Wednesday, May 28, 2014

RIP Maya Angelou

I love Maya Angelou. The effortless flow of words that say so much without fuss or bother. The imagery and fire in every line. This is my very favorite poem and, the older I get, the more I can relate to it. Thank you, Ms. Angelou for blessing us with your talent.
Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Random Wednesday: My Dream Yard

Hello!!  Welcome to the Random Wednesday Blog. Our topic this week is what our dream yard would look like. This is an awesome topic since I've been imagining my dream yard forever so to finally talk about and share it is amazing. Oh!!  But first I must post hunkey man for my friend Kris Norris. Here you go, Eh!


Ooookay, so yeah, yards. I know it's certainly not as exciting as Abs up there, but what can you say. I don't think any topic is as exciting. So my dream yard would be large and bordered by woods. I would love to have a really cute house out far enough to have privacy, but not too far that I couldn't go to the Barnes & Noble when I wanted. This one is close, but the porches would have to be bigger and screened in. Sorry I do not like bugs.

Anyway, I would want the back of the house to have another amazing porch, which would back up to woods. The woods would have a creek running through and be close enough to the house so I can hear it. The creek must have a waterfall of some kind because I love the sound of water. It's so relaxing.

I love this waterfall (right) and obviously it's not natural, but I'd want mine to look like this anyway. My cousin has a 15 acre farm and she has a creek and waterfall and wow, it's amazing. You can hear it from her front porch.


Next you gotta have plants and by plants I mean a lot of flowers and trees. Right now, in reality, my yard does have plants. I have 4 boxwoods and 3 miniature spruce in my front yard. My sister and I just planted 3 azalea bushes and flowers also in the front yard. We are currently planning a small garden in the back and then a Japanese garden she wants. I have a very large yard, but it's crappy. The back is all up hill or down, depending on how you look at it. So the more we plant the less I have to mow.

Wait! We're talking fantasy so my dream yard has woods and a creek and a waterfall. None of this I have to mow. I also have a lovely garden close to the house. In it will be crepe myrtle, flowering cherry trees and a lot of flowers.  See there are my flowers.




If you don't know about crepe myrtle check to the left. They smell so damn good. I have wonderful friends that live in Memphis and when I go to visit, these trees are everywhere. They are gorgeous and just make everything smell wonderful.




And that if you don't know what a flowering cherry looks like, there it is to the right. They smell awesome too and they are really pretty. I planted one for realz a few years ago and it was doing great until we had a killing frost at the end of April. Yep, you guess it. Killed my poor baby tree. Bastard weather!!


So there you have it. My dream yard/house. When I finally purchase it and move in everyone is invited to my house for a cookout!

Now head over and check out the other Blogger Girlz (Bronwyn, Jessica, Kris, JennyLeigh, and Kellie)  to see what kinds of yards they dream of having.


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Random Wednesday Post . . . Shitty Jobs I've Had or I'd rather eat a bug then go back to that job

Hello!!!  Can you believe it's Random Wednesday Blog time?? The weeks are flying by, it's totally crazy. So anyway, this week's topic is all about the shit jobs I've had in the past. Ohhhh, but before I talk about that I gotta toss out some major male hotness for my friend, Kris Norris. And who doesn't love a man in a kilt??? Right??


*sigh* Looking at him makes this blog post just a little bit better . . . . . .  what? Okay, where was I?? Ummm, that's right, crap jobs. I can tell you that I've never worked any kind of food service. That was something I said I just wouldn't do. So I never ever asked anyone if they wanted fries with that. I know that we must have food service people and personally I think they are close to gods for putting up with the crap they do. But I don't have the temperament or patience for something like that.I 

I did, unfortunately, work as a sales associate or whatever you want to call the people that wait on others in store like establishments. Now that sucked. I worked in the bed/bath department in an unnamed department store that no longer exists. Hated it! I was very part-time and since we got no benefits whatsoever the store policy was that basically we could take off when we wanted. But see I had this manager that didn't believe that. I asked for a day off way way way in advance and she told me I couldn't have it. Another amazing incident that happened there was that my nearly 16 year old dog (who I'd had since I was 1st grade) was incredibly sick. I knew I had to take her to get her put down, which almost killed me since my dad had died only 5 months before. When I called to tell them I'd be late the response was, "Well can't you get someone else to do that?" Ummmm, no, no I can't. 

This was me right after that phone call. I left the job very soon after

I did work retail again, but ended up at a bookstore which was sooooo much more wonderful than words. I loved it and even continued to work there while I was teaching full-time. Yep, you read right. I am a certified teacher. So I worked in the amazing bookstore while I was teaching 5th grade. The place was so much fun and it was even haunted, but that's a story for another time.

The other shitty job I had was my last teaching assignment. Let me just say that the principal was brand, brand, brand new and she imagined she was going to take a school that was the lowest performing in the district and make it the highest performing. O_O Yeah, I don't know what she was smoking, but believe me she really imagined it was going to happen. If you ask any of my friends they will tell you I love to teach, love it!! But after that year I was done, done, done. I said I never wanted to go back to the classroom again. And I haven't since I'm a teacher in a history museum now.  And because of this my cats don't have to greet me at the door all . . .


So, those were some of my truly crappy jobs. Go visit the other Random Wednesday Bloggers (Jessica, Bronwyn, Kris, and Tess) and find out about their adventures. 

See you next week!!  --GC

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Random Wednesday: These are a few of my favorite things . . . BOOKS!

Welcome back to Random Wednesday where today's topic is all about my favorite books. Jeez louise, I could go on for days and days with this topic. Oh, but before I do, I just wanna toss in some major hotness for my friend, Kris Norris.



Ooookay, now that I have all of your attention I'm going to talk about books. LADIES, eyes down here on the words please. Thank you. So, I love to read and I've always loved to read. In fact, the very first book I remember reading all by myself was a Goldenbook Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I was probably 5 and I read it over and over. The next book I fell madly in love with and still love to this day is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I still have the first copy I ever received from my beautiful Gramma and, I believe, another 3 or 4 more editions.
This looks like my exact copy, but mine is way more loved on

I started reading romance novels when I was probably 12 and, believe me, during the 70s they were horrible!!!!  The men were assholes and the women were wimps. Every book I read I thought, "I can so do better than this." I wrote my first book when I was maybe 13. Thankfully, that got lost, but I never lost my love of reading and writing. Also, romance novels have improved a billion percent since those early days. Now there are so many authors I love that I can barely keep up. 

Right now, I have a handful of authors I automatically buy without even looking at what the book is about. In no particular order here they are: 

Nalini Singh - I love her Psy/Changeling series and Angel series. Jeez louise, her stuff just keeps getting better and better. Her last Psy/Changeling Heart of Obsidian I finished in one day. If you haven't read her books I highly recommend them.


Shelly Laurenston - She always makes me laugh! Her shifters are so amazingly fun and they get into totally ridiculous situations. I also love that her heroines are tough as nails and do not mess around. If you're looking for something funny to read, she's it for me.

Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb - Hello, it's La Nora! Everything she writes is gold. I finished her last book The Collector in a very short amount of time. I think it's one of her best books. I loved the characters and the story. So much fun.


Jeanine Frost - Love her Cat and Bones books as well as the other books that connect the series. I can't wait for her next book about Vlad Tepish. He is hot . . . literally.

Jayne Anne Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle - I've been reading her since the very beginning and have all of her books under all the names. She never lets me down.

Kresley Cole - I discovered her when I bought her 3 ebook release The Professional and it was hot, hot, hot. I am now starting her Immortals After Dark series and love them.

J.R. Ward - Black Dagger Brotherhood . . . yeah I don't need to say anything more than that. :-)

Chevy Stevens - She doesn't write romance. In fact, she's found in General Fiction and her books are more psychological suspense. I love them and they are really different. Her first book called Still Missing was so amazing that I read it in one day and it blew me away. It's told in first person and the narrator was kidnapped and held for a year by her kidnapper. I won't tell you any more than that, but I am telling you, you have to read it.

Best book ever!!!!

Okay, so I could keep going on and on and on, but I won't. I will let you get to the other amazing Random Wednesday ladies to see what they read. If you don't know who they are you're so missing out! So go over and see Bronwyn Green, Kris Norris, Jessica Jarman, Jenny Trout, Kellie St. James, and Tess Grant right now. 

Happy Reading --GC

Monday, May 5, 2014

Soooo proud to present . . . . If Ever I Would Leave You by Bronwyn Green, Jessica Jarman and Jenny Trout

Today, authors Bronwyn Green, Jessica Jarman, and Jenny Trout unveil the cover of their upcoming anthology:

If Ever I Would Leave You
(July, 2014)

Keep reading for a chance to win an Arthurian-themed DVD prize pack or a $25 Amazon gift card!


Surfacing
Bronwyn Green

A year after Tabby Nolan's sister vanished from the Lake Michigan shore with her boyfriend, Liam, Tabby visits the spot where the two were last seen-- and finds herself pulled into the crumbling world of Avalon.

Since his disappearance, Liam has been trapped in the mythical land, with no link to the world he knew. Now, their shared memories of Tabby's missing sister are all they can cling to as Avalon dies around them.

But Tabby doesn't want to be a replacement for her sister, and her growing attachment to Liam feels like a betrayal. As Avalon fades around them, Liam and Tabby must rely on each other-- or be lost with the ancient kingdom forever.


Albion’s Circle: The Deepest Cut
Jessica Jarman

For nineteen years, Anna has been plagued by dreams of lives lived only in legend. Finally free from the family that believed her hopeless and worthless, she’s ready to start her life over—alone.

When Anna meets an enigmatic stranger claiming to be the legendary wizard Merlin, she is forced to question the very reality she’s struggled to accept. With the mythic figures from her dreams intruding on her waking life, Anna learns that she’s been reborn to fight an ancient evil alongside King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Caught in an ages old conflict, Anna is the key to stopping a dark magic that will destroy the world—and Merlin wants to make sure that this time, Anna isn’t alone.


A Choice Fit For A Queen
Jenny Trout
writing as
Abigail Barnette

For perpetual overachiever Madison Lane, a summer studying Arthurian mythology in the Welsh countryside with professor Thomas Evans is a dream come true, and the adventure of a lifetime.

Of course, the enormous crush Madison developed on the professor after a semester of his lectures at U of M has absolutely nothing to do with her desire to learn more about the enduring legend of Camelot. At least, that’s what she’s telling her parents.

When Madison meets fellow student Rhys Crewe, sparks fly, throwing her plans for wild fling with Professor Evans completely out of whack—as do her unexpectedly complicated feelings for Thomas. With tales of Arthur and Lancelot haunting her every waking moment, Madison has to make the most difficult choice of her life.





Jessica Jarman is an author, blogger, and rather obsessive fangirl. Having grown up in Upper Michigan and currently living in Minnesota, she is a Midwestern girl through and through. And wouldn’t have it any other way.

When Jessica isn't working to get words on the page, she passes the time with her amazing husband and four children, attempting to be crafty (and failing miserably), squeeing uncontrollably over her favorite shows or curling up with a good book. 







Bronwyn Green is an author, blogger and compulsive crafter. She lives Michigan with her husband, two sons and three somewhat psychotic cats. When not frantically writing, she can be found helping in her youngest son’s classroom or binge-watching Netflix while working on her latest craft project.








Abigail Barnette (Jenny Trout) is a writer, blogger, and funny person. She has written award winning and bestselling erotic romance as Abigail Barnette. Writing as Jennifer Armintrout, she made the USA Today bestseller list with Blood Ties Book One: The Turning. Her novel American Vampire was named one of the top ten horror novels of 2011 by Booklist Magazine Online. She is a proud Michigander, mother of two, and wife to the only person alive capable of spending extended periods of time with her without wanting to strangle her. Visit her on twitter (@Jenny_Trout) or at her blog, jennytrout.com.
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