Contest Winners and Miscellaneous Information

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I hope you are preparing for a great Memorial Day and while you're at it please take a few moments to say a little prayer for our women and men in the armed forces. We owe them a lot for keeping us free.

Now, I know all of you are anxious to learn who the winner of my contest is, and I have a surprise for you. There are two winners. 1st place winner is Linda Henderson and second place winner is LuAnn. Congratulations ladies. I'm going to need your snail mail addresses. Please write to me at skmarshall@kc.rr.com and give them to me. If I don't hear from you by Tuesday, I will draw another name. As soon as the holiday is over I'll mail them to you. Everyone who didn't win, don't worry because you'll have another chance. Grin.

Now for a more serious subject, ebook piracy. I hate to run this subject in the ground, but it's so prevalent that our editors, publishers, cover artists and authors are not making money from their work. Here is a site to go to read more about this subject: Article on Ebook Piracy:http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=3151

To add a little fun and spice to your life, I have added some pictures above of our little cats, Midnight and Dora. These little creatures have turned our lives up side down but we are totally in love with them. We still remember Max, our beautiful long-haired black male cat but we have room have room in our lives for these little ones. Oh, they aren't so little any more. lol Midnight has become huge. My hubby estimates she weighs about 30 pounds. Dora has filled out as well.

I'll leave you with this quote: "If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it at an hour when it isn't expecting it." H. G. Wells

Sounds like a great idea to me. Have a great holiday, and I'll be back next week.

Hugs,
Sandy
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm

My Birthday Contest and a Book Review for Carla Cassidy's, Harlequin Intrigue, ENIGMA

Yep, I'll be having another birthday soon and to celebrate I'm having a contest. All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment today and become a follower. For those who are already followers your comment will be enough to enter.

To entice you, I am going to tell you the prize so if it doesn't interest you won't want to waste your time. lol The winner will receive a collection of Japanese Cherry Blossom products from Bath and Body Works. The winner will be announced next Sunday, May 30th.

As a writer, I don't have a lot of time to read but lately I've been making the time to do something I enjoy very much--reading. Nearly everyone I know has read a Harlequin book. My very first Harlequin romance was a sweet romance by Janet Daily and from there I read many other authors including Nora Roberts.

One of my favorite Harlequin authors these days is Carla Cassidy. I read her latest Harlequin Intrigue, ENIGMA, in one setting. It's a page turner.

Here is a brief bio about the author:

Carla Cassidy is an award-winning author who has written more than fifty novels (that number is low since she has written over a hundred but not all of them for HQ--smile) for Harlequin Books. In 1995, she won Best Silhouette Romance from RT Book Reviews for Anything for Danny. In 1998, she also won a Career Achievement Award for Best Innovative Series from RT Book Reviews.

Blurb on back cover of ENIGMA:

Test Subject: Jared Maddox
Ability: Mental Telepathy
Weakness: Willa Tyler, the only person he was able to communicate with while in a coma.

From the moment he came out of a coma, Jared Maddox knew his whereabouts had been compromised and that only one person could help him escape: trauma nurse Willa Tyler. Although he was reluctant to put Willa's life in danger, she refused to abandon him, insisting she help him reconnect with his mysterious past...and his identical twin. Using the abilities some saw as a gift, Jared sensed the moment they closed in on the truth. And the moment he started considering a future with the strong and beautiful woman who'd faithfully stood by his side. But was her healing touch enough to weather what they uncovered deep in the mountains?

Excerpt:

"There is one last thing you can do for me, Willa. Kiss me."
Before she could reply his arms tightened around her and pulled her closer; and his mouth descended to hers. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but it was better than her dream.
Unfortunately, the window nearest them crashed inward and the kiss ended with his gasp and her outcry. Hissing smoke quickly filled the room and burned Willa's eyes and the back of her throat.
The smoke grew so thick so fast she lost sight of Jared and cried out his name in fear: She felt his hand grab hers as her head spun.
She had no time to wonder what was happening or who was responsible. She only had a moment to recognize that whoever was after Jared had somehow found him here, and now they were in deep trouble.
Willa. She heard his frantic voice calling out her name just before a profound darkness rushed up to grab her.

If this doesn't grab your attention nothing will. There are surprises in here galore. Being a writer nothing much surprises me but there were a few in ENIGMA.
To learn more about Carla Cassidy visit her website, http://www.carlacassidybooks.com/ and her blog, http://www.carlacassidy.wordpress.com

Remember next Sunday I'll announce the winner of my contest so until then have a great week.

Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com
http://www.myspace.com/s_zinn_marshall

My Review of Erinsong

Hello Everyone,

I just finished reading a historical, (I normally don't read a historical) but I thought this one was quite good. It kept me turning the pages.
Before I say more about the story, I would like to tell you a bit about the author. Emily Bryan writes her historicals under the name of Diana Groe. Before Emily became a writer she was a classically trained soprano who performed operatic roles. She is a dedicated traveler and enjoys visiting new places. If you would like to know more about Emily as Diana visit http://www.dianagroe.com/

Romantic Times BOOKclub says: Diana Groe calls to mind the great mistresses of the genre: Beatrice Small, Virginia Henley and Connie Mason.

Blurb from Erinsong:

An Irish princess. A Viking warrior. His people's raids on her country should have made them bitter enemies. But when he washed up on her beach with no memory of his life, Brenna found herself drawn to the handsome stranger. His kind words and gentle touch helped ease memories of brutality and inflame a passion she never thought possible. She longed for his hands to caress her body the same way they ran over the gleaming wood of his ship. But even their desire can't deny the secrets of the past. And as they travel through the land of Erin on a quest that could change the course of history, long-ago betrayals and treachery threaten to destroy the haven they've found in each other's arms.

This story had a lot of twists and turns to it. Erinsong provided a lot of surprises throughout the story.

Short excerpt:

A VIKING BY ANY OTHER NAME...
"Is that all I am in your eyes? Just a Northman?" When Brenna tried to pull away, he tugged her in close and cupped her chin. "Can you not say my true name? Not even once?"
He leaned toward her, his deep eyes dark in the moonlight. His mouth was so close, one corner turned slightly up. Brenna gulped, wondering what that mouth might taste like.
"Jorand," she said softly.
The name was nearly swallowed up as his lips covered hers in a kiss both sudden and inevitable. Her first impulse was to pull away, but his mouth beguiled her. It was not the kind of kiss she expected from a man like him.
His mouth was warm and sure, pressing against hers just enough to let her know she'd been kissed before he pulled back. It was as sweet a kiss as she could imagine. A kiss that wanted to give, not take. A kiss that left no bitterness in its wake.
"There now, that wasn't so terrible, was it?" he asked.
"Saying your name or letting you kiss me?"
"Both."
Her lips twitched in a suppressed smile. "It was tolerable."
"Just tolerable?" He grinned. "I can do better than that."

Like I said, I'm not a reader of historicals, but once in a while I break down and read one. I'm happy to say that I'm not sorry I read Erinsong. It was a wonderful story. Although, it was set in a very different time period the characters and settings came alive on the page. I highly recommend this author to all enthusiastic historical readers.

Have a great week. I'll see you next Sunday.

Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com/

A Tortoiseshell and a Bombay

Hello Everyone,

I want to wish all the mother's out there a Happy Mother's Day. May your day be as special as you are.

Finally, things are getting back to normal around here. I just finished my second round of edits, had an all day blogmania contest last week and I'm ready to relax a bit before I start writing on Monday.

For those of you who are cat lovers you know what my blog is about today by the title. Many of my long-time followers know we had to put our beautiful long-haired black cat to sleep in February because of failing kidneys. There is a picture of him in the early stages of his illness above. He got to the point where he only wanted to sleep and he couldn't eat.

We will never forget our Max and no one will ever take his place, but we have moved on. There so many animals who need a home these days. When we were mourning Max and missed him so much we found ourselves still talking to him as if he were with us. One day, my hubby said, "I'm going to go look for another long-haired black male cat." That was the start of our hunt for a new pet.

You know how when you shop you can never find what you want. That is exactly what happened to us. We couldn't find a long-haired black male cat. There were lots of black female cats but only one with long hair and hubby thought she was too old. He didn't want a lot of medical bills from the start. lol

One day he brought home a short-haired black female cat named Midnight. She looked so much like Maxie but her personality was totally different. Whereas, Max was social, Midnight didn't want anything to do with us. She hid under the bed and wouldn't come out. We got her out but she hid in other places. Hubby decided we couldn't keep her as he wanted a pet who wanted to be around him. He took her back even though I told him he hadn't given her enough time.

The search began for a long-haired black male again. A few days later, hubby was back in the same place where he picked up Midnight. Lo and behold she recognized his voice and she rubbed against his fingers through the cage. No, he didn't bring her home. He was still looking for a male cat like Max. lol Again hubby went back and this time he came home with Midnight determined to give her a real chance.

We decided Midnight received her name because she stayed up all night and slept all day. Midnight came from a place called Kitty Kat Connections who didn't euthanize their animals but hubby still worried that this little girl might get put to sleep because no one seemed to want her.

We learned some back story on Midnight. When she was born they didn't expect her to live. She was fed intravenously for days and they were just about to remove her tube but the vet wanted to give her one more day. She made it.

After that story, hubby decided to keep her just to give her a home even though she she wasn't drawn to either of us. We paid for her and received her medical records to take to our vet where we learned she had an upper repository problem that cats get when they are kept in cages around each other. Once our little Bombay was well she started gaining weight. She's a big girl now. lol

I was on the website for Kitty Cat Connection one day and found out Midnight had had a friend there named Jules. It was then I told my hubby that she might come out of her shell if she had a friend. There had been another little cat at the same shop who had been friendly to us named Dora, and she came from a place called Pet Connection.

Ron brought her home for a test trail to see if she would work for us. I've forgotten to tell you that both Midnight and Dora were found at Al's place. We talked to Pet Connection and learned that Dora had been taken from a house where the owner had 37 cats, and Pet Connection was planning on putting them to death if a home couldn't be found for them soon. Well, that sealed the fate for Dora with hubby and me. We love all animals.

Dora is a tortoiseshell cat and though small she's feisty. She's a fighter and you can tell she had to fight to get food or water. When we first got her she gobbled food down like she might not get any more. She also had to be taken to the vet for upper repository infection but both girls are well now.

Midnight has come out of her shell and she's dad's girl. and Dora aka Dory is my girl. I keep telling them, they are sisters so they must get along. Dora is learning she doesn't have to fight for food that she'll get her share of everything. Midnight is tolerant of Dora's antics and plays with her until she's tired. Dora never gets tired. lol She does come and lay on my desk while I work on the computer. Midnight lays on dad's lap when he lays back in his recliner.

Even though we have these little girls, we still think of Maxie a lot. From a couple of people who really disliked cats we have become cat lovers and it's all due to our wonderful Maxie cat. Pictures of Dora and Midnight are above Maxie's picture.

Until next Sunday have a great week.

Sandy
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm
http://www.skaymarshall.com

Winners of Blogmania at My Blog

Happy Sunday,

I'm announcing the winners of the blogmania contest held on Friday.

1st prize - Kristen

2nd prize - Sonya

3rd prize - Beverly

Everyone will win a copy of my e-book, Addiction. First prize winner will win all the things I mentioned in the original prize, but I will also be sending some smaller surprise gifts for Sonya and Beverly.

I want to add I'm very sorry some of my long-time followers didn't win, but you will have another chance soon. It's very unusual when one of my Canadian friends don't win. Smile. To my International friends you also have a chance then, too. See you September 15th.

Today, I'm posting information about my book, Addiction.

Blurb for Addiction

Two men are after the same woman but for very different reasons.

Dark-haired beauty, Jolene Dubois has a serious problem, and it's not just battling alcoholism. Late at night, she receives whispered calls. "Jolene, I want you. I'm coming for you." Shivers climb up her spine and ice flowed in her veins. What does he want? Who is it? She must figure it out before she trusts the wrong person.

Jake Farrell, the handsome rogue is an operator with women, but is he hiding something dark and sinister under his cheery facade. The detective, Andy Martin, who investigated her father's murder, continues to ask her out. Les Voodré, an alcoholic she met at AA follows her everywhere, and Ron Keisler, her AA sponsor is always there when she needs him. Could her caller be one of these men?

To further complicate her life, she fights a host of addictions, alcoholism, smoking, gambling and sex. Jolene is determined to beat the alcohol and to stay out of the clutches of the fiend who phones her.

Excerpt:

Jake pulled into Parma Woods Conservation area off FF Highway across the road from the Missouri river. “I’m glad the weather cleared for our target practice.”
“Yeah, it’s a nice sunny afternoon.” Jolene jumped out of his dark blue SUV. Twenty minutes in the vicinity of Jake had put her through pure torture. She wished she could’ve thought of a way out of the demonstration with a reasonable excuse but none came to her during the day. How did she get herself into these situations? Because the man drew her to him like bees drawn to nectar with his laughing eyes, his daring manner, and that body.
Glad she kept some extra clothes in the office, she’d changed into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved green t-shirt before meeting Jake. Leaning inside, she pulled her Smith and Wesson out of her purse, and pushed the lock on the door before she closed it.
“Let’s go inside and pay for our hour.” Jake headed for the office.
Well, so much for courtesy. He just walked off and left her. She surveyed the row of covered booths briefly, and hurried after him.
Coming out the door as she reached it, he asked, “What took you so long? I thought you’d run off.”
“I was looking around.” Damn, she would like to slap that impudent grin off his face. “There’s no way I’d miss showing you up.”
“Hmm, we’ll see, won’t we?” Jake arched a black brow with a lopsided smile.
She shrugged. “Yes, we will.” If he kept his distance and didn’t upset her hormones, she’d hit the target.
“I’ve set up a target for you.” He pointed. “I’m going to try you at different distances, and we’ll see if you can really shoot.”
Jolene squinted a bit and saw a human shape of white on black. “I’m not used to this type of target. Where am I supposed to aim?”
“Aim at the heart for the kill.” He placed his hand at her waist, steered her closer to the object and stopped about thirty yards away. “Is this close enough for you?”
“Fine.” Just get away from me, she screamed mentally and shook off his arm.
Jake stepped back.
Jolene raised her gun, clasped in both hands and sighted, then pulled the trigger. Smiling, she set her sights on the heart again and fired until she emptied the clip, released it then put another in.
“Wait a minute, let me go check to see if you hit it.” He jogged toward the target.
Scowling, she resisted the urge to see if she could make him dance. With the gun to her side, she yelled, “Well, how did I do?”
As she watched him shake his head, dismay clawed at her. Could she have missed? Fool! She’d been so sure she could repeat the ten in ten bulls-eyes. Jake would think she was just a big bragger.
“Come and see for yourself,” Jake yelled.
You would think he would just tell me if I missed or not. Jolene walked briskly from the covered shooting range and strode up to him. “Well, did I hit the target?” She’d never live it down if she missed.
Jake glanced at her. “Hey, where’s the confidence you had earlier today?” Taking her arm, he pulled her forward and pointed at the silhouette’s heart area. “This guy’s dead. There are ten shots right here.” He directed his gaze to where the testicles would be on a man. “I only see one miss.”
She looked down at the crotch and laughed. “Oh, I didn’t miss. I meant to hit there.”
“Remind me not to piss you off.”
She heard a discharge, then a whishing sound as a projectile whizzed between them. It sliced through the target removing any evidence of the head. Shocked, she crouched down, staring all around, and then Jake shoved her to the ground and dropped on top of her.
Someone had shot at them. Was it Rutherford’s friends? Trembling, she laid still until slowly realizing her face was in the dirt, and she couldn’t breathe. Panting, she turned her head gulping in air. All quiet. She wiggled. How long did they have to lay here? It had to be safe by now.
In the distance, she heard a motor roar to life, and tires spin on gravel as the vehicle took off. Could it be the person who shot at them making a getaway?
“Don’t you think they’re gone?” She humped her bottom up. Not a good idea, she realized when she felt something hard in the front of his pants. She flattened her body to the ground. “Did you have to jump on top of me?” She struggled against the hand Jake pressed on her head.
“Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “I want to hear if anyone moves, so I’ll know where the shot came from.”
Spitting out dirt, she just wanted to make a run for it. Bushes rustled on the bluff and a deer leaped from them.
Jake waited a moment then removed his palm from her lips.
She listened for more gunshots. Would someone pepper them with bullets? Her heart pumped frantically, and she wanted to run, not lie there like a willing target caught right in a potential killer’s crosshairs. When nothing happened she squirmed under him. “Get off of me.”
He hugged her body a minute longer before he slid to lie at her side. His hand stayed firmly on her back and held her in place.
After a few seconds, she asked, “Don’t you think it’s okay to get up now?”
“He was on the bluff across the road.” He stared at the high steep bank across the road. “I don’t see anyone there, but let’s go in a zigzag to the nearest cover. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yeah.” Anything would be better than waiting for something to happen.
Adrenaline pumping, with the gun in her left hand she put her right one in front of her chest ready to push up. Would someone shoot them before they had a chance to run? Her stomach knotted into a thousand little nerves. At the same time Jake grabbed her around the waist and jerked her up. Her feet hit the ground running with Jake’s arm guiding her.
As they neared the Conservation office building, Jake pushed her next to the wall and peered around the corner. “I think it was a warning, or otherwise we would both be dead.”
“Warning of what?”
“I wish I knew.”
Jolene struggled loose of his grasp and peeked around the bend, too. “What are we waiting for? I don’t see anything.”
“We’re staying here until I determine no one’s still there. He could’ve moved to a new place and be waiting for us to come out of hiding to pop us off.” He crouched down. “Just in case, I’m going to make a run for my SUV and bring it around for you.”
“No way, I’m going with you. Besides, you don’t know if that shot was for me or for you.” She bent over and took off. A hand grabbed her around the waist, and Jake forced her to his side away from the road and half-carried her to the SUV.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Trying to get yourself killed?” He pushed her down next to his vehicle, unlocked the door with the clicker and opened it. “Get in and stay down.”
Jolene did as she was told. Crouched on the floor, nerves screaming, she waited for Jake to open his door. What in the heck was taking him so long? He should be on the other side by now. She raised her head to see if she could see him.
Not detecting him, she started to exit the vehicle just as the driver’s door opened.
Jake climbed in. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
She slid back onto her seat and closed the door. “I was coming to look for you.” She stared at his taut jaw as he started the engine. “I was worried because you took so long.”
“When I tell you to do something, do it.” He clenched his fingers around the steering wheel, backing up and driving down the long driveway.
“Well, aren’t you the bossy one.” She’d worried about the stupid man for nothing. “What were you doing?”
“I let the guys inside know about the shots because they might need to call the police.” He turned east on FF highway. “I gave them our names and phone numbers in case they needed to contact us.” He glanced at her. “It could’ve been hunters who strayed off their grounds, but even if it were the next person might not be so lucky.”
Does he expect me to fall for his story about hunters? The tautness of his forearms told her he didn’t buy what he was selling either.

Here are the reviews for ADDICTION

http://bkwalkerbooks.weebly.com/1/post/2009/12/-read-review-of-addiction-by-sandra-k-marshall.html

http://ddreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/addiction-by-sandra-k-marshall.html

Video - http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=e684nldayz0

Buy links:

http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm
Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TSANDU
All Romance eBooks - http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-addiction-365002-152-html
1Romance Ebooks - http://1romanceebooks.com/romantic-fiction/addiction/prod_697.html
Barnes and Noble EBooks

Have a great day. See you next Sunday.

Sandy
http://www.skaymarshall.com