It’s been a hard year. I’m thankful that none of my
family has Covid. I pray your family has been well and safe too.
Since the beginning of the year to the end of
November, I wrote continuously, completing two manuscripts. One is a Women’s
Fiction, and the other is a sweet Romance story of a woman working on an
offshore oil rig. Now the work begins.
Writing and caring for my Jane has kept me busy and probably on the sane side of life. I think!
I'm trying to decide what my goals will be for 2021. So far this is what I have
1. Finish editing the two novels I wrote during lockdown
2. Publish the two novels
3. Complete a short story to give away
4. Take care of myself - exercise and eat healthy
What have you done to keep busy during 2020?
Do you have any goals for 2021? I'd love to hear from you.
Thank you so much for following my blog. For my appreciation I'd like to give you a free gift.
Let’s remember the true meaning of Christmas and feel
the spirit lift us up. We must be
positive and plan on brighter days ahead.
Bless you all,
xoxo Judy
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
December Events
Sending you the best wishes for
the cold month of December.
Snow up to my knees, but this was November 2019. We've had snow off and on, but not much. On Thanksgiving morning we had our ground covered with snow, but it disappeared before the turkey was on the table.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was certainly different this
year. But I’m thankful that none of my family have been sick.
I’m praying this blog finds you and your family well
and living free from the virus.
Now that December has arrived, Two Authors, Books and
a Beverage video is now out for your review. CLICK HERE.
Please subscribe to our YouTube event and enter the
rafflecopter each month for giveaways. RAFFLECOPTER
Bonus Month: Mary is giving away a basket with goodies, along with her Cookbook;
Judy is giving away a signed copy of Karibou Magic for a fun Christmas read.
(US winner only) Be sure to enter all giveaways.
Our November YouTube is now live. We have a guest on our show this month, so please come join us. If you have any questions, email me at, twoauthorsbooks@gmail.com
If you're an author interested in being a guest on our show, don't hesitate to contact me. Also, you're invited to enter our drawing for a bag of goodies and two author signed books from Mary Martinez and me (US winner; International winner receives two ebooks and $10 Amazon gift card).Giveaways
This is also, NaNoWriMo and I'm participating. I don't usually participate in the NaNo writing month because November is such a busy month heading into the holidays. But, like all the rest of you, it's different this year. Covid-19 has changed so much in our lives, requiring us to adapt. Hence, I'm buckling down and writing a romance story for Christmas. Wish me luck. For those of you writing this month, best of luck on your writing goals.
Hope all is going well with you. I’m feeling sad that
the warm summer months are slipping away. Fall’s around the corner. Today it’s
supposed to be 91˚, but tomorrow will have a high of 58˚ and then back into the
80s. Falls approaching fast. I’m getting ready to put pictures of my pumpkins
on my newsletter. If you haven’t joined my newsletter please do at judybakerauthor.com
Onward:
Mary Martinez and I have a YouTube event going on. It
started September 1st and we’re excited to have you join us.
Be sure to subscribe so you do not miss out on whatever goodies we are
giving away. Winners will be announced the next month. All questions will be
answered, just email them at twoauthorsbooks@gmail.com
I have to apologize for my glitches on the video – computer
issues!!!! I now have a new computer – yeah.
Now that many of you are
spending more time at home than usual, I have a great cookbook to share with
you. My friend and author has released her cookbook with load of wonderful recipes.
Welcome, Mary.
I am so excited to have my new cook book out. It’s been five years
in the making. And it’s not even that big.
Why a cookbook? Let
me tell you a short story. A few years ago, I took a trip with friends and
family to the Big Apple. We had a wonderful time, saw a Broadway show, Yankee
game, and all the other sights. I’m a picture taker and took over 1000
pictures, I’m so not exaggerating.
When I developed my pictures, I put them into a scrapbook. That’s when I had
the shock of my life. I didn’t even recognize myself. Who was that heavy person
who sort of had my face? I knew I’d been gaining a bit of weight. But it was
now, way more than a bit of weight.
After looking at the pictures and getting the shock of my life I promptly
called my doctor. I cried on her shoulder and together we came up with a
plan.
It took me a year, but I lost 78 lbs. That was several years ago.
I’ve regained some back, but I think it is more that my weight has settled to a
healthy level. I still fit in to the clothes I bought after I lost all that
weight. I feel great. Once in a while I have to really focus to maintain, but
most the time I just do my best to eat smaller portions and only treat myself
to high calorie foods on special occasions.
I’m just an everyday working girl who doesn’t have much time to cook who wants
to maintain my weight and eat healthy without feeling like I’m on a
diet! I’m just an average person, no famous TV or professional Chef.
These are my own recipes and some may sound very familiar. They are not complicated,
most are very simple. The recipes included in this cookbook allow me to eat
what I want.
I'm just like you. I have a career, family and I love food!
However, I don't have much time to cook. I want to maintain my weight and eat
healthy without feeling like I'm on a diet.
I'm not a famous TV or professional Chef. I'm a home cook and
these are my recipes. Some may be familiar to you. It's food we all enjoy. The
recipes aren't complicated. So pour a glass of wine and let’s make something to
eat.
If you would like more recipes, please visit The After Work Cook
Blog. On top of my recipes, I have had guests on to share their
favorites. Theafterworkcook.blogspot.com
Mary lives in Magna, a little town west of Salt
Lake City, Utah. Together with her husband, she has six grown children, and six
wonderful grandsons and five beautiful granddaughters. She loves to spend time
with family and friends--she includes good books as friends! Mary and her husband love to travel, especially
to the Caribbean for relaxing, and Italy for the wine. And most recently she
discovered she was Irish and Scottish, of course they had to visit Ireland and
Scotland. Mary fell in love with both, but the green hills of Ireland felt like
home. With the experience from the exotic places she has visited, she is
able to fill her books with colorful descriptions of cities, painting a
colorful backdrop for her characters. One of her favorite US destinations is
New York/Brooklyn, where her beloved Beckett's live. When she visits, she can
wander their neighborhoods, favorite parks, and visit their favorite pub, Putnum's. They are avid concert ‘Ho’s’! Yes, they pretty
much want to do them all. They love outdoor amphitheaters the best and attend
as many during the warmer months as possible.
Mary writes mostly romantic suspense, romance,
women's fiction, and she has just begun to dabble in young adult mystery.
During her writing career she has been a conference coordinator, workshop
presenter, and chapter president for the Utah Chapter of RWA. In 2007 she was presented
with the Utah RWA service award in acknowledgment and appreciation for
outstanding service. Mary has also participated in numerous library panels on
writing and co-presented a workshop on writing a series at the League of Utah
Writers conference.
Mary also writes as ML Foxx. This is her first jaunt into Fantasy
and Sci-Fi, she loves it. It gives her freedom of choice. In her ML
persona she also loves to go to the movies and you got it… Watch the Avengers,
Dead Pool, among others. Something her hubby doesn't really enjoy but humors
her fantasy side. You’ll see more books soon… Mary and her husband are also enthusiastic
college football fans. They have season tickets to the UTES, University of Utah
Football and they tailgate every game. They love tailgating so much, that they
were married at a tailgating in 1999. GO UTES!
Cayme Foster returns home to deal with her
mom's fatal illness and is faced with memories and secrets she'd rather forget.
Her old crush and his adorable eight-year-old son will make it even more
difficult to leave town again.
Single dad Rick Morrison had his shot at
marriage and isn't willing to risk rejection a second time. If only he wasn't
compelled to rescue Cayme whenever he's around her, making it hard to keep his
distance.
He's conflicted about helping Cayme save her
home, but the truth rises with the floodwaters, and they just might find love
on the high ground after all. Visit Stanalei at https://www.stanaleifletcher.com to sign up for her
newsletter and be the first to receive news of release dates and cover reveals.
Stanalei has over twenty years of training in the martial arts and holds the rank of Sandan, a third-degree black belt, in Aikido. After a taste of life on both U.S. coasts, she now resides near the beautiful Wasatch Mountain Range with her husband. Together they enjoy back country dirt trails on a RZR, visiting our National Parks, or exploring museums and ghost towns. Hope you are doing well and finding time to read during these beautiful summer days.
Hope all is well during these hard times. While many of us are barely getting out, or still being careful and not going out too often, I have a book that you might like. My guest today is Mary Martinez giving us a preview of her second book of the Celtic Myst Trilogy, In Search of the Cupán of Flúirse, available now, June 1.
Celtic Myst Trilogy
In Search of the
Cupán of Flúirse Book 2
Release Date: June 1,
2020
A magical chalice, a
legacy with the dragons,
and a destiny forged
through the centuries.
BLURB
A
journey through the ages, a battle with evil, and a sacrifice for all that was
lost.
Aibell Brid, heir of the de Danann clan will
need more than courage to find the lost relic of her clan. When the time comes,
will she be ready to face her greatest enemy? With protector and guardian
Amergin, she plans for battle, honing her skills, preparing for the day she can
reclaim the Cupán of Flúirse.
Knowledge is power and strength is in numbers.
Amergin must trust in the words of Gaylord the Great. He will know when the
time is near. With Aibell and a force of brave, trusted souls, they will face
the witch, destroy her dark forces and reclaim the Cupán of Flúirse.
Excerpt:
New York City 1890’s
Aibey thought her arm would fall
off, she’d scrubbed everything in the place, and yet it still looked as it had
when she walked in several days earlier. The grime seemed to be ingrained deep
in the wood. Fine. She had been determined not to use any aid as she had
learned the hard way over the centuries it was not safe to do so. People were
far more closed minded now than they had been when she left Inis Fail. She
closed her eyes a moment and reminded herself, Ireland.
She walked to the center of the
room raised her arms, then frowned. Had she locked the door? Best check. She
lowered her arms and turned as she did so the door opened. Her heart dropped to
her toes. In the next instant she crouched ready for battle. A bow with arrow
ready appeared in her hands at the same instant.
“Whoa, Aibey girl.”
Relief swept over her and she stood
and scowled at her longtime companion and mentor. “You scared the living
daylights out of me, Amergin.”
He took a walk around the room,
then turned to her with a scowl of his own. “What have you been doing all week?
The supplies will be here and you’ll have not a clean cupboard to place them
in. And where are your helpers?”
She refused to defend herself. She
was exhausted from cleaning the cussed place. It was as if it had a mind of its
own, and was determined to defeat her at every scrub of the cloth.
“Cara went with LaSalle.”
Amergin swept a finger across the
bar and frowned when it came up clean. “Is this place painted with the color
grime?”
“Aye, I believe so.”
He frowned. “Where did they go?”
His expression cleared. “Wait. He was going to that brewing company to get some
supplies.”
“Aye, he has some ideas for brewing
a lager.”
Amergin walked around a bit more
and then returned to the topic of cleaning. “Why did you not clean it…?”
He glanced toward the door as if
expecting it to open. Aibey went to the door, flipped the lock and drew the
heavy drapes across the one window in the front. Gloom blanketed the room.
Amergin scraped a flint and lifted the glass and lit the lamp.
Knowing what he referred to she did
not answer but once again stepped toward the center of the room to raise her
arms. She started with a slow turn as she gained momentum her toes lifted from
the ground. She was about to the ceiling when she spread her arms wide as she
spun.
“Take thy grime and sweep away.
Replace with spit and shine. Rodents and other such varmints are not welcome in
this establishment. Only good may pass through the portal. If evil manages to
enter under the guise of good, the food will taste sour, the ale will become
bitter. Evil will not blame their plight on this tavern but on some unknown
ailment. Yet they will never pass through these doors again. As I say, so mote
it be.”
The last word echoed over the room
as her spin slowed and her feet touched the ground.
“You covered it all.”
“I figured you will enforce my
words when you cast your circle before we open our doors to the public.”
“Aye that I will.”
Aibey placed her hands on her hips
and gave a full turn this time smiling at the shiny bar and sparkling floors.
She would be ready to open.
“My supplies are to arrive any day.
That is if it is not confiscated by some miscreants along the way. And tomorrow
or the next day, LaSalle will be back to start his brewing. He has decided that
he will only brew for the tavern.”
She gave her attention to Amergin
and looked him up and down. “You look very nice in your uniform, Amergin,
mayhap you can help tackle the crime.”
“In all of our travels I have never
seen a city so rife with debauchery. I will do my best to help control and
bring New York to the great city I feel…” He struck a fist to his chest. “…in
my heart she is meant to be.”
“I feel it too.” She sighed and
lost some of the joy of her new adventure. “I miss Inis Fail.”
Forged by the gods, the Cupán of Flúirse is born under
the thunder of Taranis, fashioned with symbols of the elements to bring peace
and abundance to the clans.
Element of the air, Amergin is a faithful protector and
guardian. Through the years, he’s guided the other elements and reigned over
times of peace, prosperity, and royal births.
However, the witch Mourdra, is plagued with jealousy over
the clans. They hold dear all she desires…and has been denied. The fire dragon
and Klenidalf, an evil wizard are tasked to do her bidding, to plunder the
clans…and steal the Cupán of Flúirse.
Without the sacred chalice, Amergin is condemned to wander
the Earth, those he’s vowed to protect out of his reach.
Buy Links: eBookOn sale for $.99 Thru June 6, 2020
A prophecy, a final epic battle and a mystery revealed.
To fulfill the prophecy, the Cupán of Flúirse needs to be
returned to its right place, the Tomb of the Tuatha de Danann. However, through
the centuries the location has been lost.
Amergin is again entrusted with the responsibility to guide
the de Danann’s to fulfill their destiny. On their mission, Gaylord the Great
vows they will encounter three foes in order to reach their destination. To
find the lost tomb, they must travel in darkness in increments of three. They
must survive battle with their nemesis and make their way across Inis Fail on
foot and horseback in six dark moons.
In this epic conclusion, Amergin discovers sometimes the
most important quests sought in the future, must be accomplished in the past.
