Feed me

see more

My cats felt only slightly neglected yesterday. That happened at dinnertime when the kidlets had started the dishwasher late and their were no bowls so they could be fed. You'd think the world was coming to an end. They were in a panic about being fed. And the family wonders why I also feed them a small lunch each day!

Of course, I was feeling so awful I completely forgot about dinner for the kidlets. We'd skipped everything yesterday. I just wasn't feeling up to driving them around. But at seven o'clock I realized I hadn't even considered dinner. I wasn't up for cooking so I ordered pizza, salad and cheese sticks. The map on the pizza place's website said we weren't in the delivery zone, but I called to double check. Thankfully we were. Of course it took another hour-plus for dinner to arrive, but at least we have enough leftovers for lunch today.

I plan on resting today and doing a little revising, too. And that's it. Hubby is coming home this morning. I can't wait to see him!

Hope you have a nice day!

Resting More

Ice cream makes me happy! And right now, I'm guessing it's something that might make my sore throat feel a little better.

It never fails. Survive an intense deadline and get sick the next day. Okay, a sore throat does not equal sick. But both hubby and son have gone through this recently and that was the first sign, so if it's the same thing I know how it'll go. I intend to take it so easy today, even more than I have been doing since the book was submitted, and try to nip this in the bud.

Don't forget there are still two days to enter my $10 gift card giveaway to either Amazon or BN. Just post a comment here on the blog and check back on June 1st to see if you won. Dru, who is a frequent commenter here, followed my link to TBR where I was guest blogging last week and won the $5 Amazon gift card there! Thanks to everyone who posted at both my guest blogging spots this month!

Okay, back to bed!

You know what I'll be doing today. What will you be doing?

Challenge: R&R

see more

I'm a sucker for a cat in a box. Yoda, our Ninja Kitty and box lover, is a good size cat, but he likes to sleep in the smallest box he can find. Beauty, the smallest cat in the house, prefers the biggest box she can find.

My challenge yesterday wasn't to fit into a box, but it was to relax. Sure I needed to crawl out of my cave and reenter the world sans deadline, but I've been working so hard on the book I needed to take it easy, rest and relax.This is not something that comes naturally to me. We have a busy life. I always have a book to write or something to do. But I decided to accept the challenge.

The first thing I did was have a lazy morning and sleep in. I didn't wake up automatically at 5 am. Amazing how the body knows I didn't have to do this. Of course staying up so late to get the book finished probably helped.

The kids wanted to be outside with friends, so while they played and hubby got a haircut, I caught up on blog reading, a couple of forums and emails. I did a little work, but only because it was necessary. My editor wanted prelims (the things that go in the front of a book) so I wrote a dedication and a Dear Reader letter.

Then the real R&R began! I took the kidlets to see The Avengers.

I'd been wanting to see it (dying to see it is more like it), but had no time so made the movie my reward when I submitted the book. The movie did not disappoint. We had a blast. Popcorn and candy ended up being our lunch, which the kids thought was great. The movie was so entertaining. One of the best! I loved it and want to see it again! Great story, fantastic dialogue and just plain old fun! Not to mention, Thor! Sigh...

After the movie, hubby joined us for an early dinner at Sweet Tomatoes to support the kids' swim team's fundraiser there. Back home the kids headed outside to play, hubby packed for his trip (he left this morning) and I watched a movie (This Means War) via Amazon. Love Prime! When the fun ended outside (i.e. time to go inside because it was getting late) the youngest kidlet pulled out a puzzle for all of us to put together. It was a very nice way to end a relaxing kind of day!

What did you do yesterday?

Memorial Day

My manuscript is with my editor. I emailed in the early hours of this morning which brings a big sigh of relief as well as a few yawns.

But today isn't about me, it's about remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so we can live the life we do today.

Thank you! You have not been forgotten. You are loved. You are missed.

Here's a link to a site called Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat that has a Memorial Day post with several links about the animals who have served. As I posted on Facebook this weekend with a photo that I shared, soldiers come in all shapes and sizes. Some even have four legs.

I'll leave you with this video which I'd received a link to back in April and knew I'd want to post today.

Due

see more

You have no idea how much I can relate to this LOLcat today! I probably shouldn't be blogging because of it, but oh, well... I'll make this brief.

My manuscript is due tomorrow so it's not overdue like the library books above, but I do feel like the devil's breathing down my back and ready to pounce if I don't finish on time. I really can't afford to pay the fine so I'm writing like crazy. Hubby bought me more M&Ms yesterday to see me through!

I'd better get back to work. I want this puppy out of here in less than 24 hours.

Hope you have a nice day. Oh, and if you have any overdue books, you might want to turn them in!

I think I want to marry you...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This video came across my Facebook feed last night! With a proposal like this, I can't imagine what the wedding will be like. Only in Portland! Enjoy! I sure did.

Drive by hello

see more

Imagine waking up to that LOLcat in your face each morning! But I'm guessing—hoping—the kitty is pretty cute with all that fur when the mouth is closed! Rocket, my big boy cat, looks mighty fierce when he hisses or even yawns, but he's a total sweetie.

Just a drive by post to say hi! I've got three days to finish my manuscript. I could really use another week, but oh, well... That's what revisions are for.

Hubby returns from his trip today. I'm so happy about that!

Not much else to report, but I did want to share this link in case you hadn't heard how awesome Marvel Comics was to help a mom get her four year old son to wear his hearing aid! A nice, touching story on CBR (Comic Book Resources) well worth the read.

Hope you have a great Friday!

Yikes!

see more

I feel exactly like the LOLcat above. Hubby left last night and won't be back until Friday. This trip wasn't on my calendar. It wasn't on his. And it's really bad timing because I have a book due on Monday. Yikes!

I usually don't get a lot of writing done when he's away because of everything that needs to be taken and all the driving that needs to be done, etc. I don't have that luxury now. So...my on-line just got cut even more.

I've been trying to be better about responding to comments here as well as the guest blogs (don't forget the giveaway at TBR!) I'll still do that, but the other social media sites will only get a visit once or twice a day. I've already stopped watching my one hour of television a week. I put away the book I was reading. I need to do a little exercise or take a walk so that stays! On-line time is all that I have left to cut.

Hope you have a great day!

Man on a Stick

see more

I'm very familiar with the feather on a stick cat toy. I have several lying around. My kitties love them. The most favorite ones also have a little bell attached. Our kitten, Beauty, will even carry hers around in her mouth when she wants to play! I'm sure she'd be just like the cat in the LOLcat above if there was a fire in the house.

Something I wasn't familiar with until this past weekend was a man on a stick.

I saw the term on Facebook in a status update from Entangled Indulgence author Robin Covington. She'd posted a picture of a shirtless Joe Manganiello who is an actor on a TV show called True Blood. (I had no idea who he was, either, which proves I really do live in a cave!)

Finding pictures of hot, shirtless guys are pretty much par for the course on my FB feed given the number of romance writers who are friends, but as I read the comments, Robin mentioned a friend had given her another photo of Joe, something called a man on a stick. I had no idea what she was talking about.

I'd heard about a chicken on a stick, a hot dog on a stick aka corndog, fruit on a stick, but a man on a stick? Maybe it was the romance writer in me. Maybe it was the engineer. Maybe it was my overactive imagination. Whatever the reason, I had to know more about this!

Robin was more than happy to tell me all about her man on a stick:

It is a photo of Joe, laminated and mounted on a large craft stick so that he can sit propped up in front of me on my writing desk.

She even posted a pic of him and gave me permission to share here on the blog. Meet Joe, aka man on a stick. He's even laminated!

Pretty cool, huh? And even cooler of her friend who made it for her. Gotta love a friend who understands crazy man crushes!

It also got me thinking. If I could have a friend make me a man on a stick, who would I want to have? Decisions, decisions. I'm currently wavering on my man crushes. It's between Chris Hemsworth, inspiration for my November release movie-star hero Adam Noble, and my current mountain rescuer-ER doctor hero, Cullen Gray, who exists only in my mind.

What about you?  If you could have your own man on a stick, who would you want?

TBR

see more

I wish I had time to play on the computer. I've been so busy my on-line time has been limited. I've hardly done any blog hopping which is something I love to do. Not only to keep up with my friends, but to find out what's out there that I don't know about.

Back in November, I read Maria Zannini's post about a new blog showcasing authors called TBR. I checked it out, and guest what? I'm guest blogging there today.

Well, I'm actually being interviewed. I'm also doing a mini-giveaway. One commenter at my TBR post will receive a $5 Amazon gift card. I'm much better getting those sent than a physical book. Pathetic, but true, especially when I'm on deadline! I'll pick a winner at the end of the week (if I've remembered the date correctly) so be sure to pay a visit to TBR!

Hope you have a great Monday! I'm volunteering at school today then will come home and write until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. I have a feeling it's going to be like this until next Monday when my next book is due!

CATvengers!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Isn't that a cute meme?

I still can't believe I haven't seen The Avengers. That was what I wanted to do on Mother's Day, but by the time our flight arrived it was too late because my daughter hadn't done all her homework when we were in San Diego. Seeing the movie will now be my treat for myself when I finish the book I'm writing. But that won't be until after May 28th. Sigh...

I've got a couple of sport things on the agenda this weekend and Mass to attend. Otherwise, it's writing, writing and some more writing. What are you up to?

Behind the Book

see more

The great disturbance around here is peace and quiet! Today I'm on my own with just the dog and cats to keep me company. The kidlets are off to a Civil War Reenactment. I was supposed to take them, but I couldn't afford another day off from writing.

I'm guest blogging at the Harlequin Romance Authors website with a Behind the Book post about my new release It Started with a Crush. So far it's just me and the crickets over there, so if you have time I'd love it if you could stop by.

If you post a comment there, it'll earn you an extra entry into my monthly $10 gift ecard giveaway here at this blog. Let me know you're heading over there and you'll get two entries today!

Better make sure the kidlets are ready to go. Hope you enjoy your Friday! I'm looking forward to mine!

Kumfee

see more

I want a kumfee! I'd settle for a nap. Yes, folks, deadline dementia has set it.

What does this mean? 

I'm now waking up around 5 am with no alarm clock necessary. This is so unlike me. It's also inhumane. No one should be up at this hour unless the fate of the world depends upon them. Of course, when I wake up early so do all the fur babies, who decide it's time to eat.

Except it's not time to feed them breakfast. It's time for me to write. They stare me down. So far I'm winning the battle, but that could change if any of them figure out the one way to get me to do what they want is plop themselves down on my MacBook Pro while I'm trying to use it. That could turn the tide of things. But so far so good.

I spoke to my son's class about writing today. I love talking about writing to kids. They are the next generation of writers. Forget all the eBook vs. print discussions. A good story is a good story no matter the method of delivery. We need to light a fire in young writers, to pass on what we know about the craft of writing and get them excited to learn other stuff on their own, so we will have great books to read in the future!

Now to get writing myself. I got a few words in this morning, but have more to do now. And if I meet my word count for the day, I'm definitely going to get "kumfee" and rest a bit!

Have a good one!

Soon...

see more

Like the LOLcat above, I keep telling myself soon, very soon. I'm not after a white light, but trying to put a dent into my ever growing To Do list.

The most important item on it is my May 28th deadline for my current manuscript. Saying I'm behind right now doesn't even come close to where I am, but soon I'll be finished and can move on to the other things on the list. Some which really need to be done. I still haven't sent out my New Year's Cards (which I'd tasked the rest of the family to do!) Or mailed autographed books to people who've helped me with my last two stories. Soon, very soon.

I did accomplish something yesteday! I finally got all my pictures and videos downloaded. I thought I'd share a few of them with you today:

Dolphins at Sea World's Blue Horizon Show

Mackenna and Shay at the NEASC Specialty Best of Breed Class

Awards for the NEAA National show 

Mackenna and Astra before NEAA Best Jr. Handler Class

Home!

see more

I'm home! I'm even unpacked from my trip! Usually it takes me a couple of days, but in this case the kidlets wanted their presents.

The cats and dog were happy to see me. The family, too. A dozen red roses were on the breakfast bar. Rose bought me a cute "Best Mom" frame and Finn got me a set of three earrings in the colors I wear a lot (blue and brown.) Hubby gave me a nice card and cooked a salmon dinner. Afterwards, he ran to Dairy Queen to get me a Peanut Buster Parfait (my fave) to eat while I watched the season finale of Once Upon a Time (which totally rocked. Wow!) So a very good Mother's Day for me.

Oh, and we now have a/c! A heat pump was installed while I was away. A good thing since it was very hot yesterday! No more complaining about the hot temps this summer. Guess I'll have to think of something else to blog about in July and August!

Now it's time to play catch up. My iPhone started working correctly as soon as I arrived at the San Diego Airport, so I will be able to post pics finally! I really hate AT&Ts lack of coverage down there. But first I have some much needed words to write and other catching up to do.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Happy Mother's Day!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Dog days

see more

Glad to know I'm not alone in raising a teenager. I'll leave it at that!

Yesterday was all about dogs. Mackenna didn't show in the breed ring, but she helped our breeder. She also took a puppy for a couple of walks (the puppy won her class, too!) and practiced with a male dog who she will show in the Best of Breed later this morning.

We attended a BBQ and auction last night. I bid on a few things, but didn't win anything. The funniest thing that happened was during dinner. The buffet and tables were on a courtyard patio. Someone had set a plate down on a cement planter edge. A seagull scooped down and stole his hamburger patio!

Today is the final day of the dog show and Mackenna's big competition today...Junior Handling. Their are there girls competing. Fingers crossed she does well.

I'm really glad it's almost over. This is too much dog showing for me. The only thing that made it tolerable was being able to visit my friend and do a little sightseeing. But I'm ready to go home now!

(If I can ever get service on my iPhone, I'll add the pic of Mackenna and the puppy.)

Hope you have a nice Saturday.

The San Diego Zoo

We visited the San Diego Zoo yesterday. The last time I was there my mom pushed me around in a stroller!

It is so big. There is a gondola, busses and escalators!

Mackenna and I stared at the map for a few minutes unsure where to start. We must have looked lost because a volunteer wearing red asked if she could help us.

We only had a couple of hours so took the 35 minute guided tour on a double decker bus so we could get an overview of things and then decide what we wanted to go back to and/or see the exhibits we'd missed. The tour shows you approximately 70 percent of the zoo.

After the bus ride, we rode the gondola to the back side of the zoo. Mackenna wanted to see the Giant Pandas so off we went. We had a better view of the female. They are hoping she is pregnant. They'll know in a couple of months. Fingers crossed!

We then rode an escalator back up to that backside part and followed a path through the elephants and other animals. The San Diego Zoo is great, but I must admit visiting it today made me appreciate our Oregon Zoo back home much more. It might be smaller, but some of the pens, such as for the giraffes, seem better suited for them. But the San Diego zoo has a better variety of animals and the landscapes/plants are incredible.

After a quick bite to eat, we took the Big Cat Trail. I must admit this was my favorite part. Especially since all the animals were out and within viewing site. A black jaguar had tuckered himself out with a bone and slept so soundly, reminding me of my black kitties Yoda and Beauty.

This big cat to the left was not a happy camper. The cat was having a stare down with a man and not liking that one bit. At one point, the cat started hissing and growling. That reminded me of a couple of my cats back home!

But even still, the cat remained at the front of the cage instead of stalking off. I'm assuming he/she was looking for away to get through the fence and show the stare-off guy exactly who was the boss. That's what my cats would be doing!

This cat was in the same area as the other one, but the opposite corner in the front. (A very smart feline to stay away from grumpy pants roommate.) As you can tell, this one was just resting. No hissing, just some panting. It was a very sunny day. I just love big cats!

We continued to follow various paths and trails until we reached the exit. We managed to see quite a bit in the almost four hours we were there. It's a place you could spend a full day and not see everything. Our Costco 3-1 passes allow us to go back if we like. Those things were a bargain. But we haven't decided what we're going to do yet with our next free block of time.

Last night was the opening of the NEAA specialty. Everyone dressed up to watch the Veteran Sweepstakes. Chaos turns seven in July and will then be considered a veteran and allowed back in the breed ring. Veterans are allowed to be spayed. It was so wonderful to watch these old dogs strut around the ring.

Hope life is treating you well! We're enjoying our time away from home.

Calm before the storm!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This wasn't quite my day yesterday, but I wish it had been!

Not much to report. We spent the morning doing homework and writing then there was a dog show featuring puppies under the age of two called a Futurity and Maturity. Tonight is the official opening of the NEAA show aka National Specialty. The past few days have been the Southern California regional specialty.

Time to get some pages written before my daughter wakes up. Have a great day!

Sea World

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This LOLcat is perfect for my post about our time at Sea World yesterday. Seriously, those dolphins have all the people in wetsuits trained so well. You can't imagine all the fish they are fed and all they have to do is swim, jump, wave and splash the audience. Talk about a great life!

We had a lot of fun exploring Sea World. Five of us went. The weather was incredible! Sunny blue skies, but not too warm. We started at the Dolphins. Mackenna was able to touch one. Best yet, the Sea World photographer snapped a great pic of the moment. So great I had to buy one! They must have seen us coming a mile away. LOL! But she's always been a bit of a dolphin girl so this was a big deal to her.

We enjoyed seeing a couple of shows. The first was the killer whale show with Shamu. I'll admit I was a little disappointed with this one. There wasn't much of a show. The whales just went around splashing the audience. I have to wonder if it's because of what happened with that trainer, but maybe this is what they've always done. But it was still cool to see such big, powerful whales in person.

The Blue Horizon dolphin show more than made up for the whale show. It was incredible. Totally awesome incredible with dolphins, birds, acrobats and divers. There was a story even. Very cool!

We saw everything except the Sea Lions. Not sure how we missed them and not realize it. The exhibits are very well done. They even have rides. Mackenna wants to come back after they open a cool looking attraction called Manta. It's a huge roller coaster! I think the two youngest kidlets would enjoy San Diego so we may have to make a family trip down here in the future!

Last night was a marshmallow roast on the beach with all the Elkhound owners. It was very fun. Mackenna made people S'mores. Yum!

Not sure if we'll do any sightseeing today. I was thinking of going to the zoo this morning before the dog show gets going after lunch, but Mackenna has lots of homework to do. And I have some writing I must get in!

Hope you have a great Wednesday!

Dogs, dogs, dogs

see more

Being at the NEASC (Norwegian Elkhound Association of Southern California) is so much fun. Every where I look I see elkhounds! We're literally surrounded. And Elkhounds are truly love puppies. They love to be rubbed and given attention.

Yesterday in the show ring, they had what looked to be 60 dogs competing for the Best of Breed title. It was amazing to see them all standing there with their handlers. Mackenna helped out another breeder who had many dogs entered. She's having a blast and learning lots. I don't know much about dogs, but I'm definitely improving on picking the winners. I guess seeing so many together gives you a good idea about the breed.

After the show ended, the NEASC sponsored a taco feed in the park. Then Mackenna and I went to see my friend. A busy day!

But today is an off day for the show. We're going to take advantage of it and go to Sea World. It should be fun! What are you up to?

Best Junior!

see more

I think there's a cat doing this at the cell tower that covers Shelter Island in San Diego. I have had nothing but trouble with my iPhone since we arrived. I can't get a signal. I get a signal from the Mexico cell phone carrier and they charge international fees. It's crazy. I tried talking to AT&T, but the phone is in my hubby's name and I didn't know the pin # so it was a waste of time. He finally called them and got them to switch off international calling on both our phones. All we need are to come home after eight days of international charges when we're still quite a ways from the border.

In spite of the phone issues, it was a good day yesterday.

Mackenna won Best Junior Handler. She was a little disappointed in that she was the only Jr. Handler competing. Her competition didn't show up. But the 2 1/2 foot ribbon and winner's swag made her feel a little better.

She won a great grooming bag (purple! Her favorite color.) A pair of thinning shears. And a set of grooming products. All the items are from Chris Christensen.

This picture was taking outside the ballroom of the hotel where we're staying. You can see it's a lovely setting. Water on both sides and lots of boats moored in marinas. Oh, and blue skies. It's been so nice to see the sun again!

We ate dinner at a yummy place called Pizza Nova. It's right on a marina, too. We sat outside. The slight breeze off the water, the heaters above us and the fire pit to our right made for comfy dining.

Today is all about dogs. I plan to do some writing. Nothing against all the dogs, but unless Mackenna is showing I don't really care. There's a taco dinner tonight then after that I'll drive up and see my friend.

Yesterday she, her son, who recently relocated to Seattle, and I all got to visit together. That was so nice and reminded me of old times. When I attended Stanford, they lived in Hillsborough which is north of the campus. They became my second family. I spent many weekends there and attending all the home 49er games with them during my four years in Palo Alto.

Hope you have a nice Monday!

Arrived!

see more

In between traveling to San Diego, finding a church to attend Mass, visiting my friend, Elizabeth, and getting settled in our hotel room for the next eight days, I actual managed to do some "compooterin" aka writing. I only reached half my intended word/page count, but with so much going on I'll take it. And I really did need that hour nap on the flight down here!

I finally got to see the sun! We're staying on Shelter Island so have water on both sides of us. It's lovely! Everywhere I look, I see a Norwegian Elkhound. I'm so excited to watch Mackenna compete this afternoon. I'm going to spend the morning with my friend again. I'm taking advantage of the lack of traffic. As I drove up to see her last night, I realized the freeway is not where I want to be during rush hour!

On the home front, the family (two and four legged) are doing well. It was great to not share my pillow last night with Rocket my fat cat who thinks the pillow is his or be afraid to move my legs due to Spirit. I planned on sleeping a little later, but all the dogs and a seabird who thinks he's a rooster woke me up around 6. I tried going back to sleep, but finally gave up a half hour later. At least I can get some more "compooterin" time in this morning before it's officially time to start my day.

What's going on with you?

Leaving on a jet plane...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I'm all packed and ready to go to San Diego with my daughter. I wish I could say the entire time would be a vacation, but I must write every day. Perhaps a change of scenery will spark my productivity. That would be nice. I also hope the cats don't bug hubby, Finn and Rose too much while I'm away. They don't like their routines interrupted at all!

As for the trip itself, I'm excited to do a little sightseeing. Mackenna has never been to San Diego. A 4H friend told me about this great 3 for 1 giftcard at Costco. You get unlimited admission to the San Diego Zoo, Safari and Sea World for seven days. I bought two last night. Not sure how much time will have in between Mackenna's dog show and visiting my friend Elizabeth, but we should be able to hit each of those for at least a little bit of time.

I'll be blogging, but not sure how regular it will be. I'll give it my best shot!

Have a great Saturday!

May the Fourth Be With You!

see more

Happy Star Wars Day! Want to know more about this? Check out this article in the Washington Post. In case you're wondering, this day was created by fans and has no significance as to when a movie was released or a record broken, etc.

If you want to know what's going on in the Star Wars universe, this link has all the news and happenings for today!

I won't be venturing to a galaxy far, far away today. I need to pack (I leave tomorrow for an eight day trip with my oldest), write and clean (hubby returns for his week in NY. We'll be two ships passing in the night and have less than twelve hours together before I take-off.) Too bad I don't have a clone. Then maybe I could watch one of the Star Wars movies, but maybe I can sneak in an episode of Clone Wars!

Here we go again...

see more

This LOLcat made me laugh. It is so true!

Our Norwegian Elkhound Chaos loves going for car rides. She can't wait to hop in the minivan and settle in her seat. She hates being left behind. She'll position herself in front of the door so we can't get out if she doesn't see her leash when we're getting ready to leave.

On the other hand, the cats hate being in the car, absolutely hate it. Yoda who never makes a sound (we're talking not ever) will cry this pitiful noise that makes your heart hurt. The others are the same way. They cry the entire time. Rocket, our 15 year old fat cat, usually has an accident which is one reason we switched his vet to one that was a closer drive. The sooner we're there, the better for him.

I have a feeling I must have looked a little like the cat above on Tuesday morning. I was sitting in Starbucks writing while the kidlets were doing state testing. I checked my email on my iPhone. There was one from my editor. She'd received my AAs for His Larkville Cinderella that I'd sent off Sunday night and wanted to share some news. The news surprised me so much I'm sure I had a "We are all going to die" expression on my face for a least a second or two. My editor had accepted a new position within Harlequin and wouldn't be my editor any longer. She was saying goodbye.

This is called being orphaned. It's part of publishing and happens a lot. It's happened to me before. My new editor will be my fifth one.

Change isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it can turn out to be a very good thing like my being moved from the Harlequin New York editorial office to the Harlequin Mills & Boon editorial office in the UK. But change usually means there's some element of the unknown and face it, that can be uncomfortable especially when you're staring at a name you don't recognize. Even if it you only feel that way briefly. Or until one of your writer friends emails you back to say your new editor is actually someone you've worked with a little, but her last name is different because she got married. So no worries because everything will be fine the way all the other changes were fine.

So any changes happening in your life?

April Contest Winner

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I finally had some free time so I went to random.org and generated the number (46) to see which commenter gets the $10 gift card for my monthly blog contest. The winner is Maria Zannini with her comment on my post Chaos has a feast. Congrats Maria. Please use the contact form on the menu above to send me your email address and whether you'd like a gift eCard from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Not sure if you believe in karma, but I must admit I smiled when I counted number 46 and saw Maria's name. If you ever think good deeds aren't noticed, they are!

If you commented today, those entries go toward the May contest. Same giveaway. $10 gift ecard to either amazon.com or bn.com. Each comment gets you one entry. On (or close to the 1st of June if I'm busy) I'll select the winner using a random generator and post it on the blog. You have seven days to contact me or I'll pick another winner.

Thanks to all who entered! I'm trying to be better about keeping up with comments and writing back!

Release Day!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Today is release day for my newest book IT STARTED WITH A CRUSH...  (If you click on the title, the link takes you to Amazon.)

This is the story I called the soccer book as I was writing it. Here's the review from RT:

IT STARTED WITH A CRUSH … (4) by Melissa McClone: Lucy Martin is caring for her young nephew while his parents are serving in the Reserves. The young boy, desperate to find a new coach for the soccer team that his father used to lead, asks Lucy to see if injured soccer star Ryland James would be willing to coach. As a teenager, Lucy had a big crush on the soccer player from the wrong side of town. Ryland is unhappy to be back in the town where people had no respect for him until he became a national soccer star. Great characters and heartwarming moments make McClone’s latest novel a pleasure to read.

Reviewed By: Roseann Marlett

The idea for this story came to me after my son made a competitive U-10 soccer team in the spring of 2010. One of his coaches was also a Portland Timbers players. (You can read about him here in The Oregonian.) The story gears started spinning the minute I met Finn's coach. But it took me awhile to come up with the right soccer player hero and the right plot!

My big boy cat, Rocket (aka fat cat), was the inspiration for Manny, the cat in the story. I'm a bit behind with my promo stuff so I'll stick up an excerpt tomorrow!

This book also has a free bonus story included! It's is a full length Harlequin Romance, too, written by me. Win, Lose, Wed... was out in December 2007 and is my take on The Amazing Race, The Bachelor and other reality TV shows.

Today is also the first of the month so I'll announce a winner of the contest later! Just didn't have time to do it, so please check back! Thanks!