Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Month is Winding Down

The month is nearly over and that means my Virtual Book Tour is winding down. Only a few more days left to follow me around the Internet checking out great interviews.

Today I'm at The Writer's Mind.

Did you miss me the last couple of days? Hubby and I took a long weekend and drove down to the Florida Keys. We took the dog and bird with us. It was a great weekend for hubby. He got to dive every day and took some amazing pictures. As for me, it was rewarding in another way. I wrote a speculative fiction short story. All from a prompt from one of my writing groups.

We had to come up with a way to make the start of a story with waking up be interesting. I think I've accomplished that. I need to polish it and put it through a few edits, but I'll let you know when and where it appears.

The Internet is a great thing. It's given us so many more opportunities than we could ever imagine. One of them is the friendships we make. Hubby has made friends with a lot of people on the saltwater aquarium forum he manages and owns. One of the friends loves the Keys too. So, he planned a trip down from Indiana and we planned our trip to coincide.

Sometimes, meeting people in person that you know from the Internet can be a good thing. But, always be cautious. Especially those who have developed a romantic interest in an online friend. Always meet in a public place and maintain a sense of reality.

There, my wisdom for the day.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Two Blogs for the Price of One

Today I'm at Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion chatting with Dorothy Thompson. She's the one who started all this Virtual Book Tour stuff and she's the lady to go to if you're interested in a book tour for yourself.

Tomorrow I'm at the fabulous Romantic Fanatic. Guess what she made me reveal about my husband!??! I can't tell you here, you have to go to her site and see for yourself.

Shh, I haven't even told my hubby yet what's on the blog. I wonder if he'll be embarrassed?

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

June 19th, Do you know where your author is?

Hi, and welcome to the continuation of my Virtual Blog Tour.

Today I'm at The Adventures of a Wife, Mother, and Writer. Cheryl asked some really insightful questions. Check them out and see what my answers were.

Tomorrow I'll be at Marilyn Meredith's blog.

If you've been following my schedule, there'll be an added interview for the 22nd. I won't tell you what it is yet. You'll have to wait until we get closer to the date. But, it's a good one!

See you around the blogs!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Guess Where I am Today?

Hi, it's another day on the Virtual Book Tour. I'm at Boomer Chick

We're about mid way through the tour and all is going well. The schedule looks pretty full and I'm still raring to go.

Come follow me around the Internet as I guest from one blog to another.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Tag, I'm It!

Peggy Tibbetts tagged me. So now I’m coming for you.

Here’s the scoop: I write 8 random facts/habits about myself, and then tag 8 people. If I tag you, you have to play or I will pester you for the rest of your life.

1 – I'm addicted to Chocolate. Any kind. Any percent cocoa. The more the better.

2 – I have a swim suit I bought two years ago and still haven't worn it. Why? Because I'm a sissy about getting in the water. I can swim. I just don't want to. But, I'll have to when we go to Hawaii next year.

3 – I joined the U.S. Marine Corps right after high school. Like two weeks after I graduated.

4 – I'm a compulsive obsessive -ist. I can obsess on anything, just give me a topic. If you don't, I'll just make something up and obsess about that.

5 – I was and still am a Friends fanatic. I have all the episodes on DVD. I even watch them.

6 – When I was a kid I dreamed of meeting Donny Osmond. I even painted my bedroom purple in honor of his favorite color.

7 – I'm scared to death of snakes. Heart attack inducing, out of my wits, run like the wind, scared of snakes.

8 – I collect teddy bears. I have hundreds of them. So many that some are packed away because I just don't have the space for them. I plan on donating them to a Teddy Bear Museum (yes, there is such a thing) when I die.

Ok, now it’s my turn. I tag Jamieson, Sandy, Nikki, Linda, Cheryl, Kim, Kathy, and Michael.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Another Day, Another Tour Stop, Another Day Without Chocolate

If you're keeping up, today I'm at The Book Pedler. There you'll find my answers to an interesting set of questions, some you may have never heard before today.

If anyone is counting, this is Day 9 of no sweets.

No chocolate.

At all.

I had to. I was getting out of control. It reminded me of the time I had to quit coffee cold turkey. I found myself at 4:30 in the afternoon making a pot of coffee for myself and realized I needed to get off the stuff fast. My hands were even shaking while I poured the water for goodness sake! Way too much caffeine.

So, I'm taking a break from chocolate and decided to lump in all sweets while I was at it. The sweetest I've gone is Splenda sprinkled on my strawberries for breakfast.

I'm past the cravings. They were horrible to get through. I used Ice Breakers Sours to get me through the tough times. They're sugar-free and if you read the nutritional facts on the back, they have less than 5 calories per piece.

Uh, 5 calories?

Oh great. Now I read the back of the dispenser. At 5 calories a piece, I could be hitting some serious calorie consuming in a day.

I'll also tell you right now, don't eat too many of them in a row, they're made with Sorbitol.

Yikes.

So, I have to remember, sugar-free doesn't mean calorie-free.

Got it.

Okay, time to get back to work.

See you all tomorrow when I visit Women on Writing.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Where am I today?

Pauline Jones at All The World's a Page is hosting me today.

This Virtual Book Tour stuff is kinda fun.

Hectic, but fun. There's the various interviews and information to give. Different blogs and websites to keep track of and the right dates of each tour stop. But, it's all about expanding my Internet network.

Being more visible. That's what it's all about.

And, look at all the new friends I'm making!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Guest - Kim Robinson



Today, I have a guest on my blog. Kim Robinson, the author of The Roux in the Gumbo. She's on a Virtual Book Tour and we were lucky enough to get her to stop here. Here is the rest of Kim's Virtual Book Tour schedule.

Kim Robinson was born in raised in Compton, California. She has survived everything that life threw at her and now lives in Allen,Texas, with her husband and three kids. When she's not sewing, writing, cooking and watching movies, Kim is a motivational speaker, sometimes bringing the crowd to tears with her moving personal accounts of the background of her life.

The Roux in the Gumbo is an emotional and inspirational look into the lives of a family that opens their door and hearts on every page. Spanning the years between 1800 to 1997, The Roux in the Gumbo’s story is told through one of the main characters before her passing; the remainder is accompanied by the memories of family members and friends. Based in Louisiana, with all its flair and Southern culture, it describes the experiences throughout history, contributing to the shaping of generations. In spite of the obstacles and struggles that life brought their way, these characters persevered with unity, love and laughter, due to a strong familial support system that carries universal appeal.

For more information on Kim, please visit www.kim-robinson.com. You can pick up your copy of The Roux in the Gumbo at Amazon. I had an opportunity to ask Kim some questions.

VICKI: How has writing affected your life? 

KIM: Ha Ha good question. Compared to my old life I think writing has been very therapeutic for me. In writing The Roux in the Gumbo I found out so many things that happened in my life had happened to my ancestors. It all stops with me, now that I have the information that I need to inform my children of what not to do, the abuse stops with me. I guess that leaves the question of what abuse? I was raped by a preacher at the age of five and for thirty years I would not go to church or say the word God. He stayed out of my house and I stayed out of his. With no religion I went the other way, I was a madam, callgirl, drug dealer and drug addict for over a decade, until I met a man that made me feel like I was better than that. My grandmother had a vision and told me I should write, she said, "One day this is going to feed your family." I didn't pay enough attention to my grandmother's vision. But now I remember all of them in the book about her life, and I have my own visions now.


VICKI: What are your writing goals?



KIM: To write things to educate people on history, abuse, drugs, religion, and spirituality through my own negative experiences. In my books I tell it like it T.I. is and don't hold any punches no matter how painful the experiences are.


VICKI: What's the one question (and answer) you wish people would ask and don't?

KIM: One question that a lot of people ask me is, "How can you tell people that you were a prostitute." God doesn't have any secrets and he wants me to do things to help and inspire others. I feel obligated to share my past because that is just what it is, "My past." The questions that people don't ask is "How can I help people who are still living in pain, and abusing themselves."

I think that if most people had to go to the street to survive they wouldn't, they would starve to death, or get killed. If you see a homeless person, a prostitute, a drug addict ask them what you can do to help them. The twenty dollars you give to that hooker may be the same twenty dollars that stops her from getting her throat cut or going home to an abusive pimp, or put the food in her babies mouth that she is trying to get.

VICKI: Thank you, Kim, for being so forward and honest in your answers to my questions. I wish you much success with your Virtual Book Tour and good luck with your writing.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Virtual Book Tour - Day 1

Well, we're off and running with my first ever Virtual Book Tour. We're featuring Trust in the Wind, as it's my latest book.

Over at Plug Your Book, you can find an excerpt of Trust in the Wind and ordering information.

You can even see the book trailer.

I guess the way it's supposed to work is each blog host has either an interview of me, a feature article, or they'll post an excerpt from the book. Then, I visit each blog on the day of it's tour stop and answer any questions that may come through on the comments that day.

Easy enough, right?

Good. Should be a piece of cake then.

Oh, wait. I've sworn off sweets. Hmm. Piece of pie? Nope, that won't work either. Well, you're just going to have to trust me. It'll be easy. LOL