I love this place.  We didn’t have a lot of time to check out everything since we were on a business trip but the atmosphere is wonderful!  Check out Lauralynn’s latest post here for her “ghostly” experience in the tapestry room.

We stayed at the Inn on Biltmore estate as well.  This is a beautiful place!  And everyone was so friendly and helpful.

The food was great too!  I actually dragged Lauralynn to eat in a horse stall at the Stable Cafe…heehee.  We had a pimento cheese dip appetizer that was out of this world.  Yum!

We also ate at Cedric’s Tavern in Antler Village right next to the hotel where we stayed.  I loved the atmosphere is this place and the vegetable beef soup I had was wonderful! Oh and did I mention the rolls with mustard butter?  Oh my gosh!

Rolls with mustard butter....oh wow!

We are planning a trip back in the Spring or Summer to see all the beautiful flowers that are all dormant right now.  This was Lauralynn’s first trip to the Biltmore and I think she is looking forward to returning when we have more time to explore the whole estate.

If you are near Asheville, NC or going to be in that area sometime make sure you go and visit the Biltmore.  It is truly an amazing place to take in.

I am so excited to have received this award.  I only hope I can continue to live up to expectations.

Now I have to pass this award on to six other bloggers.  Here is my list below.

Lauralynn Elliott

Kait Nolan

Pots and Plots

Susan Bischoff

Picky Me

Sharon Gerlach

Below is the cover art that I just finished for both of the books.

The first release is a short story.  It is a new retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story.  It will be a free ebook on Smashwords soon.

The second release is the final book in the Libby Fox series.  You will want to know how things end with Libby and Adam.  They are on a return search for the Dark Relic from the first book.  This book should be on your favorite ebook site soon as well.

Available now for purchase from Amazon.com

Available soon for purchase from Amazon.com

Bartlett Rebooted by JJ Toner

JJ has released another one of his short stories from his anthology Ovolution and Other Stories. 

Here’s the blurb:

A university professor gets military funding for a madcap experiment.

There’s more to this story than just what the blurb tells you.  After one of the professor’s colleagues dies in an accident he and another partner decide to “reboot” their friend’s brain for a military experiment.  This story is not all dry and boring about just this experiment.  There are several times that I had to chuckle with what ensues between the three colleagues with making this experiment work.

The cover for this story was a lot of fun to do…as you can probably see  You need to read the story to find out why this cover is “special” as JJ says on his blog:  Wild Thoughts by JJ Toner.

Happy Reading!

Ooze by JJ Toner

This short story by JJ Toner is very unusual but I really enjoyed it.  It’s about the first contact between two very different species.   If you like a bit of SciFi reading and want to read a story that doesn’t take too much time you need to check this out.

This was a fun book cover to design.  It’s very simple but I think it is perfect for the story.  Sometimes simple is best!  Also JJ is so much fun to work with.  Check out his blog at:

Wild Thoughts by JJ Toner

Fall means craft shows and I love craft shows!  The atmosphere at a craft show just seems to soak into my body and grab hold of me.  I enjoy shopping the vendors for crafts and food.  So many different things out there to discover.  The joy of finding a new craft I’ve never seen before or the comfort of the same people from year to year at the same craft show.  The discovery of a new food that stimulates my taste buds and leaves me wanting more…yum!  I think the smell of the food and eye catching colors at all the booths create some of the best feelings in the world.

However, the past few years at craft shows have just not been the same.  My mom and I used to go to every local craft show we could. Ever since she died a few years ago I really miss the time I spent with her at those shows.  They were “our thing” to do together.  Although I still enjoy going with my friends now it just feels like something is missing.

This year I actually have only been to one craft show.  I helped Lauralynn Elliott with her booth this weekend at the local Apple Festival.  I’ve helped her and her best friend set up for it the past several years, but the two of them were the ones who usually stayed the entire time and I was glad to leave it to them.  They could have their time together since they didn’t get to see each other as much as they used to since they lived so far apart.  For those of you who read Lauralynn’s post I know you already know that she lost her friend back in May and she misses her very much.  I’m glad I could help her out this weekend but I know it’s not the same as having your best friend you’ve done things with for years and years with you.  I know she had some rough spots this weekend but I hope I was able to help her through it a little easier.

Whether it’s your Mom or your best friend in the whole world it does leave an empty spot in your heart when you go to do the things you used to do with them and they aren’t there to share it.  I’m sure there are others of you out there that remember doing things you loved with your loved ones that are no longer here.  I hope however it doesn’t keep you from still doing those things.  Find a friend to take with you and do those things and make some new memories with them.  Your loved ones with still be there with you even if it’s only in your heart…and those memories will make you smile.

Then I decided the background was a little too girly, girly for me.  If you’ve ever met me you will realize that I’m not much of a girly girl.  I like my dark colors and pastels just aren’t me.  So I looked for a new them that wouldn’t cause me to also have to do a lot of updating from what I already had.  Finally found one I liked.

So now I have a fresh looking blog that I believe shows a little more of what I do and what I’m like.  Hope you like it!

So Friday afternoon I went to the craft store and bought the mask and whatever I thought could be used to make it with.  I laid it all out on the table along with all my jewelry making supplies.

After deliberating what all to put on it I started with the eyes…some black sequins with a little “bling” in the middle.

I added some charms to the beads hanging from it that she might like.  The one charm says “Be Fabulous” on one side and on the other it says “Why be Normal?” This fits the little girl perfectly.  :)

So now I’ve added all the feathers, beads, ribbon, etc that I thought would look good.

I had to make the stick to use to hold the mask and I think it came out pretty good.  So here’s the final finished product!  Whew!  All done!

HERE’S THE BLURB:

2004 Ireland is Tiger country. Aloysius Lafferty, one of Dublin’s biggest crime lords, specialises in armoured car heists, raids on post offices and “Tiger” kidnappings.

DI Ben Jordan of Dublin’s Organised Crime Unit has spent three years on Lafferty’s case when a lucky break uncovers the handgun used to kill one of Lafferty’s rivals. The trail leads Jordan to the low-life who pulled the trigger. To save his own skin, the shooter agrees to give evidence against Lafferty, and Jordan and his team hide him away in a country hotel.

But before the trial can start, the witness and his minder are shot, and the case against Lafferty collapses. Lafferty is released and goes on the offensive.