My Living Will - Courtesy of Maxine!

As you may know I am an Attorney. A friend sent this to me a month or so ago and I just got around to looking at the email yesterday. It so happened I was preparing Living Wills for some clients and this sure perked up my day! I had to share the smile. I have made a few revisions, noted in red, to personalize this for me! *GRIN*

I,  MAXINE MARTHA,  being of sound mind and body, (ya think?)
 do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means.
Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands
of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology
if their lives depended on it,
or lawyers and doctors interested in simply
running up the bills (yours truly excluded).
If a reasonable amount of time passes 
and I fail to ask for at least one of the following:

Glass of wine
Chocolate
Margarita
Sex
Chocolate Martini
Cold Beer Books
Chocolate
Sex
Chicken fried steak
Cream Gravy Audio Books
Chocolate
Mexican Food
Chocolate
French Fries
Sex
Chocolate
Pizza
Chocolate Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Cup of Tea
Chocolate
Sex
Chocolate
Kindle with Books 

 It should be presumed that I won't ever get better.  
When such a determination is reached, 
I hereby instruct my appointed person 
and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the
tubes and call it a day.

Have a Happy Tuesday!

It's Monday! What are you Reading June 28 2010?

This meme starts at One Person's Journey Through A World of Books!

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


I had another good week although I only finished two books. I completed several reviews and posted three new Hachette giveaways this week.

I didn't get to visit many other blogs and those I did visit were mostly not until Saturday.

Finished:
PB:  To Surrender To A Rogue (Circle of Sin Trilogy) by Cara Elliott.
Check out my Review, Q&A with the Author and Giveaway.



Kindle: Have the new Kindle but haven't transferred files yet.

Audio CD: Half way.

Audible: A Touch of Dead by Charlene Harris. I enjoyed listening to this while my Kindle was broken. The stories were fun.

Product Description

Every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written-in one special volume-from the New York Times bestselling author.

New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has re-imagined the supernatural world with her "spunky" (Tampa Tribune) Southern Vampire novels starring telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Now, for the first time, here is every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written-together in one volume.

Stories include "Fairy Dust," "One Word Answer," "Dracula Night," "Lucky," and "Giftwrap."

 Line Edits: Almost finished.

Currently reading:

PB: Risk No Secrets (Black Ops, Inc.) Cindy Gerard.  I just started this for Pajama Club Book Club through Romance in the Backseat. 

Product Description

A deadly international mission reunites a sexy Black Ops, Inc. hero and his sizzling former love in Cindy Gerard’s seductive new romantic thriller. A RED-HOT ATTRACTION . . .Twelve years of chasing bad guys didn’t erase beautiful Sophie Baylor from Wyatt Savage’s memory. If he had another chance, he’d never let her leave. So when she tracks him down from El Salvador and begs for help, he doesn’t ask questions—he just goes.STARTS WITH A TERRIFYING THREAT . . .Sophie is grateful her daughter survived a kidnapping attempt, but she won’t forgive herself until the girl who was mistakenly abducted is safe. Wyatt is the only man brave enough to take on the mysterious terrorists behind the crime—and the one irresistible man she wishes she had never let go. . . . AND UNLEASHES AN UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE.Sophie knows Central America’s steamy jungles and sticky politics better than anyone. Yet she refuses to hide in fear. Then she becomes the enemy’s number one target. Wyatt lost her once, and he won’t lose her again—even if he has to fight, kill, or die to save her.

PB: The Wild Irish Sea: A windswept tale of love and magic by Loucinda McGary
This got bumped one book by Rish No Secrets but I will start it this week. Reviewing for Sourcebooks to post in July.

Product Description

Drawn to a force he can't resist...
Former police officer Kevin Hennessey is running from his past-choosing to battle smugglers instead of dealing with his personal demons. When a desperate, rain-drenched American woman appears on his doorstep with wild tales of danger, Kevin is drawn to helping her, despite his reservations...
She never saw him coming...
Amber O'Neill knew without a doubt that her brother was in mortal danger. Rushing heedlessly to the rocky shores of Ireland, Amber was stunned to find her rescue mission derailed by a gorgeous, but deeply flawed Irishman...
The tumultuous sea, the intertwined fates of the coastal villagers, and unearthly tales of a hidden selkie prince bring Kevin and Amber together in a connection of mind, body, and soul that neither can deny...

Kindle: Loading data this week.

Audio CD:  The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker. Half way done - good story. Lots of detail on mental illness is this book.
Reviewing for Hachette.

Product Description

FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellbeing and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target.

The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?

Line Edits: Nearly done line edits on Fourth Son by Joy Brooks.
                   Will start on line edits for Exis: Gods, Ghosts & Battered Cellphones by Anne Abad

Upcoming books:

PB: Still the One by Robin Wells. Upcoming Hachette review and Giveaway.

Barely a Lady (The Drake's Rakes series) by Eileen Dreyer. Upcoming Hachette Blog Tour review and Giveaway - July 10, 2010.

The Fire Lord's Lover (The Elven Lords) by Kathryne Kennedy. Reviewing for Sourcebooks; to post in July.

Kindle: none in queue.

Sunday Words of Encouragement June 27, 2010

This morning our Pastor continued in Ephesians with a message that could be titled: By Grace.
See Eph 2: 8-10.
Pastor shared William Barkley's seven reasons why salvation is a free gift:
1. Man cannot make God owe him.
2. Man cannot bring perfection to God.
3. Man cannot make God forgive him.
4. Man cannot heal God's heart.
5. Man cannot save himself.
6. Man cannot make God love him.
7. Man cannot set himself free and bring about liberty of conscience.

I had picked out a beautiful video with the song Your Grace Still Amazes me by Phillips, Craig and Dean. Then I saw this video and thought it fit so well today.

Were it Not for Grace written by Larnelle Harris

Verses for today:

Ephesians 2:8-10 New International Version

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

William Barclay quote:  "The tragedy of life and of the world is not that men do not know God; the tragedy is that, knowing Him, they still insist on going their own way."
We prayed this morning to help us rely on God's Grace and not our own efforts.
We also prayed for God's hand to help in the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Giveaway Five Copies - To Surrender to a Rogue by Cara Elliott

Check out my review:  "This really is an entertaining historical romance with the rogue rescuing the damsel in distress."

To Surrender To A Rogue (Circle of Sin Trilogy) 

by Cara Elliott

THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO HACHETTE AND ANNA for the opportunity host this give away.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY:

1. For your main entry make a comment on one of these three items a) - c). Make sure you leave your e-mail address!
a) Tell me something special you like about art lessons or archeology.
b) Check out the Author's Website and tell me something you found interesting there.OR
c) You can visit five fun facts and comment on one of those.

2. For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

3. For another entry, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

4. For TWO extra entries comment on the review post.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Five total entries possible.)  MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL!  Five winners!

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.

* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons

* This contest will close Midnight (Central) on July  19, 2010. The winners will be randomly selected from all entries.

Review - To Surrender to a Rogue by Cara Elliott

Enjoy a very sexy adventure with a beautiful antiquities expert and a devilish rogue.
As Mary Putney says on the cover, this is "A sexy read."
Title: To Surrender To A Rogue (Circle of Sin Trilogy)
Author: Cara Elliott

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forever (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446541311
• ISBN-13: 978-0446541312

Rating: 4.5 of 5

 Product Description:

An expert in antiquities, Lady Alessandra della Giamatti arrives in Bath to excavate newly discovered Roman ruins-only to find herself caught in a web of evil intrigue by a blackmailer threatening to expose her scandalous past. The one man who can help her is Lord James "Black Jack" Pierson, a fellow member of the expedition and a sinfully handsome rogue whose tempting presence ignites a different sort of danger.

Jack has clashed with Alessandra in the past, so when she suddenly surrenders her body he can't help being suspicious. Is she a scheming temptress? Or is she truly a lady in trouble? As desire and deceptions swirl around them, Alessandra and Jack must find a way to win each other's trust. For if they don't work together to uncover a shocking truth, their enemy-and their own simmering passions-may destroy them and everything they cherish.

Review:  This really is an entertaining historical romance with the rogue rescuing the damsel in distress.

Lady Alessandra is as smart as she is beautiful.  Both she and her six year old daughter, Isabella, are rather brazen and have the fiery Italian temperament.  Alessandra had trusted the wrong man after the death of her husband and now that man is back to blackmail her with threats to harm Isabella.

Lord James “Black Jack” is a wonderfully handsome, artistic and surprisingly sensitive rogue. Who would think that this nobleman, a former military man with a “dangerous” reputation, would be a studying artist.  Or that he would be seriously interested in working on an archaeological dig?

The clash between the volatile Italian and the stubborn rogue is immediate. The story has a great opening line: “You tied my daughter to a tree?” With that you just know that sparks are going to fly.  There is good relational conflict between the heroine and hero that keeps the book lively. Alessandra has reason to hold her secrets and not trust any man but she longs for the steely strength and safety she senses when she is with Jack.  Jack is strongly attracted to Alessandra but he begins to suspect that something “havey-cavey” is going on and he doesn’t know if she is a superb liar and actress or an innocent caught in a bad situation.  Fortunately they are able to come to trust each other but circumstances still put Alessandra and Isabella in danger.

There is an appropriately smarmy villain who is working in cahoots with others whom Alessandra does not at first realize are involved. I really like how cleverly Jack is able to set up defenses to foil the villain and how he listens to his military instincts to come to Alessandra’s rescue. Here is a description I really like when Jack claims that he is able to fight the battles they must face he says: "Pierson men are born soldiers, formed from steel and gunpowder."

At the beginning of the book I thought it was a bit heavy on the sexual imaginations and visual pictures. This smooths out as you continue to read so that the innuendos blend better with the plot line and character developments and “sex on the mind” does not seem so emphasized.  When the author gets to some sexual scenes with our passionate couple those scenes are creative in setting and technique.  They are nicely steamy and not vulgar.

The story brims with the snipping conflict and later tension and danger. The well defined characters, intriguing plot and finally the steamy romance make this a solidly entertaining read.

xxx

This book was supplied by Hachette to review and host for giveaway.
Enter the giveaway to win one of five copies!