We're having a heat wave!

Yesterday was beautiful-- the first eighty degree day this year. I went outside and read in the sun for about fifteen minutes... because that's how long it takes for my lily white skin to start getting crispy. After that, I reclined in the shade of the swing on the deck with my SPF 85+... because yes, some of us can get burnt even in the shade. I love the sun, but it doesn't love me. :(

So I started thinking about everything that I'm looking forward to this summer. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):

1) Otter Pops
2) New gloves for weeding (Hey, I like to weed. I know-- I'm weird.)
3) Tomato sandwiches with tomatoes from the garden
4) Mowing the lawn (Again, weird.)
5) Pina Colada Slurpees
6) Watching my nieces play in the sprinklers
7) Corn on the cob
8) Reading Dandelion Wine outside on a blanket... in the shade
9) Kool Aid
10) Going to Wheeler Farm to feed the ducks
11) Capri pants
12) Watermelon
13) Fireworks
14) Homemade ice cream
15) Pedicures and flip flops
16) Barbequing
17) Not losing the daylight until 8:30 or 9:00


I just realized that roughly half of the things on my list are food-related. Oh dear.

I'd love to hear some of the things you look forward to most about summer. :)

Imprints review

Rachel Ann Nunes is blazing a trail.





With her new book, Imprints, she is filling a hole in the LDS market-- paranormal romance.





Here's the blurb:

Sometimes what you can't see means everything.

A young woman is missing. In desperation, her parents turn to Autumn Rain for help. Autumn reads imprints- emotions mysteriously left behind on certain treasured objects. But will this ability enrich her life or destroy it?

Autumn isn't sure- her life has become far from normal- but for people whose loved ones are missing, her talent might mean the difference between life and death. Even the infuriating Detective Martin has asked for Autumn's help, though at times she feels more like a suspect than a consultant. Too often Autumn finds herself retreating to her antiques shop and the company of her best friend, Jake Ryan, to avoid notice.

But soon more than one woman is missing, and Autumn teams up with private eye Ethan McConnell to investigate their disappearance. Ethan's attraction to her is a pleasant change from Jake's frustrating offers of friendship, but once Autumn takes that first step, she sets in motion a series of events that risk not only her own life but the lives of those she cares most about.

I love this genre, and there's a reason Imprints is currently the #3 Fiction Bestseller for Deseret Book. It has an intriging plot, a main character with some unique quirks, a love triangle, suspense, danger, and just enough romance to make things interesting. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but I had a definite favorite in the contest for Autumn's affections, and the ending didn't disappoint. (But it DID end just as things were starting to get good. Sequel, please!)

I'm sure that Deseret Book took a chance on publishing in this genre, even with an author as well respected as Rachel Ann Nunes. But I'm thrilled to have this option in the LDS market, and I'm hoping that it is a success so that she (and others who are interested) can continue to have a safe outlet for paranormal romance.

Winner of THE MARK!

According to our friends at www.random.org, the winner of the copy of The Mark by M.R. Bunderson is...

Fenwick Family :)

Congratulations-- email me with your address and I'll get your copy in the mail!

In other news, this dreary weather we've been having must be stopped.

It's MAY now. I'm putting my foot down.

(Okay, I realize that today is an exception, but I'm stuck inside at work and the weather forecast this morning said more rain Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so I think I'm justified in complaining.) If I don't start seeing the sun on a semi-regular basis, I'm afraid I might just stop getting out of bed entirely.

Check in later this week for a review on Imprints by Rachel Ann Nunes.*

*Unless the weather refuses to cooperate and I take to my bed indefinitely. I have no Internet access on my laptop, so if the blog suddenly fades away, you'll know why. ;)