The winner of yesterday’s contest will be announced tomorrow. So be sure to post for a second time to win today!

This week, I finished a short story for a Cleis collection and shipped it to the editor. I won’t hear until August whether my story makes the cut. The payout is a very small one, but not the reason I wrote it. Short stories offer a challenge. Telling a story in just a few words hones a writer’s skills.

I also wrote a proposal, just a short treatment, of a concept I have for my own compilation. If it’s accepted it will be a fun project and something different for me to try.

This week, I also began a new novella for Ellora’s Cave. I have a chapter done, and the rest should go really fast. It’s a shapeshifter story—something furry and very sexy.

I was pleased with my accomplishments this week. Family has descended for the reunion this weekend, so I paused for a couple of days. My sister-in-law took a walk around the farm today and came back saying a stray dog was inside the pasture fence. I’m such a softie. I went to take a look and couldn’t resist. I’ve named him Fenris (after Fenrisulfr, the monstrous wolf from Norse mythology). He’s solid black and looks to be part border collie and part German shepherd. He seems very sweet, and very happy that someone wants him. He’s also emaciated.

My daughter bathed him to kill fleas and ticks, which he had aplenty. He stoicly suffered through it, even though he shivered the whole time. Afterward, we let him into the yard where he ate and curled up under our patio table. Looks like he’ll be happy to stay and join our family. We gave him a puppy shot (we think he’s about 2 years old based on his teeth), and tomorrow he will be handed to my son-in-law who will get him dewormed, neutered and then keep him for a couple of weeks of obedience training. I’ll try to remember to take pictures tomorrow.

Oh, and I picked up my new painting, Blueberry Blast, yesterday! 😎

Although I complain a lot about distractions, I write best when I’m under pressure. Sometimes, the pressure comes from a deadline that’s rushing toward me too fast. Sometimes, it’s everything else in my life getting more complicated. I have a little bit of both going on at the moment.

We are having a family reunion this weekend, which means the house has to be scoured top to bottom. I don’t have to do it all, but I have to pitch in. Thank God, I don’t have to do anything about food prep.

The Rose’s Plotting Bootcamp requires that I post lessons and feedback to the lessons on a daily basis. I got up at 6 AM this morning to take care of that before anything else got in the way.

I have the new novella to plow through. The first chapter is messy, but on paper now instead of still in my head. I’d like to finish chapter two tomorrow.

I have to get ready to read and work through the next chapter of Robert Ray’s The Weekend Novelist with the workgroup I started online.

I have to start working through character sketches, setting notes, choose themes and props and weapons for the new Viking book.

And I have to do some of all of that today—after I finish this blog—which is why it looks like my To Do list, because all those details are swirling in my mind.

Most of you have day jobs and look at the weekends as a break. I write, or do writerly things seven days a week. It’s the cost of doing what I love, and believe me there are tons of benefits that outweigh those costs, but it is still wearing.

So, I’m going to get started on my long list of things to do, and hopefully be back tomorrow with something a heck of lot more interesting for you to read!

The royalty fairy landed, delivering a nice little surprise, and to celebrate I decided to treat myself to one of my passions. I love myth and history books, dragons, jewelry and paintings. Paintings done by my mother or my friends mean the most. A friend did this for me because I was looking for something blue. Don’t you just love the water droplets on the berries? Wonder if she knows I plan to hang it in my bathroom.

Please welcome fellow Ellora’s Cave and Samhain author, Mari Carr! ~DD

The Summer is Heating UP!

I’m a school teacher so I think it’s safe to say my time is summertime! I live for the months of June, July and August and spend weeks prior to graduation plotting my writing schedule. Why? Because those are the only three months of the year when I can be a full-time writer. I think it’s safe to say every book I’ve ever written has hit the page either on the weekend or during the summer.

I have several works in progress ready to roll out. My writing goals are to finish the Wild Irish series. I still have Saturday Night Special to tweak and all of Any Given Sunday to write. I also intend to write the romantic suspense sequel to my Samhain book, Because of You and I’m starting to co-write a series of four books with my writing pal, Jayne Rylon.

Other than that, I’m celebrating a recent release and a coming soon story at Ellora’s Cave.

Sweet Thursday, book four in the Wild Irish series released a couple of weeks ago.

And on July 9, Rekindled the standalone sequel to Spitfire will hit the virtual bookshelves.

Check out Mari’s website!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In high school, Lily was too shy to do anything about her feelings for her best friends, Justin and Killian. Now she’s ready to put to rest her regrets with a proposal that might shock even her oversexed friends—the three of them, together, one night, multiple positions.

K and J are more than a little surprised to see Lily at their ten-year reunion. The plain Jane they remember is now a stunning woman—who wants to have sex with both of them. Who are they to deny her? Even if Killian suspects they might be treading on dangerous emotional territory.

The night stretches into the weekend and, as K suspected, none of them want it to end. But he and Lily know people live in pairs, not trios, and they call a halt now, before it’s too late.

Justin, however, knows a good thing when he sees it. He’s ready to fight for what he wants…what they all need. He just has to convince Lily and Killian that unconventional can also be extraordinary.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I’m not sure you know what you’re asking for, Lil.”

She looked at his friend, reaching over to take Killian’s large hand in her own. “I know exactly what I’m asking for, and I knew before I came here tonight that if there was the slightest chance of capturing your attention, I’d take it.” She glanced over her shoulder to include Justin in the “your”.

“God, K. I don’t think you understand how much I want to do this. I’m sick of coloring inside the lines all the time. I want to grab hold of this opportunity to be free and wild and uninhibited—for just one night. I don’t want to look back at my life in fifty years and realize I never did one daring thing. I’m tired of regrets.”

“If we do this—” Killian started.

She placed her finger over his lips. “When we do this,” she corrected.

“We call the shots. We decide what your limits are. If you can’t agree to that, then no deal.”
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May was all about waiting. And not very gracefully either.

I’m ambitious, but if I start out boldly, I can do it. Here goes.

P.S. Thanks, Rachel for the reminder. I also have an on-line month-long plotting bootcamp to lead along with my sister. Gah!

Yesterday, I should have made a mad dash to Dallas and back, but the 5-year-old’s dad asked to put off the exchange a couple of weeks. Yay! I’ll get to share the pool with her before she heads off for her summer away!

This week, I finally wrapped up the neverending novella and sent it to my beta readers to see what they thought. It’s not my usual fare, and it has me a little nervous, but it is what it is. I thought the story was one long tease between a secretary and her boss, but it ended up this BDSM thing with his partners involved. Hey, it’s where my imagination went. I’m not going to apologize!

Then I started on something a little more fun and much shorter. (Gawd, I really hope so!) It’s due June 1st, so I really have to get on it. Before I headed out to a friend’s birthday party yesterday, I hit 1100 words on the story. Since I only need 2500, I think I won’t have a problem meeting the deadline, except that the timeframe of the story requires a little research.

This week, I get to start a shiny new month, full of new opportunities for success as well as some enormous hurdles to conquer. More about that when I wrap up the month on the 31st!

Yesterday’s winner, by random number generator is…Mitzi H.!

Mitzi, email me with your snail mail address!

I found this image on the website, Just Beautiful Men, and have to agree. Love the towel. And there’s just a hint of you-know-what below it to tease. Lovely. *sigh*

Yesterday’s question provided me quite a few new adds to my bucket list! Thanks to everyone who responded.

With only a few days left in this month, I have to knuckle down to finish my two projects. I’m close on one, but am stumbling over the last chapter. I have to wrap it today. No more excuses. The second project is short, but is very complicated setting-wise. I hate getting down to the wire.

Tomorrow, I have to drive to Dallas to drop the 5-year-old off with her daddy. Very sad day. I’ll post some sort of contest tomorrow to make it fun so be sure to stop by. ~DD