Monthly Archives: July 2015

Art Journaling, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

The cats ate linkity!

7 Comments

Congrats to Curlyq, who won Immutable by Becky Black!

Randonymity

Reading Update
Journal Spilling: Mixed-Media Techniques for Free Expression by Diana Trout. Very good overview of art journaling techniques, complete with prompts at the end. “Spilling” refers to writing (or creating an art entry) without thinking about it – basically stream-of-consciousness. I liked this book enough that I’ve ordered a used copy for myself.
Painted Pages: Fueling Creativity with Sketchbooks and Mixed Media by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare. This was ok – it focused on creating mixed media works, with a sketchbook being one of the tools to get there. After reading perhaps the first third without any of it resonating with me, I skimmed the rest. I do love how her work looks – it turns out that some pretty journals I just bought had covers with her art on them. 🙂

“Can’t we have the windows open and the air conditioning on, Mom?! I’m just too warm and sleepy to enjoy the open windows otherwise.” -Mayhem

Pretty sure she’s had that actual thought. 🙂

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Redemption (Diversion #5) by Eden Winters [CONTEST CLOSED]

31 Comments

Many thanks to Eden Winters for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romantic suspense, Redemption (Diversion #5), for a lucky commenter to win! Redemption will be released by Rocky Ridge Books on August 8.

Living is the easy part.

Agent Lucky Lucklighter and his partner escaped Mexico alive, only to plunge into bureaucratic fallout from their mission. Hell, maybe Lucky should have stayed south of the border. Especially when the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau places Bo into rehab, and Lucky’s facing both therapy and an inquiry into a fatal shooting. Watching over his shoulder for a vengeful drug lord or a cartel don calling in favors leaves him scarcely able to imagine a future for them as agents, or as a couple.

Bo Schollenberger once had a vision for their life together, but he’s bowed beneath the weight of his undercover work. Lucky’s hanging on by his deeply chewed fingernails, clinging to hope by making Bo’s dreams of a home into reality. The last thing he needs is a phone call from a dangerous man who knows too much, summoning him back to Mexico for “an early Christmas present.”

Not when the SNB brass asks tough questions, like “How well do you know your partner?”

Other Books by Eden

About Eden

Our heroine sits quietly in her cube, just one of many, typing, filing, and breaking the occasional nail, hiding her true identity beneath her clever disguise of nerdy glasses and business suits (with sensible shoes!). Frantic eyes watch the clock as she waits impatiently for the ruse to end and her true calling to begin.

With eager anticipation she drives her average car to her average home, and eats her average (vegetarian and completely healthy!) meal alone. The minutes tick by, and when the sun finally sets she leaps tall sofas in a single bound, shedding her disguise to take on her true super heroine persona! Is she in such a rush to save the world? Save the city? Save the neighbor’s kitten from a tree! No! She liberates her laptop from the evil clutches of arch villain, Hall Closet, and flings it open to free the worlds hiding within its depths. There are lonely werewolves searching desperately for mates, spoiled rich boys just waiting for her gentle caress of the keyboard to create someone who’ll truly understand them, and futuristic soldiers, gunning across the universe to save the men they love… No scenario is too bizarre! A time traveling pirate? No problem! Violin playing specter haunting a Scottish castle? You betcha!

When she’s not busily creating happy-ever-afters for fictional hotties, our heroine enjoys music, the great outdoors, and cruising down the highway on the back of a Harley Davidson.

You can visit Eden at her blog, website, and GoodReads.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, August 7.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem, napping cutely

Art Journaling

More art journaling, less Misadventuring

9 Comments

Congrats to Joe, who won Prickly Business (Portland Pack Chronicles #1) by Piper Vaughn and Kenzie Cade! Prickly Business is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

More journal pages instead of a Misadventure! 🙂

This is the cover of the journal I’m doing as part of the “Art as Journal” class I’m taking from Articulture in Minneapolis. I didn’t paint the rainbow bit on the left – it was from a scraps bin at class. The small images were clipped from a book of images at class and I painted around them with watercolors: reading, hockey, black cats, and Minneapolis. Sound like me? 🙂

Two pages for my class.

We have encyclopedias we can cut up, so I made a page about Canada and wrote down some Canada-themed song lyrics.

We were asked to do a page for “mysterious” as our homework one week. I knew that old X-Files postcard would be useful someday!

This two page spread is about being neurodiverse (autistic) in a neurotypical world.

Watercolor pencil:

“You’re not the only artistic one in this family, Mom! I took a selfie!!!!!” -Mayhem

“So did I!!” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link

Linkity is not fond of sticky weather

9 Comments

Congrats to Joe, who won Prickly Business (Portland Pack Chronicles #1) by Piper Vaughn and Kenzie Cade! Prickly Business will be released by Dreamspinner Press on July 27.

Randonymity

Bookity

Think, Make, Learn, Do

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update

  • *whistling*

*blank* -Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Immutable by Becky Black [CONTEST CLOSED]

9 Comments

Many thanks to Becky Black for donating an ebook copy of her freshly released m/m fantasy/paranormal novella, Immutable, for a lucky commenter to win!

Every night, in the tiny cottage he shares with his dying mother, lonely young shepherd Callum dreams of having a lover by his side. A man to share his bed and his life. One day, as he gathers driftwood on the beach, he finds Breen, a beautiful, naked stranger. Breen makes love to him, leaving Callum certain he’s only a fantasy. But the stunning Breen is there again the next day – fulfilling Callum’s every wish. Then Callum’s hopes are shattered when he learns of Breen’s true nature. Panic and desperation drive Callum to commit a terrible betrayal to try to keep Breen from leaving him.

A Bittersweet Dreams title: It’s an unfortunate truth: love doesn’t always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.

Excerpt (scroll down and select “Expand”)

Other Books

About Becky

A long time science fiction fan, Becky thinks there are few story ideas that can’t be improved by the addition of the words “in space”. If the story also includes two gorgeous men unable to keep their hands off each other then so much the better. She’d happily go into space herself, but being English would insist on there being a reliable supply of tea available.

She likes nothing more than trapping her characters in tricky no-win situations and watching them figure a way out. When not chasing her characters up trees and throwing rocks at them Becky can be found working in an office – where she’s usually thinking about the next rock to throw.

You can find out more about Becky and her books at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, July 31.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“Whoa, I think that truck is speeding, Mom!!! That’s very naughty!!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Name your own linkity!

8 Comments

Congrats to Idamus, who won Dancing Days by Clare London!

Bookity

Think, Make, Learn, Do

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
The Beautiful Mystery (Three Pines #8) by Louise Penny. Good continuation of the series, with much less angst than I was expecting based on the previous book… at least initially. Let’s just say I’m eying the next book anxiously and suspiciously… This was the first book that had only the briefest reference to Three Pines – it mostly takes place at a remote Quebec monastery.
Collage Lab: Experiments, Investigations, and Exploratory Projects by Bee Shay. Pretty much what it says on the tin! I liked the examples of the various experiments – I’ll definitely refer back to this one when I want to do a photo transfer using gel medium, for example. What I didn’t like was the tacit art knowledge that seemed to be required throughout the book.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook giveaway: Prickly Business (Portland Pack Chronicles #1) by Piper Vaughn & Kenzie Cade [CONTEST CLOSED]

35 Comments

Many thanks to Piper Vaughn for donating an ebook copy of her forthcoming paranormal m/m romance, Prickly Business (Portland Pack Chronicles #1), for a lucky commenter to win! Prickly Business will be released by Dreamspinner Press on July 27.

Some people might call Avery Babineaux a prick. He’s a hedgehog shifter from an old-money Louisiana family with a penchant for expensive shoes and a reputation for being a judgmental snob. His attitude is why he and his fated mate are estranged. Not that Avery cares. He doesn’t want to be mated to some blue-collar werewolf anyway. Or so he keeps telling himself.

No werewolf likes to be looked down upon, least of all Dylan Green. He doesn’t need a mate, especially not some snotty hedgehog who sneers at his custom motorcycle shop and calls him a grease monkey. But when Avery gets into trouble with a shady loan shark, Dylan can’t stand by and let him be hurt – whether he wants the brat or not.

Yet once Dylan steps into Avery’s world, he realizes there’s more to Avery than his prickly exterior, and that unexpected vulnerability calls to Dylan’s protective instincts. The sassy little hedgehog needs a keeper, and despite their horrible first impressions, Dylan starts to believe he might be the wolf for the job.

Other Books

About Piper

Piper Vaughn wrote her first love story at eleven and never looked back. Since then, she’s known that writing in some form was exactly what she wanted to do. A reader at the core, Piper loves nothing more than getting lost in a great book – fantasy, young adult, romance, she loves them all (and has a thousand book library to prove it!). She grew up in Chicago, in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and loves to put faces and characters of every ethnicity in her stories, so her fictional worlds are as colorful as the real one. Above all, she believes that everyone needs a little true love in their life…even if it’s only in a book. You can find out more about Piper at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, July 24.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

*zen* -Mayhem

Covers, Reading

Misadventures in Stock Photography: Part the 242nd (The Eye of the Zombie)

6 Comments

Congrats to Angela, who won Flashbulb (Flight HA1710 #3) by Clare London!

Welcome to another edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography! Today we’ll be meeting the Eye of the Zombie (TEZ). Remember – hover your cursor (or long-press if you’re on mobile) to see how I used the cover in the story – depending on how your Spanish is, this will be very helpful for one of the covers. 🙂

The

experienced by those less-than-

are horrible: mis

always seems to lead to

for all parties concerned, so my wish

is that you’re left to

.

The morbid end!

*now worrying about kitty zombies* -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity’ll larn you

8 Comments

Congrats to Angela, who won Flashbulb (Flight HA1710 #3) by Clare London!

Randonymity

Bookity

Think, Do, Learn, Make

Cookity

Gluten Free

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Art Journal Art Journey: Collage and Storytelling for Honoring Your Creative Process by Nichole Rae. Ok book probably best suited for someone getting started with art journaling who prefers a minimalist text and photograph style without much additional color. (So, not me.)
Bury Your Dead (Three Pines #6) by Louise Penny. The series continues with this slow-building story about fallibility, the power the past holds, and healing.
The Hangman (Three Pines #6.5) by Louise Penny. This novella was written for a series of books for Canadian adults with reading difficulties. So the fact that it isn’t written in Penny’s usual style and that it could be set at almost any time during the series makes a lot more sense now. Feel free to skip this novella entirely.
A Trick of the Light (Three Pines #7) by Louise Penny. This installment suggests there’s a lot of personal and emotional trauma coming in Book 8 for many of the main characters. I’m already feeling anxious about it! 🙁

“Can’t I be melted in peace, Mom?” -Mayhem