The Fulfillment Series

The Fulfillment Series

Monday, February 22, 2016

Welcome To The Rhewination!

So, Deek and I have thrown around the idea of starting a street team or group of followers for a while now, and he's always joked that it should be called Rhewination. LOL! Well, in a recent interview I did with Meg Bonney, she asked me what fans of my books should be called, and after that interview, Deek and I started talking about Rhewination again. And after some input from the Dream Team, we decided to go for it!



We contacted the lovely Anita at Race-Point, and she agreed to make us a logo and banner. Since she's amazing AND amazingly fast, we've already got a mock-up in hand. WOOT! And we got the domain name: www.rhewination.com. It's still under construction, but you can already head over there and sign up to be a part of Rhewination! Become a Rhewvian!

You know you want to. You're getting very sleepy...

So, what does it mean to Join The Rhewination? Well, you'll become a Rhewvian and part of our inner-circle. You'll have access to all the latest, greatest info, and you'll be eligible for special prizes, giveaways, and promotions. It's your all-access pass to all things Rhew!

Are you ready to get Rhewined?

While we were throwing around all these ideas, we got the opportunity to have a joint podcast interview with Jon Filitti! He's super fun and is helping us launch the Rhewination. Our first giveaway is open to the public. It's your chance to get to know us and to "Join the Rhewination!" 

Meet Jon of MindSoak!

First, get to know us by listening to the podcast. Jon asked all kinds of amazing questions like: How'd you meet? What's your writing schedule like? How do you handle failure? 

In case you missed the link: Podcast Link Here

And here. Just coverin' the bases. ;)
This is the pic Jon used for our podcast

Then, enter for your chance to win one of three amazing prizes: A signed copy of The Prophecy by Erin Rhew, a signed copy of Birth of an American Gigolo by Deek Rhew, and a sneak at the Rhewination logo AND a Rhewination T-shirt! 



Rafflecopter Giveaway




Join the Rhewination!



And if none of that convinces you...listen to our fearless leader,
Trinity!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

A Shot of Bourbon by AC Land--Cover Reveal

Today, I have the pleasure of revealing the cover for BookFish Books' latest young adult contemporary novel, A Shot of Bourbon by A.C. Land!

Before we get to the goodies, let's take a look at what the story is about!

Back Cover

In the little highway town of Bourbon, Missouri, deadly secrets lurk behind Southern charm. 

Seventeen year old Charli Valentine didn’t expect to spend the last few weeks of summer break nursing a broken heart, icing a black eye, and watching her ex kiss another girl. Since being a good girl has gotten her nothing but heartache, Charli decides to give rebellion a try. She pigs out, drinks, and hangs with Luke Parker, the son of the infamous Bourbon Butcher. 

But there’s more to Luke than meets the eye. His tough exterior and terrible dialect hide a good person despite his bad boy reputation. No matter how hard he tries to fight it, Luke is drawn to Charli’s innocence and finds her clumsiness too charming to resist. Though they’re from opposite sides of the tracks, neither can resist the magnetism drawing them together. 

When Charli discovers a box in her mother’s closet, she pieces together the truth about Bourbon’s past and uncovers a deadly secret about her family. And once Luke learns of it, he vows to protect Charli no matter the cost. 

From the real Bourbon, Missouri
Photo Credit: BGI Photography



Sounds like an intriguing tale. Love, murder, and a mystery in small town America. 

And who wrote this engaging tale? A.C. Land!


About The Author

Author of the Bourbon series, A. C. Land has been a lover of stories since she first read about Peter Pan giving Wendy an acorn and teaching her to fly. She always dreamed of telling big stories about small towns.


Residing on a cattle farm in Missouri, A. C. loves playing with her rambunctious Jack Russell, Riley, making decorative cakes, taking pictures, drinking pumpkin spice coffee, and hanging out with her nephews.

Find A.C. online: 



And now, for the moment you've been waiting for...the cover!

Cover Reveal

Cover Design: Anita at Racepoint

Be on the lookout for A Shot of Bourbon
available March 2016!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

More About Birth, 122 Rules, and Valentine's Day!

Hello, friends! I've got some exciting news!! Deek's debut, Birth of an American Gigolo, is now available in print! Woot!

Cover Design by Anita at Race-Point!

For those who are seeking to enter the publishing fray, Deek and I learned a great deal as we birthed Birth. First, I gotta give a shout out to Ellie from Move To The Write and Anita from Race-Point! They both worked tirelessly with us as we explored the differences between CreateSpace's specs for book and cover size versus Ingram's. If you're looking for consummate professionals to help you on your journey, get in touch with these ladies!

Some of Ellie's interior magic

Now Birth is all published, in both eBook and print. It's on it's way to all major book retailers, including the Pacific Northwest's very own Powell's Books



Deek will be doing a second blog tour for Birth from 2/28-3/7. If you're interested in hosting him or reading an ARC, drop us a line! 

Soooooo, with all that going on, Deek got word that his novel 122 Rules will be published by Pandamoon Publishing in the very near future. We can't say the official release date until they do, but we're working hard to prepare for that too! So. Much. Excitement!


He has an ARC (advanced reader copy)

If you're interested in being part of the 122 Rules blog tour or reviewing the ARC, please drop us a line! 

So, you likely saw my post on Valentine's Day (if not, check it out here). Well, we discussed whether or not to hit up the city, do dinner, and explore a section we hadn't yet explored, but we didn't want to be stuck fighting the Valentine's Day crowds everywhere we went. So, we stayed home and spent a glorious seven hours talking, laughing, and eating food we'd made the day before. I can't tell you how enjoyable and relaxing it was. I love to spend time with Deek. I love to look into his eyes, to hear his thoughts on things, to laugh with him, to feel his arms around me. To me, there is no greater gift Deek could give me than his time, love, and attention. And he does. On Valentine's Day and every day. I am so very fortunate, blessed beyond measure to be with my best friend, partner, and love. <swoony eyes>

Doing our "model" faces for Valentine's Day. LOL!

Then, on February 15, I called my dad to wish him a Happy Birthday! Woot! It's hard to be away from my family, especially for holidays and birthdays. And this birthday was a significant one for my dad, so that made it extra hard. BUT if I'd been back in the South with him, I would have been snowed/iced in and unable to celebrate anyway. So, that helped a little. And FaceTiming him helped a lot. Deek and I spent a good long while talking and laughing with my parents. I love technology! 

My Daddy and Deek (at our May wedding)

And I went to the hairdresser to get my hair done again. The gray streaks experiment was a failure. It held for a about a week and a half, and then it faded to a dishwater blonde. And that didn't have enough vibrancy for me. So, I participated in a hair experiment for my hairdresser. She had me try an at home wash-in dye. And let's just say she shouldn't buy that product to sell. It barely turned my hair blue and made it mostly green. Eep! Pool hair in the winter? No! When my experiment concluded, she promised to make me a beautiful head of hair, and we agreed I'd go back to bright blonde.

Hiding the dishwater blonde/pool green hair with a messy bun. And rockin' the Vulcan ears at the same time. #Trekkie


Getting my hair did.

But...even though I went in for blonde, I came out like this...

I just can't resist purple's siren call. 

Purple is a huge pain in the butt in a lot of way--purple fingernails if I scratch my head, washing in cold water for a week, purple streaks down the bathtub, purple flyaways dyeing the walls in the bathroom, and wearing a hat when it rains for two week so my shirt doesn't get dyed. BUT, BUT, BUT...I truly love it. Someone on Twitter said I'm a secret nature purple hair (like a natural blonde). LOL! It's true. Purple is my spirit hair color. I can't explain it, but there ya go.

And I'm super thankful Deek rolls with my hair crazy. In fact, he loves it and embraces it. He tells me it's part of my personality, and one of the many things he adores about me. So lucky! 

Hope you'll grab a print copy of Birth (Deek's more than happy to sign them)!

Thanks for reading my ramblings, y'all! Until next time...

Sunday, February 7, 2016

An Alternative To Valentine's Day

Hello, friends! So, I'm sure you've been to the stores and seen the Valentine's Day decor and cards lining the shelves. In fact, I think it started the day after Christmas, right? So crazy!

Well, I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. Please note, I'm a "to each his own" type chick, so no judgement here from people who choose the traditional celebratory methods. You go on with your awesome self. BUT, I personally prefer a different type of celebration, which I'd like to share.

For me, the whole concept of taking a day to celebrate your special person doesn't make sense. Shouldn't you do that every day? Every day, Deek goes out of his way to make me feel special, and I do my best to do the same for him. On any given day, he'll tell me how beautiful I am, bring me a cup of tea "just because," leave me a little love note, bring me my breakfast, and a million other things. And I do the same for him--surprise him at work with a treat, send him texts with love memes, leave notes on his car (back when we had two cars--LOL), tell him how handsome he is and how much I appreciate what he does for our family, greet him at the door when he comes home from work with a big hug and kiss. We don't wait for a special day to do those things. It's about living and loving out loud every single day.

From me to Deek

From Deek to me


And every night, we lie in bed, face-to-face, and talk about everything and nothing. We share our random thoughts, talk about our day, discuss our books, discuss the origins of the word "fork," and a myriad of other entertaining things. But we make the time to connect every day. In the hustle and bustle of life, it's easy to let your significant other get lost in the shuffle, but try not to. This is the person you've committed your life and heart to. Make sure that person knows he/she is a priority above all else.

I love our face-to-face time!

In our house, Valentine's Day will be pretty much like any other day. Deek and I will be together, loving one another and expressing our love. I'll admit we may splurge on a pizza and a Reese's Cup and watch a romantic movie because it's fun, but the core of our encounters will remain the same. I don't see the point in the traditional gifts. Jewelry can only be worn sparingly (I mean, how many occasions does one have that call for diamond earrings?). Stuffed animals fill the house and collect dust. Copious amounts of sweets derails healthy eating habits. Expensive meals are a drain on the budget and a "one and done" thing. And flower, OMG...flowers. They DIE. I can't help but think of a line in Romeo and Juliet when people receive flowers: "O', swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon that monthly changes in her circled orb. Lest that thy love proves likewise variable." Juliet is begging Romeo not to swear his love by the moon because the moon changes, and she doesn't want a changing, or variable, love. Flowers die...what does that say about love? Eep! 

Last year's V-Day goodies at the Rhew house

So, here's an alternative way to think of Valentine's Day. Have you ever heard of The Five Love Languages? If not, give it a read. I had to read it during college for my Relational Communication class, and it's a truly wonderful book. It talks about (obviously) the 5 love languages people have:




1) Acts of Service-- This person feels loved the most when someone does something for them.

2) Words of Affirmation--This person feels love the most when you say good things/nice things to them and build them up.

3) Quality Time--This person feels love the most when you spent one-on-one time with them, no other distractions.

4) Gifts--This person feels love the most when you give them gifts. Please note, it's NOT about the amount of money with these folks. It's about the fact you knew them enough to know what they'd like and that you took the time to go out of your way to get it/make it for them. (Sorry, ladies, no "My love language is gifts, so I need these humongous diamond earrings!" Doesn't work that way.)

5) Physical Touch--This person feels love the most when you touch them. Please note, it's NOT about sex. (Sorry, guys, no "My love language is physical touch, so we should have sex." Doesn't work that way.)

I'll give you some examples. My best friend's love language is gifts. So, I make sure to give her meaningful things (like a framed pic of us, a book about landscape photography, a free hair dye at the stylist, etc) that show her I know her and what she'd like. My father is a physical touch person. So, I also make sure to hug him often. I have a special person in my life who likes acts of service, so I leave notes and offer to do things for her. Another special person in my life is words of affirmation, so I'm cognizant of that and use my words to build her up and tell her she's amazing (and it's true because she is!). Luckily, my husband and I are both quality time, so we make an effort to spend as much time as possible together. We don't always have to be engrossed in deep conversation, but we want to be together. 

Quality Time with my most wonderful hubs!


Not everyone is as lucky as we are to have a spouse with the same love language. Often times, significant others have differing love languages, and that makes it difficult to meet the needs of the other person. But, one easy way to tell what your person's love language is: watch them. Whatever they're trying to show you is mostly likely their own love language, and they're hoping you'll do it back to them. So, if your lady is always cleaning up for you or making you special meals, she's probably an acts of service person. Try doing that for her instead. Or if your fella is always complimenting you and talking about how awesome you are, he's probably a words of affirmation person. Try doing that for him instead. 

The Dream Team
We're all friends, but we all have different love languages and different specific needs.

So, this Valentine's Day, instead of joining the rat race with cards, flowers, candy, jewelry, and stuffed animals, try speaking to your significant other's love language. Here are some ideas:

1) Acts of Service-- Pick a chore or activity you know your person doesn't like to do, and do it for him/her. Cook their favorite meal for dinner. Call your person and tell them you'll take care of a particular errand they've been meaning to run. 

2) Word of Affirmation--Leave a love note on the bathroom mirror or by the coffee pot. Write up a list of all the things you love about your significant other. Tell your person thank you for the things they do for you or your family that you really appreciate. 

3) Quality Time--Turn off all electronic devices and just sit and talk to your person. Go for a walk or to get coffee. Lie in bed, face-to-face, and chat. 

4) Gifts--Make this person something that will be meaningful. Or, if you must go out and spend money on something, make it personalized. Think back to a time when your person said, "Hey, that's a beautiful quilt," and go get that instead of the stock flowers, jewelry, and candy. Let that person know this gift is only for them and couldn't be for anyone else. Let's say you bought flowers and candy for every girlfriend of boyfriend you ever had, what makes this person special? The people are interchangeable because the gifts are the same. Make sure this person knows he/she is not interchangeable. 

5) Physical Touch--Spend time wrapped up in each other's arms. Sit close together, holding hands while you watch a movie together. Give the person a massage. 

And I encourage you to do these things for your partner long after the Valentine's Day decor fades from the stores. Do it while the Easter stuff is out, the July 4th flags fly, the Halloween pumpkins decorate the porches, the turkeys of Thanksgivings roast, and the tinsel of Christmas drapes on evergreens. Every day. 

Show your person how much you love them every day.

I'm blessed beyond measure to be Deek's wife. He knows my love language is quality time, and he gives me that in spades. But he always takes little snippets of the other love languages and showers me with those too: brings me tea (acts of services), massages my sore shoulder (physical touch), tells me I'm beautiful (words of affirmation), surprises me with a cup of coffee from Starbucks (gifts). When we were dating, I kept asking him if this wonderful relationship we shared would fade in marriage, and he told me he'd work to make sure it never did. He promised to always date me and always put the effort into keeping us close. And he has. 

Special delivery!

Your person is your person for a reason. Take a long look at them and remember why you fell in love. Remember how it felt to be close. And make it happen again. Put in the time and the effort to keep your relationship strong. Friends, parents, children, and family will come and go, but this person is your person for life.

To Deek: Thank you for being you--the most wonderful man, husband, and partner ever! I dreamed of a life like ours, but the reality is a bazillon times better. I love you #always! Your e