Did you know that your ereader is spying on you?  To put it more delicately, reading you?  Were you aware that it can report back to its base of operations how often you open a book, finish a book, where you lose interest, what passages you highlight, which ones you read again and again? From an author’s point of view it presents an interesting prospect.  Do readers rush through romances? Do they read sex scenes over and over?  Are they skimming through detail and which detail–heavy back story, monotonous dialogue? Do they continually check back with the prologue for story reference, proving it crucial to the story?  Is it true that you lose readers in the middle, bogged down by mundane scenes, a loss in direction? Technology is amazing. I know I’ve said it a hundred times if I’ve said it once, but it’s true.  Technology is incredible in its capability and I shudder and tremble to think where it will be in another generation.  (Shudder and tremble in a good way, like I’m “all a twitter,” titillated and energized!) :) And talk about incredible, have you heard about the Kindle Fire chat feature? Huh?  The chat feature.  You know, the one where you can chat with a community of readers–even the author–as you work through a book? Really? Yep.  Tap your screen and head for the bubble icon.  You can comment, follow a thread of comments, and from what I understand, even have it post to your Twitter and Facebook accounts! I first saw this implemented on CutterWelderMaestro blog and Wow.  While I appreciate the brainiacs and their contribution to my ability to communicate globally in the blink of an eye, the phenomenal digital quality to my photos, the ease of editing and publishing, I’m not sure I want them peering over my shoulder when I read a book.  Or search the web, for that matter.  My husband likes that feature, the mysterious “they” who target him with relevant ads based on his search history.  But he’s a no-nonsense kinda guy and appreciates anything that can be streamlined, tailored to his needs.  Me? Not so much.  While I enjoy the benefits of said technology, the influx of Gap ads, the clearance sales, the suggested reading list to fill my library, the libertarian in me balks.  I value my freedom and granted its dwindled over the last century, I still feel as though I’m in control.  I decide where I go on the internet, I decide where to vacation, which clothes to buy.  As much as I value marketing groups and appreciate their help in the business field, I don’t want to feel like a mouse in a maze. How about you? Do you welcome the advances in technology, even if they feel somewhat intrusive?  Or do you shy away from anything that invades your privacy, in fact, you just so happen to have the ACLU on speed dial… Technology vs. Privacy.  That is the question.  Inquiring minds want to know!

Welcome to the First Annual Authors in Bloom Spring Blog Hop!  It’s that time of year again when the sun comes back to shine, the birds begin to sing and the flowers burst with the color of life!  It’s a time where we forget about getting more Facebook likes in order to focus on what’s really important. To celebrate this momentous occasion—okay, momentous may be a STRONG word, but not for us gardeners, it isn’t!—some of my author friends and I are sharing our favorite gardening tips and spring fresh recipes.  How great is that?  It’s like a having a gardening encyclopedia and cookbook in one!  LOVE it.  But more than gardening know-how and gourmet delights, you’ll receive over 70 chances to win stuff from this shop!  Woohoo!  I don’t know about you, but I love anything FREE.  So hard to come by these days, isn’t it?  My garden-inspired giveaway for this hop includes a wax melter for your fragrance tarts (a Cilantro Clementine tart included), Vera Bradley napkins and matching pencils, sugar scrub by Deep Steep (grapefruit & bergamot scented ~ mmmm….), custom-seed saving packets, a garden “help” booklet, adorable little “cauliflower” poodle figurine from Enesco and more! ($55 value, plant & plate shown in photo not included) Now to my gardening tip:  If you’re like most gardeners, tomatoes are on your list of must-grow or must-try.  And who can blame you?  Rich, ripe, ruby-red tomatoes are not only delicious fresh, but the key ingredient to the infamous “red sauce” ~ a recipe handed down through Italian generations like Blue Bloods hand down silver spoons and Southern folk’s dish out middle names.  Italian by injection is what I am and red sauce is something I’m working to master. :) So how do you grow these bad boys without spots, blemishes and cracks?  Epsom salts and eggshells.  Yep!  Go ahead and start them from seeds indoors and then, when you transplant them into the ground, add a crushed eggshell and a tablespoon of Epsom salt mixed into the soil around your sproutling.  No more spots!  (a.k.a blossom-end rot.) Got cracks?  (We’ve all got problems, I know.)  Watch that water schedule, because cracks are due to uneven watering–something awfully hard to prevent in Florida.  Just when you have the automatic timer attached to the hose attached to the sprinkler head which is positioned just so all figured out—WHAM! Mother Nature blasts you with a good soaking.  She calls it a sense of humor.  I call it bad timing. But like I said, we’ve all got problems.  And I like to look at my relationship with Mother Nature as a challenge rather than a curse.  Helps me keep the stress levels down, if you know what I mean.  So what do you say?  Aren’t these tomatoes gorgeous?  Willing to give it a try?  For more gardening tips & fresh recipes, visit my garden blog at BloominThyme! (You’ll find the template for my custom seed-saving packets there, too!) Now, for the really important stuff:  to enter my giveaway, you have more than one opportunity.  You can leave a comment here, follow me on Twitter (make sure I know it’s you by giving me a mention along with the Authors in Bloom blog hop, ie. *Authors in Bloom rock!* @DianneVenetta), “like” my author page on facebook and fan me on Goodreads ~ be sure to leave a message regarding the same!  For all you gardeners out there, here are a couple of more ways to enter:  you can subscribe to my garden blog:   BloominThyme and like it’s facebook page.  How’s that for increasing the odds?  Six chances to win PLUS a whole heck of a lot of garden fun! Phew, that’s a lot of entries per person.  Did I mention I like free stuff?  I like giving it away, too. :)   And if you’re a bloomin’ warrior, or if you’ve already done any of the above, please let me know in the comment section of this post and you’ll get credited for the extra entries.  (No penalties allowed here.) So what are you waiting for?  Grab the phrase below and hop on to the next author—you’ll find the entire crew listed in the linky list below.  (You may have to check the blog section of their website.)  Remember:  to be eligible for the grand prize, you must visit each and every site—but you have 10 days to do so! Line 1: Springtime is the season of blossoms. Line 2: Buds burst open, leaves unfurl, Line 3: and young flowers mature into gorgeous blooms. And as a reminder, if you have any questions how this hop works, especially how to win the grand prize, get full details here:  Authors in Bloom Spring Blog Hop.  While you’re here check out my novels!  JENNIFER’S GARDEN recently received 4 1/2 stars from RT Book Reviews…  Available for $2.99 on both your kindle & nook. :)