Join USA Today's Bestselling Author Jamie Lee Scott's BAD VICE Book Launch Party April 22 starting at 7:00 CT

Welcome to the Bad Vice Book Launch Party.
This is an all day event to celebrate FINALLY having Bad Vice published.
Thanks so much for your patience on this novel's long road to the virtual shelves. This has been a crazy year with lots of interruptions. 
I tried something new with Bad Vice, which you will discover when you read it, and I hope you like it.
With this launch party, I'll be giving away boxed sets of the previous books for readers who haven't had the chance to discover the Gotcha Detective Agency folks yet, but only 3 boxed sets will be given away. I'll also be giving away signed paperback books of the previous novels, and the GRAND PRIZE, to be announced at the end of the week (which gives people time to stop by and say hello and meet the lovely authors nice enough to join us) is the full set of ALL FIVE Gotcha Detective Agency novels in PAPERBACK, signed by the author. Hey, that would be ME!!!
I'm so excited to have you here, and to have this first time ever, for me, book launch. Thanks for stopping by to be a part of it.
So, here's how it will work:
We'll have super special guest authors stopping by each hour of the day. You'll get to meet them, and read a little about them and their books, and they've been nice enough to write a little something, and engage with us. So you can comment on their posts and be entered to win their books as well as some of the prizes I'm offering.
Here is the lineup for the day: 
I'm so excited to have these wonderful authors joining us to share in this book launch!
(schedule subject to change) Surprise giveaways during guest author appearances.

7:00 am - Intro with Jamie Lee Scott $10 Amazon Gift Card 
8:00 am - Cindy M. Hogan - eBook Gravediggers
8:30 am -  Margaret Daly - ebook copy of Dangerous Pursuit (international)
9:00 am - J.J. DiBenedetto - ebook or audiobook copy of Dream Student (winner's choice)

9:30 am - Jill James - (International)1 autographed paperback copy of Dangerous Shift
10:00 am - Joan C. Curtis
10:30 am - Mary Alford - A signed paperback copy of Forgotten Past (US only)
11:00 am - Adrienne Giordano - (US only) Adrienne Gordano swag bag (lots of fun goodies)
11:30 am - Carolyn Scott - ebook copy of Finders Keepers Losers Die
12:00 noon - Kathy Wheeler - eBook Quotable
12:30 pm - Amy Gamet - eBook Love & Danger Boxed Set
1:00 pm - Denise Malone - eBook The Bo(d)y Next Door (US/Canada only)
1:30 pm - Vanessa Kier - Signed print copy of Vengeance. US/Canada only.
2:00 pm - Julia Derek - eBook The Smiley Killer
2:30 pm - Madison Johns - Target of Death ebook
2:30pm -  Lily Bishop - eBook No Strings Attached

3:00 pm - Diana Layne - ebook copy of The Good Daughter or Trust No One 
3:30 pm - Sally Berneathy - one of the Death by Chocolate series ebooks
4:00 pm - Chris Taylor
4:30 pm - Stephanie Queen (eBook giveaway)
5:00 pm - Alana Albertson - an Invincible ebook  (avail international) $10 amazon gift card    
6:00 pm - Special Guest New York Times Bestselling Author - Jenna Bennett
7:00 pm - Tony Acree -
8:00 pm - Jamie says good night

Midnight -  deadline for comments!

What Would You Do If You Knew You Only Had One Week To Live?

 This is Holy Week and I've been pondering what I would do if I learned I only had one week to live as Jesus did.

For me, that question had a way of clearing away all the things that really didn't matter in my life and putting the focus on what did.

If I had only a week to live I would hold the people I love close and tell them how much they truly mean to me. I'd tell my husband he is the love of my life over and over again and make sure he realized how important and special our time together was. I'd make sure my three granddaughters knew how special they are to both me and to God. How much they matter. How much I've enjoyed watching them grow up. And I write them each a letter that they could keep forever to let them know they were loved by me. But most importantly, I would thank God for sending Jesus to save me and for the promise I have because of what He did on the Cross. I know that when I die I will be with him in Heaven.  What an amazing promise.

That's what I would do.

Here's what Jesus did in His final week:

Sunday: The triumphal entry into Jerusalem       

Monday: Cleanses the temple in Jerusalem           

Tuesday: The Sanhedrin challenges Jesus’ authority

Jesus foretells the destruction of Jerusalem and His Second Coming

Mary anoints Jesus at Bethany

Judas bargains with the Jewish rulers to betray Jesus     

Thursday: Jesus eats the Passover meal with His disciples and institutes the Memorial Supper

Prays in Gethsemane for His disciples       

Friday: His betrayal and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane

Jesus questioned by Annas, the former high priest

Condemned by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin

Peter denies Jesus three times

Jesus is formally condemned by the Sanhedrin

Judas commits suicide

The trial of Jesus before Pilate

Jesus’ appearance before Herod Antipas

Formally sentenced to death by Pilate

Jesus is mocked and crucified between two thieves

The veil of the temple is torn as Jesus dies

His burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea       

Sunday:  Jesus is raised from the dead       

What an amazing love. I hope you know it.

Happy Easter.

Mary
www.maryalford.net
 

 

Looking for some mid-week inspiration?

I received this in an email from a friend today and had to share. Some of these are amazing. I hope you enjoy them.



"The cat without fear''
 

Hotel Four Seasons Bora Bora in French Polynesia.
 

Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China.
 

So embrace the zebras
 

Kiss in Paris.
 

Premature elephant born only one minute ago
 

Each year in February, the sun's angle is such that Horsetail Falls waterfall lights like fire in Yosemite National Park, California
 

Houseboat, Iceland
 

Panda scared after the earthquake in Japan embraced the leg of a policeman.
 

Kalapana, Hawaii where the sea meets the lava
 

''I think I'll try to take a picture of myself''
 

Beijing Airport, China by night
 

Two year-old Chimpanzee feeding milk to "Aorn" a small tiger 60 days old.
 

Ducks tend to continue throughout his life to be seen first at birth, whether or not his mother.
 

Highway in Japan with snow around more than 32-feet high. Unbelievable.
 

Spectacular rice fields in China.
 

Austria's Green Lake is a beautiful park in winter. The snow melts in summer and creates a very clear lake.
 

Undersea tunnel linking Sweden and Denmark.
 

The world's highest swimming pool is located in the skyscraper Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
 

Amazing lightning storm over the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
 


Baby Chameleons.
 

Beautiful image of a panda bear helping another.
 

World's Largest Swimming Pool in San Alfonso, Chile. More than 1,000 yards long.
 

Crystal Palace. Madrid, Spain.
 

''Heaven's Gate'', Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain, China.
 

The Northern Lights', Alaska.
 

Alpacas after fleecing
 

The white owl, unbelievable.
 

Eiffel Tower. Romantic and beautiful Paris, France.
 

Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii.
 

Restaurant hanging, Brussels, Belgium.
 

Sea otters hold hands while they sleep in case the current leads to awaken together.
 

There are animals with more sensitivity than many people.
 

Fireman giving drink to a baby Koala in Australia fires.
 

Amazing aerial view of 840-acre Central Park, Manhattan, New York
 

Frozen bubbles in the Canadian Rockies, Canada.
 

Spiral cloud in the sky. An Iridescent Cloud in Himalaya. Phenomenon observed on October 18, 2009.
 

View of the semi-submerged cataract. Hawaii.
 

Northern lights over the Rocky Mountains in Canada
 

A pink lake due to the harmless bacteria of Retba Lake, north of the Cap Vert peninsula of Senegal.
 

This dog saved her puppies from a fire at home, and put them safely in one of the fire trucks
 

Infinite Cave, Vietnam
 

"Thought for the Day: "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."- Jack McKillop

A Nice Surprise Came On Friday

A nice surprise came in the mail on Friday. I got my print copies of Forgotten Past. For those of you who have been here before, it's a great feeling to hold your very own book in your hands.


All the best...

Mary Alford
www.maryalford.net

Living Life To The Fullest - Milan Style

When my father-in-law passed away in December of 2012, we brought his elderly Walker hound dog home to live with us. No one seems to know Milan's exact age, but 14 plus in human years wouldn't be a far reach.

I've always heard it said that people and their pets begin to look a like after a certain number of years together. At times, when I look at Milan's face and in his eyes, I can almost see my father-in-law there and it makes me smile.

Now, since Milan is in his golden years, he could sit around the house and rest on his laurels. Complain about his arthritis when the weather turns cold, but oh no, not Milan. He knows how to live life to the fullest.

My husband and I live in the country and we walk in our pasture every morning for exercise. The way our land is set up, we have pasture land as well as treed areas, and of course we have a stock tank. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a stock tank is basically a pond for animals to get water.

Today, Milan along with our other two dogs went for our usual walk. Our other dogs love to go down to the tank and get a drink, but not Milan. Oh no, he lives each moment to the fullest. Milan jumps into the tank and takes a swim. Then he gets out refreshed and ready for his next great adventure which just happens to be hunting prey, (never mind its all in his head, or maybe simply a butterfly -- who am I to judge.) .

In the year plus since Milan has lived with us, he has taught us so much about living life to the fullest. The greatest lesson is that you don't need a lot to have a good time and enjoy life. Just get out there, take a dip, go for a walk, use your imagination.

One of my father-in-law's favorite sayings was, "Get busy living or get busy dying". He lived by that rule. He lived until the day God called him home. So, take some advice from Milan and my father-in-law. Get busy living!

I promise, there's a whole great world out there waiting for you.


All the best...

Mary Alford
www.maryalford.com      

    

It's always a tug-of-war...

 It's always a tug-of-war...

I'm about two-thirds of the way finished with my latest Inspirational Romantic Suspense that I've tentatively entitled, Wounded Warrior.

It's about a former CIA agent who discovers someone from his past is trying to kill him. The story involves the widow of my hero's fallen colleague. She comes to him for help when she realizes her husband wasn't killed in the line of duty like the government wants her to believe. As they unravel encrypted messages left on a laptop by a dead man, soon they both discover the enemy might just be one of their own. 

Now, I know exactly how I want the story to end. The tricky part is getting my characters to agree with me.

 

I can't wait to see who wins this tug-of-war.

 

 

All the best...

 

Mary Alford

www.maryalford.net

Forgotten Past - Coming June 2014 to Love Inspired Suspense.