Friday, May 20, 2016

Pomp and Circumstances

All that gold filing in...
It’s been a busy week. Two of my boys graduated- one from high school, one from college.

First, there was Caleb's (Boy #1) Honors Medallion Ceremony.

Notice the sea of yellow gowns? That’s what graduates were supposed to wear. My son, because he had no intention of going through the regular graduation ceremony, didn’t buy a gown.

Once I realized the dress code for the ceremony also called for the gown, I felt awful. I asked Caleb if he wanted to ditch- just ask them for the medallion and get the heck out of Dodge. He said no. He came to go through the ceremony, and he was going through the ceremony. 

Personally, I’d have left. I don’t have that much gumption.


Caleb with President Gee. 

But he does. He’s pretty awesome like that.


Me and my brave little boy young man. 
That same night, his little brother, Carter (Boy #3) found out that he’d be Salutatorian for his graduation two days later. He had to write a speech ASAP and turn it in for approval. He asked me to help, but I was in Morgantown getting ready to watch his big brother. I told him to just jot something down, turn it in, and we’d polish it up after graduation practice. 

Carter printed out a copy of his speech for his teacher and shut off the computer...without saving. But he didn't worry. He was writing a revised version later and he knew the gist of what he planned to say. 
Carter giving his Salutatorian speech
So, after school, hours before graduation, we worked on a second draft. When he got to graduation, he had to go with the school approved original version. His teacher assured him it was good, but he was a little nervous. He hadn't even proof read that version. But I'm proud to say, he got up there and delivered that speech without a hiccup. 

My kids are way more talented than me! 


My baby...Class of 2016

And that's it. Onto the next adventure!

This week was also busy with the launch of Swept Away. Here's a list of this week' blog tour stops!


Today you can find me...




Welcome Chrys Fey! She has a new book out and a book on sale. Chrys writes wonderful romances with a bit of heat and a whole lot of interesting characters! Since Chrys enjoys putting those characters in peril, I asked her...what are her favorite disaster movies? 

Chrys' Top 10 Favorite Disaster Movies:

1. Titanic
2. The Day After Tomorrow
3. 2012
4. World War Z
5. Twister
6. Jurassic Park
7. Volcano
8. Dante’s Peak
9. Meteor
10. Ice Age


Title: Seismic Crimes
Author: Chrys Fey
Series: Disaster Crimes Series (Book Two)
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Format: Digital and Print
Page Count: 282


DIGITAL LINKS:

PRINT LINKS:


BLURB:

An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his darkest moments.

Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a criminal’s crosshairs.

When a tip reveals the killer's location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?


HURRICANE CRIMES 99¢ SALE!



DIGITAL LINKS:
  

                     Click Here For A Give Away!!!



Thanks to our hosts LexaL.G, and Tonja Drecker for this weekly good things check in! 

I want to give a special shout out and thank you to my blog tour hosts this week. It's great to have amazing friends.
Facebook Launch party for Swept Away was lot of fun. I tweaked the format a little to make things a little more interesting. Instead of a large give-away, I bought several small give-aways. At the beginning of each hour, I offered a give-away and left those open for twenty-four hours to encourage party goers to drop in at their leisure and scroll through the posts to sign up for the freebies. 


48 comments:

  1. Congrats Chrys on the book. I know for certain I have seen eight of those movies. No so sure about Volcano or Meteor but yes on the others. The Day after Tomorrow does not get enough credit. It was amazing. Liz your boys are men now. Of course they'll always be your boys and a big congrats to the lot of you. Strut college grad, strut! Liz your book looks fabulous, congrats and I'll get to those blog stops when I can. Enjoy your lovely life. :)

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    1. Thanks, Sheena! Volcano is one from my childhood that I love. As far as Meteor, I had a hard time thinking of one to take its place. I haven't seen San Andreas yet. But I just realized a favorite of mine that inspired the next book isn't on that list...The Impossible. That one would be #1.

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    2. Thanks Sheena-kay! I'm not sure how many of those movies I've seen. Half the time, I don't realize I've watched a movie until I start it.

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  2. Congratulations to your sons! Graduation is huge. I never got to graduate with a class, so seeing others do it always makes me feel happy and proud (even if I don't personally know them). :)

    Thank you so much for having me on your blog today! Especially with such a happy announcement about your sons.

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    1. All that matters in the end, is that you got the diploma and kept moving forward. Look at you now?! New book...living the dream! Okay, so we'd both love for the dream to include lots of cash in our bank account, but hey...someday.

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  3. Congrats to your boys, Elizabeth! Definite reasons to be proud there.

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  4. Congratulations to your boys! I couldn't have winged a speech like that.

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    1. I don't do speeches well, even after hours of practice- so I am impressed!

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  5. Congrats to your sons, Elizabeth! Very impressive how they handled themselves. And congrats to you and Chrys on your new book releases!

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  6. Wow! Congratulations for your sons and for you!!! That's just all awesome!

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  7. Congrats to your sons. I just skipped the whole graduation thing in university, once I learned it was going to be hours upon hours long, pffft took the diploma and left lol Seen all on Chrys's list but one.

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    1. Probably Meteor, right? That one is less known.

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    2. I skipped it too. What a waste of time and money. That was Caleb's plan too, and why he didn't own a gown.

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  8. Congrats to your brave, talented sons! And congrats to their momma who taught them to be that way.

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  9. I read your marketing post on Lori's and loved it! Congrats to your two boys -- er -- men! Have a great book tour and a lovely weekend!

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    1. Thanks Lexa! She gave me the topic and I decided all I could do was be honest.

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  10. Congrats to your boys, bet you were proud of them.
    Yvonne.

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    1. I am proud of them. Some days, I want to clunk them over the head and I have to pause and remind myself that they really are good boys.

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  11. What a HUGE week. That's amazing!!! Congratulations. And yes, that did take courage but good for him. He's not afraid to stand out. I'm surprised they didn't have extra gowns just in case, but I guess they wouldn't buy extra and in the end, I'm sure nobody minded at all. He probably got extra applause!

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    1. I am so proud of him for that. He's always been amazingly centered and down-to-earth. When he was a Freshman in high school, he was buying all of these super hero tees for school and I worried- would he look like a total nerd? I asked him if he thought his friends would make fun of him and he said, "If they make fun of me, they're not my friend, and I don't care what anyone else thinks."
      Yeah, I would have had extra on hand for people without, but then they do sell them, so I suppose that defeats the purpose. I've always thought graduation gowns should be rented myself. I mean, who wants one after the ceremony?

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  12. Oh yeah? Well, yesterday I took out the trash without being asked.

    Congrats to your awesome and talented and fearless boys. They're already handling things like pros. You should definitely be proud.

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    1. You took out the trash?! I am thoroughly impressed!!

      My guys play trash can jinga. They precariously stack the trash as high as it can go. The one to make it topple or get caught and forced to carry it to the curb loses.

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  13. Congratulations to your boys! You did a great job, mama! :) And yay for Chrys!

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    1. I am proud of them. And I thank God for giving me such great souls to work with!

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  14. Congrats on Swept Away and a bigger congrats on having such amazing sons!!!

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    1. Thanks Libby!!

      I do have good kids. Some days, like when they're blowing things up in my kitchen, I forget they are pretty good kids.

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  15. You've got one big pile of memories to cherish! And a new book. That's darned impressive, Elizabeth.

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  16. Wow, you must be super proud! Congrats to you and your whole family:)

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  17. Aren't graduation ceremonies fun? I remember it like my wedding day, couldn't wipe the smile off my face. :)
    Yay for Chrys, I love her list!
    We will connect later to continue your tour, I have a copy of Swept Away. Just give me a day or two, or three, to read it. :)

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    1. Aww, thanks!! I have yours too. It's going to be my beach read!

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  18. I'm late to the party, but your buttons must be popping. What a proud Mama you must be!!! Congratulations, to your boys!!!!

    And Congrats to Chrys!! I love all the movies Chrys wrote down.

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  19. Yay for Chrys and yay for you and your sons! Man! Two graduations at once? That's a ton. I'm so stoked for your oldest though. He's inspiring.

    I feel like a lame friend because I haven't done or said anything to help with your release, and the book sounds super fabulous! (I know it is.) I look forward to reading and reviewing it.

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    1. You're the best kind of friend. And I mean that from the heart, with cheese on it.

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  20. Congratulations! It sounds like both of your boys are very self-confident, capable, and quite comfortable in their own skins. That says a lot about how lovingly they were raised, and about the support and freedom you gave them to be themselves. Good job!

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