Happy 2009

Hello, Thanks for checking in with me. I hope you are having a great new year. Lots has been happening with me. Yesterday I did a book signing at the Barnes and Noble on the south Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers, Florida. I signed alongside authors Jaime Rush, Karna Small Bodman, Linnea Sinclair, and Barbara Meyers. We had a great time. Thanks very much to Julie and the staff at Barnes and Noble. On Valentine's Day, Saturday, Feb. 14, we will be signing at the Borders in Naples, 2-4 p.m., and the Bornders in Estero, Florida, 5-7 p.m. Author Marty Amprose will join us. Please drop by to say 'hi.' The Naples Borders is located on US 41 just south of Immokalee Road. The Estero Borders is located in the Gulf Coast Towne Center, which is near an I-75 exit, but I'm not sure which one. Also, I have some exciting news. I now am working with a PR-firm called Ascot Media (http://www.ascotmedia/), which is located in the Houston, Texas, area. My wonderful "team" of publicists includes Trisha Stevens, Monica Foster and Cindi Crislip. They are working hard to help me promote my novel A Chance to Say Yes. Last week I was a guest on Jay Caldwell's radio show, which is broadcast on WJON in St. Cloud, Minnesota. I enjoyed talking to Jay very much, and I appreciate his having me on his show. On Thursday, Feb. 26, I will be a guest on a radio show hosted by Cliff Roles in Sarasota, Florida (http://www.cliffroles.com/). Cliff will be giving away copies of A Chance to Say Yes to his listeners. This is exciting stuff! Furthermore, I'd like to thank Drew Smith's mom, Mary Lou, for writing to say how much she enjoyed reading A Chance to Say Yes, that is is a "great read." To Ann Panton and Marcia, who keep asking for the sequel, I want you to know that I am working on the first sequel to my book A Chance to Say Yes. The sequel is called A Wild Dream of Love. Time frame for release is year's end. See ya later...!

My Premio Dardos Blog Award 2008 -- Yay!!!

Thank you, writer Cheryl Rushing, for giving me the Premio Dardos Blog Award. I did view your blog and saw that you had given me the award. I also received the information in a Google Alert. I am honored to receive this award. For those of you interested in reading Cheryl's blog and viewing info about our mutual blog award, please go to http://www.bycherylrushing.com/?p=52. I regret only that I do not have time to blog more. I intend to give this award to other blogs. I will begin with Sandy Lender's blog www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/ and M. B. Weston's blog at http://www.elysianchronicles.com/. I know there are other worth blogs out there. Please let me hear from you. (Jane, I would give it to your blog, but Cheryl already has.) In a side note, I wish to thank Debi Norton, Darrell House (http://www.darrellhouse.com/) and Gwen Griffith for posting their five-star reviews of my romantic novel of women's fiction, A Chance to Say Yes, on http://www.amazon.com/. I neglected to do this in my previous blog entry.

Busy Holidays

Hi, thank you for checking in to read my blog! I have had no time to write recently. I have much to report. My book-signing at Barnes and Noble in Naples, Florida, went very well. I sold a number of books and had a little crowd of visitors at my table. Thanks to Jessica and Felicia for hosting the event and allowing me to participate. Four more book-signings are in the works. Along with other members of the SW Florida Romance Writers, I will be signing copies of my novel A Chance to Say Yes on Feb. 7, 2009, 1-3 p.m., at the Barnes and Noble in Fort Myers, Florida. We will be signing on Feb. 14, 2009, Valentine's Day, at two different Borders stores. We will sign at the Naples, Florida, Borders in the afternoon (2-4 p.m, I believe) and the Estero, Florida, Borders that evening (7-9 p.m., I believe.) I want to thank the people who made A Chance to Say Yes at hit at the Florida Writers Foundation's Silent Auction in Orlando. According to FWA VP Chrissy Jackson, A Chance to Say Yes was the object of constant attention and "spirited bidding" during the two days it was on display. The auction raised $3,000 for literacy in Florida. How cool is that? I am donating a signed copy of A Chance to Say Yes to another worthy cause, our local Conservancy. The event is called "Magic Under the Mangroves." The annual gala and auction will be held in Naples in March, 2009. Thanks to Carla Meekins for allowing me to participate. I also wish to extend a Big Thank You to Phil Jason for his wonderful review of A Chance to Say Yes, which may be viewed on his blog at http://philjason.wordpress.com. The article's link is "Naples the Hero of New Novel.: Thank you, Phil. I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming writers festival. One more thing: I've been receiving Google Alerts. I've learned that A Chance to Say Yes is being sold in Britain and India via bookselling websites. This is FABULOUS. I'll post the name of the sites soon. G'day! Tina

My Dragon Limerick, continued

Here are Verses Four and Five of my work-in-progress, the Dragon Limerick I am writing for Sandy Lender's blog. (Btw, I can't figure out for the life of me why my blog won't format correctly. I can't get it to make any paragraph indentations.) Please see my previous post for the first three verses. Angry Scary vowed that he'd marry Flarey But Flarey spoke to the contrary "If you were my mister, You'd soon be a blister 'Til this problem's solved we should tarry." As he pondered, a raindrop hit Scary Overjoyed he called out to Miss Flarey "We'll be like the otter! We'll kiss underwater! Our problem's solved. Now we can marry! (One more verse is on the way, the last verse. Yes. You're right. I've gone totally bonkers.) If you are in the mood for more fun stuff, please check out an author-friend's blog: http://www.darrellhouse.com/. Tina

A Busy November Coming Up

Hey! Wow, I don't have time to write much, but I have much to write!!! First of all, many thanks to the nice folks at the L.A. Cafe in Lehigh, Florida. The L.A. Cafe is the latest outlet to carry my novel A Chance to Say Yes. It's a great little coffee house that caters to writers and their ilk. I want to go to their Open Microphone Night soon and try out my reading voice. FYI, I have taken an ad on this website: http://www.asotvi.info/ and placed on in the upcoming issue of Romance Sells, http://www.corncreative.com/. RS goes out to 6,500 libraries and booksellers. Thanks to author Jamie Rush for suggesting it to me. In other news, three events occur in November, in which I'll be involved: During the Sanibel Writers Conference, on Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida, my book A Chance to Say Yes will be on sale through the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Bookstore. It will be available for purchase, also, at the Florida Writers' Conference Bookstore at the Lake Mary Marriott in the Orlando, Florida, November 14-16. In addition, I will be selling and signing books at the Barnes and Noble in Naples, Florida, on November 15, along with other local writers. The Miami Book Fair happens that weekend, too, but I'm afraid I'll have to miss it this year, although I do enjoy attending. In February, I be doing more events. These included signings along with other members of the SWFRW at local bookstores. Oh, yes, and Jane Kennedy Sutton and I will share a table at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival in Fort Myers, Florida, in March. YOU KNOW, as soon as I have time, after I've moved into my new place, I'm going to start posting more on this blog than just my book-related activities. I want to post some of my writing: essays, travelogues, and (gasp) yes, maybe even some things written by other writers. That's right--it's not all about me. Yikes. Btw, here is some verse I wrote for my author-friend Sandy Lender's dragon-story contest. (http://www.todaythedragonwins.com/). Actually, I am writing this, for it is a work in progress. Here's what I have so far: There once was a dragon named Scary Who was huge, yellow-green, and quite hairy But he didn't cause fear Cause he was a big dear Of a dear dragon none could be wary One day cool dragon-bachelor Scary Met a fire-breather he burned to marry Though a lass with a past This hot babe was a blast His lips scorched the first time he smooched Flarey Scary said to The Reverend, "Marry us." But the dragon-priest said, "Too precarious. Though I'd love to toast you Miss Flarey would roast you No, you must wed a lass less nefarious." There's more to come, I 'm afraid. You'll have to stay tuned for the next verse(s). Meanwhile, I'll try to figure out how to make paragraphs and returns on this blogsite. I know I just have to find the right thingy to make it work. Have fun today! Tina

Hemingway and Hiaasen and....!!!

When I strolled by Mina Hemingway's Florida Bookstore (www.hemingwaybookstore.com) yesterday morning, I was thrilled to see that she has placed my novel A Chance to Say Yes in her front window, right next to Carl Hiaasen's book!!! A sign nearby reads, "Local Authors." This is FANTASTIC. I am elated, thrilled, and generally just plain knocked out by this occurence. Thank you, Mina. In other news, I have placed new ads for my book. One is on the www.gottawritenetwork.com, run by Denise, a soon-to-be ArcheBooks author. Denise interviewed me, too. The interview is linked to the website, so please check that out. The ad will run on the website for three months. I've placed an ad with As Seen on TV, too. I'll post that link when I receive it. Thanks very much to the Southwest Florida Romance Writers for the astonishingly wonderful cake they gave me last weekend at the monthly meeting. They had a big cake made for me with the cover for A Chance to Say Yes on top in icing. Plus, they presented me with a lovely rose and a festive balloon. Thank you, SWFRW members. You are the best. I am truly grateful for your support (www.swfrw.org). I'd like to offer my congrats to Tom Williams and Jane Kennedy Sutton on the publication of their new ArcheBooks novels. Please check out the ArcheBooks Publishing website for details (www.archebooks.com). Aslo, Thanks to Jessica at the Naples Barnes and Noble store for ordering more copies of A Chance to Say Yes. Now back to my research for the sequel A Wild Dream of Love, coming in 2009. Cheers!

A Cat Named Oliver

Greetings. Many thanks to the (intelligent, beautiful, and charming) members of the Read 'Em, Dish 'Em, Eat 'Em Book Club in Los Angeles, California. The club members have chosen to read my romance novel A Chance to Say Yes for their next meeting. I am excited about this. I can't wait to hear their reactions to A Chance to Say Yes. In addition, I would like to thank Mr. John Poole and Jay for making One for the Books in Cape Coral, Florida, the latest book store to carry A Chance to Say Yes. Thanks to Rayne Golay, I discovered this wonderful books store yesterday. It is a bibliophile's dream. It even comes with an enormous, furry orange tabby cat named Oliver, who deftly slides in and around the well-laden book cases. Oliver is known for having twice as many toes as the average cat. Speaking of pets, I would like to make you aware of a worthy organization called Friends of Gummi (www.friendsofgummi.org). It is a no-kill shelter for pets that promotes pet placement. I became aware of it because a mutual acquaintance told me that the group's founder read A Chance to Say Yes and "loved" the book. So, I looked up the website and was quite impressed. Please click the above link to check it out. Speaking of the book, I'm pleased to say I'll be selling, along with friend Sue, and signing copies of it at the eWomen Network's event called Backwards in High Heels. It will be held in Fort Lauderdale at The Towers on Wednesday, September 24, 2008. Lots going on!