Feeling Lucky? Enter a contest...or two.

With the release of The Scarlet Pepper a little less than a month away, I've chewed my fingernails and pushed my patient husband to the end of his rope as I worry about its release. Will the readers like it? It's a little different from Flowerbed of State. But there's still plenty of twists and turns to be had.

I dare you to figure out who the villain is before Casey does!

To help take my mind off my pre-publication jitters, I'm running several contests. I hope you take a moment to enter one, or two, or all of them! Here's the details:

1. Get in on the drawing to win one of 4 copies of THE SCARLET PEPPER this week from Books On The House! Contest winners will be announced on MARCH 14, 2012!

2. Head over to Goodreads for a chance to win one of 2 copies of THE SCARLET PEPPER! Contest winners will be announced on APRIL 5, 2012!

3. Go play the fun and games over at The Romance Reviews for a chance to win tons of prizes including a copy of the book that started it all, FLOWERBED OF STATE! The contest is running for several weeks, but Flowerbed of State is being given away at the end of the week of MARCH 14 and ending MARCH 21, the prize winners will be announce MARCH 22!

As the official organic gardener for the White House, Casey Calhoun is usually up to her elbows in something or other. But when someone starts tampering with the Presidential vegetable garden, she soon finds herself in way over her head.  

As if it wasn't bad enough that red peppers are growing instead of green ones and cabbage is popping up where the First Lady's favorite lettuce should be-a hard-nosed investigative reporter is found dead after targeting the President's unpopular Chief of Staff.

Raking over the clues and rumors, Casey knows that someone is sabotaging both her garden and the First Lady's reputation. But when she has one close call too many, Casey realizes that the next thing buried in the dirt might just be her…

Praise for FLOWERBED OF STATE:

"Credible characters, a fast-paced plot, and a light look at political life in Washington, D.C., will delight cozy fans." ~ Publishers Weekly

"This spunky new romantic suspense series is an obvious pick for readers who enjoy Julie Hyzy's "White House Chef" series (Buffalo West Wing), but also think of gardening mystery series such as Rosemary Harris's (Slugfest)." ~ Library Journal

"If you are looking for a great murder mystery book with a surprise ending? You MUST read this book." ~ Ana, Once Upon A Twightlight

No wilting plants can be found in this gardening mystery!"~ Sharon Galligar Chance, Fresh Fiction

"Simply put, I adore this book, and I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.  Go out buy it now - you can thank me later." ~ Kat, The Season For Romance

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Dorothy St. James writes the White House Gardener Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Flowerbed of State is the first book in the series. Be sure to grab your copy while they're still available! Visit with Dorothy on the web or at Facebook. Or follow her on Twitter.

Praise for FLOWERBED OF STATE:
"Credible characters, a fast-paced plot, and a light look at political life in Washington, D.C., will delight cozy fans." ~ Publishers Weekly

"This spunky new romantic suspense series is an obvious pick for readers who enjoy Julie Hyzy's "White House Chef" series (Buffalo West Wing), but also think of gardening mystery series such as Rosemary Harris's (Slugfest)." ~ Library Journal

Order Flowerbed of State from your favorite bookseller. 

Look for The Scarlet Pepper in April 2012. Pre-order your copy today!

Made in America Monday: Farmhouse Yarns

It's Made in America Monday, where I feature a company that is producing (or selling) products that are made within the United States. Although you can find wonderful things made in other countries, I think sometimes we overlook the craftsmen and products that are being produced just around the corner.

So with the familiar slogan "Think Global, Act Local" in mind, I give you Made in America Monday.

This week's company is Farmhouse Yarns.

They sell wool, bamboo, cotton, alpaca yarns (just to name a few).

From their website: "Farmhouse Yarns are hand-dyed in America, and we buy much of our wool directly from American farmers.  Many are small, family farms with twenty or fewer sheep: farms that find it very difficult to compete in a global economy where foreign fibers have taken hold and driven down prices.  Farmhouse Yarns, LLC™ provides local farmers with a valuable market for their wool.  Fleeces are inspected and chosen by hand for quality, then the resulting yarns are hand-dyed to bring you the most beautiful high quality American yarns available.  We offer our yarns to fine shops all across America, so be sure to browse our retailer listing for a shop near you."

Find a retailer near you.

Do you have any suggestions for future Made in America posts? Please provide any thoughts/ideas you might have in the comment section. I'd love to feature the product and give you credit for sending it.

**********************************

Dorothy St. James writes the White House Gardener Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Flowerbed of State is the first book in the series. Be sure to grab your copy while they're still available! Visit with Dorothy on the web or at Facebook. Or follow her on Twitter.

Praise for FLOWERBED OF STATE:
"Credible characters, a fast-paced plot, and a light look at political life in Washington, D.C., will delight cozy fans." ~ Publishers Weekly

"This spunky new romantic suspense series is an obvious pick for readers who enjoy Julie Hyzy's "White House Chef" series (Buffalo West Wing), but also think of gardening mystery series such as Rosemary Harris's (Slugfest)." ~ Library Journal

Order Flowerbed of State from your favorite bookseller. 

Look for The Scarlet Pepper in April 2012. Pre-order your copy today!

Pill Bugs, that's what's bugging me!

They're not bugs. They're not even insects. They are the beloved roly poly from our childhood.

And they've infested my garden soil.

Blech!

I want them gone.

First some quick facts:
1. They are isopods and are related to shrimp and have gills! They need a wet environment.
2. They feed only on decaying matter unless they run out of food. Large populations of them can damage crops.
3. If they have a proper food source, they can actually be beneficial to your garden.

Yeah, yeah. I get that they can be wonderful and all. But I have a problem now.

Controls:
I'd heard about putting beer into a can that buried in the soil and inviting the little buggers to the party. But I wasn't in the mood for sharing my beer.

Instead, I sprinkled horticultural grade diatomaceous earth liberally in my garden. The diatomaceous earth will dry them out, especially if they eat it. Within a few days the numbers in the soil had reduced dramatically.


YAY! My radishes no longer are getting gnawed on. Happy day in the garden again. :)

Made in America Monday: American Apparel

It's Made in America Monday, where I feature a company that is producing (or selling) products that are made within the United States. Although you can find wonderful things made in other countries, I think sometimes we overlook the craftsmen and products that are being produced just around the corner.

So with the familiar slogan "Think Global, Act Local" in mind, I give you Made in America Monday.


Continuing with the clothing theme from last week...

This week I'm featuring American Apparel a business located in downtown LA, California.

From their website: "American Apparel is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and retailer, based in downtown Los Angeles, California. We currently employ approximately 10,000 people globally (about 5,000 in LA), and operate more than 285 retail stores in 20 countries.

Within our business model, knitting, dyeing, cutting, sewing, photography, marketing, distribution and design all happen in the company's facilities in Los Angeles. The company operates the largest garment factory in the United States, at a time when most apparel production has moved offshore. With our recently opened stores in China, we are now selling Made in USA clothing in the largest consumer market in the world.

American Apparel leverages art, design and technology to advance the business process, while continuing to pioneer industry standards of social and environmental responsibility in the workplace."


Want to learn more? You can tour their LA, California factory online: http://www.americanapparel.net/factorytour.html

If you have any suggestions for future Made in America posts, please provide it in the comment section. I'd love to feature the product and give you credit for suggesting it.

Oh you, Greenbriar: Smilax rotundifolia!

With the warm very early spring weather, it's sprouting! The vine grows with the ominous spreading speed of a creature in a horror movie. It twins up trees. Curls around buildings. Crawls across the ground.

What is this frightening plant? It's Smilax rotundifolia or Common Woody Greenbriar or numerous other common names, some of them too nasty to write here. 

The smilax is back! I need to get it out before it goes to seed.

Smilax is a vine that has both tendrils and thorns. It's the only vine to have that.

It is resistant against Round Up. If you want to use a commercial weed killer, various gardening sites recommend that you soak the leaves in the weed killer for several hours.

But I'm working on going organic. So I'm following the recommended removal practice, which is a cultural practice. This means I've been physically digging up the vine and its tubers. The tubers look like sweet potatoes to me. I have read that the young ones are good to eat and were a staple in the Native American diet. I tried it and wasn't in love with the bitter flavor. 

I went through the yard and dug up as many of the tubers as I could. They can be stubborn buggers about coming out of the ground!

Vigilance is needed to keep it from coming back, which is why I'm back in the yard battling it. I'll also need to get it out of the neighbor's vacant lot before it comes crawling into my yard.

Wish me luck!