Thursday 13 - Linky Linky!

Here are some links to important (to me) things from the past week.



1. THE LIST was featured in my sorority magazine (Alpha Xi Delta). You can view the PDF here, and scroll to page 29.

2. I co-hosted a LitChat in April. If you're on Twitter, it's a literary discussion every M, W, & F at 4 p.m. EST under hashtag #LitChat. You can view the transcript of my chat here.

3. Here's a link to Amazon if you'd like to buy a copy of THE LIST.

4. I don't know if I told you, but we have a new travel agent/cruise business. We can give you lots of info, and help you book an awesome deal! View our Website for Cruise Deals/info.

5. I posted my trip photos on Facebook. You don't need an account to view them. The first set is of the Keukenhof gardens and the TULIPS!

6. The second set is the Red Light District. (Don't worry, this is the PG version.)

7. The third set is of our Mike's Bike Tour of the Amsterdam countryside.

8. The next set of photos is the sites on our canal boat tour.

9. These are the general Amsterdam photos, Volume 1

10. These are the general Amsterdam photos, Volume 2 (I took a whopping 1000 pics on this trip!)

11. These are the Brussels photos - just the chocolate parts.

12. These are the Brussels photos - the things to see in Brussels parts.

13. Did you see my iReport on the Netherlands on CNN? They mentioned my name! And Jim's! http://bit.ly/ugpnk My part is at about 2 min 30. If the player won't work, do a search of CNN's site for "CNN: May 2, Pt. 3"


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Thursday 13 - Why My List Isn't Better This Week

1. I just flew in last night from my trip to Amsterdam and Brussels. Boy, are my arms tired (along with everything else.)

2. I'm still on Amsterdam time. Right now, it's six hours ahead there. So my body is still adjusting, and I'm beat.

3. We walked and walked and walked. That's what I love about Europe. But it takes its toll on normally sedentary bodies. ;) So I'm tired from that.

4. I can't wait to share my photos from the trip, but there are a LOT of them, so I'm spending time getting those together.

5. After only one week, our DVR is 100% full. I've got to make room for new stuff, and get caught up on Lost and Heroes before someone spoils it for me.

6. Do you know how much dirty laundry can come out of a small suitcase?

7. There is no food in the kitchen for eating. None. Except the milk I bought on the way home last night. Grocery store, here we come.

8. We also shot a lot of video. Need to upload that (takes forever).

9. Then we need to edit the video. Also takes a while. But all for your enjoyment!

10. Need to prepare to go to Boston next week, pitching my book to some agents at Connecticut Fiction Fest!

11. I have a ton of books that I need to get to reading!

12. Came back from vacation to job cuts at work. Spared this time, but still nervous. Grateful and feel guilty for being okay, too. So I need to put in special extra effort.

13. Still need to do some promoting work for \THE LIST to get more people to check it out!

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My Own TBR Pile

I love to read. I think that's why I love to write so much.

In the last few weeks, I've been hearing about TBR piles (To Be Read). Book reviewers have TBR piles that probably stretch to the ceiling, and when you request a review, you should expect to go on the bottom of that pile. :)

My own TBR pile has increased exponentially over the last few weeks. I usually buy a book or two a month to read before I go to sleep at night, since Jim likes to read and won't turn out the light. ;) So I bought Charlotte Hughes new book, Nutcase. Then, I found out that Janet Evanovich had released a book that she had written a long time ago, so it was new-to-me, and I bought that one. Then, when I did my book signing at a local bookstore in Staunton, VA, (BookWorks) I wanted to support the store so I bought a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book called Glitter Baby. After that, I won a book by Denise Robbins called It Happens in Threes. Then, I did a radio show interview where the host, Rita Schiano, wrote me a wonderful review, and I want to return the favor and read her book, Painting the Invisible Man. I found a few books (which will be in Thursday's post) at the Virginia Festival of the Book this past weekend that I want to read. Plus, I got a free book from another vendor with the promise to write a review called The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. Gasp!

These days, with promoting my own book, my free time has dwindled. Thank goodness for my upcoming vacation for reading time. I have a 7-hour flight to Amsterdam and back, so that should take care of at least 2 books, if you include "sitting in the airport time." Then, maybe I'll share the love with some of these books and hand them to someone else to read in the airport when I'm done. Oh, and that's another book on my list - Rick Steeves Amsterdam, Brussels & Bruges. If you want to check them out, here are the Amazon links below.

Maybe I'll take on the review hat when I'm done and spread the review love. By the way, I love reviews on THE LIST as well, so if you read it, I'd appreciate you telling the world about it!