My guest today has a terrific sense of humor, and certainly knows how to turn a phrase. She’s a lady in the best senses of the word and a lot of fun to be around . . . and needle! Ladies and gentlemen:
Sarah Ballance!
One of us—JS or myself—isn’t normal. If you’ve been around either of us for any period of time (say, however long it takes for the page to load) you may have already reached that particular conclusion. Perhaps you have even formed an opinion as to which if us is the “special” one, but decided or not, I just hope some of this begins to explain my topic today. You see, I had one of JS Wayne’s infamous <headdesk> moments when it came to a topic for my tour post today, so it was he who offered this idea: WORDS.
Yes, words. Specifically which I like and which I don’t. I’m just unpredictable enough to not know where this one is going, so hunker down a little and proceed at your own risk.
Words I don’t like? First and foremost, I’m not fond of words I can’t spell. And no, I don’t mean those epic aggregates of letters only about 2% of the population can get on the page without at least one red squiggle warning from spell check. I mean words like “their,” which, in spite of graduating with a GPA in excess of 4.0 long before it was cool to do so, I tend to misspell on a daily basis. (For the record, I also just misspelled “misspell,” which I didn’t even know I couldn’t spell until auto correct fix it for me.)
I’m also not fond of “conscience” or “conscious,” mainly because when I’m typing fast I am apt to not only misspell but freely (and incorrectly) interchange the two.
Another word—”camouflage”—played my nemesis for the entire year it took me to work on a nonfiction project on deer hunting. Not only did I get it wrong, but it was SO wrong even my spell check could only return WTFery. (A right click over the red squiggle line would prompt this: No Spelling Suggestions. And, for the record, spell check is protesting “WTFery” and offers such helpful alternatives as watery, wifely, and wafer, yet my version of “camouflage” got nothing.) After a few hundred uses of the word, it’s nothing short of pathetic I couldn’t even come up with something resembling correctness. (Update: now, for the most part, I get it right the first time. Which is fabulous because—outside of this occasion—it’s not a word I ever use.)
My favorite word (besides “mom,” because I think I am somehow required to love the sound of my childrens’ voices screeching it in the throes of whining, fighting, or starving) is “effen.” You see, in my real world, there is no use of profanity. I used to use it the way so many teenagers do—like it’s cool to say a grown up word, but long before they know what it means to actually be, er, effed—but these days nary a profane word passes my lips. Why? Because my husband doesn’t believe in cussing in mixed company (which is code for women and children) so if I set off on a tirade of explicatives it would be ironic to say the least. Therefore, when appearing as myself, I have grown quite fond of the word effen and its variations. (My characters have no such qualms.)
I also like “the end” (as in the end of a manuscript, which I am desperately hoping to type any moment now) and “release day” as it pertains to me because it rather cements the aforementioned “the end” when it comes to a particular story.
Some of my very favorite words, however, aren’t of my choosing. They’re yours. My faves, dear readers, come in the form of your feedback and reviews. I don’t know anyone with actual excess time to kill, so when someone takes a few moments to post a review or drop me a line about one of my stories, I freaking—no, I effen—love it.
Finally, I’d be remiss to visit JS and not mention “biscuits.” There’s no easy way to explain that one, other than to say if you have brunch with JS, be wary of the gravy, honey, marmalade, melted butter, or other biscuit condiments. You’re just going to have to trust me on this one: consider it my good deed for the day.
Well, one of them (okay, that segue was awesome), because there are three chances for goodies here. One, comment on this post with your e-mail address for a shot at a $5 Noble Romance gift card. Numero dos, head over to my blog and subscribe *by email* and you will be automatically entered in my weekly giveaway, which is winner’s choice of a $10 gift card to Noble Romance or a $5 gift card to Amazon. And, finally, if that doesn’t tempt you, don’t forget commenting on this and other “Timeless Desire” blog tour posts means entry into the grand prize KINDLE giveaway, plus a chance at several other overall prizes to be awarded at the end of the tour. If you’re not lured by any of that, well, heck. I’m surprised you’re still reading this! (And perhaps twice as flattered.)
Author bio:
Sarah and her husband of over fourteen years live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She often jokes that she writes to be around people who will listen to her, but her characters aren’t much better than her kids. Fortunately, her husband is quite supportive, having generously offered to help her research “the good parts.” She’s never had to ask twice.
WEBSITE http://www.sarahballance.com/
BLOG http://sarahballance.wordpress.com/
AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003WKYEJI
TWITTER http://twitter.com/#!/SarahBallance
FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/sarah.ballance.author.news
NOBLE ROMANCE https://www.nobleromance.com/Authors/97/Sarah-Ballance
UNFORGIVEN blurb
Riley Beckett’s past just came back to haunt her . . . and this time, he’s got a gun.
When Gage Lawton finds his brother shot dead on his back porch, every shred of evidence points to one person: Gage’s former lover, Riley. He and she didn’t part ways on good terms, and he’s not planning to rekindle anything now–not when he’s got a revolver pointed at her head and a finger on the trigger.
A year after Riley swore she and Gage were over, he returns in a hail of gunfire. One look into those achingly familiar blue eyes and she knows how wrong she was to let him go, but now far more than their heated past stands in the way. A twist of fate puts them in the crosshairs of a killer, leaving Riley with two slim options: trust her greatest betrayer or face a murderer on her own.
