She's not there!

I'm not online from somewhere today
until the beginning of July (probably around the 3rd-4th).

Feel free to read and comment.
I'll visit you as soon as I'm back online!

For Entrecard droppers:

keep visiting, keep dropping!
If you have advertised on my blog before,

your ad will be accepted automatically.
I'll try to return the favour a.s.a.p.

And the winner is..........

MOUNTAIN WOMAN !!!

Congratulations! Enjoy The Fey!
I'll bring you in contact with each other to close the deal. :)

The Fey Blog Tour hijacks Tinkerbell!

Hi! My name is Claudia Hall Christian. You may know me from my blog, On a limb with Claudia. I asked Tink if I might hijack her blog for a day to promote my book, The Fey. She was generous enough to agree. Those of you who know Tink know that generosity is certainly one of her many strong points.

Who the heck am I?
Tink asked that I post a photo, so here you go. That’s a picture of me on Halloween 2007. I am wearing a mini police officer uniform while my husband went as an inmate. (You can see my jaunty cop hat in the photo.) He took this photo after we returned from a DeVotchka concert. I know that most people pick their ‘best’ photo. I hate having my picture made, so this is close to the ONLY photo of me. But, honestly, I’ve looked exactly the same since I was about five years old. I’m taller, but I truly look the same.

What’s this blog tour about?
I am going from blog to blog introducing people to the Alex the Fey thriller series. The first in the series, The Fey, was released this February.
At its most basic level, The Fey is about a young woman, Alexandra Hargreaves, who was cruising along in her life. She had a wonderful job, a great team of people to work with, a handsome devoted husband and a wonderful home. In the wink of an eye, everything changes. We meet her at the moment of that change. And then, everything gets worse. (Click here to read the prologue to The Fey.)

The Fey is a fast paced thriller that will keep you riveted to the page from start to finish. The romance will warm your heart. You’ll even laugh at the antics of Alex and her friends. There’s an amusing stick figure synopsis of the Fey posted here.

The Fey is released a chapter at a time at AlextheFey.com. The electronic edition of The Fey will be available in November, 2009. The Fey is also available in paperback.

If you are in the US, the easiest way to get The Fey is via our Create Space store. Please feel free to use this code: BCUCBDDB for a 10% discount. Amazon also carries The Fey.

If you are outside the US, the cheapest way to get the paperback edition of The Fey is to order a signed copy. The shipping is included in the purchase. (For whatever reason, I’m able to ship the paperback for a fraction of what Amazon charges.) The signed editions are availabe at AlextheFey.com.

Why would I want to read your stupid book?
I think the same thing when I see these blog tours. And actually, that’s a really good question.
First, you should know that reviewers find The Fey to be a ‘thinker’s book’. Besides being a ‘page-turner’, The Fey is about realistic people who try hard, struggle, fail miserably, and get up to try again. Many people who read The Fey cannot put it down until they’ve completed it. The Fey is just a wild ride from start to finish.

Are you sick of cookie cutter plots? Nasty people? Unrealistic situations where the hero never fails? The entire Alex the Fey thriller series is filled with interesting, dynamic characters that will steal your heart and mind. The most common comment I hear from people who’ve read The Fey is that they think about the characters in the shower. I think that’s pretty cool.

What’s the future of the Alex the Fey series?
Learning to Stand, the second in the series, will be published in February 2010. Learning to Stand revolves around a central question : How will Alex pick up the pieces of her life and move on? And how will her friends, family and loved ones manage as she steps forward to living her life again? Of course, readers can expect the same kind of exciting, page turning adventure as was in The Fey.

Who I Am, the third in the series, will be published in February 2011. Who I Am is a deeper, more personal look at the main characters in the Alex the Fey series. Confronted with events in their personal and professional lives, the action adventure revolves around their choices to overcome and move on.

There are a total of eight novels planned at this time. So far, the first three, The Fey, Learning to Stand and Who I Am, are in various stages of complete. Learning to Stand is undergoing one last version change and Who I Am is in rough draft form. As I mentioned before, The Fey is available in paperback and serialized at AlextheFey.com

Thank you for your time. Tink will select one person from the comment list to receive a signed copy of the Fey.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Note from Tink
I gladly let Claudia hijack my blog for a day! She is a wonderful person and an amazing author. I have just read The Fey and I can honestly tell you Claudia didn't say a word too much. The book got me immediately and I didn't want to put it down. Unfortunately I had to sometimes; yesterday I read until 2.30am...Oops! One of the reviews on the website says: “The Fey is a romance for people who hate romances; a thriller for people who hate thrillers. If I’d read this on a bus, I swear I’d have missed my stop.” and that's exactly right!
After a few days I'll put the names of the commenters on little papers and pick one blindly, so... take your chance and leave a comment!

Dogs at the beach

Last Thursday Boris got his yearly pre-summer trimming treatment: cutting, extensive brushing, shearing, decimating, etc. He looked much better after it! Yesterday the wheather was good, so we decided to go to the beach. Boris loves to swim in the sea and that's very good for his skin and fur.

all pictures: click to get the big picture in a new window

On the beach in IJmuiden between sea and dunes is a beautiful lake. We always walk from the dunes through this natural area to the sea.

Foofur likes the dunes and the dry sand on the beach, but he dislikes getting wet paws and hates the waves.

So this is quite a unique picture! Normally I carry him on the wet area. This time there was water between us and he decided he really wanted to be with me, so badly he even crossed the water, getting wet paws.

On the other hand Boris loves it all. When he gets permission to go he sprints to the water. He loves the sea!

He runs through the breakers, swims and comes back, just to dive in again. We were enjoying watching him so much, we forgot to take a picture when he was swimming. :)

Completely soaked he came out of the water, shaking himself dry close to us... Over the beach and through the natural area we returned. With a very satisfied sigh he jumped in the back of the car. A perfect day!

Work Ron

Yesterday we went to Ron's work. We hadn't heard from them in a long time, so some weeks ago Ron had called the medical officer. He sent Ron's employer a report with the advice to call and talk with Ron. It took 2 weeks before the call finally came. Because we couldn't make an appointment right away, the man from the personnel department promised to call back that same afternoon. He didn't, and after two weeks Ron decided to call the medical officer again. He was surprised that there had been no other contact. He called the personnel department and urged them to call us. And then finally we could make an appointment, for yesterday.

We didn't know exactly what to expect, but Ron really wants to move on. If this employer hasn't got work for him, then another company! When we arrived the man from the personnel department told us we had to wait for the manager after-sales. That was a surprise, because he told Ronbefore that we would have a talk with him alone.
It would soon be clear why that boss was there too. The tone of the talk and the whole atmosphere were ice-cold, blunt and very unpleasant! Other talks they said things like "win-win-situation" and "we'll do our best", but that turned out to be b******t!
Perhaps they had expected the Ron from before, but he's much better now. He was assertive and clear without being rude or impolite. I said some things too. When the tone became almost aggressive, Ron stopped them and said he wanted to end the conversation before he'd say something he'd later regret. They made very clear they want to get rid of Ron as soon as they can...

Ron will look for another outplacement bureau himself and make an appointment a.s.a.p. We'll contact a legal specialist to see what our rights and duties are. They said things that aren't completely legal in our opinion. It's a real pity it came to this, but if this is what they want, they'll get it..!

COT #27: Maia is 2 years old

CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers

who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week,
hosted by Gattina.

Remember Maia when she was very little? I was taking care of her when her (then) owners were on vacation. In the beginning she was very shy, but she was always waiting for me on the stairs.

After a few weeks she came to live with us. It just had to be this way, Maia belonged here! Freyja & Bastet accepted her without too much problems.

And now our little princess has turned 2! She still is and I think will always stay little and thin. Just before her birthday we had her neutered, because she was driving everyone crazy with her screaming. She has recovered fully. She still wants to be close to me all the time, but she has found her forever home and loves all of us. And we love her! One of her favourite places is on top of the cabinet, where she can oversee everything. And yes, the dirty paws on the wall are hers... ;-)