Two weeks before Christmas /right about now/ we start cleaning the house. It has to be spotless, like the divine control will stop by and check if it is enough clean. Like if we don't do it we won't be allowed to celebrate Christmas :)
All you have to do is comment to be elligible and to be from one of the countries to which The Book Depository delivers :) The contest is open until Saturday 12/19/2009 and the winners from all three weeks will be randomly chosen and announced on 12/20/2009 - the forth Advent Sunday.
Isn't he just too cute!!!
(Grand Central, November 09) Lana Biel longs to leave her family’s Vermont wildflower farm so she can travel and see the world. And her sister Karin wants nothing more than to put down roots and conceive the child she and her husband just can’t seem to have. When a lighthearted fling with a mountain biker leaves Lana expecting, she finds herself tumbling headlong into motherhood while her sister Karin can only look on.
She's with us today and sharing her Christmas traditions. She is also giving away another copy of her great e-book Selling Forever (read my review here), and she will hang around my blog today, so please stop by and ask her what ever you want to know about her books.
Tomorrow is St. Nicholas' Day. Kimber told me that she doesn't celebrate this day. Do you? Well, in Croatia this is a big holiday (although it's a working day). We put our boots in front of the window or balcony door and during the night St. Nicholas comes and leaves you a present if you were good during the year. If you were bad you get a silver twig from his helper Crampus and the gold one if you were extra bad. I got my share of twigs during my childhood :) St Nicholas was a real person and Christian saint known for his charity work. European emigrants brought the story about him in the USA and that's how Santa Clause came to be. In my mother's childhood little Jesus brought presents on Christmas, only later did Santa Clause became popular and began bringing presents on Christmas. So put your clean and shine boots in the window, maybe you'll find something in the morning :) I will be putting mine...
Michelle Moran was born in the San Fernando Valley, CA. She took an interest in writing from an early age, purchasing Writer's Market and submitting her stories and novellas to publishers from the time she was twelve. When she was accepted into Pomona College she took as many classes as possible in British Literature, particularly Milton, Chaucer, and the Bard. Not surprisingly, she majored in English while she was there. Following a summer in Israel where she worked as a volunteer archaeologist, she earned an MA from the Claremont Graduate University. Michelle has travelled around the world, from Zimbabwe to India, and her experiences at archaeological sites were what inspired her to write historical fiction. In 2006, Michelle was married at the Chateau d'Esclimont in France, a 16th century location which spoke to both her and her husband's love of history. Every year, both Michelle and her husband embark on a historically-themed trip for two to three months. In 2008, they retraced the journey of Homer's Odysseus, and most recently they followed the path of the American Revolution from Boston to France to Virginia. A public high school teacher for six years, Michelle Moran is currently a full-time writer living in California with her husband. She is the author of Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, and Cleopatra's Daughter. Her fourth novel, Madame Tussaud, will debut in March 2011.
The book tells a story about the children of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. After the death of their parents, twins Alexander and Selene and younger brother Ptolemy are in a dangerous position, left to the mercy of their father's greatest rival, Octavian Caesar. However, Caesar does not kill them as expected, but takes the trio to Rome to be paraded as part of his triumphant return and to demonstrate his solidified power. As the twins adapt to life in Rome in the inner circle of Caesar's family, they grow into adulthood ensconced in a web of secrecy, intrigue and constant danger. Told from Selene's perspective, the tale draws readers into the fascinating world of ancient Rome and into the court of Rome's first and most famous emperor.
A public high school teacher for six years, Michelle Moran is currently a full-time writer living in California with her husband. She is the author of Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, and Cleopatra's Daughter. Her fourth novel, Madame Tussaud, will debut in March 2011.
P.S. Don't forget about Winter contest - starts 11/29
Hector 2005 - 2009
Last week I had all sorts of 'fun' activities related to registering for my classes. On Monday (10/19/2009) my classes have started. In the mornings I have to work at my regular day job and in the afternoons and evenings I attend the classes. That is the reason I won't be around my or yours blogs a lot. I'm very sorry about that but I just don't have time to surf the net on a non-business related stuff :)
In the Ichidian Universe, The League and their ruthless assassins rule all. Expertly trained and highly valued, the League Assassins are the backbone of the government. But not even the League is immune to corruption . . . Command Assassin Nykyrian Quikiades once turned his back on the League--and has been hunted by them ever since. Though many have tried, none can kill him or stop him from completing his current mission: to protect Kiara Zamir, a woman whose father's political alliance has made her a target. As her world becomes even deadlier, Kiara must entrust her life to the same kind of beast who once killed her mother and left her for dead. Old enemies and new threaten them both and the only way they can survive is to overcome their suspicions and learn to trust in the very ones who threaten them the most: each other
One part of the mountain
The rocky trail
Pines in the botanical garden
B-friend at one of the peaks
Me at the beginning of the trail
The device that measures a number of sunny hours in the day (not sure how it's called)
The chapel at one of the peaks 
Funny looking wood
Me before the concert
The Cult on the stage
Hope you are having a great day! I'm off to do some hiking since in my part of the world today is a national holiday and I don't have to work. Yay!!
(cartoon is the copyright of wonderful author Fredrika Ulfström - see her work at http://www.frikaworld.com/)
Uh, thanks for listening, I already feel better just sharing this :)
on Wednesday I went to The Cult concert. It was great, the band gave his best and the crowd went crazy. It was 2 hours of absolutely positive vibes. It made my business stuff a little bit less hard. On Saturday I went to another business related fair and on Sunday was my Name-day - St. Francis of Assisi. It was also a big celebration of another saint in my boyfriend's parish. So we had a big party :)
I am off to business trip - see you all on Saturday! Have a great week and enjoy this video!
A list of current contest all over the blog land - scroll down to see what's up
