Mona Ingram

Historical Romance and Modern Love

Canadian Rock Stars

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…and no, I’m not talking about Bryan Adams.
  It’s Brier time in Canada. We love our curling here. Why not? In much of this country we have eight months of winter and four months of poor sledding. But that’s another story.
  Curling clubs abound here. They’re often called the ‘Granite Club’; a reference to the fact that the curling rocks, or stones, are crafted from granite.
  Canadian men and women excel not only at the Olympics, but at the big international tournaments. At any one time there are probably six or eight teams in the country that could take on the best in the world…and win.
  It won’t always be that way, of course. China and Korea are coming on strong, thanks to Canadian coaches. Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Switzerland and Scotland have always had excellent teams. To the south, the Americans are skilled, but have fewer teams against whom to polish their game. Allison Pottinger and Debbie McCormick are well known and popular here in Canada, as are Pete Fenson and Heath McCormick.
  But the unsung rock stars in the curling world are the ice makers. Even curling fans like myself who don’t play the game know the importance of the ice. The variables are myriad, and rarely predictable. I find it interesting that curling fans are as familiar with the names of the icemakers as they are with the players…well, almost.
  So, a tip of the hat to the icemakers. It’s a tough job, but at least for today, not thankless.

Stops for the next few days…

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Here are the stops:

March 2  Interview
Books Books The Magical Fruit
March 3 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
March 4 Guest blog
March 5 Spotlight and review
Readaholic’s Reviews 
www.readaholicsreviews.com

Good luck to everyone who enters the Rafflecopter draw for one of ten e-books, or a Kindle Fire.

A Touching Story

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Some authors have the ability to make people and situations come alive…and Sinéad Moriarty is one of them.
  I bought In My Sister’s Shoes a few weeks ago. Yes, it’s a physical book; I didn’t want to forget how they feel.
  In this delightful story, Kate is emotionally blackmailed into giving up her shiny new presenter job in London to go home to Dublin and take care of her sister’s two children, while her sister undergoes chemotherapy treatments.
  By the time I’d read just a few chapters, I knew these characters. I could hear them talking, and I often had a good idea what they’d say next.
  It’s funny, it’s sad, and it’s utterly delightful. I won’t give away any more of the story, but what I will do is buy more books by this author.

Day Two…

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I’m now on tour with my romance novel Then Came Love. I’ll be giving away a total of 10 e-copies, plus a chance to win a FREE KINDLE FIRE, or the equivalent cash value.  For easy reference, here are the next few stops. See you there, and good luck.

If you can’t locate the Rafflecopter form, here’s a link:  http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112f216/
 
February 26 Spotlight
February 27 Interview
Creatively Green
February 28 Interview
Pembroke Sinclair 

…and We’re Off!

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Today is the first day of my book blog tour.

As I mentioned before, we’ll be giving away e-copies of Then Came Love at selected sites, plus a FREE KINDLE FIRE, or the equivalent cash value.
Today’s stop:
Catherine Bybee
To increase your chances of winning, you are invited to do the following:
Leave a Blog Post Comment
Follow @MonaIngram1 on Twitter
Follow @RoxanneRhoads on Twitter
Like bewitchingbooktours on Facebook

If you can’t find the rafflecopter form at any stop, click here:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112f216/

 

Going On Tour…

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I’m going to be on virtual tour for the next couple of weeks with my romance novel Then Came Love. I’ll be giving away a total of 10 e-copies, plus enter to win a FREE KINDLE FIRE, or the equivalent cash value.  For easy reference, here’s the entire list…
See you there!

Here’s a link to the Rafflecopter Form:  http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112f216/
– or –
Enter to Win a Free Kindle Fire at any or all of these tour stops:
February 25 – Interview
Catherine Bybee
February 25 review
Secret Southern Couture, 
February 26 Spotlight
February 27 Interview
Creatively Green
February 28 Interview
Pembroke Sinclair 
March 1 Guest blog
Fang-tastic Books
March 2  Interview
Books Books The Magical Fruit
March 3 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
March 4 Guest blog
March 5 Spotlight and review
Readaholic’s Reviews 
March 6 Spotlight
Regina May Ross’s Blog
March 7 Spotlight
The Library at the End of the Universe
March 9 Spotlight
Reviewing in Chaos    
March 10 Spotlight
Bex ‘n’ Books
March 10 review
Bookish Things and More. 

 

What’s Your Ideal Day?

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We’ve all sat around with our friends at one time or another and talked about who we’d choose for company on a deserted island. Or who we’d like to invite for dinner.
I heard some high school kids in the mall the other day having their own unique version of this conversation, and it started me thinking.
If I only had one more day, what would I do? I suppose the question is similar to the bucket list question…but different.
In the movie The Bucket List, they had some amazing adventures. But that was fiction, and just for now, let’s set fiction aside.
So what would I do? What do I love?
Besides my family, I love the outdoors. I love to see cottonwood seeds floating on the air during hot summer days and I love the way they gather in windrows at the side of the road. I love the funky smell of rain on hot pavement. I love the sight of sun streaming through the trees at the end of the day. We’re usually at the park, and when the sun drops low in the sky, the potato salad and the rest of the picnic isn’t far behind. And then, when my heart is full, an Osprey soars overhead, searching the depths of the lake for a fish.
So, if I had one more day, I’d spend most of it outside with my family, but I’d also spend some of it writing. Writing is a joy to me, and no, I never tire of it. Where else can you control events, make dreams come true, and make people happy when they read your stories?
It’s not much, to be true, but for me these things represent true happiness. Perhaps that’s why many of my stories end with a family scene that takes place outside.
What’s your ideal day?

A Dubious Distinction

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I belong to an online group of authors who previously wrote for Avalon books, the company that was purchased by Amazon. My former Avalon books are now offered under Amazon’s Montlake imprint and are available in soft cover, hard cover and e-book format. Okay…that was the commercial.
   Avalon was fairly accommodating in that they always asked the authors for input as to cover design. We’d tell them the story highlights that might make a good cover. In my case, they failed miserably, and I soon learned that I wasn’t alone in my disappointment.
   Recently the members of the group started comparing notes on who had the worst cover, and one of the group members – Beate Boeker – had the idea to make a little contest out of it, and invite the public to vote on worst cover. Prize, randomly chosen, is a hardcover of the book. Here’s the image of The Gift.
   So join us in poking fun at ourselves. You might win a book. Contest ends 14 Feb.
Here’s the link: http://www.avalonauthors.blogspot.ca/2013/02/covers-that-make-you-cry-and-not-in.html

It’s about the ghost

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I recently decided to take a cold, hard look at my books. It’s easy to see which ones are the most popular; the ones with the most reviews, for which I’m always thankful.
   But tucked in there among the other more popular books is a gem of a book. At least I’ve always felt that way. It’s entitled Moonlight Dancer.
  Moonlight Dancer features a handsome ghost who was killed in a rodeo accident. The woman he was about to marry died shortly after of a broken heart and he refuses to ‘pass over’ until he connects with her. It’s also a contemporary romance between a woman named Charlie who befriends the ghost and Jason, the rancher next door, whose practical side won’t allow him to believe in ghosts.
  Two parallel love stories with gentle, ghostly elements.
  What’s the point of this blog, you ask? The point is, I stepped back and allowed myself to look at the book critically. If it’s such a great story, why weren’t people buying it with the same enthusiasm they’ve shown my other books?
  The answer was simple. I hadn’t told them enough about the ghosts; about the enduring love story.
  So I wrote a prologue, letting the reader experience what had happened all those years ago. It is, after all, the balance point upon which the story rests.
  I hope you like the new and improved Moonlight Dancer. I do. And oh, yes, I changed the categories at Amazon so that people who like ghosts and paranormal could find it more readily. It’s working. Enjoy, and if you like it, I’d appreciate a review.

About Mona Ingram

Romance author Mona Ingram has written dozens of novels, including the Forever Series, the Gold Rush Series, and the Women of Independence Series. She lives in British Columbia, Canada.

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Email me at mona@monaingram.com.

All text copyright Mona Ingram.