Random Act of Kindness BLITZ!

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A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 
Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.
So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.



Kindness ROCKS!

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ.  And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

Choosing one person to celebrate today was hard.  So many people in blogland have done kind things for me.  I have more than two hands full of people who critique for me or come to the rescue when I have a question.  So I dug deep and thought about something more than what they did for me...  Do you remember a few months ago I did a post about my talented niece, Bethany? Well the person I am celebrating today, has done something wonderful for my niece.  She has given her a shot to illustrate a story for her magazine.  More than that she has helped my niece see what a gift she has given her confidence and a direction for the future.  With that being said I'd like to introduce you to Donna McDine.Donna has been published in over 100 print and on line publications.  She has one award winning early reader book called THE GOLDEN PATHWAY and three more books under contract.  She is the Editor-in-Chief for Guardian Angels Kids Magazine.  Donna is an exceptional person and I hope you will hop over and check her out.  I sent Donna a little surprise in the mail and she should get it on Today.
Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)
Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.
Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments!

If you leave a comment you'll be entered in a contest for some random things....journals, puzzle books, and office supplies.  I'll announce the winners on Thursday.  :)
HUGS TO EVERYONE!

RAOK Blitz Random Prize Winners

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(Lenny chose the crossword puzzle book.)(Jemi chose the leather journal.)(Becca chose this journal.)There are the random prizes for my Random Act of Kindness Blitz giveaway to help celebrate Angela and Becca's book The Emotional Thesaurus.  If you missed my post about Donna McDine, you can check it out here.

Drum roll, please......

The Winners (chosen by Random.org) are: Miriam Forster, Becca Puglisi, Lenny Lee, and Jemi Fraser


The prizes will be given out in a first come first served style.  If you were a winner email me at sharon k mayhew (at) gmail (dot) com and tell me which prize you'd like.  If it is still available you'll get it.  :)

Speaking of Random Acts Of Kindness....

Have you been treating yourself kindly?  (If not, this is your reminder...)

CLOSED HEARTS Release Day and Give Away...

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Last November, I was lucky enough to score an ARC of OPEN MINDS.  You can read my review of Susan's first book in the Mindjack Trilogy here.  I've been patiently (taps foot) waiting for CLOSED HEARTS ever since I put book one down.  I'm so excited to be able share the good news with you of the second book in the Mindjack series is now available.  
I will be giving away a signed copy of CLOSED HEARTS to one random winner on my June 1st post.






Announcing the release of Closed Hearts, the sequel to Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn.

Book Two of the Mindjack Trilogy





When you control minds, only your heart can be used against you.




Eight months ago, Kira Moore revealed to the mindreading world that mindjackers like herself were hidden in their midst. Now she wonders if telling the truth was the right choice after all. As wild rumors spread, a powerful anti-jacker politician capitalizes on mindreaders’ fears and strips jackers of their rights. While some jackers flee to Jackertown—a slum rife with jackworkers who trade mind control favors for cash—Kira and her family hide from the readers who fear her and jackers who hate her. But when a jacker Clan member makes Kira’s boyfriend Raf collapse in her arms, Kira is forced to save the people she loves by facing the thing she fears most: FBI agent Kestrel and his experimental torture chamber for jackers.Now available!$2.99 Ebook at Amazon (and Amazon UK) and Barnes and NobleRequest a KindlegraphPaper copies available at Amazon or get signed copies from the author








Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling YA novel Open Minds,  Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy, available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. Susan's business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist," but she mostly plays on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.









CLICK HERE to join the Virtual Party for Closed Hearts

(including bonus content for the Mindjack Trilogy and writerly guest posts) 



and/or 



ENTER TO WIN prizes below




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Going Barefoot ...and a Winner

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This is my neighbor, Rick.  I can't wait to tell you about what he's doing this summer.

He is going to hike the Appalachian Trail by himself...barefoot!  He is marking his 50th birthday by taking this monumental trip.

He has a great website, where you can follow his journey.  He has a (solar powered charger) ipad and iphone with him, so he can blog and tweet along the way.  His website even has a little map that shows where he is.  He also reviews some of the equipment he is carrying in his 35 pound pack.

I don't know about you, but I'm not brave enough to attempt such a journey on my own.  I'm super excited to read about Rick's adventure.  It kind of reminds me of one of my favorite adventure books...Hatchet.

Please check out Rick's site and follow his adventure with me..........You can even find him on Twitter!


And the winner of the signed copy of CLOSED HEARTS is


Theresa Milstein

(chosen by random.org)

Bowing Down to the Queen (of Blogging) , Elana Johnson

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I began blogging in September of 2009.  Elana Johnson was one of the first people I met.  In my eyes, she is the Queen of Blogland.  She never failed to help me when I had a question about writing or blogging.  I'm sure many of you have had the same sort of interaction with her.

Perhaps you know her from WriteOnCon?  She is one of the founders and organizers of this great event.  I attended it last year and learned so much.  This year is in on August 14th and 15th.


Maybe you know her from her books?  I loved POSSESSION!  I've downloaded REGRET  and SURRENDER, Elana's newest book that came out on June 5th.  Here's the blurb for SURRENDER:
Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi. 
All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque.... 

• Read the first two chapters for free HERE.

You can also read more about all of Elana's books on her author website.You can learn more about blogging HERE.
You can even download her book FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL for free HERE.

If for some crazy reason you don't know Elana already please hop over to her blog and and say, "hi."

You can get SURRENDER on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

Congratulations on your success, Elana!


~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~I'm going to take a little blog break, as I need to spend some quality time in revisions.  I'll be checking in on everyone, you know I can't stay away for very long.  :)

Community Oven, Los Angeles, California

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The people who make up the Los Angeles Bread Bakers (a bread club) decided to build their own community oven. As part of the effort to document what was done, Alexandra Woodruff, one of their members, created a segment for the Good Food program on radio KCRW (the segment starts about 49 minutes into the show). Some pictures of the community oven were added to a post in the KCRW blog.

LABB has its own Facebook group page.

Alexandra Woodruff had interviewed me over the phone for the segment; I'm definitely in there. I am grateful for the opportunity to tell people about community ovens.

During my few words in the interview I mentioned a few community ovens that I know about. These included:

• Carbondale, CO
• Tenderloin National Forest (San Francisco, CA)
• Youngstown, OH
• Braddock, PA

These are all on my global list of community oven links (along with a map of community ovens in the US).

Bottaro Wood-Fired Pizza, San Diego, California

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An article in the Encinitas Patch profiled a firefighter who started a mobile oven business as a sideline to prepare for retirement.

The article says in part:

After almost 30 years with the Encinitas Fire Department, firefighter John Gonzales began contemplating his upcoming retirement in 2015.

He thought it was time to shake things up in his life, and make a move, and this past July, he started Bottaro Wood Fired Pizza. Bottaro is the maiden name of his mother, an Italian-American.

In launching a business, Gonzales decided on a product that he loved himself and knew something about.

The business is Bottaro Wood-Fired Pizza, San Diego, California. The home page says in part:

Bottaro Wood Fired Pizza is an oven on wheels and as we like to call it "Pizza A-Go-Go". We also have salads and appetizers and cook all our food on site. You can find us at Street Fairs and Farmers Markets and also cater Private Parties and Events.

We use the freshest, local produce available, make our own sausage and use organic flour from Utah. Your pizza will bake in about 90 seconds in temperatures of 700 to 900 degrees. All your Family and Friends will appreciate the uniqueness of a Wood Burning Oven as we prepare and cook their food using "Old World" techniques right in your backyard or favorite setting.

This sounds like an interesting variation on the mobile oven business.