FINALLY: The Cover to Kitchen Matches!

I've had this cover for a couple of weeks now, and it's been driving me NUTS not to be able to share it!

Finally, though it's been approved and posted on the Samhain site, so I can reveal it to you:



I really do love this cover. I love the look of Cori and Micah together. I love his hands. **sigh** They look good.

I do admit, I wish the top of his head wasn't cut off -- in the original version I saw, it wasn't... but they made it a little bigger and softened it some (which looks AWESOME), so I guess it's a trade off.

I can't wait. August 12th is D-day :-)

Freezing Friday

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - Christopher Robin to Pooh

I just love Winnie the Pooh. Don't you?

Hey... here's a shocker: IT'S SNOWING.

Incredible. Wow. Dru, I'm telling you what, if I could send it to you, I would--in a heartbeat.

DD was sick yesterday. Crikey...if it's not one, it's the other. So far I've escaped all the various creeping-cruds that are running around the house (knock wood), but it's made a mess of my life the past week or so. It's a little tough to run errands, for instance, when you can't leave the dog, or the daughter, for more than 15 minutes at a time...

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Oh. Oh. Oh. I saw my cover for "One Love For Liv" and I really like it!! And... I can't show it to you yet. Stupid rules. *G*

I will say this: It's animated. And it's cute. And I really think, except for the lack of a bull mastiff on the front, that it really covers what the story is about. It's currently tiled as wallpaper on my computer, and I keep minimizing this window to look at it.

The minute I have permission, I'll post it here.

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Hey, folks... I can SEE out of my left eye, and quite well. It's just that my eyes don't much like to work together any more. I have "20" vision in my right eye, but not my left. Don't worry that I'm going to run you off the road, or that I have a blind spot. And, yes, I'm going to go to the eye doctor... dang it. My DH says I'm lucky that I've not needed glasses this long. I tell him it's almost worse never having had to wear them. Ugh.

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Yesterday, Brandy told me to get to work on my writing. She's right. I do have "Kitchen Matches" out, but they're doing the editor shuffle where I sent it, and I'll have to wait a bit until it's assigned. I really need to get some more stuff submitted. Because of my little story at LASR yesterday, I felt the need to take another look at Camilla's story. I still like it. Too bad I have no idea how it's going to end. I know I need to tear the happy couple apart and then put them back together again... I just don't know how I'm going to do it.

So, should I work on Camilla? Or the fantasy? Or the novel I want to write to submit to a print press? Ack... we won't talk about my mystery. Or "Playing House". Or any of the half dozen short stories I've begun.

Focus, M. Focus.

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Dear heavens. I picked Dakota up yesterday, and I think she's put on 5 pounds since the day before. I had to loosen her collar AGAIN. She's getting HUGE. And, she's getting better about most stuff. She's not eating my plants any more. She *mostly* stays out of the wood for the fire. She only torments the cat a little...

But...

She's still really mouthy and sassy. And when I tell her no, sternly, she puts her front paws down/butt up in play mode and barks at me. Sharply. Back talk from a puppy--what's up with that?

The Daily Dakota (I'm beginning to run out of original ideas for this... it may become the Weekly Dakota...though I really do prefer the nifty alliteration):



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And today's random quiz...

Your Celebrity Baby Name Is...

Starlite Blossom

What's Your Celebrity Baby Name?

Release Date: Don't Fence Me In

I have a release date on my next Vintage Rose short story, "Don't Fence Me In" -- January 2, 2008!



Lizzie walked down to the place where a soldier leaned against the bar.

"Hello." She stopped a foot away and smiled. "I hear you asked about me. Do I know you?"

He turned his head, whiskey-brown eyes so sad she nearly cried for him. "No, ma'am. But I know about you from Seb."

Her knees wobbled at the sound of her brother's name, and the soldier's hand shot out to keep her from falling. The warmth and strength from his touch helped her to straighten and stand steady. She didn't realize that just the sound of her brother's name could make her so weak.

"You knew Seb?" she whispered and sank onto a stool beside the soldier. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jeremy McMasters, Miss Scott. I served with Seb until the day he died." His gaze lowered for a moment before he looked at her again, an intensity burning in his eyes. "He was a good man."

"Yes." She smiled though her heart ached. She missed her brother something fierce. "He was a very good man. He spoke of you in his letters, said there was no one better to guard his back."

Jeremy's mouth tightened. "Didn't do too good a job of that, now. Did I?"

"Oh." She grabbed his forearm, squeezed it tightly. "Seb's dying wasn't your fault. You didn't blow up his Jeep."

Jeremy stared at her hand for a long moment before shrugging off her touch. He reached inside his uniform pocket and pulled out a folded envelope. "I have two weeks before I'm redeployed, ma'am. I had to come here, to see you. He gave me his letter to deliver."

Lizzie shivered at the sight of that worn white envelope. The letter. The one all the soldiers wrote to be delivered in the event of their death. She couldn't reach for it. Didn't want it.

"Keep it." She jumped to her feet and took a step back. "I can't… I can't read it. Not now. Not yet."

"But--"

"No!" She turned and ran away to the powder room. When she'd composed herself enough to return, he was no longer there. She flopped down at the bar, distressed that the last bit of Seb, his last words, last thoughts, was gone.

Don't Fence Me In

I was going to wait until tomorrow... but I couldn't stand it because I love the cover. This is my second Vintage Rose story, set in 1953 and should be released next month (or maybe January, depending on the number of holiday stories).

It's June, 1953 and Lizzie Scott recently lost her brother, Seb, in the Korean War. When his friend and unit buddy, Jeremy McMasters, brings her Seb's "goodbye" letter, little does she know her life is about to change forever.

I can't stop looking at it. It's just lovely...

Covers and Clinches and Car Driving, Oh My!

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart. ~ Gilbert Highet

I spent most of the last evening working on my cover art form and blurb stuff for my upcoming Samhain novel, "Isn't She Liv Leigh" (don't worry, eventually I'll get tired of saying that!). My wonderful editor, Eve (waves!) assures me they have a blurb wizard who will take what I give them and make it even better. And if Allie's cover is anything to judge by, they have a fabulous art department as well. So, I shouldn't be worried.

Still, I was stymied by the cover stuff (well, and the blurb, too -- as a few of writing friends know, since I sent out a call for help last night), but I'm a writer, not an artist and I think in words, not pictures. Long ago, when I was young and foolish (instead of old and foolish, as I am now), I dreamed of drawing and painting. My indulgent father bought me a ton of art supplies. And, truthfully, I ended up being pretty decent. I could draw nearly anything you put in front of me -- though my favorite thing to do was horses (I got grasshoppers down really well, too. Don't ask).

Still, something was missing. I didn't have that "spark" that made my art special. If people wanted an exact replica of a grasshopper (who wouldn't?), they could take a picture. When people buy art, they want something more.

So, now I write. I *think* I manage to give that something more to my readers.

So why (why, why, why) do I have to try to think of art now?

I do know what I don't like (though, I may be in the minority on this): clinch covers. I hate 'em. They absolutely turn me off. I don't mind the H/H on the front, and I don't mind them being all sexy in some way (Take the LASR spotlight author, Jill Monroe's book cover for "Hitting the Mark" ... HOT, HOT, HOT but not a cheesy clinch cover).

I know I want something fun for the front of "Liv", but not animated like the old Flipsides and many other romantic comedy books. "Liv" isn't yuck-yuck funny, but it is light-hearted and that needs to reflect on the cover.

So, I'm still working on it.

In my job at LASR, a truly wonderful reviews site, (yes, shameless promotion, LOL), I see A LOT of covers. Some are truly incredible, but some have been so bad I would be ashamed to promote my own book. No, I'm not naming names... but, those awful covers would influence my decision to purchase a book. I've been fortunate -- The Wild Rose Press and Samhain both seem to have truly amazing art departments, so I should love my cover for "Liv".

How do you feel about covers? Do they seriously impact your decision to purchase (or NOT purchase) a book? What kind of covers do you like to see? Do you prefer people on the front, or would you rather imagine what the H/H look like all on your own?

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Your Driving Is is: 43% Male, 57% Female

According to studies, you drive both like a guy and a girl. This means you're a pretty average driver, with typical quirks. Occasionally you're frustrated and or a little reckless, but that's the exception - not the norm.

Do You Drive Like a Guy or a Girl?

Of course, this doesn't explain why my DD now yells, "IDIOT!" when someone cuts me off in traffic. Ha.

Covers and Curses and Close My Mouth

“Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.” - Victoria Holt

I had the audacity to tell someone the other day that I was caught up enough to do something for them that needed doing quickly... I'm an idiot. Words like that invite disaster.

Yesterday I not only received the first round of edits on my cowboy story -- and they're TOUGH because there is a particular issue that needs to be changed, and all the incidences of it fixed throughout, along with regular editing stuff -- I also received the galleys to proofread for my Christmas story at TWRP called "The Christmas Curse". I also received the cover. What do you think?

The Christmas Curse --
For Molly Scott, everything bad in her life has happened during the Christmas season, from training bras in her stocking to being jilted by her fiancé. This year is no exception.

Ten days before Christmas, she arrives at work to find her department closed down and everyone laid off. Desperate, she takes a job for a singing telegram service and, dressed as Mrs. Claus, meets the man of her dreams--who turns out to be a nightmare--in a broken down elevator. The Christmas Curse is right on track.

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Last night, a friend of DH's was here to have his computer repaired (this poor guy -- I don't know what he does, but I see him about every six months for this!). He saw me typing away on the computer and asked if I was working. I said yes. He asked "where" I worked, assuming that I telecommuted to a "real" job. Ha. I said, "I work right here. I run a website and a write. I have a novel that will be available soon." I was proud and excited to say those words.

He was thrilled. It seems his wife is publishing a book -- she's a life coach (something I found moderately amusing, considering my quiz results from a few days ago) and is publishing a non-fiction books, self-help type. He wanted to talk publishing.

Then he did it: he asked what I wrote. And suddenly, I was flustered. His wife was important, doing important stuff, writing words that would change a person's life for the better.

I moderated and said, "I write fiction."

He didn't let me get away with that. "Oh? For what age group?" He knows I homeschool, so he must have assumed I was writing for children.

I gulped, feeling unaccountably uncomfortable. I didn't want to say the words and see him close up. I didn't want to have him judge me because I wrote "those" books. Finally though, I did it. "I write romance," I said. "So, I'm writing for adults."

"Oh." He nodded. "I wonder why your husband didn't tell me you wrote a book?" And he headed to the basement.

Actually, I'm surprised my DH didn't tell him. He tells everyone. I frequently find myself blindsided by folks I barely know saying, "So, I hear you wrote a book."

Still... after this conversation, I was so angry with myself. I'm proud of writing AND reading romance. I take on people every day who look down their noses at my choice of reading material. The woman who runs my library doesn't appreciate genre fiction as a whole, and refuses to buy trade paperbacks -- says they mess up the shelves and don't last as long, but that simple decree eliminates many romances I prefer to read. So, I request them. And because I am one of their best "customers", they are somewhat obligated to buy them. I proudly purchase my romances at various stores, I love that the UBS is more than half romance novels. Usually, I hold my head up high.

So, why was I so embarrassed to say what I wrote?

It kept me awake for some time, and even now I'm frustrated. I promise to make a concerted effort to maintain pride in my chosen genre and shame on me for last night's debacle.

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In Pillar Place: Monarch P2 we have three "J" pillars, and about four more who are hanging out on their roofs. Most of them who were up there yesterday came down and ate some more. A last meal? But last night when I checked, three of them were all webbed into the box (yes, they spin webs -- the strongest stuff... it's amazing) and this a.m. they are hanging from their tails.

Hurry, little pillars, hurry. I saw geese flying south overhead last night. Summer is over. You need to follow those geese soon!

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You Are Scissors

Sharp and brilliant, you can solve almost any problem with that big brain of yours. People fear your cutting comments - and your wit is famous for being both funny and cruel. Deep down, you tend to be in the middle of an emotional storm. Your own complexity disturbs you. You are too smart for your own good. Slow down a little - or you're likely to hurt yourself. You can cut a paper person down to pieces. The only person who can ruin you is a rock person. When you fight: You find your enemy's weak point and exploit it. If someone makes you mad: You'll do everything you can to destroy their life

Are You Rock, Paper, or Scissors?

Ooh... I sound MEAN! Y'all scared yet?

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BTW, have you entered Diane's contest for your choice of an autographed book? If not, why? If yes, remember -- there's another chance (your LAST chance) to enter today.

And, have you entered the LASR contest for a free autographed book? Hurry up... today's the last day. While you're at it, take our poll.

And, Judy is giving away a $20 Amazon GC for the best caption on a picture she took. Go visit and caption the photo.

Happy Friday!

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Edited to add: From Allie -

I Need Your Votes!

Hey everyone, a little shameless promotion here: Ciar Cullen, a fellow Samhain author, is running a contest on her blog to select The Best Ebook of the Summer...and One Night in Boston is one of the choices.

Would you hop on over there and vote for me? Please? Ciar will buy and review the winning book...and a little more promo for ONIB wouldn't hurt any. Hey, if you feel like pimping the contest on your own blog, I'd love it even more :) Thanks a million.

Consider it done :-)

Booking It As A Family

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

Booking it Through Thursday

When growing up did your family share your love of books? If so, did one person get you into reading? And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)

Yes... and no.

My oldest brother? A big time reader... Me? A big time reader. The kinds in between (four of them)... not so much. Weird? Yes. But then, I've never claimed to come from an entirely normal family, LOL.

My mom did use books as a reward -- those Little Golden Books, remember? And I'm not certain, but I may have been reading in utero. I seriously can't remember a time I didn't read.

Absolutely, I shared books with my mom (my brother -- now an astro-physicist -- was all about science fiction, which was okay, but I did like to branch out). That's half the fun, isn't it? Reading and talking about books? Maybe that's why I had to do something like LASR.

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Speaking of books, I got the cover for one of the three most recently contracted stories. This one is a "yellow rose" -- a cowboy story. Cute cover, huh?



Here's the blurb:

Returning to Wyoming after a six-year absence, Jake Langley finds more than just changes in the now run down family ranch. His warm feelings for a former girlfriend have cooled, and he finds himself drawn to her sister and his former best friend, Emily. His discovery of the sisters' well-kept secret, however, upsets his long-term plans and sets duty against his heart's desire. Now, four hearts and four lives will be changed, forever.

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So, yesterday... I was a little melancholy because my mother, with whom I am very close, and who lives in a apartment over my garage (and has lived with us for thirteen years), has advised me that she can't do another winter here in the frozen north and is winging it back out to California. Home. Permanently. Three thousand miles away.

I'll miss her. So will my DD.

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You Are a Carousel

You are young at heart and a truly playful person. No one would ever accuse you of taking life too seriously. You are definitely in things for the fun. You find joy easily, and you are often building up anticipation for your next adventure. In relationships, you tend to want to be babied and taken care of. And while you may be a bit high maintenance, you are incredibly loyal. Your life is simple and satisfying. Each day you treat yourself to something you enjoy. You have a lot of emotional attachments, and experiences are extra vivid to you. You tend to be nostalgic and sentimental. The past is important to you. Comfortable around all living things, you have a special connection to animals and children. At your best, you are whimsical, free spirited, and creative. Even if your schemes seem a bit strange, they usually work out wonderfully. At your worst, you are spoiled, demanding, and impossible to satisfy. You've been known to act like a brat if you aren't getting your way!

What Carnival Ride Are You?

Okay... some of this is right on, but some is so far off it's laughable. I'll let you guess which is which.

What ride are you?

Pregnancy Cravings Cover

My rosette, Pregnancy Cravings, should be released by the end of summer -- I hope -- and I just got the cover for it. I'm not in love with the red and blue letters at the beginning of the words, but I love the new look TWRP has given even their short story covers! Isn't it lovely?

Patrice would do anything for her pregnant friend, Cathy, even if "anything" includes running to the convenience store on a daily basis to indulge her cravings. On one of her excursions, Patrice meets Joey Sousa, the cashier at the store. Their attraction is undeniable, but awkward: he thinks she's pregnant, she thinks he's dating someone else. Will the misunderstandings keep them apart, or will their chance meeting give birth to happy ever after?

This story is one that shows my favorite writing voice -- a little goofy and off the wall. If someone picks up my full length novel, Isn't She Liv Leigh, out being submitted even as we speak, you'll get to see it again.

I have another little ditty out in submission, something that isn't really a romance, and it can't seem to find a home, though it did come close with Flash Me Magazine. If this last place rejects it, I'll post it as a free read on my website and you'll see the lighter side of me.

Have a great night!