Be Vewy Vewy Quiet...

Um, except I'm apparently not here...

Hi everyone, did you miss me? I haven't been posting much simply because I'm super busy with both my day job and writing right now. At the day job, I'm still catching up from slacking off during the holidays followed by the flu rampage in January. Don't have anyone to do the work when I'm not around, so it's all waiting for me when I get back.

I've finished edits on Stranger In Black for Amber Allure, and now I'm working on the sequel to One Wild Wish. This one will be mostly about Benny and Curtis, though Rory and Jared will also be involved. I've tentatively titled it One More Wish. I'm trying to finish it up by next week, so wish me luck!

What's going on out there in blogland? Anyone been doing anything fun or interesting lately??

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Here are some flowers just for you. And for more Heart Day sweetness, check out the winners of my hero poll! The top seven heroes YOU voted on are up at Whipped Cream, along with "their" photos.

And at Goddess Fish, I'm talking about those wonderful, perfect first kisses. Well, maybe not perfect...

I hope everyone finds peace and happiness today. Even though it's Monday! ;)

Win Big Prizes TODAY Like A New E-Reader or $150 Gift Certificate!!

I'm blogging today over at Whipped Cream Reviews and Goddess Fish, and if that's not enough enticement to click over, for every comment you leave on those two blogs today, you get an entry into the drawing for some great prizes like a brand new e-reader or $150 gift certificate, plus other prizes galore!

I'll be posting a couple of times at both blogs. At Whipped Cream I've posted up the winners of my poll! The top seven heroes YOU voted on as being the ones you'd most like to see my vision of, are being featured today, along with "their" photos. And at Goddess Fish, I'm talking about those wonderful, perfect first kisses. Well, maybe not perfect...

Be sure to pop over for sexy fun and fabulous prizes!! See you there!

I Need A Hero..Take My Poll, Who You Want To See In My "V-Day Candy"?

Many times I've used photos for inspiration in writing my heroes. And just as often, I'll run into a photo afterward and say..OMG! That's exactly how I pictured Hero!

For one of my posts during Whipped Cream's huge Valentine's contest, I'll be posting up how I picture some of my heroes, and I want YOU to help me decide who you want to see!

Vote on your favorite choices from my books on the poll to the right, which includes some secondary characters, by Saturday night, and I'll do my very best to add them to my big box of V'Day "candy" for you!

New Title Releasing at Amber Quill Press--Stranger In Black

In probably one of the fastest turn-arounds between finishing a book and announcing it (with cover art no less!)--see my slightly previous post--I'm very happy to announce that my book, Stranger In Black, will be released by Amber Quill on May 22nd as part of their Masquerade collection.

The challenge was posed to us authors: choose one of the gorgeous masked man photographs. Then tell the story of what happens when the hero meets the man of his dreams dressed as the man on the cover, with the setting being a masquerade ball. Well, several of us took up the challenge, and our takes on this will be released one a week by AQP this spring. The extremely punctual *g* and wonderful Shawn Lane will be leading us off with her story, The Impersonator, in late February. Visit Amber Allure's Coming Soon page for the other fantastic covers in this set.

I'll post up a blurb later this week. :) Btw, LOVE getting a new release on the schedule! Especially just a few hours after I put down the virtual pen. Nothing like instant feedback. :D

First Submission of the year!

Color me thrilled! I kicked it in gear, wrote over 10k today, finished and submitted a manuscript that had been hanging over me for so long, I was beginning to think I'd never finish it! Time to celebrate! But first, I need to get some sleep and rest my claw-like hands!

Happy Groundhog's Day, Any Do-Overs For Me?--a look back at the past year

I'll admit it, the movie by this name frustrates the heck out of me. Yes, he gets do-overs, but sheesh, he still has to redo all the stuff he got RIGHT too. Drives me nuts just thinking about it! Once you get something right, karma should let you move on to the next level, like playing a computer game, lol.

Not having anything else in mind to post, I thought I'd look back at the past year and see where I'd take the do-overs if I had the chance. I've linked relevant blog posts if there are any.

February 2010--Turned 40, and not entirely unhappy about it. Only do-over would be to celebrate it in a bigger fashion...well, to celebrate it period. :)

March 2010--Put my old house on the market and took a trip to Hawaii. Okay, no do-over on Hawaii (even though a longer trip would have been nice). Putting the house up for sale? I guess it helped us get in gear fixing it up but since it didn't sell and we ended up renting it out, if I could go back, I'd just go that route to begin with and save myself the "showing" hassle.

April 2010--Actually got a do-over of sorts. An early book I'd thoroughly revised, Wet Your Whistle, was offered a contract on April Fool's Day.

June 2010--Yes, skipped a couple of months, since they led up to buying a new house and renting out the old one and a big move...three miles away...in June. Pretty much consumed every waking minute, though I did manage to finish up a few manuscripts in this time. Still LOVE my new house, so no do-overs here!

July 2010--Vacation time. Both Sunriver and the annual road trip to the Midwest were great! I also started editing as a day job as opposed to just freelance. There've been some challenges along the way, mostly in juggling my time between writing and editing, but I love my authors. No do-over there so far. :)

August 2010--My first release at Amber Quill, The Swap, came out, and it's one of my favorite stories to date. I wrote it on a whim and in a rush, and I'm very glad I did. They've been a great pub and I'm almost done with another book for them. Definite keep-as-is.

September 2010--The first anniversary of my first publication. Very amazing and gratifying publishing year, and I wouldn't change a thing. :)

November 2010--Another real-life do-over with my mom's second anniversary of the bone marrow transplant that saved her life. Nothing to add to my post about it, Thankful to Still Be a Daughter.

December 2010--Had a fabulous Christmas, but got very little done in the way of writing. Rather than getting caught up in the minutae of the holidays, if I could go back, I'd use some of that time to wrap up a few writing projects.

January 2011--Kicked off the New Year in style with the big Nook giveaway, which was a smashing success and a really great time with my fellow authors. We'll be doing another giveaway of something around the Summer Solstice, so there's a good do-over!

Back to February, I've had double digit releases in the past year, so need to get some more on the docket for the coming year. Lots of ideas, just need to wrap them up! I'll also be looking to start a new blog feature with a weekly post. More on that coming soon!

How about you guys? Any do-overs you wish you could use from the past year??