Progress on Stone’s Embrace

I’m this close to being done with this book—if I can figure out how to wrap it up. I usually have an ending in mind when I reach this point, but not this time! I hope this isn’t going to be one of those days when I write a scene, scrap a scene, and then try to rewrite it again because it sucked.

The book is decidedly strange, even for me. And I don’t understand this fascination with Hell I have. I won’t give away the story, but I will say that the Hades was so much fun to write that I might have to give him his own HEA.

What’s next? I have the fourth Dark Realm story to revise. Should take me about a week. Then, finally, I can start something shiny and new. Got any suggestions what you might like to see next?

On another note, I want to say thank you to everyone who’s sent me a note regarding Saddled. I’m thrilled my debut book with Samhain was so well-recieved. I’ve gotten more letters from readers for this book than any other in a long, long time.

Guess I should write more sexy cowboys. 😀

I’ll be talking about my current guilty pleasure (hint: he’s an American Idol contestant). Stop by and share your favorite to win.

Writing went well today. I surpassed my planned page count and turned in copy edits for HAVE SEX WILL TRAVEL. And I started getting the pool ready for warm weather. Ever have to skim pollen scum off water?

Anyway, so my brain’s a bit fried and I’m ready for bed, but I thought I’d let you know what’s coming for those of you who like to track that sort of thing.

Here’s the list of all the releases I have scheduled for the rest of the year. There might be one or two more, but it depends on how quickly I get those stories out the door.

04/24/09 – UNLEASHING THE TIGER, Altered States series (Ellora’s Cave)
06/10/09 – LOCKDOWN (Ellora’s Cave)
06/23/09 – STONE’S EMBRACE, Captive Souls series (Samhain)
06/23/09 – DARKNESS BURNING (Avon Red)
06/30/09 – HOTBLOODED, Tempted by a Cowboy anthology (Kensington Aphrodisia)
08/??/09 – HAVE SEX WILL TRAVEL, Sexy Little Numbers anthology (Black Lace)
09/01/09 – THE HIRED HAND, Lesbian Cowboy anthology (Cleis)
10/??/09 – FRANNIE & THE PRIVATE DICK (Ellora’s Cave)
11/10/09 – RIDE A COWBOY, To Serve and Protect anthology (Ellora’s Cave and Pocket Books)

A couple of those are retreads. Frannie appeared in the NIBBLES ‘N’ BITS anthology. RIDE A COWBOY was released last year in A HOT MAN IS THE BEST REVENGE. But if you haven’t read either, you get another shot!

Progress on Stone’s Embrace

Okay, think about it. Winter’s over. You’ve prepared your planting beds in March—April’s time to plant those seeds and nurture their growth.

Let me make that analogy personal. I’ve planned new projects, plotted out the chapters, and now it’s time to write the proposals I will send out by month’s end. It’s a fertile time, both physically and mentally. Make the most of it!

There is the little problem of a book that was due like yesterday! I have some wiggle room—until next Monday, but I really wanted to get it in on time. I feel like I’m eating into one of my “fertile” weeks finishing it off. Think positive thoughts for me. I also have to add pages to another project for an editor who wanted a little bit more to make a decision. Wish I could jump on it, but again, that fertile time, new seeds and all, isn’t happening until I finish that too. Maybe April’s gonna be a bust for me.

When someone close to you suffers an illness, something serious, it tends to make you stop to smell those darn roses. You cherish those conversations, those moments when you connect. You want to savor them, remember them.

I moved to Arkansas a year and half ago to be near my parents and help them as they grew older. I knew intellectually why I was here. This past week has made everything terribly real. Last week, I accompanied my father to the hospital where they ran tests to determine the health of his heart. The news wasn’t good. Today, he’s heading to surgery for multiple bypasses. That’s bad enough, but given his age and his health, we’re all worried.

Especially him. Dad’s the alpha guy. Quiet, strong. Always there doing the things the strong silent guys do to keep family safe and content. He’s scared. That fact completely unsettles me.

I watch him and my mother together and realize their’s was the happy-ever-after every romance reader dreams of. They fuss at each other with twinkles in their eyes. They do little things all the time for each other that are sweet and thoughtful. They grew up together, made a family, and are the hub for all their children’s and grandchildren’s lives. When the first of them passes on, the other will be lost.

So today, say a prayer for my dad. Call your mom or dad and say hello. I’ll be sitting in a waiting room with my mom, sister, and daughter, waiting and hoping we can all put off the inevitable one more time. Sorry I didn’t come with my usual cheery face, but today I’m not feeling so invincible or secure.

Okay, now that I have your attention, follow this link to enter today’s contest: Access Romance

I have great excuses. Run down on Thursday. A day spent at the hospital waiting on tests for a loved one on Friday. And now the monthly curse. TMI? Well, tough. This is my life and my blog. I’ll tell it like it is. I was probably so hideously grumpy on Saturday because it was making its arrival known.

Progress on Stone’s Embrace

So I made good progress on this one last week. Can I do it again? Guess it depends on what happens with Dad’s appointments. I do have a little wiggle room for the turn-in date, but I want to finish by the end of the month.

Progress on untitled short contemporary novella

I didn’t mean to start another project when I have so many in the works, but I opened a new document one day after I finished up my pages on STONE and started writing this thing. So far it’s a string of sex scenes in need of a theme and a plot. I’ve sent it to my most trusted friends for help dreaming up a story to go along with the sex. Really have to have a story, darn it.

This week will be a challenge just keeping focused with all the craziness happening around me. Last night I dreamed I was trapped in a house on stilts, deep in a bayou. A terrible storm rattled the roof and water seeped under the front door while I sat on the couch and prayed for it to end. It wasn’t until I saw a scaly back swimming through the murky water that I realized alligators and snakes had come through a window. I climbed higher and higher, arriving at last in the attic. The pitch dark seemed to amplify the sounds of the rain, the slithering snakes, the hissing roar of the gators…

Okay, so the dream must be a metaphor for my life, but the demented writer in me hopes I have more nightmares.