First taste: definitely fruity. On the edge of dry. Smooth. Creamy. Golden raisin. Slight after taste, but pleasant.  Michael called it a “bright fruitiness.”
Second taste: pleasant chocolate scent. Fruit is again very upfront. Cherry through and through. Aftertaste is stronger and lingered longer the second time. Mouth coating but not unpleasant.
Definitely a quality bar. Grade A.
Then I tried the Fleur de Sel a few days later. This award winning bar is made with the hispaniola chocolate and sprinkled with hand-harvested Fleur de Sel from the Vancouver Island Salt Co. As much as I liked the hispaniola on its own, it was INSANELY good with the added salt. And I usually loathe anything added to my chocolate.
I only have two pieces of the Fleur de Sel left. I had to force myself to not eat it all in one go … it was that good. Grade A++
I’m exceedingly pleased with this new discovery. 😀
At the end of May Sue mentioned an article about an award winning chocolatier on my Facebook Page. It turned out that the small batch chocolate maker, Hummingbird Chocolate, was Canadian and had won a bunch of awards when up against a bunch of big names that I mention around here often, including Amedei.
So, of course, I instantly had to track down this new-to-me chocolate and see what I could score. Thankfully, I discovered that they had an online store and I ordered the three bars that appealed to me the most (including their award winning bars).
I’ll taste them separately and make notes, but I wanted to share these pretties right away.
I’m publishing my first monthly newsletter today (about 30 minutes after this post goes live). And each newsletter will feature a giveaway, along some exclusive content (a recipe, Q&A, etc). So here is the first of the newsletter giveaways.
The bracelet seen above – one of my favourite ‘trinkets’ – is my version of a white-picket fence. I commissioned it years ago from a silversmith on Etsy.
To enter the paperback giveaway comment below and let me know:
What is your favourite ‘trinket’? And why?
ETA: I removed the bonus entry because it was too confusing as to what ‘newsletter’ I meant. And I was spending too much time ‘verifying’ it. Time I should be spending writing Oracle 3. 🙂  I just wanted to add a bonus to everyone signed up for MONTHLY newsletter. I’ll try to figure out something else exclusive next month. My apologies.
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each comment will be assigned an entry number. ONE winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person (plus bonus). Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.
If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.
Contest closes FRIDAY, JUNEÂ 10, 2016 at 8 p.m. PDT.
I’m slightly late with this share but Artifacts, Dragons, and Other Lethal Magic (Dowser 6) made a bunch of bestseller and hot new release lists in May including #13 on the iBooks Sci-Fi & Fantasy list.
Whoot!
Thank you to everyone who preordered or bought the book in the first month of its release and therefore made these rankings possible. You all rock!
I’m starting a monthly newsletter that will contain a recipe, a giveaway, and some exclusive content in the form of character bios, Q&As, excerpts, etc. Some of the content will link back to this blog, but some will only be published in the newsletter (and eventually a series bible).
This list is separate from my new release mailing list (which only goes out 3 – 4 times a year).
The first newsletter will be sent on June 7, 2016 and followed by new content on the first Tuesday of every month. Each month will have a [loose] theme and highlight a separate novel/WIP/etc.
You can sign up here. It’s a double opt-in, so you’ll get a confirmation email after you fill out the form.
I had great fun in Chicago and sharing a booth at The Bookcon 2016 with Carol Ann Newsome who writes the Lia Anderson Dog Park Mysteries. So, of course, I bought all her paperbacks and had her autograph them for me.
Pretty paperbacks from C.A. NewsomeThen I convinced her to give away her first two paperbacks – A Shot in the Bark and Drool Baby – to a lucky reader of this blog. Whoot!
FYI – The ebook for A Shot in the Bark is also available for free on Amazon, iTunes,B&N, and Kobo. Then, if you sign up for Carol Ann’s mailing list, she will send you the second book for free as well!!
***
C. A. (Carol Ann) Newsome writes the Lia Anderson Dog Park Mysteries, a series of fun, romantic suspense/mystery novels inspired by and centered around her mornings at the Mount Airy Dog Park with two former street urchins named Shadda and Chewy (Chewbacca Wonderpup, Master of Confusion), along with a furry piranha named Gypsy Foo la Beenz (see picture at left).
A life-long lover of fiction, Carol turned to books and audiobooks during her decade-long recovery from a head injury. Years of immersing herself in popular fiction lead to imagining the book she wanted to read, and wondering if she could write it. The result was the first book in her mystery series. You can find out more about Carol on her website or Facebook page.
***
GIVEAWAY
To enter to win the two gorgeous paperbacks pictured above all you need to do is comment below and let me know:
What is your favourite breed of dog and why?
Bonus entry: share a picture of your dog on Carol Ann Newsome’s Facebook Page (mention that you’ve done so in your comment below, along with your username if it’s different). Tag the photo with these hashtags: #dogparkmysteries #liaandersonmysteries #MCDgiveaway
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each comment will be assigned an entry number. ONE winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person (plus bonus entry if applicable). Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.
If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.
Contest closes SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2016 at 8 p.m. PDT.
I had six different recipe cards, all representing a different Dowser book, test baked, proofed, and printed for The Bookcon 2016. Then I shipped a bunch back from Chicago for giveaways and such. They showed up today.
I’ll probably be doing random flash giveaways with the postcards over the next few months on this blog, twitter, and Facebook but I’ll hold this one open for 36 hours so everyone gets a chance to win right away.
Would you like a set of all six recipes? To enter all you need to do is comment below and let me know:
Of the six recipes featured here – Lust in a Cup, Cozy in a Cup, Sunshine in a Cup, Sass in a Cup, Buzz in a Cup, or Lift in a Cup – which cupcake are you most looking forward to baking?
Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each comment will be assigned an entry number. ONE winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person. Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.
If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.
Contest closes WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 at 8 p.m. PDT.
The Dowser Series is narrated by Caitlin Davies (House of Night, Talon Saga) and published by Tantor Media.
Caitlin Davies narrates the Dowser Series
Bio: Caitlin is a voiceover artist and audiobook narrator. She is the voice of a number of popular audiobook series including the House of Night, Penryn & the End of Days, Dragon Blood, and The Talon Saga.  She was part of the multi-cast recording of The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone which received an AudioFile Earphones Award.
Audiobook release schedule
January 26, 2016 – Dowser 1
February 23, 2016 – Dowser 2
March 22, 2016 – Dowser 3
April 26, 2016 – Dowser 4
May 24, 2016 – Dowser 5
June 15, 2016 – Dowser 6
As I struggle to focus on work while prepping for Chicago and The Bookcon, I thought it would be fun to share a few snippets from the early reviews for Dowser 6.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review. It is very much appreciated (and helps keep the book visible to the retailer ranking algorithms).
