Today's My Lucky Day

So, last night my friend, Donna, called to tell me Nordstrom Rack was opening and did we want to go.  That they would be raffling off $100 gift certificates.  The only drawback was that we needed to be at/near the Mall by 8:00 a.m.  Whatev . . .  I said, "Sure."

I set my alarm so I could wake up by 6:00 to pick her up by 7:30.  When we arrived, there was already a line, but they were offering breakfast snacks and coffee, so we had stamina for the wait.

Neither of us won on the first round.  Nor the big prize of $1,000.  But on the final round, they called my name.

Well, if Donna hadn't dragged me there, I never would have won.  So I split the gift card with her.  A few minutes later the doors opened and we shopped 'til we dropped -- $90 that is.

After that, the obligatory stop at Starbucks, then home.  All done by 10:00 a.m.

Oh, yeah, bought a PowerBall ticket, too.  

Hope your day is as lucky.

A Surprising Connection Between NM and MEA Surprising Connection Between NM and ME

Woke up this morning to the usual sunny day, although it was a bit chilly.  This is my last day here in Albuquerque.

We decided it would be fun to go to the Balloon Museum

Albuquerque being the hot air ballooning capital of the world,  Has to do with the mountains ringing the city and the air currents.  The Rockies are to the west and the Sandia Mountains are on the east side of the city.

We started out with a photo op setting.

Here's my granddaughter flying solo.

           And my son and I joining her

The museum has lots of great information about ballooning and some wonderful displays.  But the one most interesting to me was the Double Eagle II.  On August 11, 1978 the Double Eagle II ascended from Presque Isle, Maine and 137+ hours later laded outside of Paris, France (not Paris, Maine), close to where Charles Lindburgh landed, the first successful Atlantic crossing in a hot air balloon.

If you look carefully, on the side you might be able to read Albuquerque and Maine.  There's also a Maine state flag hanging nearby.

I tried to get the whole of the gondola and balloon in, but the extended balloon was too high.

We ended our excursion at the Owl Café, famous for their green chili burgers and awesome milk shakes.

Flying home tomorrow and looking forward to 20 inches of snow on my back deck.  Not!

Christmas in New Mexico

 As night fell on Christmas Eve, we started out in Old Town, where there was a gigantic Christmas tree and Santa.

Next we drove over to experience the incredible luminaria display along Ridgecrest Drive in Albuquerque.  We walked at least a mile down the small boulevard.  Each side of the boulevard  and the sidewalks of the street were lined with luminaria, small paper bags weighted down with sand, each holding a lighted votive candle.  Along the way, people greeted each other wishing one and all a Merry Christmas.  This picture doesn't do justice to the peaceful, beautiful lights flickering in the night.

Back home, it was hard to fall asleep.  "Santa's coming tomorrow," we told each other.  The next morning, I was awakened by a little voice.  "Time to get up, Grammy Judi.  It's Christmas."  Then came the fun of opening presents.

"Look what I got, Dad."

Check out my new apron . . .

and my very own cooking basket.

What a mess!!

We finished up with eggs and green chiles, hashbrowns and Dad's homemade cinnamon rolls.  Yumm.

I hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas.

Back Seat Drivers and A River of Lights

I think of myself as pretty savvy about computers and electronic gear.  But I met my match several days ago.  My son had a meeting and let me use his new Prius so that my granddaughter and I could have lunch.  In my defense, I knew you pressed a button to start the thing.

Press.

Nothing.

Press again.

Still nothing.  Then I glanced at the computer readout on the dash and it told me I had to step on the brake.  Did that and still nothing.

Then, I hear my three-year old granddaughter from her car seat in the back.  "Grammy Judi.  You need to put in park."  There's no park on what would loosely be termed a 'gearshift'.  I finally found the park button, pressed it, then pushed the start button.  Of course, not much happens 'cause it's not a typical internal combustion engine.  I put my hand on the gearshift and thought I shifted it, but the car just sat there.

Again the little voice.  "Grammy Judi.  You use D for drive and R for reverse."

So I moved what amounts to a toggle switch down to the D, and lo and behold the car started to move.

Thank goodness for observant youngsters.  In spite of their bad rap, back seat drivers can be very, very helpful.

A Little Sweetie back seat driver

The other night we went to the River of Lights at the in the Albuquerque Bio Park complex. 

This is an incredible light display of lights covering about 10 acres of the 20 developed acres in the Botanical Gardens.  It was mind blowing.  

Here's a picture of my Little Sweetie beside one of several penguins playing on a glacier.

We wandered through the display, following the lead of my granddaughter and her exclamations of delight.  There were dinosaurs, a whole field set up to simulate walking through the ocean, 

with an octopus,

a whale and many other sea creatures,

elephants, a mesmerizing animation of a jaguar, the lights sequenced so he jumped down, raced along and leapt to the top of a wall, many many flowers

The evening was cold, so we stopped for hot cocoa and went inside the tropical garden enclosure to warm up.

We ended up going through the Children's Fantasy Garden, where everything is over-sized so even adults feel small.  High up, at the entrance, is a huge, buzzing bee.  There's a maze to wander through, eggs bit enough for kids to crawl into and a vegetable garden.  

Here's No. 2 son, sitting in a gigantic carrot.

Now, we're on the countdown for Santa's arrival.

HO!  HO!  HO!

Random Observations While Flying

Traveling is always an adventure even if nothing unusual happens.  Even better that way because it give me time to just look around.  There are always different things to enjoy.  People watching in the airport.  Striking up short, casual conversations with strangers.  An excuse to eat junk food--not that I really need one. 

This trip, I flew to Albuquerque and here's where I'm staying. 

After landing for what seems to be the obligatory change of planes on any trip these days, as we taxied to the gate to deplane, I saw a couple of airplanes sitting by themselves, front end to a barrier, as if they had been put in time out.  Hopefully, just for cleaning and not bad behavior.

Back in the air after a layover in Denver that gave me just enough time to recharge various electronic devices, we climbed to fly over the Rockies.  If I'm lucky enough to get a window seat, I can watch the world go by beneath me.  The folds of bare land in the mountains look like rumpled sheets.  Further on, what I know are trees covering the ground look like blades of grass.  Miniscule dirt trails that snake up and down hills, crisscross the landscape and seem to go nowhere.

But, best of all, after I landed I get hugs from my son and granddaughter and get to spend the holidays with them.

A Few Things I'm Thankful For

At some point during the day on Thanksgiving, I like to stop and consider the good things in my life.  When the kids were little, while we were eating, we'd go around the table and share what we were thankful for.  So here are some of the things I'm grateful for today.  

My health is good, I live in a house I love with three little dogs, Sassie, Mishka and Gizmo, who make it possible for me to talk out loud and justify it as talking to the dogs and not myself.

I have grown kids and three granddaughters that I enjoy being with.  They all live in wonderful places I love to visit.

I have wonderful and supportive friends, especially my writing groups and critique parters.  

I am grateful for my muse who always has plenty of ideas for me--sometimes too many.  But that's a good thing.

So, life is good.  Looking forward to many more Happy Thanksgivings.

And here's a blast from the past--Thanksgiving 35 years ago.

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Gemma K. Murray visits Sugar and Spice

I want to welcome Gemma K. Murray to my blog today.  Grab a cup of cyber espresso (I just finished a real one) and enjoy a fun visit with her.

Hello! My name is Gemma K. Murray and I am an urban fantasy/paranormal romance author. I was born and raised in Michigan. After a few attempts at living elsewhere, my husband and I along with our five canine kids moved back to Michigan. Instead of living in the Lower Peninsula, we decided to give the Upper Peninsula a try and I am so glad we did. It provides plenty of fuel for my Cedar River series as well as the independent stories I’m working on.

So tell us about your latest or upcoming masterpiece. What inspired it?

Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart is my debut novel. It actually started as a dream. I tend to dream in color and, if I don’t write them down right away, they keep recurring. When I reached a breaking point, I sat down and began to write it all down. One thing led to another and here I am. One book in the series out, the second one on its way, and a third, fourth, fifth, etc. waiting in the wings. There a spin-off coming with Book 3, but I’ll let the readers stew on that for a bit.

What character out of all your books is the closest to your personality?

Oh goodness! I’m currently working on Book 3 in the Cedar River series and readers will be introduced to Silver Larkin, a witch. She is naughty and wicked and sexy as sin. She has a mouth like a truck driver and she makes no apologies. She is as close to me as anyone will ever find. Her bold and brazen attitude fits me to a tee.

What comes first for you when you sit down to write a book? Plot or Characters? Characters, always characters. They tell who they are and they simply begin their story. I write what I am shown and it takes me down paths I never thought I’d go. With Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart, I tried to steer Anastasia in a completely different direction. Let’s just say that didn’t go well. She called me names and yelled at me constantly (in my head) until I changed it and let her have her way. The story flowed and I couldn’t stop it. That opened the floodgates for the entire Cedar River series.

Do you "cast" your characters using pictures or actors to help inspire you when you're writing?

I do it as I go especially if a character has a particular look. It makes it easier for me to visualize them. Silver is tattooed and has a very funky look. I had to piece pics together to find the perfect look for her. Ana and Luna (Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart and Natural Born Enemies) were very “all-American” looking women.

Do you work on multiple projects at the same time?

I’ve tried to, but it seems to fail me. I started off writing contemporary romance and I’d like to send them out to publishers, but I can’t step out of the urban fantasy world without making the characters angry. If I stay in that world, the stories come together. That being said, I am working on Cedar River series: Book 3 as well as a series set in the same type of world.

How much does reader reaction mean to you as an author?

I can’t begin to express how much it means to me to hear from a reader. I have been very blessed. My readers have been so good to me and it means so much. I had a reader reaction the other day and I laughed out loud. She had been flying in first class on a business trip. She had told me she reached a point in the story where she was belly-laughing out loud in a very sedate first class. That made my day!

If someone hasn't read any of your work, what book would you recommend that they start with and why?

Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart is the first book in the Cedar River series (and currently the only one available). The reader is introduced to the town of Cedar River and while it can take a while to become accustomed to the sense of community, it will be well worth it, if you stick with the series. You will get to visit with old friends as the series continues and meet new ones along the way.

What is your favorite movie of all time? The one where you can watch it and still get affected at the same spots each and every time?

Catch and Release seems to be the one I turn to a lot. It’s the emotion of watching Gray discover that her dead fiancée is not who she thought he was and discovering his best friend, Fritz, is all that and more.

What is one historical figure you would love to chat with and why?

Mae West. My grandma used to always compare me to Mae as well as Totie Fields. I’d love to hear what they think of when now and how far we’ve come. I love bold, brash and brassy “broads”. (I say that with the highest regards.) Can you just imagine sitting down for a drink with these two?

What do you have coming up next for your readers? Care to give us a glimpse into your upcoming projects?

Natural Born Enemies is up next. It will be released this fall. It’s the story of Adam Thomas (the deputy from Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart) and Luna McIntyre. They are star-crossed lovers in so many ways, but second chances are what life is all about. Will these two get their second time around or will fate decide to keep them apart?

Where can we find you on the web (website, Facebook, Twitter, others)?

http://gemmakmurray.com

http://www.facebook.com/GemmaKMurray

http://www.facebook.com/CedarRiverSeries

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5781668.Gemma_K_Murray

http://pinterest.com/gemmakmurray/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/101718012277292346920/posts

Please share your cover and a blurb or short excerpt and a buy-link for your book.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan seems like it is another country. The rawness and beauty of the land draws people from every walk of life. What most people don't realize is there is a little town nestled on the banks of Lake Superior that an entire group of supernatural beings call home. Shifters of every shape and size live there. They raise their families there. Tourists come from near and far to visit the quaint town of Cedar River, Michigan. The tourists never realize they are walking among some of the most unusual beings on earth.

Bowie Golden is a dragon shifter who is in charge of Cedar River's safety. Until now, the biggest threat to anyone's safety was Anastasia Plum, a witch/puma-shifter. She has been the town hellraiser since she was a teenager. Now someone has discovered the secret the residents of Cedar River keep for one another. These radicals are determined to eradicate the entire town. It's up to Bowie to keep them all safe.

Ana has always idolized Bowie. She may have stirred up trouble from time to time, but Bowie or one of his brothers would always get her out of the trouble she was in. One day, it happened. The unthinkable, the unimaginable occurred. Anastasia Plum fell for the "golden" boy. What an unlikely duo- the sheriff and the hellraiser!

Just as these two discover their passion for one another, a group of people is determined to keep them apart. It's up to Ana to prove that she is the only Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart.

You can purchase Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart at the following online stores:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Coffee Time Romance

Leap of Faith Publishing

You’re offering a free electronic copy of the preview of your ­­­­­­book to a lucky reader. What question would you like them to answer in a comment to be eligible for the draw?

If you visit the Cedar River series Facebook page, you will find a picture of the actor who inspired Bowie. Can you tell me the actor’s name?