The Meaning of Patience

"Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn, and seeing the rose, looking at the night, and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full." 

~ Shams Tabrizi, philosopher & spiritual instructor of Rumi

This bit of poetic wisdom, written centuries ago, spoke to my writer's soul. 

Writing is staring at a blank page and seeing a story, then putting in the hard work and time to make that story appear in reality.

Writing is all about patience. ~ Mina Khan

Celebrate Your Writing

"Remember writing is a gift and a privilege. Just the fact that you write means that you are literate, you have a computer, and you have something to say. Celebrate that!" ~ Rachelle Gardner, literary agent.

This bit of wisdom comes from Ms. Gardner's wonderful post:

 8 Ways to be a Happy Author.

Happy Dancing with KOBO

Woot! Trindiebooks.com, which is all about Kobo (news, reviews, free books and more), is featuring my story, A Tale of Two Djinns as Book of the Day. Oh yeah, I'm one proud writing Mama and I'm happy dancing!

Not only that, trindiebooks and participating authors (including moi) are celebrating by giving away a whole bunch of fun reads! Check out the raffllecopter to enter! Good luck & happy reading!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Of Hearts and Heartbreakers

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and any where you go you're like to be confronted by hearts. Big, red hearts painted on restaurant windows, fat and shiny heart balloons at the doctor's office, sweet heart-shaped treats at the grocery store. Yes, hearts, hearts everywhere! Not surprisingly then, I jumped on Carrie's Heartbreaker Blog Hop (check out out the lovely hearts & the hunky abs...resistance was futile!)

And the topic: Heartbreakers. Oh my. To me, heartbreakers are the ultimate bad boys. They could be wearing leather jackets or Armani suits or cowboy hats, doesn't really matter. All of them exude wicked sexiness, Alpha-hole confidence, love-em and leave-em attitude. But what makes them hard to resist, to me and only in romance novels, is that they are redeemable. A hero like that falls hard when he falls...and suddenly you see this big, bad guy going through heartbreak...because any heroine worth her heroine-ness is going to make him earn her love. Love that!

So, of course, the hero of my first published story The Djinn's Dilemma, is a heartbreaker. He is also a djinn(genie) and human hybrid assassin who lives in the shadows. 

Trouble starts when he meets his latest target, Sarah, a Texan journalist. He's enjoyed plenty of djinn females and human women, but none of them affect him like Sarah because...well, you'll just have to read for yourself. (Insert evil author cackle here).

For my second story, A Tale of Two Djinns, I turned the tables. The heroine, Maya, is the heartbreaker. She tells the hero: "I'm not really interested in getting to know you, just your body." 

All she wants is some no-strings-attached fun sex. Instead, their one-night stand leads to assassins, abduction and amore.

So, what are your thoughts on heartbreakers? Do you prefer the hero or the heroine as the heartbreaker? In the spirit of Valentine's, I'm giving away a SIGNED copy of A Tale of Two Djinns, a Romeo and Juliet story with genies, feminists, kickass action and sexy adult fun! 

And there are THREE blog hop grand prizes:

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

All you have to do is LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!!! The hop ends Feb. 11, so hurry up & comment!

For other participating blogs, check out this website: 

http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/

I'm also giving away a copy of Rumi the Book of Love, poems of ecstasy and longing. Isn't a book of poems the perfect Valentine's gift? Check out my 'Tis the Season for Love post to enter the giveaway.

'Tis the Season for Love

Happy February, y'all! This is one of my favorite months because, well, I'm a romance writer. As such, I do believe in the positive power of love to make a difference, and I see it in action in myriads of beautiful ways in life.

Besides Valentine's Day, this month is also when I celebrate landing my own West Texas cowboy (click the link for my Cowboy & Princess story).

February is also home to a pet project of mine: The annual Valentines Lunch at the Soup Kitchen. A diverse group of volunteers -- young and old, from different racial and ethnic groups, different religious affiliations, different parts of the world-- come together to host a lunch. The soup kitchen is transformed into a magical, happy place and everyone gets to munch on chocolate-dipped strawberries and listen to classic romantic songs, often dance even. Love and food are basic human needs, so what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day? 

Now, one of my favorite parts of Valentine's is receiving handmade Valentine's from my kids. Each one I receive is full of love and care, and makes my heart expand in gratitude.

The Valentine's Card my daughter made for her late grandfather, my Dad.

All of these happening replenish me, infuse me with positive vibes and make me believe in love. So, to celebrate, I'm taking part in the  Fools for Love Blog Hop. Click the link for more giveaways and fun!


And I'm giving away the beautiful collection of love poems from the mystic poet Rumi on February 16th as All you have to do is leave a comment between NOW and Feb. 14th, and one person will be randomly picked. PLEASE leave your email or twitter handle,so I can contact you!

Here's a taste:

WHERE YOU LOVE FROM

Look Inside and find where a person

loves from. That is the reality,

not what they say.