Waiting on Wednesday (124)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.




By Tera Lynn Childs
Publication Date: November 4, 2014

When magic sleeps, everything changes.

For as long as she can remember, Winnie Price has visited another world in her dreams, a magical fae realm caught up in a war of intrigue and sorcery. Where nature is all-powerful and a dark prince will do anything to save his dying clan. She thought this realm was pure imagination, until one midsummer’s eve when the owl who visits her window once a month transforms into a boy before her eyes. And not just any boy, the dark fae prince.

With his clan on the verge of extinction, Cathair O Cuana knows that his secret feelings for the human girl can never be more than fantasy. Caught between duty and emotion, he knows his responsibility to his people comes first. But when the magic sleeps and she sees his true form, the girl he yearns for finally feels within his reach—just as a traitor in the palace pushes the kingdom to the brink of war. Will disaster drive them apart or pull them together?

In a world where dreams, magic, and war collide, a human girl with a special ability and a fae prince with the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders must risk everything for a chance at happily ever after. 

When Magic Sleeps is the first novella in the Darkly Fae fantasy series.



By Jus Accardo
Publication Date: November 11, 2014

The past is Darker than they thought...

Between helping her mother with the Darker Agency and laying the smack down on monster baddies, Jessie Darker puts the “normal” in paranormal. But lately, things have gotten a little crazy...even for a smart-assed half-demon teenage girl.

For starters, Jessie’s been contracted into fifty-five years of annoying servitude. To a demon. Then there’s Lukas Scott, her sexy new boyfriend. Once the former incarnation of Wrath, he’s been going through some...uh, changes. Like residual anger. And trading chaste hangouts for lusty make-out sessions.

But it’s when Lukas and Jessie accidentally release a Very Nasty Demon that things get really bad, setting into motion a chain of death and mayhem that threatens both Earth and the Shadow Realm. Jessie has exactly four days to fix it...before all of Hell breaks loose.

Sassy and Sexy Romance: Creating a Love by Crystal Perkins and Trying Texas by Tera Lynn Childs

Yesterday marked the release of two highly anticipated romances.  Creating a Love (The Griffin Brothers #3)  by Crystal Perkins and Trying Texas (City Chicks #3) by Tera Lynn Childs.  Read on for excerpts and a chance to win a set of BOTH SERIES!  





Taking a chance on love...

Photographer Candi Marcus never wanted more than a casual hookup or one night stand. Until she met artist Owen Griffin. For the past two years, she’s only been with him. But it’s still just sex, or at least that’s what she’s told her friends. When he says he wants more, she can finally admit that she loves him.

Facing the past…

Protecting Owen from the illegal street art he did as a teen has already hurt two people he cares about. Now another woman from his past has come to collect her own debt. She needs a fake fiancé in order to get her inheritance and she’s not taking no for an answer. Candi knows the other woman’s in love with her real fiancé, so she convinces Owen to go along with everything, not realizing what it may cost her.

The right choice may cost them everything…

While the fake engagement isn’t easy on either of them, Candi and Owen know that their love is strong enough to handle whatever’s thrown in their path. Or is it? When Owen makes the only choice he can, he risks losing Candi for real. And as friends and family take sides, theirs may not be the only relationship to fall apart. Can an Art Boy prove to the woman he loves that she’s truly the one who owns his heart or will it be too late for her to listen to the reason behind his betrayal?

Creating their love was easy, but fighting for it is the hardest thing they’ve ever done.

Amazon  GoodReads

Author Bio:

Crystal Perkins has always been a big reader, but she never thought she would write her own book, until she did. She lives in Las Vegas, where you can find her running author events and selling books at conventions when she isn’t reading, buying too many Sherlock t-shirts online or finding a place to put all of her Pop! figurines. A mac and cheese connoisseur, she travels the country looking for the perfect version, while attending book conventions and signings as a cover for her research. The first book in The Griffin Brothers series, GAMING FOR LOVE, is an international best-seller.

Website  Twitter  Facebook

Excerpt:

Candi sighs, and finally moves to sit on the couch. “I was embarrassed about how much of a mess I am over everything. The talk of Mara’s photo on the building, and then Mr. Evans offering me the job photographing your engagement party—which I’m guessing you know about already?” I nod. “It’s just a lot. It hurt a lot. I want to be the one who people are considering putting on the building. And I-I want…dammit…I want to be the one who has an engagement party with you one day.”

 She drops her head into her hands. I sit down next to her, and pull her onto my lap. Her face drops onto my shoulder as I rub her back. I let her stay that way for a few minutes before pushing her back a little, and lifting her chin so that she’ll look at me.

 “First off, I never want you to feel embarrassed around me. About anything. I mean it. I don’t care how big or small you think something is. If you’re bothered or upset, I want to know. Whether it has to do with me, or work, or God forbid, some other guy you decide is better than me, I’ll always be here for you.”

 “I told you before. There’s no one better than you for me, Owen.”

 “I wholeheartedly agree. Now let me continue.” That gets me a smile, so I know I’m doing this right. “There’s no one and I mean, no one, other than you who I can imagine ever having their face on the Chicago building or anywhere else that has to do with me. Ever. Do you understand that and believe me?” She nods. “Good. As for the engagement party, I don’t know how I can get out of it. But I want you to think of it as just another party. To me and you, as well as my brothers, my niece, and our close friends, it’s not in any way, shape, or form my engagement party. I hope that we’ll one day have an engagement party for the two of us, too. That will be the real one, the one that matters.”

 “I love you so much, Owen.”

 “I love you, too.” 

Every girl deserves a wild ride…

New Yorker Cassie Bishop has one goal: produce the pilot episode of Try It On to get back in her boss’s good graces. She can handle a month of the dusty Texas outback, filming the social train wreck as a trust fund diva learns how to play cowgirl, if it means salvaging her career. But when the spoiled rich girl bails at the last minute, Cassie has only one option—take her place. Can anyone say yee-haw?

The only hitch is Ty Haywood, the real life, living breathing cowboy who is supposed to train her. He’s smart, funny, and makes a western shirt look tastier than a bag of hot candied cashews. Too bad he’s so deeply rooted in his Texas home.

As the film rolls, Cassie finds herself falling for the hunky cowboy, the raw beauty of the country, and the rhythm of small town life where city pressures—and ulcer medicine— are distant memories. When the month is up and the shoot wraps, will the city girl return home? Or will love and friendships convince her to give country life a try?

Amazon  GoodReads

Author Bio:

Tera Lynn Childs is the RITA-award-winning author of the mythology-based Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp, the mermaid tales Forgive My Fins, Fins Are Forever and Just For Fins, and a kick-butt trilogy about monster-hunting descendants of Medusa that includes Sweet Venom, Sweet Shadows, and Sweet Legacy. She has published two e-novellas, Goddess In Time and Pretty In Pearls, and self-published her City Chicks sweet chick lit series, which includes Eye Candy, Straight Stalk, and her newest release Trying Texas. Tera lives nowhere in particular and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages.

Website  Twitter  Facebook

Excerpt:

The pounding woke me.

I lurched up in the tub and my heart raced in my chest.

More pounding. Well, knocking actually.

“Cassie, you in there?” Ty asked through the door.

“Yeah, I—“ My hands went instinctively over my chest, even though the door was still closed, all too aware of what I wasn’t wearing beneath the layer of foamy bubbles. “Is something wrong?”

“Sorry to intrude,” he said. “Gen’s out collecting from the chickens.”

“What?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t normally—“ He stopped and started again. “Gen should be the one to—“ Another hesitation. “You have a call on the house phone.”

“Oh,” I said. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll be right down.”

It had to be Bud, calling to check up on me. No one else had the Haywoods’ number.

Twisting myself up, I pulled the rubber plug from the tub drain and then grabbed the light blue towel I had set on the stool next to the bath. As the coconut lime bathwater swirled down the drain, I quickly dried off and wrapped the towel around my chest.

When I first followed Genevieve into the bathroom, I hadn’t planned on going back downstairs. I hadn’t thought to have clothes waiting—I had been single-mindedly focused on sinking into a day-erasing bath. And, I realized as I crossed to the door, the magic bath had worked. My leg muscles weren’t nearly as angry anymore.

Now all I had to do was to sneak down the hall to my room and pull on my pajamas before—

“Aaack!”

My feet slipped out from under me as I reached for the door handle. Instinct took over, and somehow I managed to stay upright and keep my towel in place.

“Cassie?” Ty threw open the door. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I—“ I made a fluttering gesture with my free hand. “I slipped on the wet tile is all. I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?” he asked, as if not quite trusting my insistence. His bright blue eyes scanned over my thankfully-still-towel-covered body.
Every inch of my skin tingled.




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TERA LYNN CHILDS - Medusa Girls Meet The Crown Princess EXTRA and Sweet Legacy EXCERPT

Tera Lynn Childs

It's no secret that all three of us are HUGE fans of Tera Lynn Childs.  She is an absolutely lovely person and stunning author.  She has pretty much reached hero status to us Bibliojunkies.  Today, Tera is visiting to share with you all an excerpt from her upcoming novel, Sweet Legacy (the third and final book in the Sweet Venom series), and to also share an character meet between the Medusa Girls and Lily (Mermaid Series). 

Read on for these fun extras and then enter to win 1 of 3 paperback copies of Just For Fins!

THE MEDUSA GIRLS MEET THE CROWN PRINCESS:

“I’m not supposed to autoport anywhere I haven’t already been,” I insist.

The book said I could literally send myself into the middle of a mountain or—worse—the middle of a crowded street. How could we explain that away?

I want to go to a tropical island as much as the next girl, but… it’s scary.

“There’s no danger, Grace,” Greer insists, reading my mind as usual. “The island is deserted.”

“But—“

“I’ve been there a dozen times,” she says.

“But—“

She’s started to get impatient. “You’ve seen the satellite image of the beach and—“

“For the love of sanity,” Gretchen—who is always full up on impatience—snaps. “There is a Lamia monster on the loose in the Bahamas. We need to stop it before more people get hurt.”

I sigh. She’s right.

We’re not sure how the Lamia got from San Francisco to the complete other side of the continent. It’s a giant shark. It can’t exactly hop on an airplane. Gretchen’s betting on a freight train, while Greer and I think it swam through the Panama Canal. However it traveled, as long as it’s out there, swimming free, people are in danger.

“Okay,” I finally say. “Let’s go.”

My sisters take my hands and, with my mind focused on the pictures from Greer’s last vacation, I close my eyes, hold my breath and autoport us across the map.

My first clue that I haven’t sent us into the center of a massive inanimate object—not than the center of an animate object would be better—is the splash.

“Ew,” Greer complains. “These are new shoes.”

“You missed a bit,” Gretchen grumbles.

Daring to open my eyes, I’m surprised to find us standing about fifty feet offshore from a beautiful white beach. The water is only knee deep and is much warmer than the Pacific. No wonder people rave about the Bahamas.

“Um, guys,” I say, pointing up the beach. “We’re not alone.”

Greer looks up from lamenting her saltwater-logged shoes and Gretchen spins around to face the direction I’m pointing, where a girl with frizzy blonde hair and a boy in a black tee are staring at us.

“Sugar,” Greer mutters.

Gretchen curses.

My thoughts exactly.

***

“Did you just see what I saw?” Quince asks.

“Did you see three girls appear out of nowhere?” I ask. When he nods, I say, “Uh-huh. I did.”

The three girls notice us and start walking toward shore. Quince pushes to his feet and I pop up next to him. As they get close, I can see that they’re triplets. They have different styles, but their features are identical. How cool is that?

“Um, hi,” the girl in the middle says.

Quince steps closer to my side. “Hey.”

The girl on the right, who looks like she’s wearing head-to-toe designer clothes, including her shoes, narrows her pale gray eyes at me. I get the odd feeling that she’s… reading me.

She tilts her head to the side and says, “She’s a mermaid.”

My mouth drops open as Quince’s hands clench into fists.

“No way,” the girl in the middle exclaims.

The fancy one nods.

“I knew they existed,” the third one, who looks tough in a tight black tank and black wrist cuffs. “But I’ve never met one.”

“How did you know?” I ask the fancy one.

She kind of smirks. “I have second sight.”

“Second sight?” I shake my head.

“What does that mean?” Quince asks.

“Greer can read minds,” the middle one says. “I’m Grace.”

She holds out her hand and I stare at it for a minute before taking it. “I’m Lily,” I say. “What are you?”

Grace glances at Greer and the other sister, who shrugs. “We’re descendants of Medusa,” she explains. “We hunt monsters.”

“Medusa?” I gasp.

Quince makes a choking sound.

“Wow,” I say. “That’s so cool. I’ve never heard of—“

“We need to go,” the third girl says. “There’s a Lamia terrorizing a village on Lemonade Cay. We need to stop it before it eats any more fishing boats.”

“And fishermen,” the fancy one adds.

“Oh,” I say, horrified by the thought of some giant sea monster eating its way through the Bahamas. “Lemonade Cay is about ten miles east of here.”

“Great,” the gruff one says as she takes the other two by the hand. “Let’s go.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Grace says with a sunny smile. “I hope we can—“

“Grace,” the gruff one warns.

“I’m going.” She flashes me another smile and then, poof, they’re gone.

“That was…”

“Weird,” Quince finishes. “Medusa was real?”

“I’m real,” I counter. “You know mer powers were a gift from one of Poseidon’s sea nymphs.”

“Yeah, but…” He shakes his head and smiles. “What kind of crazy world have you brought me into, princess?”

“A magical one, tough guy,” I reply, wrapping my arms around his waist. “And you love every minute of it.”

He leans his forehead against mine. “What makes you so sure?”

“Because—” I lift onto my toes and press my lips to his. “—you love me.”


He pulls me tighter to him. “That I do, princess,” he says against my mouth. “That I do.”



SWEET LEGACY EXCERPT:

Gretchen

The dungeons of Olympus are a harsh contrast to the shiny white marble world above. Those halls—all sparkle and gemstones—are what I imagined Mount Olympus would be like. This is like a slumlord’s boiler room compared to the high rent high rise above. The gods are sending a clear message that if you end up in their basement, you’re in big trouble. It doesn’t look that different from the abyss. Dark, wet, and foul-smelling. Never-ending.

The main hallway at the base of the staircase branches off in several directions. I stop to listen. The place is eerily silent. It’s starting to make me nervous. The sooner we get out of here, the better.

With no stand out reason to choose one branch over the others, I lead us down the lefthand corridor. Mostly because it’s the biggest and there are torches lighting the way. It seems the most likely to lead somewhere important.

Or it could be a trap.

“Stay close to the wall,” I instruct. “And right on my heels.”

We follow the corridor around corner after corner, with nothing but stone walls to guide us. Not even a rat or a medieval torture device to break up the monotony. It reminds me of King Minos’s labyrinth. If a minotaur is the biggest bad we run into down here, we’ll be in great shape.

Then we round one last corner and it all changes.

I hold up my hand and everyone behind me stops.

The hallway spills into a vast open space. Encircling the outer wall of the chamber is a row of cells, cages closed in by iron bars. The rough stone floor stretches a few feet beyond the cell walls and then drops away. Smoke rises in its place, like a moat of fire. Across the gap, on a stone island floating amid the smoke, are more cages. Dozens of cages with thick steel bars that overlook the flames.

Every cage I can see is occupied. The dungeons of Olympus are overflowing.

Somewhere in here, Ursula is suffering.

“Then she took off her dress and she had eight legs,” a booming male voices bellows.

Another male voice cackles with laughter.

Swinging my backpack off my shoulders and dropping it on the ground, I wave everyone back and press myself against the edge of the wall. Looking toward the sound of their voices, I spot two guards tromping around the walkway.

“I’m like, what are you, a spider?” the first voice says. “And she says, no, I’m a daughter of Arachne!”

That sends the other guard into a fit of laughter.

I turn to the group and gesture them up against the wall. We wait, unmoving, as the guards draw closer. Bending at the waist, I reach down and pull out a handful of zip ties from a cargo pocket.

I hope they’re continuing their perimeter walks, not heading for our hallway.

They reach the juncture and—I hold my breath—keep walking. After a quick glare at my companions to keep them in place, I take off at a run. The guards turn at the sound of my footsteps, but I launch into a flying kick, nailing the talkative one in the gut and knocking him into his laughing friend. I land on my feet between them, quickly dropping to my knees and yanking zip ties around their wrists.

“You stupid bi—“

The talker doesn’t have a chance to finish his insult before I knock his head into the ground and render him unconscious. His buddy silently shakes his head, but I can’t risk it. An instant later he’s just as unconscious as his friend.

I resist the urge to push them into the moat—I don’t know what’s down there and the two morons aren’t necessarily bad guys—so I just drag them out of the way.

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Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun


Top Ten Tuesday is a super fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  

The three of us LOVE a fun story that makes us laugh so we collaborated on this list for you all.  Enjoy!  



Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding – I don’t think it’s possible for this one to get old.  It still makes us laugh.  And we forgive the movie adaptation simply for the hilarious and sexy casting of Colin Firth.  









Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis –  Three words for you.  The puppy, Twinkles.











Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich – Let’s just say that it’s yet again the dogs that make us snort our drinks through our noses.    









Paranormalcy by Kiersten White – Because it’s just so *bleeping* cute!










Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jennifer Lawson (a.k.a. The Bloggess) – Grab the kleenex.  You will be laughing so hard that you WILL cry.









Must Love Dragons by Stephanie Rowe – Because Satan is HILARIOUS!










The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella – This one will have you in stitches.









Eye Candy by Tera Lynn Childs – Completely adorable.  All the candy talk will have you reaching for the Jelly Bellies.









You Suck:  A Love Story by Christopher Moore – If Christopher Moore can’t make us laugh then there is something horribly wrong.  









Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – Happy! Happy! Happy!  Such a HAPPY story!










Hope you enjoyed the list.  Share some of your favorites with us! 

YA Mythology Giveaway Hop!

There are few people I know who are bigger fans of mythology related books than I am, so I was much too excited to discover the YA Mythology Giveaway Hop being hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and About to Read.  My only problem was deciding what to give away! 

 

We have had lots of giveaways featuring one of my favorite mythology series, the Mythos Academy by Jennifer Estep, so I thought maybe we should try something new.  Perhaps the Half-Blood series by Jennifer Armentrout?  Oh. My. Gods. or Sweet Venom series by the super sweet Tera Lynn Childs?  Pegasus by Kate O'Hearn?  The ever awesome books by Rick Riordan?  I could go on and on.

I honestly couldn't decide and you really don't want to know what my convoluted thought process was to get to my choices, but here you go -

 

 And

 

There are lots of blogs participating, so please check out their giveaways too!  Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

~Shel

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Waiting on Wednesday (22)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.

By Tera Lynn Childs
Publication Date: July 3, 2012

When Lily Sanderson decided to remain Crown Princess Waterlily of the mermaid kingdom Thalassinia, she knew she couldn’t just coast along in the current. But since she’s spent the last couple of years on land—with gorgeous human Quince by her side—Lily’s not sure she has the fins to lead a kingdom. Even her maddeningly pretentious cousin Dosinia seems to know more about ruling than she does.

But Lily has to dive in deep to keep her promise to Tellin, her mer bond in name only, whose kingdom is suffering in the changing ocean climate. Lily knows this is a seven seas–sized problem: from sea animals dying to oil spills and threats to humans. They’ll need to create some serious waves to make the mer community aware and get it to join together to make things right. Even if that means facing one of the iciest queens in the mer kingdoms.

Just when Lily thinks her double life on land and sea can’t get any more complicated, an ancient mer law might separate Lily and Quince after all. It feels as if the pair is up against a solid tsunami wave!

In this third installment in the series that began with Forgive My Fins and Fins Are Forever, Lily will have to find a way to balance safety and justice for the mer people as well as for the humans she loves

Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs

*** 1/2

From Tera Lynn Childs:

Gretchen may have known she was a descendant of Medusa long before her sisters—after all, she’s spent her life fighting the monsters that escape the abyss—but that doesn’t mean it will be easy to teach the other girls the ropes. Can she rely on Grace and Greer, or even trust herself to keep them safe?

Greer has pressing social commitments on her plate and precious little time to train in her newfound powers. But that wretched second sight won’t leave her alone, and her fabled heritage seems to be creeping into her fashionable life.

Grace has worries closer to home—like why her brother, Thane, has disappeared. He’s hiding something. Could it possibly be related to the secret heritage the triplets share?

With the warring factions among the gods of Olympus coming for them, the creatures of the abyss pushing into their world, and the boys in their lives hiding secrets at every turn, the three girls must figure out where their fate will take them and how to embrace the shadows of their legacy.

The Bad:

Sweet Venom and Sweet Shadows are both told from the point of view of all three sisters, Grace, Greer & Gretchen.  I enjoy the multiple point of views but occasionally it leaves me feeling a tad disjointed. 

The Good:

Tera Lynn Childs is a great writer.  Sweet Shadows is a fascinating and cleverly written re-imagining of Medusa's mythology.  Shadows is full of foreshadowing and Tera's ability to cast doubt and suspicion over even the most lovable characters is amazing.  I thoroughly enjoyed Sweet Venom and Sweet Shadows and recommend both to anyone who enjoys new twists on old myths.  

We have one more "Sweet" book to come - I wonder what the title will be...

~Shel 

Q & A with Tera Lynn Childs - TLC Week!

As we continue our week dedicated to Tera Lynn Childs and her fantastic books, we are happy to give you a little peek into the psyche of Tera as she answers random and nonsensical questions! 

I have enjoyed Tera's books for years.  Last year, shortly after we began the blog, Nat, Bel and I were lucky enough to meet Tera (with Sophie Jordan) at a signing held by a local bookstore.  I immediately became an even bigger fan because Tera is possibly the sweetest person alive.  Tera and the BiblioJunkies crossed paths again at this year's Romantic Times Convention where she tormented me with Sweet Shadows.  We were thrilled that Tera agreed to come out to the blog to play with us this week and if she didn't live across the country, we would totally invite her along for our next movie & pie adventure (I am sure it will shock you all to discover that our next movie & pie adventure will be for Magic Mike next weekend!)! 

So enough about us, I give you Tera Lynn Childs!

BiblioJunkies:  Fruit Loops or Captain Crunch?

TLC:  Fruit Loops (I like to keep the roof of my mouth intact, thank you very much)

BiblioJunkies:  It drives Shel nuts when people use the word literally to describe something figurative - what word or phrase do you think is over/incorrectly used and should never be used again? 

TLC:  It's not so much overused as just something I don't like reading. I hate the term "caused." As in, "The fierce wind caused her to fall over." How about, "The fierce wind knocked her over." Or "She fell over in the fierce wind." I'll even take, "The fierce wind made her fall over." It's just the caused that bugs me…

BiblioJunkies:  Your characters are all descendants from mythological beings with special abilities – From which mythological being would you most like to be descended?  And what special abilities would you most want?

TLC:  Well, I'm not supposed to play favorites… But I'm a research junkie—I'm obsessed with the History Channel, the Science Channel, the Discovery channel… you get the idea. I've always felt the most connection to Athena. I'd love to have her wisdom and, also, the ability to autoport. I love to travel, so I'd love to be able to visit anywhere in the world in a blink.

BiblioJunkies:  What is your favorite story in mythology?                                   

TLC:  Aaaah! There are so many to choose from. I've always loved the story of the golden apple, of Eris throwing it into the circle of goddesses and letting them duke it out over who is the fairest. And my other favorite would be the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It's heartbreaking how he made the journey into Hades to retrieve her, but couldn't stop from checking over his shoulder to make sure she was there.

BiblioJunkies:  Do you read your own books?

TLC:  No, of course not. *looks shifty left and right* Oh, okay… sometimes. But not all the way through. I almost always read through the opening pages when I get the first real copy, and then the ending to make sure I did a good job.

BiblioJunkies:  We are big fans of pie (cupcakes and really any treats) here at BiblioJunkies HQ – what is your favorite treat?

TLC:  Vegan cupcakes! I love making them almost as much as I love eating them. *stares longingly at oven*

BiblioJunkies:  Who is your literary crush?

TLC:  Besides Colin Fir—I mean, Mr. Darcy? I am ridiculously in love with Simon Basset from Julia Quinn's The Duke and I. But my first literary crush was Logan from The Baby-sitter's Club series.

BiblioJunkies:  Action flick or comedy?

TLC:  Action flick! I'll take something blowing up or people planning to steal stuff or zombies eating peoples' faces off over a cutesy girl movie any day.

BiblioJunkies:  What summer movie are you most looking forward to?

TLC:  It's bad, right, that I had to go check IMDB to find out what the summer movies are? I've been in deadline/moving/getting ready for a summer of crazy mode so I have barely even been watching TV, let alone thinking about movies. (Anyone who knows me knows that there is something seriously wrong if I'm lacking TV time.) But, after a quick check, probably the ones I'd most like to go see in theatres would be Brave (I love anything Disney), Snow White and the Huntsman (um, Charlize Theron anyone?), and either the Bourne Legacy or Total Recall (gotta get my action in somewhere).

BiblioJunkies:  What 3 books would you want with you on a deserted island?

TLC:  Pride and Prejudice, The Hunger Games, and a survival manual.

We want to give our heartfelt thanks to Tera for participating in our insanity this week and for donating her fabulous books and swag for giveaways.  I hope you all enjoyed our silliness and entered to win the  fabulous prizes.  Our winners will be chosen soon- so enter now!

Make sure you pick up your very own copies of Just for Fins (available on 7/3/12) and Sweet Shadows (available on 9/4/12) and remember, Tera's other books are available now, so you have plenty of time to catch up for the new releases!  You can visit www.teralynnchilds.com for more information on what Tera has in store for us next. 

~Shel

TLC's Yummy Green (Drink) Salsa

We may have mentioned that we met Tera Lynn Childs and Sophie Jordan last fall at the Magic Tree Bookstore.  We had the chance to talk with these two awesome ladies for quite a while and it was a blast!  I think we pretty much covered every subject under the sun - including books, boys and pie.  At the time Tera mentioned a salsa/dip she made with cucumbers.   I was intrigued.  It sounded delicious.  I meant to ask her for the recipe but the conversation moved onto something else and I completely forgot. 

When we were planning fun things to do for Tera week I suggested asking for a favorite recipe.  Our previous conversation for some reason didn't occur to me so my subconcious must have been at work.  My subconcious must have also be talking to Tera's subconcious because she sent the recipe!  Seriously.  Coolest. Author. Ever.

So here is the recipe along with photos of my first attempt of the deliciousness that is....

TLC's Yummy Green Drink Salsa

Ingredients 

Looks so summery!

·         1 cucumber

·         1 tomatillo

·         1 ripe avocado

·         1 jalapeno pepper

·         ½ Cup fresh cilantro

·         1 Tbsp lime juice

·         2 tsp garlic powder

·         1 tsp salt

Directions

1.       Peel cucumber and cut into cubes.

2.       Remove tomatillo husk and stem.

So THAT's what a tomatillo looks like on the inside...

3.       Remove avocado rind and pit. (I cut it into quarters, pull out the pit, and then peel off the rind.

4. Remove jalapeno seeds and stem.

Pretty green chopped veggies...





5. Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Blend until smooth with small chunks.

I doubled the recipe. Good thing I didn't try to use the mini-chopper. It wouldn't have fit!

6.       Season to taste.

I almost forgot the lime!

Much Better!

7.       Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips. (I prefer Baked Tostitos Scoops.)

A double batch made 4 cups.  That is a LOT of delicious flavor!

This was so good that the first thing I did was text Shel and Bel and tell them that I was going to marry Tera.  Right after I married her Green Salsa.  Tera isn't kidding.  This is so delicious, you could drink this.   I am contemplating a Green Salsa Martini with a tortilla chip garnish.  Hmmm...I might be on to something...