A Book Trailer

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I wish I could spend the day tucked in bed and asleep like this. That kitty sure looks nice and cozy!

This morning I found a link to a book trailer in my inbox. That isn't that unusual. But this wasn't for one for just any book trailer, but one of my books Memo: The Billionaire's Proposal. The book came out back in September '09, but is still available both in paperback and ebook if you missed it when it was out originally.

A little while ago, Long and Short Reviews posted a review of the book. After that, the lovely ladies at Goddess Fish Productions made the book trailer below for me.

Okay, I'm totally biased because it's my book so I won't gush about the book trialer or them, but if you're looking for promo help and/or a virtual book tour, check out Goddess Fish. They are wonderful!



I can't believe how much fun it is to watch! I'd love to know what you think about the book trailer!

Countdown to the Royal Wedding

I'm a big fan of royal weddings. I still remember getting up in the wee hours of the morning at my aunt and uncle's house in Reno, Nevada to watch Lady Diana Spencer marry Prince Charles. I plan to be watching on Friday. What about you?

I saw this on Facebook. It's a take-off on the JK Wedding clip that I posted on the Wedding Planners blog a few years ago, but with a royal twist. Enjoy!



Have a great Tuesday!

Egg Hunt

Holidays with my family are always loud and crazy gatherings with lots of yummy food and great music (if my 16 yo nephew has access to instruments.) Yesterday was no different (and my nephew had both Rose's electric guitar and Finn's electronic drum kit!)

When it comes to Easter, there's one thing that never changes. We always have an egg hunt, but that's not it. It's that my sister will either forget to bring candy-filled eggs and need to stop on the way up to buy more or she won't be able to find the eggs from last year and have to buy more. The latter happened this year. Of course, after she bought the new eggs she found the old ones.

What this means is that our stash of plastic eggs doubles yearly. We had approximately 400 eggs this year. For six kids ages 8 to 16. We had so many eggs we had to do two egg hunts. Even then, we could have done three or four.

It was the never ending egg hiding. We couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. And we blamed my sister (lovingly, of course) for always having to buy more eggs each year!

At one point during the egg hunt, my sister looked into a boot lying on the floor in the foyer. Someone (she blamed her husband) had dumped twenty eggs inside. She made him rehide them.

At the end of the second hunt, there were still a few well hidden eggs missing. I think it took the kids twice as long to find that handful as it did to gather the hundreds of others. As we split up the eggs so we can use them next year, my sister promised not to lose these or buy more!

Guess we'll see what happens next year!

Have a great Monday!

Happy Easter!

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Easter Sunday!

Saturday Happening

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If this little kitty had green eyes, he'd be the perfect Boots. That's the name of the cat in my July release Not-So-Perfect Princess.

Busy day ahead with soccer, writing, shopping and preparing for Easter. Hubby continues to do an excellent job with the downstairs. Unfortunately, we're running out of time to do much with the upstairs. But we'll see what we can do after all the eggs are stuffed with candy for the big hunt!

Anything happening in your corner of the world today?

Good Friday

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Here's my kitty fix for the day! So cute.

Holy Week continues with Good Friday. It's a day of fasting, prayer and reflection. I do love Christmas, but this is my favorite time of the year. Easter is my favorite holiday hands down.

Not to go all Catholic and religious on you, but I saw this video on my Facebook Newsfeed Sunday and want to pass it on. It's about Palm Sunday, when the Passion is read during Mass. I like to think of that day as more of a celebration with Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem so I saved this for today.



Thank you, Jesus!

I hope you have a good Friday!

Holy Thursday

I can't believe it's Holy Thursday. The year is going by much too quickly. Yikes. But I really enjoyed the lesson I did with the three sessions I lead on Wednesdays at my church. I presented the Origin of the Eucharist. Perfect given today!

My day will be hectic. I have to do some shopping. No if ands or buts about it. Groceries and Easter stuff. This is my only non-kidlet time the rest of the week. Sunday's menu is complete, just need to buy the items. And eggs. And dye. The list goes on. Ack!

I will also be writing. I figured out a few more things out about my story. And yes, there is a story there. One that I can sustain for 50K words. One that actually has a hero and a heroine with opposing goals. Yay!

So a couple lessons learned (okay, relearned) that I don't want to forget again:

1) Percolation time required.

I submitted four ideas to my editor. One was more formed then the others. I'd even written a prologue that wouldn't go away so I could get back to my manuscript that was due. That book idea then percolating in my head while I finished up Firefighter Under the Mistletoe. But it wasn't the idea I choose to write first. Jumping into a new idea with out mulling on it for a bit is very hard for me. I know this. It's happened before. I'd forgotten.

2) Planning should be completed before starting.

I'm a plotter, not a panster. That means I need to plan things out. That doesn't mean I do a lot of pre-writing. Character interviews and such don't help me at all, but over the years I've found a couple of things that do work with my thought/writing process.

I realized I'd filled out Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet before starting on the first chapter, but I never did any of the Michael Hauge StoryMastery templates. Big mistake. One I rectified the past two days.

I first learned about Story Mastery in January 2010 at a workshop put on by my RWA chapter, The Rose City Romance Writers. Michael Hauge and Bob Mayer were the guest speakers. I made up templates to use based on that talk. This was my second workshop with Michael Hauge. I took a screenwriting course from him way back when in the Bay Area. I learned how to plot using the techniques he taught.

3) You can't rush it.

This one kind of goes along with #1. I had all the forms filled out with Firefighter Under the Mistletoe. I'd been thinking about the story for months. But it still took me several different attempts (and different scenes) to figure out the best way to open the story with. In that case, I was burned out. I needed a break to fill the well and get some sleep. That's one reason I want to build in some down time between projects this year.

When I go back over the lessons learned, I realize they don't apply just to my writing but to many of the other activities I'm involved in.

Note to self: Remember them!

Starting over

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I can really relate to this LOLcat right now! I haven't been playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, but I have been working on my new proposal. Working hard, actually.

I thought I had finally nailed the first chapter. Yes, it took awhile, but it sometimes does. I was happily moving forward with the next two chapters, writing scenes and polishing old ones. I went back and reread my first chapter.

My first thought was boring. I tweeted that. My second was something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what.

These weren't the usual "this really sucks" that many writers experience as part of their process. This was something deeper that put a screeching halt to my forward progress. When that happens, it usually means I took a wrong turn somewhere earlier in the story. But here I was in the first three chapters! Yikes!

I hadn't shown any of the writing to anybody just the story idea. I decided I needed a second opinion. Someone else to tell me yes, something is wrong or no, keep going.

Yesterday, Rose and I had lunch with my good friend and Love Inspired Suspense author, Terri Reed. She handed me a print out of my chapter. Verdict—writing was great, but something wasn't right with the first chapter. She had trouble putting a finger on it, but had a few ideas. Turns out it's not a little wrong, either. It's a full rewrite needed wrong. Sigh...

This is when a piece of dark chocolate really comes in handy. Except it's Lent so I had to survive without!

I spent the afternoon and evening trying to figure out a way to fix everything that was wrong. Once I had a fix and how the book should open, I emailed my editor. I explained what was going on with the proposal. This is where the time difference between where I live and London comes in handy. When I woke this morning, I had a reply from her. She was understanding as she always is and gave me some extra time to work on it. She also offered to help so I sent off another email with where I am right now.

After so many sold manuscripts (not to mention a RITA® finalist this year), you'd think I'd be able to get it right the first time. Nope. I wrote a bunch of openings for my upcoming November release Firefighter Under the Mistletoe before finding the one that was right.

With this new manuscript, I'm happy I knew something was off with this one, too. Now I can fix it before submitting the proposal. I wasn't as lucky with Expecting Royal Twins! Progress! Yay! Of course, it only took me how many years and completed manuscripts to get here? LOL!

Tuesday Links

I've got a lot going on this morning (think, writing) so instead of blogging today I thought I'd give you a couple of links to check out.

This one is from the Toronto Sun. It's an article (a love story!) about two Peregrine Falcons named Kendal and Quest, who are building a nest across from Harlequin Books. They are expecting baby falcons to arrive any day. A very sweet read! And an exciting time for birdwatchers!

The second link isn't so sweet, but it's worth a read if you want to draw your own conclusions about Greg Mortenson and his book Three Cups of Tea. In case you haven't been reading the news, Sixty Minutes did an expose about Mortenson and his bestselling non-fiction book being inaccurate on Sunday. There have also been questions raised about his charity Central Asia Institute (CAI).

If you go here to Byliner, you can download Jon Krakauer's Three Cups of Deceit for free until April 20th. After that date, Krakauer will donate his proceeds from sales to charity. In the report, Krakauer, who donated a significant amount of money to CAI, presents the evidence he's found against Mortenson.

If you want to get Mortenson's take on all this, Outside Magazine published this interview with him yesterday.

Have a good day!

Spring Cleaning

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I'm kinda wishing it was still Sunday. I never got around to blogging, but that's only one of a couple things that didn't get done.

While I worked on the new proposal, hubby and kidlets whipped half of the downstairs into shape. I should have taken before and after pics. It was that striking. With all the deadlines and stuff going on around here since last March, the house hasn't been a priority. The bare minimum has been done. Mainly that's all I could manage.

The family started at the front door and worked from there. The foyer had become the catchall for things as we walked into the door: everything from sports gear to bags of stuff needing to be donated.

My office, to the right of the foyer, was so messy you had to step around books (lots and lots of foreign translations) and craft stuff some left over from last spring when I helped out with a girls' group. The ones who used the room the most were Rocket, the cat, to sun himself and Chaos, the dog, to see if we were home or watch the kidlets play out front. Now it's clean, dusted, awesome! I'm so psyched to have it back! Okay, the reality is much of the stuff in there has now been packed up and moved to the garage, but with people coming over for Easter I have no complaints.

Next was the hallway. The little decorator table had been full of stuff. All of it's now gone, including the table. Flat surfaces are a magnet for me so the less places I have to lay stuff the less clutter I'll have.

And finally the dining room. We only use it for holidays or if we have people over. I hate to admit it but all my Christmas linens were piled on a chair in there yesterday. I'd washed and folded them, but couldn't find the plastic bin where they went. But hubby took care of all of that and a lot more. When I went downstairs, I noticed the two leaves had been put into the table! All set for Sunday's Easter meal!!!

That's the front half of our downstairs. The guest bathroom is part of that, but that's one room we've managed to keep clean. You just can't let bathrooms go especially when you have a 10 year old boy using them! The kitchen, eating area and great room are what's left. But those aren't as messy since we actually use those rooms not store stuff in them!

I'm now not so panicked about the house. A little more work each day will have the downstairs sparkling come Easter Sunday! The kids will be in charge of the playroom upstairs. My goal now is to finish the first three chapters this week (before Holy Thursday Mass, if possible) and then work on the synopsis next Monday. That would give me Tuesday to proof everything. Fingers crossed!

How is your week shaping up?

Bless Me Father...

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A while ago on the blog I said my daily life could be summed up by LOLcats. Today is no different.

I spent the morning preparing 2nd graders at our church for their First Communion. Hubby and Rose were there as participants. Okay, not Confession, but that's what I prepared the kids for in the Fall.

After the retreat, I headed south to Keizer, Oregon to watch my son play soccer. He spent the night at my parents' since I wasn't sure if I could get him down there in time for warm-ups. (It's an hour and fifteen minute drive.)

I got home too late to see Rose's soccer game this afternoon. Poor Mackenna. She had a dog show, but no one could go with her so she stayed home. But she didn't complain too much. One of her good friends invited her over then they went to see Soul Surfer, which she highly recommends.

It's so good to be home. Twelve hours out and about will do that to a person. Of course, now it's time to write. I can't afford a day off right now! Better get started before I fall asleep.

Hope you had a fun Saturday!

Friday

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I'm not heading to Mordor, but I feel like I'm on a quest. It hit me around five o'clock this morning that next week is Holy Week. I'm hosting Easter this year, and except for some decluttering on Sunday, I've done nothing to get ready. My proposal is due two days after Easter, too.

Better get busy...

Have a wonderful Friday!

Stylish Blogger Award

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I received the Stylish Blogger Award from my friend Dru.

The rules for accepting this award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

I don't think anyone has ever called anything I've been associated with stylish before. Thanks so much, Dru!

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

1 - I love cats. Big surprise, huh? But I'm proud to be a Crazy Cat Lady and visit icanhascheezburger.com every morning.

2 - I hate being the center of attention. I much prefer to hang back and observe.

3 - Though I love all the books I write, the stories set in Hood Hamlet hold a special place in my heart.

4 - To go with #3, I really want to climb Mount Hood even though I'm scared of heights. Just need to heal some more from last year's accident and get back in shape!

5 - I want a puppy. A Norwegian Elkhound puppy. Trying to convince hubby this is a good idea and I haven't totally lost my mind.

6 - If I could live anywhere, I'd moved to Bend, Oregon. Mount Bachelor for skiing and Smith Rock for climbing, need I say more?

7 - I have the greatest family a writer could ever ask for. I'm so blessed and extremely lucky to have them!

3. Pass the award on.

Everyone I would award this too has already won it!

Photobucket Problem

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I can so relate with the pic above! Have you ever felt like that?

The blog is a mess right now due to images I use being hosted on Photobucket. They keep saying it'll be fixed, but so far nothing. And there's nothing I can do about it.

Thanks for the comments yesterday. I slept in late and got an hour nap in the afternoon. Still had a bit of running around to do, but I feel better this morning! It's my busy day today, but the rest of the week isn't so bad!

Hope you enjoy your Wednesday! We had sun yesterday. I'm hoping it's back today!

A Sneak Preview

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If all works according to plan, I will be sleeping the morning away like the LOLcat above. I'm even scheduling this to post so I don't have to wake up and do it myself!

The chest pains I'd had in February are back. Not my heart, lungs. I've heard once you get pleurisy it's easy to get it again. I really don't want that to happen so I need to get off my feet and rest. Needless to say, sleep is at the top of my To Do list. At least until I have to take the kidlets to piano!

Before I close my eyes, I have to share another LOLcat pic with you. When I saw it on icanhascheezburger.com, I knew I couldn't wait to post it. Consider it a visual sneak preview to my upcoming November release, Firefighter Under the Mistletoe!


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Hope all is well were you are!

Monday, argh!

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This LOLcat reminds me so much of my big boy cat, Rocket! If he was Supercat, I'd ask him to help me.

Spring break is over. No more sleeping in each morning. I set my alarm for 5:30 am so I could get a little writing in before the kidlets woke up. The alarm went off, but I could not wake up. The same thing happened each time it want off after that. Once I finally was forced up by necessity aka Chaos, I realized the reason I couldn't get up. I've caught a cold.

ARGH!

I cannot believe it. It's April. Cold season shouldn't be over with, right? Maybe it's just allergies. Fingers crossed! It's going to be a busy week around here!

Better get to it! Is your week going to be busy?

Too Cute!

I saw this on Facebook and had to share! A cat and a dolphin. So sweet! Enjoy!



Hope you have a great Sunday!

Saturday

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This LOLcat made me smile.

Not much to say on this Saturday. We had a quiet evening last night and watched Avatar. I'd never gotten around to seeing it before. It was so fun to watch son's face as things unfolded on screen. I'm guessing he'll ask for the DVD for his birthday later this month!

There's also not a lot going on around here. Only one soccer game. I should be able to put a dent into my word count today! After the soccer game today, my son join his sisters at my parents' house. That means a kidlet free house for us. Maybe hubby and I can finally be able to celebrate last Saturday's anniversary.

What are your weekend plans?

Random Spring Break Friday

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If you're a category romance reader or even if you just stumbled across my blog looking for info on Crossfit, Ben Barnes smoking or Norwegian Elkhound puppies, please read this great article about Harlequin Romance. The writer gets what the line is all about. She also uses one of my book covers and recommends the title so she's my new BFF!

I'm making progress with my new story. I've been tinkering with the opening scene. I started in the hero's POV, but after seeing Source Code started over in the heroine's POV. I think I've finally nailed it with my third attempt. I need the foundation to be solid before moving forward. Without the right opening scene I flounder. The same thing happened with my last manuscript. I must have written that opening five different ways before coming across the one I used.

This is my RITA publicity shot. Hubby and the kidlets picked it from the ones my friend Jennifer Short from Camas Photography took it on Monday. I hate having photographs taken (and hadn't done it since the Reno RWA conference in 2005.) But Jennifer made it painless and fun. I was finished in just a few minutes. I told her I wanted to look like me. As I type those words, it sounds weird, but she knew what I meant.

I want to tell you about the shirt I'm wearing in the pic if only because hubby still can't believe it. I bought it at the dog show on Sunday. I'd looked at stores, but couldn't find anything. Jennifer, my photographer friend, was with me at the dog show (her daughter is friends with my oldest and also shows dogs) so she helped pick out what color and style would work best. Don't tell hubby, but I actually bought two shirts!

Off to see what the kidlets want to do on this final day of Spring Break! Hope you have a great Friday!

Two Movies and Three Kidlets

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I never made it back to blog yesterday. Once the kidlets woke up, I finished some writing then we were off to have a little spring break fun. We went out to lunch and to the movies.

I suggested we see Hop. The previews looked cute, but the kidlets said no. After a little debate, we decided to split up. The girls would see Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2. Finn and I would see Source Code. The movies were showing at a multiplex. The theaters were right next to each other and starting ten minutes apart. It worked out really well.

I'd wanted to see Source Code since reading this writing craft blog about it. Larry Brooks calls his post Story Architecture: A Clinic With Popcorn.

He's so right! Source Code is not only an entertaining movie (with Jake Gyllenhaal who inspired Expecting Royal Twins! Prince Niko), but an excellent lesson in craft for writers. I was good about checking my watch, the the plot points are right where they should be, until we were 2/3 to 3/4 through the movie. Then I got totally sucked in the story and just wanted to watch! Larry Brooks suggests seeing it twice. I will once it's out on DVD!

I hope there's a commentary! I can't tell you how much I've learned about storytelling listing to the audio feature while a movie played. Listening why they deleted a scene or changed it can teach you so much about scene selection, as well as showing, not telling. I always keep a notepad handy so I can jot down what's said.

In case you're interested in seeing either of those movies, here's the McClones' ratings:

Source Code: Highly Recommend (mom), See it, very cool (10 yo son)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Okay (13 yo daughter), Really good and funny (8 yo daughter)

Writing Wednesday

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The kidlets are still sleeping so I'm making the most of this morning and writing! I'm loving the new story! I'll be back to blog later! Hope you're having a nice morning!

Spring Break Day 2

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So far Spring Break has been great. I'm not sure the kidlets would agree completely since I put them to work cleaning their rooms yesterday. But they managed some fun in the afternoon. I also had fun.

I've started a new book and like my eHarlequin on-line read Snow-Kissed Reunion involves the Hood Hamlet Snowboarding Camp and Academy.

Yesterday I spoke with Mike Hanley at Windell's Academy about my story. I learned so much speaking with him. I couldn't scribble notes fast enough. A also found out what I'm thinking for the storyline will work! The words are bursting to get out.

Check out the Windell's Academy website if you get the chance via the link above. Fun pics and videos. Talk about a cool place! The kidlets already can't wait to attend Windell's Camp someday. Every time we drive past it, one of them says something about going to camp.

I can only imagine what Rose will think of the Academy...a high school where skiing is part of the curriculum! Granted she's only eight, but ski instructors have been talking to us about her since she first stepped into skis a couple weeks after her fourth birthday. Lots of natural talent. Reminds me of Finn and his swimming.

Well, I'd better get writing while I have the chance. Have a great day!

Spring Break!

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Today begins our spring break! I asked that no alarms be set this morning, but hubby didn't hear me so it went off at the usual time. A bummer since Chaos was still sound asleep. She had a busy weekend at the AKC dog show down in Albany, Oregon. She and Mackenna won both days in the Novice Intermediate Jr. Handler class. That means Mackenna moves up to Open Intermediate! She's so excited.

I told the kids I wouldn't be writing as much this week so we could have some much needed fun. I had a few things in mind. That was before hubby got sick. Now I'm scrambling with a change of plans/activities for us to do. First up, we may force him to see the doctor. Emphasis on force. Sigh...

Of course, it doesn't feel like spring around here. Temperatures are in the low forties with lots of rain. Finn played two soccer games this weekend. It hailed during one of them. The sun did peek out a little this weekend, and it was so nice.

What do you have going on this week?

Anniversary!

I love this! I like eating my salad last so eating dessert first sounds like a good idea, don't you think?

Sixteen years ago today, hubby and I got married. Time sure had flown by! We don't have any plans. It seems celebrating just isn't in the cards for me right now. He came home from NY sick so I'm not even expecting a card. I'll be happy if he remembers! I do know we won't be together today until later.

This morning I'm heading south to an AKC dog show in Albany, Oregon, where my oldest will compete with Chaos in Jr. Handling. We'll be back down there tomorrow, too.

There's a lot of down time so I'll be working on the new book, trying to figure out characters a bit more and filling in the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet which I use to plot and write the synopsis.

Fortunately we're carpooling with another mom, daughter and dog trio so that will be fun. Adult conversation! I sometimes forget what it's like to talk to someone over the age of thirteen unless they are covered in fur and meow.

Hubby gets soccer detail this weekend! The games don't last long so he can sit in the car and sleep. This will be much easier on him than an almost two hour drive each way to the dog show and then however long we sit around for her turn in the ring.

What do you have going on today?

A Review and Contests!

Yesterday, one of my backlist titles, Memo: The Billionaire's Proposal, was reviewed by the Long and Short Reviews aka LASR. You can find the review here.

I'm so excited to get a review on this book. Even though it was out in 2009, it's still available both in paperback and ebook. I fell hard for my hero, Drake Llewelyn. So hard hubby says the heroine of this book, Chaney Sullivan, is the one who's closest to me of all my female characters. I don't see that at all, but that was his observation!

It's the beginning of a new month which means a new contest! This giveaway starts today and runs through the end of the month. When you comment on the blog, you'll get an entry to win a $10 Amazon GC. The more you comment, the more entries you'll receive. One winner will be chosen randomly from all the comments and announced here on May 1. Be sure to check back!

There's another a contest with a great prize that I wanted you to be aware of at LASR:

Every day in the month of April, we will have guest blogs on both our guest sites. Every commenter on the blogs will entered into a drawing for grand prize of a WiFi Nook, a WiFi Kindle, or $150 gift certificate to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble!

You can find out how to enter LASR's Spring is Bustin' Out All Over Blogfest here. Good Luck!

Hope you have a great Friday! Mine's looking pretty good so far. A box from Godiva Chocolatier was just delivered. I can't wait to open it and see what's inside!

Ouch!

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It wasn't the cats plotting revenge yesterday, but Chaos. My beloved Norwegian Elkhound was so excited she pushed into me. Unfortunately a bunch of Legos had been left out. I ended up hitting a table and chair (not sure which due to darkness) with my foot. My fourth toe to be exact.

Ouch.

It is all bruised except the tip and swollen. Real nasty looking.

I'm on my feet Wednesday afternoons and evenings at church. I ended up pairing a pair of socks with my Tevas. I definitely looked like a fashion "Don't!" page, but I had no choice. The kids were so good understanding that I couldn't get around as well, and parents pitched in to help. That was a big relief.

Now I just want it to feel better!

My Day Off Yesterday

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It's rare for me to have a day that I don't write. But yesterday was one of those days. I didn't write, revise or plot. Instead I pulled out my To Do list and checked several items off. I rested. I spent time with the kidlets. I watched Monday's episode of The Event. I had my haircut.

A productive day. I need more of them.

The kidlets reminded me we're hosting Easter. If I do a little each day, we should be decluttered, organized and clean by April 24th! The kids asked if I'd serve salmon in addition to ham. Since hubby smokes the ham and he'd grill the salmon, I told them to talk to him! He'll be home today. I can't wait! I've missed him!

Okay, better get started on the new book and prepare for the classes I teach today. Have a great Wednesday!

MomE done

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Hai! MomE turned in her revisions. She iz tired. I iz Yoda. I blogz for her.

I iz ninjactz. I iz cool. I iz also cute.

I luvz lazer lite. I catch it. Best ninjacatz ever.

I go nap with MomE now!

Random Monday

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My Monday will be spent revising. I need to send off the revised manuscript tonight so it'll be a busy day!

If you're curious about my getting the RITA finalist call, I wrote about it on my Facebook author page. The link to the note is here. Or you can hit the little "f" button which will take you to my author page. The post is on my wall and is titled, "Getting the RITA call."

The Girls' Weekend in Vegas authors (Myrna Mackenzie, Shirley Jump, Jackie Braun and I) donated autographed books and a $10 Amazon gift card to Operation Auction. If you want to bid on the package, go here. The bidding closes on March 30th.

Hubby left last night on a red-eye. Not the best timing for a business trip, but it'll be a quick one. It was something unexpected so I didn't have any time to arrange for help (my parents) which means I have to cancel a few things today and tomorrow since I can't be in two places at once with the various kidlets.

Anything random in your life?

Will Revise for Food

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This pic above is so my kitties! I always know when their food bowl is empty. They won't leave me alone.

The vet thinks I should cut Yoda's food. She wants him to eat this special kind that's good for their teeth, but higher calorie. I just haven't figured how to only feed him this when all the other cats have free fed their entire life. Given their ages almost 14 to 15-17 (not sure Smalls' exact age since she came with our first house), it seems a bit harsh to suddenly make the older cats change their eating habits. I must think on this some more!

As for today, I've already been to church this morning and am back in my jammies. I really want to get all the revisions typed in so I have tomorrow to go over them and make sure the changes work!

What's your Sunday looking like?

Back to reality

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After a day of feeling like a romance writing princess, it's back to reality! But I must admit all that attention for the RITA nod was very fun. I'm still in state of disbelief. I loved Christmas Magic on the Mountain, but I'm totally biased! It's so nice to know five judges enjoyed it!

Today is going to be all about two things: revisions and kidlets.

Revisions are due on Monday. I like how things are taking shape, but I want to do more with it. This book is also a sequel to Christmas Magic on the Mountain so I'm feeling a little pressure there.

The kidlets have a swim-a-thon today to earn money for their Swim Club. They are supposed to swim 200 laps in 2 hours. Finn can do that no problem. I don't know about the girls! They went out and sought donations from neighbors, friends and family. They have pledges for $450.

What will you be doing today?

BIG NEWS!

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No, we haven't found Yoda's missing laser light. But I did receive a call this morning.

Christmas Magic on the Mountain is a RITA finalist in the Series Category!!!!

I'm so excited. I was a two-time Golden Heart finalist before I sold my first manuscript, but I've never been a RITA finalist before. I was so stunned when she told me. I was actually shaking. Still sort of am!

For those who might not know, the RITA recognizes the best in romance novels each year. There are different categories for each of the types of books published. The winner is announced at the RWA national conference. This year it's in New York, and I'd already registered. Perfect since I don't go each year!

Anyway, I'm thrilled and need to make a few phone calls now! Hope you're Friday is as good as mine has started out!

Missing laser light

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Yoda's special laser light has gone missing. It's small and purple, easily misplaced, but the perfect size for his Christmas stocking which is when he got it. We had the pen on Tuesday night, but that's the last anyone has seen of it.

Yoda is not a happy kitty. He usually gets three sessions with the laser a day. He has so much energy we have to exercise him a lot! Last night, he stared around the room looking for it. I gave him a little ball with feather's attached. That's one less cat toy we now have for them to play with.

He's now chasing and attacking the older cats. Well, more so than usual. I may have to buy another one to keep peace in the family!

Today's all about taxes and revisions. I have a meeting with our CPA to hand everything off to her. I finally had time to gather everything together while waiting for revisions, but it took this long to get an appointment. And then I'll be revising.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes for my daughter, Mackenna. She had a wonderful day and loves being a teenager. It was so cute how excited she was and how much she loves her phone!

What's on your agenda today?

Mom of a Teenager

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Thirteen years ago, my oldest daughter was born. A big day! That night Titanic won a bunch of Oscars. I was so tired after a labor that wouldn't end I kept dozing off though I remember James Cameron.

It's hard to believe I'm now the mom of a teenager. Where has the time gone?

When she was younger, I told her she could get a cellphone when she turned thirteen. We went to the AT&T store last night. The model she wants is out of stock so the manager is driving down to Portland today to pick one up so she can get it on her birthday!

Hubby is in denial. He was the one who was supposed to get the cellphone a few weeks ago, but hadn't. I think he still sees her as a seven year old when she's about to surpass me in height. He can't imagine why she needs a cellphone, unlimited text messaging or a data plan!

Unfortunately her birthday falls on a Wednesday this year which means I will be teaching all afternoon and evening. She's been lamenting that fact for weeks. But hubby will take her to pick up the phone and out to eat dinner. They'll probably go to Borders so she can buy a few books and Target, too. Her grandparents drove up yesterday and took us all out to lunch yesterday so lots of little birthday celebrations this week!

Happy Birthday, Mackenna! I love you. And no matter how big you get, you'll always be my little goo-goo baby!

Random Tuesday

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Isn't that LOLcat so cute? Total warm and fuzzy picture. We've never had a puppy, but I remember the kitty stage.

I also remember the baby stage. My oldest becomes a teenager tomorrow. It's hard to believe she'll be thirteen. She's so excited! I'm not quite there yet. My parents are driving up today to take her out to an early birthday lunch.

The big buzz in the writing world is about Barry Eisler walking away from a $500K advance to self-pub eBooks. There are tons of articles and blogs about this so just google his name and they'll come up.

I understand why he did it. I'm just surprised he isn't doing both—trad publishing with a big house and eBooks on his own. Yes, he can do print books via Amazon, but can those books get into places like Walmart. Maybe they can. I'll be honest. I don't know that much about eBook publishing, but I do know at the online retailers I seem to sell more ebooks than paperbacks!

Speaking of eBooks, have you seen the Electronic Publishing Bingo Card that John Scalzi made? It's here if you want a look.

On my writing front, I heard back from editor. She liked all four of my book ideas so the choice of which one to right next was mine! I picked one that stems off my eHarlequin on-line read, Snow-Kissed Reunion. Another Hood Hamlet story, but set in the spring not Christmastime. It's going to be so much fun to write!!!

Of course, I need to finish revisions first. I typed in some changes yesterday. I managed to cut four pages. I need to cut a lot more though. Much of my climbing research is going away. It's interesting, but not really adding value to the story so it must go. I keep cutting, then adding more words to different sections as I revise. A vicious cycle!

On the home front, Smalls' eye is still bothering her. I keep putting in the medicine and praying she'll stop squinting. It's getting better, but we still have a ways to go yet.

Everyone else (furbabies and human) are healthy! Knocking on wood it continues!

Monday already?

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I slept in this morning. The drive, the long day at the pool for sectionals, yesterday's fun time and revising last night all caught up with me! The weekend was so jam-packed with stuff, and it seemed to fly by.

The house is quiet. Not even the cats or dogs are interested in me right now. Time to dive back into revisions. Can't wait!

What's your Monday going to be like?

Playtime?

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I could use some new playtime options, but I'm not willing to go that far!

Busy Sunday here. I do get to play a little. I'm off to lunch then to see Beastly. After that it'll be all about revisions. I want to make it through the rest of the book with my highlighter in hand to see what I can cut and what I want to change/rewrite!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend! Any big plans today?

Home from Sectionals

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I'm ready to fall asleep at my keyboard like the lolcat above. Sectionals was fun (very proud of my son), but we were at the pool at 7 am. A long day there followed by the two and a half hour drive home.

If you're a Facebook friend of mine you've seen some of the pics of the facility. It was top notch. Way beyond anywhere he's ever swam before. I'm too tired to bring the pics over here right now.

I managed to get through five chapters there, and I should revise more tonight, but my pillow is calling me louder than the manuscript.

Sweet dreams!

A day of cats

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My cats are not solitary creatures. They follow me wherever I go in the house. If I'm away from one of them too long, she sits at the top of the stairs and meows. Yesterday I walked into hubby's office. Two cats were right behind me.

Thursday was all about them. The vet wanted Smalls to see an ophthalmologist so I headed south. He said the abrasion is actually an ulcer. He worked on it and prescribed additional medicine. We'll go back in a couple of weeks.

I got home, grabbed the other cat carrier with Yoda inside and took off to another vet appointment. He needed vaccines and a check-up. Yoda received a clean bill of health! Though they said I needed to stop feeding him so much. Easier said then done since I've always free fed my cats.

Smalls and her medications have put a wrench into our plans. As of yesterday (when soccer games this weekend were canceled due to bad fields) the entire family was heading north today to take Finn to swim at the Pacific Northwest Age Group Sectionals. It's a regional state level meet with kids as far away as Hawaii and Alaska qualifying. But now hubby will stay home in order to take care of Smalls. This should be interesting since the two don't get along all that well!

Are you doing anything this weekend?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

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This is the first year in what feels like forever that the kidlets won't be Irish dancing somewhere on St. Patrick's Day. One of us would always spend this day driving from retirement center to pub to wherever we needed to be next. It was tiring, but fun.

The younger two don't seem to even remember they used to Irish dance. They never mention it. But Mackenna does. She came to me last night about not dancing tomorrow. She said it was weird and admitted she was a little sad. She always loved dancing on St. Patrick's day.

I told her she could dance for us if she wanted to. She enjoys performing, not competing, but there really isn't a place for dancers like that around here. I asked if she wanted to go return to classes. She said no, but if she did she admitted she wouldn't return to the school we'd left this summer, but the one before that. I was surprised, but when she explained why I had to admit she had good reasons.

Needless to say, this will be a different kind of St. Patrick's Day for us. But it won't be a quiet one. Two appointments on my calendar plus we may need to take Smalls back to the vet. I don't like how her eye is looking. Plus both of the younger kidlets have celebrations at school today. A luau and volcano eruption for the youngest and a Latin American festival for our son. Also, my revisions arrived yesterday so I'll be trying to figure out what I need to do with the Christmas book!

Do you have any plans for St. Patrick's Day?

Cone of Shame

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Yesterday we had to make a run to the vet. Smalls did something to her eye. I noticed it tearing on Monday, but it was worse on Tuesday. She has two abrasions on her right cornea. She has to have drops put in her eye every couple of hours and she must wear the cone of shame so she can't irritate her eye more.

Here's a picture of her right after the cone went on.

Poor Smalls. She hates the cone. It's taking her a long time to figure out the change in her depth perception and new width! Lots of bumping and scraping things. She's hanging her head which only makes it worse.

The other pets, both cats and dog, seem to know how upset she is and have been aggravating her so much. I'm trying to run interference, but I can't be there 24/7. 

Last night she slept in her usual spot on my pillow. Needless to say there wasn't a lot of room for my head, but I wasn't about to move her. She needed something to go her way!

We return to the vet on Friday to see if the abrasions are healing. I hope so. They mentioned something about going in and smoothing them out. I'd rather not have to put Smalls under. She's old. At least 15 years old, probably older. She came with our first house so we're not quite sure of her exact age!

Have a great Wednesday! My day will be crazy, but no complaints!  I look at Japan and am very thankful that life is as usual here.

Favorites

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I'm still dragging from the time change, but the pic above made me smile this morning. I know I feel like the little bird being used as a step-stool sometimes, how about you?

The kidlets accuse me of having favorites all the time. Of course, this favorite changes depending on who's speaking. There's this sense of justice, of fairness, that becomes very important to kids in the 6-9 age range which is right where my youngest is right now. But the older two are the same way.

I wonder if the furbabies feel like I have favorites. Given their levels of jealousy, they probably would!

On the writing front, I emailed a few book ideas to my editor last night. Fingers crossed she finds a favorite or two that she'll want me to flush out!

Have a nice Tuesday!

Hello Monday

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Don't know about you, but I can relate to the kitty above. I'm really feeling Monday. As I posted yesterday, I'm not a fan of the time change. It's going to take me awhile to adjust. But I wish it were still Saturday, pre-daylight savings time!

It didn't help that I was up very late last night. My oldest is turning 13 years old soon. She hasn't been able to decide how she wanted to celebrate so I thought of a few things, including mom-daughter outings, but she decided yesterday she wanted to do something with a few friends. This was really important to her so we said okay.

The only problem is her birthday is a week and a half away. With spring break coming up and friends heading out of town, that means having the celebration next Sunday. I told her we could push it out past spring break, but she didn't want to do that. I hope a week is enough notice for people.

I managed to get invitations made last night so she could hand them out today. I'll get the rest of the plans firmed up today. Not what I expected to add to my To Do list. But the Christmas revisions haven't returned yet so it's the perfect time to get this figured out.

It should be interesting to see how things fall together. I'll be away Friday night and much of Saturday with my son who is swimming in the PNW Sectionals up Seattle way, so it's going to be up to my daughter and hubby to get the final details done. I'll definitely leave them a To Do list!

Are you planning anything right now?

Time

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I hate changing the time. It makes as much sense to me as the LOLcat switching the time above. The one thing I loved about living in Arizona was the time never changed. Almost made the summer heat worth it. Emphasis on almost.

Needless to say, I'm a tired camper today. I was up way too early to get to Mass so my son could be an altar server. Only three of the five or six boys scheduled showed up, too.

Now all I want is a nap. And it's only 10 am. Not a good way to start the day. I much prefer falling backwards than springing forward!

What about you? Do time changes bother you?

Horrific

I've been watching the news coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan with a heavy heart. We were watching on Thursday night when that wave of water, mud and debris swept across the land. To see people in cars driving on the road as destruction barreled toward them was gut-wrenching. I kept wondering how much warning they had and if people had heeded it.

Fortunately, the employees in Japan who work at the same company as my husband and their families are accounted for and safe. Huge relief there. But so many others are missing or gone. The more we learn about what happened, the worse it gets. I have readers in Japan and my thoughts and prayers are with them, too.

I love Japan. I was fortunate to spend time there in 1995. I'd gotten married in April. I quit my engineering job to write full-time in September. And found myself in Japan in December. My husband was assigned there. He'd work several weeks in Japan then fly home for a couple in the Bay Area then return.

What I remember the most of my few weeks were the people and it's those people I can't help but think about as I watch the news coverage.

My husband was working so I spent my days on my own sightseeing. But I always found people with friendly smiles, others who wanted to practice their English and many who didn't mind helping an American find her way after getting lost. Something that happened almost daily there!

My first day in Yokohama, I took a bus tour. You could get on and off at various spots around town. I didn't understand that I'd have to get off somewhere different to reach my hotel. I ended up back at the transit center. The bus driver didn't just point to where I needed to go. He escorted me to another bus and explained to the driver what had happened. That driver made sure I got off and knew exactly where my hotel was.

When I was trying to get to the Tokyo Stock Exchange a few days later, I ended up totally turned around. A well-dressed Japanese man in a suit carrying a leather briefcase saw me. I must have looked distraught because he hurried across the street. I told him where I wanted to go. Again he didn't just point me in the right direction. He went so far as to escort me inside where I needed to check in.

Once I'd explored the cities, I headed out a little wise to the countryside. Riding the local trains was a total adventure. But again, so many helpful people, especially students, to make sure this American could find her way back.

I continue to pray for all of those impacted by this horrific disaster. Many countries are sending urban search and rescue teams, military support, supplies. If you want to help the people of Japan, this is from the American Red Cross website page about the earthquake and tsunami:

Those who want to help can go to www.redcross.org and donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. People can also text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

It's not going to take a village to get through this, but the entire world.

Get Lost!

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I'm all smiles looking at the LOLcat above. Typical kitty humor, and I love it.

It also makes me think about the Christmas book I just turned in and am waiting to hear back on for revisions. It's book 3 (story 4 if you count Snow-Kissed Reunion, the eHarlequin online read I did last year) and features a fictional SAR unit on Mount Hood, OMSAR, Oregon Mountain Search and Rescue.

I've been brainstorming another book set in Hood Hamlet, Oregon, but not a Christmas one. Spring and summer are beautiful on the mountain. I love spending time up there then. I was thinking it might be nice to show a different season up on Mount Hood. Still not sure, but I'm having fun playing with the new idea and characters.

Do you have any big plans for today?

Of all the kittens...

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This LOLcat cracked me up. I have no doubt this is how my older cats feel about Yoda. Just when I think Yoda is settling down a little and growing up, he proves me wrong. Not that I would change his personality for anything! I love him just the way he is!

Yesterday he tore across my bedroom. Around and around. Running, jumping, annoying the old cats with each lap. I watched and laughed.

In the afternoon as I was finishing up my RITA reading, he jumped onto my bed and fell asleep against me. No attacking my arm. No pouncing on my manuscript pages. No chewing on my power cord. No karate chopping the older cats. Nothing is sweeter than a napping Yoda!

Then Chaos jumped up to join in the love fest and well, chaos ensued.

No chaos today though! I'm brainstorming new book ideas. I have a few days before revisions on the Christmas book will be back so it's a great time to play with some possible characters and stories.

Anything you'd like to see me write next?

Random Wednesday

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Thinking hasn't been on my To Do list. Sleeping has. And reading. I have one more book to go today and then I can cross judging RITA books of my list. Today's the last day to turn in scores so must get it done!

Today is also the start of my March contest. It only runs for a limited time, too. The prizes are four Barnes & Noble eGift Cards ($20, $15, $10, $5). The contest is not being run here at the blog so comments will not get you entered. (Though I hope you'll still comment here!) Check the contest tab on the Nav Bar above for more details and what you'll need to do if you want to enter.

It's also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and a day of fast. I'm still trying to decide what I'll be giving up and doing until Easter. Because of the day, the classes I usually teach are canceled. A day off! I really need it. Still dragging a bit.

Last night, my brother-in-law (he decided to stay an extra week!) and my oldest daughter made dinner. It was so nice and tasty, too! They made S'mores for dessert! Yum! On Monday, when I was in panic writing mode, he went to my fave deadline meal place, Burgerville, and bought me dinner! I've gotten so spoiled.

I managed to get to a few blogs, too! It was nice to catch up. I really feel as if I've been living in a cave for nearly a week! What's going on with you today?

Finished!

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I feel a lot like the LOLcat above. I emailed my manuscript in the wee hours of the morning and I'm very tired. But it's off. Revisions will be back to me by Monday at the latest. Now I get to sleep, brainstorm new ideas (out of contract now) and finish reading my RITA entries by tomorrow!

I'll blog hop later. Right now I need a shower. Didn't have time for one yesterday!

Have a great Tuesday!

D-day

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This LOLcat is so perfect for this Monday, which also happens to be the due date for my latest Christmas Magic/Hood Hamlet manuscript. I'd be more than willing to contribute a few dollars to get rid of Monday this week. How about you?

So that book is finished. Of course, it's too long. Again. I even left out an entire scene and rewrote two others last night trying to shorten them.

Today is finishing the read-thru I started yesterday. Then I'll go back and do it once more before typing it all in. That's what I'll be doing.

What are you up to today?

Will Write for Chocolate

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Forget cheezburgers! Chocolate's where it's at today.

My Christmas manuscript is due tomorrow. I have enough words so I'm going to be spending the day polishing the last three chapters. Tomorrow I'll give the entire thing a read through on paper.

Until this is off I'm going to be scarce. Sorry for not blog hopping and what not, but I just want to get this done. I am taking a couple breaks, but on-line isn't where I'm spending it. Napping is!

Hope you're having a good day! I have nothing to do, but write today!

Better get to it.

Do

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Here's what I'm doing today:

Writing
Swim Meet/Reading
Writing
Mass
Writing

What's your day look like?