The Secret by Taryn Taylor

The Secret by Taryn Taylor

I am so thrilled to tell you about a new release by my friend Taryn Taylor! THE SECRET by Taryn A. Taylor is a Young Adult, Modern Fantasy/Paranormal tale, with a touch of Romance. I just got my copy and I'm excited to read it. Taryn and I went to college together and it's so fun to see what she's created!

Seventeen-year-old Delanie Hart has a past she wants to keep hidden.  Moving to a new state and attending a new high school seems to be just the thing - until she accidentally sees a mark exactly like her own.  When the people she is running from come after her, Lanie is left with a choice - give up what she wants or save her friends. 

~BigWorldNetwork.com (March 24, 2013) 



Buy it at: https://bigworldnetwork.com/site/store/thesecret/

or on Amazon.

About Author:

Taryn A. Taylor grew up moving from small town to small town every few years.  This helped her gain an appreciation for good books, loyal friends, and the fact that a home is a lot more than a house - it's the people that love you.  After receiving a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Communications, she finally began putting all of her stories down on paper, finding it most helpful to eat chocolate during this process. In between raising four amazing boys she loves to go on dates with her husband and watch movies late into the night.

Find Taryn at:

Blog link: http://www.taryntaylor.blogspot.com

Twitter: @tarynataylor

Facebook: Taryn A. Taylor

Irish dance diet - The three levels of performance

Performance-ready Irish dancers
Photo: deviantART user ukapala

April is a big month for many Irish dance organizations. The World Irish Dance Competition in Boston for An Coimisuin dancers, and the World and European Irish dance competition in Germany for WIDA are both held in April. Good luck to all of you ladies and gents working so hard. How do you make certain that you are ready to perform?


How I'm doing on my Irish dance diet:

Month: 4
Weight: 144
Weight lost: 11 pounds
Muscle gained: 6.5
Total fat loss: 17.5

You practice your Irish dance steps over, and over until you think you've got it just right. But how do you feel when you hit the stage? Chances are, if you've performed, you've had days when you fly across the stage, and others when you can't seem to get your feet to obey you. Much of your success onstage will depend on what level of performance you are at.

When performing onstage, there are three levels of performance:


1-Memorization

At this stage you are worried that you might forget a step. An observer may be able to see it in your expression as you mental calculate what comes next.

How to get past this step? Practice, practice, practice until your dance becomes engrained into your muscles and you  no longer have to think about what your body is doing.

2-Self-consciousness

You are worried about what you look like to others. Are my feet turned out? Does my dress flatter my figure? How do I look when I leap?

How to get past this step? Perform your dance for anyone who will pay attention--your mom, your dog, onlookers in the grocery store. Prepare your costume, makeup and hair beforehand so that you feel confident.

3-Letting go

Now you are ready. Your steps are a natural extension of your feet, and you can turn inward and give the full expression of emotion and drama to your audience. This is the time to shine.

Have you ever experienced the third level of performance? How did you get there?

Inevitable by Tamara Hart Heiner

Inevitable by Tamara Hart Heiner

I'm excited to share my friend Tamara's newest novel, Inevitable. Isn't the cover lovely?

Visions of death plague Jayne, who thinks watching her boyfriend die is the worst that could happen to her. But when she witnesses a murder, Jayne finds herself caught up in a dangerous world of intrigue and suspense.

As it turns out, she is not the only one doing the stalking. The killer is on to her, and all of her visions of the dying don't reveal how her life will end. Somehow, she must stop the murderer before he arranges Jayne's own inevitable death.

~Published March 8th 2013 by Tamark Books

Available on Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Kobo.com!


After an awesome ebook launch on Facebook, Tamara's trying hard to top that with the paperback. So here's the plan:

1) For the entire month of March, every comment on Tamara's blog gets entered into a drawing to win a HARD COPY of one of her books. (You get to choose which one!)

2) Leave a comment on THIS BLOG for a chance to win ALL of her young adult ebooks!

3) Enter the Goodreads Giveaway for another chance to win Inevitable.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Inevitable

by Tamara Hart Heiner

Giveaway ends April 02, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

4) If you SPREAD THE NEWS, whether it's on your blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, or just plain word of mouth, you'll be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble gift card. Email Tamara at tamarahartheiner dot com and tell her how many times you did it, and you'll be entered into the drawing that many times!

About the author: I live in Arkansas with my husband and three children, two crazy boys and one pretty little princess. I used to spend a lot of time writing until I had a baby and discovered Facebook. Now you'll often find me on there pretending to have a social life.

I am the author of three young adult suspense novels, PERILOUS, ALTERCATION, and INEVITABLE. You can find out more about what I'm writing and catch deleted scenes from my books on my blog at http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com.

Dublin Coddle for St. Patrick's Day!

Dublin Coddle
Photo: Christy Dorrity

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of my friends--Irish dancers, readers, authors, and bloggers! I'm making this for my family today, and re-posting this post for your enjoyment!

This traditional Irish dish has such a cool name that I didn't have to come up with my own for the recipe.  Lament by Maggie Stiefvater is steeped in Irish folklore, and reading it put me in the mood for some of this meaty, filling soup.

St. Patrick's Day is a big deal around our house, and I stumbled on this yummy recipe just this year.  Whala!  A new family tradition.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Dublin Coddle

1 Pound pork sausage. sliced (I use turkey sausage, the kind that is shaped like a lucky horseshoe)

1 Pound diced ham

1 quart of boiling water

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 pounds of potatoes, diced

4 T. chopped fresh parsley ( I used chopped fresh chives, as that is what was growing in my garden)

Salt and pepper to taste

Put the meats in the boiling water for five minutes.  Drain the liquid, reserving it for later. 

Put the meat in a large saucepan with the vegetables and cover with the liquid.  Cover the pot and let simmer gently for about an hour, until the potatoes are cooked but not mushy.  Season to taste.  Serve with fresh Irish Soda Bread and a glass of stout or (in my case) homemade root beer.

Giveaway Gaze into Heaven by Marlene Bateman Sullivan

Gaze into Heaven by Marlene Bateman Sullivan

I'm pleased to present to you a unique look on near-death experiences, and a chance to win a copy of Gaze into Heaven by Marlene Bateman Sullivan. In browsing the pages of this book, I am amazed at the many accounts of the early saints who stood at the edge of death's precipice, and what they experienced.

Gaze Into Heaven is a compilation of fifty documented near-death experiences of life beyond the veil, drawn from the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Filled with insight and inspiration, this book melds engrossing personal experiences with perceptive commentary, scripture, and quotes from latter-day Prophets. After reading this book, you won't ever think of life---or death---the same way.
~Cedar Fort, Inc. (January 8, 2013)

You can purchase the book here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal Descendant by Nichole Giles

Descendant by Nichole Giles

I hope you are loving all of these great books coming out! Today I have a cover reveal for a friend of mine, Nichole Giles. Isn't it gorgeous! It's coming out in May. You can find more info over on Nichole's blog here.

Nichole Giles, author of Descendant

Descendant

Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson is Gifted. Blessed—or cursed—with Sight and Healing, Abby lives an unsettled life, moving from place to place and staying one step ahead of the darkness that hunts her. When she arrives in Jackson, Wyoming, she is desperate to maintain the illusion of normalcy, but she is plagued with visions of past lives mixed with frightening glimpses of her future. Then she meets Kye, a mysterious boy who seems so achingly familiar that Abby is drawn to him like he’s a missing piece of her own soul.

Before Abby can discover the reason for her feelings toward Kye, the darkness catches up to her and she is forced to flee again. But this time she’s not just running. She is fighting back with Kye at her side, and it’s not just Abby’s life at stake.

The Key of Kilenya by Andrea Pearson

My friend, Andrea Pearson, has just had the fourth book in her young adult fantasy series published. In celebration, the first book, The Key of Kilenya, is available for free as an eBook, and the second book, The Ember Gods, is available as a $0.99 Kindle eBook until March 3rd.  

The Key of Kilenya has been in the top 100 for teen fantasies on Amazon since last May and has been very popular with young (and adult) readers. They compare it to Harry Potter along with Brandon Mull's Fablehaven and Beyonders books, with a hint of Narnia and Lord of the Rings.

To download a copy of The Key of Kilenya for Kindle, click here. Check out Andrea's blog post for other formats of the eBook.