Black 'n' Gold Girl's Book Spot

OMG how cool is this??!! Hines Ward, quite possibly the best wide receiver in professional football, is going to be on ABC's Dancing with the Stars !!! I'm sooooo excited since Hines is one of my favorite Steeler players. Since he's a wide receiver and as such has to make a lot of great moves on the playing field I'm thinking he's going to do great on the show, plus with all that determination and work ethic he has to go far! Without even seeing the show who is an early favorite for you? Meet the cast by clicking the image below if you didn't see the big reveal tonight during The Bachelor ! Image from ABC.com

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Kristin Billerbeck and the book: A Billion Reasons Why Thomas Nelson; Original edition (February 1, 2011) ***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kristin Billerbeck was born in California to an Italian father and a strong Norwegian/German mother. Her mother tried to teach her to do things ...

Another COTT Victory! This week Elaine Marie Cooper takes the crown over at Clash of the Titles . The category was Most Romantic Moment and the excerpt was from her novel The Road to Deer Run . She beat out her competitor Lorna Seilstad with a 54% to 46% vote. Elaine is a wonderful addition to the COTT hall of fame, her warmth and enthusiasm making her Clash one of the most enjoyable yet. And Elaine is no stranger to the site. She's been a participating reader and sponsor for months. So when she got the news she had been chosen, she responded: I am shouting for joy that my submission has been accepted! Thank you so much!! I am very honored to be a COTT contender! A snippet from Elaine's excerpt: Mary began to relax. Daniel’s voice was soothing to her spirit. By the time the brush had reached the crown of her head, she was closing her eyes, the tension falling from her face. Daniel smoothed her soft locks with his hand. “There. Your hair is lovely.” If you missed it, you can re...

Jill over @ Breaking the Spine hosts a weekly meme that features one book that you can't wait to be released! Be sure to visit Jill's site to see what she and other readers can't wait to get their hands on. ******************************************************************************* Julie Lessman is one of my absolute favorite romance writers so I'm definitely looking forward to her latest novel in the Winds of Change series, A Heart Revealed this September. Check out the cover and a short blurb below... I like this cover. With the dark clover background those yellow roses really pop! A Heart Revealed (Winds of Change, Book 2) by Julie Lessman From the publisher: Ten years ago, Emma Malloy fled Dublin for Boston as a battered woman, escaping the husband who scarred her beautiful face. The physical and emotional wounds have faded with time, and her life is finally full of purpose and free from the pain of her past. But when she falls for her friend Charity's ha...

Thanks to Ruth @ Booktalk and More for reminding me that Series 6 of my favorite show, Doctor Who will be premiering this April on the BBC and BBC America . I've been in love with Doctor Who since I caught it when it first aired on the SyFy channel nearly 6 years ago. Although there have been three different doctors and I've loved each and every one my favorite is the current Doctor as played by Matt Smith. He's so funny and totally cute in a nerdy sort of way! Check out the trailer for series 6 below. I'm excited that the Tardis will be landing in the US! ;-) I just had to share this too since it's so fun!

Reading all the excerpts shared at Clash of the Titles this month, and discussing falling for heroes, has made me think back to other tender scenes I've encountered. Many stories make our hearts beat faster or awaken a deep longing within us—both in books and movies—and one such story is The Notebook . Yeah, yeah, it's often ridiculed by the guys. But women everywhere swoon. Why? Because in the movie we see a man who loves a woman—even when she doesn't know him. Sound familiar? We've been having a pitter-patter love fest here at COTT the past few weeks with all these Romantic Moments --by Lorna Seilstad, Elaine Marie Cooper, Joanne Troppello, and Karen Witemeyer--and as we come down off the sugar rush of Valentine's candy it occurred to me that no Valentine's month would be complete without focusing on our first love. And I don't mean the boy you kissed behind the bleachers in seventh grade, or even prince charming. I'm talking about the King of Kings....

Tandem by Tracey Bateman Copyright 2010 Waterbrok Press 314 pages ISBN: 978-0-307-45717-2 Fiction/Suspense From the publisher: As obsession and loss become dark partners, how far must the people of Abbey Hills go to survive? Six months ago, brutal murders shook the small Ozark town—murders that stopped after a house fire reportedly claimed the killer’s life. Lauryn McBride's family auction house has taken responsibility for the estate sale of one of the victims—the enigmatic Markus Chisom. Submerging herself in Chisom’s beautiful but strange world, Lauryn welcomes the reprieve from watching Alzheimer’s steal her father from her, piece by piece. She soon realizes that centuries-old secrets tie Abbey Hills to the Chisom estate and a mysterious evil will do anything to make sure those secrets stay hidden. Even the man who grew up loving her may not be able to protect Lauryn from the danger. When Amede Dastillon receives an unexpected package from Abbey Hills, she hopes it might be the...

Believe it or not I do, at times, do more than blog and read, sometimes I clean house! *wink* Well today I was looking through my closets (yeah I have two but unfortunately they're not full of my clothes) and I found some of my old toys! I cleared out my Barbie collection at least ten years ago but some I kept for sentimental reasons for instance a few my grandmother had bought for me before she passed on and today I found them again. Oh boy the memories! I can remember playing house even though I never had a dream house I improvised using a cardboard box or just pretended that Barbie was off on a road trip since I did have the Barbie car. No Corvette of course because even in those days I was a Mustang girl. Besides my Barbies I also found a Cupcake doll! For those who are little younger they were dolls that wore plastic and rubber clothes (don't worry they were prettier than they sound) that you could literally turn insi de out so the doll looked like a cupcake. So cool, or a...

Last week I posted a few covers of some Summer releases from Bethany House. Well in my surfing around the web I found a few more covers that I love including Deeanne Gist's Love on the Line! I promise not to go crazy with cover posts on this blog but I just can't help myself from sharing some of these since they are sooo pretty! A Lasting Impression (A Belmont Mansion Novel, Book 1) by Tamera Alexander Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist So what do you think, pretty or no?

Lady in the Mist (The Midwives, Book 1) by Laurie Alice Eakes Copyright 2011 Revell Books 416 pages ISBN: 978-0-8007-3452-7 Fiction/Historical Romance From the publisher : By virtue of her profession as a midwife, Tabitha Eckles is the keeper of many secrets. Dominick Cherrett is a man with his own secret to keep: namely, why he, a British aristocrat, is on American soil working as an indentured servant. In a time when relations between America and England rest on the edge of a knife, Tabitha and Dominick cross paths, leading them on a journey of intrigue, threats, public disgrace, and . . . love. But can Tabitha trust Dominick? Finding true love seems impossible in a world set against them. With stirring writing that draws you directly into the story, Lady in the Mist takes you on the thrilling ride of love's discovery. My Review: I've seen this author's books in the past but I don't believe they were full length novels so when I saw the pretty cover for this book an...

Thanks to all who stopped by to visit yesterday and for leaving such great comments! I wish I could send you all books but sadly I cannot. I had to choose one winner and that person as selected by random.org is... Leanne!!!! Leanne has been notified via email and has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day and stop by my blog often to visit!!!

Throughout my journey as reader, reviewer and blogger I've met a lot of great people. Some of them you've already met if you've been visiting each site on the Seasons of Love party/blog hop this week. They are all prolific bloggers and great friends. I've also been blessed enough to meet some great authors who have also become friends, including Laura Frantz, author of The Frontiersman's Daughter , Courting Morrow Little and the upcoming book, The Colonel's Lady. I don't know how she does it but in between her family, and writing books she also maintains a great website with interesting posts on everything from history to writing and devotions. I think if you visit her site you'll be a follower for life! Without further ado here's Laura Frantz! Interview with author Laura Frantz 1. )What is your favorite romance story? besides your own of course. ;-) I t mu st be the writer in me but the first thing I think of are romantic literary couples. :-) Thi...

At This Site They Bravely Battled... It's time once more to announce a new Hero at Clash of the Titles . Two authors fought not with weapons and warriors, but with gentleness and devotion. This was a clash of Romantic Moments. Our swooning excerpts were from Karen Witemeyer's A Tailor-Made Brid e, and Joanne Tropello's Mr. Shipley's Governes s. Two fantastically romantic scenes. And the winner is... Karen Witemeyer's A Tailor-Made Bride ! Congratulations! A Tailor-Made Bride is Karen's debut novel and recently won the 2010 Best Western Romance contest. So it's really no surprise that she's won this week's honors at COTT as well. A snippet from her winning excerpt: "So…uh…did you like the sunflowers?" J.T. steeled himself as Hannah turned to pass him a platter. Her eyes widened slightly and roses bloomed in her cheeks, but the smile that followed unclenched his gut. "I loved them. The other gifts as well. Thank you." ...

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Penny Zeller and the book: Kaydie – Book 2 in the Montana Skies Series Whitaker House (April 5, 2011) ***Special thanks to Cathy Hickling of Whitaker House for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Penny Zeller is the author of McKenzie, first in her Montana Skies Series, along with several other books, numerous magazine articles and her blog, A Day in the Life of a Wife, Mom, and Author: http://pennyzeller.wordpress.com. She’s...

As I posted late last year one of my very favorite books, Jane Eyre is being remade yet again for the big screen. If you're a follower of news of the film like I am you've probably been disappointed in the lack of clips and sneak peeks other than the original teaser trailer release a few months ago. Well thanks to Charley Brown @ Enchanted Serenity of Period Films blog I learned last night that there were two brand new clips one being the very swoonworthy scene right after Jane saves Rochester from being burned in his bed!!!! If that scene is any indication for the rest of the movie, I think it's going to be awesome! Check it out below and see for yourself. Doesn't Michael Fassbender have the dreamiest voice?! I didn't post the other clip since I figured out the load time of this blog with a lot of videos is reaaaaally slow but you can go HERE to check that one out. JUST ADDED: THE PROPOSAL SCENE CLICK HERE!!!!!!!!!!!