Want a boatload of free print books?

I've been cleaning my bookshelves again, friends, which means one of you is going to get a bevy of fabulous books! Here's the loot this time...

A great assortment of wonderful reads. Everything from betrayal in love, to being smitten in love, to making your last plea bargain, to exploring the trouble with cowboys, and more! After all (a wink to Deb's book up there), reading should be an adventure!

Want your name included in the drawing that will take place Tuesday, March 12?

Simply leave a comment on this blog post by Monday, March 11 at 8PM (Central time) telling me which of these titles strikes your fancy the most and why, then your name will be included in the random drawing. It's that simple. 

I'll post the name of the winner of all the books on Tuesday, March 12 here on this blog as well as on my Facebook Page where I love chatting with you all. It's such a blessing to get to know you all better. Good luck in the drawing! 

NOTE: Due to shipping costs, this giveaway is only eligible for U.S. Mailing Addresses.

And to sweeten the deal, I'll throw in one of my books too. Winner's choice!

Series love…is serious love

I don't watch a ton of TV, but every now and then I run across a show that I quickly come to adore. It happened when good friend and writing buddy Deb Raney introduced me to that wonderful Eric and Tami Taylor on Friday Night Lights. 

It happened when I was listening to NPR one day in the car on the way home from Kroger, and the announcer mentioned something about some new British show that was supposedly taking America by storm. Ahem... 

It happened one day on Facebook when I had posted something about Sense & Sensibility (and how I love that movie), and a reader asked if I'd seen North & South. What's not to love?

Then it happened for me again most recently a couple of weeks ago with a series set in the old West. I remember seeing the previews of the show when it first debuted in 2011 but I was on a frienzied writing deadline and the recordings on my DVR came and went. 

Then week before last when I was searching Netflix for something new to watch instantly on my iPad, up popped Hell on Wheels, and oh, I was quickly in series love again.

The setting? 1865, just after the Civil War when the Transcontinental Railroad was being built. Hell on wheels refers to the settlement that accompanied the construction of the railroad, along with the variety of company men, surveyors, support workers, laborers, and prostitutes who populated it. The show centers around "the race" between the Union Pacific Railroad of the East and Central Pacific Railroad of California to build a railroad that would ultimately connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States by rail for the first time. 

The show's main character is Cullen Bohannon (isn't that a great Southern name?), a former Confederate soldier who works as a foreman while also working to track down the Union soldiers who murdered his wife and child. Let's just say this character was created for Anson Mount (the guy who plays Cullen). Oh my goodness, in so many ways. I'm just sayin'...

Granted, this show isn't for the faint of heart in regard to violence or "brothel behavior" of the day, but this western-lovin'-gal-at-heart is eating up the first two seasons. Season 3 premieres later this year. The characters are great, the writing is spot on, and the costumes are deliciously detailed and authentic. In fact, I just got the inspiration for my next "cover dress" from one of the episodes. Love it when that happens.

Tell me, have you experienced "series love" anytime recently? I watch a show every day as I walk on the treadmill, so I'll be needing a new series soon. Please share!

Blessings on your Tuesday, friends!

Making your heart go pitter-pat

Check out the following link for the Huffington Post today. I asked nine of my author buddies to join me in this article, and we each share romantic ideas for this special romantic day.

Here's a peek...

"Are you looking for something special to do for your Valentine this year? Something other than the clichéd box of heart-shaped chocolates or dinner at an over-priced restaurant? Check out these tips from bestselling romance authors that will spice up your Valentines Day. And maybe your night!"

Read more here...

What a difference a day makes

A couple of weeks ago while taking Jack for a walk, I took this pic with my iPhone...

Then a day later (trying to remember exactly where I'd stood to take the picture above), 

I snapped this one…

What a difference a day makes! The same view––one dark and stormy, the other brilliant sunshine. Isn't that a pretty fair analogy for life and our oftentimes 
skewed perspective on things? When I look at these pictures, I think of what Paul 
said in I Corinthians 13:11-13…

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then 
we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now 
knows me completely."

I look at the first picture and I'm reminded that this world is, as C.S. Lewis stated 
so aptly, theshadowlands. And when I look at the second, I think of what it will be 
like to someday have all the shadows of this world removed. To some day stand 
before the Lord Jesus and truly see him. With perfect clarity. In all his glory. And 
to spend all eternity getting to know the Father, the Son, and the Spirit better, exploring the infinite facets of their union, and the wonders of the new heaven 
and new earth. Talk about a changed perspective!

On those days when life seems especially challenging, or maybe when my spirit 
feels especially heavy, I head to God's Word and read about what our forever 
home is going to be like. I think of heaven quite often, more so as the years go 
by. Do you? What's something you look forward to about heaven? And do you 
think we'll "banquet" there together? I do. I'm so looking forward to kitchen time 
with my mom again, and with some of you gals too! Imagine what peach cobbler 
will taste like there...

So glad we're in this together, forever,
Tammy

Beauty Tips...from the 1870s

(I recently posted this on Writes of Passage, where I post every Tuesday. But thought I'd share it here too, in case you missed it!)

In researching the history behind the book I'm currently writing (Belmont Book 2, title forthcoming), I came across the most delicious book about beauty. It's entitled Personal Beauty and was originally published in 1870, and written by D. G. Brinton, M.D. and G.H. Napheys, M.D. 

As the cover claims, it's a "truly ageless Beauty Guide" with everything from (and I quote) "Arsenic-Eating (not recommended) to Wrinkles & How to Prevent Them."

Without further adieu, strap on your corset, and let's get to reading...

THE EYE

Pure and pearly? Are you kidding me? Ah...sorry, no. Minute red veins? Check! Guess I've been "given to excess" to Diet Dr. Pepper. Either that or to "violent fits of passion." Come to think of it, the latter sounds like much more fun. Let's go with that instead.

THE HAIR

Ablution. Don't you love that word? And washing the hair no more than once a week. Can you say "ew?" I'll stick with my every day.

NECK GOITRES

A goitre "an advantage?" Quite essential to beauty? Seriously? And just think, all these years I've tried to avoid those. 

PIMPLES

Fatty secretions, dirty and black, grubs!? Major TMI! And "the portion of it at the aperture?" Love how they phrased things. And don't forget that glycerine!

And last, but certainly not least...

"WELL-FORMED" BREASTS

Firm and elastic, huh? True "hemispheres?" And what is this about distance? Where IS my tape measure?!! Come to think of it, there are some measurements that shouldn't be shared. Or even taken after a certain age. (Do I hear any "Amens!?")

If you're looking for an amusing but also insightful book into how physical beauty was perceived by some in the 1870s, and in how they attempted to achieve it, this is a great book. I found my reproduced copy on Amazon and what a treasure it is. Especially because the book I'm writing touches on––you guessed it––the myth and truth of beauty. 

So what's your favorite beauty tip, old or new (as long as it doesn't call for a tape measure)? Do you have a tip that your mother or grandmother passed down to you?

Off to grab some Visine for those unexpected violent fits of passion,

Tammy 

Join me on Southern Writers Radio

Join me on Southern Writers Radio as Susan Reichert of Southern Writers Magazine and I have a fabulous time chatting about life, writing, and leading men. 

You can almost heard Susan blushing when I tell her who I was imagining as I wrote about the hero, Ridley Cooper, in TO WHISPER HER NAME, the first Belle Meade Plantation novel. Such a fun conversation with her!