Add that to the author’s ability to convey heart-wrenching emotion and I was eager to read the next series. ------------------------------ Series Two - Paternal cousins...

Precious Blessings (The McKaslin Clan) by Jillian Hart Love Inspired 383 - Feb 07 This author has such a fantastic imagination for her characters and this great book certainly didn’t disappoint me. Yes, we’ve all heard and read the other McKaslin Clan books and this is another branch of the family in another Montana town, but that’s where the similarities end. I really like the way the author used Jack and Katherine’s pseudo perfect lives to get to the heart of the matter – ‘perfection is in the eye of the beholder’. State Trooper Jack Munroe works hard to provide a stable home environment for his teenage daughter. That’s why he’s ticked when Katherine McKaslin runs after his SUV and accuses his daughter of shoplifting. Obviously, the woman’s got the wrong kid. But soon, Jack must face the fact it was indeed his daughter who stole from the Christian bookstore owned by Katherine’s family. Once Jack acknowledges his daughter’s wayward behavior, he’s then ticked at himself for being attra...

This past Tues, I went down to North Dakota on a variety of errands which included picking up my mail, mailing my partial, doing a recce to Prairie Junction and visiting the library. Why did I drive 1.5 hrs to use a US post office? When I need to order supplies that will fill a large box or two, such as Sunday school supplies from the Christian Dollar Store in Zanesville, Ohio, I'll pick a calendar date for about a month in the future and start my list: Shipping: I'll do all the on-line ordering that I've saved over the past few months and send them to my Noonan, ND post office box. This saves shipping costs. Yes, I pay taxes when I take them across the border, but that's okay with me because the taxes aren't nearly as much as the S&H charges would have been. Mailing SASE: I had a partial manuscript of An Outlaw for the Lady to send out to the editors of Steeple Hill in New York. I needed a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). The reason it has to be SASE ...

High Country Bride (The McKaslin Clan) by Jillian Hart Love Inspired Historical #11 - Jul 08 I loved this book. I'm adding it to my 2008 Top 10 list. Jillian Hart is a true story teller - I think I've read most of her books and have been deeply touched by each of them. In High Country Bride, I could feel the empathy flowing between the protags as they try to live the life God has given them. When Joanna Nelson was widowed a year ago, she moved onto her father's farm. The arrangement benefited them both - until he died. Her half-brother comes to help her, or so she thinks, but once the funeral is over, he rides off after informing her he's sold the farm and she has until sunset to vacate the property. Joanna is alone in the world with 2 little kids to care for. A team of horses and a wagon filled with their belongings has just become their home. Aiden McKaslin is a widower. He efficiently runs his ranch but the darkness of his wife and unborn child's deaths shadow hi...

A Holiday To Remember by Jillian Hart (A Tiny Blessings Tale) Dec 07 - LI # 424 I loved the young teen in this book. She sparkles with hope and God's love. Every time she opened her mouth, I felt that God had his hand on her shoulder - so refreshing from the youth we usually read about. Debra Watson wasn't true to her values as a young woman and had a child out of wedlock - not an uncommon event in this day and age. However, Debra's mother took the news hard and the mother daughter relationship deteriorated. Now, Debra's taken her 13 yr old daughter to Chestnut Grove, VA to meet her brother's family. He's the brother she never knew about until just recently when it was revealed that her mother, now deceased, also had a child out of wedlock but had given it up for adoption. I guess her mother didn't like Debra following in her footsteps. Big Jonah Fraser, minister's son, has war medals to prove his valor in the Iraqi war. But Jonah considers himself a cow...