Category Archives: Books

I’ve survived 4 days of complete time-suck activities and have finally made it back to my computer! I should be happy with the small break but my ‘To Do’ list is so long now, I’ll be playing catch up for a week. Of course, if I had enjoyed all of those 4 days it wouldn’t be so bad. I’ve helped ‘move’ someone from one house to another (wasted my entire Saturday doing that), watched my grandbabies Sunday so my kids could move the last of the things we didn’t get on Saturday, Hubby has been home and for some reason, when he’s off work, I get nothing done (he’s off work today as well but I’m ignoring him at the moment. It won’t last long.) and I’ve been given another task to perform before the day is out. I feel like a trained monkey…just doing whatever task those around me tell me to do. I’m a month away from deadline and at this rate, I’ll be up in the wee hours of the morning to finish this book. Editing takes time and my time is getting sucked up before my day even starts. Nothing to do for it other than ‘Grin and Bear It’ but its getting harder to do that. And, now I’m whining – something I loathe doing but – this is my blog and I figure I’m due a good whine once a year, right? Right. So, moving on now. I’m going back to editing The Gathering. I can at least get a few chapters finished before my ‘task’ today. For those of you interested in the story, I have a 2 chapter ‘sneak peek’ posted over at my website. I’ll be posting a new chapter every Saturday up until the release date. So, go read the … Keep Reading! →

I’m holding a contest over on Facebook! All you have to do to enter is ‘Like’ my Fan Page. I’ll pick 2 winners on Valentines Day for their choice of books from my back list. You have 4 days to enter! http://www.facebook.com/authorLilyGraison All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

In preparation of the release of THE GATHERING (sequel to my werewolf romance novel, THE CALLING) I’ve added the first 10 chapters of THE CALLING in the Files section on my Lily Graison Yahoo!Group for those of you who have not read the book yet. For those of you who ‘have’ read THE CALLING, in the coming weeks, I’ll beexcerpting chapters of the new book, THE GATHERING, before its release in April. The book is in ‘edits’ now and as soon as I have ‘ready’ chapters to post, those will also go up on the Group as well. In the meantime, grab your copy of THE CALLING and revisit Garrett, Rayna and all the preternatural creatures who take up residence in Wolf’s Creek! If you would like to find out more about what I’m working on, or chat with me, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook procrastinating on a daily basis! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lily.graisonTwitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LilyGraison Lily Graison Yahoo!Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lily_graison/ (you can find the 10 chapter excerpt in the FILES section of the Lily Graison Yahoo!Group menu. Look under STORY EXCERPTS when you get there.) All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

I have several contests I’m running for the month of December, the first of which has been posted over on the Contest page. There will be (4) winners for our first contest, so head on over, check out the prizes, and enter. I’ll draw a winner on Sunday, Dec. 12th and post a NEW contest directly after. Good Luck! All material &copy2005-2012 to Lily Graison

It’s getting that time of year again. I can’t believe we’re a week away from Thanksgiving and a little over a month from Christmas! Where did the year go? Like most everyone, I love trying new recipes but finding them is the hardest part. I have 2 to share with everyone today. These dishes go fast around here so double up the recipe like I do. *wink* Chocolate Éclair Cake 1 (1 lb.) box graham crackers2 sm. pkgs. instant French Vanilla pudding3 1/2 c. milk1 (9 oz.) container Cool Whip1 Container (store bought) Chocolate Frosting Mix pudding with the milk. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Blend in Cool Whip. Line the bottom of your pan with graham crackers then pour a layer of pudding mixture over graham crackers. Repeat until all ingredients are used.(Just like you do a banana pudding) End with your graham crackers on top. Refrigerate for 2 hours then spread your frosting on top. Note: If you’re inpatient like I am….put the pan in the freezer until it sets. Once its firm, take the lid and foil off the icing and microwave for 1 minute. Stir the mixture and pour it over the graham crackers, smooth until pretty. Refrigerate. It’s best eaten the following day. It gives the crackers time to soften. Serves 12 to 14. (If you have a really deep dish, (I have a 9×13 deep dish) you can double the ingredients and make a monster pudding. You’ll need it. This never last very long. LOL) Butterscotch Rum Cake Ingredients:1 pkg. Yellow Cake Mix (Duncan Hines)1 pkg. Butterscotch Pudding3 large eggs1/3c. cooking oil1/2c. water1/2c. Rum (Spiced Rum) Rum Glaze:1 stick butter1/4c. water1 cup sugar1/2 cup Rum (Spiced Rum)1 1/4c. walnut pieces-chopped (Pecans work for this too) Directions:– Pre-heat oven to 325. Lightly grease … Keep Reading! →

The recent storms making their way across the country did not miss us here on the east coast. They rolled through last night about 7pm, along with the first tornado warning. I called my daughter, told her to bring my grandbabies over here and we rode it out amongst cracks of lightening and sheets of rain. There were 6 tornado warnings in 4 hours and every ‘cell’ that came through took the exact same path so, 6 times we had to brace ourselves. The last one, around 11pm had a center of circulation headed right for us and…we heard…something. We have a lot of traffic on the road out front and big tractor-trailer trucks fly down our road and that’s what we thought we heard…only, there was no traffic and the noise got louder. I made my son come downstairs and we all just sat and listened to this…noise…rumble by and waited. I don’t normally get scared of storms but last night, hearing that rumble, my heart rate increased until I felt dizzy. LOL Luckily, whatever it was, left and the warnings stopped. The rain didn’t. It beat against the house for hours. Rain, I can handle. Spooky sounding wind, not so much. There were several confirmed tornados that actually touched down, one only 6 miles from the house. From the news report, it hit a food prep plant, with 800 employees inside, and tossed a car inside. Another, 30 minutes from here, destroyed a few homes and a barn, killing 3 horses in the process. No human deaths, that I know of. All in all, it was a little bit too close for comfort. It’s still cloudy today, the wind is strong enough to toss my flowering Mimosa tree every direction but up and the clouds threaten more rain. … Keep Reading! →

This past Saturday, I was able to be a part of an annual event held in this area. Dr. Robert Hart has spent the last 30 years rescuing and restoring Carolina life of the nineteenth century, recreating an entire village, Hart Square—the largest collection of original historic log buildings in the United States. Dating from 1782 to 1873, the seventy log structures—chapels, barns, houses, shops, and more—are all furnished, and around 220 volunteer artisans demonstrate the period techniques of flax breaking and hackling, spinning, weaving, herb dying, open-hearth cooking, broom and shoemaking, shingle riving, wheelwrighting, tinsmithing, and moonshining. It is ‘Living History’ at it’s finest. I’ve had the pleasure of spending the last year participating in local living history events but this was by far, the best. This was the first time I’ve attended this event and I hope it won’t be the last.   We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. It was cool but not cold and the sun shining off the pond, which the buildings surround, was awe-inspiring. We spent the day touring the buildings, while dressed in our period (1860’s) clothing and answering questions about that time period, and the way of life to anyone who asked. My daughter was able to attend with us and wore the period Wedding Dress I made for her. She was the ‘Belle of the Ball’ and could barely walk 10 steps without having to stop to have her picture made.   She was lovely, as usual, and I was quite proud of the dress I’d spent so much time making her turned out so well. She was able to share her knowledge of the time with those who asked and she enjoyed the day as much as we did. I was able to gather a lot of … Keep Reading! →