Wordless Wednesday: Cover Love

Teaser Tuesdays: Nobody but You by Jill Shalvis

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 108 of Nobody but You by Jill Shalvis:

"I know you're mad at me," he said. "And you have good reason. I shouldn't have left like I did. And I shouldn't have stayed away."

Harry Potter!

To say that I am excited about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a major understatement! My kids are excited about this book, too! We are going to our local Barnes and Noble this evening to celebrate the release of the book and to purchase it at midnight! My children have been to the Harry Potter release parties in the past. One vaguely remembers and the other was an infant so definitely does not remember being there. They have been looking forward to this as much - and possibly even more - as I have. They came to me earlier in the week and said that they didn't have Harry Potter t-shirts for the party and could we please get some. OF COURSE I said yes and we went shopping for them. So tonight we'll all be wearing our new Harry Potter t-shirts and celebrating the release of the new book.

I heard someone talking about the Harry Potter excitement on the radio today. She said with so many disheartening things going on in the world it is so nice to see so many people excited about reading and getting a book. I completely agree with her! Also, I read that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the highest selling book (at Barnes and Noble, at least) since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released nine years ago. To me that is an amazing fact! So, is anyone else excited about this book? If so, are you going to any of the celebrations or buying it at midnight?

Crochet dream catcher

Emily from The Loopy Stitch shared a gorgeous pattern for the above Dream Catcher. It looks complicated but it was actually very easy! Her pattern is perfect and the directions to attach it to the loop are clear and concise. I'm in love with this and will definitely be making more!

Baseball

We went to the baseball game tonight. The Angels played the Red Sox. The Angels won 2 - 1. They scored both of their runs in the ninth inning. The Red Sox scored their run in the third inning. We almost left at the bottom of the eighth but my husband wanted to stay. To say that it was an amazing end to the game would be an understatement. 

Wordless Wednesday: A beautiful book

Teaser Tuesdays: Troublemaker by Linda Howard

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 41 of Troublemaker by Linda Howard:

The house she hadn't wanted was now home. She was comfortable there, even though hands-down she would have preferred a condo in a city. 

Musing Mondays: Favorite 'chunky' book

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What’s your most favorite “chunky” book? (over 500 pages)

I have more than one 'chunky' book that I adore. However, the one that comes to mind right away is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The hardcover comes in at 652 pages. I have no idea how many pages the paperback is but I assume more than that. Of course, I have Harry Potter on thebrain since the new book/play comes out on Sunday. My kids and I are all excited to get our hands on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. 

Reading outdoors

Yes, it's another shot from our trip to the beach the other day. However, this particular image made me think about how much I love to read outdoors. I love to read wherever and whenever but there is something so special and extra relaxing to me about reading outdoors. At the beach it's the sound of the ocean crashing ashore. On my back patio it's the hummingbirds I get to listen to in the morning. In the mountains it can be an array of sounds - animals, creek water, the breeze rustling the trees. Of course, mixed in with all of it is often the laughter (and yes, interruptions) of my children. I admit I don't get a lot of reading done when we're in the outdoors together because I want to participate in whatever activity we're doing but I do always have a book (or my e-reader) with me. For example, when we went to the beach the other day I think I managed three pages. Still, I love reading outdoors. How about you? Is there a special, relaxing place that you love to read?

Back to the Beach

I wish my family and I were at the beach right now. It is SO HOT here! Yes, I know it's summer time. It's supposed to be hot but still, the beach is paradise during these sweltering days of summer. Also, we had a really great and relaxing family day at the beach. Those kind of days are my favorite.

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset at Laguna Beach

Teaser Tuesdays: Thrill Me by Susan Mallery

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from Nook page 68 of Susan Mallery's Thrill Me:

"I'm sorry," she told him. "About what happened. About what I said. I know it's too late and that hearing it now doesn't change anything, but I want you to know, I lied."

Musing Mondays: New books

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Finish the sentence: “If _____ and _____ were to get together and write a book…”

I was reading through the list of prompts above and thought I didn't buy any books in the past week because I was at the RWA conference. However, that is not at all true because I went to the Literacy Autographing last Wednesday and bought books there. I bought The Obsession by Nora Roberts and she signed it. I already have the book on my Nook but of course I wanted to meet her and have her sign it so now I have it in hardcover, as well. I'm perfectly all right with this too because it is a great book. Plus, I met Nora Roberts! Yes, I am still giddy about that!

I also bought two books by Jill Shalvis at the Literacy Autographing: Nobody but You and Sweet Little Lies. I haven't read either of these and I'm excited to get into them in the near future. Jill Shalvis was also very nice and signed my books. It was quite the fun experience and definitely my fangirl moment(s) at the conference. 

So happy to be home

The RWA conference was amazing. I learned a lot and am ready to get back to my writing. That being said, I am so thrilled to be home! I'm happy to see my husband! I'm happy to see my kids! I'm also happy about sleeping in my own bed! In fact, I already had a nap earlier this afternoon and it was wonderful! 

Pretty pool at our hotel

THe RWA conference is complete for this year. It was amazing on so many levels. I'm so grateful to have gone to this conference and I will most likely be sharing the things I learned. I will say that I feel so positive about my journey and my path as a writer. I'm excited and ready to get back to work.