7.20.2009

Dying for Mercy Giveaway!

Win a copy of Mary Jane Clark's Dying for Mercy!

To celebrate the upcoming release of Mary Jane Clark's exciting new novel, Dying for Mercy, I will be giving away two copies!

You can find out more about the book below in the trailer and description.

To enter, all you need to do is comment to this post. You will receive 1 entry point for your comment. Be sure that you leave your email address so that I can get in touch with you!

If you follow this blog, you will receive 3 additional entry points!

If you follow me on Twitter (@lemonologie), I will give you another 3 entry points! Just be sure to send me a tweet that you want to win! Additionally, I will give you yet another point every time you tweet about this giveaway! (Hint - Be sure you mention @lemonologie & either #maryjaneclark or #dyingformercy in your tweet so I'll see it!) I created a short link to my blog here: http://bit.ly/KA84w

The Giveaway will run until next Monday, July 27. At that time, I will "draw" the winners from the entry numbers. Good luck!

Dying for Mercy releases July 28th. Even if you don't win, you can pre-order your copy at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Dying-Mercy-Mary-Jane-Clark/dp/0061286117/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247761503&sr=8-1


Trailer for Dying for Mercy
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Book Description:

When death shatters the serenity of the exclusive moneyed enclave of Tuxedo Park, New York, Eliza Blake, cohost of the country's premier morning television show KEY to America, is on the scene. While attending a lavish gala at her friends' newly renovated estate, Pentimento, Eliza's host is found dead—a grotesque suicide that is the first act in a macabre and intricately conceived plan to expose the sins of the past involving some of the town's most revered citizens.

Determined to find out the truth, Eliza and her KEY News colleagues—producer Annabelle Murphy, cameraman B.J. D'Elia, and psychiatrist Margo Gonzalez—discover that Pentimento holds the key. Nestled in the park's sprawling architectural masterpieces, picturesque gardeners' cottages, and lush, rolling landscape, the glorious mansion is actually a giant "puzzle house," filled with ingenious clues hidden in its fireplaces, fountains, and frescoes that lead them from one suspicious locale to another—and, one by one, to the victims of a fiendish killer.

As Pentimento gives up its secrets, it becomes clear that no amount of wealth or privilege will keep the residents of Tuxedo Park safe. But just when Eliza unearths one final surprise, she comes face-to-face with a murderer who believes that some puzzles should never be solved.

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author Mary Jane Clark has written 12 novels, all set in the high stakes world of broadcast journalism. She worked at CBS News headquarters in New York City for three decades, her experience there leading her to create KEY, a fictional television network. What her characters can get involved in as they cover their assignments is as varied as the stories on the morning or evening news. Her media thrillers are published in 22 languages.

Fast-moving, unpredictable, and always changing, the television news world offers a never-ending stream of ideas for Clark’s books. Her writing style has been described as “clear and speedy.” Influenced by years of writing television news stories, where every second counts, she gets right to the action in her suspense novels, in which every word is a clue.

The daughter of a FBI agent, Clark grew up in Westwood, New Jersey, and graduated from the University of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two grown children and lives in New Jersey and Florida. She spends her time researching her next novel, writing, concocting new plots while walking the beach, decorating ,and supporting causes close to her heart, including research for a cure or treatment for fragile X syndrome.

7.09.2009

When Nature Invades My Home

For the last few days, I have been involved in a daily battle with a gnat in my bathroom. Each morning when I get up, I find him on my mirror.

At first, I calmly went over, grabbed a Kleenex, snuck back to the mirror and calmly swatted him. I missed. He flew off. I searched all over the place, but no gnat.

As the days have gone on, I have grown increasingly desperate. Now I grab the first thing I see and fling it at his little gnat body.

You see, gnats and I have history. It began back in '97 and it's an ugly story involving a funeral home and a gnat going places where it shouldn't. You really don't want to know. Just know this, I hate them. They hate me back, I promise. You'll find several example anecdotes here and here.

Today, I found him at his regular morning spot on the mirror. I grabbed a pill bottle and brought it against the mirror at ninja speed. SMACK! I peered out of one eye to see my results. I got him.

I cleaned off the pill bottle, placed it back beside the sink and turned around to leave. There, on the top of the pill bottle stood YET ANOTHER FREAKING gnat. Just staring at me.

7.02.2009

The MiL & the Prunes

Yesterday Grace came home with note written in her book. We keep a book to record all her food & diaper changes. The note made me furious - "No prunes for a few days".

Thank you Dr. MiL.

I am tempted to feed her prunes EVERY day for the next YEAR.

Perhaps I should explain this a little further. I do value her advice and her input. She spends a considerable amount of time with Grace, so she is bound to see things that we may not. But, the note written in the book was not phrased as a suggestion or a comment. It was a command.

7.01.2009

Encounters with Nature

I met Bambi today. He jumped out in front of my car as I was going down my driveway. Don't panic! I was paying attention and able to slow down safely so that he made it across with plenty of room to spare.

Since I had almost completely stopped the car anyway, I decided to see if I could still see where he went. I backed up my car a couple of feet, and sure enough. He stood a couple hundred yards into the woods right beside me.

If this deer had been standing right up against me, he would have come up to my waist. He was the smallest deer I have ever seen in real life. He was being so cooperative to stand still and let me look at him, that I pulled out the phone to take his picture. He stood there patiently while I figured out which button launched the camera application on my too-smart-for-me smart phone. I took a picture or 30.

Then, I realized that if I rolled down my window, I could get a better picture. Here's where my PSA comes in - You should never roll down your window in the summer while driving through the woods.

A ginormous insect rushed into my car at 80 MPH straight toward my face. I don't even know what kind it was. (We see weird insects out here.)

Of course, I screamed and began swatting as if my life depended on it. Who knows? Maybe it did.

After a 45-second car battle, the mysterious insect flew back out the window. I was shaking like crazy, but I managed to roll up the window behind it.

As I began to pull away, I looked back out my window. There was Bambi, still standing there, staring at me.