July 26, 2010 Monday
Gayle Trent will be chatting with WOW! Women On Writing at The Muffin. One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Amanda Lee’s book!
http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

July 27, 2010 Tuesday
What type of person has two names? Spies, people in witness protection, movie stars…and writers. Amanda Lee tells us what it’s like to go through life with two personas–one writing mysteries about a cake decorator and the other writing mysteries about an embroiderer.
http://hellorhighwaterwriting.wordpress.com/

July 28, 2010 Wednesday
In her interview today, Amanda Lee (a.k.a. Gayle Trent) tells us that murder isn’t the only thing she has to research for her cozy mysteries. For The Quick and the Thread, the first book in her new embroidery series, the unlikely subject was whales!
http://www.sellingbooks.com

July 29, 2010 Thursday
Amanda Lee is stopping by Mom-e-Centric to tell us about how murder and embroidery make a wonderful mix. She’ll also be giving away a copy of The Quick and the Thread!
http://www.momecentric.com/

July 30, 2010 Friday
Stop by today for an interview with Amanda Lee by fellow mystery writer Christine Verstraete. These two will be sharing some great mystery writing tips!
http://candidcanine.blogspot.com/

August 1, 2010 Sunday
Blue hair, the early bird special, embroidery. Three things grandmas like. Or are they? Amanda Lee tells us about what a fun hobby embroidery can be for all ages and about her young embroiderer who also solves murders in The Quick and the Thread.
http://www.cozychicksblog.com/

I’m so excited! Romantic Times has named The Quick and The Thread an RT Top Pick!!! And reviewer Pat Cooper gave the book 4 1/2 stars!!! Pat says:

Site Spotlight: Curiosities 808

This site offers a tutorial for embroidered flowers that I really want to try. The flowers are made on felt and tinted with crayon. The blogger says she’s challenging herself to make this project simple and affordable. I can buy the affordable, but the project doesn’t appear simple. But, the flowers are gorgeous! I’m thinking of trying the iris.

In order to see the tutorial blog posts, use the archives to pull up June of 2008 and then follow the posts. The first one is on June 24.

Good luck!

I truly appreciate everyone else who pre-ordered The Quick and The Thread. The book was just named a Romantic Times Top Pick and given 4 1/2 stars.

Please keep in mind that I’m throwing a virtual launch party on Facebook on August 3 where there will be opportunities to win prizes all day long. Join me, won’t you?

Thanks again, everybody, for your support and encouragement!

There’s only one more day to pre-order Gayle’s latest book The Quick and The Thread (the embroidery mystery written under the name Amanda Lee)  for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. For full contest information, see the Contest Announcement in an earlier blog post.

Spotlights:

Today, I have two spotlights. The first is Matt’s collection of necktie cakes. As a necktie lover, Matt has amassed an adorable assortment of necktie cakes. (I know, in keeping with the alliteration, I should’ve said “ascots.”)

I’d also like to point you in the direction of Holly Clegg’s burger cake–just the thing for those upcoming summer picnics! The “burger” uses yellow cake for the buns, a fudge brownie for the burger, yellow tinted whipped topping “mustard” and strawberries and kiwis for additional garnishes (pickles and tomatoes, anyone?). How easy and cute is that?! If you try the burger cake, please take a photo and share it with us!

Take care and have a wonderful Independence Day!

Hi, there! Only one more week to enter the pre-order contest for The Quick and The Thread and be entered to win the $50 Amazon gift card. If you pre-order the book, just e-mail Gayle (gayle@gayletrent.com) with your confirmation e-mail or a jpeg of your order form or receipt by midnight on June 30. You don’t have to preorder the book from Amazon. You can order it from any online or brick-and-mortar store.

Thank you to everybody who has entered so far!

There will be plenty more fun and prize giveaways on August 3 at the virtual release party. “Like” the Facebook page, follow Gayle on Twitter or stay tuned to this blog for more details.

Summer Embroidery Spotlight:

If your weather is like our weather, it’s too hot right now to go out and enjoy much of the great outdoors. So why not use this as an excuse to stay inside and get some stitching done? Below are some sites featuring summer embroidery projects:

http://www.dollarstitch.com/home.php?cat=509 - I love the Soda Pop Top Covers or Coasters!

http://www.sulky.com/embroidery/summer_sampler.php - Isn’t the kitten adorable? And how pretty are those flower borders?

http://www.bunnycup.com/viewset.aspx?designset=344 - Cool appliques!

http://www.homeberries.com/summer/ - Freebies!

http://livinglearningandlovingsimply.blogspot.com/2009/06/simple-summer-embroidery-project.html - Wonderful keepsake idea.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/fruity-button-napkins - How cute are these?

http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Features/summer+projects.htm - For those of you who like to knit or crochet.

Have fun and stay cool!

As I told you in a recent post, The Quick and The Thread written under the pseudonym Amanda Lee is now available for pre-order from Amazon.com and AmazonUK.com.  To celebrate, I’m having a special contest for the month of June. Anyone who pre-orders The Quick and The Thread from either Amazon or Amazon UK by June 30 will be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

To enter the contest, simply forward a copy of your Amazon confirmation e-mail to gayle@gayletrent.com or send a jpeg of your order. If you choose to pre-order from your local bookseller, please send a jpeg of your receipt with sensitive information blacked out. Be assured your Amazon confirmation is safe. Sensitive information is protected by the customer’s password.

One winner will be drawn from all the e-mail addresses submitted on the morning of July 1, 2010. The winner will be notified by e-mail and will receive an electronic Amazon gift certificate in the amount of $50 US.

Order from Amazon UK at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quick-Thread-Embroidery-Mystery/dp/0451230965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275316489&sr=8-1.

Or you may order from Amazon using this link:

Good luck!

Gayle received galleys for The Quick and The Thread yesterday. She sent them to Nordic Needle, Needlework Retailer and The Book Report. She’s waiting to hear back from a reviewer on another galley.

Although the galleys are tan with plain covers, and they specifically tell book reviewers these are uncorrected proofs, the books still look great. And the covers are fantastic! The picture of Angus is even carried over to the spine! He’s adorable, and I think he’ll give our book an edge over those that don’t feature darling canines on the cover.

Site Spotlight: Needlework Retailer

I’ve highlighted Nordic Needle for you before, but I haven’t introduced you to Needlework Retailer. That’s mainly because I’ve only just met them myself.

Needlework Retailer is for those of us who work in the embroidery industry. In addition to blogs, guest articles and magazine archives, the website hosts contests for displays. See the current contest and get information on entering. Who knows? You might win!

If you’re an embroidery shop owner–or even if you’re not–check out Needlework Retailer. Gayle really enjoyed the guest article ”Maximize Your Time: Achieve More with Less” by Joelle Jay, Ph.D.

I have exciting news.  Gayle’s publisher has decided to move the release date up for the revised Murder Takes the Cake to January 2011! She’s still working on Killer Sweet Tooth, and is looking forward to having that hit the shelves as well. Myra is, too. You guys don’t know how much Myra is looking forward to “being famous.”  She thinks that now if she could just nab her a rich husband… (eye roll).  Tune in to Killer Sweet Tooth to see if she has any luck with any of the Elvis impersonators who come to Brea Ridge! Hopefully, Gayle will get a book trailer together for Killer Sweet Tooth in the next few months.

Site Spotlight: Bake, Decorate, Celebrate

Where can you learn all kinds of decorating techniques step by step, get delicious recipes and even have your questions answered by an expert? Bake, decorate, celebrate! 

Bake, decorate, celebrate is the name of a television show in which the hosts provide information and detailed instructions on baking and decorating cakes. The website is a continuation of the show and helps novice as well as professional cake decorators learn new techniques and stay on top of trends.

The show hosts are Nancy Siler,  Melanie Glasscock and Beth Madland. Nancy  has been baking and decorating for over 25 years and is Director of the Wilton School. Melanie is a former broadcast journalist who brings a homemaker’s point of view to the BAKE DECORATE CELEBRATE! series. Beth is a former reporter who enjoys filling in for Melanie when Melanie takes time off to be with her family.

Check out Bake Decorate Celebrate! You’ll be glad you did.

I’m so excited! A book trailer has been prepared for The Quick and The Thread, and the book is available for preorder from Amazon!

See?
Now, check out the book trailer!

Also, if you enjoy doing cross-stitch, check out the patterns from The Quick and The Thread. Have fun!

Heather’s latest book is titled “A Gift From Above.”  In the book, Celia Meyers gets everything that she wants, but when she requests a sibling and gets it, it’s not all that she expected. Her parents ignore her, threaten to send her to a “summer camp” and the worst possible things happen to her all of the time. Finally she can’t take it anymore, so she confides in her best friend Tommy Hanson, about searching for her long lost nanny Milicent Potter. But when she finds Millie, she learns some disturbing facts that she’s not quite sure what to do with. 

1. What inspired you to write this story, Heather?

I would say that my younger siblings were certainly a source of inspiration in writing this story, my little brother especially. A lot of the troubles that I had with my brother are somehow refected in “A Gift From Above”.

2. Who is your favorite character in your story, and why?

My favorite character would have to be Tommy Hanson. He’s like Edward Cullen to me, he is that comforting, nice, kind guy that you become addicted to.

3. How have your personal faith and beliefs influenced your story?

They haven’t really, though it’s titled “A Gift From Above” you get the picture of something religious or Godly, but it isn’t. The title actually refers to Celia’s (the main character) little brother, Aden. He is her little gift from above. I think everyone has one.

4. What was the hardest part about writing this book?

I wrote it for a contest (see details at www.nanowrimo.org ) where I had to write the entire thing in one month. So that was one of the hardest things. One thing I remember that was particularly hard about this was my laptop broke in the middle of writing in the competition, so I had to take it completely to pen & paper, which slowed me down exceedingly, and on top of everything I had to write it from the paper back on to a computer, since it was the family computer I couldn’t be on it all the time. But, everything I wrote about my story was on my laptop, so I didn’t have anything that I wrote except for the last few words that I memorized. Luckily my uncle got the information out of my laptop for me with one day to spare. My laptop was totaled, but the half-written book was the gold that I was looking at.

5. What was easiest?

Definitely the entire plot. I knew exactly what was going to happen as I wrote it, I didn’t have to stop for awhile and ponder what was going to happen next. It was all really natural for me to write. Which is rare for me to do, usually I have to stop for an hour or two – or even a day – and ponder what I was going to write next.

6. What’s next for you?

I’m currently working on a fantasy series of nine, I have the first in the series complete and it’s currently being looked over by a publisher. The second in the series is still in the writing stage. And this November I’m going to participate in that contest again, NaNoWriMo, and attempt to write a novel about a girl who turns into a werewolf, no title yet.

I know you all join me in wishing Heather the very best! Visit Heather online at http://heatherpaye.blogspot.com or http://www.agiftfromabove.webs.com.