Did I mention how many dogs we have? My mother had four when she passed away—two Yorkies and two Shelties. My dd has two Jack Russels, a German shepherd, an Anatolian shepherd, a pit bull mix, and a Great Pyrenees. Needless to say, it’s been interesting blending our family dogs.

We thought we had it managed. The two largest dogs, the Pyrenees, and the Anatolian were thrown into the pasture with the horses, with the barn cracked open for them to sleep in the hay. Well, this morning, one of them was missing.

Of course, we wondered whether a horse had killed him. So, my dd and the 15-year-old male walked the property, looking in any hollow, behind every tree for a body. Then we found a section of fence that was bent beneath a fallen tree and figured he might have escaped. They drove down the highway, into a neighboring subdivision, but no Troy.

Then my dd’s old neighbors said they saw a large tan dog lounging on her old front porch…

Gah. A morning consumed worried about the dog. No more pasture. Now, we have a menagerie of animals in our large front yard. I feel for anyone who comes through the gate.

It’s lunchtime, and I decided to make myself persona non grata, so I could have some peace and quiet. How did I accomplish that? 🙂

I have cups of kimchi soup. A cup of soup type thing, only with kimchi spices. If you aren’t familiar with Korean food, kimchi is heavy on the garlic and fermented—so super stinky. My dear brother gifted me with a jar of the fresh, fermented stuff, so I added that to the top of my noodle cup. It’s soooo fragrant everyone complained, so here I am—alone at my desk. Before too long, the smell of garlic will seep from my pores. Guaranteed isolation.

Do you think they will catch on? Do you have a favorite stinky food?

Alas, this giveaway has ended!
*~*~*

It’s Friday! You have the entire weekend ahead of you to do what you love most. For me, that would be writing my next story! But realistically, it will also mean cleaning out the pool shed and starting the long process of cleaning the pool before the hot weather comes in April! I’m being optimistic about that. Generally, I freeze my butt off getting into the pool in April! (But I still do it!)

Anyways, since you’ll be eager to kick off your reading spree, here’s something short and sexy that will transport you to another, nearby world. Just click on the cover to get your FREE copy of Red Dawn!

Happy reading!

Red Dawn

A colonist living on a lonely Martian plain receives her new mate, a man culled from among the newly transported convicts…

And if you loved this short story, I have many more: Short Stories

UPDATE: The winner is…Rhonda Spencer!
*~*~*

I’m scribbling down ideas for the new bounty hunter office in Dead Horse, MT. Now, I need to cast my characters. New hunters to add, for sure. New townsfolk to populate the place. I want to “build out” the town more than I did in the original Bear Lodge town. Dead Horse is located close to Yellowstone, so I have to keep that in mind. In addition to hunters, I’m thinking local sheriff, deputies, ranchers, cowboys, diner waitress and cook, football coach, etc. People you expect to “see” in a small town, and some of the seedier folks, too, who can be part of the scene my hunters operate inside.

So, for fun, and for a prize, how about you make some suggestions. I might not use your idea, but it might spark an idea for me. And if you do see your character in the pages of one of my stories, you can have bragging rights! 🙂 So, for the chance to win a free download of any of my Montana Bounty Hunter stories, suggest away…

And remember, I already have the main character of the first book named…

[click to pre-order!]

Open contests! Enter while you can!

1. Do you love this cover? (Contest) —  Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Answer one question! (Contest) — Win a free download!
3. Any ole reason to party…and open contests! (Contest–2 winners!) — Win a free short story!

Let’s hope that the Puzzle Police don’t shut down my puzzle tonight for inappropriate content!

I blew off work today. This puzzle depicts how I felt about it. Enjoy!

The winners are…commenters #1-6!
*~*~*

Hey there! It’s Tuesday morning. Some of you are heading to your polling places. I voted yesterday and wore my “I Voted” sticker proudly for the entire day and evening. Other news on the homefront—the soon-to-be 16-year-old male passed his written driving test. I don’t know whether to shout “Yay!” or shudder. 🙂 He still has problems with turns (too wide or too short). We took the fam out to Pizza Hut last night to celebrate.

We don’t need big excuses for celebrations. We love a family party. Some of my favorite annual parties are the pool parties, the Ugly Christmas Sweater party, the New Year’s Eve party (complete with sparkling grape juice), the Sharknado movie night party…alas, that one won’t be coming around again, so we’ll have to find another B-movie event to celebrate.

This picture was from an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party a couple of years back (taken in the 15-year-old’s bedroom with her fairy lights in the background). You can’t really see it, but my sweater has Jack Skellington skulls from The Nightmare Before Christmas all over it.

We love to make finger foods for celebratory dinners—a table filled with meatballs, cheeses, cut fruit and veggies, hummus and crackers, etc. We gorge while we play a movie or dance to music. The kids love it. They invite friends to our weird event nights, and then those kids keep in touch because they want to come for the next one! My dd was gifted with a Raclette, so any night we decide to cook the dinner at the table using it is a party!

So, for a chance to win a free short story (I’ll choose 2 winners!), tell me what sort of celebrations you all like to have. Do you make big deals out of small things or fun things?

 

Open Contests!

1. Reina Torres: Jesse releases today! (Contest & Excerpt) — This one ends tomorrow night! Win a free download of JESSE!
2. All Kinds of Wrong… (Puzzle & a Contest) — This also ends tomorrow night! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Do you love this cover? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Answer one question! (Contest) — Win a free download!

UPDATE: The winner is…flchen1!
*~*~*

I’m being a little lazy about my blog today! What with voting, running errands (dropping off donations, UPS, the post office, lunch out with my dd and SIL), my head is filled with more chores. So, I’ll ask a question. You’ll answer. The winner (selected randomly!) will have her or his choice of a download of one of my recent releases. So, here’s the question…

If you could only have one aroma in your nose for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I gave you a hint in the pic of what my choice would be. What’s your favorite scent?

UPDATE: The winner is…Jennifer Beyer!
*~*~*

Ready for a new Montana Bounty Hunter agency? It’s already up on pre-order here: Cage. After Brian’s story released (Didn’t get your copy? Order it here: Brian), the agency at Bear Lodge is pretty full up of hunters and their women. I figure that with their success (catching lots of bad guys, the reality show), Fetch Winter, the guy who owns the business, can afford to open another satellite agency. This one will still be in Western Montana, but farther south, close to Yellowstone.  This guy, Cage, is one of Fetch’s new hires, and I’m thinking that some of the hunters from Bear Lodge are going to have to show him the ropes, so you aren’t seeing the last of Reaper and his crew just yet. 🙂

Want to know what Cage’s story is all about? Me, too. I’ve only got this, so far: A former SEAL and MMA fighter, and now, newly minted bounty hunter, has to hunt down his first skip…his ex-wife!

Liberty Ireland gave me the idea of calling the new Montana Town “Dead Horse” — Thank you, Liberty! Now, I’m seeing all kinds of ways of using it. For instance, the local high school football team’s motto will be: “Can’t beat a Dead Horse!”

I have three books to plow through before I write this one, so plenty of time to make notes for fun things to happen to my guy and his underground fight promoter ex-wife. Offer up some ideas, make them as crazy as you like, and you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card. Have fun with it. Have them hunting aliens! Just let your imaginations go!

Also, here’s what’s coming next. Two are already available for pre-order. Just click on the covers!

One Hot Night is Book #1 in my New Orleans Nights series. And the plan is to have it to you by March 31st!

Lawless is Book #5 in my Cowboys on the Edge series. I don’t have it up for pre-order just yet, but that’s going to happen soon. The plan is to have it out by April 28th!

And Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride is part of the SEALs in Paradise series. It releases May 19th!

Cage’s story? I’m shooting for late June!