Valentine's Day Blog Hop

BLOG HOP IS OVER -
I have donated $50 to the ASPCA!!! Thank you all for your comments.

I am only able to award book prizes to people who left email addys. If you forgot to do that, I'm sorry but I have no way to reach you. So the winners are (drum roll, please): 

Judy

Phuong

Julie Lynn Hayes

Cheralyn

Rhonda D

Kay Lyn Davis

Catherine

Samantha Becker

Naomi Bellina

Tammy Dennings Maggy

 I will be contacting you today for your choice of book and the way you'd like to receive it. CONGRATULATIONS ALL!! And thank you for making this a great bloghop for me and the A.S.P.C.A!
Thank you for supporting the ASPCA with your donation of 

$50.00.

Your generous support is critical to our ongoing efforts on behalf of 
companion animals. Your commitment allows us to continue to 

fight animal cruelty, provide low-cost care for needy animals, pass 

and enforce animal welfare legislation and better educate the public 

on responsible pet parenting. Please know that you are not only 

special to the ASPCA and the animals we serve, but crucial to our 

mission.
 
Edwin Sayres
 
ASPCA President & CEO

With love...with the love from animals! This blog will honor dogs and cats! For every comment, I will donate $1.00 to the ASPCA! (up to $150.) We are at $39 for the ASPCA! Where is everyone??
And 10 lucky winners will receive a free copy of the book of their choice from my list.
Read the excerpts from my books with dogs and cats in them below and unscramble the name of one of the animals in the excerpt. 
Read the short excerpts and unscramble the names listed after each one. Click on the pix on the right to go to Amazon to buy any of these books. Prices range from $1.99 - $4.99.

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE BLOG HOP

APRIL'S KISS N THE MOONLIGHT ($2.99)
 His slow, leisurely kiss started a fire inside April. She wound her arms around his neck as he braced himself, propped up on each elbow with his hands in her hair. His lips pulled gently at hers until she opened them for him. She sighed as his tongue teased hers. Her hands moved up into his hair as his kiss deepened and the heat between them increased. April was lost in Gavin’s embrace when she heard a loud meow coming from the deck. Opening her eyes, she gently pulled away from an unhappy Gavin and got up to investigate.
When she opened the front door, a lively male ginger striped cat bounded in. He wound around her legs, purring. Then he jumped up on the kitchen table. Laughing, April shooed him off and looked for something to feed him, but there was no food suitable for a cat in the refrigerator or the cupboard.
"Sorry, kitty. I’ll put cat food at the top of the list when I go to the store."
She knelt down to pet him as Gavin came through the door, straightening out his shirt.
"Your cat?"
"Never seen him before," she said.
"Looks like he’s adopted you," Gavin said, reaching down to scratch the cat behind his ears.
"I think I’ll call him . . . hmmmm," she said, thinking, her gaze tipped up to the ceiling, her hand on her throat.
Then her focus narrowed on Gavin’s face.
"Romeo!"
"That’s his name, not mine," he huffed.

1. NAME TO UNSCRAMBLE: OMOER  

SUNNY DAYS, MOONLIT NIGHTS ($2.99)

The quiet of the night soothed her spirit and Mike took her hand in
his. The peacefulness of the short walk home was interrupted by Trixie’s
barking as she sensed their approach and was protecting the cabin. Sunny
opened the door and the small pug came charging out, barking at Mike and then jumping up on Sunny, trying to lick her face. He dropped Sunny’s hand, crouched down and attempted to make friends with the feisty little dog, but Trixie was still sizing him up.
“She takes a while to accept people,” Sunny explained.
“She sure is cute.” he commented, rubbing her behind the ears.
“Do you have a dog?” she asked.
“Yes, two mutts. Both are black lab mixes, one male and one
female.”
The dog quieted down and inspected him with her big, soulful
brown eyes.
Sunny flipped on the light on the front deck and moved toward the
door. Mike stood there, fidgeting with his car keys. The jingle of the keys made Trixie bark, calling attention to his nervousness. It was obvious he wanted to kiss her good night by the way he stared at her lips, but it was awkward and too new, so he stepped back and nodded to her instead. 2. NAME TO UNSCRAMBLE:  RXITIE
 NOW AND FOREVER 2, THE BOOK OF DANNY ($4.99)

 Unexpectedly, the doorbell rang. Danny wondered who could be there and secured the
Glock in his pocket before he opened the door, followed closely by Rocky and Blue. He was surprised to see Kaitlyn and Sally on a Saturday afternoon. By the looks on their faces when the dogs slobbered their greetings on the girls, he could tell they were stunned to see the dogs.
Surprise was replaced by eager grins as the girls lavished attention on the mutt and the pug. Rocky and Blue circled them and wagged their tails, licking faces and making everyone laugh. Danny gestured for them all to come inside.
3 & 4 NAMES TO UNSCRAMBLE ARE: CRYOK & ELUB 
THE LOVE LIST ($1.99)

Jenna shoved him in the shoulder as they headed toward the front
door. The sound of dogs barking grew louder as they approached the house.
“Daisy and Buster have been waiting for you,” Jenna teased her
brother.
When the front door opened, two pugs raced out the door, heading
directly for Grey. They jumped up on his leg woofing and pawing at him. He dropped down on one knee petting first Daisy then Buster, and then Daisy again. Buster managed to jump high enough to lick his face. Carrie stopped to greet the dogs, too, running her hands through their soft tan fur. Wide pug grins took over their faces and their curled tails wagged at a furious pace.

 5 & 6 NAMES TO UNSCRAMBLE:  SAIDY & STUBER


DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDY FOR THE BOOK DRAWING!!!

FOR MORE INFO ON MY BOOKS CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY WEBSITE OR CLICK ON THE PIX ON THE RIGHT TO GO TO AMAZON.


Thank you for stopping by. And the dogs and cats protected by the A.S.P.C.A. thank you, too! Happy Valentine's Day!!

EVERYDAY HEROES

Although we sometimes berate men for not communicating more, most men share their love by doing, not talking. Today I honor those men, the ones who help for the sake of helping...the men who do small unselfish acts everyday. 

Today is your day guys as I dedicate this blog to my everyday heroes, men I know and don't know who have touched my life in positive ways...you know who you are:


1) To the two gentlemen who stopped, briefly, to pick me up, one guy on each arm, when I slipped and fell at the bottom of the wet subway stairs on a rainy day.

2) To the man who stopped in the parking lot of Peck's grocery store in Narrowsburg. The second I put my hands under the hood of my car, he was there, asking me what was wrong and if I needed help. Then he proceeded to show me where to put in the wiper fluid, unscrewed the cap to the little tank and left before I even made eye contact!
3)  To all the men on the streets of New York who have stopped to pick up whatever I dropped before I even bent my knees. Klutz that I am, that number is huge.
4)  To my friend in the community who came down to the lake because I told him I was going there to swim by myself and he felt it was unsafe.
5)  To all the men on airplanes who, when seeing me with a large carry-on bag, stood up and put it in the overhead rack for me without even being asked.
6)  To the thousands upon thousands of men who have held doors open for me, allowing me to pass through first.
7)  To the two young men on line in the grocery store who offered their frequent buyer cards to me so I could get the discounts, too. 
8)  To the man who took the dead mouse out of my mousetrap and disposed of it for me. Yucky! 
9)  To all the young men in high school and college who politely took "no" for an answer and either still continued to date me or became my friend.
10) To all the men who got up to give me a seat on the bus or subway when I was pregnant.

11) To my male writer friends in NRW who encourage me every day and still flirt with me.
12) To the men I met on countless vacations who danced with me, bought me a drink at the bar and didn't hit on me.
13) To the man who came to the emergency room with me on a first date, waited forever and held my hand while I got a tetanus shot. 
14)  To my writing partner, Ben, who encourages me every day, never tells me my ideas are dumb or gives me a hard time about my typos or lack of punctuation and listens, patiently, to me rant about life.
15) To the man who took two hours out of his day to show me how to do my website for the price of a bagel.
16) To the two men who took my pictures and designed book covers for me just because they are my friends.
17) To the man who walked me home after dark when I ducked into a bar because someone was following me...and took "no" for an answer with charm and grace. 
18) To the man who drove me through a blinding snowstorm and back so I could bring a stray cat with an infected paw to the vet.
19) To Doug, our guest, who surprised me with a Tiramisu cake just because I had admired it in the bakery window. 
20) To the man who jumped into a Facebook group to defend me when several people attacked my opinion.
21) To all the men who let me go first...from the check out counter at the grocery store to the bread counter at Zabar's... simply because I'm a woman. 
22) To the unknown young man who gave me a lift 60 blocks up Madison Avenue to Mt. Sinai Hospital when the subway wasn't running and my father was in surgery.
23) To the men in IRM who are never stingy with hugs or encouragement.
24) To DH who sometimes fixes things before I ask.


To all you everyday heroes, thank you. Thank you for all you've done and continue to do quietly without fanfare...and for the shy smile you give me when I acknowledge your help. Love you all!

Who are the everyday heroes in your life?

If you're interested, check out my books on my website, CLICK HERE!