Alligators and Hawaii. (You Know You're Curious)

Hello, friends! I've got some fun pictures from my recent Hawaiian trip to share with you. But first! I wanted to let you know about C. Lee McKenzie's new book, Alligators Overhead. 

To read a blurb on this fun middle grade tale, click on the picture above. That will get you to Amazon where you can also purchase it. But watch the trailer and you'll get the idea of what a fun story it is:

You can learn more about this book and its super sweet and charming author, C. Lee McKenzie, in the following places below her picture:

                                  (Isn't she so cute??)

Her website
       blog
       Facebook
       Twitter
       Amazon
       Goodreads
       Barnes & Noble
       Smashwords

Now, take a virtual tour with me from my recent family trip to Oahu. I'll have more on some of the fun people I met with my next post. Enjoy ....

*insert ukulele music here*

 Waikiki Beach

 Views from on top of Diamondhead Crater

 North Shore: Sunset Beach

 Scenic overview

 The above few pics are of the East shore and Kailua

 Polynesian Cultural Center

 USS Bowfin submarine at Pearl Harbor

Me in the airport and ready to come home. (not really, I'd rather stay in Hawaii and sell seashell art)

Working for an airline has its perks, as this was my 8 or 9th visit to the Hawaiian Islands (can't remember which.) I brought my parents and my kids with Hubby and me, and this was the first time my kids had ever been. 

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to stop by C. Lee's blog and tell her hello! Aloha! :)

Cover Reveal and Best Feeling Top 10

Greetings, friends and fellow bloggers! I feel like it's been forever. These past few weeks have been so busy that I had to pull back the reins on my social media. But I've missed you! And I'm super happy to say the kids are now back in school and my writing/blogging time has officially  returned! Huzzah!

Last week the fam and I flew to Hawaii and enjoyed the beautiful beaches and  perfect weather of Oahu. I'll have some pics to share with my next post, but today I wanted to be a part of my friend and fellow YALITCHAT staff member, LM Preston's, cover reveal:

Here's a brief blurb about The Pack:

Shamira is considered an outcast by most, but little do they know that she is on a mission. Kids on Mars are disappearing, but Shamira decides to use the criminals most unlikely weapons against them the very kids of which they have captured. In order to succeed, she is forced to trust another, something she is afraid to do. However, Valens, her connection to the underworld of her enemy, proves to be a useful ally. Time is slipping, and so is her control on the power that resides within her. But in order to save her brother's life, she is willing to risk it all.

Praise for The Pack:

-  I was most impressed by the author's world building abilities. Mars felt real right from the beginning. I gave it to one of my sons to read. lHe did tell me that "the fighting moves were interesting" and he thought "her sword and weapons were cool.".~By Kristien Howell

- A treasure for scifi readers ~ Midwest Reviews

- This sci-fi for YA jets along, full of action and humor and pathos and even a bit of romance. ~Darby Karchut

Excerpt:

She slowed when she approached the house, and the dust and dirt of Mars kicked up when she skidded to a stop at the front door.  She took a whiff.  Spaghetti. Mom must have had a good day today.  Her mom only made spaghetti on the good days.  The days that Shamira wasn’t home to start dinner, her mom always cooked.  On the bad days, her mom would order takeout.  The pizza delivery driver knew them pretty well, since most days lately were bad ones.  Also, lately Shamira was always late.

Doesn't it sound awesome?? Now here's where you can grab a copy:

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOKS-A-MILLION

SMASHWORDS

And you can find LM Preston on her website, at her blog, on Twitter, and Facebook.

Congrats, LM!!

You may've noticed my post title today included a Best Feeling Top 10 mention. What is that, you ask? Well, allow me to elucidate ....

Hubby and I have a list going of the Top Ten Best Feelings in the world. And I'm asking you what you're thoughts are. Only PG answers, please. ;) I'll compile an official list later and post that. Here are a few of ours ....

* Sliding into clean sheets after a shower/bath
* Jumping into cool water when you're sweaty hot
* Soft breeze across your face on a warm sunny day
* Warming your hands by a fire after coming in from the snow
* Brand new baby laying across your chest
* Getting off work for the weekend
* Coming home from a long trip

Your turn! And don't forget to drop by LM's! :)

Childhood Monster Blogfest!

That's right! Today through Thursday bloggers are posting about the creepy ghouls that kept them up at night. And all in honor of Christina Rains book release, Fearless! Check out her book and blog by clicking on the pic above. Congrats, Christina!

Personally, I slept with the light on in my bedroom til I was 12. Sad, I know. But I had such an overactive imagination that the dark petrified me. Probably had something to do with all those  horror movies.

As a child in the '80s, I grew up during horror film mania.  Every other weekend a horror film was released, and back when VCRs just came out for home rentals, we'd climb in the family station wagon and head up to the grocery store to rent ours on Friday nights, along with a few VHSs.

My dad always picked a horror film. He had a fondness for monsters, but secretly I think it gave him a kick to scare the crap out of us. A few of the more popular '80s monstrous villains: Freddy Kreuger, Mike Myers, Leatherface. They all had their individual creepiness, but the one monster that kept me up at night, every night, was the werewolf.

The werewolf thrived in the theatres and home video in the '80s.

* The Howling (1-4)
* Silver Bullet
* American Werewolf in London
* Full Moon High
* The Beast Within
* Thriller
* The Company of Wolves
* Lone Wolf
* The Midnight Hour
* Night Shadow

... Just to recall a few. I don't know what it was about the werewolf beast--maybe those vicious eyes, or low growl in the shadows, but I just knew one was waiting to pounce me as soon as the lights went down. Werewolves today are boring old shape shifters, not the demonic destroyers of yesteryear. Even though they scared the *bleep* outta me, I adore them, and can't wait til my kids are old enough to watch some of the old flicks with me. Muhahahahahah ... (yep, I guess there's a bit of my dad in me too)

How about you? What kept you up at night?

IWSG - Wednesday

Happy August! Can you believe it?? Summer is flying by, and I have to admit, I am overwhelmed. I think I'm coming to terms with the fact that my online presence is going to be little to nil over summers. I just can't keep up ... even with my SuperMom cape on, I'm drowning. lol

But I did want to post today for the first Wednesday of the month's Insecure Writer's Support Group. To get to IWSG HDQ, click on the pic below.

If you missed my post a few weeks ago, I divulged that I'll be making a very public query process with this new project of mine. I'm keeping my stats updated here on the ol' blog and you can find the link on my sidebar under MY QUERY PROJECT.
I've got my query posted and all the deets on how the roller coaster ride is going in my search for an agent. Feel free to stop by any time and see how it's coming along.

Are you on the query roller coaster ride too? I love to hear about it (and have companions for the ride.) Tell me all about it in the comments.

In other news, I expect by this point everyone's heard about the possibility of being sued for posting copyrighted pictures on our blogs? I know many of us our guilty, including me, and I'll be trolling through my archives here and removing anything I'm not sure is a freebie. If you missed the post on how one author got sued, check it out here.

I'll be back on Aug 7-9 for Christina Rain's "What Was Your Childhood Monster" blogfest. Check it out and sign up... you know, if you feel like dredging up old fears and exposing them to the world. Sounds fun, right? I know I'll be there!

Also, big shout out going to SA Larsen who just signed with an agent after many months of searching. Head over and congratulate her! She is a wonderful blogger and friend! :)

So what's going on with you? Anything to share? Tell me all about it!