Surprise Author Number Two.

This is another amazing friend of mine. She writes as extremely well. She is very talented and very swear I sometimes wonder if it was something in the Kool Aid we drank as kids. She is one of the reasons I started to write again.

She is the one and only... Now you thought I would tell you right away. Silly, silly people....

Before I start the interview let me say what a great honor it was to do this interview. Yes we are friends but she was nice enough to take the time and answer some questions for me. I hope you all enjoy this interview as much as I did. 

My questions will be in red the mystery guest in black. I hope it makes it easier to fallow.

    Hi, mystery guest number two could you please introduce yourself to everyone?  

  

       Hi, my name is Nikki Noffsinger. I hail from a small city in Indiana and before you write me off as a soccer mom or a country bumpkin, I assure you that I am anything but. I am a mother of two and I am still married to my high school sweetheart. The running joke is that I am waiting for his life insurance to mature before I bump him off.  We’ve been married for twenty years so there’s a fifty fifty chance he might live Um, I mean we’ll last another twenty.  From a young age, I have been a huge horror movie/book buff and I love just about anything Rock n’ Roll. My favorite holiday is Halloween and so it’s no surprise that all my favorite guys have fangs and claws. 

(I love, love, love her writing!!! Notice a red head like me. Well except she doesn't use dye for hers. )

   

   Would you like to share any work you have done or doing? 

     My first novel that I have had published by Evolutionary Publishing is Cursed Awakening. It is a paranormal romance starring shifters. I don’t want to call them were wolves because that’s not exactly what they are; they are shifters or in Native Lore, Skin Walkers. Cursed Awakening is about Ivy Morgan, who is trying to make a new life for herself after living and enduring a hellish life inside a religious cult. To say she has trust issues is an understatement. Romance is not even on her “To do list” but when she encounters Nyx Wahpeton, that all changes. Nyx Wahpeton and his family have been guardians for the peaceful people that live at the New Hope Reservation.  Finding a mate, let alone a human one is not on his agenda but when he meets Ivy, he finds himself strangely drawn to her. He knows she has a lot of secrets, and he has one really big one.  Nyx wants Ivy to be able to trust him with her secrets, but can he trust her with his?  As their romance blooms, an age old evil threatens not just their existence but everyone’s.  The clans are coming to once again fight an ancient war but can Ivy and Nyx survive a Cursed Awakening? 

      

   These are some reviews off of Amazon.

      Paranormal romance lovers will enjoy the unique world of wolf shifters and other paranormal creatures in Cursed Awakening. Nikki Noffsinger draws the reader in with her broken heroine, Ivy Morgan, who is starting her life over after escaping years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of an elder in a religious cult. Noffsinger realistically portrays Ivy's panic attacks and the lingering fears, making Ivy a sympathetic character. Nyx, a protective wolf shifter, instantly falls for Ivy and does a fantastic job of showing Ivy his love while walking through the various minefields that are Ivy's triggers. Furthermore, his patience and caring make their union sizzle. True to life, Ivy's fears don't magically disappear, but this relationship helps Ivy discover her own inner strength--a beautiful sight to see. Cursed Awakening contains a perfect balance of romance and suspense, carrying the reader through to the perfect ending.

       One more

      I'm still surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The theme and characters are interesting. The story intrigued me to want to know more about their culture, history. I felt the pain knowing what that girl went through. I also loved the names and the cover. I'm looking forward for the next book in the series.

   

     Do you have a favorite genre?

     I love paranormal romance but I have to be honest, I wasn’t always a romance fan. I started out with classical literature and horror novels. Stephen King and Robin Cook were my favorites. Then when I was about sixteen, Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire hit and I became consumed with her books.  By the time I was eighteen, I took a break from Anne and the horror genre and discovered I loved historical romance.  When I felt I was getting slightly burned out on those, I just happened to be at the bookstore and not really looking at anything, I discovered J R Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon. I grabbed a few books by them and figured I would read them in time. What happened next was I got addicted to paranormal romance and found myself filled with stories in my head again. I began writing and haven’t stopped since. 

      Did you always want to write or what inspired you to do it? 

   

       I have always loved books and creating stories since I was a young kid. I literally have tubs of notebooks, folders, and loose papers full of stories and poems.  I used to consider it my secret hobby until about six years ago when I leapt into the wonderful world of being a published writer.  

     

    Do you need a nice quiet space to write or are you blasting your music and writing?

          When I write, it’s usually with one or more kids wreaking havoc through the house, the dog barking at intervals or needing to “go out”, the television going, and rock music going. However, there are moments when it is quiet that I find myself being able to bust out some serious word counts. So I don’t have a preference as long as music is thrown in.

If you could give one tip to someone who wants to write what would it be?

Just one tip? Well the biggest is to really have a passion to be a writer. Anyone  virtually anyone can come up with a story or idea but to be a writer one has to eat, sleep, breath, and live to write. Now does that mean everything will be a best seller or even published? Heck no and get used to rejections; thicken up that skin. A writer is someone who writes because it is in their very essence to write. In the early days of civilizations,  there were those who told the stories, passed along news and recorded it. So no matter if you are fiction, non-fiction, or what your genre or medium is, if you have the passion then write. Write and write and write!  Let nothing stand in the way.

  

  What is your big dream? In other words where would you like your writing to take you to in the future?

   My dream is to be a successful author-success to me isn’t defined in money (although we’d all love to make money); it is defined as people loving my stories and feel affected by them in some way or another. To me that is the dream. 

I you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be?

     If I could meet anyone living it would be Anne Rice. I have already met Sherrilyn Kenyon but to meet the queen of all Vampire Novels, it would be Anne Rice. Just her biography alone and how she came to be the author she is now would be a dream come true. Dead? Well who wouldn’t I want to meet? I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, The Bronte sisters, Lord Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley, Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, James Whitcomb Riley, and Maya Angelou. I really have a HUGE plethora of authors and poets I adore. 

Ok because I am me, I had to have some fun questions in there.

Pizza or salad?

Pizza (although I do love salad)

Cake or fruit?

I come from Southern Roots so of course I love cake but I love fruit too. The more exotic the more I want to try it.

Favorite kind of music?

ROCK! I love classic, 80s, hard, heavy metal, and even a lot of the Industrial stuff.

Favorite Author?

Favorite author-that’s like asking me to pick my favorite child. I have so very many but I’ll pick my top 10 of my genre: Sherrilyn Kenyon, Lynsay Sands, Kerrilyn Sparks, Lora Leigh, Laura Adrian,  Denyse Bridger,  Christine Feehan,  Karen M. Moning, Kresley Cole,  and Laurann Dohner.

Vampire, Werewolf, Fairy or shifter?

I love all my supernatural boys but Vampire all the way!

Do you have pet's?

Yes, I have one dog who I think is the reincarnation of Nana from Peter Pan. She is our current Den Mother and attention hog.

Favorite animal?

I have a love of all animals and I can’t pick one but I will tell you the ones that while I might love, I am scared to death of. I am afraid of bats, sharks, crocodiles, and alligators. (blame all those horror movies for those)

City or suburbs?

I like the peacefulness of the suburbs but I love the positive energy of a city. What does that mean? The city is a great place to visit and I can’t stand to just live out in nowhere but I like to rest my head where it’s quiet and sirens aren’t sounding every twenty minutes or so.

If you could live anywere where would it be?

If I could live anywhere in the whole world it would be between Great Britain, Canada, or New Zealand. 

So I am going to add some braging in here. Only Because she won't.

  Cursed Awakening

    

   (Cursed Awakening is award wining but do you think she would tell you? No she is a down to earth Author. It was a top featured book for the day on Amazon.)  

                               

This her next book out and I can bet it will be a hit. Paranormal Dreams is a six part series of short stories, each with a paranormal theme. 

She won't tell about her Childeren Books coming out either. I will be telling you when I know thry are out. She is an amazing writer! With many talents

So my dog Gizmo is alot like me and wanted to get in again this blogging thing again. So this is Gizmo and he is interviewing Nikki's dog.

 Gizmo's question will be in Blue and Nikki's dog in Black

1. Woof, Hi I am Gizmo and you are?

 Woof, woof I am Roxy.

2. What is your favorite store?

     I am not allowed at the store.I don't know why but my humans won't let me.It's not like I'm a Diva or anything. Okay yeah, I'm a Diva but do you blame me?   

3.       What is your favorite toy?

  Justin, my little master.

4.       Do you like Lassie or Benjie better?

Neither. I have a total Bitch crush on that fellow named Tramp.

5.       Do you chase cats?

I would if my masters would let me. Me and the 

squirrels are at a stand off.

6.       Do you like off the leash parks better than walks?

I love walks and if I didn't keep my humans on a leash they'd get into all sorts of trouble.

7.       Do you enjoy belly rubs?

Of course, who doesn't? If you've never had one you've just not ever lived.

8.       Do you have a favorite season?

I'm not fond of anything wet or cold.

9.       What is your favorite treat?

I love....LOOOVE anything bacon flavored and peanut butter.

10.       Do you like to sleep on a human bed, your bed, the top of the couch or the floor?

The humans sleep in MY bed which is sometimes a pain but I love them and I like for them to be comfortable. I just wish they wouldn't snore so loud.

11.   Are you a lap dog?

I wouldn't say I am a lap dog but more of a Lap Consultant. If I don't try the goods then how can I recommend it to others?

I know I have said ths but it was a joy to do this interview! I hope Nikki enjoyed it as much as me. So a big thank you to Nikki and Foxy. Here are some links to find her at.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | MySpace | Facebook

ARe Romance | Smashwords | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

I hope everyone has a great day/night. I am E J Babcock I hope you come back and read my blog again.

Surprise Author Number One.

Okay let me start this blog off as being one of the most grateful people on this earth!  I have asked two Authors to answer some questions for my blog. The fast response time was amazing from both.

So today I am starting with ... a new author. Her first book was published in May 2014 who is she? 
Well here you go! I hope you enjoy! My questions will be in purple.

      1)      Can you please introduce yourself to everyone?

  HI! My name is Susan Stoker! I currently live in Texas, but because I married a military man 15 years ago I’ve lived all over the US in the last 15 years! 

 (Ok yes I got an interview with one of the author's I love!)

        2)      Would you like to share any work you have done or doing?  

I write contemporary romances, that always have a HEA ending. It’s a personal thing, but I don’t like cliffhangers and won’t write a book that has one. 

I have 2 series out right now. The first is more of a “sweet” series. It’s a trilogy based on reality shows. It’s called the Beyond Reality series. The first book, Outback Hearts is set in Australia and features two contestants, the second, Flaming Hearts, is set in Arizona and features a contestant and a “non contestant”. The third, Frozen Hearts, is set in Alaska and features two camera operators.

Outback Hearts

Flaming Hearts

Frozen Hearts

The second series is currently in progress. It is called the SEAL of Protection series and revolves around a team of Navy SEALs. The first book, Protecting Caroline was released in September, the second, Protecting Alabama, will be released Oct 31^st. There are 7.5 books planned in the series, (including a novella released in time for Valentine’s Day). There will be a book published every other month so my readers don’t have to wait too long to get their SEAL fix

                                                         
                                                         Protecing Caroline

                                               
                                          Protecing Caroline

                                               
                                            Protecting Alabama


(I promissed you teasers and hot guys.)

    

     3)  Do you have a favorite genre?

Romance of course! I read all types. As long as it has a HEA, I’m good.

4)      Did you always want to write or what inspired you to do it?

Not really. I write for my own pleasure. It wasn’t until this year that I thought that others might also like to read my stories. I get “ideas”  5)      Do you need a nice quiet space to write or are you blasting your music and writing?
 A quiet space? What’s that? Lol. My husband and I don’t have children, but we do have three dogs at the moment, and it’s never really quiet in the house. I can’t lock myself away because the dogs will get into trouble. What’s the saying? A quiet dog is a dog in trouble. Ha! So I write in the office that is off our living room. Right in the middle of all the action.

6) If you could give one tip to someone who wants to write what would it be?

   Go for it. No one is stopping you. But if you want to be successful, make sure you get an editor and a proofreader and make your work as professional as possible before you publish. There are SO many books out there in today’s digital age, that you want yours to stand out…in a good way.

Also, do it for your own satisfaction. It’s highly unlikely you’ll make it rich on one book, or even two…I’m not being a downer, but it’s true. Sure there are new authors that write a kick butt book and make a ton of money on their first book, but making a living off of writing is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to keep at it. You have to market. It’s hard work. 

 7) What is the big dream? In other words where would you like your writing to take you to in the future?

Reference the answer above. J Yes, I’d love to be able to stay home and write all the time. If I could make a living full time I could write more, I could workout more (no time now with full time work), I could spend time with my doggies, I could learn to cook, I could clean the house more…but then I’d also have to pay my own health insurance, I’d probably get bored and eat more and thus weigh more, I’d get even MORE addicted to facebook…hummmm.

         8)     If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be?

You know what, I’m weird about this stuff. I’m always afraid my expectations of meeting someone will be way higher than the actual experience (And I’ve had that happen! I was so excited to meet a famous author once, and when I did it was a huge letdown). The THOUGHT of meeting someone is so much better than the actual deal I think. 

BUT, If I could meet someone…let’s see…Cary Elwes. You know, the guy in The Princess Bride…but I’d want to meet the OLD CE, and not the current one. Ha!

Now the fun questions!!!

1) Pizza or salad?  

 Salad…as long as I don’t have to cut the veggies. I hate that.

2) Cake or fruit?  

Cake all the way!

3) Favorite kind of music?  

I like country, but not the “old” twangy country. I also like 80’s and 90’s pop music.

4) Favorite Author?

 Right now…probably Kristen Ashley

5)Vampire, Werewolf, Fairy or shifter?

 Werewolf

6) Do you have pet's? 

 Yup, 3 dogs. Basset named Rosie, Bloodhound named Henry, and a basset/terrier mix named Annie

7) Favorite animal? 

 dog

8) City or suburbs? 

Suburbs

Because Susan won't brag I will brag for her.
Here are some stats of Protecting Caroline is still in the top 10 in all military romance books.

Protecting Caroline right NOW (it changes ever hour of course)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

#34 in Kindle eBooks > Romance > Mystery & Suspense > Suspense
#38 in Kindle eBooks > Romance > Mystery & Suspense
#38 in Books > Romance > Romantic Suspense
#88 in Kindle eBooks > Romance > Contemporary

Gizmo wanted to get into the bloging to. So I asked Susan if one og her dog's woud mind doing an interview.

1. Hi, I am Gizmo and you are?
Woof! I’m Rosie the Basset Hound!
2. What is your favorite store?
Store? What’s that? I like when I get to ride in the human’s car and they stop and talk into this box, then we pull up to a window and another human hand’s my human a bag of food! It’s a magic window!
3. What is your favorite toy?
Toy? What’s a toy? OH! You mean those things my brother and sister hog and tear out lots of fluffy stuff from? Yeah, I’m too tired to play with those things.
4. Do you like Lassie or Benjie better?
Actually my favorite is Hooch…my human calls it a movie where some guy named Turner is in the movie with Hooch, but I love watching that drool fly when he shakes his head. Classic!
5. Do you chase cats?
Nah, I leave the chasing to my brother and sister. Most of the time I don’t even SEE the cat before it runs out of the yard. Besides, my legs are too short to chase anything.
6. Do you like off the leash parks better than walks?
Walks are better. Most of the time we run into other humans that I can con into petting me. And there are more smells and such when we walk than only at the park.
7. Do you enjoy belly rubs?
Oooh, belly rubs are my favorite! And ear rubs, and dewlap flaps, and butt scratching. They’re all my favorite!
8. Do you have a favorite season?
Season? Like light time or dark time? I like both. I can sleep in the light time and the dark time.
9. What is your favorite treat?
FOOD! Anything. I snarf it up before it can languish too long on the floor. It’s my job to keep the kitchen floor clean when the humans are making themselves something to eat. I take that job verrrry seriously.
10. Do you like to sleep on a human bed, your bed, the top of the couch or the floor?
I like to sleep period. On a human bed, on my bed, in my crate, on the couch, in one of the 1.4 million dog beds in the house, on the floor…it just doesn’t matter. Sleep is good.
11. Are you a lap dog?
Of course, aren’t ALL dogs?









Thank you Susan Stoker. Now she was kind enough to let us get a sneak peek at her next book cover. A Book cover only those on my blog get to see until Sunday!!

                                  
                               Protecting Alabama, will be released Oct 31^st

Ok I want this book!

Susan Stoker Social Links

www.facebook.com/authorsstoker
www.twitter.com/susan_stoker
www.facebook.com/authorsstoker

www.goodreads.com/SusanStoker

www.amazon.com/author/susanstoker
Email: AuthorSusanStoker@gmail.com

Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/1layP

 

Thank you Susan, thank you Rosie. Thank you all for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it!

I am E.J Babcock enjoy your day!

A small town girl in Canada.

While I am waiting to hear back from a few surprise guest, I have a confusion. I was born and raised in a small town in Indiana. Why am I telling you this you might be asking yourself. I am telling you this because I thought you might like some perspective on what it's like for someone not from here.
Let's start off with the obvious. I am from a small town. I had never seen a crane building things before. How is that possible you might ask? Go back to my opening statement about living in a small town.
Seeing buildings being built quickly baffles me.

Being minutes away from a big city like Toronto took a lot of getting used to. Concerts from big named bands closer than I have ever imagined.

I work  in a mall where in a day there is same amount of people from my small town in it. How is this possible?
 A few holidays are different here. You don't have independence day. They do have Canada day it's celebrated on July 1st. Every month in the summer has one long weekend in it. They even have a family day in February. The one that throws me off the most is Thanksgiving. I was used to having Thanksgiving in November. Where it would be cold and sometimes snowy.
In Canada Thanksgiving is in October. The weather could be a lot like this.

All in all I truly love living in this country. Every day there are new things I learn.
I hope you all have enjoyed this little blog. I hope to have a few surprises guests soon. I hope you all enjoy your time with your family and friends.

Have a great day E.J Babcock.

How easy are they?

For those of you who know me well you know I don't cook that often. You also know I don't cook that well. I'm always posting recipes on Facebook but I rarely try them.
     So what did I decided to do? I decided to try two recipes that say they are easy.
Butternut Squash soup and two ingredients pumpkin muffins.
 So I will post the recipes and pictures as I co.. ruin dinner.

This is everything I used to make dinner. The bread is eight minute bread you pop into the oven on the rack. It adds to the meal.
   

Ok Butternut Soup I found this recipe at www.foodnetwork.com/recipes?butternut-squash-soup-recipe.html 

Total Time:
1 hr
Prep:
20 min
Cook:
40 min
Yield:6 servings
Level:Intermediate

Ingredients
1 (2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
Nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve.
 

Sounds easy right? The first picture is our victim... I mean dinner that night. 

This is the squash after being gutted and in the process of being peeled.

Next we put in the butter and onions cook those until they are translucent this should take about 8 minutes.

Then you add the squash and the chicken stalk you are going to bring this to a SIMMER and cook until tender. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes.

  Now it tells you to do this: Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. I did not do that I took my handy dandy masher that I use for potatoes and mashed the bigger chunks while they stayed in the pot. Really I’ll let you do it whatever way you want.

   

So the last steps are to Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve

I wish I was faster with my camera because this soup was eaten as soon it was done cooking. I will try my best to get pictures next time…

************************************************************************************************************

Two ingredient pumpkin muffins

Now this sounds real easy right….I am sure I can find a way to mess it up.

Well let me tell you…it is pretty easy. Now the recipe calls for white cake mix but I think you could probably add any cake mix that would taste good with pumpkin. If you grab a spice cake mix or a carrot make sure you DON’T grab the pumpkin pie filling. Grab the can pure pumpkin.

Okay this is the batter if it looks dry you can add milk to it by the tablespoon. I added one tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of soy milk. Why you may ask? Well here is the deal I know there are those out there with allergies so better for me to add in the soy milk and mess up my muffins then you mess up yours.

So you put them in the little paper cup in your muffin tins. I then scrape the bowl and start passing out taste sample of the batter. Now this is when I knew I made it right. See I have one son who is a picky eater. So as I was giving out little taste tests off batter he says “Hey what’s that?” now I know him well enough by now so I put a tinny bit on a spoon “Here try it, they are pumpkin muffins.” So his mouth goes around the spoon I think he is going to say yuck ass he tastes it. “Ohh that is good can I have more?” Happy dance time….

Ok so you bake them like the back of the box tells you too.

This is what they look like done. Now you can make your own frosting, buy some (eww); put a whip cream topping or cream cheese on them. These went really fast it made twenty four muffins I am not sure where they all went. I know I will be making them again soon!

**********************

Ok so I will have an interview with a surprise guest for the blog very soon. Gizmo (my dog) will also be interviewing her pet. So please stay tuned for Tuesday’s blog. 

As always thank you for your time. Have a great day! :)

I am E.J Babcock 

This picture was painted by me with the help of Veniessa Kiddey from The Wobbly Canvas. Please visit her link she is an amazing artist.