Holiday Giveaway! ENDS TODAY!

There is a HUGE sale going on over at Amazon right now for hundreds of books. And I'm feeling super generous. The first five people to respond to this blog and tell me what their favorite Christmas gift this year was will be gifted with a free e-book of my choice (Muahahaha). Leave your email address in the comments, or if you aren't comfortable with doing that, send me an email through my Facebook page with it. It will be either romance, steampunk or women's fiction. I wish I could give my book away to some people, but it's not quite ready yet. You MUST have a Kindle or the Kindle app to read it because it will be in epub format and you'll have to part with your email address so I can send it to you. Ready? Go!

And remember kids, because it's still the holidays,

With lots of love and appreciation for your support,

Sheryl

Facebook link to my page, just in case you didn't get there from that link - https://www.facebook.com/SEBabin?ref=hl

Wrinkle Serums for the Crafty Reader

I always have trouble figuring out a subject to blog about. So I finally just decided to do topics that interest me and take suggestions from people who’d like to see something specific.

I have a confession to make. I haven’t purchased beauty products from a store in over four years, besides makeup (which I don’t purchase often and will likely be the subject of another blog). In 2011, sales of beauty products reached a whopping 426 billion. BILLION!!! Skin care represented the top seller with 27% of the market, followed closely by personal care, then makeup and hair care.

Several years ago I became concerned about what I was eating and what I was putting on my skin. When I finally broke down and looked at the ingredients, I decided there had to be a better way to reap the same benefits without the use of toxic ingredients and also save money in the process.

I found a method called OCM (Oil Cleansing Method). The link will take you to a tutorial from Crunchy Betty. It was hands down the best thing I’ve ever done for my skin and I never looked back. The tutorial breaks down exactly how to do it and what oils you can use. Although, keep in mind, it’s not an end all, be all. I tend to stick with straight Grapeseed oil for my routine.

As I became more comfortable with the routine, I decided to try my hands at moisturizers and serums. I have dry skin so I also normally use the Grapeseed oil for a moisturizer as well. People with normal to oily skin using the OCM might not have to use any additional moisturizer after they wash their face.

I wanted something for fine lines because I’m getting older. Yes, it happens to the best of us. And this is the point of the blog. I wanted to share the recipe I came up with for a wrinkle/anti-aging serum. I purchase all of my essential oils from reputable vendors, most often Mountain Rose Herbs.

I use a 1 ounce amber glass bottle with a dropper for this recipe.

You will need:

Jojoba Oil

Evening Primrose Oil

6 Vitamin E capsules

Carrot Seed Oil

Lavender Oil

Rose Oil (I use the cheaper rose oil – Rosa damascena) Regular rose oil can break the bank. You can also substitute Geranium oil

Neroli Oil – no sub for this one. I think it’s worth the investment. As with all oils, a little bit goes a long way.

Droppers and a small funnel unless you have a very steady hand. I do not.

In the bottle combine equal parts Jojoba and Evening Primrose Oils. I use about 2 tblspns of each.

Pierce and add 6 vitamin e capsules

Add 10 drops Carrot Seed Oil

Add 6 drops Neroli oil and 6 drops of Rose oil.

End with 6 drops of Lavender.

Once everything is combined, put the dropper top back on the bottle, close tightly and roll several times to combine the oils.

Before use, roll the bottle again to ensure it stays combined.

I use this any place where fine lines might creep up and also on my neck. As an added benefit, when you finish you can just rub the excess into your hands. I’ve noticed softer hands and longer nails by doing this. A little bit will go along way. I can take one drop and use it on both of my eyes and the corners of my lips.

Notes

When using essential oils, never use the same dropper for different oils unless you thoroughly clean it with alcohol.  

Always perform a skin test to ensure you don’t have a reaction to any of the oils.

Remember I am not a doctor nor a professional. Think of me like the crazy aunt that always brings booze to the family get-togethers.

 

Sheryl

Original Artwork featuring the Greek Gods and Goddesses

My 15-year-old cousin, Elena Kay, is a talented artist. Today I'm featuring her original artwork entitled The Odyssey. My upcoming release is a paranormal mystery revolving around the Greek Gods. Some of the characters in the book are Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, Eris and Artemis so it fits the theme of my books. Pretty cool, right?!

This work includes Hermes, Poseidon, Circe, Penelope, Calypso, the Sirens and others.

Enjoy! Hope the day finds you blessed with happiness.

S. E. Babin

A Little About Me

I just returned a few days ago from the Romantic Times Booklover’s Convention. I had a wonderful and memorable time. Although I won’t go into too many specifics about the conference and people I met because this is a public blog, I will say meeting someone in person is completely different than following them online via social media (ie., Twitter or Facebook). With that, I came home with different opinions, some good, some bad and some neutral. Those experiences will allow me the chance to rethink my attack plan once I finish revising my manuscript and get ready to send it out to agents.

I was a finalist in the American Idol contest at the convention which both shocked and delighted me. I’ve been involved in writing since I was young, although I shared that fact with relatively few people. I was never really involved in the social scene in high school, instead preferring to spend my time holed up in the library. This decision killed any chances I may have had at being cool.

The librarian was wonderful, and while I may have forgotten her name, I will never forget her allowing me to hog the old Mac computer. She also gave me extra floppy disks because I couldn’t afford them at the time. I wrote my first book in that library, something I have also told relatively few people about. Almost every day after school I would head over until dark and write. It was something I looked forward to…knowing where I wanted my character to go and figuring out how to get there.

At the time, I was obsessed with Danielle Steel’s Message from Nam. It was a poignant, beautifully written novel that followed a reporter during the Vietnam War. I decided to write about that war and while my book was meticulously researched, it was also pretty terrible. I still have it stashed somewhere and remember some lines of it verbatim. Not that I really want to remember because it’s pretty cringeworthy, but it did show me I had the fortitude to put forth the effort and accomplish something like that.

Growing up was the hard part and my writing became lost in life. I think everyone can relate to getting caught up with some of the curveballs life can throw, and I have had some doozies, just like everyone else. But now…now I finally have the ability to say I don’t have too many distractions anymore. However, that’s not to say that life still doesn’t get in the way. It always will and I’m okay with that. There are more important things to me than writing, although it’s definitely in my top 5.

I am currently working on a paranormal mystery and have started outlining my second book, a contemporary “women’s fiction” novel. Although I have to admit I hate that label. It’s chicklit, folks, a genre I adore, but for many people saying the word “chicklit” is like talking about the dirty uncle that drinks too much at the family Christmas party and gets a little handsy. Anyhow, I embrace it, but you can bet when I send that one out, I’ll make sure it’s labeled as women’s fiction.

A big thank you to all the people who headed over to my page. It is greatly appreciated. Facebook used to be free, but with pages they won’t allow everyone to see your posts unless you pay them. Free with Facebook is definitely a technicality these days. It’s free with conditions. So, if you are not receiving my posts and would like to ensure you are notified, please hover your mouse over the like button and click “Get notifications.” That way you’ll see them in your newsfeed. I’ll try not to inundate you with stuff.

Enough for now.

“But onward, upward, till the goal ye win.”

 Sheryl

Wait for it...

Hi everyone!

I have a brand new blog happening soon. Currently waiting on some graphics and I expect that will take a little while. Once I'm up and running I hope to post about my writing journey and what I learn along the way.