AP Press Thanksgiving Blog Hop!

*********** WINNER - Amy Cavenaugh!!!********* Send me your address and I'll mail this out!

Hey! So this year some of my Astraea Press author friends are doing a Thanksgiving blog hop. If you want to hop backward, Nell is sending everyone my way. How fun is that? And I wanted in. So...tada! Here it is!

Five things I'm thankful for: 

• My awesome family. My kids are amazing, my parents, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, in-laws -- They're all incredible. I'd be lost without them. 

• My husband - Yes, he's part of my family, but he gets his own category because he's literally the best husband ever. He works ten hours a day, makes dinner, and does all the grocery shopping, as well as help with the kids and put up with my....strangeness. There's no other word for it. 

• My insane imagination - K this one is a mixed blessing. I love how I can daydream about anything, anytime. This can also be a bad thing, if, say, I'm supposed to be paying attention to something else. Also, thanks to my insane imagination I have some of the most terrifying nightmares ever. BUT - terrifying nightmares can make great stories (after I stop shaking like a small dog)!

•  Facebook - Before you think I'm completely insane, hear me out. I have daily conversations with cousins I haven't seen since we were kids. I know friends' kids names and what they look like even if they live clear across the country. Facebook allows me to develop deeper relationships with so many more people that I would have otherwise lost.

• Writing - It truly is my escape. All those daydreams I was telling you about? They bounce around in my head til I write them down. When I'm upset or angry or so happy I'm bordering on obnoxious, I write. I love to let others read my work and drag...er...bring them into my worlds. I love to create characters that I would love to be and situations I'd love to read about. 

Which neatly leads me into why I'm so grateful for my readers. Yes, I could write my stories. Yes, I could read my own stories, but they don't truly come to life until I can share them with others. And when I want to quit, when doubt completely takes over and I'm positive I'm the worst writer on the planet, it's my readers who remind me of what writing is really about - sharing stories with those I love. And also, they remind me that quitting isn't an option, which I am also grateful for. 

I am also grateful for Astraea Press, for offering me the contract for Feudlings, a story about two magical teenagers, Ari and Shane.Ari has been hunting Shane since she could throw her first spell. Now she’s falling in love with the nemesis she is prophesied to kill – until Shane tries to kill her first. It comes out in March 2013!!!

NOW - leave a comment below AND follow my blog and I'll let rafflecopter choose one winner of a signed copy of Shadowcry by Jenna Burtenshaw and a matching bookmark!The contest ends November 23rd.

AND THEN hop on to the next stop -   Lindsay Down's Murders and Mysteries