Thank you to ll the readers who commented. The online random number generator picked Aislynn. Congrats, Aislynn!

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my most recent Jaunty post. My winner is (cue drumroll, please!) …Tanja Haack! She’ll win a copy of Stroke of Genius! Tanja, please contact me through my website so I can send your ebook to you! (For the rest of you, don’t despair. I have a little surprise coming next week. Be sure to check my blog on May 21st & 22nd for a free read!)

Yesterday Kathy posted about things that make her happy. Our Jaunty Quills community is very, very high on my happy list. I particularly love the way we all interact. Sometimes the blog is more like a chat room with back and forth banter and sharing.  It’s so much fun to talk to you, to hear your thoughts on our posts and the stories you share.

Recently, my sister Jaunties and I have been wondering what makes YOU happy?  What do you like to read about here on the blog? Do you like glimpses into our writing processes? How we come up with ideas; how those ideas eventually make it to the page? Kristan’s post about making out with her hand springs to mind.  (Haha! Waving at Kristan) Do you like glimpses into our personal lives and hobbies… a la Kathy’s ode to her son or the time Robyn gave you a tour of her crafting/scrapbooking room? Do you like us to post recipes or previews of coming releases? How about character interviews? Or guest bloggers? What would you think about us doing occasional JQ blog reader spotlights where we interview you? Maybe we could do a ‘Reader of the Month’ feature?

Today, it’s all about you, dear readers. What would YOU like to see here on the JQ blog? And the possibilities are not limited to what I stated above.  Those were simply suggestions to get you thinking.  So tell us…what would you like to read about?

I just received several advance copies of my new book CELEBRATION’S BRIDE, which will be released in July. I will give away copies to several of you who comment. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Congrats to Mary and catslady, both won copies of NO MAN’S BRIDE.

Congrats to Jakki who won a copy of Let It Be Me! Enjoy, Jakki!

Carrie L won her choice of SWEET ENEMY  or SWEET DECEPTION. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Years ago,  the word “repurposing” brought to mind the old tractor tire my grandma and grandpa painted silver and placed in their front yard as a planter.  I don’t know if they thought of their tire-turned-planter as “repurposing,” certainly not as “upcycling.”  I can see my grandpa scratching his head and asking, “What the heck does that mean?”  All that mattered was that they had the prettiest petunias on South New Street, and my grandpa was proud that he’d created a cool flowerbed for my grandma to show off her posies. They’d turned a tire into a personal treasure.

In the spirit of that silver planter, here are some upcycling ideas I’ve stumbled across recently. Most of them are more functional than beautiful (sadly, no tires are involved):

1. TP and paper towel rolls are great for organizing cords and jewelry. When we moved our daughter to college, we used them to keep her long necklaces from getting tangled. It worked!

2. Binder clips hold computer cords in place when not in use.

3. If you brown bag it, CD packages serve as a perfect bagel sandwich holder.

4. Make a bud vase out of a used light bulb by cutting off the end of the bulb and removing the wires inside; fill it with water; set it on a pretty napkin ring and add a flower. Voila!

5. Make great use of narrow wall space by converting an old window shutter into a decorative and functional message center/organizer. Secure messages, keys, mail, artwork, photos and school permission slips with clothes pins and it will be easier for your family to stay organized.

6. Silicone ice cube trays make great organizers for your desk, craft room, jewelry or tool box.

7. Cereal boxes covered with wrapping paper make pretty magazine holders.

8. Rake heads display necklaces and keep them from getting tangled.

9. Place a tension rod under the kitchen or bathroom sink and hang cleaners from it.

10. Turn “cup” drawer pulls upside down and affix to a blackboard for a handy chalk holder. 

11. An old doll house makes a unique storage shelf in the laundry or bathroom.

12. Create a vintage-looking bottle. This was a Crown Royal bottle painted (three coats of paint – first, paint it black and then finish with two coats of a sea green color); sand lightly to give it a distressed look.

13. Make a wine cork coaster:  Gather enough corks to make the size coaster you desire. Cut a standard-size cork in half so it’s not too tall. Using a hot glue gun, glue the corks to each other in a circular shape. As the finishing touch (and to hold them all together), glue a pretty ribbon around the cork bundle.

14. Have instant fun with a portable magnetic Tic-Tac-Toe game made from an Altoids box.

15. Use a wine rack as a towel holder. Roll the towels and place then where the wine bottles would go.

Do you have any upcycling or repurposing tips or projects? Or what’s your favorite project here? One person who posts will win a book from my backlist – your choice. Can’t wait to hear about your ideas and personal favorites!

Congrats to Ann S. who won a copy of WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND.

Congrats to Deanna who won a copy of IF YOU GIVE A RAKE A RUBY.

We’re all readers here at the Jaunty Quills and I thought it might be fun to geek out today and chat about some books we’ve read recently. So answer the following questions and let’s chat. I’ll pick two commenters to win a copy of my novella, Her Gentleman Thief.

What’s the best book you’ve read recently? For me, it would have to be our own JQ, Kristan Higgins, Catch of the Day. It was just delightful with a heroine I could relate to (in so many ways) and a hero I wanted to spend a lot of alone time with….

What’s your favorite book series? Is it stupid for me to comment that this is a hard question? Don’t answer that. I can’t not mention Harry Potter or the Hunger Games, but I’m going to disqualify those and make myself pick a romance series, I’d have to say it’s a toss up between JD Robb’s In Death series and Suzanne Enoch’s Lessons in Love.

What does a book have to have to make it on your keeper shelf? I have to not only love the book and the story, but both characters. There have been plenty of books I’ve read where I’ve really loved either the hero or the heroine but not both, but to be a keeper, it’s got to be 100% love fest.

What’s the saddest book you’ve read? I don’t generally pick sad books because I don’t like to deal with much angst when it comes to my reading material, I remember I read a book (many years ago) called The Marriage Bed by Stephanie Mittman and I sobbed through the whole book.

Who is your go-to author when you need to fall into a book and you know they won’t fail to satisfy you with a great story? Suzanne Enoch or JD Robb

So how about you? Let’s talk books and you might win a free one for yourself!