Blog Hop Winner

Winner chosen from random.org is:

dreammie_angel at yahoo dot com

Thanks to everyone who dropped by and commented! 

Valentine's Day Gift Hop

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Each year I try to find a unique way to say I love you to my husband. I’m not a flowers and candy type of girl. Buy me something as simple as a CD and I’ll get more excited. Don’t get me wrong. I think flowers are beautiful, but they don’t last very long.

The first year the DH and I celebrated Valentine’s Day we’d only been together for 5 months. He’d make trips to NY to see me and I made trips to RI to visit him. We decided to keep the limit under $20. I think we both broke that limit, but not by much.

Personal Creations has some really cool gifts for under $20. That year I bought him a message in a bottle. I wrote him a message from my heart. I gave him a box of chocolates, because the man loves chocolate, along with Lindt’s chocolate.  The message in a bottle still sits on his desk after ten years.

He gave me the most adorable stuffed dog, chocolate and cute pajamas. The most memorable part of that morning was he ran out to the market to get stuff for us to make breakfast. When he returned he had a large steaming cup of French Vanilla coffee from Dunkin Donuts. You’re likely saying coffee? Big deal. It was a big deal to me.

The DH doesn’t drink coffee, didn’t have a coffee maker and I can’t live without my daily dose. I didn’t mention it to him, nor did I ever. I normally grabbed my coffee when I headed home back to NY. BUT he knew. He even got the order correct. I’ll never forget that because it’s the little things to me. He knows I’m not about the extravagant.

This year will be all about chocolates…quite simple.

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone. Hope your day is exactly what you want.

So you’re probably asking what’s my gift to you? A $15 Amazon gift card and a ebook from my backlist – check out HERE!  And how do you win? 
Just comment! Simple.

http://www.skyewarren.com/hop/

The Universe Has a Sense of Humor!

Thursday the hubby and I left for NY to visit my family. We didn’t make a big deal out of Valentine’s Day. We exchanged cards and some chocolates. Just getting away for the weekend was enough for me.

On Friday we met friends for dinner. As we were sitting there my middle daughter walks up to the table to say hello. She was at the restaurant with her father…my ex-husband. Now mind you I don’t like my ex in any way, shape, or form. L walks away and my friends think she’s my oldest. When we tell them it’s L they’re floored. They can’t believe how much she’s grown in four years since they were last out in RI to visit. L is taller than my friends. LOL

Anyway, about ten minutes later who gets seated next to us? Yup my ex, our daughter and his other daughter. After a few minutes I forgot he was there and enjoyed our friends. We laughed until my stomach hurt that night. Overall, it was awesome.

I didn’t let my ex ruin my night.

We came home Saturday night. My oldest daughter called to tell me her boyfriend had just proposed. She texted me a pic of the ring. Gorgeous! I’m so happy for them. Now I have to bust my ass to sell books so I can pay for this wedding.

Oh and I subbed my themed book to my LI editor on deadline.

A great weekend…and I’m off today!

Happy Monday.

Contest Winner

Happy Valentine's Day

The winner of my Impromptu Contest (thanks to random.org) is: Caffey.
Because it’s Valentine’s Day I’m going to randomly pick another. #14 for since it’s the 14th. Jessica you also get to choose a copy of one of my ebooks.
Caffey and Jessica send me an email to: amberskyze AT aol DOT com with your choice.

This year Hallmark had a new slogan – Valentine’s Day is a day to say I love us.
I really liked this slogan. I could relate to it. I think that’s why it stuck in my mind. I’d rather celebrate us than just him. Without a spouse or significant other there is no US.

So how do you say I Love You?

Impromptu Contest

Yesterday was an odd day for me. I was extremely busy at the day job and in between I received an email that I’d be getting a new editor. I know this happens in this business all the time, but for me it’s the first time. I guess for two years I’ve been lucky. That’s not to say my new editor won’t be good. Because I’m sure she’ll rock. We’ve exchanged a few emails and are trying to get on the same page with my current contracted project.
The house surprisingly was quiet. DH goes into the office some Thursday’s. Youngest was in school and the other daughter with grandkids went out for the day. The dogs were even well behaved. Of course all hell broke loose at 5 when they all returned.
The DH returned with an early Valentine’s Day gift. A new deli shop opened not far from our house so he stopped in to see what they offered. He brought home dinner too! That was a plus. So what did he give me? A dozen chocolate covered strawberries. He knows how much I love them. Needless to say I had my dessert before dinner.
The girls made homemade pizza for themselves. Overall it turned out to be a good day. Such a good day I’m going to throw an impromptu contest.
Head over to my website. On my BOOKS page there are three books in the spotlight. Find Heat Waves read the blurb and comment here with the hero’s profession. One lucky commenter will win a copy of one of my back list books.

Winner will be announced on Monday!

Visiting

Today I'm over at Seven Sexy Scribes and A Pinch of Romance talking about a Valentine's Day memory. The posts are the same. I was too lazy to think of something clever for both! :~)

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day.

Friday Funny

Yesterday was a bust. My daughter was stuck for a babysitter, so while she went off to work I watched T. By the time her mom returned from work I had a terrible migraine. Not T’s fault. I had a ton of fun playing with her and her toys. LOL
The rest of my afternoon was spent in bed. Only to get up cook dinner and watch T again while her mom went to school. No writing, no editing, nothing. Just playtime with a 9 month old.
This morning I woke up bright and early grabbed a cup of coffee and hit the recliner with my laptop. Mind you it’s dark. The only light at 4am is the light from my laptop. I was all set to get busy. I’m in the middle of reading emails when a spider waltz’s across my laptop screen. Not some little spider, but a big ugly one. I do not like spiders or any creepy crawly creatures. So I wing my laptop around and toss it on the end table – thinking the motion would send said spider flying. Yeah right. Those little suckers can hold on a windshield of a car going 70 mph…yes, I’ve done this before.
I jump up and turn on a light…the wrong one obviously because it’s barely lit up the room. Of course it’s probably one of the energy saving light bulbs the DH has strategically placed throughout the house. The ones that take five minutes to get to their full brightness. I’m all about saving energy, but these are not the light bulbs I want when in an emergency. Oh and not ones you use in a bathroom. That’s a story for another day.
Anyway, I’m searching for my intruder. I spot him walking across my laptop. I run in the bathroom and come back with a tissue. He’s still there – YAY! I kill the little sucker and all is well. Though for the next twenty minutes I’m worried it will happen again. What’s the likelihood another spider will crawl over my laptop? Slim to none.
So that’s the way my day started. I managed to get my edits done on Research Required. They’re off to my editor.
Being a nice mom I decided to make L some cinnamon buns for breakfast. I wanted to start her Friday off good. I open the damn container and half fall to the floor. I’d use the five second rule, but I have three dogs. They were all over the buns before I could scoop them up. Sorry L, no buns for you. I managed to salvage a few and cooked them for her. All is right with the world again.
One more week until Wild Lickins releases. The countdown has begun.
Happy Friday everyone. Wishes for Love and Chocolate on Valentine’s Day.

February’s here! A new month means new beginnings. I ended January on a good note. I submitted another story to my editor on Friday. So on top of the two new contracts I have three other stories out awaiting word.
I managed to write the synopsis for the Cougar Challenge. I’m going to tweak it a bit before submitting it for the others to check out. I’m always nervous when writing a synopsis. I loathe them. I’m better off just writing the darn story, but I want to make sure it fits what they’re looking for.
I’m busy working on Sliding Home an M/M story about a couple of baseball players. I’m enjoying writing this story, so it should go quickly. :o)
My newsletter went out today, with a brand new contest for subscribers only. If you’d like to sign up you can do so here:
authoramberskyze-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Time for me to get busy with some editing and that article still needs to be written. Busy day! Oh and time to start planning a Valentine’s Day treat for the DH. Since we missed our anniversary on New Year’s Eve, we’re going to celebrate on Valentine’s Day.
Happy Monday everyone.

Self-Edits

Today I picked up my wip, Research Required. Haven't touched it in a few weeks. I still need to write the ending, but I know how I'm going to wrap it up. Instead I need to go back and read it from the beginning. I have a tendency to put insert name later, what color eyes did he have in the beginning, and things like that when I'm in the writing groove. Those are small details in the grand scheme of things to me.
I'm re-reading to get a feel for the story. I think I can't move forward with the Valentine's story I'm writing for Noble Romance because this story is unfinished. I need to put it to bed and submit it. Then I can move back to Dirty Cupid(tentative title).
It didn't help that I've been sick for almost two weeks now. Turns out it wasn't the baby after all. I have acid reflux and they had to change my meds with the pregnancy. Well I'm not getting enough. So my Crohn's doctor upped my meds today. She said it may take up to a week to feel better. If that isn't the issue, she said it could be my gall bladder, but again, can't do anything for that for another 5+ months. Let me tell you it's not fun when you can't eat anything. Today I'm eating toast and applesauce. Yum - NOT. lol
Back to self-edits. Another favorite thing of mine.