Happy Easter

It's sunny and 60 degrees here in the gorgeous Upper Peninsula. The trees are budding out and I'm noticing little green sprouts popping up through the leaves in the woods. Spring is beginning to show her presence. We've already been hearing the little yips and howls of coyote pups. There in the woods somewhere. As long as they don't bother me and my canine kids, they're welcome to stay.

There have been some deer tracks in our yard and "my" little gray fox has showed his face every one in awhile. These aren't the ones who live in my woods, but if you've never seen a gray fox, they are quite cute and mischievous.

With my ham and baked beans in the oven, I thought I'd take a moment to wish you all a happy Easter! We're spending Easter as we do any other holiday. In the comfy, quiet of our home with just each other and the canine kids. I did consider buying bunny ears for my Mastiff so he could wish you a "Hoppy Easter!" but decided that the humiliation may be a little much for his fragile ego:)

So instead, I'm going to share a portion of the book I'm working on. I'm new to the whole idea of Six Sentence Sunday, but I'll share a bit of Adam's story for you. Remember this is unedited. Natural Born Enemies is the working title. Here you go:

Adam’s black hair was always in his eyes, but when those piercing green eyes turned my way, I felt my insides melt. A mere glance from the Pierce Pride bad boy sent my heart racing. I would watch him in the halls at school and on the football field. His speed made him the best receiver on the Cedar River Miners. I’d watch him on the side lines palling around with “Bodacious” Bowie Golden. Those two together were enough to make a girl’s panties drop with a simple smile.

What do you think? Are you ready for the next book in the Cedar River series? *grins* Drop me a line and let me know what you think at gemmakmurray@gmail.com. You can always "like" my page on Facebook and leave me a message there. I'm eager to hear from all of you!

Happy Easter from my home to yours,

The Company You Keep

I'm reminded of the quote, "You are known by the company you keep," as my Wednesday starts. You see, I got an e-mail from my mom last night and it got me thinking. Someone I've known most of my life did something unimaginable. Did I know this person well? Not as well as I should have, I guess. The man was a former friend of my dad's, and had spent time in my home. Now, this man is in the news and I'm thinking heavily on the times he sat at our dining room table, having a beer and a laugh or two. It blows my mind.

Over the last year or so, I've tried to pay attention to who I spend my time with. Being an author, it is usually just my hubby and the canine kids. However, with social media being what it is, I spend more time there than I should. There were people who we spent a lot of time with in our "real" lives. They always had a derogatory statement to say about someone. It didn't matter whether it was a person's race, their gender, their sexuality, or their religion. More than once, they attempted to include me in their bigoted remarks. I had to say, "You know, that's not how I feel." Then, we became friends on Facebook. You would think the one place they may be a bit more careful of what they say would be a social media outlet. NOPE! It was even worse there. And it was a constant stream of b.s.

See, I'm someone who is not easily offended. I believe every person has a right to their opinion, however, when your opinions start to color my world, then I have a problem. After a particularly colorful rant about the gay community, my cousin's partner pointed out the above quote. While I believe in gay rights, gay marriage, and gay equality, my friendship with this couple had been showing people a truth that doesn't exist (at least not in my world). I did a lot of thinking on what my cousin's life partner said. And he was right. So, with two simple clicks of the mouse, I "unfriended" them. Funny thing is, they don't even notice! That's how wrapped up in themselves they are. I ended up "unfriending" their teenage daughter later on for the exact same thing. Today, I'm going to go through my friend list with a fine tooth comb (I'm showing age with that lil gem, huh?) and I'm deleting people whose negativity reflects on me. I'm tired of going to my Newsfeed and finding political rants that are simply rude and nasty in nature. I'm tired of people poking fun at another person's religion. I'm tired of people thinking it's okay to pick on the gay community. I can tolerate a lot, but when you offend someone I love, look out!!

How about you? Are you known by the company you keep?

My belief is I'm not going to change the world, but I can change my little corner of it. "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Busy, Busy, Busy

The last week and a half has been a whirlwind! I never appreciated the work an author puts in when they are promoting their book.

The good news is that I don't have to travel (physically) around the country to promote Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart. I can do all my "traveling" and promoting from my dining room table. In my pajamas. Or from my college campus while I'm on my break. Technology does certainly make that part of it easier.

Plus I don't have to be away from my family. I can count on one hand the time I have spent away from my canine kids. 1 night from my little bear, but the others? I've never been away from them, at least not overnight.

I spent a day with my friend, Karen Ranney, on her Warm Fuzzies blog. Today, I'll be at Manic Readers giving away a couple of e-copies of KotGDH. Saturday, I have GOT TO clean up this house. Then, Sunday, you can pop in to visit me at my friend Virginia's blog.

Between studying, working on the next few books in the series, blogging my little heart out, etc., you can see what I mean by whirlwind. *bows head* I am humbled by the thought that I have so many friends who are willing to help me promote this book. There is my blessing for you this week: May you be blessed by friends who lift you up and let you shine! (Just remember that from time to time, you need to lift THEM up so THEY can shine as well.)

So, for now, I'm off to prepare for my college classes. If you feel the urge to drop me a line or comment where I'm blogging, you will get an answer, I promise. It just may take me a bit to get to it. Because for the next few days, the whirlwind will continue and that is a VERY good thing.

The Beautiful Weather

  

Two weeks ago, I woke up to this. It's beautiful as can be, but it makes getting around a little more difficult. We can do it, but I prefer to hibernate during weather like this. I curl up inside and read (or write),  only going outside when the dogs need to go.

Yesterday was gorgeous out. We took a little trip to one of our favorite places. We went to Escanaba. While all of the ice is off the water here, we noticed a sheet of ice over the water in the marina. A little unbelievable with the weather we've been having.

  

I got out and took a few pictures as we stopped at the park. This is The Lighthouse Museum. Isn't she a stunning building? I love lighthouses anyway, but this one is special:)

 

I know, I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "What on earth is she thinking? That is hideous." I saw this ship on a previous trip (when I didn't have my camera) and thought how strong and proud she must have been in her day. I'll bet she was quite majestic as she would cut through the water with her full crew. If you close your eyes while you're standing there, I would bet you could almost hear the crew calling to one another from a day long ago.

We also stopped off at Sayklly's for our chocolate fix. Be careful if you order candy from this place! It has a way of being addicting!! *grin* I'm addicted to their milk chocolate raspberry whip and the English toffee. We won't even talk about the sea salt caramels! *eyes roll in ecstasy* But yesterday they had something new. I'm talking mind-blowing new...milk chocolate candies filled with vanilla buttercream and topped with just the right amount of sea salt. *steps up to podium* My name is Gemma K. and I am a chocaholic!

Then, there is The Record Rack. It's a store that sells pre-owned DVDs, video games, music, etc. The coolest couple owns it and you can always find something new in their bins. I have a hubby with a DVD addiction, but with these prices, I can't complain. If you have a chance, pop in and see the variety of goodies that they have for purchase.

I'm going to post the links on My Favorite Things page so you will always be able to find them. I just wanted to share a little bit of my Spring Break adventures with you. I hope you had a smidgen of the fun I did.

The Soundtrack for Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart

Music is a HUGE part of my life and always has been. From the time I can remember, there was always music being played. Whether it was Dad's reel to reel, the 8-track player, records, or simply the radio, music enveloped me at a very young age. I can remember singing along with Tanya Tucker's "Delta Dawn" and "What's Your Mama's Name?" before I could understand what the songs were even about.

My love of music only grew. My dad loves to listen to Hank Williams, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and Hank Snow. My mom, well, her musical influence on me was The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and The Monkees. My grandpa simply enjoyed any sort of country music. Then there was my grandma. She enjoyed country music, but she also had some records that were different. Grandma gave me the love for the oldies. You know, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, and Dean Martin. Oh boy! I just love listening to them. With so many varieties of music, how could my mind be anything other than open to ALL genres? Then, I married a metal head! He LOVES his metal music and 80s hair bands. What's funny is that over the last 20 years, his music has crept into my music shelf and mine into his. I have everything from Celtic music to Rob Zombie on my Mp3 player. It's quite funny.

So, I wanted to share my playlist with you. These are the songs I listened to as I wrote Bowie and Ana's love story.

Billy Currington- Little Bit Lonely

Billy Currington- Let Me Down Easy

Billy Currington- Everything

Brandi Carlile- The Story

Eden's Edge- Amen

The Dixie Chicks- I'm Not Ready to Make Nice

Eric Clapton- Wonderful Tonight

Eric Clapton- It's In the Way That You Move It

Jake Owen- Barefoot Blue Jean Night

Lady Antebellum- If I Knew Then

Lady Antebellum- Something 'Bout a Woman

Luke Bryan- Do I

Nickelback- Dark Horse (the entire album!)

Snow Patrol- Chasing Cars

Spill Canvas- Our Song

Thompson Square- Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not

Trisha Yearwood- Real Live Woman

Not to mention the nights where I just turned on Pandora radio and let  it play as I typed away.

Now, you can see where my head was as I wrote. The 2nd book in the Cedar River series (which I'm working on now) has a heavy Celtic Thunder playlist. I have no idea why, but it works.

Have a Happy Sunday!

I Feel Special

I want to share something special with you. Last night, I was sitting on the sofa with my husband who was playing with his Kindle Fire. Or so I thought. Whatever he was doing, he was intense. Normally he plays games on it, talking (or yelling) at the Kindle as he plays. But not last night. Last night, he was being awfully quiet (and if you have a man in your life, you know that that isn't always good.)

I was working on some promo stuff for the new book and not paying as much attention as I should. He looked at me and said, "I'm on Chapter 2." I looked up from the laptop and said, "Huh?" (Don't I sound intelligent? LOL) "Chapter 2. I'm reading your book." After I picked my mouth up off the floor, I could only stare at him.

Let me explain: I'm married to a man (whom I love dearly) who avoids most books like the plague. If he can listen to it or watch it, he is all over it, but to pick up a book? I've only seen it happen on extremely rare occasions. I believe he says he's read the first 4 (and 1/2 of the 5th) books in the Harry Potter series. I also know for a fact that he has read The Thief of Always by Clive Barker a few times. But a romance? Never!!

Then, he returns his attention back to MY book. He made it quite a ways into the story and then he turned to me, "What were the bullets filled with?" I was able to smile and told him to keep reading. He did and when he discovered the mysterious ingredient, I got a smile. Apparently, I did a good job in my choice.

He eventually put the book down and we had a discussion...ABOUT A BOOK!!!! I've been waiting for 20 years for this to happen!

*rubs chin* Hmmm...maybe I should have done with whole "getting published" thing sooner!

I hope you enjoy it as much as my darling husband is. According to him, it is quite "readable and leaves you wanting to know more." That's the best review I could ever ask for!!

If you've picked up Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart, drop me a line at gemmakmurray@gmail.com and tell me what you think. I'm working on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th book in The Cedar River series with a possible spin off.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

It's Heeeeere

It took a little longer than anticipated, but Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart is available for  purchase. You can get it for your E-reader, your Nook, your Kindle, any (electronic) way you want it. You can always look under the tab, BOOKS AND EXCERPTS, for the links. Or they are up on my Facebook page. 

LEAP OF FAITH PUBLISHING                     BARNES AND NOBLE                AMAZON