I'm speechless

That doesn't happen very often, me saying to my partner, "What do I write on my blog today? I have nothing to say." Truth is, nothing's going on here.

I spent the day in Nashville going to a physician appointment, then to Amerigo for lunch (god, I love their mussels!). Then we went to the woodturning shop in Franklin and then to Target. On the way back, we stopped at the Walmart in Princeton, Kentucky, to pick up some things we really needed for the weekend, seeing as how it's supposed to snow.

Big mistake. We got the next-to-last carton of eggs they had. Customers were lined up through the women's department just trying to get through the checkout lanes. It was madness. And there was one really loud woman shouting to people she knew at the front of the store from the back of the line. My partner looked around and said, loudly, "Is there a burlesque show going on around here somewhere?" My thought was, Geez, don't give her any ideas, please.

Back on the road, we made a stop in Eddyville, Kentucky, at the NAPA parts store. It was already closed. We didn't want to go in - we wanted to make photos of the wall that my partner's nephew ran through with his truck. Yes, you heard me right. Failed brakes my ass.

We finally made it home, but I'm exhausted. I did, however, finish the final edit on a book while he was driving. So answer me this:

I can't read in the car, even look at my phone or anything like that. I get horribly carsick. So why can I use the laptop? Makes no sense. At all.

Do you want a cover reveal this weekend? Somebody had better say something or I'll just keep it to myself. And this is not only a pretty one, but the book's great too. So if you'd like to see it, let me know. Otherwise, everyone at Amazon will see it before you do. Wouldn't you rather be first?

Happy New Year everybody!

2013 is finally over! I know, you're not supposed to wish your life away, but this year has been hard. Good, but hard.

So to everyone who's still hanging in there, here's hoping 2014 is even better than 2013! We decided to go out tonight and have a little fun. We went to dinner at a place we love in our arts district, then went across the street to the local art center for a reception where several people I know were exhibiting in a new show. It was great fun. Here's a pic that our server at the restaurant took for us.

Yeah, I know it's kinda dark and hard to see, but there we are. We look sort of happy. I guess that's what two huge, custom-made sangrias will do for a woman!

Here's hoping tomorrow is good for you - and that you can remember everything you did tonight!

It's so exciting!

Today I got the finals on the cover for a book that will be coming out pretty soon. You've already seen an excerpt - it's Adventurous Me! So let me give you a brief synopsis.

Trish's husband of almost 30 years announces that he is leaving her because she's boring, tiresome, and predictable. This guy married her, moved her far away from her family, and didn't even want any kids, although they'd talked about it beforehand and he was all for it. So Trish sets out to prove that she's anything but a bore.

She and her friend, Sheila, go to a bar, where Trish proceeds to get tanked. When another bar patron tries to pick her up, she stands, only to stumble sideways and fall into a man who'd been sitting there all night, completely unnoticed by her. He steadies her, runs off her would-be lay for the evening, and sits her down to wait until she's sober enough to go.

As they talk, she divulges the reason for her inebriated state. After questioning her, the handsome older gentleman makes a discovery which he shares with her - that she was not the 50% of the relationship who was boring. He then produces a business card with a single word on it: "Bliss." He writes his name and an address on the card and invites her to visit the next night if she'd like an "adventure." On her way home, she decides to go.

Sheila backs out on her the next evening, but Trish is determined to find an adventure, and sets out for the address. Upon arrival, what she finds at the address is an adventure the likes of which she would've never dreamed she'd find. With her new-found friend as her guide, she dives into the adventure of a lifetime.

A few short weeks later, an event held there changes her life forever. She's determined to embrace the situation and come out victorious . . . if she can just survive it. And even if she does, what kind of tatters will it leave her heart in?

Adventurous Me is the story of a woman's life changed forever. If it were rated like a movie, this would be a solid R+ rating leaning toward X, but it's also sweet, tender, funny, and tearful. I started out with the first dozen lines, not really knowing where it was going, and then Trish's voice took over and the book wrote itself. It's a whole lot of fun wrapped up in a nice package, and I think readers will fall in love with Trish, Dave, Clint, and Eric, and maybe even come to despise Ron (the rat bastard). Cover reveal SOON - keep an eye out for it!

Something to make you wonder

This week has been weird. A holiday right smack-dab in the middle of it, lots of people around who usually aren't, more trips to retail establishments than I'm accustomed to (and I mean after the Big Day, not before), and more eating out than I'd like. I haven't gotten squat done.

But on the bright side, the cover for Adventurous Me is almost done. I'll have a reveal for it before the book is launched, so keep an eye out. I'm getting ready to start work in earnest for the remakes of the Love Under Construction series covers - they're gonna be HOT! And the work on the cover of The Celtic Fan continues. The deadline for the custom art for the cover is tomorrow, and work has begun on the photos. It's getting closer all the time, so I decided I'd give you an excerpt from The Celtic Fan today. It's part excerpt and part teaser. You won't get much information, but you'll get to hear Steve's voice. Enjoy!

_______________________

     The road continued on, and a plan began to come together in my mind. There just couldn’t be another house back here, I reasoned, and the condition of the gravel road surface gave credence to my assumption. It thought it might be best to hike to the end of the road and come up the back side of the hill, as if I were truly out on a recreational jaunt. The end of the road was very near, just a few hundred feet as it turned out, and it was plain to see what it was used for: A dump. There were old washers and dryers, an abandoned truck chassis, and something that looked a great deal like hair dryers from a beauty shop. An old bedspread and some ragged, half-rotted towels were thrown around. Springs sprouted from a decomposing sofa, its long deceased partner chair baking in a sunny spot a few feet away. Fortunately, nothing had been thrown in the creek, which I personally felt would have been a shame. I was sure that somewhere farther downstream, some fish was truly grateful for the clean, clear water.

     After I’d stared at the evidence of man’s progress for a few seconds, I turned my attention to the water. Shallow spots seemed hard to find in this particular creek, but the water was clear enough to alert a wader to any underwater dangers that might exist. Finding no good place to cross, I decided to sit down and take stock for a minute before going on. I dropped my backpack and dug through it until I found a granola bar and one of the bottles of water. The breeze was stiff, and I cooled off slightly as I sat on the grass, my back against a tree trunk, staring at the creek. The rocks were deep enough to be useless for crossing, but big enough to cause the rippling effect on the surface. It was a peaceful place, calm, unlike the features office. No phones ringing, no people asking questions, just a few birds, a noisy squirrel overhead, and some clouds. A man could get used to this, I mused, remembering pictures of log cabins and the sod huts built by sod-busters on the prairies. It almost sounded attractive. Almost.

     When I finished the granola bar, I removed my shoes and socks, packing them in the top of my backpack. I rolled up the legs of my jeans as far as I could, which wasn’t very far due to the fact that I wore them too tight and knew it, and waded in.

     The water was cold, colder than I’d expected at that time of year. In just a matter of moments it was up to my knees, and I quickly realized that my jeans were going to get wet, no way around it. I looked for footing, and found I could maintain a depth of about mid-thigh high by moving from rock to rock below the surface. It took only about three minutes to cross carefully, primarily because the width of the creek had diminished somewhat at that spot. A large rock graced the bank, gray and inviting under a broad-leafed tree, and I dripped my way over to put my socks and shoes back on, but not before trying to squeeze the water out of my jeans. Pretty confident that I was alone, I took off my jeans and wrung the legs out. I found myself wishing I had on some plain cotton boxers, because I’d sure have felt foolish if someone had come along and seen me in the silly cartoon character printed boxers I’d packed for who-knows-what reason. The boulder bit into my backside as I perched on it to put the jeans back on. Their cold, clammy legs made it difficult to get my feet out, and I felt generally uncomfortable. To make matters worse, they made my socks damp. I almost forgot the excitement I’d felt when I’d seen the mailbox.

     Picking up my backpack, I ran my arms through the straps and started up an incline behind me and to my right. That seemed to be the general direction of the driveway. The hill didn’t seem too terribly steep until I was about halfway up. It was one of those gradual inclines, the kind that semi-tractor/trailer rigs struggle with in the mountains, and my legs, encased in the wet jeans, were getting heavier and heavier. To add to the problem, the tree cover was sparse, and the sun was getting hotter with each step. As I passed the halfway mark I stopped to catch my breath.

     That was when I heard it. The music. Some kind of droning, stringed instrument, unidentifiable to me. I continued upward, stopping every few steps to make sure I was still moving in the direction of the music. After a few yards, I listened again and heard something I hadn’t heard before. It was a voice, sweet and pure, not especially high, but definitely a woman’s voice, singing with the strumming of the strings. I squatted down, my hands on the ground, and looked around. About sixty feet to my left, a clump of bushes perched at the top of the rise. I moved like a sidewinder across to them, ever so slowly, and peered through the branches.

     I could see the driveway to my right, coming down the back of the hill, moving directly across my line of vision, and at its end, there was a house. It looked to be an old farmhouse, square and squat, probably built at the turn of the twentieth century. Its clapboards were a little warped, and it very nearly screamed for a coat of paint, its silvery patches gleaming in the sunlight. There was a tiny little screened-in porch on the front, and the low concrete steps sported a little calico cat, licking her paw and rubbing her face. A couple of huge trees framed the house from my vantage point. I could see sunflowers growing just to the left of the scene, and a washtub was turned upside down and leaning against the tree on the left. The music still wafted on the breeze, but the singing had stopped. Its direction was unclear, and my eyes darted back and forth until I found her. Then she began to sing again.

Finally!

Is it over? I think it's over. I can get up from my crouching position and take my head out from between my legs.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, the day when I can get back to my usual routine and not have to worry about holiday stuff. I'll get up, eat a little something, go to the gym, come home, eat a little more, shower, and put my nose to the grindstone. And life will be good.

The once-agains on the first three books in the Love Under Construction series are almost done and the new covers will be added. The Celtic Fan and Adventurous Me are ready whenever the cover art gets done. The third novel in the Love Under Construction series is ready for proofing and editing, as is the third Harper's Cove novella. Both need covers. Plus the fourth novel in the Love Under Construction series has been started, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the first novel in the Witch of Endor series. That's going to be a fun ride.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for the two independent novels. I'll post here as I get farther along with them. And maybe there'll be an excerpt this coming weekend.

So check back!

Whew - it's over

We had our family Yule celebration today. It's bare under the Yule tree except for the few gifts for family members we haven't been able to get together with yet. That'll change tomorrow. And I'm exhausted.

I got the first composites from the cover artist today, and I'm impressed. She sent two and, frankly, I'm going to have trouble choosing between. They're both very good. I'll have to choose one of them, and I'm not sure they even need any changes.

My partner is dealing with a hamstring injury, so the gym has been distant for me the last few days. I need to get back there and soon. I'm hoping that'll be the first of the week. Our son is here and he brought gym clothes with him, so I'm guessing we'll be taking him with us.

I'm looking forward to getting these two books launched. In the meantime, the other series are calling my name. I'll be glad to get back to work in earnest.

So goodnight. Have pleasant dreams of sugarplums and candy canes. Mine have already come true.

I'd really like to work

Ohhhmurgurd. I've missed two days of work. All I've done for the last two days is shop for holiday presents. Gads. So here goes.

What I hate about the holidays:
The crowds at the stores when they're so bad that I can't even buy groceries;
Trying to find gifts for people who really don't need a thing;
Getting decorations out, putting them up, and then putting them away again.

What I love about the holidays:
The food;
Being with family and friends;
The food;
Getting just one thing that I never would've bought for myself;
The food;
Football games;
Did I mention the food?

And I'm trying to imagine what must be going on in my characters' lives right now.

I'm guessing Nikki has Anthony and Ella Jane in the kitchen, teaching them to make peanut butter cookies; Lizzie Kate's in the bedroom off the kitchen, sleeping through the racket like only babies can. When Tony comes in from the facility across the farm, the kids are squealing and chasing each other with marshmallow machine guns. Nikki grabs him, pins him against the wall, and kisses him - hard. Then he tells her how much he loves the grandkids and how glad he'll be when they go home!

Vic is having a ball - it's the first time he's ever had a Christmas tree in his house. He's always gone to Tony's for Christmas, but now he has someone to enjoy Christmas with. And if the dealership doesn't deliver that expensive Christmas present he's ordered for someone special, he's going to have a lot of explaining to do when there's nothing under the tree. Maybe he'd better go to the jewelry store, just in case . . .

For the first time in his life, Steve is having fun buying Christmas presents. His favorite destinations? The lingerie store in the mall! And the jewelry store. And the Mercedes dealership. Someone is going to have a VERY nice Christmas!

Molly's trying to figure out where her kids and their families are going to sleep when they come to visit her, not to mention how she's going to explain who's sharing her bedroom with. And a couple of people are having a really good laugh about that.

It will be a lot of work, but Kelly is determined to get the house in Louisville into shape so they can have a few other couples - well, spouses - over for dinner right after Christmas. She's already got invitations ready for the other three households, plus Doug, Jared, and Wendy, and anyone they'd like to bring.

Laura's been told that she has to invite her parents over on Christmas Eve for dinner. She's still not really crazy about the idea, but she's willing to try.

Peyton's begging his mom to make some Chinese goodies to share with his new family. She's still not too sure she likes his little family, but she is very sure that she likes how happy he is. His dad, on the other hand, thinks it's fantastic, even though he really doesn't understand either.

And Jose's thankful to be alive and to not be alone. He's just trying to get his feet back under him. But he will - they'll walk beside him every step of the way. They've ordered him to just take it easy and rest. He doesn't have to do anything else; they'll do all the work. But he's still determined to buy at least two very special Christmas gifts.

And when Clayton, Brittany, Annabeth, and Katie come in to pick up the kids from shopping, they're all almost in tears when they see what their new mom's done - she's decorated the gigantic Scotch pine that she and Tony picked out with the beautiful ornaments their Nonna Raffaella had used the year before when Nikki wasn't in any shape to do anything. It's the family's first holiday season without her, and it'll be tough, but they'll get through it like they do everything else, with help from each other.

And as for my family? The configurations have changed, but the theme remains the same - love and joy for us. Along with food.

After all, isn't that what the holidays are all about?