Goldfish Cupcakes And A Stuffed Cat

Yep, you read that title correctly; Goldfish cupcakes and a stuffed cat. In this blog post, you can expect to find pictures of the cupcakes I made for my daughters 2nd birthday party, a picture of a little fake kitten that my daughter fell in love with-- and Nana willingly bought her. If you're lucky, I also might talk a little bit about the book, and what is going on with it at this moment. And, if you're really, really lucky I might talk about book 2! ;) (Okay, so you might as well figure you're going to get lucky. Um, er, you know what I mean...)

So, for my daughters 2nd birthday, we decided to keep it low key. For her first birthday we went a teensy bit overboard and apparently it mentally scarred my husband forever. So on top of the stress of releasing my book we decided we didn't want to do anything drastic this year. We had friends and family over, and since my daughter loves all things that have to do with water and being outside, we set up a mini water-land for the kiddies to play in. Her little pool, the awesome pirate ship water table that her grandparents bought, a sprinkler, bubble machines, sidewalk chalk, balloons... you know what? I think we didn't keep it too simple after all. Hmpfh. Anyways, the water theme is wear the goldfish came into the theme.

So, I was a little proud of my cupcakes :) They were a big hit with all of the kids, and VERY simple to make.

Now, as for the stuffed cat... I went shopping with my mother in law yesterday and my daughter fell in LURVE with this little kitten looking thing. It was curled up like it was sleeping in one of the display cases and my munchkin squatted down next to it and ooh'd and ahh'd and giggled like a little fiend over this kitten. When we would pick her up and walk away she would run back as soon as she could escape and make little tsking noises at the glass. Well, when Nana saw that, there was NO WAY she was leaving with out it. And as if my daughter had not just gotten a mountain of toys at her birthday party, we brought home that little stuffed cat.

Cute, right? Oh, wait! I didn't tell you the best part. It is made out of real rabbit fur and sheep skin... and it sheds. We carried that little kitten everywhere; Into the restaurant where we ate lunch (it sat on the table, and even on Nana's head) (BTW, Nana, you are lucky I didn't get a picture of that or it would have ended up on my blog. Payback for all of the times you've tried to embarrass me! >:o] ) and received kisses from everyone that she could solicit a smooch from for her kitten. And since that little kitten sheds rabbit fur that meant we had rabbit fur stuck all over our faces. Fun!

Okay, on to book stuff... Mortal Obligation has been out for almost two weeks now. It is doing pretty well for a brand new book from an unknown author. The last two days have been a little slow, but it is the middle of the week and a little of the new has worn off. I have several book reviewers (whom I respect and know that they will be honest) lined up to do reviews on their blogs. Most of those are set up for September, so hopefully I can manage to drum up a little exposure over the next couple of weeks until those hit. I will be sending out eARC's atleast a few weeks before the next book comes out. Which will hopefully work out a little better. (You live and learn, right?) Speaking of the next book...

I have spent a good bit of time this week working on book two. At this moment, I have a working title for it, but I'm not ready to share that just yet. Hopefully by the end of this month I will have made up my mind and will share with all of you. So far this book is flowing pretty easily. And let me tell you: There is going to be some drama, and some angst, and some steamy scenes!!! WOOT. In fact, I'm pretty excited about writing it all! This part of the process is so much fun. Everything is new and shiny in your head... unlike at the end of editing. LOL  I also should tell you that at this point, my goal for book two, is to have it out and in your hands/ereaders by Christmas. Or shortly after! So, fingers crossed that it keeps going smoothly!!!

Okay, I'm almost done rambling, but I need to give a shout out for my friend Elizabeth Sharp. Her book Natural Selection comes out this Friday! (Yippeeee!) I have been waiting on this one. It looks great and the premise is really original. Be sure to check it out :) And if you buy it, be sure to leave a review!!!

Before I go, I want to take a minute to thank everyone that has bought the book and left reviews. Reviews, help other readers decide if they would like to give it a try. Indies live and die by word of mouth- So, thanks!