What are we celebrating today -- 10/29/2012?

I hope the wind dies down here, as we'll lose a tree or two if it keeps up. I also hope the storm isn't too bad for the rest of the east Coast. Flooding isn't fun and I don't wish it on anyone.

So...what are we celebrating...

1). National Cat Day: This one is for you Sassy...and Rocky, and Beau... National Cat Day was founded in 2005 by Pet Lifestyle Expert & Animal Welfare Colleen Paige to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of cats that need to be rescued each and also to encourage cat lovers to celebrate the cat(s) in their life for the unconditional love and companionship they bestow upon us.

2). Visit A Cemetery Day: Estimates suggest that there are over one million cemeteries in North America, and today is the day to visit one. I think I'll skip it, as I don't have any relatives buried down this way. I guess I could go geocaching in a cemetery, as there are a lot of them around.

3). World Psoriasis Day: From the website: World Psoriasis Day is a global event that sets out to raise awareness and give voice to the 125 million people worldwide with psoriasis. During World Psoriasis Day, awareness activities will occur all over the world to help increase understanding, improve access to treatments and build unity among the psoriasis community.



4). National Lung Day: Many of us know smokers and/or people who have suffered and died from lung cancer. Not that all lung issues stem from smoking, but this is the one that is preventable. The American Association for Respiratory Care created Lung Health Day to focus on lung health.

5). Hermit Day: It's a quiet day to spend quietly in seclusion, all by yourself. Oh, I wish I could celebrate this holiday. If you are a Hermit, celebrate your lifestyle today. If you're one of the many, who yearn for a break from your hectic lifestyle, be a Hermit on this day (like that could ever happen...lol).

I hope all of you have a great Monday. I can't believe October is just about over. Oh my! And you should see all the branches that have blown down now....

Welcome Karen Erickson!! - Virtual Book Tour Stop

I'd like to Welcome romance author Karen Erickson to Gather and to my blog Jax's Spot. This is only one stop on her Virtural Book tour (and this is the first time I've ever hosted for a virtual book tour). Her new book Worth the Challenge is now out at stores and on line. It's book 3 in the Worth It series.


Karen is giving away a $50 giftcard (Amazon or B&N) to one lucky reader who follows her book tour. Open internationally. Keep up with Karen’s book tour here for other fun giveaways:

http://karenwritesromance.com/virtual-book-tour/


http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/Mzk3ZDkxMDA5NzE5YjBmYTdlZjE5YmFjOTg0OTQxOjE3OQ==/


She is also giving away a copy of Worth The Risk, book 2 in the series from this post. Keep reading and you'll see what question she wants you to answer to win. And feel free to leave questions and comments to Karen in the comment section also.




















Summary of Worth the Challenge: Together, they’re magic. Now to capture it in a bottle…
For once in his errant life, Rhett Worth is ready to prove to his older brothers he’s more than good looks and a woman-melting smile. Except he’s screwed up. And it’s about to hit the fan as he prepares to tell them he’s failed to deliver the master perfumer, Michel Durand, to create Worth Luxury’s signature scent.


Then salvation walks through the boardroom door, all wrapped up in a petite, seductive package.
Gabriella Durand is prepared to beg the Worths to give her capricious father another chance. Instead, she finds the devastatingly handsome Rhett Worth offering it to her as if he’d planned it all along. And Gabriella, hungry to emerge from her father’s shadow, jumps at it.


Soon they’re in Maui to hunt for the perfect scent…and find it in the tropical breeze that washes across their entwined bodies. Now the pressure is on to capture that passion in a bottle—before they let love complicate the delicate mix. Before a whiff of betrayal threatens to destroy everything.

From Karen:

Hey everyone!

When I write, the things that inspire me aren’t necessarily consistent. Most of the time photos inspire me. Other times, I have such a visual in my head I don’t want it to be tainted by outside sources.

Us writers are an odd lot sometimes, aren’t we?

As I was writing each book of the Worth It series (Worth the Scandal, Worth the Risk and Worth the Challenge which just came out on the 16^th) I had an image of Rhett but it wasn’t necessarily concrete. He appears in the first two books, has that bad boy reputation that’s so delicious to play with.

Yet his face, it didn’t come to me.

Until I was scrolling Pinterest one afternoon and was struck by this photo:

Source: Pinterest

Hello, Rhett, was the first thought that rang through my head. Then, I had to immediately figure out who he was. I posted this photo on my blog and on my Facebook page, asking for help. And let me tell you, it was fun to watch everyone take guesses, go out on the search, all in the name of finding this handsome devil who’d become my Rhett.

I finally Google searched the image (did you know you can do that? I didn’t until I searched this dude. So cool!) and discovered his name is Stephen Walker, he’s six-foot-one and he’s a model from South Africa.

They make ‘em real sexy in South Africa, don’t they? *winks*

(Here’s a link to his modeling portfolio – it’s worth a look, trust me)

So tell me…what do you think of my Rhett? (and for more of the visuals that inspired the Worth It series, please check out my Worth It Inspiration page at Pinterest!) Let me know if he’s your type in the comments and I’ll choose one lucky winner to win a copy of Worth the Risk, the second book in the series!

Plus, don’t forget to enter the blog tour contest for your chance to win a $50 gift card to Amazon or B&N!

Where you can find Worth the Challenge: Amazon | B&N | Samhain | iBookstore

Where you can find Karen: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

Karen’s Bio:

Romance author Karen Erickson writes what she loves to read — sexy contemporary romance and sensual historical romance. Digitally published since 2006, she currently writes for Samhain Publishing, Entangled Publishing’s Bliss Imprint, Avon Impulse and Carina Press. A native Californian, she lives in the foothills below Yosemite with her husband and three children.


In case I messed up the links above, here are the websites....


Website: http://karenerickson.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/karenerickson
Facebook: http://facebook.com/karenericksonwritesromance
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/karenerickson
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/karenerickson/


Take a look at Karen's other books....I just finished reading her book Stolen Hearts.

Review: UNREAL Candy #41 Candy Coated Chocolate

I am a buzz agent and one of my new campaigns was UNREAL Candy. I was given a coupon for a free regular size UNREAL Candy item, which I found at my local CVS. The UNREAL candies all have number designations. The item I picked out for us to try was #41 - Candy Coated Chocolates.

#41 looks a lot like M & M's or Hersettes.

The information from the UNREAL website: We've just unjunked America's favorite candy and true to Nicky's dream, we think it tastes better without the corn syrup, the artificial ingredients, and the partially hydrogenated oils. Not to mention less sugar. We even added more cacao, real caramel (not corn syrup dyed to look like caramel), more peanuts, protein, and fiber. All this is the product of the UNREAL™ culture.

Unreal 41^TM

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size: 42g Calories 190
Sugar 19 g
Total fat 10 g
Carbs 24 g
Fiber 3 g
Protein 4 g

Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Ingredients:

Milk Chocolate (chocolate, skim milk, cane sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, organic blue agave inulin, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), Cane Sugar, Calcium Carbonate, Colored with (beetroot juice, turmeric root extract, purple cabbage juice), Gum Arabic, Vanilla Extract, Carnauba Wax & Beeswax

Contains milk, soy. May contain tree nuts, peanuts, wheat.

I only had a couple of the candies to taste, as the warnings of "May contain..." scare me enough that I don't take any chances. I have enough issues with allergies.



Angela would give the #41 Candy Coated Chocolates 5 stars, as she says they are better than M & M's. I did like them, I can only give them 4 1/2 stars as they have nut and wheat warnings. These also come in a peanut variety, which Angela has no interest in trying. She and I would like to see a dark chocolate variety and maybe a candy crunch too.

The UNREAL Candies can be found at CVS and Kroger. If you visit the website, I'm sure there are other stores that carry UNREAL Candies also. Give them a try....I think you'll like them.

Women Who Shine -- Nominate and Vote

Yahoo! Shine is celebrating extraordinary women across the country and asking for nominations. These women may not be famous, but they are Women who Shine and are special in their own right. The woman may be a teacher, a cancer survivor, a neighbor who voluteers at the local shelter, or a relative that drops everything to help someone in need....the possibilities are endless. Celebrate that special woman and give her the recognition she deserves by nominating them for Women Who Shine or go to http://bit.ly/women-who-shine There are 8 different categories that will hopefully have hundreds of different women nominated. The woman with the most votes can win a $10,000 prize.


My nomination is my mother....Joline Bowdich....and in the Survior category.


My mother is a 2 year ovarian cancer survivor, and the cancer has not stopped her from continuing her volunteer work. I don't even know where to begin, as mom does so much for so many...though she'll say she doesn't do much at all. She helps package Christmas cards for the Lutheran Auxillary, makes World Relief quilts from scrap material, helps stock shelves and buy items for Lutheran Child and Family Services, tutors and mentors a child at an underprivledged school, and works endlessly to promote awareness of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer. This is ovarian cancer month, and just recently, she helped place teal ribbons on trees throughout 3 different cities. Most importantly, she loves and takes care of her family. Her page is HERE, and if the link doesn't work: http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/survivor-1344924144-slideshow/joline-bowdich-photo-1348413853.html

I would appreciate you coming out to look and vote. There are lots of derserving women who could use votes in all the different categories.


I was compensated for this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.