Birthday Party Hell

There are ten 11 and 12 year old girls running through my house like maniacs. I've decided to hide in here for a minute and see if they run out of steam. Brilliant mother that I am, I decided to let my summer child have her party early, before everyone leaves on summer vacation and it gets to hot to do anything anyway. I also had the incredible idea of having it on the last day of school.

Yes, I am an idiot.

The kids hit the door like they were on speed. They've been wild, uncontrollable and otherwise crazed ever since. We've played games, we've played more games. We've had pizza, we've swam, we played more games. It is now 7:30 and bedtime is still hours away.

If I ever get them to go to bed, I am so going to soak in a bath and read a good book.

Speaking of good books.... A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. My teenager read it last year and told me I'd like it. I don't generally like the same books she does--I like my HEAs and she likes dark drama, but on this book we agree. I'm loving it. It's making me feel like I don't know the first thing about writing. How does someone write something so good the first time out of the chute? Libba, if you're googling yourself and find this mention, I salute you. Gemma is one of the best characters I've ever read.

Got to go...the kiddies are calling....

Love the library

Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking at my local library. Howard Carron at the Southeast Regional Library in Gilbert is the best. He brought in a great group of aspiring writers who had wonderful questions. I really enjoyed myself (and hopefully I didn't bore anyone too much). My friends Laura Lukes and Elaine Huettl were there as well which made it special. PLUS, I recieved a note from fellow author Pat Hubbard (AKA C. C. Harrison) telling me she loved Whispers. How good can one day be?

There days like today when I feel very special and even though I've only just begun on my own journey, I will, in fact, arrive.

RT Fun

Well, just got back from the Romantic Times Book Convention at Daytona Beach. Wow, what an experience. It was my first time there and I was blown away. I'm used to RWA Nationals which are always a lot of fun, but they are nothing like RT. The parties, lord, the parties. I didn't get there until Thursday night, but just in time for the vampire and pirate party. Drank and danced until one in the morning. Friday, guess what, more of the same. Went to the Fairy Ball as Brit Blaise's guest. I got to meet Billie Jo from Romance Junkies and Melissa from Joyfully reviewed and that was awesome! I wanted to kiss them both but didn't want to freak them out.

Then Saturday was the all day booksigning. (at least it felt like all day because they didn't feed us and the room was freezing.) I signed copies of Whispers and Echoes and met lots of readers. It was so cool. Then MacKenzie Mckade, me, Sylvia Day and Shelly Bradley all went out for a late lunch early dinner. Margaritas and talk about manly reactions had us giggling all the way to the Mr. Romance contest (where the men were not nearly naked enough for our tastes. ha ha) Then it was on to the Dorchester party which was much fun. But alas, the morning flights came very early. I was up at 5:30 making the drive from Daytona to Orlando for my flight. Arrived back at Arizona this afteroon. I feel like i crammed a week into a few short days.

But it was so much fun!

To all the readers I had the pleasure of meeting this weekend--you made it all worthwhile. Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement.

Hometown happiness!

Almost forgot! On a happy note, I found out today that Whispers is the #1 seller for Borders Bookstores in my hometome of Gilbert Arizona. AND it's the ONLY fiction book that made the list. That made me very happy! It's good to be number one at home.

11 days later and I still can't believe it's May

This whole year has been a blur, but especially May. It's moving at rocket speed. I think it's because things have been very busy for me at my day job and I'm stressed that I won't get all the work done and then things have been very busy for me at my night job. I've been working and reworking the opening of my new book until now I'm so sick of it I can't stand the thought of reading it again. Isn't that sad?

Next week I leave for the Romantic Times convention. I'm looking forward to BEING there, but not to getting there. My flight will be long, the shuttle situation a nightmare and when it's all said and done I'll have spent 10 hours traveling. I'm no road warrior so this sounds like hell to me.
Anyway, I have about 25 minutes before my brain rebels and I completely shut down, so I think I'll try to tackle the sucky first chapter again. :-)

Round Robin..a day late, but maybe worth it?

if you want to catch up, Yoiu can read the last posts : Calista Fox’s blog here. And Read Kaia's installment here

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As she watched the coffee drip into the pot, Leanne was overwhelmed by just how crazy this was. What was she doing in the kitchen--making coffee--with this man she didn't even know? He could be a rapist or a murderer or--she looked at his big blue eyes and dismissed that idea. There was a kind soul inside there. But wasn't that what they said about Ted Bundy too?

"Relax, Leanne," he said. "I'm not going to attack you."

Was she that obvious? And why not?

"Sorry, I'm just a little shook up," she said, giving a nervous glance to the ceiling over their heads.

Scared was probably more to the point, but she didn't say that. She'd always been this away--afraid to confront things that scared her. When they were little, it was Suzy who'd checked under the bed for monsters and in the closet for wild beasts. She should march upstairs, open that stupid trunk and be done with both the mystery and the man.

She looked at Aaron from the corner of her eye, not sure that was the solution she really wanted... Definitely crazy.

"How did you meet Suzy?" she asked.

"Fat Franks Tooney Salooney," he said, moving to her side to add cream to the cup she'd pulled from the cupboard. She got a whiff of soap and a light cologne that made her want to turn into him, bury her face in the crook of his neck and just breathe him in. With an inane laugh, she stepped away. Aaron gave her a strange look and a smile that made her chunky socks slip right down to her ankles.

"You met at a bar," she said, trying to stay with the conversation. "You're in a band?"

Of course he was. All of Suzy's men were in a band. She eyed his musculed biceps and broad chest, wondering what tatoos he might be hiding beneath his Bowling for Soup t-shirt.

He laughed at that, a deep rumbling sound that made her want to smile. "A band? No. I'm a teacher. Seventh grade science."

Leanne's jaw dropped and she gawked at him. When had seventh grade science teachers started looking like him?

Before she could say anything else, the phone upstairs began to ring again. It silenced them both and for a moment they stood still as statues, listening.

This was more than crazy. They had to open it up and see what was inside. Determined, she marched to the utility drawer in the kitchen and pulled out a flat head screwdriver and a hammer. She met Aaron's eyes for a moment, wishing he'd reach out and take them from her, but he didn't.

He trailed her silently upstairs and watched over her shoulder as she tried to first unscrew the fastener and then to wedge it free. The cell phone inside gave another ring and then silenced, but still she kept at it. Only after watching her struggled for a few minutes did he offer to help. Leanne handed the tools over, appreciating that he hadn't just assumed she'd be unable.

As he finally managed to pop the fastener open, the phone began to ring again. With renewed determination, they threw the lid back and looked inside.

"What the..." Aaron said softly.

At the bottom of the trunk was a blow up doll, dressed in a top and shorts Leanne recognized as belonging to her sister. The doll lay across a bag of unmixed concrete. The phone was taped to her hand. It ran again.

Leanne tore it free and almost shouted her sisters name into in her panic. "Suzy?"

Her sister answered, but with one word...

"Help."

Round Robin

Okay, it's my turn for a post in the round robin. Kaia has left me in the kitchen with a hunky babe and a ringing phone in a trunk. Hmmm....where do I go from there. I'll have to delay my post for a bit until I figure THAT one out. In the meantime, if you want to catch up, Yoiu can read the last posts : Calista Fox’s blog here. And Kaia James most recent here.

Stay tuned. I feel inspiration coming on. Ha!

Tell me it's not May!

I cannot believe it's already May. Where has the year gone? It's been such an exciting whirlwind, with the release of WHISPERS, the Desert Dreams conference and Romantic Times in just a few weeks.

I've been hard at work on my new book--I really like how the story is unfolding. I've stopped my forward progress for a while and am polishing up earlier pages because my agent tells me she has an editor who wants to see more.

WHISPERS is continuing to do well. I have recieved so many nice notes from readers. It totally makes my day to hear from someone who has enjoyed reading my stories. Hey, have you checked out my new contest for the month? Starbucks and Barnes & Noble gift cards and an autographed copy of ECHOES.

Well, back to work.