THISTLEWOOD PUBLISHING AND TIKA NEWMAN SPONSOR A CONTEST

For the Love of Anne, will be Tika Newman's next release. This is a chance for you to have a cameo role in the book! For the Love of Anne is set in Chicago, Illinois, in the late 1880s. What we are looking for, is interesting stories of why an ancestor of yours immigrated to the United States any time between 1620 to the early 1900s.

Your ancestors did NOT have to have settled in Chicago. As long as they immigrated to the U.S. between 1620 and the early 1900s, that's all that is important. We will use whatever names you supply, and prefer them to be traditional names of the country your ancestors immigrated from.

THE TOP THREE STORIES SELECTED WILL SEE THEIR STORY PRINTED IN LOVE FOR THE LOVE OF ANNE - AND, WILL RECEIVE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE BOOK. Winners outside of the U.S. will be required to pay their own postage.

RULES:

1. We are looking for only a few paragraphs. If your entry is too long, it will not be considered.

2. If you use historical facts and/or dates, we must be able to verify. In other words, if you write about your grandparents immigration from Scotland, and you use facts and dates, it must be facts about what was happening in their former country when they immigrated. The stories can be embellished, as long as the time frame is accurate. For the Love of Anne is an historical novel, so this is important.

The easiest way to do this, is to look up your ancestor's country, and see what would have caused them to immigrate to the U.S. What forced them, or made them want to leave thier own country? We hope to have entrants that are factual, however, as long as your ancestors immigrated from another country, you may change the actual year they immigrated.

3. As the jobs that your ancestors found after relocating to the U.S. must fit the storyline, Thistlewood Publishing reserves the right to change their occupation. Thistlewood Publishing may contact you by e-mail, if any major changes need to be made.

4. Winners will not be required to sign a release form. Entrance in the contest will be considered permission for Tika Newman and Thistlewood Publishing to publish their story.

5. Winners will be notified by e-mail, and posted in this blog, announced in Thistlewood Publishing's website http://www.thistlewoodpublishing.com/ , My Space, and in Facebook!

6. To enter: Send an e-mail to thistlewoodpublishing@stny.rr.com. Please do not use attachments. Post your entry in the body of your mail.

7. Contest deadliine is April 15, 2010.

We have sales!

I am happy to report that Window to Her Soul is doing very well. I've even had feedback from a few readers already! They are enjoying it. I am taking a break from the series, while working on my historical novel - For the Love of Anne. Next? A western! yep, a western. The theme will be a lady outlaw! Ought to be a fun book to write. Lots of adventures, lots of crime and lots of action!

Stay tuned :)

Happy reading :)
Tika

WINDOW TO HER SOUL IS RELEASED!!

Well folks, it's been a long time coming, but the third book in The Eyes of Innocence series is now released and available! Please go to http://www.thistlewoodpublishing.com/ and order your signed copy today :)

Window to Her Soul is the third book in The Eyes of Innocene series, by Tika Newman. Kalina is growing up and life is becoming more troubling and complicated for her.

In this captivating novel, readers will love following Kalina's escapades as she matures and takes on challenges that frequently attract the attention of others.

Kalina is a znahar, a gypsy doctor. When she delivers a baby to a young mother, it is stillborn. Why isn't the baby breathing? Can Kalina's powers save this life?

Suspicious of Kalina's extraordinary powers, Dr. Fogler orders DNA testing to prove his theory about her. meanwhile, Kalina's friend, Cory, is closing in on her secrets, but hasn't been able to uncover the truth....yet.

Will you, the reader, find the Window to Her Soul? You have shared Kalina's joys, fears and the age of innocence in Tika Newman's novels.

Finally, we have an author who displays her heartfelt emotions by bringing Kalina alive to us all.

ACKKKKK! WHAT IS THAT???

No, this isn't something the dogs dragged in. A few hours ago, it was on my head. Yes, that's over twelve inches of hair that I chopped off my head.

Why?

Because for the past five or six years, I've been growing my hair for Locks of Love. This is my third donation. Locks of Love provides a free and loving way for people of all ages to make a difference! Donated hair provides human hairpieces to underpriviledged children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. Others have suffered burns, injuries or endured radiation that caused permanent hair loss.

It is estimated that approximately 80% of the donors are children. Children helping other children is a wonderful thing. Please read more about Locks of Love at http://www.blogger.com/www.locksoflove.org/contact.html

So folks; when I'm not writing, cooking or gardening, I'm growing my hair! Give it a try :)

EUREKA! I HAVE LILIES!

The lilies are open and are every bit as gorgeous and fragrant as I hoped they would be :)

OK, I am losing patience with these lilies!! They are HUGE! You can't tell from the picture, but they are very tall. Look how they tower above the annual to the right, and that plant is a foot tall. The buds are getting bigger every day, but not one of them has opened yet.

Horticulturists consider this the best white Oriental lily ever, I consider it....Am I gonna live long enough to see them burst into bloom? Come on already.

TONIGHT'S BURGERS

Sorry, no pics. Our grand daughter Cassidy is here and wanted cheeseburgers for dinner. I threw a pound of ground sirloin in a bowl and sprinkled a teaspoon or two of Worchestershire sauce on top. I cooked about 6 slices of bacon and crumbled that on top. Then I fried some chopped onion, garlic, mushrooms and green pepper. Mixed the whole mess together and formed the patties. YUMMY!!