Happy Friday Everyone! It's September...! Is it just me, or does this year feel like it's going by fast? Schools are back in session. Texas hasn't gotten the menu that it's getting into the Fall months. But that's nothing new when it comes to September in my part of Texas. I've got four family members with birthdays--a joyful thing for sure. Buddy Holly was born on September 7th (and I enjoy several of his songs). My deceased friend, Sarah's, birthday is on September 16th. After working so intensely on revisions on one of my manuscripts, I've been reacquainting myself with the WIPs (Works In Progress) that I haven't as yet finished writing. It's been interesting...I like them a lot more now than I did even when I started writing them! My long-time critique partner is working on some stories she hopes to release--I got a chance to read one of them. I hope readers will enjoy it. She's a very talented writer. Not much else to report on so far,...

  Happy Friday & Happy November! We're clocking in the first week of November if you can believe it! 2021 kinda started slow for me when we had "Snowmeggeddon" in February. Now, it feels like it's going by fast! My editor has sent some of the chapters for my manuscript, and I'm just waiting on the rest. My query letter is written, I figured out a tag line (which I will probably look over again) and I'm working on any polishing that's needed on my synopsis. I've got some other manuscripts in various stages of having started but not finished with the first full draft. I've also got other ideas that play in my head from time to time, so we'll see what happens with all of those. The Author Encounter's Indie Author Day is happening next week (Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12 & 13). Click here for more information on the lineup and tickets . (They're free!) I've started Christmas shopping (I always like to start early so I'm not c...

Happy Monday All, It's November! Texas weather isn't sure if it's supposed to be warm or cold (I say cold, but snow only on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day). We made it through Halloween (not exactly my favorite holiday, although my eldest likes parts of it). As a Catholic, I went to All Saints' Day Holy Mass on Friday (All Saints' Day is November 1st). People have been breaking out all their favorite Fall decorations, food, etc. Folks in the USA are looking towards Thanksgiving to get together with friends and/or family. A sense of anticipation hangs in the air as we get closer to December and the Christmas/Hanukkah season. And, it's my favorite time of the year--Fall/Winter. For writers, November is the time for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. I'm not participating, although on my author Facebook page, I am proposing another challenge for writers who aren't doing NaNoWriMo, if you're wanting to check that out. This year, for Th...

Happy Friday All, Also, happy Fall, and October, (and I missed September!) It has been busy (although, I think it always is--or mostly is). October means a lot of things...getting further into Fall, apple cider showing up in the grocery store, people gearing up for Halloween with costumes on sale and pumpkins popping up (and Pumpkin Spice stuff everywhere LOL!) It's quite a month. It's also my birthday month. No matter what age I'm turning, I enjoy my birthday month. Sure, sometimes it feels weird to enter a new decade (like I did when I turned 30) and such, but every year has good things and bad things and I like to experience each year as it comes. Plus, I just like that there is a special day celebrating the fact I was born and came into existence. Think about it...without a birth day, you wouldn't be born, there would be no day that marks when someone who is uniquely you came into the world. So, although sometimes it's weird to think about turning one age ...

Happy Thursday All, I still need to set up some kind of schedule for posting on here, but I haven't gotten there, yet, so bear with me. It's November, and Texas is finally slowly--here and there--showing signs of Fall. We're under 90 degrees these days, which is great. Also, we're getting under 80 on some days, so that's also a good thing--yay! Things are still moving along for the audio-book. I'm pleased with the results so far and look forward to it being completed and available to my readers. I've started doing live videos on Facebook. What's surprised me is how much I've enjoyed it. I'm usually shy, so I wasn't sure what I would do, but I'm starting to get more comfortable with it. What I really need, though, is feedback from YOU, darling readers, to know what you want me to talk about. My narrator and I are working on an idea of Skyping and doing a live video during the Skype so that you all can meet him and ask questions a...

Happy Tuesday All, It's voting day here in the US of A, so all of those who are eligible have a civic duty to exercise our right to vote. Which, is something I will (or depending on when you, my readers read this post and when I get to my designated voting area) or have done. Today Laura Childs' Stake & Eggs is released, which I reviewed yesterday . This past NWHRWA meeting I've learned some pretty awesome things about next year's Lone Star Conference. We are fortunate to be able to have Donald Maass of the Donald Maass Literary Agency come and be our keynote speaker. We're also going to have an agent from Larsen Pomada Literary Agents , and Marisal Lyon Literary Agency  and who knows what other awesome things will be in store by the time the date of the conference rolls around. The date of the conference is on October 5, 2013--so you can start planning now. It's apple cider season (Fall)! I've been enjoying the tasty treat. I'll be glad ...

Happy Tuesday All, I took a weekend trip up North for my Grandfather's memorial. It was a lovely ceremony, stories shared, tears shed, but also some laughter at the funny things my grandfather said or did. He was a World War II veteran, so we were blessed to have an Honor Guard there that gave a gun salute and presented a flag to my step-grandma. One of my brothers plays the Scottish Bagpipes, so he played TAPS on the bagpipes while in a kilt, with a sporran, and the shoes (called gillybroughs--I'm not sure of the spelling, but that's what it sounds like). All my siblings were there, so that was wonderful, because we haven't all been in one place in several years (there's a lot of us) and I got to catch up with them and relatives I haven't seen in a number of years. Sunday I returned, and did some unpacking and settling in. Monday I had a headache and my stomach decided to not be completely happy, so I spent the day in bed reading a book--which I also fi...

Happy Tuesday All, Today we remember and pray for those involved in the tragedy of 9/11, and we also remember all the brave men and women who defend the USA. May God bless them and be with them. This year September is bringing weather to the South of the promise of Fall. It's not as cool as I'd prefer, yet, but it's cooler. One of the little trees in my backyard has already got some red leaves on it (pretty!) and another one is showing signs of Fall. Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons. What's yours? Before I forget... There's releases coming right around the corner: Sophie Jordan's 3rd book in her YA series, Hidden , is out TODAY! Kerrelyn Sparks has the re-release of her Historical under the title The Forbidden Lady (out on September 25, 2012). Also, her next Love At Stake book , Wild About You will be out on November 27, 2012. C.C. Hunter's newest installment in her Shadowfalls series, Whispers At Moonrise will release on O...

Happy Tuesday All, Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. The weekend wasn't really a long one for me and the husband (he worked Monday and so did I, although, my work was different from his. While he went to his place of work, I was working from home on my edits). The weather is a bit cooler--not much--but definitely felt the change. Saturday night I went grocery shopping with my husband and offspring. When we came out it was windy and raining (not hard). I danced in the rain (hey if you had been through this drought we Texans have experienced, you would, too). I love cooler weather and I didn't mind the wind. It felt GREAT. (In case you haven't noticed, Fall and Winter are my favorite Seasons...I just love the cooler weather, and the Holidays--especially Christmas). Recently I found out that Bath & Body Works has its Fall scents out. I fell in love with " Orchard Leaves " (it's a spicy fall scent that makes me want to make a hot cup of tea and ...

Happy Wednesday Everyone,   Riverboat Ride in Frankenmuth, Michigan   It's June! Which means,  it's Summer time. School's out. There's heat, humidity, vacations...and there some Summer-y type feeling novels being released and some Summer releases coming out:  Jennifer Bray-Weber Blood And Treasure (a romance novel with pirates. Being out on the ocean--what's more summery than that?) (This one is already out). Christie Craig's Don't Mess With Texas (August 2011) If any place knows summertime weather, it's definitely Texas (as a Texan I can speak from experience). (You can actually find this one on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites already). Lesley Livingston has a new novel coming out July 2011, Once Every Never (I haven't even seen this on Amazon or Barnes & Noble websites, yet). Of course this isn't to say that Summer is the only time for exciting new releases. Fall will be on the heels of Summer and bring wit...

Happy Monday All (Happy Labor Day), Fall and winter are my favorite seasons. If you live in places where it gets past 90 degrees in the summer, you understand. I live in Texas, and it gets hot, hot, hot in the summer (plus you know, there's the humidity factor). So, on Saturday evening when my husband, son, and I headed toward the entrance/exit of the mall near us and a breeze kicked up and I could smell the way the air smells in the Fall, you won't blame me if I got excited. Seriously, it really did smell like Fall. There was that leafy, woodsy, cooler weather scent that always gives me a thrill. Plus there was a cool breeze ! Not something you normally get in Texas in the summer. Then I went to Bath & Body Works to get some more hand soap and my favorite body wash. After getting the body wash I went to the back of the store to where they had their hand soaps...and lo and behold, they had out their fall scents! There they were...lined up just waiting to b...