UPDATE: The winner is…Jackie Wisherd!
*~*~*

Before I get started with the end of month rundown,
Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

March

Work-related:

1. I completed work on What Happens in Bozeman (Book #3 of We Are Dead Horse, MT) and published it!
2. I began work on Tyson’s Mission, my next Brotherhood Protectors book!
3. I continued to read short stories for inclusion in my upcoming Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology.
4. I completed 3 editing projects for other authors in March.

Health-related:

1. I haven’t done well taking care of myself this month. I ate too many salty, fatty foods and didn’t monitor my blood pressure!
2. My sleep suffered this month, likely because of diet and lack of exercise.
3. The only good thing I did was drinking one cup of Turmeric tea a day.

Happiness-related: 

1. I continued working on the #the100dayproject art challenge.
2. Here are some examples of art projects I completed in March.

April

 

1. To complete writing Tyson’s Mission, my next Brotherhood Protectors, book, which releases on April 23rd!
2. To complete 4 editing projects in March!
3. To finish reading and selecting stories from among the submissions for the upcoming collection—Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology!

For health related, I plan:

1. To start back on my Weight Watchers diet, because it’s time to get serious! I HAVE to get back in the saddle!
2. To reduce salt and processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas) and my liver (apple cider vinegar, flax seeds, sunflower seeds).
3. To begin daily workouts using my recumbent bike and some chair yoga exercises.
4. To take my BP every day and log it!

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue #the100daychallenge where I’ll be painting something every single day!
2. To spend time with extended family during the ECLIPSE!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in April…

Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

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

Thank you to EVERYONE who already picked up their copy of What Happens in Bozeman! I appreciate your support and hope you had a great time reading it! Here are some snippets of reviews from a couple of readers who loved this visit to Dead Horse, Montana. (Thank you, Elinda and Pam!)

What follows is a series of events that will have you laughing out loud. ~ Elinda M
Loved the town of Dead Horse. Its residents and Sara and her classmates were adorable! ~ Pam B

Yeah, I know…kids in a romance? Shouldn’t that be self-exclusionary? Hey, it did not get in the way of sexiness in the story. Promise.

What you may not know is that a lot of what inspired the character of Sara and her classmates’ antics comes from the three girls who share my home. The oldest cringes when I tell the story of her trying to have a conversation with a caterpillar with her ear held as close to its head as possible. She’d seen The Bee Movie and couldn’t understand why the caterpillar was ignoring her. Of course, her grandma told her it was because their mouths are so small that the sounds they make can’t be heard by ordinary humans. So, the kittens and the princess bed thing had its true origins… You’ll have to read the story to understand what I’m talking about.

So, if you haven’t read the story yet and are looking for something fun to read this weekend, I think my book will fit the bill nicely!

What Happens in Bozeman

Get your copy here!

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me a fun story about something a child you know said or did.

UPDATE: The winner is…Deb Brown!
*~*~*

First, a reminder of what’s coming your way next Tuesday!
Have you ordered your copy?

What happens in Bozeman stays in Bozeman…unless it’s a cowboy!

Stranded in Bozeman, Montana, for the night while snowplows clear a mountain pass, Kelly Willis decides to throw caution to the wind. After being jilted by her college sweetheart, she’s determined to have one no-holds-barred night, her way of seeking revenge against a lifetime of conformity, before she settles down in a new town to live a very circumspect life as an elementary school teacher. She chooses another stranded motorist, propositioning him with the offer of a no-strings, no-names night of pleasure.

No one is more shocked than rancher Ryan Mobley when he appears at his daughter’s parent-teacher meeting to discover the angel he’d made love to is his daughter’s new teacher. Now that she’s here, he’s going to do everything he can to convince her they have a real connection, something they can build a lifetime on.

While she wrangles the class bully and he tries to figure out who’s rustling his cattle, the two of them grow closer with the help of a classroom full of mini matchmakers.

Pre-order your copy here!

Saturday Puzzle-Contest

 For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what this scenery does to you. That’s all. Happy Saturday!

Kelly Willis was a good girl by anyone’s definition. She’d never dated around, having gone steady with her star quarterback boyfriend since her sophomore year of high school. He’d been her first kiss, her first experience with sex. Her parents had adored her boyfriend and had delightedly set about planning her future so she didn’t screw up a good thing.

To make sure she was ever-present to their goal for her, she’d headed to college with him, wearing his promise ring, and had never once looked astray for attention from other men. Further, she’d gained her degree in a perfectly respectful, acceptably feminine profession.

She’d gone to church every Sunday of her life, never once doubting that God saw that she was good and would reward her for her virtue.

So, for her to be contemplating doing what she was now would’ve shocked the panties off her dear mother, her white-haired pastor, and her high school sex-ed teacher, who’d been long on abstinence and short on understanding a younger woman’s hormones. But then again, where were they all now?

Not here, stuck outside a hotel in Bozeman, Montana, while she waited for the snowplows to clear a passage through the mountains so she could get to her destination.

She hadn’t wanted to stop, and if the roads hadn’t been blocked by traffic barricades and a police officer directing vehicles to the nearest exit, she’d have kept driving—the winter storm be damned. By now, she’d had plenty of time alone with her thoughts.

Crazy, mixed-up thoughts of revenge and retribution filled her imagination with images of the fiery pit of Hell. Not for her. No, the person who deserved to be cast down into its depths wasn’t even here to feel the anger that had her fuming hot despite the chill, near-zero temperature.

While every curse word she’d never uttered aloud flitted through her mind, she felt her ire burbling like acid in her belly until it had to find its release.

“Fuck,” she whispered, then glanced around to make sure no one else standing in the parking lot had heard her. No one was looking her way.

And once she’d said it, she felt disappointed in herself. Not because she’d uttered that coarse, forbidden word but because she’d said it so softly. Was she gutless? Hadn’t she earned the right to rebel against a lifetime’s strictures? She’d been the Queen of Pristine, or so the boys at her high school had labeled her behind her back.

He had thought that title was hilarious, given what they’d done after the Friday Night Lights dimmed. He, who shall not be named. Ever again.

She sniffed back a sob, tamping it down deep.

“That fucker,” she said a little more loudly this time.

She stood straighter. No bolt of lightning had struck her. In fact, her chest felt a little lighter now. She could finally draw a deep breath.

Again, her gaze went to the man on the edge of the group, standing outside the hotel’s diner while employees were scurrying inside to open for a bunch of stranded, hungry travelers.

He’d do. Not that he’d given her so much as a glance. It didn’t matter that she’d decided for him. He was in the right place at the right time—although “right” and what she intended had nothing to do with each other. She turned up the fur-lined collar of her puffy jacket and strode in his direction. For the moment, she was filled with confidence because she’d earned this. Years of servitude to a single, hallowed goal would have their reward.

She didn’t even care if he was handsome. Good looks hid ugly flaws, or so she’d discovered. She hoped he had a big nose and was missing a tooth—just one. She’d want to kiss him after all. She was sure he’d have calluses, given he was wearing a cowboy hat that looked like it actually served a purpose, with its faint ring around the crown. His jeans were faded by actual use, not some weird fashion statement. His boots were scuffed and a plain brown. No nonsense. A working man’s footwear, not a poser’s.

The closer she drew, the more confident she felt about this plan. First, she’d insinuate herself into sharing a table with him. She’d smile and flirt, then drop her extra key card on the table when she excused herself.

She was almost there; he was turning toward her…

No, he turned and smiled at a grinning woman who was waving her keycard in her hand and rushing to his side.

Well, shit. She only just managed to keep the words inside her mouth.

The doors to the diner swung open, and she was caught in the crowd of twenty or so individuals who flowed inside the heated space.

Tables filled quickly, and she eyed an open stool at the counter, but a man whose large bottom nearly swallowed the stool laid claim before she could.

She stood with her shoulders drooping, looking for an empty table, when she heard a throat clear to her left.

Glancing sideways, she saw a man with a lop-sided smile waving a hand to the open seat across from him. “I don’t mind sharing, ma’am.”

*~*~*

What Happens in Bozeman arrives on March 19th. Pre-order your copy now!

The winner is…Stacey Kinzebach!
*~*~*

February

 

1. I completed work on Malcolm (Book #10 of Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT) and published it!
2. I began work on What Happens in Bozeman, my next We are Dead Horse, MT, book!
3. I completed 3 editing projects for other authors in February.

Health-related:

1. I visited my heart doctor, and he was so pleased with my progress I don’t have to see him for another year!
2. I continued concentrating on drinking more water, plus, I continued drinking water mixed with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar twice a day to improve my liver health. I began drinking one cup of Turmeric tea a day.
3. I’ve managed to keep my blood pressure down to 135-155, despite the fact I haven’t lost any weight. Gah.

Happiness-related: 

1. I began the #the100dayproject art challenge.
2. I led a hands-on program for the local art guild using Gelli plates to produce pretty papers for things like collage. (See the tags I made below, which were painted using Gelli plates!)
3. Here are some examples of art projects I completed in February.

March

 

1. To complete writing What Happens in Bozeman, my next We are Dead Horse, MT, book, which releases on March 19th!
2. To begin work on my next Brotherhood Protectors book!
3. To complete 4 editing projects in March!
4. To finish reading and selecting stories from among the submissions for the upcoming collection—Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology!

For health related, I plan:

1. To start back on my Weight Watchers diet, because it’s time to get serious! I HAVE to get back in the saddle!
2. To continue to reduce salt and processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas) and my liver (apple cider vinegar, flax seeds, sunflower seeds).
3. To begin daily workouts using my recumbent bike and some chair yoga exercises.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue #the100daychallenge where I’ll be painting something every single day!
2. To meet three of my favorite author-friends for a luncheon to get some writer time!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in March…
Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

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

Okay, so maybe I’m just sharing some eye candy today, but this looks pretty hot, right?

I found art for a little story I’m refurbishing that I don’t think more than a handful of people have ever read. My sister worked her cover magic to make it pretty. I’ll publish the story before the end of the month, maybe next week if I can manage to sit my butt in the chair long enough to do the work. It’s a time-travel tale. My hero and heroine head to ancient Scythia, which is thought to be the place where the legend of the Amazons originated. It’s fun. Short. A novelette—so longer than a short story, but shorter than what I normally write. Be looking for it if you want a fun, sexy, shorter read.

And just to remind you, I have two other stories in the works, too. Three actually, but until my sister loads the pre-order (it’s a Brotherhood Protectors story), I’m not going to talk about it, but I’ll have another lovely cover to share soon.

Here are the two coming your way in the next couple of months. Click on the covers if you want to put them on pre-order.

The kids are on their fourth day of “snow days” so they’ll be underfoot today. I rose early, not only to make sure the trash made it to the roadside, but to get a little work in before chaos resumes. We dodged the bullet with the kitchen pipes freezing. When we had a brief thaw, no water gushed from the walls. Thank God. The frozen pool is still a possible disaster that we have to wait to see if there’s damage. Next week, we’ll have a long enough thaw the ice floe on the top of the pool should melt entirely, then we can turn on the pump and see if disaster awaits.

I hope everyone here in the northern hemisphere is staying warm and toasty. We’ve lucked out with only a short three-hour power outage so far. I’m okay with wearing socks, a sweater, and thermal underwear for the drafts. Not a pretty picture, I assure you. 🙂

If you’re in the mood to chat, tell me 1) do you like the new cover? 2) And what does your weekend look like? I’m planning to stay hunkered down and maybe watch a movie with the family. 3) Any suggestions? Answer for a chance to win a FREE download of one of my books!

UPDATE: The winner is…Diane Sallans!
*~*~*

December

 

1. I continued to work on Malcolm (Book #10 of Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT).
2. I completed 5 editing projects for other authors in December.
3. I didn’t write a lot in December, between the craft fair and getting ready for the holiday/having kids underfoot, but I don’t care. It was a fun month!

Health-related:

1. I have been concentrating on drinking more water, plus, I added drinking water mixed with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar twice a day to improve my liver health. It’s weird, but after the first couple of times of drinking it while wrinkling my nose, I actually like it.
2. I’ve managed to keep my blood pressure down to 135-155, despite the holiday excesses.

Happiness-related: 

1. I finished some last items for the Christmas craft fair and participated in early December. It was so much fun!
2. Here are some examples of things I completed before the fair. And yes, I painted tags for potholder sets. 🙂

January

For work-related, I plan:

1. To complete writing Malcolm, my next Montana Bounty Hunters book and publish it!
2. To begin work on What Happens in Bozeman, my next We are Dead Horse, MT, book!
3. To complete 4 editing projects in January!

For health related, I plan:

1. To start back on my Weight Watchers diet, because it’s time to get serious!
2. To continue to reduce salt, processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas) and my liver (apple cider vinegar, flax seeds, sunflower seeds).
3. To pay attention to my daily steps, trips up and down the stairs, and to incorporate some chair exercises and more walking.
4. To do more housework because my art room isn’t finished! Cleaning is exercise, too.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To participate in the Gel Print January challenge where I’ll be making painted pages for collaging—at least one every day!
2. To assume the presidency of the local art guild, much as I don’t want to, but someone’s got to keep the organization going!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in January…
Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!