Algie

First tea rose of summer

The Knockout Roses are blooming like crazy, but this is the first show level tea rose.

Just finished my restoration of my Coca Cola horse

This is how he looked after we brought him home.

This is how he looks today, after I finished restoring him.

Grumpy Cat RULES!! lol

USA Today - Grumpy Cat report...lol

Grumpy Cat emerged as one of the biggest celebrity draws at BEA last week, with convention-goers lining up by the Chronicle booth for almost two hours. "Just 15 minutes into the event, the crowd was so anxious to get close to Grumpy Cat that the BEA organizers called for two extra security guards to maintain the peace," the WSJ blogged. By their account the cat, whose actual name is Tardar Sauce, "seemed unphased" and "managed to sleep through most of her event" (though witnesses told us they thought the cat looked drugged rather than just sleepy/grumpy).

Last Day to get A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing for only 99 cents

http://www.amazon.com/A-Wolf-Wolfs-Clothing-ebook/dp/B002Q1YEC6/

Last day to get it for 99 cents - Montlake Amazon Publishing

A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing

www.amazon.com

Not even the ancient stone walls of her family’s English estate can protect the third Montgomerie sister from her magical destiny—or from the wolfish charms of Trevelyn Mershan, who has come to share it.

My page on the Montlake Imprint/Am Pub website

Amazon Publishing has it's new website up

Montlake Romance: 

http://www.apub.com/authors

I have been very excited to be a part of the amazing team putting together Amazon Publishing.  I am with Montlake the romance imprint, and I simply cannot say enough about how wonderfully they treatment and how thrill I am to be on the ground floor of this exiting adventure.

Today they unveiled their new website for Amazon Publishing.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

Amazon Publishing:

Christopher Lee release second Charlemagne album

On his 91st Birthday, Christopher Lee release his heavy metal album

Available for Pre-Order on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Charlemagne-Omens-Death-Christopher-Lee/

The veteran actor, best known as Dracula in the Hammer horror films and Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will release Charlemagne: The Omens of Death, on 27 May, his 91st birthday. The album, which was recorded with Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, is the follow up to 2010's Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross.

First new Tolkien book in over forty years is release

The first new Tolkien book release in 40 years - The Fall of Arthur - is released

http://www.medievalists.net/2013/05/23/the-fall-of-arthur-by-j-r-r-tolkien-released-today/

You can buy it at Amazon.com for your Kindle  

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fall-of-Arthur-ebook/dp/B00CNVPEYQ/

Happy 91st birthday to Legendary actor Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee is the last reigning lord of horror.  He has acted in many films, including The Crimson Pirate with Burt Lancaster, but gained fame with Hammer Films put him opposite another horror legend, Peter Cushing. They made numerous films together, The Mummy, Frankenstein, The Gorgon, The Skull, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, and nearly a dozen more together.  However, it was in their teaming Cushing as Van Helsing and Lee as Dracula that their worldwide glory began.  Later, generations learned to love Lee through his Star Wars appearances and again in the Lord of the Rings movies.

His favourite of all his films - The Wicker Man (NOTHING to do with the Nicolas Cage fiasco!!)
If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend the film.  The movie was lost for many years after having a dubious release, and the whole projected was almost tanked by the film editor who didn't approve of the film's pagan theme, and was dumping footage left and right.  There are three version out there - an 87 min heavily edited US version that cut out some of the vital scenes; a 103 min  (the best version) that was found in the directors's possession and released again for VHS in the 1990s.  Another 99 minute version surface.  In the 103 and the 99 versions you often see the same scene from different angles.  With Britt Eckland and Edward Woodward and beautiful Scotland for the backdrop.

Anyway...happy birthday to Mr. Lee.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day

in honor of Vincent Price...I recommend....

In honor of the anniversary of Vincent Price's birthday I am recommending a film all fans should see.  I have the DVD of it, and have watched it many times for its side-spliting, droll, black humor from some of screens greatest horror stars of the era.

THE COMEDY OF TERRORS

Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Peter Lorre, Joyce Jameson and Joe E. Brown, not to mention Rhubarb The Cat.

You can watch the whole movie on Youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cStI2wmtEwE

Vincent Price on the Anniversary of his birth

By an odd chance of fate Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee were all born on the last of May (though in different years).  The Anniversary of Cushing's 100th birthday was yesterday.  Today, horror fans celebrate the 102nd Anniversary of Price's Birthday.  And, we wish the remaining Lord of Horror, Chris Lee, his 91st Birthday.

Peter Cushing Centenary Tribute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAj_njFisps

A Video tribe to a gentle man, who loved his wife, and brought so many characters to life for so many fans for decades.

Last few days to get A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing for 99 cents

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=br_lf_m_1000706171_grlink_5?ie=UTF8&docId=1000706171&plgroup=5 

A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing has been selected by the Kindle editors to be included in the May Kindle 100 promotion! Each month, they pick 100 titles to price at $3.99 or less and promote with high visibility to Kindle customers. You can see the promotion here: 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less.

http://www.amazon.com/A-Wolf-Wolfs-Clothing-ebook/dp/B002Q1YEC6/ only 99 cents this month

Something comic about the last of May???

Horror Legends 

Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee

Interviewed on Susan Finlay's blog

Meet the Author: Deborah MacGillivray

susansbooks37.wordpress.com

I’d like to introduce you to the thirty-seventh interviewee in my ‘Meet the Author’ series. She is Deborah MacGillivray. Hi, Deborah! Welcome to Susan Finlay Writes blog site. Can you tell us a bit...

http://susansbooks37.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/meet-the-author-deborah-macgillivray/

I did an interview with mystery/suspense author Susan Finlay.  She asked a lot of interesting questions, providing she is very good interviewer.  I wish to thank her for having me.

Good buy on Sisters of Colford Hall series on Kindle during May

A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing
 is a Kindle editors' selection for Kindle Top 100 for May.

 http://tinyurl.com/cgmhzjn

only 99 cents this month

You can pick up the other two books in the series, The Invasion of Falgannon Isle and

Riding the Thunder on sale, too - both at priced at $2.99 each.  That is half off.  

By getting all three it's a $12 savings during May

Top 100 Kindle for May - A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=br_lf_m_1000706171_grlink_5?ie=UTF8&docId=1000706171&plgroup=5 

A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing has been selected by the Kindle editors to be included in the May Kindle 100 promotion! Each month, they pick 100 titles to price at $3.99 or less and promote with high visibility to Kindle customers. You can see the promotion here: 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less.

http://www.amazon.com/A-Wolf-Wolfs-Clothing-ebook/dp/B002Q1YEC6/ only 99 cents this month

Wishing every mum out there....

My early birthday present :-)

(in the store - Absolutely Fabulous)

Yes, it's still a few months until my birthday in August, but I couldn't pass up this

painted pony.  It's a cast iron, Coca Cola horse (1 of 4) that sat outside the Coca Cola

booth at the 1921 World's Fair.  He now is lord of the backyard.  What an amazing find!

(at his new home on my back patio)

La Grange and it's Victorian Beauty

Candy Thompson and I went for a stroll down East Main Street just to enjoy 

the charm of old La Grange

If you want to see the whole tour check out my Facebook Album

New Cover art photos from photographer Mike Duncan

AUTHORS - COVER ARTISTS - heads up --- a photographer friend in South Africa has started loading hot cover images. He's been a photographer for SA Playboy, does commercials. His mum Monika Wolmarans and I have been rooting for him to load images and he's started. So if you are tired of the same old stock images, check out Mike's new images 

http://tinyurl.com/bsvopkk

Happy Beltaine!

Amazon's ever expanding horizons

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-24/here-comes-amazons-kindle-tv-set-top-box

Not content with zeroing in on being on the biggest publishers going, and providing readers the biggest catalogue through Kindle platforms, they are moving to release a unnamed "Kindle-TV" later this year, a device to connect to televisions to stream Amazon media.  Currently, they have produced 14 television series, and are evaluating which ones to expand into series form.

I think the future of Amazon producing their own series and movies will possibly be a boon to their publishing  arm.  Where else to find better ideas to put into movies and television series that from their own authors?

Interesting times ahead.

Authors Guild praises Amazon Publishing's Kindle Singles Platform

http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/amazons-kindle-singles-a-win-for-readers-authors/

Some very kind praise from Authors Guild about the direction of Amazon Publishing has taken in creating Kindle Singles platform.

:

Happy Tartan Day!