Amazing, Epic, and Mind-Blowing News...IWSG and a Giveaway

Have you dealt with health challenges?

For 4 or 5 years now, I've been struggling. The last 3 years have been a slow improvement from a really bad place, and all that time I've been writing but longing for something completely different, something that would probably prevent me from writing.

I finally got my wish. With over a year of miscarriage after miscarriage behind us, we are expecting.

My writing may slow down, but I'm one happy mama. (So what if there's a 8.5 year gap between kids?) Life is good, and I think when we hit these moments, we really just have to enjoy them because the rain will come soon enough.

Speaking of which, here's some confetti for IWSG's 3 year anniversary!

Are you happy about something today?

Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, Laura Howard shared her THE FORGOTTEN ONES with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win her ebook.  

Laura's game: 

1. Laura's favorite number is 9. 
2. She's the mother of two sets of twins.
3. All four of her kids names end with the letter "n."

And the lie is:

#2. She does have 4 kids, but she can't actually imagine having them so close together. (And I'll second that!)

Way to guess those of you who got it right! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Cherie Reich!

Congrats Cherie! 

And now to today's feature:

Babylon, one of the most powerful and notorious empires ever, is the last place Mark wants to go. But when he discovers his girlfriend Miranda has been kidnapped and given to the king as a concubine, he travels through the colors of time to rescue her. It won’t be easy, not when the Hanging Gardens are a trap, his life is the prize in a game, and time is a prison. It will take all Mark’s cunning, the help of his friends, and a crazed chimp to free Miranda. When he does, time itself begins to unravel, and a life must be sacrificed or no one will survive.

Get your copy HERE.

C. M. Keller is Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarter finalist and the author of SCREWING UP TIME, SCREWING UP BABYLON, SCREWING UP ALEXANDRIA, and the short story "Screwing Up Mongolia." She loves old movies and poison rings. She and her husband have four children and she's currently working on her next YA novel, the fourth book in Mark and Miranda's story. 

She dies for an amazing Roquefort Carles cheese that she had in Le Grand Vefour in Paris. (Hand-made cheese from the milk of a Lacaune sheep that grazes on the grass of the Causses plateau.)  

C. M. gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win TWO of her eBooks, Screwing Up Time and Screwing Up Babylon. How awesome is that?

You have until Tuesday, September 9, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on September 10.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. C.M. kissed a gargoyle on Notre Dame cathedral. 
2. When she was a teenager, she drove the car with her eyes closed several times.
3. She has a rare auto-immune disease that makes her hair fall out. 

Which is the lie? Do you have any good news to share? Do you love time travel stories? When was the last time something truly amazing happened in your life? 

Do the Dead Hope?

This last week we lost a valuable and optimistic member of our blogging community, Tina Downey. It left me thinking about death. (Imagine that.)

Have you lost someone dear to you? I've lost several. The first one was my great grandmother when I was 16. She encouraged my budding music talents and losing her was like losing my muse. Several years later I lost my father, and hero, to cancer. The next year I lost a brother--the happiest person I've ever known.

Death to me is very personal, and it's also a symbol of hope.

Hope you ask?

Yes, hope. I believe in an afterlife. I believe I will be reunited with my loved ones, and although I miss them frequently, the pain is bearable because I trust in that distant sunrise when I'll see their faces again and hug the stuffing out of them.

Some people might call that hope crazy. How can I believe what I can't see? Well, because I trust what I feel. I believe those we love who've moved on to the other side are watching over us. I've felt them, encouraging me along during the dark corridors of my life, and how can I mistake the love and steady assurances of my father? We are far less alone than we believe.

Death is sad. It's hard to be parted physically, but it is an opportunity to embrace the life-sustaining power of hope.

Enough of deep thoughts, eh? Ready to guess the lie and win a book? 

Last week, Mary Pax shared her RIFTERS series with us, along with two truths and one lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win her ebooks.  

Mary's game: 

1. Mary stood behind Kurt Vonnegut once in line at a newstand. They spoke for hours in the gardens of Dag Hammerskjold smoking Shermans. 
2. She went on a ghost hunt in the Caribbean. On Nevis there’s a tale about a woeful bride who had a fateful wedding day.
3. On the first date with her husband unit, she hit his car. She was pretty sure there’d be no second date. Fooled her! 

And the lie is:

#1. It's true, Mary stood behind Kurt Vonnegut once and she did smoke once upon a time and started smoking the same cigarettes he did, but she was too chicken to talk to him. 

Way to guess those of you who got it right! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Lynda R Young!

Congrats Lynda! 

And now to today's feature:

Allison O'Malley's plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she's been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison's mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn't trust her father, so why would she believe his fairy tale about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother's sanity.

Get your copy HERE.

Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn't until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known.

You might stumble across Laura eating gooey cream cheese on an onion bagel in her dining room, although she likes just about any cheese. 

Laura gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win her eBook. How awesome is that?

You have until Tuesday, September 2, at 1 p.m. EDT to guess--and be sure to come back for the answer on September 3rd.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. Laura's favorite number is 9. 
2. She's the mother of two sets of twins.
3. All four of her kids names end with the letter "n."

Which is the lie? What do you believe about death? Have you lost a close loved one? Do you love fairy stories?