Pssst…

I spent entirely too much time reading this weekend for which I feel very little guilt. However, because of said reading, I’ll now be doing a ton (and I mean a ton) of writing this week thanks to a looming deadline for my fourth romance (due out with Harlequin American in October).

But before I do that, I thought I’d let you all in on a little secret or two or three…

First, blankets with a pocket for your feet are amazing. Amazing, I tell you!

Second, Regina Patrick is the winner of my birthday contest!!! Yay!! As stated on my “latest news” page, Regina has won a mini battery-operated sewing machine, a signed copy of whichever currently available book in my Southern Sewing Circle series she so chooses, a bag of candy corn (my favorite deadline food), and possibly another little surprise to round it all out. So, Regina, email me which book in the series you’d like to have signed, and I’ll get that all out to you asap!

And third, I’ve decided to pull a second name for a signed copy of a book!! That person is Sandy W. Sandy, I’ll be contacting you to find out which book (from the Southern Sewing Circle series) you’d like me to send you!

Congratulations, Regina (and Sandy W, too)!

~Elizabeth

**Lynn D., if you’re reading this–I ADORE this blanket!!! Thank you, once again!

Mirror, Mirror

Today’s Bits & Pieces came to me while looking at an image of that face that appears whenever Snow White’s Wicked Queen looks in the mirror…

1) When you look in the mirror, what’s something you like?

2) What’s something you’d change (either physical or otherwise)?

3) Everyone has an age where they felt their best, what’s yours and why?

4) Describe yourself in a sentence.

~Elizabeth

Words that Inspire

If you dream it, you can do it.

                                             ~Walt Disney

Tell me, what’s one of your favorite quotes?

~Elizabeth

Hopeless and Happy…

I have a confession to make.

I got $20 in a birthday card from my aunt yesterday and I bought a gift card with it…

My thinking? If I hung onto it in its original form, it would get spent on something like a carton of milk or shampoo or something. And while I’ll have to buy those things anyway, my birthday money is supposed to be for me…for something fun.

My gift card of choice? To a bookstore, of course.   Hopeless, I know…

Anyone else ever buy themselves a gift card?

~Elizabeth

A Bit Of Both

This past week, I joined the world of E-readers.

My Special Guy got me a Kindle Fire for Christmas and, with the help of Dear Daughter #1 (who has a computer ability that blows my mind), I’m finally up and running.

My first (and only) purchase so far? Murder 101 by my friend, Maggie Barbieri (which I’m enjoying tremendously).

I’ll be honest, I was never a fan of the e-reader concept. I like to hold books in my hand (still do). Not sure if that’s a sensory comfort or what, but it’s the way I am. Plus, let’s face it, I want to see the big Publishing Houses thrive. And sometimes, with this computer everything generation we’re in, I often find myself wondering if our online buying habits and way of living is destroying our ecomony (jobs). But that’s just me…

 However, when the Fire came out–with its color/cover capabilities–I was intrigued. A good deal of my readers read MY books on e-readers. So owning one is kind of like field research.

Anyway, I digress. I’m using my e-reader now and, quite frankly, I’m loving it. My eyesight has been slipping the past year (some because of age–I’m 44 today as a matter of fact–and some thanks to the M.S.) and having the lit screen and the slightly bigger font is making it so I can read longer (something I love). I know it’s going to be great when I travel (which I’ll be doing a decent amount of this year with the launch of the new series).

So I guess you can say I’m sold. Will I still buy paperbacks? Absolutely. I’m too much of a booklover not to. But I’ll buy for my e-reader now, too. And something tells me, I’ll probably read more this way.

How about you? Paper or e-reader or a combination of both? Thoughts?

~Elizabeth

*Remember, if you haven’t entered My Birthday contest, click on “latest news” at the top and find out how to enter!

Yay!! … Boo…

So I jump on Facebook this morning and find an update from an old high school classmate that says, “Scalpers outside Fordham for Saturday’s game vs. Xavier. What a difference a year makes!”

So, since it was posted just 12 minutes before I saw it, I got all excited. A chance to see Xavier (I’m an alum) basketball here in New York??? I’m so in!!

And then I realize they already played…

Two days ago.

UGH.

As an alum, I should have known this.

As a mom who had her head focused on a surprise party for her daughter that same night, I didn’t.

Not that it would have mattered. The party would have won out over the game, anyway. But still…  To dream… 

Have you ever gotten all excited for something only to find out it passed?

~Elizabeth

An Honor Before Bits

 Before I get to this week’s Bits & Pieces, I figured I’d share some cool news with you. DANGEROUS ALTERATIONS was just named one of the Top Ten Books of 2011 by Laura Hinds (a cozy reviewer at MyShelf.com)!!! You can access the various lists HERE.  Scroll down to Laura’s list and you’ll see DANGEROUS ALTERATIONS there, along with a review link beside it (the review of the book is really quite awesome)!!!

Yay!!

Double YAY (or would that be, YAY!! YAY!!??)!!!

Now that I’ve had my moment to share my good news, we’ll move on. This week, I’m asking the questions and giving my answers as part of the blog. After you read mine, I sure hope you’ll pop into the comment section and tell us yours…

1) What are you reading now?

*Me? I’m reading, MURDER 101 by Maggie Barbieri. It’s the first and only book I’ve downloaded to my new Kindle Fire so far.

2) What’s your favorite cake of all time?

*Me? I’m a Boston Creme Pie/Cake kinda gal. But it’s got to made just right. Mmmm…

3) If you could hear any song at this moment, what would it be?

*Me? I think I’m in a Hooters–And We Danced kinda mood right now.

4) What’s an ability/interest few know you have?

*Me? I’d say cake decorating. For which I provide Exhibit A (made last night for Dear Daughter #1′s birthday). In the past, I’ve made everything from Blue (from Blue’s Clues) to a 3 dimensional Pooh Bear cake that totally rocked! I took a class to learn this when DD #1 was 13 months old and I’ve been decorating cakes for her and DD #2 ever since. I’ll venture to say that learning how to do that has brought me a lot of joy over the years (their faces when they see their cakes is worth every second I spent on decorating).

Now it’s your turn…

~Elizabeth

One is Good, Two is Better

I guess we can call this a two-cover unveiling kind of week…

Voila, the cover of the next book (#6) in my Southern Sewing Circle Series, REAP WHAT YOU SEW! 

So what do you think?

Oh, and while you’re here, if you click on the ”latest news” tab at the top of the page, you’ll find details about my Birthday Contest!

~Elizabeth

Bridging the Gap

There’s something about this time of year that gets to me. Some of it, is the fact that the house looks so empty after the added cozyness that naturally comes with all the assorted Christmas decorations. Some of it, I suppose is the downward turn of the temperatures (which never got above 26 here yesterday). And some of it, too, I believe is this mindset we all seem to have that life is going to suddenly be differerent just because there’s a new year on the calendar.

For me, I find myself craving things at this time of year that I’ve only recently (in the last few years or so) come to see as my coping mechanism. Things, I believe, my psyche needs to fill in the holes until life naturally takes over the task.

I crave hugs.

I crave the comfort and warmth of a blanket wrapped around me whenever humanly possible.

I crave the lift my spirit gets in quiet, heartfelt conversations.

I crave books.

I crave simplicity and a sense of calm.

And I crave the feel of the sun on my face.

Anyone else deal with similar feelings at this time of year? Any tried and true methods for getting your feet on firmer ground?

~Elizabeth

A New Year’s Unveiling

While I got the green-light to show this to all of you last week, I decided to hold it until today. After all, it’s a new year, right? And a new year brings new stories…new characters…new plots…and, as is the case today, new covers!!

On June 5th, the first book in my brand new Amish Mystery Series will debut with Berkley Prime Crime under my regular name, Laura Bradford. HEARSE AND BUGGY will introduce readers to my main character, Claire Weatherly. Claire owns a gift shop in Heavenly, PA that specializes in Amish-made items. Although “English” herself, we see Claire slowly but surely creating a foothold in the Amish world thanks to her shop, her employee (Amish girl, Esther King), and her fascination with their simplistic lifestyle. So it’s no surprise, really, why she’s upset when Esther’s crush (a young Amish man by the name of Eli Miller) becomes the top suspect in Heavenly’s first murder in sixteen years.

As the book’s release date nears, I’ll divulge more about the story, but for now, I’ll say this–I adored every moment I spent writing this book. I love the characters and the town and am eagerly looking forward to sitting down to write the second book in the series (which I’ll be doing in about three weeks).

For those with an artistic eye, I was thrilled to find out I’d be working with the same cover artist on the Amish series that I have for the sewing circle books. Frankly, I couldn’t ask for a better detail-oriented artist. Wow.

Can’t wait to get your hands on HEARSE AND BUGGY? Well then here’s some good news…HEARSE AND BUGGY is now available for pre-order!

Yay!

~Elizabeth