Amazon

This is your last chance to get the Timeless Collection for just $0.99! HURRY! Goes back to full price on June 1!

Presenting 6 full-length novels in one collection for only $0.99!

Her Reluctant Groom by Rose Gordon
To Walk in the Sun by Jane Charles
A Scandalous Pursuit by Ava Stone
More than a Governess by Jerrica Knight-Catania
The Devil's Daughter by Suzie Grant
The Healing Tree by Amy De Trempe

HER RELUCTANT GROOM ~ Marcus Sinclair, sixteenth Earl of Sinclair, has lived the last thirteen years as a recluse following an accident that left him heavily scarred. Though a recluse, Marcus has still managed to fall in love. The problem? The woman he’s taken with is none other than the sister of the lady he was once betrothed to!

~*~*~*~

TO WALK IN THE SUN ~ Hiding from a dangerous man, Tess Crawford thought The Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies would be the perfect place to disappear. Vincent Latimer, Viscount Atwood, is not a vampire and He wishes the book, Wake Not the Dead, had never been written. When a storm thrusts Tess into Vincent’s path and destroys the school, both of their pasts collide.

~*~*~*~

A SCANDALOUS PURSUIT ~ A very proper English lady has all her plans for the future disrupted when she innocently stumbles headfirst into a compromising situation with a very improper English duke.

~*~*~*~

MORE THAN A GOVERNESS ~ Becky Thorn has been keeping a secret for more than seven years. A secret that could destroy her. So before she gets too ensconced in London society, she accepts a position as a governess for a reclusive Viscount, far away from the ton.

~*~*~*~

THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER ~ A bounty hunter facing his past, Gade Ryder returns to Eden, Texas, after twelve years to investigate a gang of rustlers on the family ranch. Had he accepted the job out of misplaced family loyalty or was it the compelling mystery of the devil’s daughter keeping him in the one place he didn’t want to be? Confronted by the memory of his mother’s suicide and the father he blames for her death, Gade finds himself seeking comfort from the one woman he couldn’t trust.

~*~*~*~

THE HEALING TREE - Lady Lilian Bliant is determined to thwart her manipulative father’s plan to shackle her to a weak-willed man of the ton. Lord Maxwell Warrick is anything but weak-willed, yet Lily wreaks havoc on his heart. Will their differences be put aside and will Lily one day accept his faith as her own and Max as her husband.

Amazon

In my haste to get up the Travel Tuesday post, I completely left off one of our TQ ladies in the RT lineup! Gah!

So, just in case you're at RT this week, here is where you will be able to find the lovely ROSE GORDON...

Thursday 2 May
Club RT @ 2pm
&
E-Book, Indie Publisher & Graphic Novel EXPO @ 4p-6p

And to recap, here are where you'll find Ava and Jane as well...

AVA:

Thursday 2 May
Lady Lavinia's Regency Bridal Shower @ 11:15a - 12:15p

Friday 3 May
Name that Playlist @ 11:15a - 12:15p

Saturday 4 May
Regency Feud @ 2:30p - 3:30p

JANE:

Thursday 2 May
E-Book, Indie Publisher & Graphic Novel EXPO @ 4p-6p

Saturday 4 May
FAN-tastic Day Party @6:30p

And remember, they're all walking around with FREE giveaways! So don't be shy! Get your SWAG on! :)

I know, I know, Texas, really? After seeing all the wonderful pictures of London, France and the Bahamas from Amy and Jerrica, I (as in Rose) get on here and post about TEXAS!

Yes, I am.

While I've never been to Europe and my out-of-the-US experience is limited to Canada, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, I've actually enjoyed traveling around and exploring the USA the most. You never know what you're going to find and where!

A few weeks ago, we went to Galveston, Texas for the second time the first time wasn't much for looking-around, but this time we did and we had a great time walking the streets, getting plagued by our kids to buy them a hermit crab (uh NO!) and even stopped in an old-family confectionary where we paid $7 for a milkshake.

One of the funnest things we did, however, was walk through a World War Two Submarine and Battleship.

The next two pictures were taken and posted just because we all need a laugh...even if I'm the only one who finds it funny.

While driving through Dallas, we saw this building, and my very frank husband makes a keen observation fit for any detective: "That building has a hole in it!" 

Indeed it DOES have a hole.

When we travel, we generally get a magnet for the fridge and this last one is of the magnet he thought was appropriate to remember out time in Galveston:

My calendar tells me it's once again Thirsty Thursday...

I have a confession, though. I'm not feeling so thirsty this Thursday (but shhh, don't tell Jerrica or she might have my head on a platter, then I won't be able to announce when my new book comes out later today).

However, fear of certain death at the hands of Ms. Knight-Catania does not make it any less true.

For the last three days I've been doing a Dr. Oz Detox Cleanse.

For anyone who hasn't heard of this, you basically blend/puree/liquify fruits and vegetables together and drink them for three meals a day for three days straight. It's delicious!

Here's breakfast:

Lunch:

Dinner:

I decided to do this cleanse because, well, I'm nuts. No, actually, I've always struggled with my weight. As a teen, I struggled to keep it on and there were times as a junior or senior in high school when I only weighed 88 pounds. Not because I didn't eat, trust me, I ate everything. Then at 18 I got married and a few months later I got pregnant and in that nine months I gained seventy pounds! I went from 90 to 160 and thus began my struggle to keep weight off!




As it is, I watch calories and take note of pure trash that I might eat. I also ride my bike a lot, stand during the day when I can, Zumba when I must, and jump on a trampoline as often as I can. Unfortunately, nothing I do has shown me any results so when I heard this cleanse wasn't necessarily a quick way to lose weight, but rather to kick-start my metabolism, I was off to the grocery store—iPhone in hand. As it would happen there were several things on the list of ingredients that were like UFOs: I'd heard of them before, but never seen it.

Anyway, here are my results:

Monday:

• I was ravenous as a bear in the morning and thought, “Oh, no, what have I gotten myself into?” However, I didn't want to let myself down without giving it a chance, so I holed myself up in my office away from any food temptation and wrote 6,500 words.
  
  
• I had to literally choke down the shakes. I won't lie, they were really, really gross.
  
  
• Because of my human weakness and wanting to eat, I didn't watch any TV so I wouldn't see food on a commercial, I made my husband make lunch and dinner for my kids and I even made my own kids pour their cereal while I cowered in a corner as they ate it.
  

Tuesday:

• Best day by far as far as not being tempted to eat. Not only was I not tempted when I went into the kitchen to get water or just passing by, but from shake to shake, I didn't even feel hungry.
  
  
• I learned that if you keep blending the shake for an extra 30-seconds, it makes it more liquid-y and not as thick and chunky, allowing it to go down easier.
  
  
• I don't know if it was mind over matter or just realizing how far I'd come, but as I went to bed that night, I was more determined than before I started to finish the cleanse.
  
  

Wednesday:

• Confession time: due to not eating anything else, I actually thought two of the three shakes tasted good by Wednesday (the dinner one was still pretty hard to handle).
  
  
• I was totally tempted on Wednesday because I made all meals for everyone else. While it hadn't been a problem to sit at the table while they ate their food and I drank my liquid veggies, actually touching, sniffing, and preparing their food made it hard. But I did prevail.
  
  

Thursday:

• As I write this, it's not yet breakfast time and in a way I'm really looking forward to eating solid food again—just being more careful about my selections. I've been a vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables for six years now and I've spoken to so many people who are like, “Oh, when I became a vegetarian, I had so much more energy and lost all this weight.” I always stare at them as if they're nuts. I didn't notice a bit of difference in either area, but that might be because I don't eat a lot of vegetables... Something that, now after doing the cleanse will change. The amount of energy I had was amazing as was the fullness I felt between each meal. So is this an effective way to lose weight, I don't think so and I haven't even weighed myself to know. I don't think it's meant to be, but it has certainly opened my eyes about how important it is to eat better!
  
  

*Stepping off my sopabox*


Post in the comments section what the hardest, most unpleasant thing you've ever had to choke down is and you'll be entered to win a $10 gift card to Jamba Juice (or whatever is the equivalent in your area).

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Smashwords

We're skipping Thirsty Thursday this week to announce this new and exciting compilation from the ladies of Timeless Quills!

Presenting 6 full-length novels in one collection for only $0.99!

Her Reluctant Groom by Rose Gordon
To Walk in the Sun by Jane Charles
A Scandalous Pursuit by Ava Stone
More than a Governess by Jerrica Knight-Catania
The Devil's Daughter by Suzie Grant
The Healing Tree by Amy De Trempe

HER RELUCTANT GROOM ~ Marcus Sinclair, sixteenth Earl of Sinclair, has lived the last thirteen years as a recluse following an accident that left him heavily scarred. Though a recluse, Marcus has still managed to fall in love. The problem? The woman he’s taken with is none other than the sister of the lady he was once betrothed to!

~*~*~*~

TO WALK IN THE SUN ~ Hiding from a dangerous man, Tess Crawford thought The Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies would be the perfect place to disappear. Vincent Latimer, Viscount Atwood, is not a vampire and He wishes the book, Wake Not the Dead, had never been written. When a storm thrusts Tess into Vincent’s path and destroys the school, both of their pasts collide.

~*~*~*~

A SCANDALOUS PURSUIT ~ A very proper English lady has all her plans for the future disrupted when she innocently stumbles headfirst into a compromising situation with a very improper English duke.

~*~*~*~

MORE THAN A GOVERNESS ~ Becky Thorn has been keeping a secret for more than seven years. A secret that could destroy her. So before she gets too ensconced in London society, she accepts a position as a governess for a reclusive Viscount, far away from the ton.

~*~*~*~

THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER ~ A bounty hunter facing his past, Gade Ryder returns to Eden, Texas, after twelve years to investigate a gang of rustlers on the family ranch. Had he accepted the job out of misplaced family loyalty or was it the compelling mystery of the devil’s daughter keeping him in the one place he didn’t want to be? Confronted by the memory of his mother’s suicide and the father he blames for her death, Gade finds himself seeking comfort from the one woman he couldn’t trust.

~*~*~*~

THE HEALING TREE - Lady Lilian Bliant is determined to thwart her manipulative father’s plan to shackle her to a weak-willed man of the ton. Lord Maxwell Warrick is anything but weak-willed, yet Lily wreaks havoc on his heart. Will their differences be put aside and will Lily one day accept his faith as her own and Max as her husband.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Smashwords

 From now until the end of the week, Rose Gordon's entire first series is on sale for $2.99 (regular price $5.99) from  Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I'm a snob.

A tea snob that is.

Well, not entirely. If I'm in a hurry, I'll boil my water, pour it in a mug and drop a bag inside. But if I have more time, I prefer loose leaf tea that you have to scoop from a canister, dump into an infuser, then drop the infuser into the water and let it steep.

While clean up isn't quite as easy, the taste is superb!

This year for our anniversary/Christmas, my husband bought me a new tea set from Teavanna.  

It's cast iron with a dragon made into it and painted green. The cups, either have scales or a large dragonfly on the side, and the saucers are leaves.

Along with the tea set, he bought me more tea. Of course!

One kind he bought was Orange Spice Oolong which has a delicious spice to it! It’s not really hot or too strong, just a bit tangy, in a good way. This is supposed to help with good health (like most teas) and I think it’s suppose to help restore energy.

Another kind was this Seven Berry Sangria tea which has pieces of dried raspberries and wildberries. This goes great with a slice of chocolate cake or pie!

My favorite, however, is Peach Tranquility. Like name suggests, this tea is mild, yet still has a distinct taste. This is the kind of tea you want to drink right before bed. In fact, I can just smell this and it makes me feel as if I’ve already begun to relax.

Two weeks ago, we had a couple over to our house for tea. It was lazy, rainy Saturday afternoon so I brewed a pot of Peach Tranquility and cut pie to go with it.

My husband Bob loved it. My sister-in-law loved it. I loved it. My brother-in-law hated it. It was too mild for him. All during our tea session, he complained. At first it was merely annoying, but the end, I couldn’t take it a moment longer. He wanted something with more flavor and spice? That was exactly what he’d get.

Ignoring the stares from around me, I walked over to the tea canisters, and took a scoop from Orange Spice Oolong, Seven Berry Sangria and Peach Tranquility, dumped them in the same infuser and brewed the tea.

Shamefully, I must admit, the combination while not your ordinary afternoon tea, was actually really good and has become a new favorite.

So, what of you? Tell us below for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Teavana if you’ve ever mixed teas and made a new, delicious combination? If not, what is your favorite kind of tea?

It's her wedding day and there is no groom in sight. But why should Amelia Brice be surprised? Hiram, Lord Friar is known for having no gentleman's honor to speak of and his jilting her on their wedding day makes it official.

Elijah Banks cannot allow his childhood friend to continue to be shamed this way. It's been almost an hour past the time when the wedding was to start, and that bounder still hasn't shown up. Unable to sit still a second longer, Elijah does the only thing that seems logical from where he stands: kidnap the bride and marry her himself in order to escape this scandal with one far more forgiving for a young lady's reputation.

The only trouble is, she has a secret...but so does he; hers is big...but his is bigger.

This book can be found in eBook format at the following, paperbacks coming soon!

Amazon

All Romance eBooks

Apple's iBooks

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

    To ring in the New Year, a party on New Year's Eve has always been the most common type of celebration throughout England’s history.  When the stroke of midnight chimes and Big Ben rings, many toast the New Year with a drink.  The most famous celebration in England takes place in Trafalgar Square where big crowds gather to welcome the New Year. 
    During the Regency Era, if the family preferred to ring in the New Year at home there was such a custom for “the members of the household to sit themselves round the hearth, and when the hands of the clock approach the hour, the head of the family rises, goes to the front door, opens it wide, and holds it thus until the last stroke of midnight has died away. Having let the Old Year out and the New Year in, he shuts the door quietly and returns to the family circle.” 
    Many may have heard of the song, "Auld Lang Syne," it’s traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country worldwide to celebrate the New Year.  This custom of singing this song on New Year’s Eve dates back to the British Isles from the 18th century when guests ended a party standing in a circle and singing this particular song.
    And did you know, the New Year's Eve ball drop tradition can be traced back to 19th-century timekeeping! In 1833, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, installed a ball that would drop down a pole at 1 o'clock every afternoon to assist ship captains with calibrating their instruments. Other places besides Times Square use time-balls throughout the year, like the U.S. Naval Observatory, where a ball drops at noon every day!

Now that we have our taste buds tingling from the fascinating facts of our originating history, let’s see how our TQ ladies rang in the New Year…

Jane Charles

For us it is lasagna and cole slaw.

My mother started the tradition of lasagna because it was something she could make-up the day before (New Year's Eve) and stick the pan in the refrigerator for the next day.  I've carried this tradition on because after being out late it is nice to have dinner already prepared and ready to pop in the oven.  The cole slaw is because my family believed that if you ate cabbage on the first day of the year you would be prosperous. It has been pointed out that none of us are wealthy and mom was quick to remind us that we have food, clothing and a roof over our head, which is what I have reminded my children when they complain about that one bite of coleslaw I make them eat each year.  I never forget to eat cabbage on January 1st.

Rose Gordon

15 years ago, when I was 11, one of our traditions was to play games of bingo.  With one of those bingo sets, with the big ball you spin with all the little bingo balls inside, until midnight.  My parents would buy prizes: movies, CDs, $10 gift cards, special kinds of candy, etc and for each game there'd be a different prize.

These days, I go to bed about 9 and start mumbling in my sleep when the neighbors start lighting off the fireworks and scaring the dog.

Ava Stone

I spent this New Year with The Scientist (my boyfriend), his daughter, some friends and their two daughters. We went to downtown Raleigh to see the "acorn" drop. Raleigh is the City of Oaks, so they drop a big acorn at 7p for kids and then again at midnight. We meant to make it for the kids drop but missed it due to traffic. YES, apparently a lot of people wanted to see a big acorn drop. I don't really get it either. 

Having missed the acorn drop, the kids went ice skating instead, and then we headed back to our friends' house to ring in the New Year watching Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper on CNN, mainly because Anderson Cooper's giggle makes me laugh until my side hurts. 

Jerrica Knight-Catania

We have no traditions. It’s sad, but true. Hubby and I have spent years trying to find the *perfect* New Year. And every time we think, “this is it,” it turns out to be a disappointing night (no offense to anyone who has hosted or partied with us!) Not to say we didn’t have fun, but after a busy holiday season, staying up until midnight, going to sleep in a strange bed and having our kid wake up at all hours of the night just wasn’t ideal.

BUT, this year was different. We decided not to make a big deal out of New Year’s Eve. We did a kid thing during the day, and then we hung out on the couch, watched a movie and drank some wine in the evening. I’m pretty sure that until our little girl is old enough to party with us at a pre-fixe celebration, we’ll be chillin’ at home on the New Year.  So we’ll see all you party animals in about 18 years.

Our best wishes to all for a happy, healthy 2013!
The Ladies of TQ

Today, we're participating in a blog hop that focuses on heroes, and have decided to each shamelessly brag about our favorite heroes!

Rose Gordon: I have a serious weakness for flawed heroes, and my favorite is Sir Wallace Benedict, the thrice-jilted baronet from Her Imperfect Groom. Between his need for perfection in his actions and attire and chronic counting when nervous, he's as far from perfect as one can get. Except to the one woman who loves him because of his imperfections just as much as he loves her and hers. Sir Wallace is my favorite because of all the obstacles he has to overcome, the most important being that though can accept other people's imperfections, he must learn to accept his own, too.
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Rose's Website

Suzie Grant: My favorite is Captain Blac Barclay, from Wrong Kind of Paradise, is a man who keeps his word. He feels he must always do the "right" thing for fear of ending up a failure like his father. Honorable, organized, he lives his life on the straight and narrow. But when a pirate takes him under his wing and shows him that a man's title doesn't make him a good man, he learns to judge by actions instead. Blac Barclay is a dark-haired privateer who really is a man with heroic traits--"the good guy"--and that's the reason he's my favorite hero.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Suzie's Website

Jerrica Knight-Catania: Well, this is like asking me to say what my favorite donut is! (For the record, I love them all!) But if I have to choose, I'm going to go with Lord Michael Wetherby, from The Bedeviled Bride. He's the most beta character I've ever written, and therefore he's closest in personality to my own husband. Not that he can't exert power, but he prefers to be thought of as the nice guy. He's fun-loving and funny, sweet and compassionate...and all he wants is for his wife to love him in return. Poor guy really has his work cut out for him, though, with Elizabeth Crawley. Hell hath no fury...

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Jerrica's Website

Ava Stone:  Although I usually say my favorite hero is the one I’m currently writing, whoever he may happen to be, I have always had a soft spot for Alexander Everett, the Duke of Kelfield, from A Scandalous Pursuit. Alex is one of those rakish dukes with lots of money and a biting wit. He’s handsome and sexy as the devil with dark hair and grey eyes that seem to catch everything. But underneath all his bravado is a man with abandonment issues and tender heart that beats only for Olivia Danbury. He makes me sigh whenever he steps on a page.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Ava's Website

In addition the grand prize giveaway being offered by the Heroes Blog Hop, which consists of three prizes for three different winners: a Kindle Fire/Nook Tablet, a $50 gift card, or a giant box of swag, we at TimelessQuills will also be doing a drawing for a $50 gift card to be used at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. So be sure to leave a comment with your email address to be entered into both drawings. 

Our winner will be selected by random.org and will be  posted August 1, 2012.

Thank you all for stopping by and click the following image to return to the list of other blogs participating in the hop. 

*GIveaways are open to internationally, EXCEPT, the giant bag of swag.