You know, I’m not really one of those people who like “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” or all of those forced things that our consumer-driven ecomony and marketing tells us to do.  Paint me a contrarian…LOL!! 

However…

If you’re looking for an awesome Cyber Monday find, then why not pick up a holiday ebook?  My book, CHRISTMAS MIRACLES, is being offered this holiday season (I sound like an infomercial) at a special price of only $2.99!  What a deal!  You should really check it out and grab it for anyone you know who uses an ereader.  For anyone else, you can pick up the hardcover version.

Not only is the cover gorgy, but the stories are heartwarming and perfect for the holiday season.

Okay, shameless plug over…it IS my site afterall.  LOL!

Hugs,
Marley = )

I wanted to post a very special, moving fan mail that I received recently. It moved me to (happy) years. I had to share it with my agent and editor and they were equally moved. For anyone who thinks that fan mail doesn’t mean anything to authors, I beg to differ…this made my year:

mrs gibson i am reading you series ghost huntress the awakening. i am a 7th grader and i love them, they changed my life!!!as a project we are writing letters to authors about how their book changed our lives and i wrote mine to you and i wanted to share it with you so here it is:

Dear Marley Gibson,
To me books aren’t just words on paper, they are my ticket to a new world.It may even be a world inside me I never even realized was there before .
When I first got your book, Ghost Huntress: the Awakening, it sat on my bookshelf until the fall of the next year. I kept noticing it on the shelf. It was like a gravitational pull, like my life depended on this one book. When I picked it up and began reading, it was never left unattended again, from that point on it was a part of me. It WAS my ticket into Kendall’s life, to the town she lived in, her thoughts,and her feelings. As I read I felt that it was always meant to be that way, and somehow we were the same person we were looking through each others eyes. It seemed as though we were looking into a mirror but instead of seeing a reflection I saw what I would become, we had a connection.
This book helped me learn how to accept myself the way I am no matter what because Kendall knew that being physic was a part of her and since she couldn’t change she had to embrace it. I also learned that if you are honest, even though it may seem bad at first, it all plays out positively in the end, and the results are never ending. Until I read this book I was trying to be someone I wasn’t because I thought that if I wasn’t like everyone else they wouldn’t give me the time of day. After I read your book I figured out that if people don’t like you for who you are they aren’t important in your life.
Your book taught me that I wasn’t being honest with myself and I wasn’t accepting myself like I should have been all along.
Sometimes I wonder if I would have realized that I was ok they way I am without the assistance of you book. At first it seemed impossible but soon it all came naturally. After that I carried myself as an unique individual and I found out that all it took was 338 pages of guidance. My world has been “ blown wide open.” and the result it life changing. Thank you so much for creating Kendall Moorehead she has helped me realize my true potential.
So in the end my plane ticked was free all along but I guess I just needed the honey roasted peanuts!

Thank you for “the awakening”,
Angelina
Lisbon N.H

So there it was i am hoping to meet you one day and have you sign my book so as i said in my letter thank you for changing my life.and if it isnt too much of a bother if maybe you could respond just saying something like i read you message or something that would mean the world to me thank you so much!!!

And thank you, Angelina.  Your words moved me and encourage me to continuing working hard on my writing.

For this Sunday, here’s a quote that’s food for thought:

“We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do you think?

Hugs,
Marley = )

Okay…I’ll admit it. I’m a huge foodie, although I hate the term. I love food…everything about it. Eating it. Shopping for it. Cooking it. Smelling it. Discovering it. So, I thought it would be great to have one day featuring my culinary adventures.

This time of year…what’s better than a hot cup of soup? Also, soup is wicked healthy for you and can go a long way. One of my favories — and easiest to make — is butternut squash soup. The rich, deep taste and smooth texture feel amazing in the mouth and does good to warm the body.

Here’s what it looks like in the china I inherited from my grandmother…

INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 pounds butternut squash, halved lengthwise
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large leeks, white and tender green parts, coarsely chopped
7 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried
5 cups chicken stock or unsalted canned broth
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
About 3 tablespoons chopped chives
8 slices of bacon, fried crisp, crumbled

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Scrape the squash from the skin.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan or flameproof casserole, melt the butter over low heat. Add the leeks and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and browned, about 40 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.

Stir in the stock and the squash. Simmer over moderate heat for 20 minutes. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pan and season with the salt and pepper.

TO SERVE: Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream, 1 teaspoon chives and a sprinkling of the bacon.

MAKE AHEAD: The recipe can be prepared through Step Three up to 2 days ahead. Reheat the soup before proceeding.

Just wanted to wish everyone a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving. Here’s wishing you peace and happiness and boutifulness (is that a word) with you, your friends, and family.

Hugs,
Marley = )

November is coming to a close, which means the National Novel Writer’s Month is almost over. Thousands and thousands of writers get their kick start on a work in progress from participating in NaNoWriMo, which gives you the opportunity to write 50,0000 words in a month.

So far, I haven’t done so well. I’ve been traveling a lot and haven’t been writing as much as I should, but I am deep into writing my new book, RADIATE, which will be coming out in the Spring of 2011.

Have you been NaNoWriMo-ing? How have you done? Did you make your goal?