UPDATE: The winner is…Cindy!
*~*~*

I know some of y’all are still dealing with freezing temperatures and snow on the ground, but we’re getting 70-degree weather this week, so our family’s thoughts are turning to Spring Cleaning!

I thought it might be fun to list the things that pop into my mind which constitute Spring Cleaning here on our little farm. We have to get the pool cleaned up, pressure wash the mold and “green stuff” off the outside of buildings, finish preparing the chicken coop for the chicks we’ve been raising—so far, all 18 are thriving! Plus, all the yard and housework that has to be done.

Maybe I left something off the list. Maybe you have other chores you incorporate into your springtime routine. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me if any of the things I listed fit your routine or if you have items you need to add to the list! Enjoy the puzzle!

It’s Monday. I have an appointment with the doctor regarding my hand. I’m hoping he’ll say I don’t have to wear the splint anymore. I still get twinges when I turn my hand a certain way or hold something heavy (a full coffee cup!). Maybe he’ll tell me I can take it off when I type. That would be enough to make me very, very happy.

I mentioned before that my dd and I went to the flea market with two of the kids last Saturday. Thought I’d share a couple of our found “treasures.” This first one is a ceramic cup from Germany dating back to the 90s. No real value here, but we collect this sort of thing and use them. I have a very nice set of pottery dishes I bought when I was stationed there, so it’s a nostalgic treasure for us both.

Then there’s this mustachioed man.

My daughter collects vintage Pyrex and has joined all kinds of online Pyrex groups. Some of the avid collectors decorate their display cabinets with vintage ceramic figurines. She found this man-with-a-moustache cup, and when she Googled it, she discovered it’s highly collectable. It’s called something like the “gay moustache man.” A cookie jar of this pattern sold for over $300, so she thinks the 2 bucks she paid was well-spent, and doesn’t he look cute in the cabinet?

My best find was an antique book with yellowed pages and illustrations. Something about a boy who goes on a journey to become a knight. The pages are falling out of it and are very brittle, so I won’t feel the least bit guilty about tearing them out for collaging. I also found a Japanese divided bowl with a pretty, ornate cover. I figure I will use it on my beading table to store something. Just because it’s a workspace doesn’t mean it can’t be pretty. (Not that it is now. It’s a junky mess!)

Anyways, it’s Monday. Time to get my butt in gear. I have tons to accomplish! Do you have a lot on your plate to accomplish, too?

Open Contests

1. Sunday Tarot (Contest) — Win a hand-painted bookmark!
2. Gabbi Black: Romances Around the World! (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
3. Sliding-Puzzle Challenge: Woman Fleeing Dragon (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Why is she leaving…? — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Cover Reveal for Silver Soldiers! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

The seventh A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology is coming soon! This time the theme is mature warriors—those ex-military silver fox soldiers! The stories are short and very, very sexy!

In the coming weeks, the authors who contributed stories will be stopping in at the Delilah’s Collections website to chat about their stories and what inspired them. There will be contests! In fact, there’s one running on that website now. Go check it out! There’s a $10 GC to win!  Delilah’s Collections

Also, be sure to pre-order your copy now! This thick, juicy collection of 14 short stories will cost you only $0.99! Pre-order your copy of Silver Soldiers now!

UPDATE: The winner is…Sara DoMoe!
*~*~*

It’s Saturday! I’m taking a break from work today to head to the flea market with the girls (my daughter and two granddaughters). We love our “treasure hunts.”

While I’m flitting about, I have a puzzle for you!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me why she is leaving. Have fun!

Also, take a peek at yesterday’s art challenge! I know, I know, I shouldn’t share these every day, but I’m having so much fun!

Good morning! I got a later start than usual because I spilled a full tumbler of water on my desktop. My cursing scared the cats. My desktop is a little crowded, so I was quickly moving items to the floor before I ran for a towel. Then because the desktop was clean, I got out the Old English and gave the desk its annual “oiling.” I had to toss a couple of notepads, and I’m drying some photos with paperweights to flatten them back out. I don’t need that kind of excitement. Isn’t it sad that soaking my desk constitutes excitement in my life?

Anyways, work is coming along. I didn’t get to write any new pages yesterday, but I made great progress on an editing job. I also played with paint, which was my day’s shining highlight. I’m sharing one of the results below. Sorry, I know you’re readers and would rather hear about books, but this is my blog and my life. So there! 🙂

Open Contests

1. Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: A Phoenix Rising from the Ashes — Hannah Elias (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! Happy World Pangolin Day! — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Sunday Tarot (Contest) — Win a hand-painted bookmark!
4. Gabbi Black: Romances Around the World! (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
5. Little Update, Minimal Whining, and Giveaway Reminder! — This offer ends soon! Everyone, pick up your free copy right now!
6. Sliding-Puzzle Challenge: Woman Fleeing Dragon (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift certificate!

I promise not to share my art every day, but I’m at the start of the 100-day challenge, and I’m excited!

#100DayProject — Day 2

Broken hand…splint in the way…what could I do? I decided to get out the Gelli plates and used my daughter’s wilting flowers to smash into paint and see what I could get. I love this. The picture doesn’t do it justice. There’s so much detail in the chrysanthemums’ petals. Plus, there’s glare from the overhead light, so you can’t really see the depth of color (magenta, Indian yellow, cadmium orange). For most of my monoprints, I only plan to cut them up for collaging, but I’m tempted to cut a larger section of this to glue to a piece of thick art paper and frame it. But it will need a title. Any suggestions? 

UPDATE: The winner is…Becky Byers!
*~*~*

I’m coping with the hand. I’ve been doing a ton of edits. Yesterday, I finished another chapter of Mica! So, while I’m slow, I’m also steadily getting the work done.

I also decided not to throw in the towel for the #The100DayProject—that annual art challenge I so love. I decided my weakened, hobbled right hand could be an asset and tried this…

They are “twinchies”—two-inch squares—and used a dip pen (plus a blower bulb on the second one) and acrylic ink to draw these squiggly, shaky flowers. So, Day 1 is done! Woot!

I decided I’d give another kind of puzzle a try. Just to switch things up. And it’s easy-ish to operate, but challenging like a Rubik’s cube to move the puzzle pieces to the right places. See the grayed square? If you tap on any regular square around it, those two pieces will change places. The numbers tell you the order the pieces should be in. So, good luck. I got three in place before I had to take a break. I’m leaving that screen open so I can come back to it and not start all over again!!

So, today’s contest? Play with the puzzle. Then in the comments, 1) tell me how many pieces you got into the right place before you threw up your hands, and 2) whether you want me to give you this kind of puzzle again sometime. I’ll choose a random commenter to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun!

Unless you’re a vampire, you’re probably not fond of the shorter days this time of year. I know I’m not. It’s February, the time of year where winter still has you firmly in her icy grip and spring is still far out of reach.

What do you do to get through these dark weeks?

Personally, I enjoy burrowing under a fleecy blanket on the corner of the sofa with the television remote control and a book. Add the occasional cup of tea and bowl of snacks and I’m set. If you’re being honest, you probably do the same thing too…and there’s nothing wrong with that. We all need some comfort these days.

It’s easy this time of year for physical activity to fall by the wayside. It’s bitterly cold, snowy, and windy where I live, and I’ve never been a fan of outdoor sports…or cold, for that matter. That’s not good for me, considering my job means I spend endless hours sitting at a keyboard. I try to make myself get up and walk around the apartment many times throughout the day, do some easy yoga a few days a week. It all helps.

It’s a great time of year to take up a new hobby or rediscover your love of an old one. Maybe dig out that new recipe you’ve been meaning to try. There are plenty of ideas online if you’re looking for inspiration. You can find videos about practically anything on YouTube. It’s fun to see what other people are creating.

Whatever you do, I hope you take advantage of these long, dark days of winter. Enjoy yourself and make the most of this quieter time of year.

And if you’re looking for a new book and enjoy sexy, immortal assassin Viking warriors, you might want to check out my lateset release.

Hunter Avenged
Forgotten Brotherhood Book 6

It’s taken Viking hunter Sven Knutson six frustrating months to find her. To track down the angel responsible for compromising the Forgotten Brotherhood and waking the drakon. She may be clever. Resourceful. But no one ever gets away from Sven. Ever.

All Rivka longed for as an angel was a chance to serve on Earth and help humans. Instead, it all went impossibly, horribly wrong, and she still doesn’t understand how or even why. All she knows is that she’s on the run—not only from Heaven’s dangerous elite guard, but also from the Brotherhood, who want answers.

She might just have to trust the immortal Viking whose icy blue eyes make her feel almost wickedly human. Because someone wants Rivka dead and the Brotherhood eliminated. Someone powerful enough to take on the most dangerous assassins who have ever lived. Someone who could unleash the fury of both Heaven and Hell…and Rivka is the key.

Find HUNTER AVENGED here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMYKZQ2T/
Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/books/hunter-avenged
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunter-avenged-n-j-walters/1142718008
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hunter-avenged-2
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/hunter-avenged/id6444414711
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/N_J_Walters_Hunter_Avenged?id=zPqcEAAAQBAJ

About the Author

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, assassins, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Visit her at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
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BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters