The Voice

Is anyone else watching The Voice this season? I've loved the show since season one and am loving it even more this season. I think Usher and Shakira have been great additions to the show. My friend Melonie was able to get us tickets to see the taping this season. We had fantastic seats and were able to see some of the Battle Rounds and all of the judges. I spent about five hours watching Adam Levine. There are worse ways to pass the time. :) The taping was fun and made me realize how much better the performances are in person. The knockout rounds were sad to me, though. Three people I really liked were sent home. Does anyone have a favorite to win?

Love in Darkness

Reading books by E.M. Tippetts is like giving myself a  present. I'm a big fan of her writing. Love In Darkness is a sequel to Castles on the Sand. I fell in love with Alex and Madison in the first book and was really looking forward to the continuation of their story. Love in Darkness wasn't really the sequel I had expected; it was even better. I didn't realize until I started reading that this book was from Alex's POV and I didn't know he was going to have a schizophrenic break either. Having him go through this trying time of his life created a fantastic plot. Alex has cared for his severely schizophrenic mother his whole life, so he has a fairly good idea what his future looks like. He doesn't want anyone who loves him to have to care for him if his illness progresses any further, even if that means giving up Madison, the girl he's loved for years and who loves him every bit as much. It's a beautifully written and touching story. Alex is a brave man facing his treatment head-on and helping everyone he can along the way. He is a wonderful hero, even though he doesn't see himself that way. I suggest reading the Castles on the Sand first so you can understand the history between Alex and Madison. Love in Darkness comes out May21st.

Out of Town Visitors

                             My good friend Andy Hertzenberg and her husband came to visit me last week. It was a really brief visit but we managed to have a lot of fun in a very short amount of time. I tried a new cupcake place called Casey's Cupcakes. I was excited because it had won Cupcake Wars. The inside of the bakery was super cute.  The cupcakes however were really hit and miss. I feel bad saying that but one I didn't care for and another one was great! Andy and her husband had the same experience with the two they tried, one of which was a peanut butter, which is usually my favorite. It was disappointing. And even though I love cupcakes, the reason we were down in that area wasn't for the treats; we were there for a photo shoot. Andy and her husband were my wiling models while I tried out a new location. The pictures were a lot of fun and I loved a lot of them. Here are a few of my faves.

 

Blood Awakening

Blood Awakening is the exciting sequel to Jamie's Manning's debut novel Blood Born. One of my favorite things about this series is that Manning was able to give his own spin to the vampire genre and make it his own. With his creative mythology and engaging storyline I think this a book anyone who likes vampires will love.  I'm going to try to give this review without spoilers. Wish me luck! Blood Born ended on a rather tragic note and we get to see the fallout of those events in Blood Awakening. Ava had a clear objective in Blood Born to win back her humanity but in this book she considers other alternatives for some personal reasons. There are some major revelations in this book that suddenly make Ava question everything she thought she knew. Ava's heart is tested in this book as she finds herself torn between two boys who each offer completely different futures. It was a great love triangle and I'm torn about which boy she should end up with, although I have picked my favorite. I think this is a great addition to the series. I might have even liked it a bit more than the first book. Jamie Manning is able to craft a beautiful and powerful sentence. I ran the emotional gantlet with Ava in this book. There were times I was close to tears and other times I giggled. Blood Awakening shows how talented he truly is. I will warn you though that is has a killer cliffhanger. *Glares at the author*. I can't wait to read the third book and see how the plot and love story gets resolved. Write fast Jamie! It's available now.

Free

The Kindle version of Indelible is free today and tomorrow on Amazon. Click here to download and start reading. Happy reading!!

Cupcakes

I've always loved cupcakes. I think it has something to do with the frosting to cake ratio. With that being said, I've been really enjoying the growing popularity of the cupcake stores. I realized that within the last year I've tried a lot of flavors at a lot of different bakeries. I am sensitive to Gluten so when I can, I try to pick Gluten Free desserts but I sometimes risk the tummy ache to try something sweet. And sometimes along the way I find other treats that are divine! Here's a small sampling. :) This first picture is actually more than a year old but Nicole Giles and I meet together for treats every time I come to Utah Although that will change since she moved. :(  I couldn't do a post about cupcakes without mentioning her. The place we tried that day was called The Chocolate. Shanda and Debbie are also pictured. 

I was going to do a book cover shoot in Los Angeles and my friend Cherie and her boyfriend David were going to be the models. Every time I go to LA I try do one fun activity to make the drive worth it. This time we chose Magnolia Bakery. While their Gluten Free cupcake was good, it was nothing compared to the awesomeness of their Banana Pudding (which was not Gluten Free)!

                                                                                 My daughter and I love the TV show Cake Boss. When my friend Jamie Manning (who also loves the show) and I found out we were going to BEA in NYC we added visiting Carlo's Bake Shop to our itinerary. We also did research and found out how to avoid the long lines. We dragged along my friend Erica and my sister Melanie. Their red velvet cupcake was good, as was their canoli but the Lobster Tail (a pastry, not a seafood) was so good! Also, the view of the NYC skyline from the New Jersey side was beautiful!

While in Times Square, Erica and I stopped and each bought a cupcake from  Crumbs Bake Shop. They had lots of fun flavors. My favorite part was the filing in my cupcake. Erica looks so cute posing with our treats that I had to include the picture! I grabbed a fork for mine since we were eating on the go.







My friend Angela and her husband made time to see me while visiting Southern California. I wanted to suggest a fun place near where they were staying to eat, and started searching for good cupcake places. I found Frosted in Long Beach. Their hi-tops (which are like a sandwich with mini cupcakes as the bread and lots of frosting as the filling) were yummy! My friend Melonie came with me and we enjoyed sampling a lot of their delicious flavors. My favorite was the chocolate carmel cupcake.

When my friend Yara and my new friends, Lisa, Jennifer and Michelle came to town for the Breaking Dawn part 2 premiere, Melonie and I drove out to Los Angeles to see them. After much research I took them to Big Man Bakes. They are famous for their Red Velvet cupcake but their chocolate with peanut butter frosting changed my life!!

I was excited to have Erica come and visit me. We are co-authoring a series together that takes place in SoCal. Our character loves to bake cupcakes, so in the name of research we tried cupcakes both at Sprinkles and at Heavenly Cupcakes.  Sprinkles has a a wonderful Gluten Free Red Velvet cupcake.








The Thin Mint cupcake at Heavenly Cupcakes was super tasty! My whole family loved that one. The way we authors sacrifice to bring authenticity to our novels is amazing. :) We ate those cupcakes for you dear readers.

I'm also a huge fan of the show DC Cupcakes. When I found out they were opening a Georgetown Cupcakes in Los Angeles, I was thrilled. My friend Maddy (who also loves cupcakes) and I decided to check them out. Their Gluten Free Cupcakes are hands down the best I have ever tried. They all have the same Chocolate cake flavor but their three different types of frosting were amazing! I'm currently craving them right now. On a side note, the bakery was adorable!


Thanks to Amazon I recently discovered the show Bunheads. In one episode, they mentioned the 24 hour cupcake ATM in Los Angeles. I quickly added that to my life list of things I had to try. They are Sprinkle cupcakes so they are high quality and come in their own cute little boxes. They are more expensive than the ones you can buy inside the store but having the experience of buying a cupcake from the ATM was worth it! Those are my current cupcake stories. I want to thank all of my friends who traveled with me and helped me indulge in my sweet tooth! So, does anyone know of a good gym? :)

Free

The Kindle version of Intrinsical is free today and tomorrow  on Amazon. Click here to download and start reading. I hope you enjoy it!