Join Me This Week...

Hello, my pretties!
So, this winter has been on and off. We're currently on--and having the cold temperatures that one associates with Midwest winters. I live in an old house that has no insulation. So, I've got cold air seeping in somewhere. I've got plastic and Styrofoam stuck over my windows. Blankets covering areas where the wind comes through. Two heaters going! Two pairs of socks and fingerless gloves, my heaviest sweats... just so I can be in here doing this and not freeze while I do.

Since I've weathered the weather I hope you are stopping in to see me. And especially tomorrow. Why? Because this week I've got some giveaways going!

Beginning tomorrow it's BLOODY HEARTS BLOG TOUR!

I will be giving away ONE AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF VAMPIRE'S TRILL! All you need to do is leave a comment and watch for announcement for winner on the 15th, which is Wednesday.

On VALENTINES DAY ONLY! I am participating in the Vampire's Day Soiree and another chance for an autographed copy of Vampire's Trill ! All you need to do is leave a comment here that day on the blog post. Watch for it--the post will have this banner up:

Come join me if you want a chance to win my latest book in the Sabrina Strong Series!

(Participants must have address in the U.S. only for this prize)

Hope to see you, my pretties!

LORELEI'S BIRTHDAY BASH & GIVE AWAY!!!!

Hello! You made it! Welcome! Join us in the celebration! Here's a party hat and we're about to cut the cake. Mingle and make yourself comfortable.

As you all know by now, today is my birthday. And I'm excited! Why? Because very soon my second book in the series will be out, Vampire's Trill, and I hope to gain more readers, and to do so, I have to get you all reading the first book, Vampire Ascending. And sometimes the only way to stir up some excitement is to have a give away. So, if you want to win an AUTOGRAPHED COPY of Vampire Ascending

Here are the rules:

1). Leave comment / happy birthday wishes here on this post, and leave your contact information as well, so that if you are a winner I can contact you.

2). Help spread the word and announce it somehow on your blog.

3). Become a follower of Lorelei's Muse.

That's it! This contest will continue until September 1st, so you all have plenty of time to get over here and have some fun.

Oh, wait, there's one more thing. . .

Now, I'm going to throw this out there, and it's all up to you guys. I have 60 followers as of now as I write this. If I get over 20 responses/80 followers on Lorelei's Muse I will throw in one more autographed copy of my book, Vampire Ascending to a second winner.

Now is that exciting or what?

Let the party begin . . . music please . . . Oh, it's the Beatles' "Paperback Writer". Yes, and followed by "Lorelei" by Styx.

This is gonna be fun!

Lorelei Bell is author of the can't-put-it down
Urban Fantasy, Vampire Ascending

GIVE AWAY ANNOUNCEMENT!

Okay, so this girl is turning a year older, and I decided I would have a little party for those of you who follow, and/or are fans of my vampire series, and even my newbies coming in from all over the globe. Wherever you hail from, stop by.

My birthday is TOMORROW, so, if you are smart you'll pop in and see what I'm giving away.

I'll have a couple of rules, but they won't be hard, especially if you already are followers. It will be one winner. I'm looking for well-wishers and so forth, so bring your party hats, and party favors, I'll be blowing out the candles--all twentyfifty-eight of them. Please stop by, the party will continue up thru September 1st, just in case some of you can't make it the first day or so.

Hope to see you here wishing me a happy birthday!

A BOOK GIVE AWAY!

I usually do Hunks Thursday, but I've something more important to do today.

My friend Heather McCorkle is having a fantastic give away!!!

The Secret of Spruce Knoll, a YA urban fantasy by Heather McCorkle is being released this month and as part of her celebration, she is having a wonderful--and I do mean WONDERFUL--give away with not just one prize, but 3 prizes!Now, just so you know, her contest begins next Monday, and ends on August 31st. So, there's time to check things out over at her blog.You may go here to view it.

You have to be a follower, at least, and then comment on her blog. You can also gain points for everything you decide to do. And since Heather and I go way back, I'm posting this so that anyone who comes to my blogs--that's right, I've reposted this on two other of my popular blogs--will see it and head on over to Heather's blog to find out what you can win and what you need to do to WIN-WIN-WIN!

I hope that this will be a BIG BASH CELEBRATION for Heather, because she deserves it!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I'm posting this in memory of both my own mother, who passed away when I was quite young, and Dennis' mother who passed away last September.

Flowers are always a nice gesture to give to Mom, and daffodils are very pretty, spring flowers, so here you go.

I am not a mother, and yet a whole lot of people thought I would make a great one. Probably because I could teach my children so much about life, and the things around them, and I'd sure as heck teach my daughter how to cook, sew, and all the things they need to know about . . . but I would also instill this into my son.

But you know, it's the spirit of motherhood that keeps me afloat. I love to grow things, I love to create things, and thus, the spirit of the goddess is what holds me together and keeps me taking the next step in my life, wherever it leads me.

If you are reading this today do take a moment out of your busy schedule and look around you, find a silent spot in your backyard, or in a park, listen to the birds, the wind through the trees, consider the flowers in blossom and what they are: Mothers, as they create more of their own kind through pollination and reseeding. Enjoy nature and you will be rewarded.

Violets are up and they are my favorite posy that grow in the ground. I recall picking a hand full of them and taking them to my own mother in the spring. Next to that is the lilac. You may see the pattern here, I like violet and lilac in color, too. My office is painted lilac and violet. I painted it all myself--and I have 10 ft ceilings--I think I had tennis elbow for months after.

Creativity is something I think all women have, whether they think so or not. I remember crocheting, before I got really serious into my writing, and I spent hours making anything from doilies to afghans. I made crafts too--loved doing that--and sold them in a couple of stores before the popularity of that sort of died, and the shops closed up. But I think I went back to writing before the craft vogue faded. I missed writing.

I once wrote--after returning from a long hiatus from writing--that I knew of nothing that fed my inner creative genius as writing, nothing that satisfied me as much, or gave me the thrill of accomplishment. And it wasn't just the act of writing, but if I don't have a pen and paper in hand, or sitting at my computer hammering something out or reading it through and tweaking it, I'd look quite odd to someone who knows me well (my husband). I like all the plotting, the scenes that go on in my head--yes, the voices!--and the editing. I realized at some point that the muse in me was very strong and active and if I came to a dead end in a story, I just patiently wait for her to pick it up and tell me what to do next. Sometimes we disagreed and we'd have to wait and see what more we could do with the scene. And then there is the character taking things over as well. That's spooky, but I've grown used to it.

So, as I end this, work on my second book Vampire's Trill, is coming along. And I'm still hoping to get word out about the first one Vampire Ascending. Promotions are always a tough thing to do, and it is constant. Thus, I'll announce it here: I'm appearing on Patricia's Vampire Notes TOMORROW! And as I've posted, there will be a give away, and I hope that any of you who have not had a chance to grab a copy who might want to win one, to stay tuned, I will post the link--and hope it works!!!