A quick reminder: Tonight at 9 PM ET/8 PM CST, I will be at the Fallen Angels chatroom. Be sure to stop by and say hello—and there will be prizes!

That’s what I need to do today. Writing is like exercising—when you step away from it for a while, your brain gets flabby. I’ve worked so many proposals lately, I have a real problem committing to getting to the end of just one story. Okay, so I need another metaphor, but my mind’s not cooperating.

Maybe I need to scare myself a bit. I have 80 pages due by the end of the month. 80 – the 5 already written = 75 pages to go. 75 / 18 writing days left in the month = roughly 4 pages a day.

So today, I commit to writing at least five pages on the story that’s due by the end of the month. That’s doable. Maybe I’ll open up my AIM and look for a sprinting partner—someone who will kick my ass.

Progress on Stone’s Embrace

I have started on a new WIP, but it’s going slow since I’m having to build a world that’s supposed to be part of a series without knowing the parameters of the other stories. Ah well, I’ll muddle through. Guess I can make my world do anything I want and people it with whatever creatures I want.

Anyway, it’s a new start and I should feel energized by that fact, but I’m just a bit burned out and letting myself get a little frazzled. Happens. Maybe I’ll pull out the new fae research books my new friend Wesley recommended and see what I might be able to come up with.

March’s moon is the “chaste” moon, and a time of hope and rebirth. It’s the month to embark on new adventures and experiences. We’re already eight days into the month, and I’m all for some renewal of energy. The weather’s beginning to warm; the trees and some of the flowering bushes are budding.

I’m trying to pay attention to the “solar” clock and getting out of bed earlier. I have this theory that if I adopt the rhythm of the day, my body might stop feeling fatigued. We’ll see. Can’t seem to prevent those middle of the night flashes of inspiration that send me straight to my computer. Then again, why the hell am I worried about a little tiredness? I have another book to get out the door!

I’ll be back today from the NOLA conference in Shreveport some time today, but in the meantime, let me share pics from my adventure in Granite, Oklahoma last month.

Yes, it was all about work. Hard work. See the plotting charts taped to the walls. They looked like crude wallpaper by the time we were done. Here’s my sister taking a break next to Di Dishman and Karen Kelley (Brava author).

This is our hostess, Julia, on the left and a couple more of the bootcampers hard at work. I’m sure they thought the weekend would be a big slumber party, but we disabused them of that idea quickly!

Okay, the weekend wasn’t all work. The ladies treated my sister and I to a couple of lovely meals away from the retreat house. This is the lodge at nearby Quartz Mountain Nature Park.

The scenery in that part of Oklahoma was unexpected. I love the rugged landscape—just wished I could have taken a day to explore on foot.

I can only imagine how gorgeous it would be in springtime. Sounds like another field trip to me!

I’m getting packed for the weekend. I’ll be in Shreveport, Louisiana for the NOLA conference. I expect to have a great time. I love being around other writers because there’s so much creative energy in the air. And the best part is that I’ll be rooming with Elle James (also known as sister) and Shayla Kersten.

Thought I’d pass along the URL for that live radio broadcast of my interview at Canned Laughter and Coffee with Renee Bernard. It’s short, so you won’t be committing to listening to more than about ten minutes of me talking about Texas Men and their “equipment.” 😉Interview

Check my blog tomorrow for winners announcements! Oh! And be sure to check out Jennifer’s Random Musings—I’m blogging there today!

I’ll be blogging today at Access Romance. Come keep me company! I’ll be talking about making it as a writer and my new book, Obsessed.

Just a little, before I have to go into promo mode again. Now that Texas Men is out, I have to look forward to next week’s two releases. Thanks to those of you who let me know how much you enjoyed TM—you know who you are!

The weather’s been crazy here—in the upper 60’s and raining constantly. The temperature dropped last night, so there goes my hope that the pool will actually heat up enough that I can slip into my wetsuit any time soon.

My life’s been a little crazy. I’m babysitting dogs while my parents are out of town. Could at least one of them have a bladder bigger than a peanut?! Both of them are Yorkies, which I find annoying. You have to remember, I was married to a canine instructor and am used to serious dogs with big barks. I’m not accustomed to watching where I step.

The past couple of months, I was hard at work on several projects—finishing up proposals, plus editing several works that are coming out later this year. This week, I took a breath and entered hibernation mode because I’m between contracts and nothing is pushing me to start on the last little deadlined project. I can’t write without adrenaline kicking my ass.

I had a couple of hopeful messages today. One concerning a publisher I thought might be a closed door. Another from my Dark Realm editor who loved by latest offering. Thank goodness. I was really worried she’d hate my crazy view of Hell. I have some revisions to make to the manuscript, but nothing really significant. Looks like the book’s a go! Woohoo!

Oh yeah, I did have one last contest winner to announce today. The last for the Texas Men countdown. On Sunday, I’ll post the name of Michelle’s winner. The winner of my contest is…Brandy. Brandy wins a $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com. I was going to offer her books, but I think she has just about everything I’ve written. She’ll make good use of the GC, I’m sure! 😉