Friday, September 30, 2011

Pink Snowbunnies in Hell: A Flash Fiction Anthology

Edited by Debora Geary

Available as an e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.

Synopsis: A sleep-deprived author mixes up her metaphors.

A graphic designer has too much time on his hands.

Twenty writers, fueled by copious amounts of chocolate, dream up quirky, funny, and occasionally creepy stories.

And the Pink Snowbunnies in Hell Flash-Fiction Anthology was born.

These are very short stories, under a thousand words each. Some have actual bunnies. Some take rather offbeat trips through the underworld. And some just have a character that shares the sleep-deprived author’s mixed metaphors.

All proceeds from this anthology are going to local animal shelters. Pink snowbunnies can take care of themselves, but thank you for helping us support those animals who do need a little assistance.

Pink Snowbunnies in Hell is a collection of very short stories (flash fiction) with one thing in common – Pink Snowbunnies skiing in Hell. There are some that take that literally and make a comic spin on it. There are some (more) that use it as a line, “pink snowbunnies will ski in Hell” instead of “when Hell freezes over.” Debora Geary, our beloved Modern Witch writer has a story at the end, with Jamie picking out a gift for her baby girl for the shower. You know Aervyn is in this one too, giving his uncle Jamie assistance.

Now I am going to highlight a few of my favorites in this anthology. When, a poem by Robin Reed about all the “whens” that have to happen before “pink snowbunnies will ski in Hell!” I like “When all war has truly ended,” and I giggled at “When solar panels are installed for all to see, on the headquarters of Exxon, Mobil and BP.” It’s a fantastic poem, and I’m not much into poetry.

It Finally Happens…by Heather Marie Adkins. It’s about Hell finally freezing over, which Satan isn’t that surprised by given God’s sick sense of humor. It’s our fault for always saying “when Hell freezes over.” And even Hitler joins in with a great line, “this is going to kill my daisies.” LMAO – this perfectly tickled my funny bone. And yes pink snowbunnies showed up to start skiing and Satan sighs thinking of the paperwork he has to do.

Careful What You Wish For by Barbara Annino. I think this was the longest story by far, but it also made me laugh. It was about George and his genie Eugene who can’t seem to get a wish right. Someone sees Eugene’s lamp and points out it’s a bong…poor Eugene is stoned! *giggle*

Of Demons and Bunnies by Nichole Chase is another one that takes a literal bend on the theme. Pink snowbunnies are in Hell because someone took what Gary said literally about “pink snowbunnies will ski in Hell before Tom gets the promotion.” Ooops, and the pink bunnies came from purgatory…pink bunnies that guaranteed promotions. Yeah I can see purgatory being full of silly stuff like that. LOL This isn’t everything, you have to read this one!

And finally another poem, Pink Snowbunnies Acrostic by Molly Black. It is a fine poem, I really enjoyed it. What really got me though, was at the very end in the “author” section it states that Molly Black does not exist. No one wrote this poem. (Yes I know someone did but a very well hidden pen name was used.)

Rex Jameson (author of Lucifer's Odyssey) has a story in the book but he sent me a link to read one he thinks is much funnier. In the Anthology he wrote "Don't Mess with the Meadow" where a pink snowbunny bounty hunter goes down to hell to deliver some payback. Good story but the one on his blog is funny. Go here to read the story by Jeanne Miller and Rex Jameson.

Only 99 cents for this book and all the authors are using the proceeds to help animal shelters. A great time and a good deed all for one small price.


And the winner of the software from MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking Software is Sosanna of Confessions of a Modern Witch.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

MyMemories Software Review


I was contacted by Liz of MyMemories.com to write a product review, plus she offered to host a giveaway. So that's 1 software pack for me and 1 for a lucky reader.

At first I was skeptical, after all it was in my junk e-mail folder. So I went to the website (no I did not click the link, usually I type a link into Google to see what comes up) and it looked like a legitimate site. So sure, why not? I've been looking for a way to do scrapbooking on my computer - I swear I'm not just saying that. I love getting creative with my pics, but all my pics are digital! You see the issue?
Liz sent me a coupon code to enter when I checked out, it popped up saying it was for $50 so I was also able to get a couple of packages to play around with as well. Yeah - and then the confirmation e-mail gave me another $10 for making a purchase. Let me just say that they do make it easy to get started. If I had bought that with my own money I would have been happy - getting it all for free has me ecstatic!

I downloaded the My Memories Suite software and installed it, then each of the packages. It was very easy, not a lot of effort on my part was required.
I really had fun looking through all the Digital Scrapbooking Kits. The prices seem very reasonable as well. Lots of kits are on sale, there are a number that are free, and if you are really die hard, they have a Design Club for $5.99 per month.

Would I recommend this software? Yes, if you enjoy scrapbooking this is the best software I've seen. Would I have paid for it? Yes, once I had the money this is the software I would have invested in. It has exactly what I was looking for. The pics in this blog entry were all created using My Memories scrapbook software.

The software lets you either start a new album or work on existing albums when you start. It's easy to add new pages, then it's step by step to add paper, photos, an embellishments. You can use all your own stuff as well, just open the file using the software. And if you run into trouble, they are really good about helping their customers find solutions - just go here: https://www.mymemories.com/support.

Ready to win? For the first entry go to MyMemories.com and after you look around, come back here and leave a comment on what scrapbooking kit you are interested in.

Extra entries:
  • Be or become a follower on this blog
  • Grab the button and put it on your blog (share a link to your blog) - and share the link if you already have the button.
  • Share this contest on Twitter (leave a link)
  • Blog about this contest (leave a link)
  • Become a follower of the MyMemories blog
  • Follow MyMemories on Twitter
I was not paid for this review, but if you decide to purchase the software and enter the code: STMMMS94433, I will get $20 and you will save $20 - $10 off the software and $10 in digital scrapbooking kits. That's a win-win for both of us!

Monday, September 26, 2011

J'Adore New York

by: Isabelle Laflèche

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Synopsis:
Offered the chance to transfer to her law firm’s New York City office, stylish Parisian lawyer Catherine Lambert jumps at the opportunity—a fashion devotee with her finger on the pulse of style, she sets her sights on conquering Manhattan’s high-flying worlds of glamour, law, and love tout de suite. But soon, the non-stop New York minute filled with monster bosses, lecherous clients, and vindictive secretaries begins to take its toll. That is, until one handsome and powerful client begins to change her world for the better…only to throw it all into jeopardy with one surprising request. Perfect for fans of Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Devil Wears Prada, and Sex in the City, Isabelle Laflèche’s breakout novel J’adore New York is a rollercoaster of struggle and romance from the city where dreams come true.

The cover shows a gorgeous woman with the most stylish pink suit-dress I've ever seen, you know you are in for a style conscious character. And yes, Catherine Lambert loves fashion! It plays an important roll to the plot as well.

So you know Catherine finally lands the transfer to New York she has been working so hard to get. She wants to become partner and is determined to work herself to death to get it. Okay not literally, but she works such crazy hours I lose the ability to see what the point it. If lawyers really work like that in the big firms, how very sad for them.

She has to keep learning the lesson that she can't trust anyone but a few clothes friends. The competition is beyond fierce, these guys make lions look tame...enough plot you have to read it to learn more.

The characters are all well written, the plot is thick. It's a great story. My only criticism is Catherine's voice. She is supposed to be French, but her name is pretty white-bread and the voice used in the story is written in regular American English with well-known french phrases thrown in here and there. I think it should have been written as someone from who had been living in France their entire lives would have spoken. It looks like the author is at least French-Canadian so I was a little surprised by this. (update: after thinking about this I wonder if the editors didn't take change the voice)

But after all that I don't regret reading it for a minute. It was a fantastic tale that I couldn't put down. Catherine must learn life lessons, fight for her survival and maybe...just maybe she will find love.

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