God Bless American Idol and Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies

Why God bless American Idol you might ask? Well, for the last two weeks they've been doing Lennon and McCartney songs. Yes, most of the contestants are murdering them, but as a side benefit of this, I can actually listen to the Beatles with out my kids pissing and moaning about it. 'Cause you know, if it's on American Idol, it's got to be good. Yeah...whatever.

When I was a kid my mom always sang bedtime songs to us. Looking back, I realize that some of them were probably less appropriate than others, and I wonder if that contributes to my love of sad songs today. I know she sang us happy songs, but the sad ones are the ones I really remember and the ones I'd always asked for. Popular bedtime songs of my childhood include:

Imagine, Blowin' in the Wind, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Bye Baby Bunting, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, One Tin Soldier, Farwell to Tarwathie, Molly Malone (I blame my Gram for that one though) Let it Be, Lady Madonna, Hey Jude, Sundown, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Scarborough Faire, American Pie, Turn, Turn, Turn, Country Roads, In My Life Jet Plane, I am a Rock and of course, Puff the Magic Dragon. She did make up a fourth verse to this one because my brother Martin sobbed when he was old enough to understand what a sad song it really is.

I've kept up the bedtime song tradition with my kids - they choose what they want to hear just like we did. Some of them are the old standbys of my childhood and some are new. They both love Dar Williams' The One Who Knows and We Learned the Sea. Corwin's favorites are One Tine Soldier, Where Have All the Flowers Gone and Scarborough Faire. He really likes a lot of Celtic folk and frequently requests I Am Stretched On Your Grave (it's a beautiful song but depressing as hell) and Counting Crows' Long December. I promise, he's really not morose. Killian's favorite is Molly Malone and Green Day's Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).

I recently made my sibs and my mom each a two cd set called Mom's Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies - they loved it. So, did you get bedtime songs as kids? Did/do you sing them to your kids? Which ones?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not of Irish descent, but my kids are. Speaking of kids, 11 years ago at this very moment, I was in labor. I was really hoping to have him on the 17th. Not only cause I wanted it the hell over with, but because it's also my mom's birthday and she's without a doubt, the best mom ever. Happy Birthday Mama!

I plan to get to Ireland one of these years, and these are some of the places I'd like to see. I'd also like to see England, Scotland and Wales. So what places do you have a burning desire to see?

Guest Blogging Today

Hey Everyone,

I'm taking a quick break from Corwin's birthday party to invite you over to Hitting the Hot Spot where I'm guest blogging about Misconceptions About Romance Authors. Please come visit me if you get the chance. :)

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=620966111597411321&postID=6042963095990060117

Happy Pi Day!

Yes...it's March 14th or 3.14 and Killian's math teacher has decided they would celebrate Pi day with pie. So last night, I peeled three pounds of apples, made dough and the boy and I made two apple pies. All the eigth graders will be feasting on pie, pie and more pie today.

We had a lot of fun until the canister of brown sugar got upended on the dining room floor...but it wasn't the end of the world and it was still an easier clean-up than earlier in the evening when Corwin managed to dump the pitcher of iced tea on the kitchen floor. It was kind of a klutzy sort of night. You can definitely tell those kids are mine!

After the baking extravaganza was done I went to a fun TEB chat at Night Owl...busy busy night. Tonight, I'll be working on a pirate ship shaped cake for Corwin's birthday party tomorrow. Not at all sure how I'm going to accomplish that, but if it turns out, I'll post a picture.

Have a wonderful Friday and if you get a chance, have some pie. ;)

Exhuastion Induced Stupidity Pays Off

Sometimes I do really stupid things when I'm tired. Ridiculously stupid. But the stupidity payed off recently. The fabulous Sommer Marsden was having a blog competition about exhaustion induced stupidity and thanks to the draw I won a copy of I is for Indecent! The book came in the mail yesterday and now I have a lovely new anthology to read - thanks Sommer!!!

What did I do? Well, when my second son was around seven or eight months old and still waking up every two hours every night I was constantly exhausted. In the shower one morning, instead of working conditioner through my hair with a pick, I used my razor instead. After I ended up with a hand full of hair, I woke up really quick and was forced to wear strategically placed barrettes for quite a while. Sad, but true. Oh well - it grew back and now I have a nifty new book. Yay me.

Besides I is for Indecent, I'm also reading The Light-Bearers Daughter by O.R. Melling - an excellent YA book and the third in The Chronicles of Faerie. I love this series.

So what's everybody else reading? Got anything you'd recommend?

Yay Margaret ...Yay Me

I think I've mentioned before how much I love fairy tales - in fact, I'll be blogging about them later this week...or maybe next week. We'll see what comes up.

Anyway, my dear friend Margaret's favorite fairy tale is Cinderella. She has a huge collection of Cinderella books - all different versions. And even cooler, she just got her own version published over at Apollo's Lyre. It's a short-short called Her Golden Opportunity. I loved her take on the tradional tale! Here's the address if you'd like to read it. http://www.apollos-lyre.com/id409.html

In other news, I got a couple more awesome reviews for Mystic Circle over the weekend!

Just Erotic Romance Reviews said:

Bronwyn Green’s Mystic Circle started with a bang and continues itsfast-paced tempo until the heart-pounding and very satisfying conclusion.It was easy to identify with and admire the heroine, Becca, because she hasthis extraordinary gift which she tries to use for the greater good, eventhough this gift has been more of a curse to her. Jack was initiallyskeptical and rightly so but I liked him because he was willing to overlookthe impossibility of the situation to do what was right. It didn’t hurtthat he came across as sexy as hell with just the right amount of dominantalpha male. He and Becca have a wickedly hot first sexual encounter and allthe others after it sent my libido into overdrive. The sex between them iswild, tender and passionate with just a sprinkle of naughty bondage thrownin. What’s more, the sexual relationship reinforced the emotionalconnection the couple began to feel for each other. I also applaud Ms.Green for tastefully and tactfully working safe-sex into the story. Whilestill relatively new to Ms. Green’s books, I am fast becoming a fan of herwork. I hope to read more stories from this gifted and talented author inthe very near future.

and

Literary Nymphs Reviews said:

Oh my goodness! I was so hot and bothered with this one, I needed a cool drink to chill down. These two lovers go from non- existent to overdrive in a matter of minutes and that they found each other after all that time had passed. With a murderer on the loose, killing women of all ages, Jack & Becca come together to try and find out who this person is. Becca is connected to the victims by her psychic ability and feels what they are going through. The tension keeps them on edge while trying to solve the murders before someone else dies.

Jack realizes that his love for Becca is real and wants to pursue it for a more permanent relationship but she has other intentions. When Becca becomes the main suspect, he must do all he can to move the blame from her to the real killer and protect her from becoming the next victim. I love all the suspense that keeps you reading and a happy ending that can’t be denied. Reading Torrid Tarot - Mystic Circle has been a pleasure and I’m looking forward to reading more by Bronwyn Green.

When it rains...

Not that I'm complaining - not at all. I got a really nice review from Alternative Read. This is what the reviewer had to say.

What happens when a die-hard skeptic and a flaky psychic are attracted to each other, in the worst possible way? Strong words, irritation, and fantastic sex are the order of the day. Add to that a killer who is out to steal Becca's psychic power, and you have all the makings for tingling suspense. I found this a great read with a light thread of humor throughout. In this tale, the woman is always right. It's enough to make a story worth reading again…and again.

Here's the link if you want to read the whole thing. :)

http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com/2008/03/review-mysticcircle-two-of-cups-torrid.html

On to other things...

I'm all registered for RT - YAY! And Anny, I'd love to see some of your cross stitch designs. I'll bring some too. :)

And the winner of a copy of Ronan's Grail is Molly! So Molly, please email me at bronwyn@bronwyngreen.com and let me know what format you'd like.

Lookee What I Got

I've gotten very few reviews on this book, so I was thrilled when this came through. Five Angels and a recommended read!

Here's what the reviewer had to say...

Bronwyn Green’s Ronan’s Grail was a marvelous book that I will remember fondly for some time to come. Morgan and Ronan’s story held me enthralled from start to finish. They were extraordinary characters and the passion and love they shared truly was the thing of legends. I was moved to tears by the tenderness Ronan showed Morgan. Conversely, I loved that Morgan was a no-nonsense kind of lady who knew her own heart and mind. Although she had been hurt in the past, she was wise enough to recognize love when it stared her in the face, no matter how ridiculous the circumstances.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Arthurian legend and Ronan’s Grail definitely ranks among my favorites of the erotic genre. Ms. Green has made an instant fan of me and I plan to revisit her universe of witches, knights and magic over and over again.

I'm so excited! In fact, I'm so happy, I'm going to give away a copy to a random poster...so comment away and I'll pick a name from the proverbial hat on Friday!

An Anniversary

Ten years ago today my entire family’s world changed. Before I describe how, I’d like to say that I’m not looking for sympathy, but to share some of the important things we’ve learned.

A little less than a year earlier, my sister in law and I discovered we were pregnant at the same time – me with my second child and her with her first. We both had beautiful little boys – mine born in March, hers in June. Shortly before my son’s first birthday, at four pm, on March 4th, 1998, my sweet, eight month old nephew died of SIDS. Despite repeated attempts at resuscitation, he was gone. The morning after, I remember waking up and telling my husband I’d had the most awful nightmare. The look on his face brought every horrible detail rushing back.

I’m not going to lie and say we learned anything useful right away. The first months were spent in horror and grief. Finding little his baby socks shoved down the side of the couch or his pacifier in a purse was crippling. Getting misplaced rolls of film developed and finding pictures you’d forgotten you’d taken were both a precious gift and a kick in the gut.

The following years brought a kind of numb acceptance, but it’s taken almost a decade to get to the point where I didn’t have guilt every day that my son had lived and theirs didn’t. It also took that long to see ways that we might have grown from this. I’m not saying that I’m glad this happened – or that it was some kind of blessing in disguise, but I can see how the choices I’ve made since then are different than the ones I might have made if this hadn’t happened.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned and would like to share:

Never miss an opportunity to let your loved ones know that you love them. I know that’s terribly cliché, but it’s also true. My family has always been close, but this loss and eventual celebration of my nephew’s short life has brought us closer.

If you have kids or grandkids, take time to enjoy their childhood. The little things that used to frustrate me about babies and toddlers ceased to matter. Preteens and teens however can be a little more trying, but I don’t want to ever look back and have regrets about things I shouldn’t have said or things I should have done but didn’t.

The human heart is more resilient than I’d ever realized. My brother and sister-in-law are some of the strongest and bravest people I know. I’m not sure I would have survived intact if it had been my child, and I sincerely doubt I would have attempted to have any more. I’m happy to say that I have another nephew and niece. It may take a while, but it is possible to heal from such a loss.

Sometimes tomorrow never comes. Follow your dreams now – there may not be time later. I’d stopped writing after college figuring I’d always go back to it later. Other than a poem I 'd written at the request of my brother for my nephew's funeral, I hadn't written a thing in years. I finally went back to it, several years after my nephew’s death. One day I realized that I was never going to effectively teach my kids to follow their dreams if I didn’t follow my own – so here I am...following my dreams.

Take a minute to hug your kids today – no matter how old and surly they might be.

Tag...I'm It

Ashley Ladd tagged me for this six random things meme. Here are the rules: Post these rules on your blog and links where appropriate. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. Tag six random people and let them know they've been tagged...I'm not tagging anybody because everybody's been tagged already.

1.) I got married on my birthday.

2.) I collect rocks...lots and lots of rocks. Not in the neatly-labled sort of way, more like the cover-every-suface and fill-up-bowls kind of way.

3.) My charm bracelet has over 70 charms and all of them have special significance. It also doubles as a weapon.

4.) My favorite flowers are daffodils, violets and lilacs.

5.) I'm a Ren Faire junkie.

6.) I like to cross stitch and frequently make up my own designs.