Literary Lagniappe

Lisa Fox and I have a bad habit of kicking around crazy ideas when we get together. It could be the massive amounts of alcohol or the carbonation from the champagne, but either way the goofiest things get thrown out.

A few of those things are actually coming to fruition. Starting with our new promo website, Literary Lagniappe.

Our idea behind this was simple. We wanted a place for romance authors to share a behind the scenes look into their writing. Just like the DVD extras that are fun to watch, this is supposed to be a fun place for readers to come and peek behind the curtain...or laptop.

We can't make it work without other authors though. We've got a section on the website for authors looking for promo spots and a calendar that lists open dates (plus upcoming guest spots). Right now, we are sticking to Tuesdays and Thursdays for posts, but that might change somewhere down the line. If you're interested, contact us and we'll get you hooked up.

In the meantime, make sure you are following us on Twitter and Facebook so you can stay up to date with the latest and greatest happenings.

CHOCOLATE!!!!

I spent this past week wandering around Hershey, Pennsylvania, eating all the chocolate I could get my hands on. If you've never been, you should know that you can't go two steps without being handed a piece of candy. Not that I am complaining.

My fun started at The Hershey Story Museum. It's got all the makings of a typical museum experience with displays detailing Milton Hershey's life, the process of making chocolate, and the legacy that Mr. and Mrs. Hershey left the town. The best part is downstairs where they have a Chocolate Lab.

Yep, you read that right. We spent an hour learning more about chocolate, the Hershey company, and, of course, making our own chocolate bars.

The session we attended was beach themed, so we got milk chocolate, sea salt and sand (graham crackers) to include in our chocolates.

I voted to only include the sea salt in my bar, but my husband packed his full of all the ingredients.

Ready to be set up in the freezer

 A short fifteen minute presentation on the process of making chocolate later and our chocolate bars were ready to be unmolded and taken home. As a fun bonus, they were in molds that had decals in the bottom that left a cute print on the top of the chocolate bars.

As if making our chocolate bars weren't enough, we headed over to Chocolate World. Our first order of business was a little more education. We went through the Chocolate Tasting Adventure.

Chocolate tasting is serious business around here

 For about 45 minutes we asked to refrain from chewing the chocolates and simply allow them to melt on our tongue. This might have been easier if I could manage to take anything seriously.

Hershey's Milk Chocolate

 The woman in charge asked us to look, smell, listen, and taste out chocolate. I wasn't paying attention to her when she asked us to snap the chocolate next to our ear. I missed that part and simply held a chunk up to my ear. I may have proceeded to make the chocolate pieces talk to my husband for the remainder of the class. Mature, no?

Hershey's Special Dark

 Aside from my immaturity, we had a lot of fun. If you've always gobbled down your chocolate, then you have to try allowing a chunk to melt on your tongue. There are a lot of flavors to discover.

Dark Chocolate Hershey's Bliss

 Of course, I wouldn't blame you at all if you continued to scarf down your pieces.

Scharffen Berger Artisan Milk Chocolate

 At the end, they awarded each of us a Master's Degree in Chocolate Tasting. I'm insisting on framing it and sticking it on the wall next to my other degrees.

Hershey's Caramel Kiss

On the way out the door, they also give you a full sized candy bar. Just in case you still needed some more chocolate.


Last on the agenda for the day was creating our own chocolate bars on the assembly line. We picked a base chocolate (white, milk or dark) then a few fillings (semi-sweet chocolate chips, butter toffee, butterscotch chips, pretzel bits, and/or raspberries). You also got to decide whether you wanted to top your bar with sprinkles. After choosing, you waited in line forever to watch your bar get made.

After it was finished, you got to design your own packaging for it (I don't have a picture of mine). After another long wait in line, you were finally presented with your chocolate bar. I got dark chocolate with pretzels, raspberries and sprinkles.

While I had a great time, I believe my alter ego was having even more fun in the bar. Make sure to check out her pictures. 

It's Monday...

Which means I'm hanging out in Honey Creek. Stop by to find out about my favorite time of the year.

WINNERS!

Wow! First, I just want to thank everyone who followed me around on my Nursing Second Chances blog tour these past couple weeks. I just finished going through all the posts and reviews and collecting the comments to draw a winner and I'm so happy. Some of you came by almost every single post. It really means a lot to me.

Of course, I've promised you a winner for my Grand Prize. BN100 is my winner. I've sent you an email at the address you listed, but if you don't get it, please feel free to email me. BN100 wins a gift basket full of lots of goodies from me.

Since you were all so fantastic, anyone who wants general swag from Nursing Second Chances should send me an email by Friday with their mailing address (authormaggiegreene AT gmail.com). I've got bookmarks, magnets, and other goodies that I can mail you. US people only, please :)

It's a big winner day though. I've also chosen the winner from my Hero's Blog Hop Post. Heather Cox has won a copy of Nursing Second Chances. I've emailed you as well to claim your prize. If you don't hear from me, please email me.

I think that's it for today. Again, really thanks so much to everyone who came out for either event. Also, a giant thanks to Colette at ABG Reads Book Tours for organizing my blog tour and keeping me on task. I highly recommend her services to anyone who looking for someone to organize promotions for them.

Last Chance!

I'm making up a day over at Chick Lit Plus today. Stop by to find out why I love Happily Ever Afters.

It's also your last chance to comment to win my grand prize basket. I'll draw a winner tomorrow morning. Any comment on any of the posts or reviews throughout my tour are eligible for an entry. You can see my whole tour schedule here is you missed a day or want some extra entries.

You may also want to visit my blog hop post. It's your last chance to enter for a chance at a copy of Nursing Second Chances and/or one of the grand prizes. Winners will be posted tomorrow.

All the Little Things

Lot's of little things today.

First, if you're looking for my Hero's blog hop post, you can find it here. One winner from my blog will get a copy of Nursing Second Chances. There are also overall grand prizes, including a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet. You can enter for those by commenting on any and all participating blogs. The more you visit and comment on, the better your chances of winner.

Second, my Nursing Second Chances blog tour is still going strong. Today is the second to last post (I had to push one back a day). You can visit me over at Hanging with Bells and find out some little secrets about me. Want to know more? Ask away and I'll answer in the comments. Remember, comments on my blog tour posts are going to be entered into a grand prize drawing on August 1st to win a big basket full of lots of fun gifts, including teas, coffees, and honey. You can enter once per post. If you've missed a day, you can see the whole schedule here.

Last (but certainly not least), I'm over at the Honey Creek blog today. I'm chatting about how summer has slipped away and asking you to tell me your favorite summer event from this year. 

Hero Blog Hop

Hey everyone! I'm so happy you've stopped by my place as part of the Hero's Blog Hop.

What's not to love about a hero? I wanted to talk about one specific thing, but I couldn't think a specific one because their are so many.

They always figure out the perfect thing to say. Even if it takes them a while.

They always go out of their way to woo the woman (or man) they are after.

They always find the cutest little ways to say "I love you".

They always have the greatest jobs (firefighter anyone?)

They always find the time to plan the perfect date.

What do you love about a hero? Tell me in the comments (make sure to leave your email address) for a chance to win an e-copy of my novella, Nursing Second Chances.

Nursing Second Chances, A Honey Creek Sweet Romance

Kiersten Hart left Honey Creek the minute she graduated high school and never looked back. When her sister Jeanine is widowed and left to raise two children alone, Kiersten moves back on a temporary basis. When Charles steps in and sweeps her off her feet, she has to decide if the wounds from her childhood can be mended.

After his wife died, Charles Webber swore he’d never love anyone again. He buried himself in his work and didn’t look up until he found out his son was sick. Moving to Honey Creek was supposed to make things easier. Kiersten does little to help keep things simple. Though he is taken with her, he soon realizes the casual relationship they agreed on is turning serious. As their expiration date approaches, Charles must decide if Kiersten is worth the risk.

There's more though. Three people will win one of the hop grand prizes.

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: Giant Swag Pack from participating authors

For more chances to win, visit the other participating authors.
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