Preorder My New Novella!

My new novella, Forget Me Not, comes out June 15th and you can preorder it today for only .99 cents! I'm so excited for this one. It's a companion novella that takes place following Pocket Full of Posies that will tell you a little more of what happened after Bart and Lucy came home.

Here's the back copy:

After reconnecting with Lucy Aguayo on an undercover mission to Colombia, Bart Gutierrez can't imagine his life without her now. Exploring their new relationship has him thinking of love and marriage, but before they can move forward, their dangerous past comes back to haunt them. Can they face it together or will it tear them apart?

Lucy has been undercover for five years and her new "normal" life takes some getting used to. Bart and his family have welcomed her with open arms and just as she starts to believe her newfound happiness isn't going to be snatched away, government agents show up unannounced and give her an ultimatum---do one last operation for us or you won't like the consequences.

Everything doesn't go as planned, however, and soon both of their lives are on the line. Can they survive the mission and put the past behind them once and for all, in order to have the future they've always wanted?

You can download your copy at the special preorder price here

Book Review & Giveaway!

First of all, I hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend! I'm grateful we have a chance to step back and remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Never forgotten!

Today I am excited because my daughter, Lauren Bellon is an amazing historian, and today's book, How Four Feet of Plywood Saved the Grand Canyon, by Jerry Borrowman is definitely historical, so I thought it would be fun to have her do a guest review from a historian's perspective.

"When I first encountered the title of this book, I thought that I wasn't necessarily very interested in plywood or the history of the Grand Canyon. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book covers a variety of topics throughout history and presents them in a way that can even make Yellowstone an absorbing read. The author does a great job of combining narrative, quotes, and personal experience to create a book that the most amateur of historians can enjoy. Jerry Borrowman demonstrates a vast knowledge in his writing, especially a geographical knowledge, and you can definitely tell he has a love for what he is writing about. After almost every story, he writes about his experience with the event or how it became interesting to him. It makes the reader think of historical events in their life and how it has impacted them and learn from Borrowman's first person point of view.

My favorite story was the early career of Abraham Lincoln and the case that put him in position to run for the president of the United States of America. We are all familiar with stories of Honest Abe, but honestly I had never thought about his career before his presidential campaign. His rise to fame makes you appreciate him even more as a person, as Borrowman highlights things that make him an even more likeable man.

The church historian inside me was waiting the whole book for an LDS shoutout, and I was finally satisfied when the author wrote about the Mormons and the transcontinental railroad. He highlights Brigham Young and the history of the saints as he discusses their help in the huge project that caused celebrations all over the country.

After reading this book, I can't wait to awe my friends and family with little known facts and stories. If your inner geography or geology buff is looking for is looking for its next thrilling read, look no further."

Don't forget to scroll down to enter the giveaway!

You can buy your copy here

Here's the back copy:

History turns on small points. From the world’s most catastrophic game of chicken to the nail-biting success story at the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, discover fascinating events you’ve probably never heard of. In this compilation of eight true stories from the forgotten pages of history, learn about disasters caused by human error as well as calamities avoided by quick and clever thinking—the lawsuit that launched Abraham Lincoln’s political career, the collapse of the Teton Dam, the invention that revolutionized the world of sound, and more. This book is truly love at first sight for lovers of history.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is the blog tour schedule so you can see what everyone else is saying!

 May 30th: http://mybookaday.blogspot.com/, http://www.rockinbookreviews.com/, http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/

May 31st: http://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, http://empowermoms.net/, http://www.wishfulendings.com/

June 1st:http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com/, http://sweetlymadejustforyou.com/blog/

June 2nd:http://thethingsilovemost.com/, http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/

June 3rd: http://bonnieharris.blogspot.com/, http://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/index.html

Freebie Friday

Today's Freebie Friday is a fun romantic novella by Lindzee Armstrong called First Love, Second Choice. For a light afternoon read, this is the story for you!

Here's the back copy:

What happens when you impersonate your identical twin sister to score a date with your long-lost high school crush?

When wedding planner Keslee gets asked on a date by her long-lost high school crush, Bryce, everything should be perfect. But Bryce mistakes Keslee for her deceased twin sister, Jadyn. And Keslee doesn’t correct him. Talk about awkward. To make matters worse, she learns they’ll be seeing a lot more of each other because Bryce is the marketing director at the venue where Keslee’s new client has chosen to get married. Keslee knows the charade can’t last much longer, and fears she’ll lose Bryce forever when she tells him the truth.

A sweet and clean contemporary romance novella from the Amazon bestselling Sweet and Sassy Anthology: Hidden Identities collection, now with a never-before-seen bonus epilogue!

Download your free Kindle copy here

My Eagle Scout

I've been celebrating today because my fifth son earned his Eagle! Woohoo! Less than 4% of scouts earn that honor and I am so happy my son was motivated enough to do it.

I love the Scouting program and what it's done for my boys. I love watching them try new things as they earn badges and learn that the strength they have inside them will serve them well. 

My older boys who have earned their Eagle have been able to put that honor on their job applications and been able to shepherd other boys toward reaching that goal. They joined an elite group and it's been an accomplishment they can feel good about through their lives. I'm glad they can look back on it and be proud of themselves, because it's not easy! 

So, yay for the Scouting program! And yay for my newly minted Eagle!

Can you tell I'm a proud mom tonight? 

What I'm Reading Wednesday--I'MPossible

I received this book I'MPossible by Jeff Griffin and I have to confess, I haven't been able to put it down. It starts out with the author looking out over Mount Everest and thinking about his challenges and how we all have our disabilities, whether they be something the eye can see or not. Then we find out how he was paralyzed during a summer job and how much his life changed---and how his attitude changed. I can't even imagine going through what he did and yet, it put him on a course that wouldn't have otherwise been possible.

The author has an easy writing style and doesn't sugar coat the truth. There is so much more to his story than simply encouraging others to keep trying. Mr. Griffin is coming from a place of learning because of his experiences and he shares in a non-preachy way how his challenges can relate to you and help you overcome your own.

This story is engaging and one I know I will read over the invitations and commitments again to apply them in my own personal journey. I think you'll really enjoy this one as well.

You can get your copy here

Here's the back copy:

The sun's rays filtered in from the partially opened shades of the plane. They lit up the world in front of me and warmed my soul, knowing I was almost to my destination. The beautiful golden light replaced the grey and hazy cobwebs from my eyes, revealing the most spectacular scene I had ever seen in my entire life. I looked out the small seven-inch window and witnessed something that I'll never forget! I beheld something in this magnificent world that the majority of people never get to see. I was looking out at Mount Everest, the world's highest peak!

I was at the tail end of a three-flight journey with two layovers in between, nearly logging twenty-four hours of flight time. I hadn't gotten any real sleep in the last thirty-six hours. My bloodshot eyes were heavy, my mind was slow and sluggish, and my body was even slower in response. How did I get here? I thought to myself. Am I d-r-e-a-m-i-n-g?

As Lao and Confucius once said, “A journey of one-thousand miles begins with one step.” My story is about inspiring you to take your own journey one step at a time. It's about dreaming and accomplishing the impossible. It's not only about aiming for the sky and reaching for the stars but enjoying the journey along the way.

Begin your personal journey today, press forward to the top, and don't you ever stop. As you move toward your dreams, there will be obstacles and setbacks along the way; don't be afraid. You can get to the top of your world by following the signs and guide posts within these pages. You can do it with others! You can do it with me! We can do it together, one step at a time!

How I Did A Cookie Monster Baby Shower

Last Saturday I threw a Cookie Monster baby shower and it turned out so cute I thought I'd share it with you!

First, we started off with the invitations. Isn't this adorable?

I had it made from Jill's Creative Creations. You can see her website here

I also used her to make the thank you gifts. I put this adorable chocolate bar sticker around a Cookies and Creme bar to make it extra special!

I had so much fun with the decorations! I did Cookie Monster blue and gold crepe paper down the window, then after I'd fluffed out the crepe paper balls, I glued on googly eyes to make them monster-ish.

I had my local bakery make up this fun Cookie Monster cake. The toppers are a rattle and teething ring that the new mom-to-be can use!

And for fun, we had little monster cupcakes made up to add to the ambiance.

We had a cookie bar of Fudge cookies, Snickers cookies, Rolo cookies and Dipped cookies with chocolate chip as well. The little bouquet in the back is just cut out Cookie Monster wrapping paper for the image, then gluing on the mat and frame of cardstock paper on the back for color and form. I used Cookie Crisp cereal for the base inside the bouquet. 

You can see the Cookie Crisp cereal better in this shot with the Cookie Monster images on skewers for theme. This is also where I had the thank you gifts as well as index cards for guests to write their new mommy advice.

For another fun decoration, I did the crepe paper balls with googly eyes.

I did a light luncheon of Chicken Salad Croissants with vegetable and fruit salads and lemon water. I did have blue lemonade later on to go with the theme, but it isn't shown here.

(If you want a super easy Chicken Croissant recipe, this is the one I used. It was so good!)

Here's a shot of both tables.

Here's my gift table centerpiece. 

We also did homemade napkin holders. We used Cookie Monster stickers in the middle of the paper and they turned out wonderful! Click here for the napkin holder template we used.

It was such a fun shower to put together, and so easy!  

Book Review: 523 Ways To Be Awesome

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I picked up 523 Ways To Be Awesome by Kathryn Thompson, but I liked the Drops Of Awesome post the author did on her blog a long time ago, (you can read that here) so I wanted to read the "follow-up" if you will.

It starts out with a fun introduction to the Drops of Awesome concept. That sometimes, when we are doing good things, we beat ourselves up that we should be doing more. That's when we apply the Drops of Awesome concept and focus on the positive---the little drops of awesome that make up our Bucket of Awesome. Then, when we realize our awesomeness, it will also increase at a rate that will surprise us.

The author tells us twenty Feats Of Awesome she would like to accomplish in her life and the rest of the book is going through each of those Feats and breaking it down into drops. For example, one of her feats is to achieve world peace. That's a pretty tall order. But when you break it down into drops, like stopping to just "be" sometimes. Or to speak softly, let someone else be right, and so on. Just small little drops of awesome that will lead to peace. Maybe not world peace, but peace in your world. I loved that idea!

There are a lot more Drops of Awesome that can lead to Feats of Awesome like invent a technology, win an Olympic medal, arrest a criminal and more. And the author's ideas were fun and doable. And that's the thing--sometimes I am contributing to my Bucket of Awesome, but discount it because it wasn't big enough. This book reminds me that I can count all those drops and it's going to lead me to a more positive place in my life. So many voices in our society today are negative and loud and this is a book that quiets those with positivity and a quiet assurance that I am enough. I thoroughly enjoyed the reminder.

This is a quick read and one that you can glance at and make personal goals from to fill your own Bucket of Awesome.

You can get your copy here:

Here's the back copy:

Have you ever wanted to write a symphony, explore the galaxy, or save a life? With 523 Ways to Be Awesome, you will learn how you are already doing those and other amazing things . . . a bit . . . and how you can do them a bit more, one Drop of Awesome at a time. For example, you may not achieve “world peace,” but you can:

Choose to forgive.
Let someone merge in front of you.
Listen when you really want to talk.

Based on the viral blog post that inspired Drops of Awesome: The You’re-More-Awesome-Than-You-Think Journal (2014), this book is for anyone who listens to the negative voice inside her head, telling her she’s not good enough and that her best efforts are insufficient. Author and blogger Kathryn Thompson returns with her signature wit and wisdom intact to help readers keep tally of the small victories that mean everything in life and discover their inner AWESOME