Friday, May 25, 2018

#TheRedLedger by Meredith Wild #BookReview

So, I am here today, to let you know that Meredith Wild has a new release. It is the first installment of her The Red Ledger series. She really started this series off with a thrilling bang. 

It starts out as a hit man getting ready to kill his target, and it ends with a rekindled romance. The twists and turns along the way are awesome. It is a wonderful ride with Tristan and Isabel. 

I love Meredith's way of writing. You really feel like you are right there with the characters. Experiencing their journey with them. She writes a great, suspenseful story, with just enough steaminess mixed in. She is a wonderful storyteller.

I strongly recommend that you join in on this Red Ledger Journey, with this first installment. The ending is such a perfect cliffhanger. You will be left wanting the second book ASAP. 

Reborn: The Red Ledger Series 
by Meredith Wild 
Release Date: Part 1 - May 21st
Genre: Suspense/thriller
The Red Ledger, a binge-worthy suspense/thriller series with Wild’s 
signature erotic twist, will debut May 21, 2018

Synopsis
He’s death for hire…
Some people measure life in hours. Days. Weeks. I measure mine in kills. A covert military mission gone wrong robbed me of my memory and any link to my past. This is my existence now. I execute and survive. Nothing more, nothing less. I was ready to write Isabel Foster’s name in my ledger of unfortunate souls until she uttered the one word that could stop the bullet meant for her. My name.
She knows my face. She knows me. She’s the key to the memories I’m not sure I want back. Now nothing is simple. I still have a job to do, and my soul isn’t worth saving. I’m not the man she thinks I am. I can’t love her. And sparing her life puts us both in the cross hairs.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RedLedgerArmy/

Buy Part 1 NOW!

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/2CP2Q2a
B&N:  http://bit.ly/2FcNxWc
iBooks:  https://apple.co/2FcarNy
Google Play:  http://bit.ly/2FcXYJG
Kobo:  http://bit.ly/2oFQfcB

Pre-order Part 2 - releases 29th May
http://www.meredithwild.com/book/?series=the-red-ledger
Reborn: The Red Ledger (books 1-3 bundle) 
Releases 7th August

Amazon Print:  http://amzn.to/2GP1t6g
B&N print link:  http://bit.ly/2FdXmDx
BAM's print link:  http://bit.ly/2FZPy9B

Meet The Author
Meredith Wild is a #1 New York TimesUSA Today, and international bestselling author. After publishing her debut novel Hardwired in September 2013, Wild used her ten years of experience as a tech entrepreneur to push the boundaries of her “self-published” status, becoming stocked in brick-and-mortar bookstore chains nationwide and forging relationships with the major retailers.
In 2014, Wild founded her own imprint, Waterhouse Press, under which she hit No. 1 on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers lists. She has been featured on CBS This Morning, The Today Show, the New York TimesThe Hollywood ReporterPublishers Weekly, and The Examiner. Her foreign rights have been sold in over 20 languages.
Living on Florida’s Gulf Coast with her husband and three children, she refers to herself as a techie, whiskey appreciator, and shameless sun worshipper. Find out more about what projects she’s working on next at www.meredithwild.com.
Social Media Links



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What I need you to know... I received an ARC of this book, so I could read it, and write an honest review of it. I was no paid to say anything. Everything I have said, is my honest opinion. 
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Padawan Gigi #FunnyFriday

Today’s post is May’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write five captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.

Funny Friday  150 X 150.jpg

Here is today’s picture. It was submitted by Me of The Bergham Chronicles, at the request of Gigi. :)



1. Gigi: Snowman, you have met your match!
Snowman: ....

2. A young padawan's work is never done.

3. Gigi: C'mon, Christmas Tree, I know I have to have another gift. Hand it over.

4. The Force is strong with this one.

5. Okay. Tell me what you think... Is Gigi the Dark Side or nah?

You may or may not have noticed, that my post was quite a bit late this month. I apologize in advance. Let's just say that Science is the reason my post was late. As I was typing up my captions, I debated internally, if I would write a short message as to why my post was late or not. I have decided that I would.

I want to first apologize to my fellow bloggers for being late.

Now, the short reason my post was late, is that I was higher than a kite, and completely forgot I was even supposed to write a blog post last night. Funny Friday is the one post, that I wait until right when I am going to write my post, to work on it. I find that I can be funnier, if I do it quickly, and don't think on it so much. So, little did I know, when I took the THC cookies with my CBD oil, that I was not going to be functional to write my post.

I always try to be as transparent as I can be on my Facebook post, and in this blog. I may not always bare my soul, but I never sugar coat either. So, I am sure, most of you who have followed me for any length of time, have figured out that my health is not the best. One of my biggest problems is that I am in Chronic pain. It is terrible.

I was trying this morning to remember back when I felt no pain. I honestly think it was in like 1995 or 1996. As the years have gone by, and my bones/joints/arthritis/degeneration has worsened, so has the pain. I think I do a decent job dealing with it. It keeps me from being able to do things that I want/need to do, but I think mentally I deal with it well.

I have pain medication, that does help, but to get any real relief, I would need to take it way more often than I do. I am just not comfortable taking it too often. I hate putting it in my system. Also, even though it does not alter me mentally, I don't like to take it, if I am alone with Gigi. I know I have never had any problems with it, but there is a first time for everything.

So, suffice it to say, I am in a lot of pain, and for most every hour of every day. Even when I take my medicine, I am still in pain. It is just a bit easier to bear. The edge is off. So, I can handle it better. I can even push myself to do more physically. Unfortunately, it only lasts for about an hour, but I take great happiness in the hour of relief.

Lately, everyone, even my pharmacists have been encouraging me to go the medical marijuana route. I was against it for ages, even though I am fully in support of legalization. I just did not want to try it. Well, I also don't want to spend the rest of my life constantly in pain, and having to sit out on the sidelines of my daughter's life.

So, I recently tried CBD oil, with high hopes, and I was not fully disappointed. I definitely noticed some improvement. However, it really did not work well on my pain. I get more relief from my pain medicine. So, I was encouraged to try it with THC. After physical therapy completely kicked my butt yesterday, I decided eh why not.

So, I got two edible donut bite things to try. They were 10 mg each. I took the first one. Nothing happened after about half an hour. So, I decided to try a second one. After a bit, I did notice my pain get a bit better. By then it was bedtime, so I went and crawled in bed, while Chad and Gigi finished their dessert.

As I was laying there, it finally kicked in. All 20 mg. Let me tell y'all what... I traveled the Universe last night. I waved to the Jedi Knights, I hugged Yoda, and I explored the depths of the Universe. All from the comfort of my bed. Yep. I did all that, while laying in my bed. It was one helluva journey. A journey that I am glad I took, but that I would rather not take again.

During my trip, I googled how long THC edibles highs last, and discovered my error.... Edibles take a lot longer than traditional medicines to kick in, so you should just be patient and not take more. So, now I know. I also am convinced that if last nigh was the effects of 20 mg, I probably only need 1 or 2 mg to get results.

So, yeah, I was high as a kite, and could not write my Funny Friday in time. I am sorry about that. However, I do not regret it. Last night was the first time since the mid 1990's, that I was not plagued by pain. It was the best sleep I have ever gotten in my life. It was an eye opening experience. I am glad, I now know how much I will need to feel relief. If the 1 or 2 mg is not enough, I will try 3 or 4 mg, but I doubt I will never any more than that.

I will also not have the high feeling, and that will be a welcome change. It was a cool trip, but not something I ever need to do again.

So, I hope I could make you laugh with my captions. I am sorry you had to wait for my post. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!


Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:



Saturday, May 12, 2018

Intimate Intuition #BookReview

The latest addition to Audrey Carlan's Lotus House Series, is now available for you to read!! This one is book six, and we follow Dara and Silas' journey to their happily ever after. As with all of Audrey's books within a series, we get updates on the couples we previously have followed, and fallen in love with. 

Audrey is a very talented writer, and I genuinely love her ability to really build characters, and an entire world around them. I especially love this Lotus House Series, because I have adored every single character involved. I also think I love it a bit extra, because it takes place locally for me.

Now, as I have said for the previous books in this series, this book will leave you wanting to visit your local yoga studio, even if you have never been interested before. This book is a beautifully woven piece of the Lotus House Series, but you could definitely read it, and still enjoy it, without reading the rest. However, I am certain once you read it, you will want to read the others, so I suggest just getting the entire series.

Dara and Silas' romance has an intense beginning. At the end of the last book in the series, we saw them meeting for the first time. Let's just say there were immediate fireworks between them. There were some assumptions made, and some pretty big happenings, which led to some confusion, and a bit of a rocky start for them. Plus, they each have some personal things to work through.

The journey they go on together, is beautiful, and intense at times. I think you will love going on this journey with them, and the ending is definitely worth all the bumps along the way. Especially Dara's bump. 

So, I highly recommend you read this book, and the entire series. Actually, I would go as far as saying you will probably enjoy every book Audrey writes. She truly is a wonderful writer. 

Continue reading to find a synopsis of this story, information on where to get a copy of your own, and information about the fabulous Audrey Carlan.


Intimate Intuition (Lotus House Book #6)  
by Audrey Carlan
 #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author 
Releases 8th May


Synopsis
Silas McKnight is the owner of multi-million-dollar musical production company Knight & Day Productions. He’s rich, attractive, and loyal to his core. He’s the man every woman wants but none can have. He’s suffered immeasurable loss, and he doesn’t plan on ever going through that hell again. 
Dara Jackson, the quirky, stunning meditation teacher at Lotus House Yoga, is also the owner of Sunflower Bakery. She’s always dreamed of being a baker―and a mother. Having grown up an orphan, Dara knows what being alone and feeling unwanted is like. 
Silas and Dara meet one fated night and spend a single evening worshiping each other’s bodies. All is beautiful until Dara discovers a secret and disappears before the sheets are even cold. Except Dara and Silas can’t escape one another. Destiny has spoken, and these two are about to become far more intimate than they ever thought possible.

Buy The Book



Meet The Author
Audrey Carlan is a #1 New York Times and International bestselling author. Her titles have appeared on USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Audrey writes wicked hot love stories that have been translated in over thirty different languages across the globe. She is best known for the world-wide bestselling series Calendar Girl and Trinity.
She lives in the California Valley where she enjoys her two children and the love of her life. When she's not writing, you can find her teaching yoga, sipping wine with her "soul sisters," or with her nose stuck in a steamy romance novel.
Website


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What I need you to know... I received an ARC of this book, in return for an honest review of it. I was not paid to say anything, and everything I have said are my honest opinions and thoughts!!
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Friday, May 11, 2018

Permanent #UseYourWords

Welcome to May's Use Your Words blogging challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked four to six words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That is the challenge, here is a fun twist; no one who is participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.


My words are:
sunshine ~ heat ~ house ~ pirate ~ promiscuous

It was submitted by:  https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/ (Thank you for such awesome words!!)

I know before I even looked at my words, what I was going to be writing about. I knew I would just have to make the words fit what I needed them to. So, when I opened the e-mail, which contained my words, I was a bit nervous. I decided to actually wait until I was ready to write my post to open it. I did not want the words to weave their way into my brain, and make me doubt my post idea. So, I was actually happy when I read them, that they could fit into my blog post idea, mostly painlessly. 

Why did I know what I was going to be writing about? I looked at the date we would be posting on, and noticed immediately, it was the day after my tattoo was getting finished. So, I figured it was perfect. I could walk in the house, from getting my tattoo finished, sit down, and write this post using my words, and sharing a picture of my tattoo. If you follow my Facebook page, you have actually already seen it. You also saw the first session results, and you know some of the meaning behind the tattoo.

I really just wanted to give more details about it, and post up the pictures. I will tell you know, I will be updating this post in a few weeks, once it is fully healed, and I will post a totally healed picture at the end.

If you know anything about me, you probably know that I love coffee. I am pretty vocal in my love for the delicious beverage, and so I think it is a fairly commonly known fact. Two years ago, I got my feet tattooed. My left foot says Hope with an infinity symbol. Cliche but I love it. I try to live life with infinite hope. My right foot says L;ve. Live. The "I" is a semicolon, because I joined in the Semicolon Projects mission, to spread the word. Your story is not over, keep on living, and get help if needed. Do not choose death. I have gratefully chosen to live several times, and I am grateful for that.

Not long after I got them done, a Friday the thirteenth was approaching, and the tattoo place was holding a special on tattoos. I saw a coffee cup on their poster, and I wanted it. I was thinking about it, and I was just really wanting it, but I knew I wanted more to the tattoo. I just had no idea what. Two of my friends, totally talked me into getting it. I told them I did not know what I wanted the tattoo to be, as a whole, but that I wanted the coffee cup to be a part of it. They told me if I did not get the cup, and start the tattoo, I would never actually get it.

So, I got the coffee cup on Friday the thirteenth. I did not get it colored in or anything, because I still did not know what exactly I wanted it to be as a whole. Later that same day, I went with my friend to get a tattoo, and she paid for me to get a shark tattoo on my other arm. Sort of forcing me to get my arm tattoos done, since I had the start of them. Well, it has been two years, and I finally got my coffee tattoo completed. My shark is still not finished, and I really have not fully thought of the entire piece, only part of it. Give me two more years, and hopefully, I will be writing a post about that one.

Back to my coffee cup. I knew immediately I wanted to get #1 Mom written on it. Gigi loved the tattoo, and was forever "drinking" the coffee from it. She has also spent the last two years, stealing sips of my real coffee, every single chance she gets. She LOVES coffee. I started drinking coffee at five, so she comes by the love honestly. So, an idea formed in my head.... Get a W on the cup (Gigi's real name begins with a W. Gigi is from her middle name!), and get a bigger cup next to it with #1 Mom on it, and fill in the space with something else. I did not know what else. The cup of coffee had steam coming off of it. I then decided my cup of coffee needed to have steam, and the steam needed to meet and form a heart.

So, as you can see, the complete idea was coming to me. I wanted the tattoo to be more about Gigi though. How?! I did a lot of brainstorming. About a year ago, I finally knew what I wanted, but was not sure it would work. I then received a $200 gift certificate, to one of the artists I follow on Facebook. He owns the studio where my neck tattoo was done. So, I finally decided to use it to complete my Gigi tattoo.

I went to see him, schedule my appointment, and talk over my idea. To my surprise, he supported my entire idea, and was actually excited about it. So, I scheduled my appointment, and it was ON. I went last month, and had the first part done. A W was added to the cup, my #1 Mom cup was added, some flowers were added in to fill up the space, the steam formed a heart between the cups, and it was perfect. It was done in black, so it looked like a page from a coloring book.




After the first part healed fully, Gigi colored on it with markers, and we took pictures. I brought the pictures into him, and he printed out the one we decided was best, and then he inked her artwork directly onto my arm. My tattoo was her coloring book, and now it will be with me forever. Letting a four year old create my permanent tattoo, is actually not the craziest thing I have ever done. Plus, I honestly think it turned out well. I may be a tiny bit biased, since I gave birth to the artist, but I don't think I am wrong.







I knew now was the time to get it done, before the Summer heat fully hits. You do not want to be sweaty and sore. You also do not want to be surrounded by so much sunshine, that sunscreen is necessary on a not yet fully healed tattoo. So, really this was perfect timing. Getting my Gigi tattoo right before Mother's Day. 





Honestly, seeing my idea come together so well, really makes my heart happy. It is safe to say that Gigi is pretty darn heart happy as well. Oh, and she has added tattoo artist to the list of things she wants to do, when she is older. So, in case you are keeping track, we are now at Astronaut Doctor Mom who is a rock star and tattoo artist on the side. Plus, when she lists it all, she adds in "and drinks lots of coffee". Listen, Promiscuous Pirate is not in there, so I think I am doing mostly good. Plus, I like that she wants to be a mom, because that gives me hope for being a Grandma. I can totally live with that. In like twenty five years.

Now, make sure you go check out what words everyone else received, and how they crafted them into a post. I will meet you there, right after I go refill my coffee cup, and whine a tiny bit more, about how sore the fake coffee on my arm is. 

Links to the other “Use Your Words” posts:

Friday, May 4, 2018

Travel Bug #SecretSubjectSwap

Welcome to May's Secret Subject Swap. This week ten brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 


My “Secret Subject” is:
Travel alone or with family? Why?

It was submitted by: http://theblogging911.com/blog

When I was a kid, my dad and I did a lot of traveling, and I loved it. I definitely got bitten by the travel bug, and to this day, I have this deep desire to travel. I think in a perfect world, I would be able to travel all around the world. Of course, once you become an adult, sometimes life can end up in a way, where a lot of traveling is not possible. You settle down, and responsibilities take importance over traveling. So, I do not do much traveling anymore. However, during my twenties, I did enjoy quite a bit of solo traveling.

Since Gigi was born, nearly five years ago, we have really only traveled twice. We went to Vegas to see my Auntie and her fiance, and watch them get married. Last year, we went to Arizona, to visit Chad's family there. I can honestly say, traveling with a child, is way more complicated than traveling alone. More luggage, more worries, more stops, more delays, more fun. More, more, more. 

So, keeping in mind the added chaos of traveling with a kid, there is obviously some appeal to traveling alone. However, I am kinda in love with Gigi, and I even love Chad a little bit, and I hate the idea of being without them. So, I honestly think, despite traveling alone being so much easier, I would always choose to have them with me. Especially Gigi. I cannot travel much these days, due to my health, but I definitely want to show her every inch of this world I am able to. I don't care if we go to the same places, at least we experience it together.

I have been in California since 2008. This is my tenth year here, and I have had some moments of feeling restless. My inner nomad has been itching to travel, but overall, I am content here with Chad and Gigi. Yes, my travel bug bite is still affecting me, and I still want to travel all over, but there is also this part of me that is grounded. I have definitely put down roots here, and I am content. I think I would be content wherever my Gigi and Chad are. I think I am not longer connected to the place I am at, and therefore easily able to leave/move/travel, but I am connected to the people. 

What about you?? Do you prefer to travel alone or with family? Would you rather travel with your spouse/significant other only, or your spouse/significant other and your kids?? Do you think there is a big difference between traveling alone and traveling with family??

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a drink, and check them all out. See you there, after I refill my coffee cup:

Skin

Welcome to June's Blog with Friends!! Each month a theme is chosen and then participating bloggers use the theme, to create their own un...