The HEA Blog Hop has come to an end and we have a winner!  Congratulations go out to Joanne Robinson ~ winner of the gardening bag, gloves and flower box.

A HUGE thank you to all who entered.  I enjoyed the chance to meet new readers and can’t wait to share my upcoming novel with all of you:  Condemn Me Not ~ set for release December 2012.  Rather than romantic fiction, this story is straight women’s fiction; an exploration of motherhood from obligation to expectation, perception and reality. 

As an independent-minded woman myself, I’ve often wondered who draws the lines and where while at the same time our role seems to be shifting beneath our very feet.  Are we breadwinner?  Emotional support and stabilizer for the family? Do we work outside the home, inside or both?  Do our choices affect the outcome in significant ways?  Is one path better than the other? 

Can I change direction when I change my mind?  (Happens!)  Or would that be unfair to those around me?  And why don’t men struggle with the balancing act between career and family?  Nature vs. nurture has long been debated when it comes to raising our children.  How about when it comes to choosing our livelihood?

It’s all I write.  Don’t scare me, don’t depress me—I want to be uplifted!  And if you’re hopping along with the I’m a Reader Not a Writer Happily Ever After Blog Hop & Murphy’s Library today through October 14th, I bet you feel the same way. Like me, you enjoy the kind of stories you can believe in and look forward to for yourself.  I’d rather live a life filled with hope and love than gloom and doom any day of the week.  And chocolate.  Don’t forget the chocolate!

For my giveaway, we’re going to go with choice and variety.  Not a stickler for routine, my days are consumed by a myriad of activities, from gardening to writing, kids and of course–cooking, cleaning and a host of chores around the house.  Which is why I need escape!  Forget Calgon, hand me a romance novel and a bottle of bubbles for my bath.  I’m a reader AND a writer! :)

So what’s up for grabs?  Your choice of one of my novels, ebook or print ~ OR ~ a gardening goody bag!  But I’ll let you in on a little secret:  Jennifer’s Garden is currently FREE for most ereader formats, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Sony and more.  So savvy readers will want to download this award-winning romance immediately — offer good for a limited time only.  Lust on the Rocks is second in the series, followed by Whisper Privileges.

For those gardening fans, you might be interested in this adorable garden bag, complete with adult garden gloves, kid garden gloves (because we LOVE kids in the garden!), and your choice of flower seeds that come in a bloomin’ beautiful keepsake box!  Select from Liliput Zinnia (pink), Delphinium (blue) or Cornflower (red).

To enter, simply sign up to receive my monthly newsletter Dianne’s Bloomin’ News stocked full of my current news, garden tips & recipes “Fresh from the Garden,” plus the latest and greatest in the book world, including “Must See” tidbits from the blogosphere!  Sign up here.

Easy, right?  So what are you waiting for?  Sign up today for your chance to win.  For those Facebook fans, let’s connect on my author page for special pics and news you won’t find here.  Twitter friends can find me @DianneVenetta!  Now get hopping!  The next site is waiting for you…

This weekend I participated in my local Art in the Garden tour and I’m glad I did.  Not only was I fortunate enough to spend the day in this garden…

But I met lots of new people, learned several garden tips as well as shared a few of my own–even sold a few books in the process!  Call it a new spin on an old concept, but this was a book signing for me and I couldn’t have chosen a better location.  Not only is the entire lawn as gorgeous as what you see above, but it felt like I could have been sitting in Jennifer’s Garden.

Fountain reminds you of Jax, doesn’t it? :)

It did me!  And might I add, it was a welcome reminder–that man is hot AND sweet!  But I digress (as often happens when I’m discussing my delightful heroes).  My appreciation for assignment to this perfect setting goes to the garden tour hostess Blondine and homeowner of this lush space, Beth.  Mind you this was only one of the magnificent homes on the tour.  There were almost a dozen to visit, including a local farm where guests received a sample of homegrown wine.  Growing grapes on the farm, are we?

In addition to my books and garden boxes (stay tuned to my garden blog BloominThyme and subscribe for more details on these beauties), visitors to this particular garden could choose from an array of colorful paintings, courtesy of Jan, shown below.

Her work is wonderful and fit in quite nicely with her surroundings. 

For more photos of this lovely yard, head on over to my photo gallery and enjoy!  It is truly incredible.