Season's Greetings!

Does everyone else feel like this year has flown by? Is there anyone looking back on the last twelve months thinking it was a slow drag? I feel like it's gone by at warp speed.

Anyway, I was playing around the other day and wrote a little Christmas short for Skip and Paul. And, well, mostly Johnny, but whatever. I thought I'd post it and wish everyone a happy holiday. Or, ya know, happy winter if you don't celebrate.

Some stuff!

Maybe I should just make a goal to post quarterly? I could probably swing that!

The reason I’m (finally!) getting a post out today is because I’m super excited for a few things.

First, my awesome pal Nico Jaye has a new title coming out tomorrow! I got a sneak peak and, I gotta say, it’s a sweet, fun, fantastic read. You can read more about Different Strokes (and take advantage of the pre-order sale ^.^) here. And, check out these adorable little guys that her friend whipped up. 

How could anyone resist those two?

Second, in the spirit of the holidays and giving, Dreamspinner Press has teamed up with the Lost-N-Found Center in Atlanta, Ga. They’re hoping to make a happy holiday for some great kids. You can find all the information here. Even a dollar will make a difference for this great cause.

Third, Harmony Ink Press is hosting a Young Author Challenge. They’ve got an open call out for young authors ages 14-18 to submit work for a young adult anthology. The best part? Whether a story is selected or not the writer will receive feedback from a published author. You can get all the details at their website. If you know a young author, send them over there!

And, lastly, it’s probably way too soon (seriously, months too soon) to say anything, but, what the heck, I’m excited. I just got notice last night that my new title was accepted by Dreamspinner Press. I’ll post more news on that when there is some actual news, but for now, yay! 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic December and staying warm!

Release day! And, ya know, stuff.

First, my Love Has No Boundaries story went live today on Goodreads! You can find it here. There are several other (awesome!) stories already posted for the event with links posted here. You do have to be a member, but it's a great group of readers and writers with some hardworking, wonderful mods. If you haven't joined yet, do it!

In other news, I just want to share my absolute joy over DOMA being struck down. It's been a long time coming and my whole family rejoiced when the verdict was announced. That was a great thing to wake up to on Tuesday morning.

And, I'm thrilled that the Mariners will be flying the rainbow flag for Sunday's game. I'm not really a sports fan but my mother is. She said it made her love her team a little bit more. I'll second that.

What a great week! I hope everyone out there is enjoying summer and doing some fun stuff. The kids and I went camping for our season kickoff and had a great time. Until we woke up at three in the morning on the last day with rain pounding through the ceiling of our tent. That's camping in the PNW, though. Gotta love it. :D

So much for a weekly update!

I've been hiding in my writer cave for the last few weeks, but some fun stuff is happening so I guess I better get this post rolling.

A Simple Romance came out on Wednesday! And, yes, I probably should have posted that, ya know, on Wednesday, but better late than never, right?

And, in somewhat related news, today only, Dreamspinner Press is having a St. Patrick's Day special with site wide sales (A Simple Romance is %25 off right now!) along with some great free reads hidden around the site, so if you haven't yet, go check it out!

I'm also super excited about what's going on over at goodreads in the M/M Romance Group. They're starting their annual Don't Read in the Closet event! Love Has No Boundaries is going to be awesome. There are going to be a lot of stories by some incredibly talented writers (first timers and seasoned authors!) all offered for free.  If you want to read some great stories, offer a prompt for someone to spark their muse, or join in the writing, check it out here. I've already picked my prompt and started working on it. Don't tell my other WIP. >_>

You can read last year's stories here! Mine is in there somewhere, along with many others. You do have to be a member of the M/M Romance Group to check them out, but don't worry; they only bite if you ask them to.

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday. I think I'm going to go celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a bowl of Lucky Charms.

So, this was kind of awesome.

It's official! A Simple Romance is on the "coming soon" list at Dreamspinner.


I'm beyond excited and a little freaked out. *g*

You can check it out here!

Out of the mouths of babes...

My son told me about a conversation he had with one of his female friends (he's very careful not to call her his girlfriend...) the other day.  It went something like this:

Friend: What would you do if one of your best friends told you he’s bi?
Son: …Congratulate him?
Friend: No, seriously.
Son: What? Seriously.
Friend: It wouldn’t…freak you out a little?
Son: Why should it? He’s coming out and accepting himself and wants his friends to accept him. That’s awesome.
Friend: I don’t know…
Son: He’s one of your best friends, right? Being bi or gay doesn’t change who he is or what you liked about him. Really, it’s like…part of who he was all along, part of what made him the person you liked to begin with. Why should telling you make you feel any different?


As a parent, I've tried to raise my kids to be open-minded, good people. I'm so grateful that some of what I've tried to teach them has made a difference. He told me that, after they talked, she agreed that it shouldn't be a big deal and isn't going to change how she treats her friend. 

I only know a little about her and even less about the boy she was talking about, but I do know that they both attend the same church and I know that church doesn’t exactly embrace the LGBT community. I hope he has an easier time of it now, and that her example opens the door for other people to support him. 

My heart goes out to him, and all the other kids out there, treading water and waiting for a helping hand out of the deep end. Maybe if there are more conversations like the one my son had with his friend, there will be fewer tragedies.

One can hope, at least. 

Positively hard to do.

A friend of mine is trying to go an entire day without saying anything negative or having any negative thoughts. Basically, you set a 24 hour timer and if you catch yourself having a negative thought or saying anything negative, you correct yourself and start your timer over again. I don't consider myself a negative person, so I thought I'd try it with her. HA. It's harder than it sounds. After resetting my timer 30-some odd times in less than a week, I gave up.

If you've ever watched the show Friends, it was a lot like Chandler trying not to make fun of his friends for his New Year's resolution. 

I was kind of shocked at how many "hidden" negative thoughts I have throughout the day. It really put a spotlight on the areas I need to improve my outlook. For me, a big trigger was traffic. I would have to reset that little timer two or three times just to run to the store. I won't even go into the trials of trying to shop for shoes with a positive outlook.

So, no, I didn't get through an entire day without a negative thought, but now, when someone cuts me off or drives fifteen miles an hour under the speed limit, instead of getting annoyed, I say things like "I hope that person gets home safely!" Or "Maybe the very slow person in front of me is saving me from having an accident." On particularly hectic mornings just that simple adjustment feels like a triumph but I've also noticed it seems to make my day go better.

If anyone else out there has tried this experiment, I'd love to hear how it went!

lol

Getting in the car this morning, my teenagers and I caught part of a news cast. "...cocks roaming the street." I have no idea why or where these cocks are roaming or what the rest of it said because we were laughing too loudly to hear it before my son popped in Flogging Molly for our morning commute.

If anyone else caught this broadcast, please fill me in! I'm sure they were talking about roosters on the loose, but my mind automatically jumped to disembodied penises wandering the streets. Some in little suits and ties, others with piercings and studded cock rings. And the one little depressed one flopping around, all flaccid.

At least it made for a humorous drive.

Gotta start somewhere…

I’ve had this blog set up since…August? So, five months later, how about a first post?

Back in August, I submitted my first manuscript to Dreamspinner Press. A short while later A Simple Romance was accepted. I’ve been mostly in denial since then. Last week my denial took a serious blow when I got my first batch of edits. It was overwhelming and, at the same time, a wonderful experience. I still feel like I owe the poor soul that got saddled with my manuscript something more than a heartfelt thank you. She had her work cut out for her and did a fantastic job. The day I returned my edits to them was the day I got my final cover art. Denial is officially over. I’ve got a book coming out sometime in March and I have the gorgeous cover to prove it!

I’m still not sure what I’ll be doing on here. Most likely I’ll end up posting little free reads and the occasional recipe. My goal is a weekly update. Let’s see how that works out.